Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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95 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dont listen to the other reviews, March 12, 2004
By A Customer
First of all, I've played this game since its release, and still do. I am above level 60 out of 75 levels. Most of the people who are writing negative reviews dont seem to have spent anywhere near enough time playing this game to properly review it.
Firstly, exp is not hard to get at all in this game. I see alot of people complaining that it is, I have no idea why. The first 10 levels of this game are the hardest you'll face, because most people solo, and its hard to party. You'll gain about 20-72 exp per kill, and need about 2000 exp to level. The good thing is, a death below level 10 will not set you back far, and its fast to recover your health and keep fighting.
Whoever said you can only gain 600-900exp a hour in a party, best case scenario, is WRONG. What the heck? That is ridiculous. I have had parties where I have gained 6000 exp in an hour, and this is above level 50, where it takes 10,000 to level. I remember gaining 2-3 levels in one sitting, above 50. Exp is very easy to get, in fact you'll find yourself interested in doing other things besides exp'ing, because its easy to just go back gain levels some other time. On a bad day, it might be hard to get into a party, but the game is so well-designed, you can just put your seek flag up, and do other things while you wait for a party, like craft items, or kill monsters for loot, or quests or missions.
Their is a very deep storyline in this game, that whoever said this game has no story obviously did not know about. You have to talk to the NPC's and townspeople! The story is hidden, you have to work to bring it out. The game pits 3 nations against each other for control of each area in the world. when you create a character, you choose which of the 3 nations to join (can be changed later if you want).
All in all, I've read alot of negative posts on here, and I think that these people just played one or two times, couldnt get past level 5, and gave up. I'll admit it takes a bit of work, but once you solo your way to level 10, the game will open up, and you'll have LOTS to do. I find myself constantly busy on the game, doing many other things besides leveling.
Just stick it out until you reach level 10, and the real game begins, because its easy to get a party, and everyone helps each other. By the way, maybe the negative posters did not know how to play the game well, and thats why they couldnt get parties or do well. It takes some common sense to play, but its not like you have to be a genius to know how to listen to someone's advice. You might find yourself not making friends if you act inapproitate.
And to the person who said you need to have HTML skills to make macro's or shortcuts... WHAT are you talking about? This game is very simple and easy to play, from the first day on, it has a great interface, easy to use, just set your keys to whatever feels comfortable.
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110 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A view from a former MMORPG Player, October 16, 2003
This will give you an idea of how the game plays. Even though I explain it from the view of someone that has played an MMORPG before this game is easy to learn. If you are new to online games this is a great start.FFXI in Japan has really gained a lot of popularity. It's been out over a year now. There are 20+ servers with over 2k players on each server during prime time. Just as much or more than EQ had for its time. When you start the game you choose from 6 different classes. Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage. Really all this choice determines is the few newbie items you start with though. You are actully level 1 of each class. You can change classes at any time in your home town. Each class levels seperately from the other classes. So you could be a level 7 warrior and decide you would like to try a mage and start at level 1 with that mage. You lose nothing for switching. At level 18 you get to have a subclass. If you don't have a subclass you will suck. As you gain level your stats go up. You get your subclass level at 1/2 your main class level. Unless you have not leveled that class up to that level. You get all the abilities that class gets and access to all spells. You don't get the super ability of that class. Super Abilities can be used once every 2hr. This is stuff like 30 sec invincibility. 30 sec 100% evade. 30 sec infinate mana. 45 sec 100% crit hits. 30 sec no spell cast time. You also get a % of the stats your subclass has. Between 30-50%. So You can me a white mage/warrior. Warrior/monk. Thief/black mage. Whatever you like. You can change this at any time. So if you decide your subclass has stuff you like more you can switch that to your main class. At level 30 you can do quests to unlock 9 more classes. Bard, Ranger, Dark Knight, Palidan, Beastmaster, Ninja, Samurai, Summoner and Dragoon. Leveling is similar to EQ. Even con solo gives 100 exp. 2 man group each person gets 70. 3 man group each person gets 50exp. So it's definately best to group. At level 40+ it you can get about 1 level a day. At level 50 you can doa quest to unlock the cap to make it 60. Currently the cap is 70. Death = 10% exp loss. 2.5% if you get a res. It's DAoC style death. You lay there and can watch the action. You have 1 hour to get a res. When you go back to your homepoint (stones in towns/guards in land you control bind you) you return with all items on you. No coin loss. No bad effects. There are quests similar to EQ quests. bring me 4 bat wings bla bla. These are great for making cash early on. You can sell 4 bat wings for 40 gold or turn them in for 150 basicaly. There are missions that raise your rank (some items are only available to higher ranks)
This is the story behind the game. This is unlike any other mmorpg. There is no real story line you follow in current games. PoP story is kind of a start. PoP story isn't something that you started at level 1 though. The FFXI expansion lets you continue the storyline. It's not just some random new land that was discovered. There is no PVP. There is a land control system. Each week it is reset (the monsters take it back over) By killing stuff in the zone and turing crystals in from the mobs you gain "Conquest points" These help determine who owns the land and you can spend conquest points on some nice items. PvP may be Added sometime in early 2004. There are raid type mobs that take 9-18 people to kill. Some of these bosses sound nasty. 1+hr fights. Stuff that triple attacks and takes main tanks to 50%-10% life in one round. Kills any caster in one round etc. These are fought with "Alliances" Most I've seen are 18 people. You see everyones lifebar on yourscreen at once. There aren't really guilds. You get an item called a linkshell. It lets you talk to anyone with the same linkshell. you can own multiple linkshells. The one you talk in is determined by the shell you are wearing. Your charecter can be in EQ like "bazaar mode" all the time. There are also auction houses in town that let you enter an item and min price at which you will sell. Players then enter an amount. If it is higher than your min they get the item. These transactions are recorded for the public to see. So you can get an idea for the going rate of the item.
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134 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Graphics are great and play is fun and involving, November 14, 2003
First, that reviewer from Iowa who was complaining about the graphics is dead wrong. That person must have a slow PC or poor graphics card. The graphics are awesome on my Althlon XP 2400+, Radeon 9600 PRO. I turned up the game resolution so now the menus are smaller and don't take up so much space on the screen. You CAN use a gamepad as long as you program it using the configuration tool. I use my gamepad for most of the playing and when I want to chat, I just go to my keyboard and start yapping away. I also use the keyboard to target Party members in battle since it's easier (I'm a White Mage so most of the time I am curing or protecting in battle).Also, I think the fact that walking from place to place takes a long time and that the game is a bit slower paced is a good thing. It makes it feel more epic. Let's face it, role playing games are not supposed to be fast paced anyways. I'd rather have a game that will last a year or more than one where I can "beat it" in a month. Also, there's so many activities and quests to do in this game. I'm currently trying to increase my skill in clothmaking so I make gloves, hats, and clothes to sell. It can be frustrating at times to have to go out and collect the items you need, but in the end it adds another layer to the game, not just going out and fighting monsters for "world peace". Plus, finding people to party with isn't all that difficult, as long as you can bring something to the group. Fighter-type people should strive to excel in fighting skills and get the best armor and weapons. Mages should go and buy all the magic they can. Finally, when in battle, people must "play their role". Fighters are supposed to fight in the front lines and engage the enemy directly. Black Mages are supposed to stand back and cast attack spells using the correct element. White Mages are supposed to restore hit points, cure poison and paralysis, and always make sure Protect and/or Shell is cast on every single Party member at all times. Mages also need to learn when to cast or when to conserve MPs. This being said, finding a party is easy. In any case, I think this is one of the most involved games I've ever played. It's also one of the best, graphically and musically. The world of Vana'Diel is also one of the largest in size I've ever played (it takes like 10 minutes or so to cross the town running full speed). If you have a decent PC and you like RPGs and online games, get this one!
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