Final Fantasy XI Online - ProJared

[@projared]

►► Thanks for watching everybody! I hope this was a more anticipated video as few people actually played Final Fantasy XI. ► This of course means I'm now streaming FINAL FANTASY XII over on my Twitch!! -- twitch.tv/projared ►► It would mean a lot to me if you could LIKE, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE and really help my channel grow! ► I also have a secret merch store ~~ plusonemerch.com ►► Did you play Final Fantasy XI at all? How far did you ever get? My replay for this video as the most I've ever played XI! ► Once again a massive shoutout to the private server 'Eden' and everything they're doing there! edenxi.com

[@db_524]

No problem Jerd. I did enjoy it!

[@kyero8724]

You must have Missed the "TRUST" System

[@nichtviet9417]

Oh I enjoyed the video. I guess I enjoyed it more then I would have ever enjoyed the game when it came out.

[@ryuail]

Thank you for mentioning the changes in retail FFXI. :)

[@maplecolor1]

Play Disgaea 5

[@devingunnels3251]

These FF reviews have been magical, but I'm amazed Jared hasn't gotten burnt out. His dedication to this channel and the FF series is inspiring.

[@jacobmonks3722]

I think streaming his playthrough for video footage probably helps. He isn't just playing, pausing to take notes, and continuing. He has chat to talk with and have fun.

[@Kluki13]

i also cant believe how fast they come out

[@ThatOneGuyWithAFork]

Jared has honestly become one of my favorite KZbinrs these past two years. Whenever he uploads, I pause everything to go watch what he put out. His passion is real.

[@TheBouncerBecks]

Just wait until the 13 trilogy

[@vleos9325]

@@TheBouncerBecks it will be a tutorial on how to forget something quickly

[@donchakayaripon]

Props to Projared for properly identifying the weed compartment on the fat PS2.

[@Konarcoffee]

So matter of factly, amazing lol

[@talibong9518]

Yep I can confirm the expansion bay's primary purpose was for stashing weed

[@ejones9106]

I laughed so hard when I heard that!🤣🤣🤣

[@morganrusnai4579]

It made clear why I enjoy Jerds humor so much. Because thats exactly what used that for in my high school days for hiding my weed in my room. First time ive ever even heard of someone else having that idea. Great minds think alike.

[@hi-mw8tn]

Lmao I had to do a double take cuz I've never heard of that, only got the slim version

[@BaldingSasquatch]

One time I ended up in a leveling group in the Kuftal Tunnels. 10 minutes after I got there the Paladin goes "Gotta go my Grandma's on fire" and then he just logged off. I'll never forget that guy.

[@Gungho73]

That's fucking wiiiiiild.

[@BaldingSasquatch]

@@Gungho73 Please don't ever reply to me again with your anime pfp it makes me extremely uncomfortable because you're most likely a child toucher

[@benjaminfromcanadakanada3948]

Dude was this on shiva server?????

[@janelain8439]

"The hardest part was installing and buying the game". Sweet, some things never change in ff mmos.

[@julian954]

dude. I'm a wow player that recently gave 14 a shot; the installation boss is ridiculous. I don't understand how they let it stay as bad as it is.

[@martinde-serres8724]

not just in MMOs, but in gaming in general lol

[@Rhapbus1]

Ugh seriously, downloading FF14 was a nightmare

[@seta-san2149]

the worst part about the updates other than PlayOnline is that it checked every single individual file and downloaded files individually.

[@firalia]

If you thought installing FFXIV was bad, FFXI is on an entirely different level, you have no idea...

[@Mirvana]

I'm actually glad the "train to zone" aspect got mentioned, though there's one small detail I wish you had included: When enemies were trained to the zone, they didn't originally despawn and reappear in their normal areas. THEY USED TO WALK ALL THE WAY BACK. So you could easily see someone running away and laugh, only to have that Goblin Warrior walk right back up and smack YOU as it trotted back to where it was supposed to be. Half the reason the Selbina theme is so iconic for XI players is having to sit inside the zone for HOURS waiting on the goblins outside to walk back to their spawn points without aggroing someone else who'd have to run them right back to the entrance all over again.

[@darschpugs4690]

I used to deliberately train goblin mobs to zone in to kill other players as when they dropped agro from zone in they would agro the nearest player on their way back to spawn. used this to clear out my favorite farming spots of other players. this was so common they had to change agro and respawn rules

[@dearickangelonej.legaspi6686]

@@darschpugs4690 you monster

[@nicholasdoss3312]

@@darschpugs4690 On one hand, I want to hate you for being so shitty in an MMO. On the other hand, I can kinda empathize with needing to clear out farming spots of overpopulation. Kinda reminds me of trying to kill Hogger in WoW when Cata was at peak subscription count...

[@kramcherryp197]

@@darschpugs4690 that sounds both horrible and hilarious

[@darschpugs4690]

@@dearickangelonej.legaspi6686 Of that, i can't deny!

[@BenMarcWilliams]

Jared, looking directly into the camera: "You fake fan!" Shit you got me. The only Final Fantasy I've actually completed is Mystic Quest.

[@gyromurphy]

That was my first FF and I loved it. Still think it has the best music out of any FF ever created

[@MJG206]

That in itself is a goal worthy of praise.

[@FluffyWeetBix]

bro ive almost beaten like 8 final fantasy games and just dropped it. i got to last dungeon in ff1-3, got half way through 7 and 9. played hours of 12 and 15 but never made much progress, and yet ive beat chrono trigger all endings

[@superbearchrist1716]

For completion I only have 7 (original ps1), 10, and 15 to My name. In working on 9 but I know I'm not getting Excalibur 2 on my first playthrough. Although it's not the same series I crushed chrono trigger on pc and was basically as addicted to it as my first time playing persona 5 Royale and yakuza 0. So yeah lots of hours about 220 just to do and see everything. I've played 8 and honestly I got bored with it after seeing wow I didn't grind and I'm doing over 9000 damage in the first hour. If 8s story was better I'd give it a shot soon, but I rather play final fantasy 2 on my gba than 8. It's either tedious or extremely pointless so pick you're poison or play final fantasy 6 or 9 so I choose 9 first and maybe impersonate steiner with a higher pitch buffalo bill from silence of the lambs due to his mascara.

[@ignitedrowlets5776]

For me my ff clear history is MQ first, then 14, and then 1-4 in order, currently on 5 now and very much looking forward to seeing how much I'll like 11

[@WhatBeDaPointMon]

People always talk about FFXIV's incredible success story, and I agree it's amazing. But the fact FFXI has come as far it has, and for as long as it has, is truly incredible.

[@lj_aderyn]

FFXIVs monumental success story is nothing short of a once in a lifetime moment, but 14 would not exist without 11's own success. I can't say I've played 11 personally, but I've heard many great things, and without it, or any of the other games for that matter, 14 would not be here, and 14 has really just become such an amazing and beautiful part of my life, so I truly am grateful to everything that came before, but especially to 11 for introducing FF to the MMO genre.

[@infernoROBO]

It's amazing how the best modern FF games are its MMOs at this point lol. Heard so much trash about XIII and XV but nothing but praises for XIV

[@Sporkonafork1]

@@lj_aderyn XI changed my life as a child

[@belias1582]

FFXIV's narrative it's just awesome, but I still prefer the FFXI mythology, wich is so rich and detailed. Every zone, enemies and side quests had a lot of meaning lorewise. I mean, FFXIV works fine with that too, but I believe not in the same way as FFXI.

[@cerbgerm]

@@infernoROBO Well I think that is because they are trying to draw in new age players with this hack and slash action MMO bs when the true fans of the game like the turn based systems and heavily driven story. Persona 5's success shows that turn based can still be relevant and popular. Gameslike FF15 feel so hollow and devoid of a true FF experience which is why FF16 doesn't really excite me either. I will not be playing stranger or paradise and I repetedly find myself playing the old games in the series.

[@NotTheWheel]

Having never played 11 growing up because console internet gaming back then was a weird and confusing time and have since become a FFXIV player... it's good to know that the act of actually first trying to play the game being the most difficult part hasn't changed among generations.

[@ThunderDragonRandy]

Yeah, I never knew how to play online on console (or even on PC games) during 6th Gen until 7th Gen and even then it took me a while for my teen self to figure it out.

[@NotTheWheel]

@@ThunderDragonRandy Same if not for a hand me down lap top round the time I was 13 and Steam I don't think I'd have ever figured it out.. was hard enough playing WoW without my parents thinking it was some sort of scam, since they needed a credit card. (Luckily I had my eldest brother who I'd always watch him play PC games or he'd let me play on occasion also emulations of snes games even back during the 90s before conventional internet searching was a thing.. still don't know how he found zsnes all the way back then or anything for that matter)

[@ThunderDragonRandy]

@@NotTheWheel I also learned about video game emulation from a cousin that lived with me, also starting with ZSNES.

[@StevenConning]

The people behind XIV 1.0 were the same people behind XI. They seem to completely consider the account management and game to be separate entities, and while Yoshi P was brought in to fix the game, no one was ever brought in to fix the account management.

[@NotTheWheel]

@@StevenConning lol you don't say - that's an interesting bit of trivia. It is true though it is a mess :/ to there credit less so much a mess than when I first started, since I've had to reinstall on different computers since that time... But hopefully something to be looked at in the future.

[@jaredoehrlein9493]

Couple of things to say: F8 will target an NPC every time and you don’t have to worry about targeting teammates. F keys allow you to target certain players in your party (F1self, F2 2nd party member, etc) and if a monster has already been pulled you can simply type (or macro in) /ta which will automatically target the “best” monster, the red one. Oh and if you’re in an alliance, the same thing holds true for the other parties Alt and F keys for one alliance party or ctrl and f keys for the other one!

[@Lycanthromancer1]

Projared: **Lists a whole bunch of reasons to absolutely hate the game.** "But it's great, really!"

[@almightycinder]

"Back in my day, we walked six miles in the snow, uphill, both ways, to get to school, and we liked it!"

[@KiraSlith]

I get that they were going for a degree of realism, but realism just isn't fun. Oh well, some people will only learn by making mistakes.

[@TheOverachiever7]

If you don’t hate what you love, you don’t really love it. A rule of thumb.

[@GrassSaint33]

It really reminds me of EQ players that way. That being said I'm still playing EQ classic 20 years later lol.

[@Lycanthromancer1]

@@TheOverachiever7 More like "a rule of thumb *_and smashing the thumb with a hammer."_*

[@mindisfrozen]

I remember when my friend and I took a ferry for the first time. The party chat told us to not leave the room. We didn't listen, and there was a pirate raid going on. Thankfully there was a white mage waiting for our corpses to arrive.

[@RoninXDarknight]

Or getting owned by the Sea Horror.

[@mindisfrozen]

@@RoninXDarknight that was my second trip. My third trip was to die from a lvl 20 fish when my friend and I finally had a smooth trip, but wanted to try fishing. We were lvl 8

[@Tardisntimbits]

God, I loved Pirates, hiding in the hold while whms cast sneak and invis on you...until you were high enough to fight them. Then it was even more fun. And the Sea Horror....oh god, hahahaha

[@RoninXDarknight]

@@mindisfrozen Ahahaha...classic. So many deaths stemmed from "Oooh let's try this!" :D

[@ProfDragonite]

I'm amazed Jared didn't mention the raid boss that took LITERAL DAYS to kill. As in, they had to nerf it because people almost died in real life.

[@asimplewizard]

You die on the raid, you die in real life.

[@Leiska86]

It didn't actually have to take that long, to be fair. The strat used then was just slow as hell.

[@farlado5459]

@@Leiska86 before getting patched out*

[@AegisAuras]

Imagine a raid boss so strong it kills you in real life.

[@sammicopor]

​@@AegisAurasThat sounds like a nightmare. I can't play a game for more then 3-4 hours at a time, it would make me not want to play the game again after that.

[@laughingseal2282]

This was a huge risk at the time and while I never played the game, gotta give them credit for their daring. Nowadays the industry would never shift a big franchise like that. It also boasts absurd graphics for its day. Very ambitious game for its time.

[@poudink5791]

Yeah, big franchises just don't take any risks these days. It's all the same. Imagine how cool it'd be to have a huge, fully open world Zelda game. Would also be nice for series like Sonic the Hedgehog to stop using the same formula they've been using since the 90s already. Such a shame.

[@rikolia]

​@@poudink5791 NES Zelda and Wind Waker called, "huge open world Zelda" hasn't ever been a risk. The biggest risk Zelda has faced in recent years is 60 bucks for Skyward Sword again.

[@laughingseal2282]

@@rastas_4221 Not really. MMOs were huge in japan, Korea and China, but were not popular in the west until world of warcraft. And they never had this kind of budget. I mean, look at some crappy mmos that were huge at the time (ragnarok online, everquest etc). There is no contest. It took until the mid 00s for them to absolutely explode. And considering the scope of this game, it had been in the works for a long time.

[@renegeeder]

@@rastas_4221 Any MMO is a big risk, the amount of time required to development is quite long and while FF is massive, if they messed it up somehow (like they did with FF14 1.0) even that won't save it.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

I dunno, I'd argue FF14's journey of literally nuking one game and rebuilding it basically ground up's pretty daring. 11 in the era it came out sounds about as close as the Runescapes and Neverwinters in that state of time as well.

[@stevemanart]

I was in the Navy when I played (and stopped playing) FF11. The exact day was memorial day weekend. For one reason or another I had four days off on a row, and the Bahamut raid was the big deal at the time. I remember sitting down after work on Thursday to start playing and the next thing I remember was my buddy knocking on the door to my barracks to get me because I was no-show at morning muster. That is when I realized I was too addicted to keep playing and stopped.

[@philithegamer8265]

FF11 was the biggest chore of all time.

[@stevemanart]

​@@philithegamer8265 Only for weaklings. If you were a man or woman of strong constitution and dedication you could defeat its flaws and find the joy that made playing it an entertaining and fun experience.

[@nickj1122]

Ffxi was the greatest and most nostalgic game ever. The time and the era and they experience I had I would pay to re live it. It was amwzing the windy music was awesome

[@stevenclark1662]

Damn, man. I was in the Army when skyrim came out. We did have some issues that were similar, considering it came out on 11/11 (veterans day)

[@ronnieblastoff4083]

I had a really bad addiction to FFXI that "ruined" my life. Hearing that music at 4:09, brought a surge of emotions I haven't experienced in about 10 years. Thanks.

[@aliasv6964]

Can come to Eden server and revisit the old zones!

[@techwildlife1]

How bad was it? How did it ruin? if you don't mind me asking..

[@ronnieblastoff4083]

@@techwildlife1 2 month old but I went from 189-300 lbs. Lost 2 jobs and 3 gfs over the course of my ffxi journey. I was addicted so bad I stopped feeding my pet turtle and he/she went blind. All I could think about was ff11. It was rediculously fun, but one day it got a little boring and I realized how bad my life had gotten. I unsubbed and uninstalled, and started a new job. Got back down to 198, and my life is solid.

[@ericpinosantiago3600]

@@ronnieblastoff4083i just started playing HorizonXI and I am just as drawn into it as I was in 2004. We have to be careful and recognize unhealthy behavior but it’s still difficult to put down. I am attempting to solo all the way to 75. I have much more responsibilities now, I’m sorry you went through all that

[@maggotreynolds9749]

@@ericpinosantiago3600 Horizon is the shit.

[@battleshipboyd2758]

When that login music kicked in, I got flooded with memories of this game. I can't tell you how much I loved playing this during my high school/college days. Also, where's the SanDoria love lol?

[@nostars8804]

Playonline - Dolphin, classic

[@battleshipboyd2758]

@@nostars8804 it really is.

[@touvan2]

I actually got goosebumps hearing that music again. So many memories with friends I'm likely to never hear from again. They just dont make MMOs like they used to.

[@brevin630]

Something I miss from Jared's older videos is the ratings he would give games. They were always really funny and accurately summed up his thoughts on the game.

[@Paulunatr]

I give this comment a nostalgia out of ten

[@keenansartain2854]

I also miss him talking about the story, I don’t recall him talking about it at all in this one.

[@AtlasBlizzard]

That's why my final rating for this game... is installing the game out of 10!

[@SupremeCaptainHWD]

He did say he stopped doing that because people just kept skipping to that section.

[@johnnyjacksted6528]

Other games: “PLAY ONLINE WITH YOUR FRIENDS” Final Fantasy XI: *”Play online and make friends”*

[@reloadpsi]

*or else ;)

[@TofuSG98]

I'm anxious being social online, even in 14 and I've played that since 2019, haven't been in an FC in 8 months.

[@somecallmesean_]

@@TofuSG98 honestly i just joined the first fc that invited me but i don't participate in the one i'm in

[@time4manmode945]

Fake fan huh? Ohhhh we’ll see about that once you get to 13 and want to skip it in the intro projared 😂

[@ominousflames14]

@@reloadpsi pretty much. FFXI forced you to make friends in game, or else you wouldnt be able to to be successful in late game material, where in FFXIV they had cross server instances that didn't require you to make friends on your own server.

[@morganrusnai4579]

"The hard drive and the network adapter would fit into the playstation 2's weed compartment" This is why I love Projared. After i rarely used my playstaton 2 anymore and no longer had it hooked up. During my highschool and college days, this is exactly where i kept my weed at home when i lived with my parents. Jared is the first time ive ever heard of anyone else having that idea. Jerd for life.

[@bband7660]

This was actually super common which i find hilarious because it's totally what i did 😆

[@t3hOutlaw]

It was super common, probably why he used the reference as a joke.

[@Sorreah77]

I can never get the trauma of the PlayOnline OST out of my head...

[@Tardisntimbits]

Oh god, if anything happened to a patch DL, that sinking feeling that you KNEW you had to dl the WHOLE THING ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

[@wilsonbardo]

Yeah right, at first was like: oh hey a nice groovy music! but then it becomes a nightmare

[@ff8masterc]

Fucking Dolphin

[@MissyFuzz]

This was truly a ride through memory lane. At least we can rest well knowing that they learned from all the shortcomings XI had to make their next MMO main entry great on launch, right? ...Right?

[@dale7326]

The reason that back in the day MMOs are grindy because they have a limitation on computer and engineering tech power. The devs make them to trap ppl in a loop so they don’t need to go anywhere else to play other games. That’s why Wow is slowly failing because it doesn’t be something amazing overtime despite whether ppl hate Blizzard or not.

[@im50yearsold]

Still waiting for DQX.......

[@joshrobins130]

Well, it didn't have a good launch. But on the plus side, it did give us the single greatest MMO redemption story ever.

[@cerbgerm]

FFXI's shortcomings had to deal mostly with the game through promethia expansion with crazy long stories that needed people every step of the way to complete, leveling was not really possible solo unless beastmaster, end game areas locked behind long attunements (sky and sea), and a poor interface for finding players and grouping. Keep in mind though that even wow at this time had very similar systems in place. The lack of systems forced players in to grouping and forming bonds and struggling through the brutality of the game together. Death lurked around every corner, going deeper in to the zones meant needing sneak and invis pots or the ability to cast those spells, different aggro types and linking meant needing extra caution or your fate was sealed. The game was brutally punishing for many many years but the horizontal and vertical progressions systems made it so that the work you put in to getting the best gear was lasting and the sense of accomplishment was otherwordly compared to patch cycles in modern mmos now. With all that said, a game like FFXI would be very difficult to market and grow with todays players because FFXI was a life commitment just to play the game. Sometimes it would take hours just to find an xp group to level with and your whole night is shot if you didn't find one.

[@theremix54]

FFXIV 1.0 was better then modern FFXIV. At least 14 on launch was interesting. Now its endless Fetch quests, forgettable areas, forgettable classes and a braindead battle system. ( Yes I know raids require attention and whatnot ) 1.0 could have been something amazing. Shame they bailed on it.

[@SushiLord89]

Fun Fact: to unsub from playonline was so difficult. One US State actually started an investigation into it, and it formed a regulation committee based on internet subscriptions. It was so difficult that they had to make it so you can easily unsub from the phone or from the service itself. It was such a bizarre mess. I miss that desktop thing though. That music was so comfy.

[@fishactivation5087]

there was a what

[@SushiLord89]

@@fishactivation5087 Basically they made it so you have to have a way to easily unsub from something.

[@rossman8919]

its sounds like the governor was a angry gamer who leveled down too much

[@Tardisntimbits]

The music when I heard it in the video was SUCH a nostalgia rush! My heart!

[@reynaldomoon]

This game holds a special place in my heart. So many good memories. Just seeing footage gives me dopamine. I miss my Red Mage. I tried to play on a private server recently but I realized I played it at the perfect time - high school. The time sink was insane!

[@calypsohandjack9278]

So much angst and hormones in 2003 on FFXI.

[@DeMoraJS]

My brother and I used to play the heck out of this game back in the day. It's true that partying up is kind of a necessity, but not entirely. My brother and I both leveled past lvl 30 just by playing duo, no other people involved. It took longer yes, but it is definitely possible.

[@PyrokineticFire1]

and if you unlocked beastmaster at 30, you could take that duo to max. i joined to play with a friend group & the friend who bought our world passes got hooked on beastmaster duo with his GF... and we rarely ever saw him again. they duo'd to 75 and eventually 99.

[@paulj6805]

"Little known fact, the hard drive and adapter would fit into the PlayStation 2's weed compartment." Holy shit my fucking sides. Jared a real one for sure.

[@damonf4340]

I mean, are you implying that you ever used said compartment for anything other than weed?

[@bnbnism]

He was literally just quoting a recent trendy meme from Twitter like a week ago

[@damonf4340]

@@bnbnism Or perhaps ProJ is referencing a subcultural behaviour that existed long before Twitter. Possibly. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[@bnbnism]

@@damonf4340 all I'm saying is KZbinrs tend to write their videos based on recent trends and this was a very popular throwback meme that resurfaced, nothing wrong with it just overthinking and judging this whole situation wrong

[@russfullerton-studer7468]

He's definitely old enough to know how real that shit was back in the day. Everyone I knew who smoked used it for weed and small pieces

[@D1ab0lical]

I tried this game out during a content drought in FF14 and it was an interesting experience to say the most. Biggest take away was the music and sense of accomplishment.

[@HarukaAkemi70]

closest sense of acomplishment in xiv is clearing all ultimates and that is kinda sad, i get it , savage and primals count but nothing as brutal as ultimate

[@D1ab0lical]

@@HarukaAkemi70 Not really what I mean, it felt like an accomplishment just to be making progress in 11. I decided to play it after finishing Eureka so it was a similar feeling I guess.

[@HarukaAkemi70]

@@D1ab0lical yeah i agree even if i only finished bozja bc at the time of eureka release i was playing kinda alone and had no motivation to go in there hahaha

[@XDarkEcho]

Better believe it! I'll never forget the day I unlocked the ability to be able to use a Sub Job; long hours spent grinding for the drops, and I clearly remember a lvl 60 PLD taking me to the dungeon where the Magicked Skull dropped. Told me to stay at the entrance, while he went in and made a train of the skeleton mobs in there, then one shoting them till the item dropped. And another time was when I had to do a quest to unlock the advanced job Samurai. Needed to kill an NM Trent to get it's drop to finish the quest, but had no one that would party up with me to help. So I got my highest leveled job, Monk subbed with Dancer, and used the lifesteal dance combined with Hundred Fists to kill it. It was a fierce battle too, my hands were sweating, heart racing, and pretty nervous at taking on a NM alone for once. However, I succeeded, barely, but I can't tell you how stoked I was; one of the best feelings I've ever had in a MMO, let alone any game. I enjoyed FFXIV for the time that I played, but I left it because of that feeling of everything just being a participation award. It never felt like I TRULY earned most of those accomplishments; maybe on some Primal battles, but really, after enough wipes you learn their rotations or end up finding ways to just cheese them. Couldn't do that, hardly, in FFXI back then, and that's what made everything you accomplished in that game felt so much more rewarding. I miss that.

[@D1ab0lical]

@@XDarkEcho Difficult fights in 14 are basically solving increasingly complex puzzles while keeping your damage up, it's an entirely different kind of game. But the main story isn't where you'll find that challenge, it's very much simplified to get you through the story while all the challenging fights are post-game. There is, however, an entire homage to FF11 in the game called Eureka. It's very much it's own thing in the game and I greatly enjoyed it, which is why I wanted to try FF11 after finishing it. The combat wasn't really my taste though.

[@jameswright7977]

I remember back in 2010 absolutely loving the game and the fact you had to group with strangers to level up using the training books! I distinctly remember waiting in the dunes for hours for an invite to a party sometimes falling asleep and when you finally got that invite the power levelling began!!

[@sammicopor]

Ff xi wasn't perfect but it had its charms. I remember how difficult it was to level up in that game & how annoying it was waiting for your hp to recover after fighting enemies without hp potions or a white mage to heal you. I listened to entire gorillaz albums when I picked the game up again for the xbox 360 & it hadn't changed much. I must have lasted at least a month & a half when I played it again & quit because I wasn't having any success with the game.

[@capness1228]

FFXI is the only MMO I've ever really lost myself in. I can't remember when I stopped but I had several jobs leveled to 99 (or more? I can't remember where the cap stopped) and loved every minute.

[@JacketCK]

cap stops at 99, but currently SE is working on a new Storyline for the game

[@artyocean3595]

cap is 99 but gear can item level to 119!

[@ZackstaDaxta]

Losing yourself in these games was... intense. FF11 was so good it could ruin your life lol.

[@tpspeed]

These textures make me weirdly nostalgic for the ps2, even tho i never played FFXI. It reminds me weirdly of Dark Cloud

[@immortaluglyfish2724]

Big same- this style of graphics is incredibly nostalgic.

[@felldoh9271]

Dark Cloud…

[@ikari570]

Even though it doesn't look "good", I think it has such a charm and vibe that it's very nice and fun to look at

[@pharmcat8484]

That’s another game Jared has said he wants to do a review on

[@lilwyvern4]

There's a charm to 6th gen graphics. They look detailed enough that you know what you're looking at, but not so much that you get caught up in minute things. PS2-era spooky castles are still unbeaten in atmosphere.

[@CaloBrown]

FFXI has the most memories of any FF I have played, and the best thing about it is that they were made by me and my friends, not just in-game like unlocking my SMN class or getting an airship pass (via quest). The moments where my friend PL me and fell asleep forcing me to zone (unsuccessfully), lmao at dying during a BCNM and getting zoned back to watch the party die one by one, or most memorably my first PL of a party in the dunes. I was so proud I immediately shouted to my linkshell that I did, and they promptly told me they didn't care, 😅such a great community.

[@gunosaguki1]

FFXI was a fun game to play for my final school years, left a lot of good memories along way. It also helped push me into a career in art, as I got jealous of people drawin their own characters!

[@GammaCruxis]

Ah yes - the endless hours spent in Rolanberry Fields summoning to cap my summoning skill. The mega grinds were real - no participation trophies in this game.

[@VinlandicSoul]

I’ve been playing this game on & off since 2003, last time played in 2021. Loved it, and always will. Thanks for covering this piece of my heart 🙏🏻❤ Praise be to Bastok!!

[@foxskirata]

I'm glad that Jared is still dedicated and having fun going through all the FF games, even after all these years. BUT... Every game he plays brings him closer and closer... To Final Fantasy 13. We'll see how that goes.

[@Monkeyman3000]

I can’t wait he until he tears that boring ass game apart

[@Widderic]

@@Monkeyman3000 Hey I liked it! I can't be the only one.

[@Monkeyman3000]

@@Widderic probably not, but i wished you were

[@Widderic]

@@Monkeyman3000 I was in my sophomore year of college and doing quite a lot of drugs, so that may have had something to do with it. I'm boring old fart now so I'll give it a sober run as soon as I'm done replaying XII which I also remember/don't remember enjoying.

[@nicogalax]

@@Widderic the whole trilogy is great, 13 haters need to go away lol

[@TheFreeToaster]

This game destroyed my life. I still want to continue playing it to this day almost 20 years later. Subligars for life.

[@mraaronhd]

Same. Most of my senior year in high school was playing this on my PS2 until about 2-3 am, and trying to download updates via the dial-up connection.

[@Rakkhun369]

Same here. No matter how many times I go back and quit, it’s always calling me back. Feels like home.

[@TheFreeToaster]

@@Rakkhun369 Honestly, if I didn't move to a rural area with internet straight out of 1995, I'd probably still be playing.

[@Rakkhun369]

@@TheFreeToaster I hear you. Maybe someday we’ll meet up in Vana’diel again. If you ever see a character called “Shuffit” or “Ghostzero” that’s me.

[@tetsujixiv]

I had to stop, it did ruin quite a bit of my life lol but it still beckons to me but im in a better place now, ill go back for the feels every now and then

[@LeonBlade]

I actually really like how slow and old school the game just is, even today playing for the first time I feel a sense of nostalgia that I never had. I love the story of the game, it's a blast, and it's nice that these days I can play *most* of the story with trusts.

[@grumpymonkeyuk]

Back when i was a hardcore FFXI player, there was a saying "No matter what level you are, what gear you have, there is always bunny that can kill you"

[@artyocean3595]

Oh that saying is still there today! lol

[@HardenHard]

I play on Eden (golden era private server) still dying from bunnies to this day

[@Tardisntimbits]

Yuuupppp

[@KnightLightXL]

I always appreciate Jared's final fantasy reviews, its always nice to hear not only someone's opinion on a game but the personal impact it has, final fantasy 6 meant as much to me as it did to Jared and its great seeing how the followinh games mean to others

[@steveo2737]

Vana'diel always forever in my heart. Mained a BRD/WHM for YEARS

[@QuayDawgg]

I loved that you called it the weed compartment and didn't even skip a beat, all while everyone watching the video instantly knew what you were talking about. Pure Gold.

[@JonnyBeoulve]

I know I put mine in there

[@menthols4625]

A lot said in this review is the same reason why people loved EQ and to this day still think its the best MMO. That same brutal punishment, tediousness and unforgiving nature is what made the games so time-consuming and then incredibly rewarding.

[@aaronclay4665]

i played this in 2003 on ps2 and found out later ff11 was inspired by EQ.........i never knew what it was. and i love ff11 as the best mmo i ever palyed, its not the same now of days but yea same reason.

[@AbdallahTeach]

can't we have unforgiving nature without wasting an entire day?

[@TheColeTruth]

FFXI basically took a lot of influence from everquest. This was before wow was out!

[@xAjido]

This game came out at the perfect time for a lot of us to enjoy it. You needed to be a teenager or young adult with nothing to do to really fall in love with this game. If this game had come out today we'd shit all over it and move on.

[@Brande2525]

Loved playing FFXI and it's brutality. Think my favorite moment was watching a high level beastmaster release his charmed pets on low level parties xping in the zone and wiping them, cause someone in the zone pissed him off, lol.

[@ragnarok2160]

Reading your comment gave me ptsd about garbage shitadel with those damn bats 😂

[@YawleyG]

It's amazing how 30 minutes of densely-packed review covers so much, but there's still so much more to XI. I've never run out of things to do in my 13+ years of play. It's my favorite game--as it was back then and retail now--for all the reasons Jared listed. Thank you for trying out Eden and retail servers. I enjoy them both in different ways, even though many players hugely prefer one style over the other. The endgame progression of swapping gear allows players to take their roles to their limits, and oftentimes, the number of distinct gear sets that someone has for a single job is a metric for how good they are. In some cases, a black mage with a solid DT set is a better tank than a subpar paladin. You'll never find another game where people will kill each other over a STR+1 improvement over their current gear.

[@one_eyeddd473]

Hav they updated quality of life n menus over the year?

[@YawleyG]

@@one_eyeddd473 Retail bumped up player and enemy movement speed by 25%, you can warp between home points, and you're able to customize and reference gear sets, making it less of a hassle to swap gear for spells/skills without third-party tools. Those QoL changes define and separate private server and retail server experiences. If you wanna jam through the story, it's super accessible on retail now.

[@RoninXDarknight]

I think my White Mage has...25 different gear sets? I dunno, been a while since I checked.

[@jeunonn]

FFXI is the best FF game to ever be released lol. I won’t take other answers. From running around Windy to traversing Sarutabaruta, making my first trip to Jeuno and the Dunes, experiencing Sea and Sky, the era of Blink Tanks, the era of Kraken Clubs and Jouyous Blades. The OST is unbeatable compared to the other FF games, ESPECIALLY PoL. and the SFX is outta this world (Ninja Utsesmi, casting any WHM spells, weaponskills etc.) Literally the best game ever. I remember when I reinstalled it took me 4 days with Disc installs and PoL updates. Honestly the best thing ever lmfao. I wish they made discs for Abyssea and SoA.

[@theSato]

Back to the classic days of seeing a ProJared video in my inbox and being excited to watch it in bed that night. Thanks!

[@Raganui]

I like XI. It's a game that still feels like it has tactical decisions, buffs, debuffs and all. It was a fun time for me.

[@Numdenu]

If Jared really enjoyed this, he might love EverQuest. I've done the arcane rituals to get Project 1999 running and it's a lot like FFXI, except most of the areas you slowly walk through have lore to trip over.

[@lightning4322]

Two hour waits for your special ability to come back? Square was being so generous! You got to use your ability 9 times in the absolute virtue fight!

[@aSinkingShip]

I think the forced socialization of ffxi was what made it incredibly fun to play if you played by its rules. I have a lot of friends from back in the day I still play mmos with.

[@MrSkerpentine]

Jared: “Final Fantasy XI was the first MMO with an actual soundtrack” OG RuneScape: *are you sure about that*

[@DantesTyphoon]

OG EverQuest has some epic songs that still pop into my head as well. MMOs in general have had great soundtracks. I'll have to listen to some OG RuneScape because of your comment :)

[@Layazeroda]

Don't forget Ragnarok Online's soundtrack. So many catchy tunes and wide range of genres.

[@kereminde]

*looks over at Ultima Online, and before that Meridian 59* Still have some of these songs etched into memory. The M59 "Guildhall Theme", and "Walk 7"... UO's "Occlo" and "Vesper"... I mean, EverQuest had music but a lot of the time there was just quiet. ("Kelethin Theme" was still rather good, I think.)

[@PhantomSnivy]

I hate to be the “well achsually” guy, but FF XI came out over a year before RuneScape transitioned to RuneScape 2 which is when it got its iconic soundtrack, which is still great to be fair

[@theremix54]

RSC had a tiny handful of songs, not comparable.

[@ducklaser]

The music in this MMO is a nostalgic arrow through my heart.

[@tariqmansour9891]

I actually remember enjoying this game, it was probably one of the first online games I played

[@tariqmansour9891]

I always loved mages so I picked tarutaru as my race , probably what made me a mage enjoyer to this day

[@mraaronhd]

@@tariqmansour9891 I always played as a Hume just because they were the most well-rounded.

[@eile4219]

FFXi is still my fav mmo

[@Josith13]

Yeah. Was a new genre and adventure at the time. Those big "empty" zones added to the scope... And it was mostly exciting to band up with players, so that wasn't so "forced". Its what you signed up for. There wasn't a shed load of open world games around like now, either. Maybe had Oblivion around the same time or a bit later?

[@thantisman]

This game was so disappointingly underrated. When you got into a good party, the feeling of accomplishment was amazing. Especially the old school Japanese partys.

[@OGBuddah]

[@aliasv6964]

It's still fun to revisit on Eden! Come join us

[@SatonakaCP4]

JP parties till 6 am were the best. Forget school, forget work; you're partying with 'the best!'

[@squallofthedai]

-gag-

[@laurendesi9705]

I remember being 13 and sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night so my parents wouldn’t know I was playing- because they limited my tv time when I was a kid. Lots of sleepy days at school following. I was a Mithra in FFXI and now I’m a Mi’quote in FFXIV.

[@Namingway]

For those who missed out, this video basically covers the Everquest experience as well. Very similar. Possibly even more punishing, and almost certainly more buggy.

[@ubermk3]

Started FFXI at ps2 release and this is the best recap vid I have ever seen. Incredible work, you hit all the key points. Nice job!

[@thegern]

I feel that Leaping Lizzy pain, that fucker was so camped back when it came out that I never got the boots until they made them Rare/Ex years later. Still my favorite MMO

[@exodore2000]

My first NM was the Windurst catapiller that droped the cape and sold it for 10k gill.

[@taylor4374]

@@exodore2000 Spiny Spipi :)

[@achilleonv]

I got Lizzy one time and Mee Deggi the Punisher a couple of times. Mee Deggi drove me nuts as people with a /BST could pull faster than anyone else. My "rival" was a JPN player and had lower latency.

[@exodore2000]

@@taylor4374 Thanks I use to farm Spiny Spipi all the time when I was low on money. Leaping Lizzy was my jam I would farm him all the time probably got him 3 or 4 times for cash.

[@exodore2000]

The final NM I needed was the most elusive Jagged ear-Jack and his Rabbit charm I got it last.

[@BladeDevil]

I bought this game back in 2007 and played it for eight straight years almost daily. the experience was incredible, as it was my first MMO. It breaks my heart we will never have that kind of feelings in games again.

[@SSJfraz]

The first Final Fantasy game to feel nothing like a Final Fantasy game.

[@GarlicKing101]

Oh Lord, I remember the level downs... So. Many. Times... Still loved this game. Sometimes just spent hours wandering Ronfaur for the music

[@HarukaAkemi70]

that was the best thing imo it made u more cautios and manage agroo and stop being reckless lol

[@targard.quantumfrack6854]

the level downs made it implayable with online friends for me

[@arolimarcellinus8541]

@@HarukaAkemi70 only masochist like such things. Who in the world like level down in the MAIN CONTENT?? Even XIV did that in SIDE CONTENT

[@HarukaAkemi70]

@@arolimarcellinus8541 well u are talking to one of them nice to meet u

[@HarukaAkemi70]

but then again i do enjoy that hard as hell content as tbh it is not for everyone someone would like a more leisure way to the top while others like me want to suffer for an eternity hahaha

[@keotastrophe3715]

I already had a tough enough time starting out in retail FFXI, I couldn't imagine having to do it all over again in a private server like Eden or Nasomi where sparks, trusts, and unity warps don't exist. Dear God.

[@Francois424]

WHM/BLM (Teleports + Warp) and Outpost supply quest will make you able to get anywhere in the world in under 5min... Except some remote dungeons/areas. I played most of my time in Pre-abyssea FFXI (the best of time for a player like me) that LOVED leveling parties) and there where very few places that took too long to get to.

[@DDracee]

you might be surprised, made friends and im having a blast chatting in voice with them while grinding mobs, ffxi was always about the friends you made along the way, and you cant really do that soloing with trusts

[@Francois424]

@@DDracee So much this

[@dankenny2998]

This hits me in the nostalgia more than anything else. Playing this game with my friends was one of my best gaming experiences of my life, thanks for taking me back Jared!

[@SkippD]

I remember buying the Ps2 version, hdd, network adapter and all. It was refreshing coming from ever quest and finding actually story and in-game cutscenes. Magical is a word I would have used. But man looking back at it after playing WoW or FF14 it is amazing how far we have come. Great flashback look there Jared.

[@jimmyramos7143]

Thank you Projared for not skipping ff11 like everyone else, ff11 is my favorite

[@Ponaru]

No it's not.

[@armorvil]

lol that Poison guy knows your favorite better than you!

[@Rakkhun369]

It’s my favorite FF too, with FF9 and X coming in behind it.

[@TheWolfgangGrimmer]

You are broken.

[@kellynine7438]

The most frustrating thing about the PS2 release of FFXI is that by the time it came out, if you didn't already have the internet adapter, you really had to hunt for one. My local Gamestop didn't have one, nor did my local Best Buy, or the local chain reseller. I wound up having to go clear across town to find a used one.

[@TheFloodFourm]

This game did an amazing job recreating a fantasy world virtually. Too amazing. Im not waiting in line for virtual busses!

[@Krescentwolf]

Very classic mechanic from the yester-year of MMOs, though. I remember waiting on boat rides in EQ1 back in the day... and some of them had VERY long wait times. We players would pass the time teaching other players our racial languages through spamming. Good times. Would I wanna go back to the age of 30min boat rides, no in game maps or quest journals, week long monster-spawn camps, and huge xp loss on death? Hell no. Adulting doesn't leave enough time and patience for that anymore. XD

[@SummonerMeleagros]

FFXI has, by far, the best pet classes of any mmo out there. Summoner, Beast Master, and Puppetmaster simply cant be topped. They are so well designed.

[@KaibaSeto.]

Puppet master? That sounds cool as fuck

[@medinamojo]

Love the effort that went into this video, Projareds videos never disappoint!

[@ThatRPGDood]

As someone who played for the first 6 years of its life, this is a great look back on the game. I remember how tough it was getting to 75 before Exp items were introduced, becoming a WHM uber, Fighting all the summons twice to get Fenrir, such good times

[@cerbgerm]

It took months and even longer if you didn't have an exp meta job. Bard, whm, any tank, ranger, thief, blm, sam all had pretty easy times getting groups but if you played DRK, BST, RDM before getting refresh, and several others you could spend hours looking for a group and never get an invite.

[@ChronicSensei]

Teleport Dem please. Lol.

[@stephenblack7695]

I played that game for 8 years when it first came out. I came back a few years ago and still have an active subscription alongside my ffxiv sub. I aggree, XI is its own breed of game. Delicious in its own right.

[@wolfiewolfdog9771]

Those of us who lived it, will never forget it. Good times.

[@belias1582]

Oh my, I loved this video so much, thank you for this Jared, for real. I miss the times I used to play this game with my friends from my linkshell. We had our blog, podcasts, guides, just for us. It was a lot of stuff, and we were REAL close to each other, it was like a family, they were my brothers and sisters. It's done now, but I still miss it, after so many years. Never got a gaming group like that again, and probably never will, being lonely sucks a lot sometimes, I tell ya. Your FF series reviews it's one of the best I saw on youtube btw, keep your good work!

[@raysantana7223]

When you're just watching this video randomly and you see your in game character @ 24:14 lmaooo (Mcqueen btw). Played this game back in the ps2 days for years from middle school into high school. My first mmo and had sunk hundreds of hours into the game and made great memories with people I'll never talk to again. The nostalgia I get for this world is very real. Hence why I went back to play on Eden. A very special video for a very special game. Thanks a lot for making this video ProJared & for partying with me that day :D They truly don't make them like this anymore.

[@captaine-niscookie3406]

wholesome and based

[@raysantana7223]

@@captaine-niscookie3406 lol thank you

[@BlaiseArath]

A FFXI Video in 2021, and one with praise being offered, dang, warms my heart. Loved your take on it, very tough analysis for a 20 year old game, but also very fair and analyzing it in the scope of the era it was released. Ah... even showcasing "Blood Warping". Also side note if you still play, F8 targets the closest NPC in a cone infront of you, included enemies. Makes target a bit easier than cycling through tab (and Shift+Tab cycles backwards), its definitely made for a controller. I still remember back in the old days of early XI, there was a Quest that i forget the name of, but it was a daily(Or weekly?) quest and you would be sent to an area to kill a certain spawned NM, and the quest would reward you with an EXP Scroll that gave a whole up to 2k exp(It was random between like 1000-2000 or something). This was ran a lot and usually with 18 people because even though it was like a level 25 quest and you couldn't even participate/do the quest if you were above that level or some such(If i recall!), the NMs were so damned hard that you needed that many people... all for maybe 2k exp. Ah the good ol' incredibly frustrating nightmare fuel days of yore. Frick I also remember looking for party back in the day, and the fun of being on an undesirable role or job. Sitting, rotting away on THF LFG for long periods of time, (Cause I too was a THF) sometimes getting invited as a replacement, or going to a doomed party in a weird spot... but other times finding a real solid group of players who clicked and the exp flowed so good. It had its highs and lows. I usually started my own party because of this very reason lol. I hate getting old. Also, RoTZ is an okay Story, Chains of Promathia is fantastic, Treasures is back to Okay but has some great characters, Wings of the Goddess has some amazing story cutscenes(for the era), Seekers is great but very endgame and difficult, and Rhapsodies of Vana'Diel, the original "End of the Era" story meant to tie everything up, made me cry as a veteran player who came back just to finish it. I doubt it'd hold the same weight as someone who did it all in 3 months as it did for me who played it for more than a decade during my childhood... but it was a good story. If you had to choose just 1 to complete, Chains of Promathia would be it. I STILL listen to Memoria De La S'Tona from time to time and it never ceases to make my eyes water. Edit: OH MA GAWD LEAPING LIZZY, Im sorry no leaping boots, or Bounding Boots, for you.

[@SwordsmanOrion]

Last time I checked, (which was like 10 years ago) my main character in FFXI had 315 days of playtime, and my alt had 75 days of total playtime. FFXI was my entire life for about 2 solid years. It was completely obsessed with it, and I missed out on a lot of other games that came out in those years because of how much time I poured into FFXI every waking moment.

[@RedDevil2557]

Could you dump your HDD and memcards and send it to me for getting revival server to work?

[@sakurya972]

Worth it.

[@malakai_adam]

It's something magical when you find a game you think you'd hate on paper but it becomes a favorite ❤️

[@LightFykki]

FFXI was very demanding but very fulfilling at the same time. It showed you that you do not need to achieve everything, like many games make you feel. Instead, even smaller accomplishments can feel huge as the game tries to immerse you into its world. I can understand why today we might never see MMOs of that calibre, but for its time it was truly a magical experience.

[@nobodyimportant5140]

I always wanted to play FF11 when I was a wee lad. I remember seeing it after I had played 10 and 10-2 and it always intrigued me. Sadly, being a twelve year old at the time, I had no money to get it and pay the monthly fee. Now as an adult, my soul has been consumed by FF14 and it honestly makes me appreciate 11 in a weird way. 14 wouldn’t exist without the success of 11, and I have a few friends who did play 11 (some still do on occasion), and they’ve told me a lot about it. One of those friends would even main Shantotto when we played Dissidia together. I’m glad to see that 11 and 14 can coexist and Squeenix supports both. With Endwalker merely days away at the time of this writing, and 11’s 20th anniversary in 2022, I hope we can maybe get some cool crossovers for both to celebrate such milestones.

[@Drewbert101]

No lie, at the start of the video I said to myself, "wow, Jared's hair Is looking really good" then 2 minutes in Jared says "the only thing I've got going for me is my hair" and the sponsor is a hair restoration product.

[@memekingk373]

Ive been playing XI alongside XIV with a friend whos a massive Final Fantasy fan and it has been a mystical time, 14 has fun snappy mechanics with flashy classes but 11 masters small moments and denies instant gratification for the sake of a deeper combat system that heavily requires co-ordination, interesting stuff

[@Gbelk]

As someone who also played on the PC from the US launch (and started playing again a couple years ago with a friend who wanted to see what it was like) this was a fun trip down memory lane.

[@darkfalcon7856]

is it bad that I totally remember every single exact spot that was shown, and it's been years since I last played FFXI?

[@DDracee]

its insane how much of an impression this game as left on me compared to other games

[@freezingcathedral]

strong memory is a good thing.

[@dale7326]

It’s more like a trauma. Simply because you spend most of your memory to remember and play the same game. Once you used to it, you can’t escape from it because it’s also a sunk cost effect as it was never meant to be for everyone to enjoy. Tons of old games are like that to the point because there is an issue with limited options for playing video games back in the day. Though I guess that one day they will bring back the same systems but using for VR games because it’s where the systems work best since it’s designed for RPG gameplay.

[@gigajerk6953]

How sad is the current video game industry, that I was surprised to see a "golden pass" that didn't require real life money

[@reloadpsi]

The amount of time it takes to do anything in this game might as well be taking away hours you could spend in a job that pays, so it's not all that different. I found this game less enjoyable than most of the actual jobs I've had.

[@fyrijou5202]

Man, i *REALLY* miss Jared‘s old Intros. While i do admit the opening Skits, whilst not a major part, were still rather funny, it‘s his Intro Song „Goodbye Summer, Hello Winter“ + him hanging the Controllers on the wall that i miss the most.

[@ArcanaEric]

I think most KZbinrs eliminate intro songs because they hurt viewership, but I’ve always enjoyed having intro themes like ProJared used to have, it makes you get in the mood of watching an episode as if it was on tv.

[@IamaPERSON]

@@ArcanaEric right? And it's attention catching, so if anything, it should get MORE views for people.

[@ArcanaEric]

@@IamaPERSON It should, but we do live in a time where people’s attention is so divided that having to sit through a 30 second intro may just be enough to deter some from watching the video. Keep in mind that TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the world, and the whole appeal of it is having incredibly short videos. Personally, I get way more annoyed at having ads or sponsorships as intros, but hey, at least that’s money for the creator independent from fluctuating KZbin revenue.

[@KeatonKing]

I started playing FFXI casually two years ago and its been a blast! I’ve finished every expansion, RoV and all three of the starting cities! Now I’m working on the last two starting cities in the WotG, and after that I want to do the sidestories as well as the new story! I love this game despite its flaws and its a GREAT game to play while waiting for new content in FFXIV!

[@RoninXDarknight]

Belated welcome to the addiction...or your second job as we used to say.

[@JoseMendoza-gq1bx]

I first got into FFXI (first ever MMO) on my PS2 with this setup. It was an era of awe... my first time ever playing online with real life people within. This game brought me so many fond memories, good in game friendships and the game was an obstacle to overcome. I remember spending 3 hours waiting to find a party, then another 4 hours with coffee XPing lol... something I would not do today anymore. So it makes the time in this game a once in a lifetime experience. FFXI will forever be in my heart and its nice to see reviews like these to relive these moments. Ty for that.

[@NolanB91]

I keep reading most of it you can solo with the trust/alter ego system in the game. I know what you mean with the time sink and lots of waiting but I may boot it up and treat it as a solo story mode with occasion groups with people. They made it so easy to get to 99 :)

[@FriskyBrisket]

This video gave me PTSD. Thanks Jared. I remember finally getting to level 20, getting a fancy new set of armor, selling the old armor, and then immediately dying and leveling down leaving me naked and afraid

[@toceeno874]

Is your pfp from that one weird ps2 game about Skittles

[@FriskyBrisket]

@@toceeno874 Mayybbbeeeeee

[@FriskyBrisket]

@@toceeno874 Not related to Jared. Back when i did Let's Plays, it was the first game we had finished. Can confirm, 1 of 10 people that have actually beaten it.

[@JonnyBeoulve]

I have so much nostalgia for this game. I leveled to the level cap of 75 back in 2004/2005. The amount of work required was insane. I had to level multiple other jobs to 37 as subjobs. Hearing the soundtrack gives me chills. My name was Mrxdemix on Asura.

[@bingobongo1615]

It honestly ruined the concept of MMORPG so much for it I didnt play one for a decade afterwards. Its such an awful grind

[@aliasv6964]

Can start again on eden now!

[@JonnyBeoulve]

​@@aliasv6964I'm playing on HorizonXI. Love it.

[@YorranKlees]

FFXI is still my most beloved game today, in 2024. I still play on my own private server at home and it feels great to come back now and again to Vanad'iel. Trusts do the job nicely for the most part of leveling and missions, so it's okay. Cherry on the cake: there is no "Mom called me for dinner" in your own leveling time. It is said that you never forget your first MMO, like you never forget your first love. I tend to agree, wholeheartedly.

[@MALEMization]

I rate this game a "RUNNING ON A BIG PILE OF DIRT WHILE DOING CHORES"/10

[@SapphireDragon357]

Thanks, Josh Strife Hayes! :P

[@Holy_Zen]

@@SapphireDragon357 Technically, ProJared did that style of ratings before JSH did. Check ProJared's older reviews. Even the Final Fantasy reviews before 6. I miss them.

[@SapphireDragon357]

@@Holy_Zen Ah, my bad then. Suppose it's just recency bias.

[@davieccc]

Man I loved this game! The way it made you play with other players really provided the platform to meet people and forge friendships, somewhere that mmos these days miss the mark

[@shiori4671]

I had the whole set. PS2+giant box w/HD. Took all my resolve to go through the process of registering online. I dragged through weeks of fighting rabbits and threw in the towel. I only had 1 friend online in the game and was not interested in devoting that much uninterrupted attention to such an already tedious-by-design game. I admire that you can actually focus through an actual playthrough of this monstrous game.

[@americasteam2112]

I’ve been thinking of playing this one. Still need to beat FF14. I know the retail version has a trust system to help you during battles. There also warp points everywhere apparently, so that makes things faster. That making the game easier makes me want to try it. Wish there was offline version of the game.

[@Thaltas]

Not sure about current XI, but release era it was fucking impossible to teleport around tho. You only had a nation portal, but unless you were high level enough with a class to endure a trip to the main land and get a chocobo pass (Or grind the mage classes enough to get the warp skill) it became a tough battle to grind according to the best exp spots. Imagine anyone who started in the Eastern mainland having to go to the west mainland by boat or overcrossing the high lvl areas on foot without mages for fast walking speed or invisibility spells (which some mages even charged for btw)

[@americasteam2112]

@@Thaltas damn sounds hard and grindy as fuck. From what I read, a lot of game has become less grindy.

[@tetsujixiv]

The retail version is much more friendly these days, you have a system like aetherytes but are not limited to a nation, any homepoint you touch you can use and there is a ton of more teleports you can get as your progress

[@RoninXDarknight]

There's like...4 different instant transportation systems nowadays. Telepoints still exist but aren't used as much...or, ever really. Outpost warps are still there but have largely been replaced by a new system. Home point warping allows transportation between various home points and they added A LOT more in than were in the base game. Then there's Survival Guide warping which is essentially Outpost Warping+. On top of all that with the movement speed increase and the ability to summon mounts pretty much anywhere (outside of dungeons at least), travel is much much more convenient than it was. The only people you see on boats are those fishing and airship travel is so non-existent that when a friend searched for me and saw I was on an airship he was like "Wtf you doin there? Why do I always see you in weird places?" Edit: Completely forgot there's also Unity warping. There's a hunt system for monsters called "Unity Notorious Monsters" that uses unity points and by speaking with the NPC in charge of those you can be teleported to the general area of the various fights.

[@oOAjjOo]

This game is hands down my favorite mmo of all time. The music alone will trap you.

[@cerbgerm]

I still listen to the music on spotify, it always takes me back to a special place.

[@zlk718]

Favorite mmo and favorite game of all time.

[@lukebailey3662]

Absolutely. As much as I love 14, the music just doesn't hit the same

[@davidh3576]

I read the guide to oblivion. Very fond memories plying this from launch. I managed to establish a character with the name Dave on titan server. I remember printing out maps from online to use to navigate the world when I haven’t purchased the map yet in game and using the compass and geography to move through dangerous areas…felt like a true adventure

[@pastformal8354]

FFXI is one of my favorite games of all time, so glad your covering it here, i still play on PServers all the time.

[@asuna07neros]

I wish SE would release an offline version of this game similar to that of DQX Offline. I don't mind deforming the characters and simplifying the overworld, I just really want to play the game for its story

[@americasteam2112]

Me too. I love FF14 but I don’t think I can play another mmo. They take forever.

[@otakon17]

They need to release DQX Offline over here dang it.

[@kyotheman69]

@@americasteam2112 that's not games fault though, that's your poor time management

[@SephYuyX]

You can play the game story solo right now. Why does it need to be offline?

[@GodOfOrphans]

@@kyotheman69 MMO's are meant to be perpetual, any kind of live service/forever game is one instance where not having enough time is pretty much always a valid excuse, as they are designed to be basically impossible to finish.

[@MousePunk]

I was Myrrh from Quetz for 12 years. Ffxi saved my life, and just 3 weeks ago, I got my Mithra Smn as a tattoo. Ffxi will always hold a special place in my heart.