Possibly returning, just a few quick questions

[Sunburnseyes]

I played FFXI for a pretty good amount of time, I don't remember where I got my character to, but I quit when WoW rolled around and all of my friends decided to move, thus I hopped on board.

I'm to the point now that WoW is extremely boring to me, I had a lot of fun with it, and it is a great game, but it really isn't the same as it was for me when I started, not to mention all of my friends are quitting or too busy do something else when I do get on.

I have a lot of fond memories from FFXI and it seems to be one of the few MMOs still moving in a fairly positive direction in terms of keeping people relatively happy(from what I've read so far, anyway). I loved it when I played, and I was looking to get back into it and I have a few questions:

1.) I won't be starting with my old character, I'm repurchasing everything(Best Buy employee discount, yay!) but I was wondering how difficult it is to start from scratch. I remember that gear pricing, especially in the lower levels, was cause for nightmares. I was also wonder how easy it is to party at the lower levels.

2.) This is more on the technical stuff: In terms of picking it up, would you say that it's better for PC or Xbox 360? Also, does it work with Vista and if so, how well? I picked the new rig up around September; it runs very well, it just sucks for those things that don't work with Vista

3.) How is the server population looking? Is there any server that's best to start on at a lower level?

I know it was a fairly long-winded "I'm coming back" post, so thanks for bearing with it. I may have some more questions later on, or might edit some out as I do some more research on my own once I get home from work tonight.

Thanks in advance!

[Ellipses]

1) What's a nightmare for some isn't for others. The economy has deflated a lot in the last year or so, though. You'll still have to spend time farming or whatever else you like to do to make gil, but it's not quite as bad as it used to be. Getting a party can be kind of spotty. It all just depends on what you're leveling, when, and whether anyone needs one of those.

2) I can't speak much about the technical differences, e.g. performance. But before anyone starts talking about interface, the interface is exactly the same. Any version of the game (barring 3rd-party modifications) can be set up to play exactly like any other version, with the only differences being performance and visual quality. Without 3rd-party stuff, they're probably very similar there, except for the Xbox's draw distance tweak and dashboard stuff. From there, it's all about comfort and convenience. Is playing on the sofa a bigger priority, or is having a web browser an alt-tab away? My impression from others' posts is that how well the game runs on Vista largely depends on your specific hardware and how well you understand Vista.

3) Can't say much here, either. Stock answer is that the distribution of players follows the same curves, generally, from server to server, but there are some that are more populous than others. So 2% of the server leveling jobs in a certain range means something different on Odin than it does on Kujata.

[Sunburnseyes]

Thanks for the info. It sounds good, I'll probably pick it up for the PC. Any servers you or anyone else recommend starting on, out of personal perference or any reason at all?

Also, if I pick up the pack that has all of the expansions with it, will I still be in for a crazy update time? I'm expecting one, I just wouldn't mind being surprised with a fairly short update time for the game.

[Ellipses]

You're in for a crazy update time pretty much no matter what you do. The collection lessens it by a bit, but it's still not pretty.

I've played on Asura (yeeeeears ago), Remora (years ago), Kujata (months ago) and now Fenrir. Never met a server I haven't liked in one way or another.

[Feba]

Fenrir is an awesome choice. Of course, it's best to go where you'll have friends/help.

[Wise Donkey]

1. Starting over is easier now than it ever was, with the changes to Signet, Exp Bonus Rings, etc. Lower level Equip is not bad, you might still have to farm some, but you should mostly be able to survive off what you get leveling, at least until you get your SJ and get to Jeuno.

2. I have always played on PC, and I love it. I can't speak on 360 performance at all. It works on Vista just fine, you just have to download a Vista POL from playonline.com.

3. Servers are servers, generally. Your best bet is to join one (you can pick your server now) that you have friends on. I believe this forum has a LS on a server, not sure which one.

[IfritnoItazura]

I believe this forum has a LS on a server, not sure which one.

There was an unofficial one on Kujata, but my understanding is that the shell owner run off to another server, and the LS died.

[Murphie]

This forum no longer has an LS on a server (unless there's one no one told me about ). But there are a number of people on this forum who have linkshells that welcome new players. So you could certainly ask around.