[Feba]

a huge majority of WoW players don't even know about FFXI's existence.

You also have to realize though that a huge majority of WoW players are freakin' idiots.

Yeah, in a turn-based fashion if anything. Sorry if you don't get to select each attack of the AI.The whole point is that it is party based. It doesn't matter if you can control them or not. I will say though that there are characters in FF games that can't be controlled that are in your party (Sephiroth in FFVII anyone?).

Ok, so 1- The fact that in EVERY OTHER FF GAME EVER you control AN ENTIRE PARTY means that in a game where you DO NOT control an entire party, you are STILL forced to be in one? I'm not disagreeing with FFXI's heavy bias towards partying. I'm just saying that using other FF games as a justification makes no freaking sense. 2- And you have Sephiroth (A SINGLE, LAUGHABLY OVERPOWERED, CHARACTER) in your party in FF7 for what, 20, 30 minutes? Hardly precedent for spending the majority of the game in a party you have no control over.

And just how much BST, PUP, DRG solo experience do you have? Did you ever even have an NPC fellow? You don't play FFXI.

Oh please BBQ, taking things out of context and stretching your logic beyond even what's believable for you, just to get in a cheap shot?

Yes, I had an NPC fellow. I played it until the end of it's story missions, and then some. And yes, I played plenty with pet jobs, DRG was my favorite. Comparing them to a controllable NPC system takes brain damage.

Your comparisons make no sense-- DRG, yes the pet works under rather specific conditions. I spent a good amount of time soloing as a DRG/BRD, I knew exactly when I had to cast if I wanted to survive, thankyouverymuch. Have you ever played DRG in a party? Have you ever tried to cure a wyvern when it's taken AoE damage? Have you ever tried to tell a wyvern to back the hell off so it wouldn't die, while still staying in the fight yourself? Have you ever tried to get a wyvern to attack without attacking yourself?

Also, about those conditions, have you ever found an interface for changing them? (Putting on a helmet that changes the condition is not the same as setting what you want to happen when!)

You'd have to either have never played Dragoon and be a total fool, or have memory loss to think that controlling a party member as in FF12 or any other FF game ever is anything close to having a Wyvern.

I did not play PUP very much personally, however comparing attachments to gambits is still absurd. Attachments also force your automaton to take on other stats/abilities, last I checked, and are not solely a method of controlling when they do what. You also do not control them as you would a regular character, nor can they be leveled, equipped, and so on like a regular character.

On to NPCs, once again, the AI doing a certain thing when certain circumstances are met and the AI being controlled by gambits are not the same thing, and you know it. Setting an NPC to "Stalwart Shield" or however the hell it's spelled and setting Ashe to provoke any enemy in range and cure allies that fall below 40% is completely different, and anyone with half a brain knows it. I haven't played KH in a long time, but from what I remember, those NPCs would attack enemies without you needing to get involved, and were more intelligent in backing you up (although not as controllable or predictable)


Once again, I'm not saying SE needs to change anything, I'm just saying that using previous FF games as a reason for FFXI's forced partying is incredibly illogical unless FFXI has a method for you to control an entire party by yourself.