Okay, so I'm getting a new laptop (Fun Fact of the day: Black Macs are 200 dollars more. Silly capitalism eh?) and I was going to get FFXI.
But i'm still thinking about it.
Now there's WoW. Obviously, I am not one to jump on bandwagons for things I loathe. Then again, I loathed things like PS2, Starbucks, Sports, and a few of my good friends a while back and well... things are different now.
When I gave WoW the free trial, I was more or less unimpressed. Actually, my first run through with FFXI, I was just as unimpressed. But the difference was I came back to XI the next day. With WoW, I merely let the trial expire, and I moved on.
But this doesn't do the game justice, so I figure, maybe it's time to learn new things. Personally, I don't care if I'm slaying SquareEnix's creations, or Blizzards, don't care if i'm using SquareEnix characters or Blizzard's, but the Job system has been a big point of contention for me.
Even though XI's 18 jobs are outfitted with several issues, you'll learn to love them, regardless. Still, I am curious of what WoW has to offer in this department and what the two are like in comparison. I'm really looking for neutral points, I know FFXI's flaws and advantages, believe me.
So yeah, if you have information, or experience, i'm glad to hear it. Gracias.
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- From FFXI to WoW: Do the job classes compare?
From FFXI to WoW: Do the job classes compare?Follow
WoW has fewer classes, but the classes are infinitely more versatile and customizable. Unlike FFXI, no two are exactly the same.
Basically, each class has talents they select as they level, alowing you to specialize in certain aspects of your class. Talents are seperated into three different trees, each with it's own theme to it. A few examples...
Warrior
-arms: 2 handed weapon style
-fury: duel wielding style
-protection: 1 handed and shield style
Priest
-Holy: healing
-Shadow: damage
-discipline: buffing
Warlock
-Destruction: nuking
-Demonology: demon pets
-Affliction: debuffing
Now, they can do all these things regardless of talents, talents just allow them to enhance what they have.
But as for choosing between FFXI and WoW, take it from a former lv.70 mithra paladin. FFXI is a poorly designed game that only has a really good plot going for it. It just makes you work hard for piddly returns time and time again.
Basically, each class has talents they select as they level, alowing you to specialize in certain aspects of your class. Talents are seperated into three different trees, each with it's own theme to it. A few examples...
Warrior
-arms: 2 handed weapon style
-fury: duel wielding style
-protection: 1 handed and shield style
Priest
-Holy: healing
-Shadow: damage
-discipline: buffing
Warlock
-Destruction: nuking
-Demonology: demon pets
-Affliction: debuffing
Now, they can do all these things regardless of talents, talents just allow them to enhance what they have.
But as for choosing between FFXI and WoW, take it from a former lv.70 mithra paladin. FFXI is a poorly designed game that only has a really good plot going for it. It just makes you work hard for piddly returns time and time again.
Quote:
WoW has fewer classes, but the classes are infinitely more versatile and customizable. Unlike FFXI, no two are exactly the same.
That would be the biggest difference I can think of...
I had a level 73 Blackmage and a level 72 Beastmaster in FFXI. I enjoyed FFXI very much, dispite its flaws. When I first tried WoW, I lasted two weeks into the 30 day free trial, then canceled my account.
I eventually reactivated my account for a second try, when I found out my cousin who is in the military was playing the game. The second time around, I gave it more acceptance, in comparing it to FFXI. I took it for what it was, and now I think it is a much better game than FFXI.
As far as the jobs and class are, I only wish WoW offered more of a choice. I understand its balanceing issues, that they keep the classes to a minimum, but the variety from FFXI was nice.
A lot of job classes in FFXI and WoW, you can draw direct correlations between them.
Warrior - Warrior
Both are highly effective melee DDs, given the right gear. WoW warriors have the advantage of a Rage meter, and a -lot- more abilities to use, making woW's warrior more interesting to run.
White Mage - Priest
Both are the top of the line healers for their game. Whitemage has the advantage in the healing department; they have a wider variety of remedy spells to deal with curses, poisons and the lot. Priest has an edge in damage; A whitemage attempting to do damage in a party is laughed at.
Redmage - Druid
Both are Jack of Trades; both have abilities spanning all classes.
Redmage loses melee viability with higher level, and falls into a specialist Debuffing class. Druids can effectively "be" most classes, but can't compete directly with said classes.
Blackmage - Mage
Both are masters of elemental damage. Blackmage has an edge in crowd control, through use of AOE sleeps. Mage has an edge on crowd control through damage, having AOE spells that don't require you to stay still. Both are glass cannons, and will shatter with an appropriately placed ping.
Ranger/Beastmaster - Hunter
Rangers and Hunters both have the advantage of a strong ranged attack. Rangers have higher damage per arrow; hunters have more special abilities. Beastmasters and Hunters share a mastery over animals, and both control pets that do much of the fighting for him. However, Beastmaster pets are only temporary, and will turn on their master unless properly released from service.
Paladin - Paladin
Similar to what I said about Warrior; these classes are nearly identical, being heavy-duty tanks with moderate healing ability. WoW paladins have a wider spread of combat abilities to use.
Thief - Rogue
Again, similar to Warrior. Identical in purpose; Rogue gets more abilities to choose from, in addition to the whole Combo Point system.
Thief adds a new tactical element to the party with Trick Attack, which fools the enemy into thinking the next attack is comming from whoever the thief hides behind. Crucial for hate control during long fights.
The other jobs don't have quite so direct correlaries drawn for them, but I'm sure if you try hard enough, you can find connections.
However, before you make your decision on which game to play, you should be -very- aware that WoW and FFXI are two very different games. WoW's jobs can be solo'd clean to the last level without too many problems. FFXI is extremely group-oriented, requiring parties of 3-6 players to level, and up to 18 players to do some quests. Endgame for FFXI is tedious, mostly revolving around camping and fighting monsters that only spawn once a day, or worse yet, have 3 day long spawn windows. If not that, then fighting in special zones that you can only enter twice a week, for three hours.
WoW, on the other hand, I hate to say, is populated 80% by people of low standards and quality, many of them runoff and refugees of FFXI who couldn't handle the cooperation required. As a result, you almost can't rely on a pickup party to get the job done, and in a way, this forces you to rely even more on your friends than FFXI does. It's also heavily PVP oriented, which can spawn some horrible attitudes, and e-peen stroking circles.
Sorry for the long writeup. But it's very dangerous to choose one game over the other without an extensive knowledge of what to expect.
Personally, I'm torn. FFXI's party atmosphere is great, and the tactics it requires on a regular basis is refreshing; however, many of my friends have left the game for WoW, leaving me with very little to strive for. And I won't say it isn't a nice change to be able to solo, or duo with my mate.
There's my two cents, and if you bothered to read all of it, I congradulate you. =3
Warrior - Warrior
Both are highly effective melee DDs, given the right gear. WoW warriors have the advantage of a Rage meter, and a -lot- more abilities to use, making woW's warrior more interesting to run.
White Mage - Priest
Both are the top of the line healers for their game. Whitemage has the advantage in the healing department; they have a wider variety of remedy spells to deal with curses, poisons and the lot. Priest has an edge in damage; A whitemage attempting to do damage in a party is laughed at.
Redmage - Druid
Both are Jack of Trades; both have abilities spanning all classes.
Redmage loses melee viability with higher level, and falls into a specialist Debuffing class. Druids can effectively "be" most classes, but can't compete directly with said classes.
Blackmage - Mage
Both are masters of elemental damage. Blackmage has an edge in crowd control, through use of AOE sleeps. Mage has an edge on crowd control through damage, having AOE spells that don't require you to stay still. Both are glass cannons, and will shatter with an appropriately placed ping.
Ranger/Beastmaster - Hunter
Rangers and Hunters both have the advantage of a strong ranged attack. Rangers have higher damage per arrow; hunters have more special abilities. Beastmasters and Hunters share a mastery over animals, and both control pets that do much of the fighting for him. However, Beastmaster pets are only temporary, and will turn on their master unless properly released from service.
Paladin - Paladin
Similar to what I said about Warrior; these classes are nearly identical, being heavy-duty tanks with moderate healing ability. WoW paladins have a wider spread of combat abilities to use.
Thief - Rogue
Again, similar to Warrior. Identical in purpose; Rogue gets more abilities to choose from, in addition to the whole Combo Point system.
Thief adds a new tactical element to the party with Trick Attack, which fools the enemy into thinking the next attack is comming from whoever the thief hides behind. Crucial for hate control during long fights.
The other jobs don't have quite so direct correlaries drawn for them, but I'm sure if you try hard enough, you can find connections.
However, before you make your decision on which game to play, you should be -very- aware that WoW and FFXI are two very different games. WoW's jobs can be solo'd clean to the last level without too many problems. FFXI is extremely group-oriented, requiring parties of 3-6 players to level, and up to 18 players to do some quests. Endgame for FFXI is tedious, mostly revolving around camping and fighting monsters that only spawn once a day, or worse yet, have 3 day long spawn windows. If not that, then fighting in special zones that you can only enter twice a week, for three hours.
WoW, on the other hand, I hate to say, is populated 80% by people of low standards and quality, many of them runoff and refugees of FFXI who couldn't handle the cooperation required. As a result, you almost can't rely on a pickup party to get the job done, and in a way, this forces you to rely even more on your friends than FFXI does. It's also heavily PVP oriented, which can spawn some horrible attitudes, and e-peen stroking circles.
Sorry for the long writeup. But it's very dangerous to choose one game over the other without an extensive knowledge of what to expect.
Personally, I'm torn. FFXI's party atmosphere is great, and the tactics it requires on a regular basis is refreshing; however, many of my friends have left the game for WoW, leaving me with very little to strive for. And I won't say it isn't a nice change to be able to solo, or duo with my mate.
There's my two cents, and if you bothered to read all of it, I congradulate you. =3
I loved FFXI for two years. Had a 75 MNK and 74 WAR along with countless other characters in the mid 30s or higher. I love the group aspect and playing with people all the time helps you to appreciate friends and the "statics" you fall into over time.
WoW is a different kind of drug, gives me the same buzz but in a different way. You aren't really required to party for anything until 60. And most Pick up groups have their fair share of idiots, which isn't all too dissimilar from FFXI. The social aspect so far i find lacking. Even in a good guild people don't seem to be as laid back or social as FFXI, which I miss from time to time.
I even logged into my old character a couple days ago and had to laugh. The economy is overrun with gilsellers and everyone shouts like 3 yr olds. Wow is far superior as far as playstyle and class diversity. And Soulbound items makes WoW's economy steady, while instances makes even gold-sellers seem non-existant.
WoW is a different kind of drug, gives me the same buzz but in a different way. You aren't really required to party for anything until 60. And most Pick up groups have their fair share of idiots, which isn't all too dissimilar from FFXI. The social aspect so far i find lacking. Even in a good guild people don't seem to be as laid back or social as FFXI, which I miss from time to time.
I even logged into my old character a couple days ago and had to laugh. The economy is overrun with gilsellers and everyone shouts like 3 yr olds. Wow is far superior as far as playstyle and class diversity. And Soulbound items makes WoW's economy steady, while instances makes even gold-sellers seem non-existant.
Please take all of these statements about the different communities in each and and how good the party dynamics in FFXI vs. WoWs ability to solo with a grain of salt. It is nothing more than opinion.
Some enjoy the party dynamics of FFXI - some find it really boring to sit in one spot for hours spamming the same buttons
Some enjoy being able to solo in wow - some find it lonely and boring
Some find the group oriented community in FFXI to be tight knit - some find them all to be elitist jerks
Now, on to answer the question: Without going into great detail on what each class is capable of, let me tell you that each class has it's very own feel and play style. No two classes are alike. There are only 9, but all 9 are very different. Every class is far more versatile than in FFXI and very dynamic in terms of what they can do. IMHO, the classes in FFXI seemed VERY 1-dimensional, while each class in WoW comes with a full bag of tricks.
Some enjoy the party dynamics of FFXI - some find it really boring to sit in one spot for hours spamming the same buttons
Some enjoy being able to solo in wow - some find it lonely and boring
Some find the group oriented community in FFXI to be tight knit - some find them all to be elitist jerks
Now, on to answer the question: Without going into great detail on what each class is capable of, let me tell you that each class has it's very own feel and play style. No two classes are alike. There are only 9, but all 9 are very different. Every class is far more versatile than in FFXI and very dynamic in terms of what they can do. IMHO, the classes in FFXI seemed VERY 1-dimensional, while each class in WoW comes with a full bag of tricks.
Think of the WoW classes like this - imagine a movie with nine core characters to follow. Each one gets their fair share of development, they all have unique personalities, and you can tell characters apart just at a glance. In WoW, if it comes down the road at you in black leather with two glowing swords - it's definitely a rogue.
Now imagine a film with 18 main characters. Each one gets little development, some seem too much like each other, they're stereotypical, and some traits are even shared between the characters. Oftentimes you can't tell two characters apart until you squint - is that the smarmy irish fellow or the coy scottish chap? In FFXI, if it's in armor it's either a warrior or a paladin or a ranger or a dark knight or a dragoon or a samurai or a beastmaster or a...you get the picture.
Rest assured that though there are fewer classes in WoW, each one is radically different from the next. In addition, each class can "spec" in one of three talent trees that further defines their role. For example, though your class's name obviously does not change, a warrior that specs protection becomes more of a "guardian" while one that takes the path of fury may develop into something similar to a "berserker" or "barbarian" in other MMORPGs.
Now imagine a film with 18 main characters. Each one gets little development, some seem too much like each other, they're stereotypical, and some traits are even shared between the characters. Oftentimes you can't tell two characters apart until you squint - is that the smarmy irish fellow or the coy scottish chap? In FFXI, if it's in armor it's either a warrior or a paladin or a ranger or a dark knight or a dragoon or a samurai or a beastmaster or a...you get the picture.
Rest assured that though there are fewer classes in WoW, each one is radically different from the next. In addition, each class can "spec" in one of three talent trees that further defines their role. For example, though your class's name obviously does not change, a warrior that specs protection becomes more of a "guardian" while one that takes the path of fury may develop into something similar to a "berserker" or "barbarian" in other MMORPGs.
Warrior = Warrior
Rogue = Thief
Mage = Black Mage
Druid = Red mage
Priest = White mage
Hunter = Ranger/Beastmaster
Paladin = Paladin/Bard
Warlock = Summoner/Red Mage Debuffs
Shaman =/= Ninja. Ninja need their Ninjitsu to durvive while Shamans need their totems. I can kinda see that correlation.
Rogue = Thief
Mage = Black Mage
Druid = Red mage
Priest = White mage
Hunter = Ranger/Beastmaster
Paladin = Paladin/Bard
Warlock = Summoner/Red Mage Debuffs
Shaman =/= Ninja. Ninja need their Ninjitsu to durvive while Shamans need their totems. I can kinda see that correlation.
In reading all of this, I think it is very interesting. In some respects though, even with all of this promise I can't say for certain it makes it look any more appealing.
I picked Paladin (WoW) and even in the only four levels I acquired, I was really inundated with commands and stuff. My character kept on flashing and I had all these abilities I could use and I was just like "Wah?".
My first experience with Blizzard was incredibly positive, it was Baldur's Gate, but in playing WoW It just seemed TOO D&Dish. The simplicity of FFXI grabbed me. I think for every bit of boredom you get out of FF, you'll also find just as much beauty. I mean, it's cool that <Job> has Striking Fire Hammer of Justice but... if it's one of 100 abilities, why should I use it?
Just some points. I am glad I got so much feedback. Thank you all.
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 11:16pm by KPBeta
I picked Paladin (WoW) and even in the only four levels I acquired, I was really inundated with commands and stuff. My character kept on flashing and I had all these abilities I could use and I was just like "Wah?".
My first experience with Blizzard was incredibly positive, it was Baldur's Gate, but in playing WoW It just seemed TOO D&Dish. The simplicity of FFXI grabbed me. I think for every bit of boredom you get out of FF, you'll also find just as much beauty. I mean, it's cool that <Job> has Striking Fire Hammer of Justice but... if it's one of 100 abilities, why should I use it?
Just some points. I am glad I got so much feedback. Thank you all.
Edited, Dec 27th 2006 11:16pm by KPBeta
I came from FFXI (for about two years), and at first I hated WoW and rarely played, focusing far more on FFXI, as I owned both for a few months.
However, I stuck with WoW after FFXI starting wearing off on me, and I started liking it more and more. I cancelled FFXI, and I've been here since.
I did reactivate for a month in FFXI, just to say hi to everyone and see how things were, mostly. I absolutely HATED it after playing WoW for the time I had.
However, I stuck with WoW after FFXI starting wearing off on me, and I started liking it more and more. I cancelled FFXI, and I've been here since.
I did reactivate for a month in FFXI, just to say hi to everyone and see how things were, mostly. I absolutely HATED it after playing WoW for the time I had.
Baldur's Gate is much more like D&D than WoW is. I know when you first start out the character differences are absolutely intimidating, but they do fall into place very nicely and after you get some experience in the game they all feel 2nd nature when you play.
After you lvl up your character and are in game for a while all of those abilities will make perfect sense and will be used very easily and quickly, the action is much more fast paced with your character in WoW so it keeps your interest on screen much better imo.
After you lvl up your character and are in game for a while all of those abilities will make perfect sense and will be used very easily and quickly, the action is much more fast paced with your character in WoW so it keeps your interest on screen much better imo.
Endgame in WoW is far more intereseting and more difficult in WoW too.
Heavily scripted bosses, way faster gameplay, positioning is very important and shifts like no tomorrow. In FFXI i could watch tv and heal (WHM) at the same time, mostly playing by sound, in WoW thats impossible.
And FFXI is sooooo slooooowwwww. I went back after i played wow for 2 months to say hi and i was gritting my teeth on how painfully slow the game actually is.
Together with Reinjin's comments, in conclusion: WoW is a hollywood movie, FFXI is a Japanese movie.
Edited, Dec 28th 2006 4:01am by Sjans
Heavily scripted bosses, way faster gameplay, positioning is very important and shifts like no tomorrow. In FFXI i could watch tv and heal (WHM) at the same time, mostly playing by sound, in WoW thats impossible.
And FFXI is sooooo slooooowwwww. I went back after i played wow for 2 months to say hi and i was gritting my teeth on how painfully slow the game actually is.
Together with Reinjin's comments, in conclusion: WoW is a hollywood movie, FFXI is a Japanese movie.
Edited, Dec 28th 2006 4:01am by Sjans
Biggest difference I find in WoW is that it is much less group oriented. Granted you need groups for instances and endgame raids, but barring those, there is almost nothing you are unable to do solo. As for the actual job system; it is restrictive in some ways, and flexible in others.
1 job per character, unable to change. You can create multiple characters on the same server for free, which also means that you dont run into the problem of carrying multiple sets of armor on one character.
Characters have 'talents' which allow for specialization. These are similar to merit points, but start at Lv.10 instead of at the level cap, and can easily be reconfigured by paying gold. Another form of specialization found in FFXI is subjobs, which are absent in WoW.
As for the number of abilities, I guess some classes get more, some get less; I went from FFXI BLM to WoW Mage, and I find that my spellbook is much smaller than what it had been, when I consider that I would commonly use different tiers of the same spell in FFXI, where in WoW I all but mothball everything but the top. I suppose at endgame, a FFXI warrior would only need a handful of job abilities and a weaponskill to use in a party, where their rage in WoW might give them more options.
I think the first few levels of WoW are a lot like FFXI, in terms of running around killing things. You really have to give it a fair chance, and take your character past level 20 or so, and start to see the world. WoW's storyline lacks the sense of national identity the 3 nation's plots in FFXI could inspire, but each zone in WoW tends to have an interesting line of quests.
1 job per character, unable to change. You can create multiple characters on the same server for free, which also means that you dont run into the problem of carrying multiple sets of armor on one character.
Characters have 'talents' which allow for specialization. These are similar to merit points, but start at Lv.10 instead of at the level cap, and can easily be reconfigured by paying gold. Another form of specialization found in FFXI is subjobs, which are absent in WoW.
As for the number of abilities, I guess some classes get more, some get less; I went from FFXI BLM to WoW Mage, and I find that my spellbook is much smaller than what it had been, when I consider that I would commonly use different tiers of the same spell in FFXI, where in WoW I all but mothball everything but the top. I suppose at endgame, a FFXI warrior would only need a handful of job abilities and a weaponskill to use in a party, where their rage in WoW might give them more options.
I think the first few levels of WoW are a lot like FFXI, in terms of running around killing things. You really have to give it a fair chance, and take your character past level 20 or so, and start to see the world. WoW's storyline lacks the sense of national identity the 3 nation's plots in FFXI could inspire, but each zone in WoW tends to have an interesting line of quests.
First, please read the forum FAQ... there have been MANY MANY topics on this already... in fact normally I just ignore posting in these topics period because of it... However, in this case I feel it is needed to correct some fairly wrong information.
Besides Rhey's post on the classes in WoW the saying you can draw direct comparisons is INACURATE and FALSE. Yes, there are similarities, however saying a WHM=Priest or Warrior=Warrior is just wrong.
For example, on the warrior=warrior WARs in FFXI just sucked at tanking w/o being /nin... and even then only can really come into their own as a tank until almost the level cap when they get Utsu:Ni. In WoW, a warrior is basically a tank from 1-cap, they don't need something from their sub to help them... which, imo, is one of the biggest flaws with trying to comparing the jobs. For DD, both are certainly up there, and both can hold their own. But, for the most part, warrior is purely a tanking class in WoW. In FFXI a WAR is normally wanted for a DD 9 out of 10 times.
WHM=Priest is just even MORE wrong. ALL a WHM can do is heal and buff... that is IT. Oh sure, they do get some minor damage spells, but they are pretty worthless. I mean really, when do you get to use banish or holy? Virtually never. Now, a priest in WoW on the other hand has a bit more verisitility, including some crowd control ability. You even have a benefit to the party if you do some damage through a talent. They also just play totally different... and i've played both so I have some first hand knowledge with that.
Now, again, sure there are some simlarities... and Rhey did some good jobs drawing connections, i'm just drawing a bit more clear line and making sure that you don't go into it thinking all the jobs are basically the same as something in FFXI. The only real similarities is something like
WHM=Healer Priest=Healer
WAR=Tank/DD Warrior=Tank/DD
BLM=Magic Damage Mage/Lock=Magic Damage
ect... similar roles, but NOTHING else really.
Besides Rhey's post on the classes in WoW the saying you can draw direct comparisons is INACURATE and FALSE. Yes, there are similarities, however saying a WHM=Priest or Warrior=Warrior is just wrong.
For example, on the warrior=warrior WARs in FFXI just sucked at tanking w/o being /nin... and even then only can really come into their own as a tank until almost the level cap when they get Utsu:Ni. In WoW, a warrior is basically a tank from 1-cap, they don't need something from their sub to help them... which, imo, is one of the biggest flaws with trying to comparing the jobs. For DD, both are certainly up there, and both can hold their own. But, for the most part, warrior is purely a tanking class in WoW. In FFXI a WAR is normally wanted for a DD 9 out of 10 times.
WHM=Priest is just even MORE wrong. ALL a WHM can do is heal and buff... that is IT. Oh sure, they do get some minor damage spells, but they are pretty worthless. I mean really, when do you get to use banish or holy? Virtually never. Now, a priest in WoW on the other hand has a bit more verisitility, including some crowd control ability. You even have a benefit to the party if you do some damage through a talent. They also just play totally different... and i've played both so I have some first hand knowledge with that.
Now, again, sure there are some simlarities... and Rhey did some good jobs drawing connections, i'm just drawing a bit more clear line and making sure that you don't go into it thinking all the jobs are basically the same as something in FFXI. The only real similarities is something like
WHM=Healer Priest=Healer
WAR=Tank/DD Warrior=Tank/DD
BLM=Magic Damage Mage/Lock=Magic Damage
ect... similar roles, but NOTHING else really.
I don't have much WoW experience, but what I have come to find is the differences in the classes themselves, that make this game stand out to me, compared to FFXI.
In FFXI, it was "expected" of players to have this, or to do that. If you were a RDM without refresh, you were "useless", if you were a melee and didn't have sniper rings you were crap, I mean this could go on and on and on. Basically what it turned out as everyone who played a War, pretty much played them the same way, everyone who played a Sam, played them the same way. It was just a bunch of the same found everywhere.
What I have noticed in WoW is the diversity, even among the individual jobs. I recently ran through VC(Deadmines, an instance, for those that don't know the lingo, to be honest I just learned this not to long ago), with 3 warriors (me being one). Not one of us were even remotely similar.
I am arms specced using a 2-handed axe, the other was Prot specced and using a mace and shield, while the third was fury specced running with 2 swords. I was a vast difference in what each of us were doing as well. Obviously the Prot was the main tank, while I off tanked. The other warrior was just doing as much damage as he could.
I absolutely loved the diversity of the jobs themselves. This to me was extremely great. My MMO experience is not big, I started on EQOA, went to FFXI, and now am playing WoW. So to me there was no diversity with each job. If you ever played EQOA, there was the potential to be different, because you allocated your stat points. However, if you didn't allocate your points into the right stats. God forbid, if you were a rogue and didn't put your points into Agi, you were nerfed, and couldn't do enough damage to be helpful to any groups. So while the potential to be different was there, it wasn't practical. Same thing with FFXI and the subjobs. The potential to be different is there, but it really isn't practical. I mean there are arguements within their forums about how ***/*** can work, but if you have played FFXI, you know that unless you go with a set combination, you will be sitting with your LFG flag up for a very very very long time.
Now WoW jobs have the potential to be very diverse and it is practical. Take my recent instance run. Three totally different warriors, doing 3 different things in the party. Plus there is the whole solo-able factor that adds into play. In FFXI you are dependent on other players, so if you don't fit into thier play mechanics(by choosing a not so mainstream job combo), then you are stuck without a party and thus can't level. In WoW, you can (aparantely I'm not there yet) level solo all the way to end game. So you want to play a warrior with a mixed fury, arms, prot spec. Go ahead you can do it, make it work, and play all the way to endgame with it.
In FFXI, it was "expected" of players to have this, or to do that. If you were a RDM without refresh, you were "useless", if you were a melee and didn't have sniper rings you were crap, I mean this could go on and on and on. Basically what it turned out as everyone who played a War, pretty much played them the same way, everyone who played a Sam, played them the same way. It was just a bunch of the same found everywhere.
What I have noticed in WoW is the diversity, even among the individual jobs. I recently ran through VC(Deadmines, an instance, for those that don't know the lingo, to be honest I just learned this not to long ago), with 3 warriors (me being one). Not one of us were even remotely similar.
I am arms specced using a 2-handed axe, the other was Prot specced and using a mace and shield, while the third was fury specced running with 2 swords. I was a vast difference in what each of us were doing as well. Obviously the Prot was the main tank, while I off tanked. The other warrior was just doing as much damage as he could.
I absolutely loved the diversity of the jobs themselves. This to me was extremely great. My MMO experience is not big, I started on EQOA, went to FFXI, and now am playing WoW. So to me there was no diversity with each job. If you ever played EQOA, there was the potential to be different, because you allocated your stat points. However, if you didn't allocate your points into the right stats. God forbid, if you were a rogue and didn't put your points into Agi, you were nerfed, and couldn't do enough damage to be helpful to any groups. So while the potential to be different was there, it wasn't practical. Same thing with FFXI and the subjobs. The potential to be different is there, but it really isn't practical. I mean there are arguements within their forums about how ***/*** can work, but if you have played FFXI, you know that unless you go with a set combination, you will be sitting with your LFG flag up for a very very very long time.
Now WoW jobs have the potential to be very diverse and it is practical. Take my recent instance run. Three totally different warriors, doing 3 different things in the party. Plus there is the whole solo-able factor that adds into play. In FFXI you are dependent on other players, so if you don't fit into thier play mechanics(by choosing a not so mainstream job combo), then you are stuck without a party and thus can't level. In WoW, you can (aparantely I'm not there yet) level solo all the way to end game. So you want to play a warrior with a mixed fury, arms, prot spec. Go ahead you can do it, make it work, and play all the way to endgame with it.
I played FFXI for a long tme and got a lot of fun out of it. However one of my friends made the following statement which I think summed it up perfectly. "FFXI is a great game struggling to emerge from a crappy community"
That's not to say people on FFXI are bigger morons than certain people who play WoW, both games have their fair share of idiots and decent people, It's just in FFXI, you didn't get to decide how to play your character. The community did. For example, want to play a Summoner? Well in that case yopu sure as hell better sub WHM and be prepared to level as a gimped healer because those are so much more useful in a party than actually using your summons. Want to be a Ninja? Well you'd better blow all your money on tanking gear and tools then despite the job not really being designed for it. Whatever you pick it usually involves levelling another job you're not particularly interested in as a sub, as your character will be severely gimped without it.
There's also far more importance placed on gear in FFXI. A lot of the time, the majority of the community will think you're "gimp" if you havent spent several million Gil on your gear by the time you hit lvl 50. A lot of the time, it's the equivalent of expecting all party members (outside of a raiding shell) to be decked out in epics at all times.
Sure you can go against the flow and try and play your character some other way than is considered "optimal" for an exp party, but you'll suffer from it as you won't get invited into groups, and unlike WoW, in FFXI you'll need a group if you want to accomplish virtually anything.
Although I've just spent the last 3 paragraphs ripping into it, FFXI does have something about it that makes you want to keep playing. Hell I played it 2 years and the only way I oculd quit was to just wipe the game of my hard-drive. And the Linkshells of FFXI do seem to be closer communities than the Guilds of WoW. Perhaps it's a size thing.
Purely on a job classes standpoint it pretty much breaks down like this. If you don't mind being told how to play your class, FFXI is a very good game. If you want to figure it out for yourself, go WoW.
That's not to say people on FFXI are bigger morons than certain people who play WoW, both games have their fair share of idiots and decent people, It's just in FFXI, you didn't get to decide how to play your character. The community did. For example, want to play a Summoner? Well in that case yopu sure as hell better sub WHM and be prepared to level as a gimped healer because those are so much more useful in a party than actually using your summons. Want to be a Ninja? Well you'd better blow all your money on tanking gear and tools then despite the job not really being designed for it. Whatever you pick it usually involves levelling another job you're not particularly interested in as a sub, as your character will be severely gimped without it.
There's also far more importance placed on gear in FFXI. A lot of the time, the majority of the community will think you're "gimp" if you havent spent several million Gil on your gear by the time you hit lvl 50. A lot of the time, it's the equivalent of expecting all party members (outside of a raiding shell) to be decked out in epics at all times.
Sure you can go against the flow and try and play your character some other way than is considered "optimal" for an exp party, but you'll suffer from it as you won't get invited into groups, and unlike WoW, in FFXI you'll need a group if you want to accomplish virtually anything.
Although I've just spent the last 3 paragraphs ripping into it, FFXI does have something about it that makes you want to keep playing. Hell I played it 2 years and the only way I oculd quit was to just wipe the game of my hard-drive. And the Linkshells of FFXI do seem to be closer communities than the Guilds of WoW. Perhaps it's a size thing.
Purely on a job classes standpoint it pretty much breaks down like this. If you don't mind being told how to play your class, FFXI is a very good game. If you want to figure it out for yourself, go WoW.
SynnTastic wrote:
In WoW, you can (aparantely I'm not there yet) level solo all the way to end game. So you want to play a warrior with a mixed fury, arms, prot spec. Go ahead you can do it, make it work, and play all the way to endgame with it.
That works, but only to a certain extent... once you hit 60 for a few classes whichever spec you chose can get you into a situation just like in FFXI with gear... but rather talents (well, and gear with some people/groups... mainly those who do the spec thing too)
For example, very few hardcore raiding guilds will accept a shadow spec'd priest... same for anything but a Prot Warrior. Beast Mastery hunter? Forget about it. Druid, Shammy, Pally? Healing spec or gtfo.
Though some of all the class off-specs are proving to be more useful then they were before, it is still VERY limited space wise for said off-specs. Now, that isn't to say that all the guilds require that, and those are really the more hardcore raiding guilds. The point is that while it isn't as widespread as in FFXI, there is a fair amount of requiring something come endgame. It just depends on who you fall in with, and how hardcore you want to play.
Ok, my basic 2c on the class issues in comparison. It's hard to compare them, because classes in WoW are more like templates. Really, I could compare nearly all the classes to redmage.
What defines each class are 1) play style (this has a moderately large impact), and 2) talents. It's hard to describe talents from an FFXI perspective. It'd be a bit like getting a merit point every level after 10, but to balance that out 1/4 of your class traits are merit based instead of just given. What's this mean?
Druids - These are the easiest to compare. They are ALOT like blue mage. Your talent spec (equivalent what spells you've learned and sub your using) determines alot about your role, but you still have the ability to change roles relatively on the fly.
Hunters - This is also pretty simple. Combine beastmaster and ranger.
Mages - everyone compares mages to black mages, but I disagree. I'd say closer to a hybrid of rdm and blm (no healing, but the offensive power of a blm combined with the crowd control powers of a red mage). UNLIKE XI, WoW expects AoE to be needed in a number of situations, and in those situations the mage is god.
Paladin - Combine paladin and bard. You have tanking power and healing, combined with party buffs and a group aura buff. Not much experience in this one, but that seems to be the main of it.
Priests - This one's obvious. Whitemage, if spell skill level didn't exist (ie whm nukes weren't a joke). They can also spec shadow, turning them from healers to little dps/curse machines :).
Rogues - Thief + Samurai. They excel in getting the jump on the enemy and surprising them with a barrage of swift brutal techniques. You can also throw a little ninja on there, as they are also the masters of getting out of harms way (though they can't tank, as getting away from harm usually means leaving everyone else to fend for themselves)
Shaman - This would be the closest to rdm. They do a little of all magic, have self weapon buffs, and can cast the equivalent to the spike spells. Also, throw a little bard on there, as they get totems that perform group buffs.
Warlocks - Picture beastmasters if beastmasters could permanently tame a demon. Combine that the redmages raw debuffing power, and add in the black mage's DoT spells. Also, throw in any other DoT spells you can think of from any other class, cause the warlock in the god of DoT. 'Locks may not cause the big booms, and they are pretty puny by themselves, but their technique lies in cutting everything down to their size.
Warrior - This one is pretty straightforward. Same versatility that the war SHOULD have in XI (if people let them have it), with a good bit of the "TP building" feel of samurai.
What defines each class are 1) play style (this has a moderately large impact), and 2) talents. It's hard to describe talents from an FFXI perspective. It'd be a bit like getting a merit point every level after 10, but to balance that out 1/4 of your class traits are merit based instead of just given. What's this mean?
Druids - These are the easiest to compare. They are ALOT like blue mage. Your talent spec (equivalent what spells you've learned and sub your using) determines alot about your role, but you still have the ability to change roles relatively on the fly.
Hunters - This is also pretty simple. Combine beastmaster and ranger.
Mages - everyone compares mages to black mages, but I disagree. I'd say closer to a hybrid of rdm and blm (no healing, but the offensive power of a blm combined with the crowd control powers of a red mage). UNLIKE XI, WoW expects AoE to be needed in a number of situations, and in those situations the mage is god.
Paladin - Combine paladin and bard. You have tanking power and healing, combined with party buffs and a group aura buff. Not much experience in this one, but that seems to be the main of it.
Priests - This one's obvious. Whitemage, if spell skill level didn't exist (ie whm nukes weren't a joke). They can also spec shadow, turning them from healers to little dps/curse machines :).
Rogues - Thief + Samurai. They excel in getting the jump on the enemy and surprising them with a barrage of swift brutal techniques. You can also throw a little ninja on there, as they are also the masters of getting out of harms way (though they can't tank, as getting away from harm usually means leaving everyone else to fend for themselves)
Shaman - This would be the closest to rdm. They do a little of all magic, have self weapon buffs, and can cast the equivalent to the spike spells. Also, throw a little bard on there, as they get totems that perform group buffs.
Warlocks - Picture beastmasters if beastmasters could permanently tame a demon. Combine that the redmages raw debuffing power, and add in the black mage's DoT spells. Also, throw in any other DoT spells you can think of from any other class, cause the warlock in the god of DoT. 'Locks may not cause the big booms, and they are pretty puny by themselves, but their technique lies in cutting everything down to their size.
Warrior - This one is pretty straightforward. Same versatility that the war SHOULD have in XI (if people let them have it), with a good bit of the "TP building" feel of samurai.
ff11 is horrible imo. You have to work much harder than wow and get less in return. You waste so much time looking for partys or camping or farming money its just boring and a waste of time. WoW makes you do questing, instead of mostly repetitive grinding like ff11. In ff11 some classes are better than others, in wow its just preference they all are decent soloers and fighters. In wow any one can group, you can have 5 preist and it would still work well. So no waiting for certain classes. You can use food to heal.
I played ff11 for about 6 months or more, ive been playing wow for about a month and a half.
I played ff11 for about 6 months or more, ive been playing wow for about a month and a half.
Quote:
For example, want to play a Summoner? Well in that case yopu sure as hell better sub WHM and be prepared to level as a gimped healer because those are so much more useful in a party than actually using your summons.
ROFLMFAO... hit the nail with that one!
Sub
...my kids call me Mary Poppins.
Cry me a river, build a bridge over it... jump in and drown.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h175/SupremeTrollKing/subarcana.jpg
...my kids call me Mary Poppins.
Cry me a river, build a bridge over it... jump in and drown.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h175/SupremeTrollKing/subarcana.jpg
deadmanxzxz wrote:
ff11 is horrible imo. You have to work much harder than wow and get less in return. You waste so much time looking for partys or camping or farming money its just boring and a waste of time. WoW makes you do questing, instead of mostly repetitive grinding like ff11. In ff11 some classes are better than others, in wow its just preference they all are decent soloers and fighters. In wow any one can group, you can have 5 preist and it would still work well. So no waiting for certain classes. You can use food to heal.
I played ff11 for about 6 months or more, ive been playing wow for about a month and a half.
I played ff11 for about 6 months or more, ive been playing wow for about a month and a half.
I didn't post this for XI critiques. That's not really what i'm looking for. I am more than willing to go back to Remora and I know there are many people who will accept me with open arms.
Whether you like it or not, XI is the fourth most played MMO on the market. That level of popularity isn't achieved by just being pretty and Final Fantasy. People like it and they continue to play it so just take it as it is and deal.
Yea because honestly, FFXI vs. WoW has been beaten into the ground on these boards and the FFXI boards. Everything has already been discussed a billion times.
With that said, KPBeta, it is almost inevitable that trash talk will enter into this thread. For some people it's really hard to resist whenever the topic of FFXI comes up over here.
With that said, KPBeta, it is almost inevitable that trash talk will enter into this thread. For some people it's really hard to resist whenever the topic of FFXI comes up over here.
I've played both FFXI and WoW for over 2 years now. In a few days I will be cancelling my FFXI account and giving the items on it away as it is not fun to me anymore. But enough about that I'll try and compare the jobs for you.
WoW has 9 jobs total: Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Paladin, Warlock, Warrior, Shaman, Mage. Final Fantasy XI has 18 jobs, which I'm not going to list. Lets do some contrast and compare.
Druid - Supporter healer or support damage dealer. Depending on your spec. Druids end game are mostly forced to heal, and can even main heal with the right spec and gear. If I had to compare them with job from FFXI I would have to say RDM/BLM. Not quite healer, but not quite DD.
Rogue - Though argueably with a fury warrior, the highest DD in the game, but unlike a warrior they can shed hate very easily. This class compares to THF and NIN on FFXI as their evasion is very very high and they can "dodge" tank if they pop evasion on lower instances.
Priest - I shouldn't have to explain this one, given Shadow Priest can do good damage. This is a WHM from FFXI.
Hunter - RNG/BST/SMN/DRG/COR/PUP all rolled into one. You use mostly ranged attacks and use a pet to help you attack. You can train your pet to learn new abilities as it levels and your ranged attacks hit quite hard. This class, however, really has no end game defined roll as of yet besides the "puller". (hence the DRG part) I also say Corsair, because Hunters can give AoE buffs(Trueshot aura, aspect of the pack etc) while doing ranged attacks.
Paladin - Paladins from FFXI and paladins from WoW are similar, but they're rolls are a lot different in each game. WoW paladins have incredible buffs, and mostly heal and support damage deal. FFXI paladins are the, imo, best tank class in FFXI and have the ability to heal themselves to build more threat/hate. FFXI's paladins are a little more limited as they really can push out big numbers with WS's as WoW's new Retribution paladins. Paladins from WoW could also have a little mix of Bard in them from FFXI.
Warlock - The DoTer of the game. Massive DoT damage and have a pet to help them fight as well. RDM and BLM are they best compared to this. They can also make healthstones and manastones, and also soulstones which allow the targeted player to resurrect when killed.
Warrior - PLD and WAR. PLD because they are the main tank of the game, and WAR because they can deal out some huge damage as well. Warriors either tank or DD, and have no in between function. This was my first 60 and I liked it for a while, but they're such gear dependent class it was very hard to push out numbers with out spending a ton of gold on gear.
Shaman - The support class for the horde, and in 3 weeks, another support class for the alliance. They can deal spell damage, melee damage, or heal while buffing party members with totems that they drop. Really, they're even more of a jack of all trades class than Druids, but this could be argue'd. BRD/SMN/WHM/RDM/BLM/WAR all rolled into one, IMO.
Last on my list Mage - The spell nuker. Heavy heavy damage, light armor. BLM/SMN(pet spells) are really the only two classes I could directly compare this class to.
I never used SAM, DRK, or MNK as they are not really clearly defined in WoW. Welcome to WoW though. If you want, feel free to create a character on Vashj. I mostly play on a character named Wafflez until TBC.
WoW has 9 jobs total: Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Paladin, Warlock, Warrior, Shaman, Mage. Final Fantasy XI has 18 jobs, which I'm not going to list. Lets do some contrast and compare.
Druid - Supporter healer or support damage dealer. Depending on your spec. Druids end game are mostly forced to heal, and can even main heal with the right spec and gear. If I had to compare them with job from FFXI I would have to say RDM/BLM. Not quite healer, but not quite DD.
Rogue - Though argueably with a fury warrior, the highest DD in the game, but unlike a warrior they can shed hate very easily. This class compares to THF and NIN on FFXI as their evasion is very very high and they can "dodge" tank if they pop evasion on lower instances.
Priest - I shouldn't have to explain this one, given Shadow Priest can do good damage. This is a WHM from FFXI.
Hunter - RNG/BST/SMN/DRG/COR/PUP all rolled into one. You use mostly ranged attacks and use a pet to help you attack. You can train your pet to learn new abilities as it levels and your ranged attacks hit quite hard. This class, however, really has no end game defined roll as of yet besides the "puller". (hence the DRG part) I also say Corsair, because Hunters can give AoE buffs(Trueshot aura, aspect of the pack etc) while doing ranged attacks.
Paladin - Paladins from FFXI and paladins from WoW are similar, but they're rolls are a lot different in each game. WoW paladins have incredible buffs, and mostly heal and support damage deal. FFXI paladins are the, imo, best tank class in FFXI and have the ability to heal themselves to build more threat/hate. FFXI's paladins are a little more limited as they really can push out big numbers with WS's as WoW's new Retribution paladins. Paladins from WoW could also have a little mix of Bard in them from FFXI.
Warlock - The DoTer of the game. Massive DoT damage and have a pet to help them fight as well. RDM and BLM are they best compared to this. They can also make healthstones and manastones, and also soulstones which allow the targeted player to resurrect when killed.
Warrior - PLD and WAR. PLD because they are the main tank of the game, and WAR because they can deal out some huge damage as well. Warriors either tank or DD, and have no in between function. This was my first 60 and I liked it for a while, but they're such gear dependent class it was very hard to push out numbers with out spending a ton of gold on gear.
Shaman - The support class for the horde, and in 3 weeks, another support class for the alliance. They can deal spell damage, melee damage, or heal while buffing party members with totems that they drop. Really, they're even more of a jack of all trades class than Druids, but this could be argue'd. BRD/SMN/WHM/RDM/BLM/WAR all rolled into one, IMO.
Last on my list Mage - The spell nuker. Heavy heavy damage, light armor. BLM/SMN(pet spells) are really the only two classes I could directly compare this class to.
I never used SAM, DRK, or MNK as they are not really clearly defined in WoW. Welcome to WoW though. If you want, feel free to create a character on Vashj. I mostly play on a character named Wafflez until TBC.
The above post reminded me that the only thing I'll miss from FFXI are Mithra. >_>
If Mithra were in WoW, I would have quit FFXI over a year ago.
Philana wrote:
Druid - Supporter healer or support damage dealer. Depending on your spec. Druids end game are mostly forced to heal, and can even main heal with the right spec and gear. If I had to compare them with job from FFXI I would have to say RDM/BLM. Not quite healer, but not quite DD.
Don't forget tanking. I have read that in the TBC beta, at level 70, druids are asked to tank a lot of the 5 man instances, as they are apparently the best at a lot of the encounters.
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