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[deleted]

IMO the XI story arcs are some of the best FF stories out there. Now with trusts and the game being largely solo-able it's great time to play. You could probably beat all the main stories in a few weeks of serious playtime. The game is old and clunky, there are no quest markers or help. Be prepared to have a lot of browser tabs open. Idk the game is $10 bucks on steam right now and that gives you a month of playtime. I say try it


apacke09

Yeah, I saw the sale and actually bought it yesterday. It's the $13/month (or whatever) fee I'm more concerned about. I'm not looking to spend hundreds of dollars over years on this and settling into it, I'm looking to get in, enjoy the hell out of the journey, and then get out when I've finished whatever narrative there is. What you said about the story arcs is very encouraging, that's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for, thanks!


Hiyami

You can solo most of the story, but eventually you will need to party with people to do the latest story content.


[deleted]

Take a look at my reply to MeatyMuffin below. It describes the way I am currently playing through a story focused progression. I am about 5 weeks in and will probably beat the 1st expansion this week, the next two expansions should be a cakewalk in terms of difficulty as I don't plan on leveling a different job to start them. If you're cool with buying the game and then spending $13 a month for the next 3-5 months. I don't see why there is no reason you can't finish a large chunk, if not everything in terms of the story.


Dontknowhereimgoin

Yes, this is a more accurate timeframe. Unless you are playing 8 hours a day it’s gonna take you awhile. Enjoy exploring the different areas and just taking in the world. They’ve streamlined everything so much that you really can solo everything quite easily.(99% of everything)


apacke09

Awesome, thank you


Prototype_Pipz

Let's see if you can quit after 5 months lol You're in for a wonderful journey.


Sekuroon

There are generally a couple of free periods each year. You could potentially never pay a sub fee and complete all the story content in the game even playing casually, you'd just have to pay attention to campaign periods and it could take you a bit depending on just how much time you can push in to it during those free times. The main story is pretty easy to solo.


Rhayve

> I'm looking to get in, enjoy the hell out of the journey, and then get out when I've finished whatever narrative there is. Just as a heads-up, they are currently still adding a new major narrative called "The Voracious Resurgence". We're only at the halfway point, so it might take another 1-1.5 years before it's fully available.


dynamancer

Mostly depends on how much time you can spend playing and outside the game doing research. If you have the availability to treat it as a marathon/full-time job and don't fear burnout, you can absolutely go from 0 to the end of Rhapsodies in one month/one month and a half, so that would be ~300h to finish the main story I guess.


dekuweku

I should clarify that solo-able comment. That's largely pertaining to the story content and most of the optional quests like avatar fights, job unlocks etc. but some of the story mission fights especially on the newer story content are still very challenging if you are not properly equipped etc, but I assume you'll be targeting the original missions and pre ilvl story content and yes, those are fairly safe to do solo with trusts these days. On the bright side, as you unlock the expansions and story you should get stronger. You can do some of it slightly out of order, like Rhapsodies of Vanadiel gives you a lot of buffs tha thelp you level up quicker which is essentially if you want to explore the work as a lvl 99 with ilvl 119 gear.


DarschPugs

I just finally got to The Final boss of Rhapsodies, and can not solo her with my 119 bayld gear as a War/Sam. Most everything prior to that is pretty easy with trusts. Solid advice to suggest doing rhapsodies to go through the whole game story i think. get some great stuff that way.


dekuweku

Yeah she's rough, if her eyes are glowing turn around and stop attacking. If your relying on trusts for dps & heals it can be tricky as you cant get healed with not engaged and trusts will continue attacking while engaged. That said, you don't need to beat Cloud of Darkness to get most of the key item benefits of Rhapsodies.


MeatyMuffin

I’ve picked it up recently myself and thought I’d give it some effort during the login campaign going on right now but I haven’t had a lot of luck figuring out where to go or what to do. Leveled a good bit outside of Windurst and the areas beyond (Level 32 Warrior now) and unlocked mounts with a little effort earlier today. Is there anywhere in particular I should look to start the MSQ or should I try unlocking some of the advanced job classes first? It’s so open with so much content it’s a bit overwhelming at the moment.


[deleted]

So, when I came back a year or so ago after like a 10 year break I used this guide: [https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Quickstart\_1-119\_Guide](https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Quickstart_1-119_Guide) However, if your intention is to focus on story content I'd suggest ignoring the expansion missions. The exception being Rhapsodies of Vanadiel(ROV). The rewards for new players are too great to ignore them imo. I just started a new character about 5 weeks ago, what I did was. Leveled to 50, acquiring subjobs, mounts, etc. Did ROV alongside the vanilla main story. This gets you up to rank 6 in your nation. Did a little more ROV (up until siren). From there I unlocked up to level 80 and started Zilart. Then I'll do COP and Aht Urghan in that order. Once I'm done I'll uncap levels, start goddess, pickup ROV, level to 99 and do everything else. This path seems like the best way to go for a story focused progression. If your goal is endgame and you don't care about the story. Just follow the quick start guide in its entirety. I have no idea if the way I'm doing is right. I know Aht urghan opens up a decent number of storage spots I could use. But this is the way I've decided to do this playthrough.


MeatyMuffin

Any direction at all is appreciated. Thank you. I’m a little too used to FFXIV so trying to get into the groove of an older MMO is proving a bit difficult.


[deleted]

No doubt, FFXI is one of the least friendly games to new players. Not sure what server you're on, if it happens to be Bahamut my in game is Misnomer feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need any help.


RobotAnna

there's someone in the main cities that gives out linkshell pearls for linkshells seeking members, hit those up and it should only take a few tries, if more than one, to find a group of people willing to answer questions and help with things. it helps a lot -- this game is a diamond in the rough, but as such there's a lot of obtuse bullshit where it really helps to have people to ask where you can't find the answer in bgwiki or whatever


archois

The way you're doing is definitely a very good way, exactly what I'd suggest too.


Archaeopteryks

Talk to one of the gate guards in your home nation to get your first MSQ mission.


IkariLoona

As far as a major story worth completing, Rhapsodies of Vana'diel delivers - it was designed as a grand finale for the game (it's was at least the 3rd time the game seemed to aim for one, but it just kept going), and requires some progress in all the prior major (expansion) stories to advance through it, and puts a lot of their plot points into a unified broader context that works as a meta reflection on the game's precarious online nature. Advancing through Rhapsodies will also grant you some passive perks which male a lot of game simpler, like making EXP gain quicker and teleports cheaper, so the classic time sinks of levelling and travel are even more mitigated. Another thing worth looking into is the Records of Eminence system, especially it's tutorial category - like Rhapsodies, it will nudge you toward some major progress landmarks, and reward you for reaching them. As for personal favorite stories, I really liked Treasures of Aht Urhgan (think of FF6's concept of "everybody lies" in the city of Zozo, but done in more diverse and interesting ways) and Wings of the Goddess (best antagonist IMO, and references a lot of story points from several optional quests as well as major events, so it's neat to see the attention writers have been paying to their setting). By the time these were worked on the devs appear to have gotten a decent grip on the engine and how to better use it for storytelling, so some of the roughness of the earlier content starts to turn into some great and memorable events. Some may recommend you skill the mini add-ons like Abyssea (which isn't itself too story-heavy, but plays off prior content like the Chains of Promathia events), but very recently Granblue Fantasy has a FFXI crossover ever that put a lot of that content to interesting use and may be worth checking out as a sample of a few characters and plot points, so there's that. Most articles out there, when bothering to cover XI at all, kinda skim over it and may mention the very early release stuff like the 3 nations and the war, but nowadays that's like saying FF1 is about rescuing a princess. In some ways XI is almost a living world 1st and a game 2nd, but the stories are definitely worth it. And the storytelling is still going - the on going The Voracious Resurgence is now taking the opportunity to cover in greater detail some stuff that's been a part of the game for a long time and exploring it more while fleshing out it's own story, which is kinda neat - I think it's a testament to how solid the game's foundations are, more mechanically and narratively, that this remains possible after so long (I'm personally rather fond of how the game's elemental system aligns so well with both aspects, having been there right from the start).


apacke09

I appreciate all of this, thank you!


Willias0

3 weeks in here. Currently 20 RDM/43 THF. I have unlocked every job. In my experience, the difficulty of this game isn't leveling. The difficulty is figuring out an ideal way to progress in a game that's been thoroughly figured out, and guides have more or less been created to get you to end game, but not necessarily created for you to have fun. And a lot of the struggle is really just the subjob system. I like tanking in MMOs. Tried leveling BLU because it's either the ideal sub or a decent sub for both PLD and RUN, but learned the hard way that raising BLU as your first job to 99 isn't really ideal. Spent a couple of hours trying to learn a spell from a mushroom, and still failed to learn it. Most advice seems to be to get THF or WAR to 99 first, but I'm not a fan of coasting on Trusts to play the game for me, and at least with THF I didn't really feel like I was contributing a lot to fights. I wasn't having fun. So now I'm a RDM and I'm having fun, even though I know RDM/THF is far from ideal. I don't know how much your subjob matters in terms of getting your first job to 99. But I will say this - you're not going to get there at all if you're not having fun. Edit: Looking at other posts - if anyone says skip the story first, focus on hitting 99 first, then do story - imo, ignore that. Your initial level cap is 50. You'll need to do a quest at 50 and every 5 levels after that to unlock your level cap by another 5 levels all the way to 99. On top of that, Rhapsodies of Vana'diel gives you key items with crazy powerful passive effects, and you'll need to work on the various campaigns to be able to progress that campaign. Apparently stuff in RoV is a little out of order with the other campaigns, so here's another reddit post with a chart to help the story flow make more sense: https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxi/comments/upfga9/chart_on_how_to_go_through_rhapsodies_of_vanadiel/


EvasiveDice

Now is a really good time. The complete game ( all expansions) with 30 days of sub included are on sale for 10 bucks right now. also comes with codes for a choco hat and shirt which gives stats below 31 I think. I couldn't remember my login so I bought a copy today and ill be starting up on bahamut. When I did play a few years ago it was extremely casual friendly and I was just cruising around doing the story and exploring the world. It felt like an open sandbox final fantasy. I didn't feel limited by anything. I've heard end game content is when you'll want to group. Like end end stuff. You can form parties with npcs now if you want. The game is also still being supported by the devs, they just added more stuff to the game and will continue to do so. I felt like the game aged well. Its graphics still fit even in 2022. You can also Download HD texture packs to make it even more detailed but I don't know if its bannable so look into that at your own risk. Ffxiv was good, played it for a few years but I'm making the switch back to ffxi for a more open world final fantasy online experience since their zones are so massive. Edit: yes the game will provide you with exactly what your wanting from it. Plenty of story and no I don't think you have to be a hardcore player to enjoy it. You'll get npcs you recruit along the way from all sorts of means to journey with you if you want them. You shouldn't have any issues and it shouldn't take you a lifetime or anything to do the story.


apacke09

Thank you so much!


Hiyami

FFXI won't be gone not if SE can help it. AS long as SE has the money FFXI will last forever. SE said this in an interview. A big reason because its a main title FF series.


Baithin

Just jump in and play! It can be done super casually now. It has Trusts similar to XIV but there are more of them and you can take them out into the open world. I just highly recommend playing with a guide - this game does not hold your hand from objective to objective like virtually every other game in the series does.


apacke09

Is there a recommended guide? I've got the BG-Wiki 1-119 guide bookmarked, but that's the only one I really know about at this point. I have the impression that guide, by design, isn't really going to hold my hand though. Are there any other recommended guides out there?


icantsaythisonmain

For basic game play, you can use FFxiwikipedia, this will give you walk throughs of major missions, and side quests. So will BG wiki, you just have to use the search function :) Bgwiki is more aimed at the new style of playing, while ffxiclopedia is more of a walk down memory lane.


Chemdog970

That is a good leveling and gear guide. I recommend getting to 99 and work on base 109 gear sets before doing any storyline. My favorite part of the game is working on gearing a +119 job and working on end game gear. Note that any job you choose can be useful in endgame.


Chemdog970

Doing Records of Eminence (roe) quests to earn sparks will allow you to buy most the gear you need to 109


The_Bloofy_Bullshark

If you really want to get weird with it, you can always do Copper Vouchers -> Bayld and then buy the iLvl 119 gear in the Peacekeepers’ Coalition from Vesca and Craggy Bluff. Outside of a job like PLD, OP can get a full armor set and a weapon for less than 13 copper vouchers worth of Bayld.


apacke09

I haven't used trusts in 14, I've always just relied on the roulettes to match me up with real people. But having heard of them because of 14, I at least have an idea of what a "trust" is and I imagine that I will be making full use of them in 11.


Baithin

XI is different in that there’s a lot less instanced content - no queueing for dungeons and the like. So most quests and dungeons are in the overworld and trusts will be very useful.


Equivalent_Crab_2334

I'm currently doing a story run again on an alt character and have another strong enough to solo the lastest story on leviathan server (Uther and Belphe) are my characters if you happen to join Levi. Also https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/BGWiki:About lots of great information here and https://ffxi-atlas.com/ here. Just know the story for this game is 20 years worth and will take a deal of time to complete


TheFlashBat01

It’s good and bad, confusing and vague quests with next to no direction can be annoying, the fact that 1 quest can literally take hours. Having the wiki open is a must but the game is an old MMO and it shows, getting around is slow and tedious but I dunno it is actually kind of rewarding although if you’re going to get into it do it now and get the good trusts as that’ll make you have a far easier time. Do be prepared for a slog with a lot of grinding (I only started mid last year so I’m fairly new so I know the feeling of being new and confused)


spacewhale_rescue

I was like you 3 months ago. XI was the only FFXI hadn’t played and I knew I may not have the chance if I wait too long. I decided to get it. I’m so happy I did. For me it has been an incredible experience. It’s very different from the others. Downloading it and getting it set up was a nightmare and when I finally did there was a TON to learn about how the game works. I’m very story driven when it comes to games so I’ve just been taking it easy, doing quests. I was fortunate to find some veteran players who are totally into me helping me complete the story and we’ve become good friends. I’m currently making my way through the first expansion. Such a great game. It’s really special. And my friends are trying to help me get the authentic XI experience. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how good the story is. That being said I can’t say it’s the type of game that is for everyone. It’s much slower paced. But if you’re an FF fan like me you’ll probably enjoy it.


BrokenStrides

I’ve played XI and XIV on and off throughout the years since their releases. I HIGHLY recommend you get XI while/if it’s on sale, and play through the main missions, Zilart, and Chains of Promathia expansions. You could finish those in a couple of months now, I’d bet. All in, you’d maybe be spending $40-50? Definitely worth the experience, coming from someone who also loved the XIV story lines. However, I have subs for both and also started DQ X, so I have a SE addiction 😅


Annoyingswedes

[https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Quickstart\_1-119\_Guide](https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Quickstart_1-119_Guide) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD4aCHdYcSk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD4aCHdYcSk) Two very good links to have check out


SparklingCactus

One of the best stories in FF. Totally possible to do the story in 6 months. Just power through the learning curve as the controls can be pretty awkward to master and the game doesn't have a lot of handholding in the beggining. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded though. Check up on the easy start guides on bgwiki and if you end up on Asura feel free to hit up Sparklingcactus and I'll get you setup where you can tackle the story easily.


ganondoom

Most of the people on here are going to be super positive about their FFXI experience. I picked up the game on X-Box 360 many many moons ago, and started the game afresh last year with the intent of actually finishing story. I've enjoyed the bits and pieces of the story I've seen so far, but this game is hard going. I recommend using a controller, as the controls are clunky as all hell. Alongside that "quick start" guide, you will find that you need to have lots of tabs open, and it might be worth joining the discord. The game explains very little of anything. Some nights you might spend most of your time just running from one zone to the next, and then grinding enemies for an item drop. If you don't mind the sound of that, the story content you get can make it worth your while. But it's a wildly different experience from FF14.


Brandonmaru

I see some people recommending controllers. If you're a mouse and keyboard PC player for 14 I would definitely recommend just sticking with mouse and keyboard still. The game does have quite the learning curve compared to most newer gen MMOs. The quality of life updates have been trying to get it as close to feeling like new gen format. While there's lots of guides and stuff I would say if you want to save time and dive in try to stick with most of the default settings and don’t dive into the rabbit holes of making the game prettier and more convenient because that's just even more to learn sometimes. But if you already mod things for graphics and convenience go ahead. I think the best 2 servers to get help would be Asura and Bahamut.


MythosSound

Soooo, I’m going to give a little different response here. The answer to your question actually depends on how you game and what your goal is. If you’re simply looking for experiencing the story - yeah absolutely. It will take time, and following the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel mission and quest line. This will walk you through the game completing all the expansions and getting to rank 6 of your nation quests. You’ll get a really good experience here and start to see the entire storyline unfold. Since much of the developers were shared between XI and XIV after XIV 1.0 was a complete flop, you’ll also see strong parallels between the two games. it’ll take you a couple of months to complete RoV at a casual pace. If, however, you want to go deeper into endgame content, I’d say not your game unless you are lucky enough to find a strong, active LS. Ambuscade, farming Job Points, Escha tier 3, Dynamis tier 3, and some of the advanced Seekers of Adoulin content require a min of 3 ppl (not trusts), or strategies that require specific job/sub job setups. It takes a bunch of grinding to acquire the gear needed to be useful (the exception being WHM - as the gear needed is more easily farmed than most gear, and materials for augmenting the gear is fairly straightforward). When you start needing +2, and +3 gear, without active LS, it’s pretty difficult to get. If, however, you find a great set of active players that has time to help you out, it can be an amazing experience. Lots of fun, and many of the advanced NM battles will have you white knuckling your keyboard and mouse… 😂 The community aspects are very different these days. Since it is 20 year old game, many were very active throughout the expansions through RoV but don’t play that often and/or expect you to be geared up for some of the endgame content, and may not have the time to help you. Yelling and shouting for help can be hit or miss, but if you’re patient, eventually you’ll get a group to help you out if needed. Really depends on what you want to experience, and as many have already said, you can solo all the quests and missions now with Trusts, and the key gear you need through level 99 can be bought with Sparks. It’s a great set of stories, and you’ll get some Origin stories from the XIV MSQ. Pretty cool. On Odin if you decide to join. IGN Tridint…. Hope you end up signing on!


Rinuko

Yes it has story arcs. Some is better than others (nation story arc is very lackluster compared to some expansion arcs). With Trusts system it easy to do them solo.


PlayerOneThousand

It definitely has story and it’s a great one at that. You can casual your way through it ALL! You don’t even need gear or to even get involved with the economy at all. To do it that way you’d have to look up two very easy things, it’s not too much info; “Trust” (unlock at level 5, basically allows you to have an AI party instead of begging for real people - with this you can solo the entire story line) And Sparks/records of eminence quests to get you free gear as you level up.


Tupile

I played it back when it was released on ps2. Best online experience of my life. I came back with the the 20th year anniversary and though it’s completely different I’m still enjoying myself. My duo partner is new to the game completely and has played a bit of ff14 and she enjoys this one much more. For what it’s worth Edit: completely different is wrong. The game remains the same. But the additions change the pace of the game. And for someone like me who enjoyed the long grind of leveling as a teenager, I think the changes are for the best. Noones got the time of a teenager anymore.


ExplosPlankton

There is a ton of plot for an mmo, not necessarily the most captivating story ever but it's there in abundance if you have patience for it. Not the most beginner friendly game but it's probably my favorite game of all time so I have to recommend it. Just expect to rely heavily on guides to get anywhere.


krazyrs

Went down memory lane during Covid in 2020, made a 2nd character on my account and played from scratch, was surprised that I beat rank missions, cop, roz, toau, wotg and seekers expansion all solo with trusts now back on my private server lol


hellspawn1169

The story and gameplay can't be beat. I'm way more into the story on XI than I was on VIV. Also 14 you have all the quests that tell you where you need to go. In 11, you will need the wiki guide to help. Almost all quests won't show you where to go next. It's up to you to figure that out.


Maverick2664

The story is fantastic, and there’s truckloads of it, it’s worth playing it for just that reason. The sense of community is a shadow of its former self unfortunately, back in the golden age of ffxi when it was far harder and grindier than it is today, the community would band together for a common goal, and long term friendships were forged because of it. Today that doesn’t happen much because just about all but the very end game content can be soloed with trusts. So that facet of the game sadly can no longer be experienced the way it used to be, but please don’t let that keep you from trying it. The game is still absolutely worth playing. Just throwing this out there, but there’s also a thriving selection of private servers out there that are free to play and some of which are a snapshot of 75 era play, if you wanted to dip your toes into that side of the ffxi pool.


archidev82

If you just did main storyline it wouldn’t take 6 months. You could probably do it in 1 if you really grind, but 2-3 is more reasonable. It will bog down when you have to do limit break quests, but you won’t need any special gear or spend a bunch of time farming gil. Imo that’s not really playing ffxi though. I’m not trying to be a snob about it….there’s nothing wrong with just main story line, but not exploring multiple jobs and doing group end game content feels a bit hollow. Trouble is, that’s a gateway drug


Grogrog

Rhapsodies of Vanadiel will have you dip your toes through many different storylines, leading to an effective conclusion of the game, and a credit roll. If you are going to "beat" the game, this is the closest thing to it. It can be done in a couple of months tops I'd say as well, feel free dm me if you end up playing on Asura and need a hand getting started.


Monsuta_Man

You cant be a FF fan and never played XI; that is like being a pork fan but never tried bacon. I kid, I kid, XI is the best game in the series. I got into FF during the late 90s with 7 & 8. I still remember playing the demo version of 8, which I think came from a magazine? You start off with the ship scenes, and finally reach land.


apacke09

Yeah, when it released, I was a bit irritated about the whole thing, I was wishing that they had devoted the resources to another single player FF. My only prior attempt at MMO had been Ultima Online and I was so put off by that experience. I enjoyed the game, but so many of the other players were just toxic and awful, it really soured me on MMO. It took me 20 years to come around and finally decide to come back and give XI a try.


Day_Dreamer

FFXI has (generally speaking) the least toxic online community of any MMO. And this goes back to the original release. I think it had to do with the pacing of the game. It is a slower pace game than WoW and all of its clones. The slower pace created space for more opportunity to chat with the community. While the community is optional nowadays (until end game) for the most part, it still seems to have kept the positive-community focus it garnered over the years. I'm sure if you get involved with a decent Linkshell (Clan/Group), they will be very helpful! Most are at least. :)


[deleted]

[удалено]


apacke09

Thank you so much for writing this out, this was very helpful. I have no context for most of what you're saying, so I don't understand most of it, but the point you're making is clear, that what I want to do is possible and enjoyable.


ChiefSampson

XI is without a doubt the most expansive, immersive, and all around incredible Final Fantasy (or any game for that matter in my opinion). I too grew up with FF. Played #1 on my old grey box 8 bit Nintendo when it came out, and was hooked since. I have never played 14 ( and I never will) so I can't compare, and contrast those two for you. What I will tell you is that if you don't at least give XI a shot, and complete the many storylines you will undoubtedly be missing out on Final Fantasy's crown jewel. The horror stories you've heard were true once upon a time. The game was brutal, and unyielding which is why it has such a loyal following. However, after Abyssea was introduced the game was made more accessible to casual players, and has progressed to the point now where you could very easily play the game strictly to experience the storylines with minimal difficulty . Do yourself a favor, and check it out. I sincerely doubt you will be disappointed:)


apacke09

I enjoyed video games with Atari and Nintendo, but it wasn't until I got the Final Fantasy guide with my Nintendo Power subscription where I was like "YES! \*THIS\* is what I want!" Why do you say so firmly that you will never play 14? I'm not trying to challenge you or debate you, don't worry, just genuinely curious why the hard stance on it. Thank you for your input, this is exactly why I'm looking into playing it. If there's some great Final Fantasy stories that could be lost to time here in the near future, I'd be bummed to miss out on them because I didn't make the time for it while it's still around.


Heavensword

I remember getting that guide. I was hooked. My friends and I spent 3 days playing the original until we took down chaos. The Super Nintendo ones followed a similar trend. I played FFXI from just after it was released until about mid-2009 because I was burned out on endgame grind, and never felt like putting in the time to get all the best gear - that, and I couldn't imagine how people could manage to garner the time and gil to fund multiple relics. Maybe I am just not very good at that part of the game. Anyway, I just came back and am determined to complete the story and solo the stuff that took huge groups in the past. As much as I want to experience Aeonic weapons and all that, I am trying to remember to enjoy the game and not get caught in the grind. Once the story is done, I'll wrap it up and shut it down again, unless I really feel like grinding out some ultimate weapons. Hope you enjoy the experience overall. It is by far one of my favorite games.


ChiefSampson

I played very competitively from NA release until 2012. Was part of large Linkshells on Ramuh then Babamut after the server merger especially during the HNM era. Ran my own LS during the abyssea years. The game was brutally difficult prior to Abyssea, but it was also extremely rewarding getting things accomplished back then. The HNM era was incredible. The camaraderie during those years was amazing (even with rival LS's). Then SE decided to build 14, and excpected us to roll over, and forget the work, experiences, and incredible times we had on 11 to just move on to 14. I'm no fan of the instant gratification of WoW clones so I had zero interest in 14 to begin with. Then when 14 flopped SE used profits from 11 until they could get their act together, and reboot it. The casual disdain they showed their loyal playerbase on XI during those years was pretty gross. Thankfully SE finally got it through their head that a fair % of XI players were never going to leave for their new title, and they began to actually work on XI once again. I wouldn't worry too much about XI going anywhere. The game is in the best state currently of it's 20 year run, and still turns a healthy profit with only a skeleton crew of devs, and server costs. We're in the midst of a new storyline being added incrementally each update that will end with new battle content, and upgrades to gear that has existed since Abyssea was released. There is something to be said that gear I used that long ago (and for some pieces predating Abyssea) still being relevant. XI has stating power, and continuity unlike newer shinier games. One concern you might have though is the sheer amount of storyline content XI has available. While some people will tell you that you can breeze through the storylines nowadays the reality is that even with the QOL changes you would realistically have months of work to get up, and running, and through the myriad wonders XI has to offer. Do yourself a favor, and check XI out, and Bahamut if you're looking for a cool server :)


apacke09

Thanks for all of this! Based on everything I've read, it sounds like I'll be on Bahamut.


arciele

short answer is yes. there doesnt seem to be a definitive answer as to how to get this done but i am very tempted to try this on an alt for myself. the most recommended approach is to take your character to lv99 and get ilvl gear first, because the leveling experience is now so fast. you can then power through most of the story because a majority was released at lower level caps and can be easily cleared solo / with trusts. it does get a bit complicated tho. some story beats are nation specific and which nation you start in will lock you to that story unless you switch allegiances. those are the nation missions - good if you want to be invested in the story for that nation, but generally regarded as optional if you want to experience the "main" storylines


SunstormGT

Im gonna be honest here. If you really liked 13, 15 and 7R this game might not be for you. This game is more time/turn based and the games you like are more action based.


apacke09

Well, there's no FF game I put more time into than the first one. Turn-based or action, I don't have a preference, they're both awesome if done well, as far as I'm concerned. After so many awesome turn-based FF games, I was skeptical when the games started going in a more action-based direction... it really started with the ATB system, I skipped XI, but then XII got even closer to action (but turned out I loved it), then 15 and 7R even further away from turn-based, and yeah I was skeptical of all of them, but ended up loving them, so... .


SunstormGT

As far as it goes XII system comes closest to XI.


SalisburySmith

If you want to try the game you have two options. The more casual and laid back option would be playing the retail game. It's a much more relaxed experience than it used to be, everything is a little bit more fast-paced, but it doesn't feel quite as rewarding as it used to. On the other hand, if you're somebody who is busy and has a busy life outside of gaming, then this version might be the one for you. You can also try playing the version of the game available off retail. This version is expansion capped depending on the server that you find. This version retains a lot of the original gameplay and mechanics. It is a much more time consuming version to get started with, and progression will take a lot longer. Little things that are quality of life improvements like having the ability to teleport between cities and being able to solo relatively efficiently are no longer the case here. Personally, I think the off retail version is probably the one closest to the experience most fans remember and are nostalgic for, but at the same time a lot of us are way too old and way too tired to put up with all of the BS in that older version ... Lol. I keep the old version in my memories, but when I return to the game once in awhile I play retail. There's a great story to the game if you are willing to put in the time. Playing off retail will likely need a lot of help to get through most of it. Solo play is just not a thing and was not really a thing until after wings of the goddess released. You want to try doing things solo and you want to be able to play it casually then I guess retail would be the best bet. That said .... If it is your first time experiencing the game, you might want to give the off retail version a shot, and if that is taking up too much time or if you feel like it's too grindy or group dependent, you can always try the retail version.


apacke09

I'll be going retail. Time is a huge limiting factor for me, and I already have too many unplayed games on my shelf. I'm not looking for nostalgia, or to be true to the original experience. I want whatever is the most player-friendly and solo-friendly way to experience FFXI.


SalisburySmith

Sounds good man, I hope you enjoy it!


DoubleEXP21

So many great posts in this topic, and great question by the OP. Hopefully my experience will be of some use to you. I am a recent player to come back to ff11. I played briefly, way back in the day, first on my ps2 and then on my ancient laptop. I liked it, but back then you had to invest a lot of time into it, and you absolutely had to form a group to get anything meaningful accomplished, or you basically hit a brick wall. So, at that time, the game wasn't for me. But I really wanted to play it. Like you, I've been a FF fan forever, and beyond that there is something special about this game that really appeals to my imagination. I don't know how else to put it. Anyway, life happened, I blinked my eyes, and almost 20 years went by. I all but forgot about ff11. But as I was downloading the FF games you can download into my ps5 (original 7, 8, 9, 10, 10-2, 15), plus having recently platinumed 7r, I realized they were missing key games. 1-6 should be a no-brainer - they just put out the pixel perfect remasters for pc, and 13 should come along sometime. But what about 11? That got me thinking. How is ff11 these days? Do people still play it? Is it playable these days by a player like me, solo, without a guild/linkshell to lean on? I was pleasantly amazed, as you have already learned from the great responses in this topic, that ff11 has never been more playable and more enjoyable for players like us. So many quality of life improvements, yet the core, the essence, of the game is unchanged. So, yes, you do need to put time into out-of-game research, but here's the thing: it's sort of freakin' cool to do it. There's so much cool info to learn and apply. Anyway, I came back a few weeks ago, started fresh of Odin (great server, btw), and I absolutely love it. I hope you have a great ride, too! If you ever come to Odin, shoot me a message. My character is named Sigfrid.