General Discussion

MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently sat down with the folks from Square Enix for a whirlwind tour of the newest Final Fantasy XI expansion, Wings of the Goddess. Today, he posts this report.

Last week, I had my very first opportunity to log into Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XI. For some reason this has been, for quite some time, on my list of games to try, but I’ve just never found the time before. Well, an invitation from the SE folks to participate in a small tour of the new Wings of the Goddess expansion was enough to finally get me to try it out.

First of all, to those of you who may have been in the same boat as I have, I would suggest that at some point you try this game out. Folks who are clamouring for an MMO that doesn’t resemble WoW in terms of the UI and the way that the game is played should certainly take a look.

Read more here.

Final Fantasy in my opinion is the best mmo out there right now. Its slow when you first start and having to quest for everything kinda gets annoying at first, but once you jump over a few hurdles its a really fun game. Linkshells and such make the game an awesome experience plus the fact that you can use a controller. That  comes in handy when your leveling for 10 hours straight and on other games ive experienced after 10 hours crab hands start to set in. If anyone hasnt tried this game yet and i dont know why they wouldnt, give it a go and see what you can make of it.

Originally posted by Stradden

MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently sat down with the folks from Square Enix for a whirlwind tour of the newest Final Fantasy XI expansion, Wings of the Goddess. Today, he posts this report.

The focus of my little tour seemed to be the two new classes (called professions in Final Fantasy) that are introduced, but I’ll come to them closer to the end of the article. 

Read more here.

Actually they're called Jobs!

Extremely fun game though and well worth taking a look if you have the patience to have a good time and don't rely on instant gratification like newer MMOs provide at every turn!

I WANT to like this game soooo much.  I bought it and played it and could see a lot of cool things, but the pace was just too frustrating. 

I like it better than WoW or DDO or whatever, but in those games I can jump on and play for an hour and do something.  My schedule and commitments in life usually only allow me that much time at once to play.  I wonder how people get so much time just to play games like this. 

Originally posted by War_Eagle

I wonder how people get so much time just to play games like this. 

Don't have so many time consuming commitments in real life!  Keep those to a minimum and ur all set!

Originally posted by Katashi-kun

Originally posted by War_Eagle

I wonder how people get so much time just to play games like this. 

Don't have so many time consuming commitments in real life!  Keep those to a minimum and ur all set!

I'm in school right now studying to be a veterinarian.  As much reward and entertainment as I get from playing games, I just can't see setting aside my future like that.  I probably spend 80% of my waking time studying, 10% in class, 9% doing things to take care of myself, and 1% getting to play games.  I think most people are like that. 

I have played FFXI since its inception. There are times when that's all I do and there are times where I don't log in for a week or so. In terms of time spent, yes . . . this game does require a commitment and yes, it is a slow-paced game. But for intrigue, graphical experience, real-time gratification, events, strategy, PvP play, etc. . . this game has it all. It is by far my favorite MMORPG ever made.

I am not one of the younger gamers either, I am a 52-year old female who is, at times, a hard-core gamer. I grew up with turn-based games, I had my own Atari system and even programmed my own games. For all of you who enjoy a challenge and good time, this game is well worth the small cost of $13.95/mo (USD). This includes one character . . . I have 5, which rounds out to $17.95/mo. I can't go to the movies for less than that, and I have more fun with this.

And yes, before I'm asked . . . I have an extremely healthy social real-life. Try the game out.

You do have to be committed in this game to get anywhere but it is well worth the effort. Although finding partys with certain jobs i.e. dark knight for example can be quite frustrating to say the least but all in all its a fun game

That dancer profession sounds really cool... makes me want to sign back up and see if my friends are still playing. >.>

How long did you spend lfg?

WoTG is an amazing expansion, IMO. I love the story... I love the premise... and I love how you get to see many key characters from the present in the past and what role they played in the events of the Crystal War. They're so well developed in the game already that there's actually a sense of nostalgia seeing them as they were 20 years earlier.

Just like in the original story, each of the three nations has its own storyline in WoTG, so for me having started as a Mithra (Impossible to gauge!) in Windurst seeing Perih Vashai (the Mithran Chieftaness and NPC who gives you the Ranger job quest) before she was blind and kicking ass against the Yagudo, or how Ajido Marujido was stirring up trouble even when he was much younger... it's all just so cool.

Of course, seeing how the areas looked 20 years ago - fortresses and walls before they were knocked down and so forth...

And the storyline... Wow. Brilliant.

Yeah... FFXI is a MMO that, by all accounts, is slower and even harder to get into as a new player (I still believe they would do well to create a more interactive new player experience, at least for the first 3-5 levels)... its brilliance lies in its long-term play. If someone ever tells you FFXI is nothing but a shallow level grind... they weren't really playing the game... they were stuck on their own self-imposed treadmill. FFXI is immense beyond description.