Is FFXI Gonna Be More Of A Challenge Again?

Because you agree with the following:

- .01% Drop Rates
- Botting
- Favoritism
- Monopolization
- Ninja Lotting
- Curing + Invincible to turn Fafnir and wipe the whole zone?
- People crowding on top of you to hope to lag you so bad you mess up so they can steal.
- Twice a week Dynamis with non-existent AF drop rates.
- Going to Dynamis twice a week for the sole purpose of building someone's relic, but it wasn't yours.

Have fun with all that.

I began playing at NA release personally. Being a large shell we had members who had started playing anywhere from NA release on up to Xbox, and EU start date.


The majority of us had been doing the events for years, and had come from other end game shells before that one. The ingredients that made it work were the key. A lot of the members were older averaging 24-30's. The shell had a relaxed atmosphere, and a competent leadership team. The only mandatory events were dynamis, and einherjar. However, attendance was never an issue for any of the events, because the group worked well together, and was motivated. We wanted to be there. We enjoyed playing together.

Everyone except a few of the younger members worked, and/or went to school. We looked out for eachother, and xp'd/nyzul'd/salvaged b4 or after events. Having a stable event time for such a long period allowed us to plan our activities like that, and maximize our playtime.

More than anything though what kept us motivated when SE didn't add new events was the HNM's. There was a lively scene for that on Ramuh. We enjoyed the competition with The Afterlife, Pixies, Dark Hearts, and the Japanese HNMLS QV mostly (was a few other smaller ones, but the names escape me atm).

We had members across all major timezones so people were able to pick up the slack, and no one section of the LS got too burnt. While we did all of them SW, and DI were very refreshing when introduced. Those two alone kept us entertained on many occasions. Then Abyssea came along and negated 85% of what we had been doing event, and HNM wise.

While Abyssea had it's good points. A new system to freshen things up. A chance for casual players to get gear that had great effort to reward ratio. It also came with it's share of cons as well. Honestly though I have not enjoyed myself the way I used to with my old group since abyssea, and the level cap increases have disrupted, and unbalanced the game. Voidwatch just isn't doing it for me tbh, and I am skeptical about what is upcoming in the forseeable future content wise. Hopefully I am pleasantly suprised, but I would be lying to say I expect that to be the case.

Well, from what I've heard, most of what you say is false. But if you were really that happy with what you did back then, that's good for you.

For a lot of us, the game had been dying during wotg era. Abyssea and raising the cap actaully put some life back into the game, but instead of keeping good and worthwhile content going 90+, they are going back to 75 stuff with very little new content and and most of the gear from it just sidegrades.

As much as I enjoyed the game pre-abyssea I of course can appreciate what those three expansions did for it. The determining factor in my enjoyment of the game b4 abyssea was due to having a LS that was run fairly, and compentently. While abyssea destabilized large established shells it of course made content available to a larger portion of the playerbase.

I made full use of the abyssea experience. I ran an abyssea shell for ten months. Instead of excluding people just because "lowman rulez dawg!" and that would have got myself, and my officers loot 1st. We accepted, and helped a lot of formerly "Casual" players get their 9/9 boss, and 6/6 Caturea clears while also getting them their gears. That is something I will remember fondly about that era of the game.

My hope b4 they released 99 was that going forward after abyssea had ended they would introduce a new End Game area that was expansive. Like Sky, and Sea were. An area that had a series of T1/T2/and boss sized NM's popped by key items. If that zone was populated by high level targets, and had zero temp items/buffs of any sort it would have been a step in the right direction.

Well, any LS that totally funds a leader's relic(s) wasn't really ran fairly.

Honestly, the best thing abyssea did was take the game away from the herders and the sheep finally realized they can do things on their own without people telling them where to go, when to do it, and when they should be allowed to get rewards for their items.

I'm all for new content, and new events, but I would prefer the events to be able to give rewards to a low number of people, ie 6-12 would be nice. Anything that takes you back to having to have 18+ people just won't fly anymore.

Voidwatch in itself is a really good system, but would be actually better if you just could amass points to get items. Not all the items, just some of them like einherjar.

No, sir. Doing that event 7 days a week for 3 months and later toned down to 5 days a week for 6 months agonizing a very improbable NM pop with even less probable Hikazu sune-ate drop definitely pulls any other positives value from "really great" ratification.

Being able to recap exp without waiting for invite at any period of time. Freedom of doing such was really great.

Salvage was a great event. Drop rates weren't amazing, but nothing else had amazing drop rates at the time.

Limbus had 2 slots of 100% drop rtae on bosses, and some decent drop rate on body slot.

Both bodies in Limbus wasnt all that great. Most of nashira was meh. Homam legs, feet and hands were nice though.

Salvage was great because it didnt take a lot of time, you could be flexable on the times you go, and you didnt need a large group to do it. Salvage was the most fun I ever had.

WOTG gave us very little. It gave us hardly any end game. Capping exp buffer isnt what id call "content"

100 minutes a run for Salvage
vs
30 minutes a run for Limbus

Omega can be killed with as many people as you need to take down LBC. And Ultima could also be done with that many people, but more competent (better gear, better coordination) group.

I don't want to be fixed on the definition of "content". Any battle your group know exactly what to do to win, give or take 3 battles, you will get bored.

What is important to me, by that time, how close I am from getting all the things I want from it? How close are other people from getting all the items they need?
If they can design such system, I'd helplessly can call it nothing but a great system.

Einherjar is the best event I've ever done in a MMO. Short, simple, and to the point, but still difficult enough to keep you on your toes (at 75 anyway). Ichor being guaranteed gave you an incentive to do the event even if you wouldn't get a chance to fight Odin.

I really don't even know why this is a debate, lol. I have no issue with limbus. I said the last great event they made was Salvage. Limbus came before salvage. Doesn't mean I don't think limbus was a good event.

I would agree on Einherjar too. Any system mimicing Assault points and Therion Ichor should be a good system.

Probably the only exception or the "meh" part of it is gathering 18 people together, and some preparation like trading the lamps are the unnecessary time-consuming part or It-can-be-done-better.

Well it wasn't necessary for you to agree or disagree with me on whether Limbus was great or not. I was pointing out how Salvage was a bit pale in comparison to Limbus. The drop system/rate, that is. And hence my disagreement on calling Salvage as a last really great event.

Ok, so in your opinion, Limbus was the last really great event?

I liked salvage because it was rewarding, I could go with people I choose to be around, not people im forced to be around because of a linkshell, and have fun with them while doing it.

While I agree that a ls leader should not *** up everything a shell brings in members/officers who are doing the busywork/organization are surely entitled to a larger share. Obviously there is a happy medium there. LS leaders need to not be unjustly compensated, and regular members need to get a share commensurate with their efforts. Anyone who was part of a LS where that wasn't the case in the past, and bitched about it yet they stayed there. That is on them for not looking for a new shell, or making one themselves.

Eh, I don't really agree that people that choose to run a LS are entitled to a larger share. It was their choice to run an LS. No one forced them to.

I ranked it #1. I would rank Einherjar higher than Salvage, but the item quality/variety are lacking compared to Salvage.

Well if you have the slightest idea that I was being pushed entering the zone I didn't want to go, I must say you're wrong. In fact I have to admit I was pushing BR run almost every time I got a chance to.

Have you ever run one? It is alot of work.

Yes I have and also been a sack in a few bigger LSes as well. It is a lot of work, but it was my choice to do so. Never felt like I deserved more then anyone else.

That was really a reason why people even bother to make an LS. Because they figured they had some sense of "entitlement" because they ran one.

It was really no worse then someone making an dynamis LS, taking all the currency for themselves, while "letting" other people lot relic items.

To not make it sound offensive in anyway, its people like you that made those type of linkshells work.

Oh god sandworm and ixion

By that same logic no one forced anyone to join x,y,z LS. People made their choice to join, and continue in whatever LS they were a part of. No one held a gun to their head. I just get a kick out of people who act like all LS's were the devils work, and there is no middle ground between a LS that works it's members like slaves, and LS's run like a hippie commune.

Just for the record, the drop rate on BR 35s has always been higher than other zone's 35s, even before drop rate increases.

With "bees only popped once in a blue moon" factored in?

nobody's fault youre unlucky, some groups cap out on BR gear they want in 1 run

And it doesn't have any weight to call my experience untrue.

I didnt say it did :D your experience =/= everyone elses though, I personally enjoy salvage tremendously despite what you said so its all opinion

Just saying, LS should be fair, not a monarchy.

Yes,
These are all opinions.
Someone who scored Mekira Meikogai 1/411 have the same right as I do for calling VWNM drop rate is crap. They have all the right to defend their opinion for their experience in drop rate. For me? I can't say the same thing as I scored it < 1/40.

Thing is, the more we see people getting similar experience, we know better how abysmal the actual drop rate is.

a lot of people that bitched about salvage drop rates would do salvage once or twice a week then cry they didn't get a morrignas robe.

I dont think anyone went 1/411 on a bee popping :o