Beating a dead horse: For or against a single classic serverFollow

While I know this horse has been beaten past the point of death, I figured it might be worthwhile to gauge the community's opinion on the topic of classic servers, now that the new expansion has been out for a little bit. Some people enjoy the direction this expansion is taking the game, some people despise it. I've seen people mention the name Tanaka alongside of the new director recently, comparing the direction this new director is taking the game compared to the direction Tanaka had taken it.

With that in mind, do you think there's enough interest in old-school XI to warrant a single classic server? Do you think a single classic server could maintain a healthy population, along the lines of what most servers are at now? Quite a few ex-XI people that I've talked to speak fondly of the older days, criticizing the direction that the game has taken. They've mentioned that if a classic server were implemented, they would return to the game in a heartbeat. This is an upwards of around thirty or forty people that I myself know. Imagine how many more people out there feel the same way.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that despise Tanaka and his direction, dismissing any notion that the older days were better than they are now as just pure nostalgia. Rose-tinted glasses or not though, it does seem like there's enough interest out there to warrant at least a single server. Will it happen? Probably not, I'm not here to try and convince anyone that there should be one or have any delusions that there could one day be one. I'm more or less just interested to see if anyone would be interested in one, hypothetically.

Edited, May 26th 2013 8:45pm by nekroturkey

Well said, I partly feel the same way. Although I enjoy FFXI in its current form, and while it's much more accessible than it once was, it still feels like a shadow of its former self (unavoidable given its age). I returned to the game about a year ago, but debated with myself before doing it. I wanted to return because I missed the game, but I missed it as it once was and not as it is now. I knew that if I returned, it wouldn't be the same. I'm glad that I did return, but I was right about it not being the same. I'm still having fun, but it's not as memorable as it used to be. More than half of the zones are empty, and the focus has shifted from the journey to the destination. It's all about getting to the cap as fast as possible now and grinding end-game.

I think the game would benefit greatly from a single classic server myself. It would be a nice alternative, and between the new expansion, it would help to bring in new and old players alike.

Classic is what and when again? Before which nerfs or buffs? Or do you want to go waaaaay back, to before CoP was released, when there was no real endgame.

"Classic" is a vague term that roughly means "when I was having fun, before X happened and certainly well before Y!" with X and Y varying between everyone. It's a form of nostalgia-chasing, and not what I'd call healthy.

That was my observation. FFXI was never about end game for me. It was about everything leading up to end game. It was the experience of inhabiting a beautiful hostile world with other people and struggling through it together. It was about discovery and adventure. It wasn't a gear treadmill like every other post-WoW MMO. Not to knock people who like that of course. I've actually played a fair bit of WoW and several WoW-likes, I just never found any of what I loved in FFXI in them.



My ideal would be for SE to implement an EQ style progression server. Basically release everything as it was at launch (it's debatable whether that would include Zilart or not, but a moot point for purposes of speculation) and then over a few years trickle out the newer content as the community at large on that server masters what's available. That's not to say they couldn't include some conveniences from day one, like the changes to storage and level syncing, that have removed a great deal of unnecessary pain in the neck from the game.



Oh, don't misunderstand me. I'm not knocking it at all. In fact, I'm sure if I invested the time in reaching that content (which I understand is an easy task these days) I'd quite enjoy it. I simply found it a bit jarring to find all my old haunts abandoned and an apparent emphasis on leaching from level 30 to 99 to get right into end game content. I'm giving some serious consideration to jumping back in and giving the new content it's fair shot. I just miss the game I grew up with and would love an opportunity to experience it again.

That is the reason i´m not going to come back to the game, everything is just end game end game end game (besides, i don´t have any friends playing the game anymore), i mean, i understand, lot of people enjoy the so called end game, i never found an interest in doing end game stuff at all, in fact i never did any, to me it´s just optional content.

And i would really like a classic server. I´ll reactivate my account if they made one.

I agree. In some ways Aby and massive alliance book burns have ruined the game. People just don't explore take their time to enjoy playing and meeting new people.

Oh noes! Faster experience, the most pointless aspect of the game (gaining experience), has RUINED THE GAME! THE HORROR! It isn't the separation and issues surrouding SoA, Voidwatch dying, or anything else. NO! People are able to get experience quicker and it has obviously ruined the game.

Melodramatic much?

And for those of you who state that FFXI was never about endgame... what the hell are you smoking? Meripos, endgame events, running BCNMs to fund endgame gear (or outright GETTING endgame gear from them)? Just because some of the content used to be level capped doesn't mean it wasn't aimed of working towards endgame. The *entire* goal of RoZ, CoP, and ToAu was endgame events. Sky was endgame, Sea was endgame, Salvage was endgame, Nyzul Isle was endgame, land HNMs were endgame. Even Assaults, which had the option to level sync down, had gear (at the time) was was BiS for a LOT of classes. As crappy as it was even ANNMs were endgame driven. The reward for every single expansion storyline was endgame gear.

What part of the game, outside of LEVELING, wasn't endgame driven again? Simply because you personally were content to stick it with slow experience parties doesn't mean it wasn't endgame driven.

Take off the rose colored glasses, plox.

@TopicCreator

No, classic servers, especially in the context of FFXI, is a stupid idea. Why? So you can go back to getting 4K an hour in some nostalgia driven obession that somehow the game was better with no travel options and nothing to do but level various jobs? Because if you're going to go classic you need to go pure vanilla and that means no expansion.

Enjoy your level 50 cap.

Edited, May 27th 2013 4:31pm by Viertel

Well, it kind of did.

Gaining experience and levels is an event that everyone benefits from. Every levelup makes you stronger, and makes you FEEL stronger. And the occasional gaining of new abilities, and job traits, and spells, opens up new ways to explore the job. You can equip new gear, even if it's just AH trash, its a new look. For me, at least, it was a therapeutic experience to gain levels and explore the new power that came with it. Nice. Made me feel useful and smart. And, as long as I kept at it, I'd always get rewarded.

But if you remove all that, and can get from 1 to 99 in a day or so, all that's left to do is to stand around and wait for the next endgame shout, or struggle through starting your own. No guaranteed chance of leaving town, let alone getting a new toy.

I mean, why have levels at all if that's how it's gunna be? Why not start everyone with level 99 stats and remove the entire concept of levelups and experience points and all that.

While of course any game is going to eventually come to a point where you've reached the "end" of the main content up to that point, FFXI itself and a good chunk of its player base was a lot less about racing to the cap and grinding out instances than most of today's MMOs. And while many of the events people did were a form of progress in one way or another, a lot of players took a lot longer to really take in the experience of the world as a whole along the way.

I remember for a very long time, being able to see players of all levels on my linkshell lists, and at any given time usually only a fraction of them would be focused on leveling up. The rest would be helping each other with quests, or fishing, or crafting, or mining, or even sitting in their mog house talking with each other. Most people I knew only leveled up in spurts, and didn't make it their sole purpose in game to do whatever it took to hit the cap so that they could repeat the same events indefinitely. I know I can't have been alone in thinking this way, because everywhere I went for a good while, there seemed to be other like minded people. I could find people all over the place throughout the world participating in various activities. Moreso than hitting the cap and playing the same small portion of content over and over, the majority of this game was once spread across the other 95% of the entire game. Cheesy as it may sound, Vana'diel felt alive, and it's understandable that some of those who appreciate what FFXI was would prefer that style, much like some who prefer the modern MMO trends are likely to dislike FFXI pre-abyssea, and especially pre-ToAU.

Granted, I'm not quite sure if a classic server could ever bring back what people loved about the original FFXI, so I'll leave that for others to discuss. But I can say that at the very least the thought of having a game like FFXI used to be isn't a bad one.

Edited, May 29th 2013 4:32am by Susanoh

I feel compelled to reply to this.

For me, this game was about leveling jobs and doing things on the side. Leveling was my way of progressing, because people that were glued to endgame had a much harder time leveling. So while they were progressing their character with gear, I was progressing mine with subjobs, flexibility, and more higher-end options. Now I can no longer keep that concept, because leveling is so easy now and endgame doesn't really slow it down. Endgame weapons have turned from "This cheap AH weapon is acceptable" to "Empyrean only" to "Delve weapon only." Before my Ninja could use a Fudo and a Senjuinrikio, which were both easy to get. Now such simple-minded weapons would be shunned.

I never liked nor enjoyed most endgame activities. Some of the smaller group oriented ones were fun (Nyzul), but I never liked the large group oriented ones as I felt my presence was insignificant. There were a plethora of things to do. Get maps, grab a few friends and get top end gear (Joyeuse, Sirocco Kukri, OPTICAL HAT, etc), run avatars for the 60k/day or for people that needed them, run city missions, CoP events (ENM30, ENM50, etc), CoP Missions, BCNM's, KSNM's, merits as they took a while to get. KSNM's had the "500 WS Point" weapons, which were some of the best for some jobs back then. Most of the stuff I mentioned is pointless to concern yourself with now.

I also kept leveling fun, as I tried to level in odd areas (Rolanberry instead of Qufim for example), and they usually worked. I even leveled outside and inside Castle Zvahl. Purgonorgo Isle in Bibiki, Beaucidine Glacier, Sanctuary of Zi'Tah, etc. I kept the sense of adventure alive and most people were actually very interested when I told them where we were going.

I had all jobs in the game to level 37 before ToAU came out, and that was a feat almost nobody had.

For me, the peak of the game was the last 6~ months of the CoP era, and the first 6~ months of the ToAU era. I have now drifted away from this game. It wasn't because I found a better game, because I ragequit, or because I kept telling myself "how bad it got". I simply stopped playing one day and never went back. If they would open a "classic" server that was during the "good times" for me, I probably wouldn't go back. The effort and time I poured into my character was priceless and something I wouldn't be willing to do again.

Edited, May 29th 2013 12:50pm by Zafire

Edited, May 29th 2013 12:51pm by Zafire

Viertel there is no need to be rude! Everyone has a right to their opinion. I finally gotten my COP quest done and I have my ring. People that hateful and ugly are just showing how they feel about themselves. I also hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth of yours.

Well said Pawkeshup. Whenever people reminisce about the good old days and about how the game has been ruined, I always try to remind people that while the game has changed immeasurably, the playerbase has changed even more so. The introduction of faster XP via Abyssea and Grounds of Valor cannot even compare to finishing school, finding a career, or starting a family. People long for the good old days but those days are gone.

Aside from that, you can't introduce 22 jobs while capping xp at 4k an hour (or 5k holy balls we're making 5k an hour). It would take months just to level a single job, and that would be silly.

LadyVaJedi and Viertel, both of you calm down. I don't care if the comments were meant to be rude or not, the way you two are arguing now is unnecessary, and I want you both to stop. Keep to the subject at hand and stop this squabbling like little kids.