Please, stop making new content! (c/p from SE forums)Follow

The "rush to endgame" mantra is an unfortunate elephant in all MMOs, but it's a bit disingenuous to imply that there is nothing for lowbies to do if they wish to take a more laid back approach. If anything, FFXI is far more generous in the allowance of PLing and higher people helping without forced syncing a la GW2 or even old CoP. Lack of new players can be considered a problem, sure, but there's only so much an aged game can manage on top of some potentially archaic policies that won't change for whatever reason. XI simply doesn't meet many of today's MMO standards. Some say that's what makes it unique, but some will also say that makes it bad.

As for things lowbies could do...
- Level their first job to 18 and acquire their subjob.
- Level first job to 30, unlock all advanced jobs.
- Level all subjobs, potentially to 49.
- Do quests in all nations to build fame.
- Chocobo License.
- Chocobo Raising.
- BCNM 20, 30, 40, 50.
- Eco-Warrior.
- Garrison.
- Collect Outposts, Maws, and Telepoints.
- Get Kazham Pass.
- Quest ninja and teleport scrolls.
- Level crafts and fishing.
- Get Airship Pass.
- Get to Rank 5.
- Get RSE.
- Get up to Chapter 3 in CoP.
- Visit monuments, collect maps.
- Camp some NMs and/or farm some gil.
- Expand your Gobbie bag and Mog Safe.
- Decorate your Mog House.
- Level you NPC.
- Participate in seasonal events.

...and probably more. Are some of those things "dead" or have steep manpower requirements? Yes. But the time for fixing them was years and years ago when the manpower requirements weren't an issue. Old school parties aren't going to rejuvenate the game. Newbies scattered over a dozen servers aren't going to seem like a big deal when they can't connect without cross-server tech. Bluntly, you want to kill the game even more quickly.

"There are better games out there..." might not be the answer you want to hear, but it's ultimately rooted in the flaws of XI and why those other games become more appealing to people who don't want to stick around. I'd also take a moment to point a finger at the crotchety old vets stuck in their ways in making the game a less welcoming experience come endgame.

So, instead of taking things away with the assumption it'd magically make new players come, why not propose new ideas to make new players come? It's only recently that SE has started doing special campaigns. I'm of the mind they need to do a lot more of such things, including free times for old players to peek back in with free access to Adoulin for the duration. Otherwise, I can't figure out what you're expecting to come of this.

Again I agree with you. Your first comment sums up the mentality of a lot of the player base in FFXI now vs then. That is also a large cancer that is killing this game as well. The only way to fix that is to have more fresh blood to counterbalance the "crotchety vets stuck in their ways". Not many people now a day even take the effort to welcome new players to the game. When my LS was up and running before SoA (and after it for a tad) it seemed like the only LS in existence (or the only one that was actively shouting invitations so players can learn the ropes of the game).

As for "magic" I've been in the MMO and MMORPG industry for a very long time. I've seen what works and what doesn't. I am not an expert with a degree but I have played MMOs from Ultima Online and RPGs back to the text based Zork. Giving new players immersion in the game world (the kind of immersion I speak of is... is the kind that allows new players to help vets accomplish the same events or at least contribute in some sort of way). There should be no feeling of worthlessness in a MMO when you are new. A MMO is a dynamic community and when a person feels like they don't effect that community or are worthless in it, they just leave and play a single player version.

Lets use an example to describe this (a poor one but it can get the point across). Campaign battles in WotG. If WotG was the starting area with low level mobs all around the zone but high level events happening during a campaign battle you could include new players in so many ways. Due to the statics of FFXI we all know a low level player has no chance to help anyone in a battle situation in the main fight, however, the devs could say... make a small number of support enemies appear of low level that are in the large expanse of the zone. Maybe they can be triggered by clicking on a ??? that pops a level 20 set of mobs with a level cap on. The lower level players can defeat them and as a reward maybe say... the high player group could get extra buffs or even more treasure chests and a much increased loot pool due to the actions of the newbies. The newbies in turn could get gil or items appropriate to their level or even synthing loot that can be sold at the AH that can help high level players. In this way you sort of have a harmony of new and old players working together as common goal.

In order for this to work, the rewards need to stay up to date with the new content and not be left in the dust with now worthless items like that are in garrison and the like (in terms for higher level players). That way there is no need do design a mentality around needing to be a certain level to help your friends. A low level player feels like they are leeching from your higher level buddies at best. There should be someway for them to interact and return the favor. Without this, it gives a bad vibe to the game and doesn't make new players feel welcome among the rest of the population.

This is only one example... if you wish to have more... I could go on but this was the simplest one I could think of off the top of my head that could demonstrate such a thing.

In closing FFXI didn't need to trash the leveling system to remove the barrier between player interaction. They just needed to incorporate it into their existing format. As of now, the leveling system looks like a complete failure after they butchered it. If anything... if they intend to keep it as is, they should just remove as it serves no real purpose now (which is sad). Just look at 14... yes it is a WoW like game... too much from what I have experienced but at least they have a working level ladder system for NEW players despite having a lot of high level legacy players still around.

Such things are possible, just so many people feel content to throw in the towel and watch as this game dies due to lack of an infusion of new players. I've seen this far too many times in far too many games... once you lose the influx of newbees, your player base will plummet to the point where the game is no longer profitable to the company and they close the doors to the game. I just don't want to see this happen to FFXI and given it's current trend, it is headed that way. In the MMO world this is the slow silent death.

It also saddens be to see so much talent leave SE's doors of late (take the creator of the FF series.. or the designer of the chocobo... even Tanaka was a valued resource in moderation. Many people laughed when their comments for leaving, among many reasons, was the lack of creative freedom. It's happening a lot in SE... people thought it was just PR hype talk, but have you seen Hironobu Sakaguchi work of late? It is really out of the box and has been getting rave reviews. Maybe SE is suffering some sort of internal crisis, I dunno but when the people you fire, outshine your company, you really need to re-evaluate your business strategy. There are so many few head Square staff members left now. Might as well call the company Enix. :(

I only wish Sakaguchi could (I know it is impossible) retain some sort of creative license to the Final Fantasy Series... must like an author does to his novels but game creators don't get that luxury. I would so have liked to see him create another game with FF staples (like chocobos for instance)


Edited, Jul 10th 2013 12:15pm by Prrsha

All I see are posts that are too long to make a point.

Good writing doesn't ramble.

As Dr. Strunk said almost a hundred years ago, "Omit needless words."

And for good reason! Actually, it was my high school AP US History teacher that made us listen to All Things Considered at least for an hour, once a week, and then write a summary of one of the stories we heard.

Write a short story, with mystery romance and drama.

"I'm pregnant! Who is the father?!"

Or every episode of Maury.

Sure if your goal is to simply graduate high school. This leaves you prepared for a career in the military. Some people want to go to college so they can get a degree, then move off to something else, like university or career path. Or to the military where they become commanding officers of the guys who took general courses in highschool. (assuming they join the military in the trained profession.)

Edited, Jul 11th 2013 10:32pm by rdmcandie

You're so adorable! There are other classes between general classes and AP classes. I took all Honors classes from the 6th-12th grade. AP classes aren't generally worth the effort in my opinion. (see below)

Also, I would argue that most "commanding officers" took general classes in high school.



Don't get me wrong, if you're a "genius" who doesn't have to do the ton of homework or can get it done very quickly, then go for it. The problem I have with certain classes, especially AP classes, is that the difficulty of the class often surpasses the actual college class. For me, instead of busting my butt with a ridiculous amount of work with high expectations, I would rather take it easy on *both* ends with "guaranteed" A's. Results in doing less work with higher GPAs.

I "audited" AP spanish in high school just to fill a time slot and didn't either try to pass the exam. I think I got a 1. I thought about taking the CLEP for Spanish in college, but took the easy A instead. I literally took 1/2 a page of notes for both classes combined and aced them with no problems, increasing my GPA.

I would only suggest taking AP classes if you have an issue with paying for your classes or the time to take them.

Edited, Jul 12th 2013 1:47pm by Almalieque

That wasn't an excuse because idiots took an example as a promise.

Well, I admit I gravitated towards the science AP classes and skipped the arts ones. I passed both AP Bio and Chem with 3's; didn't end up doing Physics because I'd basically had enough at that point. Skipped AP Calc, Spanish, and the weird humanities ones. Those would have been a ***** and 3 was pushing it already; to your point, there WAS excessive homework.

That example should not have been made if there were no plans to implement it. That's just bad form.