I support gil buying.Follow

What can I say, I just dont care really! It doesnt destroy the economy anymore than your greedy friends do.

What greedy friends?

How exactly do U know that the money is going to third world workers!?

For all u know IGE could SAY they are donating it to 3rd world workers, when their REALLY keeping it for themselves!

Yes, I support gil buying with every fiber of my being.

... There, now that I've ensured that I'll be defaulted by the 90% of people on this forum that only read the topic and the first sentence, then rate a post, I'll get further into this with only the people who are actually going to listen as my audience.

I support gil buying. No, I do not buy gil. I am a dirt-poor college student who couldn't afford gil if she wanted to, and believes anything past the $15 membership fee for my character and my three mules to be a waste of money I need for food and rent. So, the "u onleh suppert it cuz u'z a gil buyerer" argument, though the trump card of most people's ********* does not apply here.

And no, I do not go to college in China, so I don't support gil buying because it feeds my nonexistent family.

I do, however, strongly support buying gil. If you've been around this game like I have, and been in the amount of parties I've been in, maybe you would too. This is going to sound a little like bragging about my jobs, but don't try to confuse the two, I'm actually slightly ashamed of how much I've played this stupid game. But, I am a WHM75, BLM75, BRD75, DRG73, PLD66, NIN60, THF54, WAR/MNK/RNG/SAM/RDM/SMN 37, and no other job I have is below L:10.

Yes, it's sad. Yes, I know. But that is neither here nor there. The point is, in my extensive experience with EXP parties, I have been in my share of bad ones. I've seen a Warrior with equipment so bad that he missed a whole Rampage on a Very Tough enemy. I've partied with a Ninja in the 40s who did not have Utsusemi: Ni because he couldn't afford it. I've had a Ranger in my party meleeing with daggers and not shooting arrows because they were too expensive. I've invited a full AF Monk with a L:50 weapon to a L:75 merit party because I figured it was a trustworthy enough venture. I've had my EXP dragged through the ground by these sorts of people, all of whom don't buy gil.

On the other hand, I've been in parties with Warriors with Peacock Charms, Haubergeons +1 and all sort of crazy equipment, who know so little about the game that you can be sure they didn't earn any of it. But, they did their job, because it's brainless work playing a melee damage dealer, and the EXP came rolling in. I've partied with all sorts of decked out melees, some of which earned all they had, some of which didn't, neither time did I ask or care. In each case that this has happened, I was happier in my party than I would've been with an honest gimp, any day.

.. And no, I'm not saying everyone who buys gil is a bad player. That's just stereotyping, and there are plenty of gil buyers who keep it a secret and no one ever knows, who are very respected players across all servers. In fact, usually one's book knowledge of FFXI has very little bearing on their ability to do their job. I've seen people who know a heck of a lot about the game come out and stink up the joint in a party, trust me.

But, the bottom line, the overriding factor of this game, is how much EXP you get per hour. You can tell me you'd take an honest party of hard-working Joes and Janes without good equipment, bringing in 3,000 EXP an hour, over a group where you and five gil buyers tear up the area for 6-8,000 EXP in the same amount of time if you want. Trust me, I won't believe you unless you make a really good case for yourself, because morals are out the window at that point. Nearly everyone will turn a blind eye to the blatant signs of bought gil when faced with going literally twice as fast as a gimp party, and I will eagerly admit I'm no exception. Forget morals, making a statement and playing with badly-equipped EXP voids isn't worth the time I have to devote to it.

I understand the fact that gil buying messes up the economy. I saw it firsthand over Christmas when Behemoth Hides were 20 million gil each on my server. I broke a pair of Unicorn Leggings someone was having me make, and they quit the game because their life savings was gone in that one second. I felt bad about that, that inflation can ruin a person the way it ruined my client. But, life goes on. Inflation is only temporary, and only half caused by gil buying anyway. The other half is Japanese players who don't buy gil, but have an infinite supply, and will pay whatever it takes to get an item. Hence why Gun Belts jumped from 30,000 to 7 million gil in one sale on my server. Risatan to Misapon is definitely not a gil buyer sale, I can assure you. Although gil buyers are responsible for part of the problem, and I acknowledge that, it's not the whole deal or even close.

But why, if these things happen in the economy, do I still support gil buying? Well, I am an endgame player. I have a L:100 craft and endgame linkshells, I have no shortage of money and, if things ever look grim, I just spam craft and I'm back on my feet. The average economy that players toil under doesn't affect me anymore, so I'm free to not care about it. I am not the only endgame player in this sort of situation, either. Many of my friends are also free of the shackles of the economy, and can concentrate soley on playing the game.

I feel bad for people who see the items they desperately want being pricejacked, and then bought by some gil buyer or loaded JP player, but there's nothing I can do about it. Regardless of whether or not I support or protest the sale of gil, it will continue unabated. There's no use trying to fight it.

... But, back to the topic at hand. A lazy person who won't go out and farm, craft, camp NMs and do whatever it takes to get good equipment is a worse burden to a party than any gil buyer could ever be. In melee jobs in particular, it's not enough to know what you're doing, you need the money to back it up. Ninja, an increasingly popular job, can only function if the person is loaded--both with talent and gil. The almighty dollar is the overriding force in the efficiency of most jobs to a party.

Do I prefer honest, hard-working people who got their money legitimately, but still tear enemies apart as well as or better than any gil buyer? Of COURSE I do. Those are my favorite types of players, and if everyone was that way, I would be protesting the sale of gil like the rest of you.

But, we live in the real world here, and the general mentality of players on FFXI is "if I can't afford it, it's optional." Erase is optional, Utsusemi: Ni is optional, elemental staves are optional, food is optional, critical spells and items are optional, everything that makes a player worth a party spot is considered in this day and age to be OPTIONAL. And trying to be anything but a sponge is most definitely optional.

To be a worthy party member, a person needs certain things. The only ways to get those things are to go out and work hard, level a craft and take part in a good linkshell... or to buy gil. While I would prefer the former to the latter, I would take the latter in a heartbeat over just doing neither.

I've had too many parties ruined by lazy sponges and people who won't earn money to care how they get gil anymore, as long as they have it. If that means buying gil, I support their decision to do so, because it'll lessen the amount of horrible parties significantly.

In a utopian world, no one would have to do their part to contribute to a party. But FFXI is no utopia. I support people doing what they have to to contribute to my parties, even if what they have to do is buy gil. They're wasting their money, but hey, I don't know them. They can do whatever they want the other 364 days of the year, but as long as they come prepared to EXP and put their whole heart into it while they're there, I couldn't possibly care any less if they have bought gil, have stolen items, have MPK'd people for NMs. It all just seriously doesn't matter to me.

Ethics are out the window. The only true factor in this game is how fast a party gets EXP. Put your morals aside and think about your character, because it's a video game, and you play it to have fun. Go out and fight for your causes in the real world, where your voice could actually help a lot of good things. Leave FFXI for enjoyment and the betterment of your character.

Now default me please, any publicity is good publicity. Agree with me or disagree, I'm just happy people have opinions. :3