Please give me some motivation to play this game

[rbrock387]

I've been playing WoW the past few months and I still enjoy it a lot. My friend from work was telling me about FFXI and I decided I'd try it out. I decided to be a Hume MNK and I'm on the Odin server. I must say so far I hate the game. I'm at lvl 8 and all I'm doing is healing and running to my house to store stuff.

I watched the FFXI Recollection video and it made the game look pretty fun but at this point in the game I'm not enjoying it at all. I like the FF style of the game, good music, story and graphics, but the gameplay is so dull. All I'm doing in battles is waiting for my TP meter to go up so I can do a lil extra damage. In WoW I'm constanlty using different abilities and am on edge the entire time.

It does look like a very promising game and I've always liked FF and other Square-Enix games, but I just don't see the fun in this one. A couple guys from my LS were saying the game gets fun around lvl 40-50... I don't want to play a game for months and months just so I can see if it's fun. WoW was fun from the moment I played it and it's still fun.

This isn't a trolling topic and I'm not trying to bash the game. I just want some motivation to play the game because it does look very rewarding and fun later on, but right now I'm really dissapointed. Please don't leave any smart *** remarks =) Thank you.

[Murphie]

Well, FFXI isn't for everyone. If you don't like it, you don't like it, and that's ok.

My only suggestion would be to maybe try out some other classes and see if you like them better, but to be honest, it sounds like the things you don't like in the game are pretty fundamental issues, so FFXI just might not be the game for you.

[Illuen]

personally, IIWY, I'd try Black Mage/White Mage, and eventually bard. From my experience, in these jobs you are much more likely to be kept busy, with curing and buffing as a WHM, the constant buffing/Debuffing/Pulling of a BRD, and the nukeygoodness of a BLM much more than a melee. Also, you have to understand that you can't judge the experiences FFXI before level 20. Level1-10 is tedious for everyone, regardless of job. Once you get into the dunes, and can start feeling the way your job works in a party (albiet a deranged, mentally unstable party), you'll have a much more educated view on the gameplay and such. Also, once you get to the doonz, you'll begin to use your jobskills much more, if you are a war or sub /war, you'll begin to deal with provoking, and it is monumentally more fun than the begining.

[Aeni]

Is it just me or has there been a rash of these posts within the past week? Either some MMO game just bombed and left thousands of their customers stranded and wondering what to do or there's some very bored people out there.

Or is it just that these posts that usually end up on Alla's forum is now here due to the migration.

[rbrock387]

Normaly I would have gone to Alla but my friend told me this was a better forum so I came here.

[Maju]

First of all, you're L8 so you barely have any job abilities. I think Monk gets Boost at L5, but that's it.

Secondly, your are soloing at that level. Most of the time you will be fighting in parties because soloing will soon no longer be a viable exping method.

Thridly, monk is the simplest class in the entire game. If you want to be busy in battle, pick red mage, bard, thief, paladin or ninja.

[ikkleste]

the game can be a bit slow to get going... until you hit level 20 (with a subjob) the main thing to do is level and get your feet. Theres a few missions you can do, and quite a few quests based in the towns until then.


Once you get to 10ish (i'd personally wait until 12-13) you can head to the dunes and start partying for exp. This is where a lot of the fun in the game starts, here is where you'll start making friends. You'll unlock your subjob here too which some of which you'll do while exp'ing but for some of it you'll probably have to get a few other new starters together and quest it together, alternatively you can get a higher level friend to help you.


Once you hit 20 things start to open up, theres more activities you can do (BCNMs (kinda boss fights), garrison (big mutilplayer defence battles), and do brenner and ballista (PvP) have 20 caps too, i can't remember?) You get your choco, you can go to more areas easily and really start to explore. Between 25-30 you'll do your first big mission which involves going to each of the three starter cities and killing a dragon. This is where the main bit of the first leg of the story picks up. When you go visiting other cities you'll also find lots of other quests to do.

At 30 yet more stuff opens up, some serious mission stuff starts out here (Chains of Promethia missions) as well as access to more BCNMs, higher cap PvP, more misisons. You'll get to unlock advanced jobs too with all the story that goes with them.

I'd say stick it out to 25 ish at least, get rank 3, before you pass judgement. Until then it pretty much a grind though. Try out a couple of jobs (might be worth sticking with one until you get your subjob though, leveling solo is much quicker with a sub). If you focus on getting 20 though it shouldn't take you too long.

Hope that helps!

[Dux]

Hi.

Sounds like you are in the tricky levels 7-10 where (on your first time around) things are yucky and slow and horrible. Things will get better once you start getting into parties and start working as a team. Quit playing solo and get partying in a team, things will get more interesting very quickly.
Learn about Skillchains, they are really really important and will take you a while to get the hang of.

I agree there is alot of running to your mog house thats true at the beginning but it gets better once you party and you move to other areas and have access to warp spells / teleport spells enabling you to move about more freely. Also you get less items because they are split between you and 5 other people so you fill up your inventory less quickly.

If you really enjoyed the fast paced action of WoW and dont think you like the slower starting pace of FFXI then thats not a problem, its OK to not like FFXI. I would say however that if you stick with it, FFXI is to WoW what Chess is to tic-tac-toe (naughts and crosses to the europeans).

[Jei]

Compare to WoW you'll be levelling pretty slow in FFXI. Not only levelling actually, everything requires much more time here.
I like it this way. But I know a lot of people who don't so I understand.
I think it depends, if the feature the game offers suites you or not. The hype right now is you can raise your own CHOCOBO o_O;; That's one quick thing you can look forward to.

[Rai]

Unlike WOW you can switch between jobs in your Mog-house. I suggest doing that, try 1-8 on each job, WAR WHM BLM RDM THF MNK.

At low levels do quests, I hate to say it but I got the Brady guide when I got the game and I did every quest I could low levels solo. Questing increases your Fame gives gil and a couple items you might be able to use.

Leveling is tough as a new low level player, the more you do it the easier it gets and once you have a sub-job it does seem a bit easier, there are things you can do to help, like cheap foods to boost stats and cheap HP regen drinks like Orange au Lait.

I personally try to solo to at least 15 on all jobs but many people start to join parties at lvl 10 or so.

If you are on the same server as your friend from work, ask for his help.

The game is hard and frustrating at times, but that is what makes the accomplishments so much more rewarding, the level of friendship you obtain with people in this game will be deeper than any other game.

some links to help:

http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/index.html

http://ffxi.somepage.com/

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.ffxi-atlas.com/

http://monsters.ffxi-atlas.com/

[Haggai]

As others have stated, try out another job. Monk is very much a cruise control job. I have a friend that has Monk to 40 and she said that there have been many times where she has been reading a book / watching TV while leveling. Monk in a party is pretty much engage and throw in a combo here and there.

[Icemage]

Problem 1: Level 8. You haven't gotten far enough to start joining groups (where a lot of the fun dynamics in the game are), and you don't have access to the majority of Monk abilities.

Problem 2: Monk. This is probably the most passive job in the game - it very nearly plays on autopilot in most circumstances.

Try one of the more active jobs like Red Mage and you might find it more interesting (for one thing, Monks have it VERY easy in the first 10-12 levels, as they're able to take down harder enemies than most other jobs in that early range).

Failing that, maybe the pace of the game is just too slow for your taste.


Icemage

[Celeal]

Monk is my 1st job too when I started this game 3 years ago =)

To OP:

My suggestion is to try serveral jobs. The good thing about FFXI is you don't need to make a new character for switching to a new job. Thus you don't need to repeat certain quests or missions.

At level 8, you may try to duo (2-players party). Usually a melee + mage make a decent duo party setup. For mages usually at level 10 is okay to join a full party (6-players). For melee I prefer level 14+ to join full party.

The fun begins when you join an experience points party to fight mobs that are above your level (Tough, Very Tough, or Incredibly Tough).

Note: In my opinion, the goal of experience points is to gain experience points (duh ^^;). However, most people wants to gain the "most" experience points over time. See how slow it is to solo experience points (with a few exceptions)?

FFXI's experience-point system has something called Experience-Chain. When your party defeat consecutive Tough, Very Tough, or Incredibly Tough mobs within a limited amount of time, your receive bonus exp. points.

When your party is trying kill Very Tough or Incredibly Tough mobs as fast as possible, the fun begins. It requires teamwork, knowledge, skill, etc. It is not about spamming Job Abilities. Because the party is fighting mobs above the party's level, a wrong decision may get your party killed or downtime.

Unlike some MMO that requires a lot of mouse clicking or button pressing during battles, FFXI gives you time to think and interact with party members, such as chat, look at what is your party members are doing, covering your party members, etc.

From a beginner's point of view, Monk may seems like "waiting for TP meter and do some extra damage" in an experience-points party. However, when you gain more understanding of this game, Monk is more like "use everything your got to kill the mob as fast as possible without causing downtime" in the party.

Besides experience-points party, there a lot of stuff that is very fun in this game too: making friends, quests and missions, BCNM, Besiged, Assault, Recovering Astral Cadensence, crafting, solo... ^^

[I'm just a guy]

ok, heres my 2gil, i have the same problem sometimes.. ill just think "f**k, whats the use? ; ;" but i stay for the story, everytime i feel like stopping or something, just remember the story lines and friends.. and your chco!!! :D

[Mini Neruto]

I'm at lvl 8 and all I'm doing is healing and running to my house to store stuff.


That might be the problem. You have to learn how to play your job before going into parties. Dont like soloing? {Tough} it out! Its only 10 levels and then you get to start partying and see what the game is like...although {Valkrum Dunes} isnt the best example. And also, if you dont have patience do not play this game. Ive never played WoW fully but the time that i did play i hated it. Mabey the game isnt for you, /shrug.

[Mog]

OK, I'm going to come out with it, so hear me out.

If you don't like how slow-paced final fantasy is, then this is not your game. Unlike WoW, everything takes time, whether it be getting to the next level or traveling from one place to another. However, if you perservere and stick it out, the rewards that come from this game are substantially greater than those you'd get from playing WoW.

However, if you want to be overly uber and get immediate satisfaction, go back to WoW. This is NOT the mind-set of Final fantasy XI players.

[phoenix13laze]

I was going to make a very similar thread compared to this one, but I didnt want to be repetative, so forgive me if this looks like a hijacked thread, its not meant to be.

I'd like some encouragement to play this too, but with different reasoning. I played this for about a year as my first MMO and swapped to WoW due to how I didnt have enough bulk time to play this. Ive played WoW for a year and got to 60 and everything, and its gotten slightly more boring. I remember this being a great game, alot more involved than WoW, but I never gave it as much of a chance (25THF/12WAR). Im curious if I should consider playing FFXI again, but really casually, or if thats even possible. Would it be possible for me to casually play FFXI without losing too much of the fun? It's not a matter about 'FFXI isnt your type of game because you dont want to put in time', it's about 'FFXI is a type of game I'd love if I had more time, can it still be enjoyed without so much time though?'.

Thanks in advance if I get any help.:thumbsup:

[neighbortaru]

I was going to make a very similar thread compared to this one, but I didnt want to be repetative, so forgive me if this looks like a hijacked thread, its not meant to be.
I'd like some encouragement to play this too, but with different reasoning. I played this for about a year as my first MMO and swapped to WoW due to how I didnt have enough bulk time to play this. Ive played WoW for a year and got to 60 and everything, and its gotten slightly more boring. I remember this being a great game, alot more involved than WoW, but I never gave it as much of a chance (25THF/12WAR). Im curious if I should consider playing FFXI again, but really casually, or if thats even possible. Would it be possible for me to casually play FFXI without losing too much of the fun? It's not a matter about 'FFXI isnt your type of game because you dont want to put in time', it's about 'FFXI is a type of game I'd love if I had more time, can it still be enjoyed without so much time though?'.
Thanks in advance if I get any help.:thumbsup:if you don't care about maxing your levels or getting to endgame fast, then yes, it can be played casually.

people who have more time than you who start at the same time as you will out level you. they will tempt you with all their goodies of endgame and whatnot. it is discouraging tbh, but if you can ignore it and be comfortable doing your own thing, it's imo enjoyable.

[Jei]

However, if you want to be overly uber and get immediate satisfaction, go back to WoW. This is NOT the mind-set of Final fantasy XI players.
hmm for some reason I enjoyed FFXI the very moment I got into the game. Killing my first bee....so much fun :eek:

[Raydeus]

I'd like some encouragement to play this too, but with different reasoning. I played this for about a year as my first MMO and swapped to WoW due to how I didnt have enough bulk time to play this. Ive played WoW for a year and got to 60 and everything, and its gotten slightly more boring. I remember this being a great game, alot more involved than WoW, but I never gave it as much of a chance (25THF/12WAR). Im curious if I should consider playing FFXI again, but really casually, or if thats even possible. Would it be possible for me to casually play FFXI without losing too much of the fun? It's not a matter about 'FFXI isnt your type of game because you dont want to put in time', it's about 'FFXI is a type of game I'd love if I had more time, can it still be enjoyed without so much time though?'.

It depends on what you consider casual and what kind of activities you want to do the most.

There many things that can be aproached in a casual manner, and even 30 minutes a day is enough for this, while others require you to be online for 5 hours straight or more.
So it isn't that this game can't be played casually, is just that if you are unlucky the activities you want to do might take more time than you can spend on them.

[Omni]

whats casual?
1 hr a day? 2 hr a day? 4 hr a day?
if you answered the first two, then no you wont really be able to enjoy much out of it unless you have friends to lvl with you everytime you sign on.

lv. 25thf is not even where the fun starts for thf. get to lv. 30, actually make that 32 (iirc) and you will be the hardest hitting skill chain closer for the next 30 lvls.

if 1-2 hr a day is your only choice, i'd really suggest you pick up bst. it's the only job where you can logon, get some good xp and log off w/o having to wait on anyone. not to say bst is an easy job to start, because it certainly isnt. but once you get going (past 35) it's the most self sufficient job there is.

so its your choice of how much you want to spend on the game. i've played wow too, and to be honest, ffxi makes you work for everything. its just how the game is setup.

good luck.

[neighbortaru]

if 1-2 hr a day is your only choice, i'd really suggest you pick up bst. it's the only job where you can logon, get some good xp and log off w/o having to wait on anyone. not to say bst is an easy job to start, because it certainly isnt. but once you get going (past 35) it's the most self sufficient job there is. unless SE decides to "improve" us again.
/end bitter rant

[Omni]

unless SE decides to "improve" us again.
/end bitter rant

lol, word.
/em tends to his sore rear end left by the last nerf bat.

[phoenix13laze]

Im getting more response than I thought... Well, Im still in school, so Im talking 1 hour a night if that, most weekends I'd get plenty of time, and holidays I'd have time to play 23/7(Gotta sleep ;) ). Im thinking that I'd be way below the usual level curve, and have to keep makin new friends over and over because anyone I would level with before would outstrip me quick. One of the things about WoW I hated is that everything was solo oriented... then again this is just the opposite extreem.

[Raydeus]

Im getting more response than I thought... Well, Im still in school, so Im talking 1 hour a night if that, most weekends I'd get plenty of time, and holidays I'd have time to play 23/7(Gotta sleep ;) ). Im thinking that I'd be way below the usual level curve, and have to keep makin new friends over and over because anyone I would level with before would outstrip me quick. One of the things about WoW I hated is that everything was solo oriented... then again this is just the opposite extreem.

My schedule is very similar, 1-3 hours weekdays, 6+ hours on sat and sun, if I play those days that is.

What I usually do is skill up, do quests, lvl npc, craft, farm and do other things that don't require too much time (like Assaults) on weekdays and then party and do missions or other stuff that takes more than 3 hours on weekends.

It's worked well for me so far, specially since a lot of players have similar schedules because of work and school.

[phoenix13laze]

My schedule is very similar, 1-3 hours weekdays, 6+ hours on sat and sun, if I play those days that is.

What I usually do is skill up, do quests, lvl npc, craft, farm and do other things that don't require too much time (like Assaults) on weekdays and then party and do missions or other stuff that takes more than 3 hours on weekends.

It's worked well for me so far, specially since a lot of players have similar schedules because of work and school.
Most encouraging thing I've seen so far. Im really leaning to coughing up the cash every month for it again... probably should grab expansions Ive missed.

[Stooky]

Lol... When I first started I tried every thing to 10 and I liked nothing but that was becuase i did not go to dunes yet. Once I went to dunes I feel in love with the game.
Once i got 20 I got my chocobo and a Linkshell and game became a blast. Then once my war hit 37 I tried many jobs and have been since. Just recently found that I really like PLD so currently im leveling that. The game takes time to find what you like to do in it and what job you like and everytihng like that. Its MUCH slower than other mmo's in my opinon but it feels much more rewarding.

[Bricklayer]

I would definitely stick it out at least til you get your subjob and hit lvl 20. Sneak your way over to Jueno, get your chocobo, and see if the game doesn't open up significantly. And yes, try a mage class if you feel bored. I started on RDM (will eventually return to it, too), have also played BLM, and both are fun.

And, one other thing, I remember resting being a major drag at early levels. Three tips: 1) Eat attack food, e.g. Meat Jerky, 2) Get an Empress Band (1.5x XP up to 1000 XP) from the gate guard, and 3) Fight mobs that are easy prey. This will greatly reduce the time you need to rest.

[dirtyclown]

Im getting more response than I thought... Well, Im still in school, so Im talking 1 hour a night if that, most weekends I'd get plenty of time, and holidays I'd have time to play 23/7(Gotta sleep ;) ). Im thinking that I'd be way below the usual level curve, and have to keep makin new friends over and over because anyone I would level with before would outstrip me quick. One of the things about WoW I hated is that everything was solo oriented... then again this is just the opposite extreem.

I've got a somewhat similar schedule. Though I work full time rather than school, I can manage about 3-4 hours some nights. Finding a static party would really help you out, you can just log on, get exp and then log out. It's mostly a matter of getting lucky.