((Totally rare, Out of Character post. Will probably be deleted later.
Where have all the good players gone? Is it because I switched servers? Or is it because the game has honestly lost of them?
I'm not talkinga bout good players as in, good equips/does their job. Those people are wonderful and I sure as heck want them in my parties but my mind is elsewhere today.
Where did the people who actually liked this WORLD go? Not the game. Not the level grind, not the mechanics, not getting uber gear but Vana'diel. Did people like that ever exist or has it always just been me? :(
Am I the only one who can spend a good chunk of time just sitting in Windurst Woods watching people come and go, just enjoy spending time in this beautiful, engaging world, playing a character that I enjoy?
Do you ever FEEL like your character? Do you ever think "Who is the person I make run around all the time? Where are they from? Why did they choose this job? It's sad to know that nearly no one else thinks that.
I enjoy reading people's journals. The really well done ones remind me why I LOVE this game :D But then I get into the actual game... and I have to hope from LS to LS because one is too busy talking about midterms and making ignorant drug jokes and the others are silent. And people named Weedpimp run past you. I'm having the hardest time finding friends.
Is it because everyone who remains in FFXI are jaded? They've played so long that they don't notice? Maybe all the people who still enjoy the game are all high levels now and so have no contact with lil' ol me? Or did all the people who enjoy a good RPG leave? It makes me so sad.
This wonderful game has so much potential. I wish I could enjoy it in the manner that it is meant to be. I wish I could find a group of people who are happy exploring, slaughtering goblins and hunting rare items because they want to. Not because they have nothing better to do, or to achieve the next level of leetness.
I want to keep loving this game. Coming back has reminded me why I loved it. But it's also reminded me that for as wonderful as the game and world is. The fan base can really, really suck. ))
posted by Ainilome @ 11:32 PM
11 Comments:
Part of my disenchantment with the entire endgame mentality (a disenchantment my friend Neyla shares) is that it seems like people get to Lv. 75 and forget about everyone who isn't 75.
If it comes down to a choice between camping King Behemoth or taking some Lv. 25 character around to get Kazham keys, Neyla and I don't have to think very hard about which we'd rather do. Missions and exploration are fun.
Hell, one of the things I love about being a fisherman is that it takes you all over Vana'diel. I've never tried catching Zebra Eels, but some day I'll get the courage to go fishing in the Den of Rancor so everyone can say "That taru is craaaaaazy." -- Halifirien @ Travels in Vana'diel
As i was reading this post, I was sitting with a 'ru friend of mine on the stairs from lower jeuno to upper jeuno. Just sitting...(being trampled by several galka) listening to the conversation and watching people. I do think that.. it is the people that bring the bad things into this game. There is constant arguments, rude comments for no real reason, shouting matches wherever you go... I dont know if people have simply lost respect for the game, or just for each other. I love meeting new people, and more then that, I love to help people accomplish things they want done. To me, its much more fun then anything else in the game. I'm glad to have met you Pahya! I am glad you have come back to Vana'diel! Welcome home^^
I hope you don't delete your post, because I think it makes a valid statement.
I started thinking the same thing a few nights ago, staring alone at the huge waterfall in South Gustaberg, and wondering what to do, where to go, what to explore. I needed quiet, and unequipped my shell for the first time in years.
I've been here for so long but feel like I've seen so little. And I'm just not sure where to go next, where to take this game. And I don't know many explorers in any of the groups I frequent.
I've reached a bit of a plateau for my character, a level 60 Elvaan Warrior by the name of Frohike (yes, I'm an X-Files fan >.>) If you're familiar with that job, you'll know that at 59 you've reached a point where you're basically required to wear one of the only must-have pieces of gear for Warriors in the game: the Haubergeon. It is also the most expensive piece of gear I've been required to wear; around 9-10 million gil on Ifrit.
After months of farming & crafting, and finally getting the Hauby, and grinding my way to level 60, I was ecstatic! At first. And a day later, I was just bewildered and tired, and wondering what I could do with this newfound level that doesn't involve an EXP party.
And I'm still wondering... I've been puttering lately. That's the best term I have for it. Leveling alchemy, chatting, haphazardly joining an expedition to Oldton Molvopolos, farming slime oil. I feel retired already, like my Elvaan has aged pre-maturely and just doesn't have the urge to take up the axe in battle anymore. I've lost any feeling of a quest I'm pursuing. And that just doesn't feel right to me.
Anyway, pardon the rant. I'm sure I'll find something. But it's good to see that other folks are also getting annoyed at the meta-everything approach most players take to the game. I want immersion again.
Terry: In the past few days, watching the movements of my LS of which about 60% are 75+ I've come to adtribute the "No one exists who isn't 75" to a very large social/game design flaw. The inherant need to join a seperate linkshell for whatever activity you want to take part in.
I've played many an MMO, and gotten to a few endgames. Example: WoW. I was co leader of a decent sized guild. We were social and RP mainly, but we belonged to an alliance of smaller guilds that provided a solid, talented safe pool of endgame people to draw members from when needed.
I think the ability to switch your LS at will, and the lack of customizable /channels in FFXI leads to people ditching the friends they leveled with for 75 levels for "uber leet OMG endgame". How many times have you heard "I have to hang out with my HNMLS now... but I don't want." in your LS chat? Feh.
Kortie: I <3 the Kort! I don't gather that you roleplay much, but if you ever want to hang out in character or even semi-incharacter with Tai and I you know where to find us :D
Paul: Thank you very much for your well worded reply. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one :( May 5th will be my two year aniversary of picking up this game, and I'm constantly struggling to find ways to pull myself more into the world, especially when the game mechanics of level grind/farming/demand for awesome gear to me.
As for your WAR, I always find it refressing to take an offical break froma job when it gets old. Grab a level one, call it your new calling and pretend you're a newbie :) If it only lasts a week when you pick up your axe again maybe you'll feel better. Best of luck to you
I think everybody gets disenchanted with the game every once in a while, so I wouldn't worry too much about things.
I myself have contemplated hanging up my wand (er, Elemental Staves) several times already, but finding something worthwhile to give back to the comunity in my campsites blog has given me a new project that keeps me around for more, and with a somewhat renewed vigour in getting six people together to bash (blast) heads in.
In all honestly, I'm very uninterested in what the endgame has to offer. The only endgame activity I choose to partake in anymore is Dynamis, but even that is badly designed imo. It's a lot simpler and relaxing without it, to be honest. ^^
I will agree with Tuufless. I got tired of endgame, it seems to bring out the worst in those "anyone below 75 doesn't exist" people. The only "endgame" I really do is Limbus, and because the small 18-man linkshell consists of people that actually use the correct punctiation when they type.
I think what keeps me in the game is my FFXI husband. Within the last year alone, I have done more exploration (and exp loss) than I ever have playing alone or in an "HNM LS." Finding that person that shares your same interest in VANA'DIEL and not leetness helps a lot.
I've also played a lot of text-based games where the GMs strike you down on the spot if you ever speak out of character. I tried to recreate that in the websites I've built for my Taru, but that ambition is usually crushed by the mundaneness of FFXI. So now I just try to keep to my little blog. But it's nice to see that people like you are still out there!
If you want a good in-character blog to check out, go look at Kimiko the Furball, most of her posts are very detailed. She puts a lot of thought into them.
P.S. I will be adding your blog to my links! Never realized yours consisted more of than just monotonous entries about rare/ex items you've gotten lately. Keep it up!
Oh hehe, didn't even look at your links, Kimiko is already in there! Good taste. XD
/ma Blindna Strawberrie
^^
I am currently on a year long 'vacation from the game'. I havnt quit so much as been spending some time re-discovoring the joys of fishing, and actually listening to the chatter of small social linkshells. I've been finding mroe and more wayward souls among the farming crafters open to roleplay than in the hard core grind to the top. Seventeen times is it now? Is that what it takes to be 'the ultimate player'?
I'm on Leviathan, and skilling fishing. I've been chatting with all the passengers whenever I'm there (and cowering below deck when horror spawns), and more of them remember 'that guy who talked like he was part of the game' than 'that doofus in the rusted sublingar'. Stats will come and go, but characters...
Lately I have been feeling huge waves of sadness every time I log into the game.
You ever notice that the vast amount of people will not even acknowledge your existence? You're like a ghost, or a mannequin in a department store. They examine you to check out your gear...sometimes over and over again...and even if you bow or smile, they ignore you. Most of the time I laugh about it, but some days it makes me angry.
In a game where you really can do NOTHING as a solo player except craft, why does one always have such a feeling of isolation? Even people who partied together the night before often do not exchange even the briefest of greetings when they meet the next day.
When I first came to the game, I loved it. I could not wait to log in daily. I even dreamed of being in Vanadiel when I went to sleep at night. Nowadays all I feel is frankly sad. The lustre has worn off badly. The only friends I have are level 75's I met through my boyfriend...and they sure cannot party with me! Guess it's time to move on.
I have no clue why they call this a roleplaying game. How many players have you ever met who made even the most primitive effort to roleplay? Heck, these guys cannot even be bothered to emote a smile.
Sorry for what must seem incoherent babble. You guys are wonderful, and I love your attitude. Maybe I can learn something from your approach :-)
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