[Dreakon]

Hi ya'll! I used to be a pretty big fan of this game, but I stopped playing due to router issues (I kept getting a random error and disconnects, I cant remember what it was, but it actually seemed pretty common amongst router users back then) and the fact it took an eternity to get anywhere, level-wise. I played probably a good 2 or 3 years ago at the earliest, so I imagine things have probably (hopefully) changed a little bit. If it's any indication, I quit before that "Treasures" expansion game out, whatever it was called. I have a few questions though.

1. Back then, you HAD to group to really get anywhere. I believe there was 1 class that could solo and even that, I don't think, was a very efficient plan. I know it's a multiplayer game, but I can't always find groups, so soloing is kind of important. Has soloing been made any easier/more possible?

2. Has leveling been made any easier? I remember, back then, this game was in the running for "game that took the longest to get anywhere in". GRINDING, as it's known. I'm not a very hardcore player, pretty casual actually, so that doesn't really appeal to me at all. Though deep down, I think it'd be really cool to get somewhere in a game that actually makes you earn it. So I dunno, just curious if the game has been made a little more casual-friendly over the years?

3. I can't remember the router error I mentioned, but the issue was relatively common and might still be. So... have there been any advancements in the support of routers and wireless internet as far as FFXI is concerned? Are router issues less common nowadays then they used to be? Maybe, if anyone might remember the particular common router problem I'm talking about (a long shot), has it been fixed?

4. How's the population in this game? I know WoW is still the biggie, but I don't want to dive into a game with 100 people per server playing. A nicely populated game is a biiig selling point to me. There seems to be a lot of servers still going, so I'm guessing the numbers aren't too bad? Better or worse then a couple of years ago? Whats the most populated server? Since I'll probably have to start new characters and all that, will there be other new players around to group and level with? Or are the low level areas pretty much desolate at this point?

5. How's the ratio of Japanese to English players? I know theres a translator in-game, but it would still be cool to have a nice chunk of people around that speak the same language as me.

6. I'm trying to download the free trial, but Fileplanet SUUUUUCKS (its incredibly slow, I have to wait in a line and if it cuts out at any point, which apparently it tends to do a lot, i start all over) and it seems to be the only place to download it. Are there any better places/methods to download it? I have my old discs (the original PC one with Rise of Zilart) but I imagine ill probably spend more time updating then I would just downloading from Fileplanet.

7. Has anything been done to take away from the tedious-ness of leveling? Like, for example, WoW added Battlegrounds. It doesn't do anything to level me (unfortunately), but it's a very nice distraction from the tedious grind of hunting stuff and questing and if you do it enough, it definately has benefits. And the best part is that you can do it individually or as a group, so it kind of caters to people like me who dont always have the time to get a group going and all that jazz.

8. Other than expansions, which seem to still be coming in, is the game still well supported (updates, events, fixes, help/support, etc)? I ask because looking on the official site, im finding news and articles and help and screenshots from years ago that seem to still be floating around near the top, like nothing has really been posted or has been happening in a while.

9. End-game, does it exist? If so, what is it and is it entertaining.

Alright, I'll leave it at that lol. Sorry and hope you kind folks can help me out a little bit! Thanks

[Neomage]

1) Soloing has been made much easier for all classes up till 20, and quite a few(I'd say 6-8) can solo well beyond that. The rest can still solo, they just take a lot longer time. Grouping is still the most efficient, and in the case of certain quests, the only way to do things though.

2) Leveling has been made somewhat easier. With the introduction of campaign operations, fields of valor and experience rings, it because easier to earn EXP outside of killing monsters and gaining EXP while killing monsters ore efficient. It still takes a lot of time and work to get to 75 though.

3) Can't help you here.

4) The population is still very healthy. Plenty of players, and with level sync it is much easier to find parties.

5) You shouldn't have many problems communicating unless you're located out in Australia or play during weird hours.

6) Can't help you there.

7) Yeah, there has been some stuff added to break up the monotony. Campaign battles are the biggest ones, but you can't really participate until 60 and can't get good EXP till 70 though. The exception is mage jobs, which can start participating as soon as they get cures and raise.

8) It most certainly is.

9 Yep, it exists, and there is TONS of stuff to do. Dynamis is the most common one, available to anyone 65 or higher. Sky is done fairly regularly still, but at this point is old news to many players. Sea is also rather old, but the staggering requirements to access it and the difficulty of the fights make many players regard it as a milestone. Assault is doable for many players and some only require three people if you're not into the multi-alliance with 64 players thing. Einherjar, Salvage, SCNM, ISNM, KSNM99, and a load of other things exist as well.

[TheGrandMom]

1) Solo'ing has been made easier but not so incredibly easy that its a viable option through the entire leveling process. It's slow and thats why most people choose to party still.

2) It's still a GRIND and not casual player friendly unless you have a LOT of patience.

3) People still have occasional issues. I've been playing for nearly 6 years and never had a single router/modem issue.

4) The player base has stayed pretty even. It's not as popular as when it first came out but its leveled off and stayed there. There are usually 3kish people on my server at all times and more in the premium hours. As far as leveling in low levels, I just leveled a job to 30 solo without too much pain. I partied once and for a very short time (30 mins). Just make use of the extra exp tools that SE has implemented.

5) If you play during JP times then you'll run into a lot of JP's otherwise during NA times there aren't many of them on. I've never had any communication issues with them whenever I've partied up so I think its a non-issue.

6) No, FP is only way for the free trial.

7) Small improvements have been made and with the current update ( Version Update Details! (4/8/09) ) there will be more added. Is it as easy as WoW now, no and thank god.

8) We have regular events (currently have one now) and updates.

[Kouper]

I'll answer the best I can, but Im fairly new as well. Although I am quite experienced in wow having played since launch.

1- You can solo quite a bit better now, although still from the teens on it will be faster to pt, soloing is an option especially with the fields of valor books.

2- leveling is faster, and a tad easier, but compared to the 1-80 in a week that is wow, its incredibly hard (by comparison)

3- I havent had a router error yet.

4-theres still plenty of people playing, although you might feel a little bit alone in the newbie areas because so many people stay on their high levels most of the time.

5- there's lots and lots of english speakers, you'll be fine

6-I was wrong, the discs dont contain the right info for the trial version i believe. just stick with fileplanet...

7-There are side events and holidays and what not. Im not sure what levels ballista and the other forms of pvp are available though. As it is, most of the joy of leveling up is going to be in exploring and the actual process. If your one of those people who complains about leveling in wow and the quest system and what not.... This may not be the game for you.

8. The game is still very very well supported by square and has lots of fun events and holidays, including a few that are going on right now. And while version updates may not happen as often as wow patches, I dont see them breaking the game on accident as often either. And they tend to push a larger amount of content at a time.

9. There is quite a bit of end-game, 4 expansions of it. Is it entertaining? I have no idea as Im still a lowbie, but Ive heard positive things about it. Although it is going to be considerably more time consuming considering the nature of camping world bosses vs. an instance like in wow.

[Omniblast]

Originally Posted by Dreakon

1. Back then, you HAD to group to really get anywhere. I believe there was 1 class that could solo and even that, I don't think, was a very efficient plan. I know it's a multiplayer game, but I can't always find groups, so soloing is kind of important. Has soloing been made any easier/more possible?

Solo hasn't really been made easier, maybe with signet providing better evasion bonuses for you, it is easier to group now a days due to level sync. If you are higher level and you head into a lower level zone, chances are you will still get invited for exp because they need bodies to fill the ranks of parties.

Originally Posted by Dreakon

2. Has leveling been made any easier? I remember, back then, this game was in the running for "game that took the longest to get anywhere in". GRINDING, as it's known. I'm not a very hardcore player, pretty casual actually, so that doesn't really appeal to me at all. Though deep down, I think it'd be really cool to get somewhere in a game that actually makes you earn it. So I dunno, just curious if the game has been made a little more casual-friendly over the years?

4. How's the population in this game? I know WoW is still the biggie, but I don't want to dive into a game with 100 people per server playing. A nicely populated game is a biiig selling point to me. There seems to be a lot of servers still going, so I'm guessing the numbers aren't too bad? Better or worse then a couple of years ago? Whats the most populated server? Since I'll probably have to start new characters and all that, will there be other new players around to group and level with? Or are the low level areas pretty much desolate at this point?

Between 1-2.5k per server usually is on all the time.
It is still filled with a lot of grinding, but you can do it! It helps you better learn your job and how to perform during a party. (hopefully) I usually play 2-4 hours every mon, tue, wed. Otherwise I don't have anyother time to play. I've stepped away from End game for a while now.

Originally Posted by Dreakon

5. How's the ratio of Japanese to English players? I know theres a translator in-game, but it would still be cool to have a nice chunk of people around that speak the same language as me.

Still a lot of Japanese players around. I've been encountering a lot more EU(ropeans) and North Americans lately.

Originally Posted by Dreakon

7. Has anything been done to take away from the tedious-ness of leveling? Like, for example, WoW added Battlegrounds. It doesn't do anything to level me (unfortunately), but it's a very nice distraction from the tedious grind of hunting stuff and questing and if you do it enough, it definately has benefits. And the best part is that you can do it individually or as a group, so it kind of caters to people like me who dont always have the time to get a group going and all that jazz.

Well there is campaign if you install the Wings of the Goddess expansion, but it's mostly for level 60+ people who want to solo in campaign battles without having to group with people.
In there you work together with other people to fight monsters that you don't have to be in a party with to get exp. You get exp at the end of the campaign battle. See the wiki for more details.

Originally Posted by Dreakon

8. Other than expansions, which seem to still be coming in, is the game still well supported (updates, events, fixes, help/support, etc)? I ask because looking on the official site, im finding news and articles and help and screenshots from years ago that seem to still be floating around near the top, like nothing has really been posted or has been happening in a while.

Updated every 2 or 3 months or so. I forget. There is a update today as well 4/8/09.

Originally Posted by Dreakon

9. End-game, does it exist? If so, what is it and is it entertaining.

I can't really tell you too much about this, except that it is sometimes filled with drama.
Dynamis areas, Salvage areas, Hyper Nortorious Monsters (camping a mob), there's always other things to do like crafting, helping friends out. You'll spend sometime in Dynamis to collect Artifact Armor type 2's, and in order to access certain Dynamis areas you will need to complete the cities, then the outlands(to get access to here you need the cities done first) and collect a keyitem.

[Ameroth]

Originally Posted by Omniblast

Solo hasn't really been made easier, maybe with signet providing better evasion bonuses for you, it is easier to group now a days due to level sync. If you are higher level and you head into a lower level zone, chances are you will still get invited for exp because they need bodies to fill the ranks of parties.

Solo has been made immensely easier with OP warps, Fields of Valor, new exp rings, EP/DC exp hike, better lowbie gear, treasure caskets, signet bonuses, etc. 1-20 on almost any job is a breeze, and several jobs have been updated and tweaked to allow them the chance to solo decently at all ranges of levels. BST isn't the only job that can solo anymore.

It is fair point out that, while easier to solo mobs, the exp curve is still pretty intense. You can solo certain jobs, but may find it still more viable to commit to an exp party. The point I want to make is that you are not 100% tethered to 5 other people to get exp now-a-days. With even just an hour or two, you can easily burn some exp through soloing or campaign.

[Dreakon]

Hey guys, thanks for the quick replies. The download for the trial is going much better this time around lol, and I have a trial code lined up already. Gonna give it another try.

Any more insight on the router issues and if the game works any better with them now would be appreciated though. Unfortunately, it happened completely at random (and usually in later, higher-level areas) so I don't know if this trial will be a good enough test to see if the error still happens...

Any thoughts/knowledge on the issue would be appreciated!

[godsaiyan]

Well routers seem to work a lot better now as u can imagine, and ive had no trouble on a personal note. If after the trial you do decide to play the full game again, and if u chose remora server to play on, either send a /tell to jamiefulton, thats me or send an email to godsaiyan@yahoo.co.uk and i can get u into our Linkshell. If u send an email please give ur character name and likely times of play, so i can seek u out easier