New player, please help me make the choice FFXI or FFXIV?

tensay

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Hi all,

I have been playing FF for 20 years now and each of the series instalments have a special place in my heart. Now with 2 kids, it is hard to play video games as much as I used too, but I find it a good escape to let mind roam free.

I really would like to experience that immersion, role playing and collaboration that you can find in MMORPGs. While I don't have much time to dedicate to it, I would still love to have that alternative world to live in and escape to.

I played FFXI for about a month back in 2006/7 and I have great memories of it, I also have FFXIV, but never played it. Now I have a choice, should I go with a good ol FFXI which servers might be quite empty now or should I go with XIV?

The graphics are not so important to me, I am much more focused on the ambiance, the quality of the players, the experience, the universe, the lore, etc. Can anybody share their experience of either of those games? That would help make a decision.

Thank you
 
I can't give you much input on FFXI, but Soulcorruptor might have some insight on that one.

Personally, XIV is very engaging, you can easily catch up when you fall behind, and there is plenty to do when you're caught up. There's servers that have the more dedicated Roleplaying players on there, (can't remember at the top of my head which those are, as I don't do it myself) but you also have a status you can set to RP.

I think XIV has a lot to offer with Endwalkers (new expansion pack) coming out later this year, it's gonna be no secret things will be buzzing a little more again in the XIV world.

So I'd personally say XIV. Do some research on what the RP heavy servers are. I wanna say Balmung, but don't quote me on that. ;) Considering you already have the game, it's a monthly subscribtion, you can always sub for a month see if you like it still, if not, just back to XI.
 
I haven't played XI in many years and I know things have changed, but there's no way to play that game a couple hours here and there. It's just so much more involved. It can be more rewarding, but that's because of how much you have to put in. XIV is cleaner, more user friendly, easier to meet your goals. The gameplay is more modern, requires less attention, is visually spectacular, and it's the focus of the developers.

XIV can often feel like choreography, it's more about mechanics of a fight than it is about playing your role. XI you are literally staring at the chat scroll, timing your abilities in your mind and not really focused on movement.

XI was an amazing game in it's day, whereas I would only call XIV "good". It's like classic cars vs modern ones though. The classics are beautiful and romantic, but in reality the modern ones are superior in every way.
 
I see, thanks for both of your responses, it just makes me want to play both.
However, because the commitment will probably be more important in FFXI, and because there will probably less people to play and interact with I'll probably go with XIV for now.

But who knows, I still have a Lvl 18 warrior in Bastok from back in the days, so I might give it a try if it isn"t deleted.
 
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Good luck, tensay You might get some other responses still over the upcoming days, but whatever you decide, I hope you have a good time!

Welcome to the forums, btw! ;)
 
As the others have noted both games do have their pros and cons to them. When it comes to XI I have another question for you as well, do you want to play the vanilla XI or not? When I ask this do you want to play the retail version and have everything that XI should have available to you. If you don't care about missing out on some expansions and the two jobs offered from Seekers expansion I would suggest looking at this thread , https://www.finalfantasyforums.net/threads/so-who-wants-to-play-xi.64209/. It's a free version of XI that is run on a private server and has a good community there, people are nice and friendly so if you're looking more for the close knit feel and as you said quality of players this may be a good decision for you. Now while one thing on that list has changed recent with MotM, everything else functions the same. So at least it's not as much of a time sink and grind as retail XI.

However if it's more about the time aspect for you and also wanting to feel a sort of accomplishment, as well as having a larger group of people for the more MMO experience I would then suggest XIV over XI. I know you mentioned tat you choose XIV as of right now, but if you decide to check out the link there with Supernova at least you have a free one to try for XI and wouldn't have to worry about a monthly sub.
 
Welcome to the forums! :argor:

Yeah, I believe they made FFXI a lot easier to solo and that now and it still has a healthy (albeit small and shrivelled) fanbase. To this day they are still adding little updates to the game.

Myself, I stopped playing that well over ten years ago. I only really played it in earnest for a few months before the difficulty (this is before they nerfed the game) hindered me. I didn't fancy waiting for hours to gather a party to hunt some crabs only for one person to need to head off for lunch just as we were finally ready to do it, an hour and a half later... And when you died you actually lost EXP back then, etc.
I've been meaning to do what Soulcorruptor suggests above, but I haven't had time to commit to it lately.

In the past year I've revisited the game by watching a YouTuber called Korvana. This person recorded her journey and uploaded the entirety of the game's cutscenes and all expansions, including some alternate scenes. It has been invaluable to me in my research for various articles here, and I've learned to appreciated FFXI's story in doing so, despite its sometimes convoluted and self-contradictory nature. There's a lot in this game which eventually finds its way, reworked, into FFXIV and I can see its influence on the upcoming FFXVI too.

FFXIV is what I have played and loved in the past couple of years. And I really love it. It is truly on par with FFVII, FFIX and FFVI to me (my favourites in the franchise). I truly care about the story and its characters. The main issue with it, and it is quite a bit issue, is that the core storyline of A Realm Reborn is by many considered to be a bit generic and nothing to write home about, and there are a lot of fetch quests and back-and-forth which put so many people off before they get to enjoy the great stuff. Once you get towards the end of the patches for ARR and then move onto Heavenward, the game becomes a classic.

The lore is fantastic!

If you do give FFXIV a go as you say you are keen to, just know that it gets better than it seems at the beginning. There may be some characters which seem irritating or unremarkable at first, but as you play the expansions they'll become part of your family, essentially. You'll be naming your dog after them and all sorts.
 
Hi all,

I have been playing FF for 20 years now and each of the series instalments have a special place in my heart. Now with 2 kids, it is hard to play video games as much as I used too, but I find it a good escape to let mind roam free.

I really would like to experience that immersion, role playing and collaboration that you can find in MMORPGs. While I don't have much time to dedicate to it, I would still love to have that alternative world to live in and escape to.

I played FFXI for about a month back in 2006/7 and I have great memories of it, I also have FFXIV, but never played it. Now I have a choice, should I go with a good ol FFXI which servers might be quite empty now or should I go with XIV?

The graphics are not so important to me, I am much more focused on the ambiance, the quality of the players, the experience, the universe, the lore, etc. Can anybody share their experience of either of those games? That would help make a decision.

Thank you

It's my responsibility to reply because FF14 fused into my very soul.

I haven't played FF11, mind you...

Speaking as a person who knows what nostalgia means firsthand, let me just tell you that there are MANY MANY key moments, all climaxes, in FF14 that will plant the seeds of nostalgia into you for years to come. Square-Enix threw a ton of money and time into the game and it shows. Honestly, the only thing about it that is categorically bad is that the further up you move into the expansions, the less Final Fantasy it gets and then starts taking on an odd foreign feel. But that's okay. It's not like it's a good idea to have chocobos and moogles as a permanent theme on all of them.

Play the base game, A Realm Reborn, and then decide if it's the game for you. I guarantee you, it just gets better at that point.

I will refrain from speaking about "fun" and "gameplay" since you strike me as a person who cares more about the story and characters.
 
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