Character Name:
Mains: Shinjitsu, Kiritsu,
Alts: Crystaleyes, Kingofsandoria, Suicidebomber (got force renamed to: Ninjaattack, >:[), Wildpath, Lordvoldemort
Played FFXI?
Since close to its release on October 28, 2003.
Came from:
Alexander
Years Played:
7 years, minus a couple periods of trying to quit.
How you found us?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxi/comments/ ... opulation/ -> https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/55 ... i/76184153
Other MMO's?
Tried to get into WoW, made it to lvl 25 rogue and decided gameplay, graphics and mechanics were just too primitive compared with XI. Played Tera: Online for a year or so, but had similar issues to WoW, despite nice graphics and surface-level fun gameplay mechanics. Tried FFXIV, but sound effects were horrible, the game experience and community just wasn't nearly the same.
Anything else?
I was encouraged to buy XI with a friend who was a longtime FF fan. I hadn't played any, but it sounded like fun, so we both bought copies at Wal-Mart I think. We both picked random Japanese words for our characters, with mine being Shinjitsu, because you know you have to pick a random Japanese word for a game like this. We mostly duo'd together, starting in Windurst. At some point we made our way into Tahrongi Canyons and got scared by the Ghosts out there. Then we found Maze of Shakrami and got scared by the Wight that would chase players up to the zone entrance and then wander back down to aggro anyone unlucky enough not to notice. At too low a level, we made our way carefully across to Jeuno and that felt like our first real accomplishment! Somewhere around level 30-40, I think we got tired of the grind and took a break for somewhere between 1-3 months. Then later we came back with new main characters, where I became Kiritsu. I finally dug in and took Kir to 75 WHM and I still remember the long nights... sometimes 12-13 hours, when late in the night I'd have on a movie like Conan or The Beastmaster on one screen and be grinding away in my party on the other. I remember being so excited as I got my Blessed RSE and thought I looked so slick. I was finally a badass high level WHM! I got to enjoy some of the perks like teleporting people around for gil 1-2k, but sometimes people were generous! This was the stretch where I put in a lot of my time in XI, over the course of years, with occasional breaks. More than once, we both had tried to quit the game, but the longer we went without playing the more we longed to be back in the world of XI. And obviously that still is the case, because even after getting fed up with SE's stupid changes to the retail version, here I am still longing for the 'golden days' of what I still consider the best MMO that ever was. I tried WOW, I tried FFXIV, but the sound effects all sounded 'aural' if you know what I mean... there was no MEAT to hitting an enemy, all just sounded like magic sparkles. Hated it. GUI was terrible compared to XI. Starting realms and core mechanics were uninspiring. Obviously geared toward shorter attention spans and shorter time allocations. It just didn't take. I wanted XI!

Finally, if I could be a millionaire instead of having experienced FFXI, I'd rather have experienced FFXI. I'm forever grateful to my friend Josh who asked me to get it with him, or I'd have completely missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. I only ever wish SE would wake up and re-release XI all over again. No, no... yes... no... yes.

Welcome home.

I played on Alexander server as well. From 2004