Predictions and Expectations
-So I know nothing about the plot of this game. I expect it to have typical FF stuff – chocobos, moogles, aeons/summons/GFs, tonberries, etc.
-I’m reasonably sure the setting is high fantasy.
-I assume it has a job system where I play as a warrior or thief or red mage or whatever. No idea how creative they got with it, like if they included the jobs like time mage and samurai and chemist. I’ll bet there a couple like that at least with how many expansions there have been.
-However, I have played a ton of MMOs. EverQuest (“EQ”), World of Warcraft, Rift, many others. I remember hearing that FFXI was very similar to EQ, while FFXIV is similar to World of Warcraft. So there are a few expectations I have related to it being like EQ.
-Probably a grind-based leveling system, where most of my experience is from just killing stuff rather than questing.
-Probably tough to solo, but also probably doable. Early on, only a few classes in EQ could level up but eventually they introduced a system that let you “molo” – basically, solo with a mercenary, an NPC you could hire. I’d be surprised if FFXI hasn’t introduced a similar system to facilitate soloing.
-Crafting probably is difficult. It was always easy to build crafting professions in WoW while leveling, but veeeery difficult to do so in EQ. I’ll explore it and try it, but won’t sweat it too much. It’s likely the kind of thing you do if you have cash to burn, which I won’t.
-Raids are likely a thing, and likely not a thing I’ll do. This brings me into my next topic:
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How I’ll Tackle an MMO
-This will likely feel WAY different than my prior FF playthroughs. There will likely be less of a central storyline to follow, and more just… doing things around the world? That’s my guess.
-I tend to prefer soloing, especially given my hatred of spoilers. Some groups are okay, but I don’t play to join the raiding scene.
[Quick note: I’m always happy to chat in game if anyone wants to say hello, but tend to solo whenever possible. Not always, and especially in a game like this there are probably lots of things that require a group, but in general I tend to stay solo.]
This will likely preclude me seeing or finishing a lot of main story things. If there’s a 40 person Bahamut raid, I’ll never see it. If there’s a raid to take down the Queen of the Chocobos to finish some main storyline about the chocobo invasion of [insert random kingdom in FFXI], I probably won’t see it.
-So I’m adjusting my expectations and goals.
-If it’s like EQ, there will be a general world story but not, like, a main quest line. I am not sure if this is the case or not. Maybe there will be a story, and maybe it’ll even be soloable. (But I doubt it.)
-So I’m going to try approaching FFXI a bit differently than other games. I’m going to go into it as an explorer. I want to see what the world and game has to offer. Play, kill, wander, try stuff, explore. See what FFXI is about.
-I don’t have a particular endpoint in mind. I’ll end it when I feel done. Maybe that’s 30 sessions in, maybe that’s 100 sessions in, maybe something else entirely. We’ll see.
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Starting Up
-A technical note to start: setting up an account and logging in was a pain in the ass. I bought it on Steam, had to create a Square Enix account, had to then create a PlayOnline account, and then had to link the Square Enix and PlayOnline accounts using a long code I got from the Steam purchase.
-But all that’s done!
-The game gives me a nice little warning about the addictive qualities of this game.
-A fair warning from what I know of MMOs.
-This message also tells me the name of the world of FFXI: Vana’diel. Sounds like something from Tolkien’s Elvish.
-The music on the log-in screen is a variation on that classic Final Fantasy rising and falling scale. Not sure how to describe the variant.
-There’s something on the screen about “Migrating to the Windows version.” From my time in the MMO community I know that FFXI is in maintenance mode and was shut down on whatever other systems it was on. This must be for players to transfer their console accounts to PC.
-There are lots of other things on this screen like a game guide and compendium, but nah. Let’s just dive in.
-Oops, one more barrier. I need a content ID, something I guess that proves I meet the minimum computer specs? …no, it’s to buy character slots. I buy just one. I don’t intend to use alts.
-Aaand another round of updates. A slow start.
-Oh! I see. I just downloaded the start of the game. I have another 6 hours of downloading ahead of me. Time for bed.
*the next day*
-Oh great. More tech issues. This time I’m getting something freezing my computer (“DirectPlay?”) when I try to log in, but a Google search tells me that I can solve this by checking some kind of legacy setting in Program and Features.
-VICTORY!! I made it in. By the way, it sounds like I’m annoyed by this and I am, but it’s not unexpected. It’s an old game, and old MMO, and it’s par for the course.
-The video quality of the title screen is grainy as hell. The config menu doesn’t offer the option to change resolution, and when I try to tab out it crashes the game. This can’t be right.
*Googles around a bit*
-OH! The real configuration menu is in a totally separate program I have to hunt for and open. I’m able here to adjust my resolution and allow a windowed mode. Good.
-To my shock, it also lets me set up a gamepad. It shouldn’t have shocked me. I know that FFXI used to be playable on some kind of console, so it makes sense. I’m just so used to MMOs being incompatible with controllers. I’m excited to try this.
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Character Creation
[Non-rhetorical question for y’all: there was an intro movie that started playing with a close up on a crystal. I skipped past it because I assumed it’d be one of those “SHOW ALL THE AWESOME THINGS TO COME TO HYPE YOU UP” trailers rather than a story-setting intro. Is this right? Should I watch this movie because it provides key backstory, or avoid it if it shows spoilery stuff about characters and combat and gameplay coming up?
I’m erring on the side of caution for now and not watching it.]
-As I wrote earlier, I have to hope that the game will be generally solo-friendly. We’ll see. If I’m super wrong, if I can’t do shit solo without one of a select few jobs, I’m open to rerolling as a new character so I can progress without relying on others.
-I remember hearing about something Will Bailey mentioned on The West Wing called the “veil of ignorance,” the idea (John Rawls I think?) that you’re supposed to create a society based on the idea that you don’t know what kind of person you’ll be. What your race is, your gender, your likes and dislikes, what class you’ll be born into, etc.
Sometimes I create a character in an MMO with a specific idea in mind. A specific archetype. But it’s more fun for me to create a character from behind the veil of ignorance. To randomize as many parts of the character creation process as I can. It’ll probably result in some poor optimization, but whatever. Let’s try it.
-Starts out with race/gender selection. The races are Hume, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, and Galka.
-Hume are standard humans. Elvaan are… well, elves. Tarutaru look like little playful hobbit things. Mithra are cat women.
A Mithra.
Galka are big hairy ogre type dudes. I can play as male or female for Hume, Elvaan, and Tarutaru, but Mithra are female only and Galka are male only
-Neat! The music is different for each gender and race’s screen. The Hume male music is martial, Tarutaru female music is frolicky, etc.
-There are seven stats: strength, dexterity, vitality, agility, intelligence, “MND” (mind? Not sure how that’s different from intelligence), and charisma. I probably won’t want to be, like, a Galka black mage since they have the lowest intelligence, but whatever. Veil of ignorance.
-To select my race and gender here, I’ll use random.org. There are eight options, so I’ll randomize 1-8. I’ll use this process for the rest of character creation too.
HUME MALE – HUME FEMALE – ELVAAN MALE – ELVAAN FEMALE – TARUTARU MALE – TARUTARU FEMALE – MITHRA FEMALE – GALKA MALE
Random.org says: #1. Human male.
It’s… well, to be honest, it’s the one I was hoping for the least, but I’m committing to this random thing.
-Y’know what? Fuck it. I’m exercising my veto power over this part of random character creation. I’ve played as a main human dude in most of these FF games. I’ve complained before about how many main characters are dudes, and since I now have control over it, the main character will be female.
Let’s try that again. Random 1-4.
HUME FEMALE – ELVAAN FEMALE – TARUTARU FEMALE – MITHRA FEMALE
Random.org says: #2. Elvaan Female.
-I’m digging the FUCK out of the Elvaan female music. Not sure how to describe it, but it’s a bit electronic, a bit rock, and all awesome. The kind of music you play as you’re walking down the street with purpose ready to deliver a beatdown.
-She has high strength, decent dexterity, vitality, agility, mind, and charisma, and awful intellect. Even worse intellect than the big ogre dude, the Galka. I hope I don’t get a mage, but unlike the race/gender veto, if I get a mage I’ll roll with it.
-Eight preset faces to choose from.
Random.org says: #4. Light blond/straw hair with bangs and pigtails.
-Oh, the next option is between red and straw hair. Random.org says: #2. Red.
-Next up: character size. Small, medium or large? Random.org says: #2. Medium. The game doesn’t change the character’s size as I swap between different options here, so not sure how small is small or large is large.
-Next up: job selection. Pretty standard set of jobs as I guessed, though a bit smaller selection than I would’ve expected.
WARRIOR – MONK – WHITE MAGE – BLACK MAGE – RED MAGE - THIEF
OH HOLY SHIT WAIT: “Choose your character’s initial job.” INITIAL??? So it sounds like jobs are a bit more flexible once I start playing. AWESOME I LOVE THIS.
Okay. Initial job. Random.org says: #5. Red Mage. I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, I like it because it sounds flexible, which back in EverQuest was crucial for soloing. On the other hand, it sounds like it needs Int, any my Elvaan has precious little. But starting stats are usually not that important.
-Hee! Next up is the name generator, and the selection is called Namingway. Nice FFIV callback.
-I can choose a random name here with the plus key. Random.org says, on a range of 1-10: #3. I’ll go with the third random name I come up with.
Detolilla the Elvaan red mage.
-Next up: world selection. (These are servers, I assume.) They’re all named after summons. Bahamut, Phoenix, Valefor… wait. Not all are named after summons. I don’t recognize Lakshmi or Bismarck, and Ragnarok is a weapon, a ship, and an accessory rather than a summon. At least as far as I can remember.
-This is another area where I won’t randomize it. I’m going with Valefor, in honor of my friend’s cat.
-Last thing to select (I assume) is my starting city. Three options: San d’Oria, Bastok, and Windurst.
-San d’Oria: Elvaan-forged city in northern Quon. House d’Oraguille has ruled here for hundreds of years. The Royal Knights patrol its borders, and the Temple Knights maintain peace within the city. It’s a fortress.
-Bastok: Hume-founded city in southern Quon. They have an elected president. Once a small mining town that grew into an industrial power. The Galka live in the south of the capital, and work the mines and forges.
-Windurst: A Federation rather than a republic or kingdom. A loose league of states, governed by a council of representatives from five ministries of magic. Tarutaru territory. Decisions based on “the prophecies of the mystic Star Sibyl.”
Panning over Windhurst.
Is this a person or an actual star? Probably a person. The capital, Windurst City, was razed in a war of some sort 20 years ago but has been restored.
-So San d’Oria seems the most martial, Bastok the most industrial, and Windurst the most intellectual.
Random.org says: #2. The Republic of Bastok.
-Here we go.
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Next time: starting off in the Republic of Bastok.
