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nobody@vox.com(hero) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:41:22 -0700

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FFXI.

nobody@vox.com(hero) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:06 -0700

The top six things about Final Fantasy XI that I abhor.

Grinding. The grinding in this game is more arduous and time consuming than in any other game I've played.
Partying. The game has no tolerance for people that wish to play solo, especially early on in the game when it's a pain in the ass to get parties (in my experience, at least). I believe the only class that's suited for that is Beastmaster, and that's a job you can only get once you reach level 30 and complete a quest.
Too many servers. If you happen to know someone that plays the game, there's a good chance they won't be on the same server as you. Oh, you have family that happens to play the game? Too bad. You're on Siren and they're on Unicorn. Friends? Tough shit, they're on Fenrir.
Death penalties. I'm sure some people like this, and find it challenging, but if you're someone that isn't "hardcore" into MMORPGs, and are just playing casually, then this is enough to make you want to quit. Leveling up is a hard enough process as it is, and there's really no reason why it needs to be made even more difficult by having us lose EXP when we die, thus, resulting in the threat of leveling down. One bad day can result in the loss of a level which is several hours down the fucking drain.
Unpopular classes. Last time I played, there were a few classes that no one seemed to want in their party (the two that come to mind are Dark Knight and Dragoon). I'm not sure if Square-Enix has fixed this, but for a game that's so heavily focused on partying, you'd think every class would have its place in a party. Dark Knight was the class I wanted to play as before the game came out, however, I soon found out that no one really wanted Dark Knights in their party.
Terrible economy. The last time I played the game, the economy was absolutely fucking ravaged. I couldn't even afford some low level equipment from the auction house for my Warrior. It was ridiculous, and ultimately what made me quit. No point in playing if I can't afford to outfit my character.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these things have been fixed since I last played (2006), however, I'm sure my biggest issues with the game (death penalties, partying, and grinding) are still pretty much the same. If Square-Enix were to make the game a bit more "casual player" friendly, then I would probably consider playing again. However, until then, I probably won't be wasting the money.

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FFXI.