Is FFXI still online?

[BoringSupreez]

The console version might be a huge improvement though. Supposedly one of the main reasons the PC version is so bad is because the interface is obviously designed to be navigated with a DualShock/controller, which makes it infuriating to navigate I guess.

(But yeah, no matter what I wouldn't touch FF XIV with any length of pole)

I totally WILL if it's free to play. That's my deciding factor. Free, I buy it. Subscription, I dont.

So you'll buy a crappy game as long as it's free to play? I have a copy of Shaq-Fu to sell you, in that case.

[Betamax001]

I wish FFXI and FFXIV were not part of the numbered series and instead called Final Fantasy Online and Final Fantasy Online 2 or something. Make the online series like a spinoff like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics or something.

Like it really matters? It's just a name. It won't change the existence or the content of the game at all.

I know that. It's not as big a deal to me now as it was maybe 4 years ago when I was really into Final Fantasy and was upset that I wouldn't be able to play a numbered entry because it cost more money.

[gennss]

XI is still going. They merged servers sometime this year. They're discussing raising level caps again the next update. Currently Max level is 90, which I'm sure is different from when you were playing. End-game has changed significantly as well. Sky items can be upgraded/augmented, HNMs such as Fafnir are now pop'd instead of camped, and there are 20 jobs instead of 15 now.

Depending on how long its been since you've played. 3 jobs added in Treasures of Aht Urghan, and 2 more in Wings of the Goddess.

Oh and there are 6 mini expansions. The last three is pretty much the current definition of end-game. People are working on solo strategies for all the sky gods at 90.

[isiolia]

This year was the second round of server merges...despite that the current game doesn't "need" the population density to work and it just resulted in more people bumping heads.

[burningmice]

Huh, here I was thinking this thread was going to be about Final Fantasy Eleven.
Thought from what I hear the game is still going fairly well and still requires their flawed subscription model. Character slots included.

[Zing]

The PC version of Final Fantasy XI was graphically superior, but yes, the controls and UI were identical to the PS2 version, which means you needed to use a gamepad or you were going to be annoyed as hell.

It's funny to see the hate on subscriptions. I played the game for quite a while and trust me, having it pay to play is the ideal thing for a game that requires this sort of dedication. FFXI in particular needed players who were skilled, dedicated, and intelligent. Sure, there were plenty of players online that were none of those, but they got to sit around Jeuno begging for parties and be added to my shit list. The game essentially requires good players to work together. I can't imagine what a clusterfuck it would be if every cheap ass was allowed to join.

[isiolia]

The PC version of Final Fantasy XI was graphically superior, but yes, the controls and UI were identical to the PS2 version, which means you needed to use a gamepad or you were going to be annoyed as hell.

Gamepad annoyed me a lot. I used keyboard pretty much exclusively. Partly acclimation of course, or job selection. I typed a lot of spells, targeting, etc, so whenever I tried a pad it was crippling.

It's funny to see the hate on subscriptions. I played the game for quite a while and trust me, having it pay to play is the ideal thing for a game that requires this sort of dedication. FFXI in particular needed players who were skilled, dedicated, and intelligent. Sure, there were plenty of players online that were none of those, but they got to sit around Jeuno begging for parties and be added to my shit list. The game essentially requires good players to work together. I can't imagine what a clusterfuck it would be if every cheap ass was allowed to join.

The dedication necessary doesn't exactly justify a subscription. Most of the game isn't hard so much as it's inadequately explained (if not deliberately obscure), and designed to keep people grinding away. Quite a number of the players make a lot of progress aren't the best at the game, they just put the most time in.
Too much of the game doesn't actually depend on skill, it depends on repeating content 100x over to get what you need for your group. Even the recent return to harder gameplay with Voidwatch also returns to stupid drop systems/rates (as opposed to the virtual handout that Abyssea XP/Empyrean gear is).

[Zing]

You are correct that the game is almost completely grind-based. However, efficient grinding relies on skill chains, which require knowledgable and interested players.

Skill chains were the best part of the game. It allowed everyone to do something exciting in almost every combat, and kept everyone on their toes.

I personally quit the game after realizing I was level 54 (or was it 58?) and still fighting the same goddamn beetles and goblins from when I was level 15. Sure, they here harder and in a different zone, but they looked and acted identically.

[isiolia]

Actually, skillchains are about the least efficient way to do anything the vast majority of the time (if you're breaking a trial weapon, sure, SC away). Melee jobs don't gain TP at the same rate, their most powerful WS don't line up, or if they do it's a lousy element to MB off of, MP regeneration is horribly slow, making any reliance on it inherently inefficient anyway.

Outside of self-sc'ing from SAM, BLU, or sometimes DNC, you won't tend to see them done intentionally. It's just yet another thing in XI that woulda/coulda been great had SE thought it through a bit more.

If you were focusing on them heavily, chances are you played prior to the mass realization of just how stupid it is to focus on IT++ mobs for XP - though camps that would support better methods were few and far between prior to ToAU. Even then they didn't increase repop rate in dungeons until recently, now that most people wouldn't even bother with a regular XP party.

[Zing]

I'm not entirely sure to what you refer. I just know we were able to exp chain constantly and never had TP problems. We did, however, consist of a static and optimal party at all times (PLD,WAR,THF,BRD,BLM,RDM). I don't recall the "con" of the enemies we fought.

We quit playing shortly after Chains of [whatever] was released.