Final Fantasy XI Story Overview (All Expansions Explained)

[@gregtroyan]

New video about Private Servers (I've updated my opinion...kinda): kzbin.info/www/bejne/npmye4SLl9CkprMsi=fzXTW3MgGGQn3yOe Chrono Series Ranking Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqa1dqyDpd5nkM0 Final Fantasy Ranking Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLXjn34wFCMP-6Kl56Fn2Ig3msOHqZAVhv Timecodes: 0:00 - Intro 7:59 - Final Fantasy XI Base Game (2002) 16:27 - The Limit Break Quests 22:51 - Rise of the Zilart (2003) 29:41 - Chains of Promathia (2004) 38:19 - Treasures of Aht Urghan (2006) 48:24 - Wings of the Goddess (2007) 59:17 - A Crystalline Prophecy (2009) 1:05:46 - A Shantotto Ascension (2009) 1:09:19 - A Moogle Kupo d'Etat (2009) 1:12:41 - Abyssea (2010) 1:23:38 - Seekers of Adoulin (2013) 1:36:48 - Rhapsodies of Vana'diel (2015) 1:45:45 - The Voracious Resurgence (2020) 1:57:35 - Bonus Jonas Quick Adoulin Fame: ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Adoulin_Quests Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Guide: www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Category:Rhapsodies_of_Vanadiel_Missions Vicenarian: www.youtube.com/@vicenarian340 Korvana: www.youtube.com/@FFXITheMovie Account Setup Guide: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h53HqKdte5iJd6Msi=_EtChyjdrmbb906W Thrifty032781: www.youtube.com/@Thrifty032781 Ideasthete: www.youtube.com/@Ideasthete Leveling Spots: Level 1-15: Ronfaure/Sarutabaruta/Gustaberg, just fight whatever's outside of town. Level 15-25: Valkurm Dunes at either west (E-9/F-9) or east (H-9-I-9) beach. Fight crabs until level 18, then add in Pugils. Level 25-32: Qufim Island, here you'll fight some worms and crabs. H-7 is a good place to camp, just be wary of ghosts at night. Level 32-46: Garlaige Citadel, here you'll fight Bats and Beetles These are all on the first map, just make a loop around the first area, between G/H/I-8 and I/H/G-9 and you'll be good. Level 46-55: Bostaniuex Oubliette, here you'll fight Bats. Drop down into the sewer (Map 1, E-8) and stay in the first L-shaped hallway. Be careful of the Hecatomb Hound in the middle at H-7, and don't go past the 4 Werebats at G-7. Level 55-65: Wajaom Woodlands, fight the Lesser Colibri at the leypoint in the middle of the map (G-8). This will require you unlocking Treasures of Aht Urghan. Level 65-70: Boyahda Tree, you will want to fight Processionaires on Map 3 at H-9/I-9/H-10/I-10. The fastest way here is from the Home Point crystal near Cloister of Storms, after which you'll make a left along the southwest wall from map 2. Level 70-82 #1: Bhaflau Thickets, Mamool Ja Staging Point, you can fight basically whatever is hanging out around here. Various Sea Puk, Mamool Ja, Skoffin. You will need to trek through Mamook to unlock this area. Level 82-87: Mount Zhayolm, here you'll fight some Orichalcumshell. To unlock, go to the Nyzul Staging point exit, take F-5 to Halvung, which is a straight tunnel to Mount Zhayolm. The crabs are just outside, and there's an Home Point at D-8. Level 87-99: Ceizak Battlegrounds, Blanched Mandragora - J-7, J-8, J-9, just outside town.

[@mr.johnson7424]

Eh, as far as supporting ffxi retail paying for the content is a non-starter the "devs" have said they only work on ffxi when they have free time that isn't spent on ff14. The only thing the fee for 11 does is pay for the servers. Long story short 11 doesn't have a dev team according to the "dev team"

[@gregtroyan]

@@mr.johnson7424 Explain The Voracious Resurgence then.

[@gregtroyan]

At what point did XI stop having a dev team? Was it when they made Wings of the Goddess? Was it when they made A Crystalline Prophecy? Was it when they made A Shantotto Ascension? Was it when they made A Moogle Kupo d'Etat? Was it when they made Vision of Abyssea? Was it when they made Scars of Abyssea? Was it when they made Heroes of Abyssea? Was it when they made Seekers of Adoulin? Was it when they made Rhapsodies of Vana'diel? Was it when they made The Voracious Resurgence? Weird how "nobody" made this content, it just magically appeared, so it's okay to throw it in the trash and/or steal it via private servers. The content doesn't exist just like the devs don't exist. 🙄

[@gregtroyan]

If the argument is, "Well, they made that in their spare time," imagine what they could do if people stopped stealing the game and actually had enough budget and resources to put back into XI. And it definitely wasn't "in their spare time" off the clock or anything like that. They are getting paid by Square Enix and doing it while on the clock. Just because they have multiple duties at their job still doesn't mean it isn't their job. Again, another bad argument in favor of private servers. The dev team doesn't exist so it's okay to steal from them. Weird how these people who don't exist have made a lot of content over the past decade. You did get me respond, I'll give you that.

[@chrisrogers6463]

@@gregtroyan The Voracious Resurgence was the last bit of new content before the torch was passed from former Producer Matsui to the current Producer Fujito. The expansion was made with a skeleton crew, but after it's completion and the change in producers, Fujito elected to let most of the remaining dev team of XI go to work on other projects both within Square Enix or elsewhere if they chose to do so. There is, arguably, fewer than 10 people remaining to work on FFXI and have said future FFXI content will be in the form of "community activities" such as Vana'bout, which focuses on players accomplishing tasks across all servers. The reasons for this direction are twofold: firstly, Fujito-P believes it is in the best interests of the developers' careers to move on from FFXI and develop new, relevant skills instead of maintaining decades old code. Additionally, it is unreasonable to bring in new developers to teach them skills that won't be relevant in the future work. Secondly, the hope for any new expansion content in FFXI is bound to the remaining PS2 dev kits, as the development team has stated multiple times that all their development and testing tools require that hardware and they simply cannot dedicate resources to eliminate that dependency. It was said by the steam that Seekers of Adoulin would be the final expansion for FFXI as well yet we got The Voracious Resurgence from the passion of the team, but it is unlikely we will see more given the current situation. Furthermore, private servers are NOT piracy in any form. Private servers do not use code owned by Square Enix and thus do not violate any copyright law. They also do not use any assets owned by Square Enix, as the server code is independent from the client software, which is provided free of charge. The private server software is reverse engineered from the "black box" that is the retail servers by analyzing packet data and client behavior to re-implement the functionality of the official servers. You can argue that private servers may harm Square Enix and FFXI and it's developers by depriving them of potential subscribers, but this is not piracy as generally defined. Also, please consider that most private servers for FFXI seek to recreate the 75 level cap era (from the base game up until Wings of the Goddess) but only differ on which expansion they cut content off at. This is an experience that cannot be had in retail FFXI and many people play both or would otherwise not subscribe play retail as the content of the game has shifted too far from that era now in it's twilight years. As a final point, private servers are absolutely crucial to software preservation and especially so for live service games. They are best developed while official servers still exist to verify the implementations are correct while the "black box" still exists. More people playing on these pservers helps to verify the behavior of these implementations are in fact correct. I don't expect to change your stance on how the potential loss of subscribers may hurt Square Enix and the FF11 development team, but I hope this will soften your opinion of private servers at least a bit. Keep heart, though, as Noaki Yoshida has taken up the position of advocate of FFXI within SE's MMORPG division and has promised that the game will remain online for everyone to experience an important numbered FF game as long as it remains profitable. It is the job of the developers to keep that up! I wouldn't worry too much, as SE invested in brand new server hardware for FF11 in the past year, so I expect the game to be online for the forseeable future.

[@SirVyre]

To elucidate the Abyssea controversy for you, the real issue was: Abyssea came out the year after the infamous Salvage bans. The Salvage bans were bans done to players, mainly NA players, after Square Enix collected data on an item duplication exploit only possible Salvage due to the nature of how alliances and the drop table worked inside of the event. In short, you could turn 1 drop into 3. The bans affected mostly endgame players, who were largely the leaders of most linkshells and social groups and community testers. It did also catch anyone who just so happened to be in their groups, even if they gained nothing from the exploit and did not know it was being employed. This altered the face of the endgame scene in mid-late 2009, right around the time A Crystalline Prophecy came out. Following that was the level cap raise to 80, which saw new EXP camps added for high level players as well as new weaponskills gained from heightened combat skills. The level cap raise was a big ask for a lot of players, because the grind to level 75 back then could take months by itself, sometimes even more than year, if you played a pariah job like DRG, BST, PUP, or SMN. The systems introduced in Abyssea rearranged the face of EXP parties in addition to adding gear comparable to the level 75 endgame gear. Not all of it was actually better right off the bat. The main issue became that you can farm time extensions and stay in Abyssea forever, if you don't log out or leave. You can also spawn chests that yield 1250 exp per chest to anyone in the same ALLIANCE that opens the chest, regardless of character level. So the procedure for leveling jobs turned from the known method of Valkurm Dunes (10 to 20) > Qufim Island (20 to 25)> Yuhtunga Jungle + Yhoator (25 to 32)> East Altepa (32 to 36ish)> Crawler's Nest + Quicksand Caves (36 to 42ish) > West Altepa (43ish to 50ish) > Quicksand Caves (50~54is) Kuftal Tunnel + Wajaom Woodlands (55 to 61ish) > Bibiki Bay + Caedarva Mire (64ish to 72ish) > Lufaise Meadows + Bhaflau Thickets (72 to 75 and meripos). To basically becoming, get to level 30 by any means you could, and then do something called, "Key Whoring" for an alliance of level 75+ players, allowing you to go from level 30 to level 80 in a single day on any job. Prior to this, there was an exploit with SMN's Astral Flow and the newly introduced Level Sync system that allowed anyone willing to pay the SMN mercs to do a Level Sync Korroloka Tunnel Astral Flow burn to level any job to 75 without ever leaving the tunnel. Abyssea basically allowed anyone willing to put together an alliance to do this for free, and people basically didn't stop doing this until Trusts took over individual leveling in the later Seekers of Adoulin years. Keep in mind, the level 75 cap and all of its associated content had been the norm and the progression for about 6.5 years, and since the game was a struggle and endgame linkshells were run by people abusing assholes, getting the gear was always a major endeavor of luck and dedication and putting up with assholes / navigating a social sphere (FOR YEARS). So you get Abyssea in this way, and it dramatically alters the game progression from the top down, destroying asshole's hold on the game overnight, destroying the value of level 75 crafting recipes overnight, destroying the value of low level EXP camps over night, and the game became so Abyssea centric for a while that the devs had to correct their own pendulum swing by continually rolling out updates that added things like Fields of Valor and Grounds of Valor to make outside EXP comparable. Mileage may vary, but basically this destabilized a lot of linkshells and a lot of social groups immediately after they'd been destabilized after the Salvage bans. With the add-on storylines being seen as a means to an end for their gear rewards, the first augmented gear available in the game, a lot of players were starting to feel like they were being farmed like cash cows in a game that could fail at any moment. $10 USD for every add-on, adds up. I personally really enjoyed this shake up, because I always felt ill at ease with the social situation with linkshell leaders actively disparaging their lesser skilled LS members while lording control of drops and loot over them. My brother actually joined an endgame linkshell during the level 75 era that did things like trade drops from HNMs for sex with members. I'm forever glad that Abyssea largely put a stop to all of that.

[@gregtroyan]

I did grossly simplify my explanation for the video, but I appreciate you giving this fuller context. The bottom paragraph is terrifying and makes me like Abyssea more for disrupting the social order of the game. It seems like Abyssea was a good infusion of populism into the game.

[@Xeyvian]

Abyssea key holder {do you need it?} {Can I have it?} Basically, you want to get 1-cap in multiple jobs in one day. I'd be lying if I said it was good for the game. The whole speal bout FFXI was the friends you made along the way, the months it took you to get to cap with them, then job quests, and ultimately {sky} {sea} Dynamis, HNMs and other end-game stuff. Now you can skip any sort of interaction which made FFXI interesting in favor of a casual play style and just be there in a few hours. People skipped what made FFXI, FFXI, but then again perhaps it was their way of getting interest back into the game. Now you get to end-game, bonded with no one and the game becomes soulless.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Xeyvian Nah. You can still bond with other players, it's just that early game content can be soloed. The content that required playing with other players is no longer the content that requires playing with other players, but there is NEW content that requires that same level of teamwork and friendship. The only difference is which content it is. You don't need help getting to Jeuno, but you'll need help with a lot of stuff in modern XI.

[@hayalmatnu9919]

The level cap raise was the main reason for me to quit

[@gregtroyan]

@@hayalmatnu9919 You should come back and play the amazing new content.

[@thriftingtonpost]

I played XI from 03 to 07. It was far more life consuming than i have time to fully express right now. A game you could play every minute of every day and have very little in game to show for your efforts. It was so brutal. Those were great times.

[@gregtroyan]

"A game you could play every minute of every day and have very little in game to show for your efforts. It was so brutal. Those were great times." To me, that sounds like a terrible time, hahaha! But I know old school players love the grind.

[@caturiges]

Wow, it's extremely rare to see people talk about XI story. Before I made my video, I only found Geraru Taru and Korvana talking about it. And before I forget it, screw that mountain climbing mission in Seekers of Adoulin, I fell a lot of times trying to get to the top. For newer players I also reccomend watching cloudchief guides for leveling and general setup of the game.

[@gregtroyan]

Dat mountain

[@miloanderson2903]

As a player who played from the beginning it’s epically more rewarding doing the shadow lord fight at level not at 99. The struggle was real and very rewarding

[@gregtroyan]

I'm an FFVIII fan so I like becoming OP and demolishing my foes with ease.

[@V_User-]

Amazing video! Loved hearing a FFXI retrospective from an ofline FF fan's perspective. One quick note about FFXI's gamplay content. It is true that most of the rewards from older battle content like OG Dynamis is no longer relevant. But almost every piece of battle content has some rewards that still keep them highly relevant in today's endgame. Most pieces of battle content is relevant to getting an ultimate weapon or armor peice. Some content still rewards *BiS* accessories. For me, this just makes the battle content feel less like an MMO (where so much becomes obsolete) and more like a Final Fantasy. Just like most FFs, almost all of the content is rewarding. And it will forever be mind-blowing to me that the game has somehow kept the VAST majority of it's content relevant, despite some of it being 20 years old or older! Thank you so much for this story summary. Easily the best KZbin video on FFXI!

[@gregtroyan]

That is true, I did neglect to mention that, but it is cool how they found a way to make all of that battle content relevant in someway towards modern endgame. The devs put a lot of care into crafting this game and I love how they found a way to make every piece of content worthwhile in someway. Vicenarian does acknowledge that in his videos, which I appreciate, as he's also a story-first player like myself. Thank you so much for these kind words. They mean a lot and put a big smile on my face. : )

[@Grobles872]

I am extremely excited about this video! I don't think FFXI ever had a story recap. All I have seen are complete storylines (which are very long).

[@gregtroyan]

I hope this video lives up to your expectations! I will say that this is an overview, not a recap. Basically, I'm not going into major spoilers in case anybody wants to check out FFXI and hasn't played a particular expansion, but I will talk about the general outline of each expansion, major characters, etc. Granted, me just doing a "brief overview" means this video is longer than 2 hours, hahaha.

[@vicenarian340]

Thank you so much for this phenomenal video! It's obvious to tell that a lot of effort went in. That effort will not go unappreciated!

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you for the kind words! They're incredibly appreciated coming from you! Perhaps someday, when you get the time, we could do a loose, unscripted XI video where we chat about the game. I feel like the discourse would be pretty fun. Cheers and wishing you the best in your life! : )

[@Tsugandate]

This comes off more as a compilation of hot takes for every expansion more than a story overview, which is what I've been looking for since I'm a 14 player and they're adding 11-related content there soon.

[@gregtroyan]

First, saying "Chains of Promathia good" is like saying "Shadowbringers good". It's hardly a hot take. There are some opinions of mine that are contrary to a certain segment of XI players (folks who say everything after 2006 is hot garbage and should be ignored), but me saying, "Hey, this content is actually good and worthwhile" is as hot of a take as saying, "Hey, there are some good Final Fantasy games after Final Fantasy X". Boomers disagree, they're loud, but they aren't the be-all end-all of discourse. Second, the idea behind this overview is for it to give people a general idea of what each expansion contains (general plot synopsis, major characters, villains, key locations, thematic content, vibes), without major spoilers in case they sound interesting enough for people to want to give them a try, but also giving enough info about them where people can get a general idea of what the story is like. It's a tricky tightrope to walk and I acknowledge not everyone will be satisfied. Overall, the response has incredibly positive and I've had a bunch of people message me saying that this video inspired them to play FFXI, and I've had a bunch of XIV players specifically thank me for the video and they told me they were satisfied with it. Thanks for taking the time to watch the whole video and taking the time to comment.

[@KonEl17]

Boomers? Shit Genx and Millennials too. But what FF games are good after 10, aside from FF14?

[@gregtroyan]

@@KonEl17 XI, XII, XIII, and XV. Haven't played XVI so I can't judge the gameplay, but I quite liked the story cutscenes.

[@KonEl17]

@gregtroyan 11 never played, 12 was infinitely better with Zodiac Age but the story was still not great, 13 boy oh boy to me the cast was not likable aside from Fang and Snow the story was tad confusing but the most egregious error was its linearity. Making you olay as specific groups of characters in the beginning and when the game opens up on pulse didn't last. Pulse was the best part of 13. 15 my gripes are Lunafreya was useless, I'd want other characters in the party aside from the boy band, and the combat had no depth. Stella from Vs13 appeared to have way more character and meaning to that unfinished game compared to 13 Lunafreya.

[@gregtroyan]

@@KonEl17 XII is one of my least favorite FF games, but still one of my favorite games of all time. It's just weaker in comparison to the rest of the series. I like the cast of XIII and don't mind the linearity. The gameplay, music, and visuals are fantastic. I thought the story was easy to comprehend. I thought Luna was a fine enough character but wasn't given enough screentime.

[@AbsoluteEse]

Omg this is great! I just started playing like...2 months ago and I kept thinking HOW is there no a story recap video for each expansion in a single, summary based video yet. Its wonderful, I'll be sure to send people your way when they ask for advice (and the mentioned Vicenarian, really nice to see some new people making content for this game). As someone who also played a ton of FFs and is only interested in story here, but has been so confused at times as to what counts as story, what to play, what to skip.... this has been super helpful, thank you

[@gregtroyan]

I'm really glad to help! Your commentary is basically the entire reason I made this video. I wanted to help guide new players who are interested in what the story is but aren't sure how to approach it, explain the game to outsiders who might be curious, and serve as a recap for veterans, all while going very light on spoilers so that newcomers who wanna dive all-in will still be able to enjoy all of the surprises in store, but at the same time offering them a roadmap of what to expect. I'm so glad you enjoyed this video, because again, folks like you are the reason I made this. A video like this really needed to exist for XI, and I'm glad to offer it to everybody. Thank you so much for the kind words and offer to share the video. It means a lot and this comment made my day. Thank you! : )

[@demitel5045]

As someone who never comments on KZbin videos: thank you for this. I'm one of the players mentioned who had to step out of the game more for personal life than any other notable reason, and there's no way for me to really go back and reinvest like I did for so many years, so getting to watch this video helped put me back into it in a way that I could get a good feel for what I've missed over the years. Great write-up and great content! Thanks again, Greg!

[@gregtroyan]

I'm glad! I tried to make this video enjoyable to all kinds of players, like those who never played XI, those who played all of XI, and players like you who played some of XI and want to know what they missed out on. I'm so glad this video was able to offer something of value to you. 😊 Cheers mate!

[@nor8627]

Thank you for this! Ffxiv player, but I’ve played a lot of mmos over the years like wow, gw2, eso, etc. The thing I find interesting about mmos in particular is the history of them. Like, why something was added in the first place or when it was added. Having those little tangents like why the limit break quests were added was really interesting!

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks mate! I'm glad you appreciated the tangents!

[@BaronLector]

My favorite expansion to "experience" was Wings of the Goddess. Prior to this expansion, I had spent YEARS leveling up jobs the Crawler's Nest and Garlaige Citadel. These are scary places. The ability to travel back in time 25 years and experience these zones when they were teeming with life and before they became run-down or infested was... harrowing.

[@gregtroyan]

Absolutely. The "it's the same zones" argument falls apart when you're able to experience them that way. Wings is such a great expansion.

[@supersonic159]

thank you for this wonderful video. so lovingly put together and well crafted. this game meant a lot to me, and this video felt special to go through. Thank you Greg.

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks mate! I'm really glad you enjoyed the video and you felt the love put into making it. Cheers!

[@supersonic159]

Being a small crater myself (different channel) I can tell this video must have been a huge amount of work. Mad respect. Cheers

[@DarthJF]

I just started my own FFXI journey and this cleared up a lot of things. It can get pretty confusing when you're just starting up with the nation missions and get bombarded with various cutscenes leading you towards all the different expansions from the 20+ years of the game's history. Great overview and I'm glad you went through the trouble of making it for anyone still looking to get into the game.

[@gregtroyan]

Hey, you're basically the exact kind of person I made this video for, so I'm glad to hear it's appreciated! Thanks for the kind words and I wish you the best of luck on your Vana'diel journey! : )

[@Ravencrest172]

I can explain the love of Archduke Kam’lanaut and it has nothing to do with nostalgia. When he and his brother washed up on the island Jeuno was a fishing village. The Jeuno in XI today was built by Kam’lanaut. Not only that but he’s acted as diplomat and mediator for the player nations, forging alliances and resolving conflict. He was the war leader of the combined armies of the free peoples during the Crystal War. He literally, and figuratively, bridged the two great continents. He introduced crystal crafting (the crafting method players use) to vana’diel and brought on the modern industrial age. He introduced technologies like the airships and others. He was a hero and champion of the people. And he was the villain. But he wasn’t evil. He wasn’t consumed by darkness and shadow. He’s a paladin/red mage. He’s still wielding white magic and holy light. In fact for most of XI’s existence he was the only character (npc or player) to be able to cast EnLight. The simple reason he’s the villain representative for XI is because he is directly responsible for the existence and creation of modern day Vana’diel.

[@gregtroyan]

That's fair. In terms of lore, he does have a lot of significance to the world of XI. While I might not find him interesting in terms of personality and his goals, you brought up some really good points as to why he would be the representative of the game based upon his standing in the world of XI. He has a lot of accomplishments and greatly altered Vana'diel.

[@Ravencrest172]

@@gregtroyan Sadly I think Kam’lanaut is one of those characters that suffers in the modern era. Lots of his story and things about him are relegated to side content or external content. The sad reality is that when people can do content in a matter of hours that used to take months there is a loss of depth. From what you said in the video I’m guessing you weren’t raising reputations and doing tons of the side content (or indeed other job quests). While Rise of the Zilart was current content people spent months to a year just getting to max and getting through the story and lots of side quests and other gameplay mechanics that just don’t matter now. I remember it used to be an insider joke when a new player would be getting towards the end of base XI and they’d say “I wish we could be citizens of Jeuno” and everyone who knew would just keep their mouths closed. Jeuno and Kam’lanaut were very popular when XI came out in North America. But now new players just don’t spend months with Jeuno as the center of their world and the archduke being a meaningful part. It’s just one of the ways the game has changed, the pacing is gone.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Ravencrest172 Before playing XI, I watched every single Korvana cutscene, which means I saw the cutscene for every single sidequest, and Jeuno was my home point for the vast majority of the game, with only Adoulin acting as a home point towards the end of my journey, but even after that I still made Jeuno my major base of operations. I spent a lot of time there and myself thought it would be nice if it could be my home nation. I get what you're saying about the pacing being different, but if Kam’lanaut only works as a villain if you spend years in Jeuno, I think he's not a strongly written character and that he benefits more from lore and the world around him than anything about himself as a character. I definitely appreciate his looming presence in the story, but he, himself, is an uninteresting character to me and is more interesting as a puzzle piece to XI's world than as a character in his own rite. I hope that makes sense.

[@Ravencrest172]

@@gregtroyan Oh no you make total sense. But I feel I wasn't clear so I apologize. It's not on you or any new players and I should have really emphasized the fact that his character is explored in a lot more detail in -external- materials such as the Vana'diel Tribune. Things that had much more meaning and were seen and talked about more often in the moment that isn't being seen and talked about these days. Posts, responses, dev interviews, etc. There is, sadly, no way to mimic that for new players. And I 100% agree that SE bungled Kam'lanaut and Eald'narche by putting so much of their stories outside the game. I just really wanted to make the point that older players aren't looking back and thinking they're awesome characters because of nostalgia. There was a ton of community and additional content that elevated the two and they were genuinely loved in the moment. It's not a fondness that has grown over time, they were big at the time.

[@songohan5866]

Great overview. It is nice hearing all about the game.

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks Gohan! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@mister-x2]

I bought FF11 on a whim during lockdowns and played for a couple of months. I found the story impossible to follow so I spent some time looking for a video just like this with no luck. So thanks for your service!

[@gregtroyan]

The reason you weren't able to find a video like this is because, up until this video, nobody had bothered to do it, hahaha. Somebody had to do it! I'm glad to provide the service to the FF community and glad you appreciated the video. If you want deeper dives into any particular expansion, Vicenarian's channel is great, and of course Korvana has the cutscenes if you want to marathon the stories. Cheers mate!

[@NewbDragoon]

Re: Zilart retconning the base ending and having Lion as "the expansion girl" again - my theory is that RoZ was mostly content that was intended to be part of the base FFXI release, but had to be cut for time. Summoner felt like a half-finished job on launch, and sure enough it was fleshed out and "finished" with RoZ's release. I also think much of the reverence for RoZ isn't as much from the story, but more from the lore it introduced or fleshed out, really helping expand the history of the world.

[@gregtroyan]

I think you're probably right to a large degree. It's possible that having Lion as the expansion girl again was maybe due to a lack of foresight knowing that expansion girls would become a thing, but your theory is solid. I think Zilart is strong in terms of lore, but weak in terms of the actual story it tells. I know some folks think The Silmarillion is the best Tolkien book, but I certainly don't hold that opinion.

[@ElijaihBlue]

I think the dislike to Abyssea for most 75 era players is more due to the fact that it was the turning point to the game becoming easy mode where most players enjoyed the difficulty to the game. Going from lv 1-99 in a matter of hours in Abyssea killed the old leveling and made all of the great camps obsolete + this was the bigger turning point of people paying for power leveling just sitting afk where before you couldn't really do that as reliably . The struggle is what fueled the reward and that went for all expansions before that especially the first time you beat CoP(getting all the lv synced gear and finding groups) / Zilart. Also you mentioned a few times people disliking some expansions due to the power creep and gear becoming useless but I would have to disagree. Majority of users play with GearSwap and in XI its one of the few games with obsolete gear, it all has a value and that was the biggest pain in the ass for someone who hated WoTG because the last piece is immensely valuable. Personally WoTG/Abyssea were not for me, Abyssea was the quitting point for a lot of players again due to how they felt it changed the atmosphere of the game. But now with the newer updates to TVR and Odyssey the endgame is very fun and challenging again, not like the old days its ok for things to change with time.

[@gregtroyan]

I wish I had gotten to level 99 in a few hours. Soloing the Limit Break Quests was hard, man!

[@ElijaihBlue]

@@gregtroyan I just remember people leveling in alliances and then you always had a few hiding in the martellos afk lol

[@ElijaihBlue]

@@gregtroyan Also try to imagine how Limit Breaks were back in 75 era lol... It was rough but this is actually I think what brough the community together, nothing in the game was easy and you could only solo lv 1-10/14ish depending what job and from that point on it was seeking party looking for people to group with. It made the game special even if it was tedious, the difficulty made the rewards feel actually worth it. This is the biggest contrast imo to XIV is that it felt like every update gear was obsolete and you just dispose of it for the new dungeon gear where as XI using gearswap ( if you're not vanilla now days) you can make use of gear even from the 75 era to maximize your abilities. Anyways killer video mate, even if I dont agree with everything I am super happy to see that more people appreciate XI and the community within it!

[@vtubersubs3803]

The game didn't become easier lol. Modern endgame is way harder than anything 75 era. Level grinding is not difficulty, just a time sink

[@Akirkland24]

Thank you for making such a comprehensive video on XI. It truly is the biggest, most complex, most difficult FF. It shows its age now, but the story, world, setting, mechanics, music, and are all amazing. My long shot hope for the future is an offline remake of XI so more people can enjoy Vana’Diel.

[@gregtroyan]

An offline remake that includes all of the content but rebalances the game with a couple more quality of life features (mini-map and quest markers)...man. That game would absolutely rock!

[@adiscerningdunmer9311]

THANK YOU. Finally, someone says it. Blue Mage was the reason I adored Treasures of Aht Urghan. That storyline, that lore for it made it my favorite Job hands-down. And as much as I enjoy XIV, it comes off as a shadow of its former self in comparison. Immortals forever.

[@gregtroyan]

I haven't seen any of the Blue Mage storyline in XIV, but it's pretty incredible in XI. Top tier stuff.

[@helloarchives]

I've been playing since 2004, and WotG is still my favourite story in any Final Fantasy game. Everything just works. About Abyssea, what most story players don't know or understand is how the gearing system works in XI. You can change equipment midfight freely and build your sets for every little niche situation. Collecting gear-sometimes over 100 pieces for one job alone-is what keeps people playing. And Abyssea gear and the influx of money made many niche sets obsolete because those pieces covered nearly every situation and made the joy of collecting gear pointless. Of course, some pieces are still being used from 2004, like the Defending Ring or the earring from Lilisette.

[@gregtroyan]

I understand that part of it, I just don't resonate with it. I'm not really an MMO player and don't live for the grind. My point is that the gear and limitations still exist within the game if one really wants to play the game the same as pre-Abyssea, but those who don't want to play that way don't have to. Retail has more content and more options, private servers just remove content, and it's a lot easier to remove content than to make content. I get people like gear swapping (which is still a thing in retail endgame), but the option still remains for those wanting to do pre-Abyssea only, as does the option to keep characters at level 75. None of those mechanics were removed, it just became less optimal. I do get the frustration with a giant timesink that I'm sure a lot of folks felt. I get that. But also, I've never been attached to the gear part of MMOs. To me, getting good gear is just something getting between me and playing the game. For other folks, it's the entire game.

[@helloarchives]

@@gregtroyanEveryone their own, only wanted to put it out there so it is there if anyone cares. To your last point: Imagine sitting with 90 other people in one area every day for 3-9 hours (spawn times) only to finally get your Ridill or Defending Ring. You get attached to that piece of gear through the hardship of obtaining it and it being Best in Slot for a specific set. This is why gear in XI differs significantly from that in XIV and WoW, where it is rotated every 2-3 months. Some pieces people had or have for over 15-20 years and are still useful. I do not disagree with you; as I said, everyone has their own. Just sharing a different perspective as a long-time player who prefers modern XI over classic.

[@gregtroyan]

@@helloarchivesI can't even imagine that because it's not my personality type. I don't really like more sandbox type games (I've played Minecraft for maybe a total of 3 minutes in my life) and play almost exclusively story centric games. I enjoy platformers, fighting games and racing games too, but for the most part, it's JRPGs. The only MMOs I've played extensively are FFXI, FFXIV (only beaten ARR) and Runescape. I don't have the time to wait 3 to 5 hours a day to wait for something to spawn, and there are things I'd rather do with my time, like play another RPG, read a book, watch a movie, write, create, etc. The concept of that level of grind without story reward doesn't compute in my head because it's something I would never do. I started playing War of the Visions and quit after Season 1 because the gameplay was too tedious and grindy, and now I'm just watching the story on KZbin. I'm just wired differently and focus more on narrative than gameplay, which is a minority position in the video game community, and a very small minority among XI players. I've met more players who say they skip all the XI cutscenes than players in XI who say they are story-first players. I do appreciate you sharing that perspective for folks who don't know, as it is something I neglected to comment on my video, and I appreciate your respectful discourse.

[@jamesrusselleriii8284]

30:40 You did not want to play CoP on release. The initial Promyvions were hell on earth. Strays hit like a truck, Memory Receptacle portals stayed open for maybe a minute if that and had a far lower pop rate, and the bosses were almost impossible if you didn't farm the animas beforehand. If you tried it in an alliance it was almost guaranteed someone was going to get left behind before they could reach the portal, and if they got left behind, too bad. The only way you'd clear it is if you had a well-geared static with medicines who knew what they were doing. It was Lv75 content masquerading as Lv30 content.

[@gregtroyan]

I've heard that before. I was more talking in terms of narrative, under the assumption I was a good enough player to get through the content.

[@-L1K-]

I don't think I would ever wanna sub to this just to play through the story. I simply don't have the time for another MMO. This is a great video for me especially before the next raid in FFXIV that is about FFXI. So thanks for making this.

[@gregtroyan]

I'm glad it was helpful! I was hoping to hear from some XIV fans in the comments and am glad I was able to make an easy to consume overview! If you have any friends who are interested in the raid, please send them my way! Cheers mate! : )

[@ShizaanSil]

That little reference to "don't look at the timecode" from the some more news show gave me a chuckle

[@gregtroyan]

You're the first person in the comments to acknowledge that! : D

[@ffxiarchive]

I watched the whole video. It was fun! I appreciated that you even went into the add-on scenarios and Abyssea, as it's rare for people to talk about these stories. If I had one criticism, it would be that it personally got a little bit tiring hearing about private servers multiple times throughout the video. (To be clear, I don't play on private servers and don't care much about them.) Otherwise, good work and well put together video!

[@gregtroyan]

That's a fair point of criticism. I appreciate the feedback.

[@VincenzoMGREX]

I am a big XIV player. Over 3k hours all jobs at lvl 90 and a few at 100 already. Tried XI a couple of times but havent progressed beyond level 75 and beginning of Zillart. Your mini guide at the beginning of the video gave me motivation to start again. XI always looked like better game than XIV to me but it's much harder to get into. The cutscenes are much more lively and more interestingly shot than XIV.

[@gregtroyan]

Awesome! I'm so happy that this video made you decide to give the game another shot! It's a great time and I know you'll end up loving it.

[@ZakRios333]

I got few jobs and all crafts to 100 in XIV and came back to XI a month ago. It’s been a blast. I enjoy it much more than 14

[@gregtroyan]

@@ZakRios333 I like XI much more than XIV too, but I've only beaten ARR up to this point. I plan on finishing the rest of XIV after I beat the rest of Another Eden, but I played ARR and base XI back-to-back, and XI was the one I wanted to keep playing.

[@FUall19956]

I don't really play xiv anymore since picking up ffxi on a classic private server xD everything you do has meaning, FFXIV feels like a party game

[@gregtroyan]

@@FUall19956 I like both, but I prefer XI by a wide margin.

[@FlameHazeVT]

"Problem" with the story back then was that actually doing some parts of the story was very difficult due to level caps, needing multiple people to do stuff and getting to the places since traveling was not easy either. Trusts and the removal of level caps made the story way more acessible.

[@gregtroyan]

Agreed. Glad the story is more accessible nowadays.

[@GCJACK83]

Lion is the girl assigned to base and Zilart because base and Zilart were developed at the same time. SE's whole plan was to release both base and Zilart in a single pacdkage tied to the PS2 HDD addon. Meanwhile we get TWO girls in Chains, Prishe and Ulmia. One in ToAU, Aphmau, technically two if you're like me and include Naja Salaheem. One in Wings, Lilisette. Arciella in Adoulin, Iroha in Rhapsodies... and Cornelia in Voracious.

[@gregtroyan]

I wouldn't count Cornelia in TVR, personally. She's barely in it. Gloom Phantom for life! 😜

[@Arlacent]

The biggest reason for WotG distaste was actually due to the fact that the expansion was the absolute longest drawn-out release schedule as a lot of their crew was already being shifted over to FFXIV 1.0 for development. Each of the nation mission stories and the main story were released in 3 major segments and your rank within campaign was required to remain in tact (which would dwindle if you didn't log in and participate) to be able to progress when the next section finally released.

[@gregtroyan]

XI fans I've noticed aren't the best at adjusting opinions after first impressions. Zilart is amazing because it came out in 2003, WOTG is trash because it was incomplete at launch. I understand the frustration to a degree playing through the tiny updates in Voracious, but the quality of WOTG makes it absolutely worth the wait, IMO.

[@Py687]

​@@gregtroyanReception for a live service game is inherently tied to its content release schedule and developer responsiveness. It's absolutely fair to review the expansions on their own merit, but if you're going to make statements judging the player base, then you also need the context in which that content was released. You are awfully harsh for someone without that frame of reference.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Py687 I understand the context behind the different frame of references. I can have an opinion on the presidency of Ronald Reagan without being alive during his presidency by gathering enough information and context, and I can disagree with the majority. Reagan was massively popular when he was President, I understand why, and I can still think he was a terrible President. I can understand the historical context behind the release of content in a live service game, I can understand people have nostalgia for certain eras, and I can still judge the content based on the quality of the content rather than solely the historical context. In general, a lot of old school XI fans judge content not by the quality of the release but by the context the content was released, and they are far harsher in their criticisms of post-Abyssea content than I am of pre-Abyssea content. Yeah, I'm gonna judge people for pirating a live service game when all of the options to experience the game "the old school way" is still contained within the game. The graphics are the same. The music is the same. The locations are the same. The mechanics are the same, the only difference is that there are additional OPTIONS that make the game easier, if you choose. People can do mental gymnastics to justify why removing pirating the game and removing optional features is ethical, but cutting straight to the point, it's stealing, it's disrespectful, and I think it's stupid. It's artistically bankrupt. If a private server did something creative and interesting, like writing a new storyline or creating new locations, I would immediately respect them and I would immediately sign up to play on private servers. But just stealing the game and cutting out content is something I have zero respect for, as an artist and as a fan of artists. Once private servers actually do something artistic and creative, let me know. Otherwise, I have no interest in playing a pirated mod of retail and killing support for the creators. I may sound harsh, but I'm tired of people pretending that private servers are anything other than pirated versions of retail that just remove content and modify some stats. If you're looking at FFXI from purely a mechanical perspective, with no respect to the artistry of the creatives, with no concept of how the economic livelihoods of the devs and funding for the game is concerned, with no respect for the storytelling involved in the game, then I can see how someone would support private servers. But, as someone who has been involved in media from the creative side (worked on a video game dev staff, worked on a feature film, been a member of an orchestra, worked in radio, worked as a touring musician etc.), I have complete disgust with private servers stealing the game and throwing the work of the devs in the trash all because they don't like that you can equip an EXP ring and summon some trusts. Nope. Sorry. Zero respect for that perspective, and I'm going to be harsh on it. If you pirate the game because of poverty, I can respect that. If you pirate the game and create something artistic and unique with it, I can respect that. If you pirate the game just to remove content you don't like, I have zero respect for that.

[@Hazelnutleaf]

Wow!! Amazing video, thank you so much! I was an FFXI player from 2005 - 2010. I was originally on Seraph but got so into PVP (ballista, specifically) that I made a new char on the most popular PVP server, Fenrir, because you couldn’t transfer characters between servers yet. I wonder if there’s still a PVP community.. in those days there were rival linkshell groups just for PVP and we would hold private tournaments and you could join public ballista matches any time of day! It was very competitive! Miss those times.. Anyway, thank you so much for making this video! It made me so nostalgic and I hadn’t known about the later expansions. Learning about Rhapsodies of Vana’diel made me tear up 😭 Long Live FFXI!! 💗 - Saroa (Fenrir)

[@gregtroyan]

I haven't engaged in any of the PvP mechanics, but from what I've heard from other players, there is still an active PvP scene in XI. I'm glad I was able to offer up some good nostalgia for you and help inform you about later expansions. Cheers mate and best regards! -Lighto (Bahamut)

[@KushielFotia]

I started playing in earnest around the time Abyssea came out. From what i recall, alot of people at end were very upset with this release. People felt it trivialized the process of leveling to the level cap. I also remember going into a zone with the intention of finding a group to level up my main job and it was literally a ghost town. I asked someone that was passing by why it was so empty and they said that everyone was leveling at Abyssea, groups are not worth it anymore. In my opinion, I feel this created a climate change where you had way less veteran players, who were probably leveling their 10th job, grouping up with new players. This meant a harder time for new players to find leveling groups and a lack of veteran players teaching them how to play the game and all the cool things the new players can look forward to. FFXI barely explains itself, and the internet at the time, well sucked... so the best way for a new player to learn things were from more seasoned players. You can see how this may have hurt future growth in addition to the mass exodus. I also remember hearing that because everyone leveled to cap in 2 seconds, all their weapon proficiency levels were trash. So when you grouped up with people near or at end game who used this leveling method they could barely land a hit, not to mention not understanding their job mechanics and roles. This further added to the frustrations. I believe you can find some similarities on how the whole situation felt with the Abyssea leveling changes if you compare it to a pay to win game. Its not so fun grinding a game for hours and watching another guy just swipe for a similar result. I myself loved my time playing FFXI, but I do somethings feel i missed out on the "golden era" experience, would have been cool to be there. But yes nostalgia most definitely a factor to consider when it comes to a divided community.

[@Bottlecapy]

FFXI private server Horizon XI offers a great 75 era experience. I play on that server over retail because I enjoy that era better. Modern retail 11 is just a shell of a game in comparison.

[@gregtroyan]

I think the transition during Abyssea was a bit rough, but what it led to was the best version of the game. I had players offering to help me as a new player all the time, even with basic leveling, and the retail community is one of the best in gaming. Pre-Abyssea, the game had a lot of elitism and older players would gatekeep helping new people. Abyssea helped get rid of that, albeit with some growing pains, but purging the elitists was necessary to allow new people to play in the long run.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Bottlecapy Horizon isn't even accurate to level 75 era XI. It's a balance mod that removes most post-Abyssea content, keeps some modern QOL from retail, and rebalances stats in a way that isn't faithful to the 75 era. It does have a couple original quests that never existed in the 75 era, so it has that going for it I guess.

[@Bottlecapy]

@@gregtroyan I don’t know if you played during the FFXI PS2 NA launch like I have, but 2024 FFXI retail doesn’t play anything like it did back in 2004. Horizon XI with its balance changes, remixed soundtrack and new zone music are great additions to make the game feel fresh. There are also customs quests, and bosses not seen in the original. I also enjoy the new experience camp location changes they have done. Even with all those additions horizon XI 75 era experience is closer than anything retail does now. Retail is filled with duel boxers, mercenaries, and the new content is just instanced battles along with a now dead open world because trusts have made everything trivial pre 99 era. Horizon XI community and world feels alive where teamwork is promoted, and retail is more of a solo game now than a true MMO. Horizon XI devs plan to add all the expansions from retail as their goal and release them in order. It’s not that they intentionally don’t put in the content it’s just a huge undertaking to redevelop all this content from the ground up and it will take years. Most likely private servers will survive long after retail eventually shuts down god forbid. I figure SE will keep retail going and will probably just make a single player version of the game just to preserve the existence of the game since they are great at doing re releases of all FF titles.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Bottlecapy Retail still has plenty of teamwork and a great community (I speak from personal experience), and remaking the entire game actively undercuts retail and hurts the real FFXI. I don't support hurting the real game.

[@sumcoolguy]

This should really be called "Lore Overview or just game overview" since the video is pretty light on what the actual story is, and you even say in the beginning that there would be no spoilers, which defeats a story video, imo. However, it's still a great video, I loved ff11 and am happy to see others enjoy it. Keep up the hard work.

[@gregtroyan]

I think the title works. It's not an overview of the whole game (I gloss over a lot of gameplay stuff --- most gameplay stuff I flat out skip). I don't get into enough lore to call it a lore overview. I didn't call it a summary or recap. I called it an overview, which I think describes what this is. I describe the general structure, vibe, major characters, themes, and provide a synopsis for all of the main story, along with describing what the experience is like. I think overview is a fair descriptor, as it is not a summary or recap. And, again, I don't get into enough gameplay to call it an overview of the game or enough lore to call it a lore overview. In general, lore videos are focused more on world history, wheras I talk about characterization and theme. Thank you for the kind words. Cheers mate!

[@sumcoolguy]

I would love to see an actual story recap or whatever you want to call it, since I've only played the first 2 expansions and barely remember the story. That's what I was hoping for when clicking on this video, I guess

[@gregtroyan]

@@sumcoolguy I totally get that, hence why I chose the word overview instead of summary or recap. I think there's a need for those kind of videos on KZbin, especially in regards to FFXI. The goal for this video wasn't to summarize the story, but rather paint a general picture of what the story for each expansion is, and was to serve as a fun nostalgia trip for XI fans while also giving an idea of what the story is for people who might be curious about the game but haven't jumped in. The choice not to dive into spoilers was out of respect for people who might want to play the game for themselves, and I've had a bunch of people reach out to me saying that they plan on playing XI because of this video (which is the highest compliment I could receive on such a video). If you want to dive into the story, I do recommend Korvana's channel (linked in the description and pinned comment). All of the cutscenes for the game (minus The Voracious Resurgence) are there. If you want to blast through the base game and Rise of the Zilart you could do those both in an evening.

[@JohnLattier]

15:40 "Neat" - it's the little things like that, all the starting jobs were the same as FF1 starting jobs, everything in FF11 feels like it makes sense and is harmonious. Hundreds of little things like this that go mostly unnoticed. That's what makes FF11 better than FF14.

[@gregtroyan]

I definitely prefer FFXI to FFXIV (based on beating all of XI and only beating ARR). I'm curious to see how I'll feel after beating XIV's other expansions, but XI's harmonious nature is absolutely incredible and masterful. I adore FFXI and think it's construction is top-notch.

[@zilkapod]

Wow what a video! I sat and watched the whole thing! and now made me wanna go back to XI so bad. It always has a place in my heart even though i've only finished CoP. - I will come back and join Bahamut!

[@gregtroyan]

That's awesome to hear! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and hope that you'll be able to enjoy the post-CoP content as much as I did! Thanks for the kind words. Wishing you nothing but the best. Cheers mate! - Greg

[@mindbenderrx]

Before they raised the level cap ToAU areas were just plain hard. Getting anywhere within Lamia or Mamool Ja areas was just plain hard and so it was rarely done.

[@gregtroyan]

Sounds unpleasant.

[@synryx6061]

Thanks for the video and explaining everything this actually got me more interested to try than when my friends left XIV to play it during the off times for XIV. Might have to make this my other mmo in the long run I can always come back to. Looking forward to try it out on official servers.

[@gregtroyan]

Awesome! I'm so glad this video helped give you more motivation to try out the game, and I'm glad you're going to try it out on the official retail version to support the devs. It's comments like these that really make me smile. There's so much incredible stuff in XI and I'm glad to help shine a light on it so that you can dive into the game. : )

[@hkoizumi3134]

I played this back in 03 to 2009, basically until FF14 was for beta. I was in my 20's with unlimited stamina to keep playing FF11. Everything we did in that game was an effort. Just going to places was dangerous. Because of this, the world felt a lot bigger and it felt like a real adventure at the time. Any veterans can tell you their first journey to Jueno which was unique for everyone. It was one of the best gaming I have experienced and yet wouldn't want to repeat it again lol.

[@gregtroyan]

My first journey to Jeuno was a bit rough because I had only unlocked two Trusts by that point, had very little gil for teleportation, and died a whole bunch of times while trying to maneuver around enemies on those giant maps inbetween. I know compared to classic players my first trip there probably wasn't as epic, but it felt pretty epic to me. I still had the feeling of it being one of the best gaming experiences I ever had, but also didn't want to repeat it, hahahaha.

[@Lordnat1]

This is the most excellent FF11 video i have seen yet. I played for 20 years and my character still lives! My first MMO and will always be my favorite.

[@gregtroyan]

Each sentence of your comment is incredibly awesome! Cheers mate!!!

[@Aeon373]

I still remember the time i got ny first level 75. Man ive never felt that existed and fulfilled about a video game before that moment

[@mattrosetta8355]

Massive undertaking to make this video, im a returning player after quitting in 2009

[@gregtroyan]

I'm glad you took the time to check out this video!

[@leadintea]

Glad to see another WotG stan! It was the last expansion I played before quitting and it was easily my most favorite.

[@gregtroyan]

Glad to see another stan of that expansion! It's really great!

[@EubyGamingUK]

Getting from nation rank 5-10 was so damn fun. We managed to get an alliance together to just grind it out. That was the first time i’d ran an alliance group, as i was only like level 65 at the time, but man, it was so awesome! This video is making me wanna sub back up lol

[@gregtroyan]

Any time somebody tells me that this video makes them want to play XI, it makes me happy! : )

[@EubyGamingUK]

@@gregtroyan All good man! :) This game just holds a crazy special place in my heart, the memories just come flooding back whenever i watch a video online lol. I like how you've giving an overview, but a review too, definitely adds more to the video :)

[@gregtroyan]

@@EubyGamingUK Thanks! My goal was to help give context to each expansion so that somebody who never played XI (or maybe missed out on certain expansions) could get a feel for them outside of a just a story overview so they could get the "vibe" of what the experience is like without major spoilers, but also to serve as a refresher to longtime fans and dash in a little of my thoughts as if you were in the room chatting with me and I was explaining the game to you. I'm really glad you are appreciating the video! : )

[@EubyGamingUK]

@@gregtroyan It has definitely helped a lot! :) i loved the story as i played through the base game and first few expansions, it's just been so long since i played through them, and only doing them once as well, there are some parts i don't remember, so this is great! Just up to the adoulin chapter now. Watching past Treasures, i definitely remember following the wings of the goddess story now lol. All the content between that and adoulin i kinda just skipped by. I did start following the adoulin story, but i never finished it. I honestly think i will just start a fresh story playthrough, while also trying to remember what i was grinding on my main lol. do you still play, or have you retired after going through all the content making this video? lol

[@gregtroyan]

@@EubyGamingUK I play during the free login campaigns. I did a livestream of me playing through some Voidwatch content during the last free campaign. Right now I'm currently playing Another Eden as my main game, and that game is easily as massive as an MMO in terms of content even though it's a single player game. So that's my main gaming focus right now. After I finish that up I plan on beating all of XIV the way I beat XI. Because those two games are such massive undertakings I'm not really active in XI right now, but again, whenever there's a free login campaign I definitely hop in and have some fun for a bit. : )

[@karn1911]

Hi there! I really appreciate the effort you put into creating this video; it was clearly a massive undertaking. I came here hoping to get a summary of the FFXI story, but I found that the video included a lot of personal reviews of expansions, opinions about game content, and discussions on non-plot-related subjects. As a result, the actual plot of the story was only briefly touched upon, which left me a bit disappointed. Thank you for your hard work nonetheless!

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you. I decided to go with a story overview rather than a plot synopsis because I wanted a "spoiler light" version so that folks who never checked out XI would be able to play the game. I didn't quite want to call it a review either because the primary focus wasn't on mechanics, so I felt overview was the best way to describe the video. It's focused on the general plot of each expansion, discussion of thematic elements and how they tie into the narrative, important character highlights and a bit of context in terms of gameplay, reception by the community, and my thoughts. I felt that the context of each expansion in terms of general gameplay and community was response was important, but I also felt it was important to counteract the meta narrative at certain points. It was a balancing act that didn't succeed in all ways for all viewers. I do very much see the value in summarizing each storyline (a lot of the expansions would be over 2 hours just summarizing the stories) and hope to see more videos like that in the future. I felt overview was the best word to use rather than summary or review, but I also felt if I did an overview context would be important. I'm sorry it wasn't what you were looking for but I appreciate you checking it out. The good news is that if you're wanting to see expansion storylines without playing the game, the video does provide resources to channels with cutscenes, and if you want to play XI you now have a roadmap of what to expect. Again, thank you for the commentary.

[@monsieursaboteur]

excellent vid. Typed in "ffxi lore" and i was not dissapointed.

[@gregtroyan]

That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed the vid, mate! Cheers!

[@Swad-ne5jn]

Always good to see XI videos. Game was easily the best overall MMO of all time. Anyone looking to start the game with spare time should, any player can get movement speed boots from simurgh within a day or two of starting to play that will last them through till they get item level boots.

[@gregtroyan]

Truly a great game.

[@bustaballs]

That's so sad. That was an HNM that was highly fought over. Speed increases were some of the most rare and sought after gear. This game got wrecked over the years. Then Horizon had to offer something close to a classic server to fulfil the itch.

[@gregtroyan]

@@bustaballs Yeah, game is ruined because people can walk slightly faster instead of grinding for years for a speed boost. 0/10.

[@bustaballs]

@@gregtroyan You're completely clueless. This is ignorance on steroids.

[@gregtroyan]

@@bustaballs Sorry, I meant to say 0/11.

[@brianl7321]

I'm a huge FF lover and have 3500 hours or so in FF14 and this makes me think I should try it out after I finish Dawn trail and FF16! Thanks for this video!

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you for watching! I'm hoping you enjoy the rest of XIV, XVI, and eventually...XI! : )

[@Impulsedrive]

I started up FFXI again after a long time away. FFXI got so carried away with HP absorbing shields with the bosses, especially in Abyssea and the Cloud of Darkness. I got all the way to CoD but just gave up and looked up the final cutscenes. I was happy finishing RotZ and CoP and got about 50% finished with the rest. FFXI's Blue Mage is probably the most interesting job in the entire series. Also a huge shoutout of SMN and BST as very interesting and complex jobs about threat sharing/pulling and mob positioning. I always have my Wind-up Elvaan out with me on my FFXIV adventure and almost always wear my Scorpion Harness. I'll always love this game.

[@gregtroyan]

Cloud of Darkness in XI is an insane boss. I'm glad to you got to see the story through the cutscenes but also played enough to appreciate it mechanically. Cheers mate!

[@EubyGamingUK]

Man, this is easily in my top 3 games of all time. My first real online gaming experience when it released, and definitely my most memorable. I only really did the expansions upto the end of aht urhgan, so i look forward to seeing the stories past that! Every 3/4 years i sub back up again just to have a run around the old zones, listen to the music, just remebering the good times 😊 i tried to install it on my ROG ally recently to try get back on, but it doesn’t work on there 😢 lol

[@gregtroyan]

Oh man, I'm sorry it's not working for you right now. Hopefully you can figure out the install process. It wouldn't work on my old laptop but runs great on my current one, so I feel the pain. I hope this video gives you a nice sampling of the stuff that came out after Treasures!

[@EubyGamingUK]

@@gregtroyan Thanks man! I do still have it installed on one of my older laptops, i just don't have it out much anymore lol. I just thought having it on a handheld would be super useful, for when i'm out an about, or just binging some TV while playing it on the sofa lol. My PC is always filled up with games and video/images from content i make, so can't really get it on here. I'm honestly just tempted to get the laptop out for a bit again though! And thanks man :) just upto CoP chapter at the minute. As you said, such a classic expansion. Doing the promyvions was possibly the first time i felt a real challenge in the game, trying to get people together who could play with real strategy. Such a great expansion. I'm tempted to level up my mule and go through the story again if i sub back up lol. When was you last subbed up?

[@lvl21bellsprout92]

an hour in and hes finally parties with another player but cant wrap his mind around the lvl 99 cap raise and the gear.. crazy

[@gregtroyan]

I know what's this guy thinking.

[@Gooseys11]

I think when people refer to "the best expansion" they're not looking at it like you are. They're remembering how fun and challenging the fights were. Even the difficult journeys to the fight itself is something I fondly reminisce about. When you do the content as a level 99 with OP out of era gear, you trivialize all of that.

[@gregtroyan]

This translates to "whatever expansion I have the most nostalgia for is the best one because it's the one I played with my friends". It has more to do with a personal experience than an objective analysis of the quality of any particular expansion, in the same way that a lot of fans of a band will only like whatever stuff of that band they heard when they were a teenager and won't give the rest of the catalog a chance. If someone says, "Rise of the Zilart is my favorite expansion because I have the best memories of partying up and hanging with friends", I get that, and that's different than saying "Rise of the Zilart is objectively better than Seekers of Adoulin because Seekers is trash". I see no issue with folks claiming nostalgia for personal preference, but I do see issue with acting like said nostalgia leads to it being an objective statement on the lack of quality in regards to latter day XI content. When you do all of the content as a level 99, you're forced to look at the content objectively for what it is in terms of map design, quest structure and narrative pacing. Without nostalgia goggles, latter day XI holds up extremely well, as does a bunch of classic XI. There's a ton of great content in the game from all eras is where I land.

[@gregtroyan]

So, I fully get people having their biases and favorites. But I think favorite and best aren't always the same thing. I think any objective look at Rise of the Zilart vs Seekers of Adoulin, for example, wouldn't lead to people saying, "Oh, Zilart crushes Seekers and Seekers is nothing but hot garbage". But, among classic XI players, anything that came out after 2006 is considered garbage, less for the quality of the content and more for the era it came out (which happened to be when they stopped playing the game). That's where my issue comes from. But folks like you who say, "Man, I had fun playing these old expansions and I have great memories playing with friends", I have zero complaints about that. Pretty Boy Floyd might not be my favorite band (or the band I think is the GOAT), but some of my favorite memories are of driving around with friends listening to that first album. So I get it.

[@Gooseys11]

@@gregtroyan I respectfully disagree with your conclusion. Mechanics are an extremely important part of any game. If you could just coast carelessly through any Final Fantasy game from one cutscene to the next, ignoring environmental and mob dangers, and one shotting every boss, that would not be a fun game. I'd rather just watch a movie. How can you objectively look at map design and pacing when you're blowing past all of it and not feeling the dangers that were there back in the day? And I don't think you looked at even 50% of the content. I've only watched up to the add-on scenarios but you've barely mentioned any of the end game content. That is another area where people based their rankings of expansions off of and makes up a majority of the content from each expansion. If the end game sucked, the expansion sucked. I have no problem with how you're ranking them, but I think it'd be more fair to say you're ranking the expansions off just their story lines. I can admit my nostalgia bias, but you should admit that what you experienced is miles different than how the content was originally designed to be experienced. And comparing the old content to the newer content that way seems extremely unfair and biased in my opinion.

[@Gooseys11]

@@gregtroyan And after listening to your Abyssea and Seekers section I resent your flippant attitude towards others opinions who were actually playing the game when these expansions came out. Especially from a self proclaimed non-mmo gamer. There's a reason they shutdown 8 servers in 2010 and another 8 servers in 2011, and it's not because half the player base just had different life events or whatever excuse you made up. You should look up the difference between horizontal and vertical progression. We'd been playing a game dedicated to horizontal progression for 6 years. Yes, new and amazing gear would be released, some of it relatively easy to get, but it wasn't until Abyssea where we had almost every piece of gear prior to that expansion rendered obsolete with some stupidly easy to obtain gear. If you can't acknowledge the amount of effort that went into obtaining that gear, then I understand why people were getting heated with you in forums and comment sections. People saw their gear as a visible trophy that they were proud of having earned. And rightfully so, the best gear was very hard to earn. Abyssea was bascially a reset, everyone back to a level field. And even worse, a game that built itself on difficulty and teamwork just became a mindless grind in Abyssea. The devs lost sight of what made their game special. It's fine to have a different opinion, especially from your perspective of playing a game 20 years after release, but acting like a jack@ss to people who played it on release and disagree with you is crossing the line. Don't try to pass it off like they're the toxic ones when I can tell very easily where the toxicity is coming from in your videos.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Gooseys11First off, calling out toxicity isn't the same as toxicity. I think it's fine if folks prefer the way the game used to function mechanically back in the early days of the game. That's a personal preference. However, if their solution to that is to steal the game AND throw away the hard work the devs did on latter day in XI in the trash, while insulting the devs and claiming EVERYTHING that came out after a certain era is trash, yes, I'll call that out as toxic. It's illegal, it's disrespectful to the artists and creatives working on the game, it shows a lack of nuance and willingness to engage in new art, it shows closed-mindedness and it's petty. Me calling that out for what it is isn't toxicity. My point, if you paid attention, is that ALL (I repeat, ALL) mechanical options from early XI are contained within retail alongside OPTIONAL (I repeat, OPTIONAL) quality of life features and OPTIONAL (I repeat, OPTIONAL) zones. The devs left the option to play XI as it was originally within the game. Don't go to Abyssea, don't use Trusts, don't use Teleports. Nobody is forcing anybody to engage in mechanics they don't like, and again, if the idea behind private servers is to play with people who want to play the same way...there is literally nothing stopping you from doing that in retail. Just find like 4 other people who want to play that way. There are people on retail, right now, doing challenge runs of playing XI the old school way without quality of life features. There is literally nothing stopping anybody from doing this. People prefer different kinds of video game mechanics, but to act like the ONLY solution is to pirate the game and remove content is childish, petty, and insulting, and I have no problem calling that out for what it is. Other players are able to play old school on retail, it just involves you talking with 4 other people. As someone with a bunch of friends, I don't think it's unreasonable to say, "Hey, just socialize." You know. The point of the game. There are multiple ways one can enjoy FFXI, in the same where there are multiple ways one can enjoy FFVIII. I enjoy breaking the junction system, becoming an overpowered God, and using Diabolos to turn off random battles. Am I not able to enjoy the game mechanics because of this? No. I still love the mechanics. Am I not able to enjoy the dungeon design with battles turned off? No, I'm still able to enjoy the dungeon design, and for me, I feel I can soak it in even more. Do I need to beat every superboss in an FF game to decide whether or not I enjoyed it? No. Do I need to do all of the endgame content in each XI expansion to decide how I feel about each expansion? No. I don't need to do every single piece of content in every single expansion to draft my opinions on them. I may like some endgame more than others (I liked Dynamis more than Voidwatch), but that's not enough for me to move the needle on ranking Zilart above Wings. The difference between a lot of older XI players and a lot of newer players is that older players argue that you HAVE to experience the game a certain way, otherwise it doesn't count and your opinion does not matter. What I argue is that the way I play is just as valid as the way older players play, BUT (here's the rub) just because an older player prefers different mechanics doesn't give them the right to pirate the game when all the mechanical options for playing old school are contained within retail. You don't HAVE to break the junction system in VIII, and you DON'T have to use Trusts in XI, but if somebody wants to, let them have their fun. If your solution to people having fun in a way you don't like is stealing the game, well, I kinda don't respect that and will call it out. I freely admit my experience playing XI is different than folks playing 20 years ago. I'm not hiding that fact. But I'm also not going to pretend my analysis is one thing just because a bunch of folks who played Zilart 20 years ago say it's so much better than Wings of the Goddess when it isn't. In the same way a lot of Kiss fans are 70s purists and insist that the band was only good between 1974-1978, neglecting that some of their best material came after that era, is how I look at XI. I won't deny the greatness of early XI content like Chains of Promathia and think it is worthy of praise, but I also won't pretend that just because something came out later means it is absolute trash. Modern XI is still very much a horizontal progression game for most content beyond the main story, so acting like the game is mindless shows a lack of knowledge of the current state of modern XI. In my opinion, modern XI offers the best of both worlds in that the game still has plenty of horizontal progression but also offers vertical progression for more casual fans who want to experience the main story. I acknowledge it is different, and some may have a preference that all main story is blocked by horizontal progression. That is an area where we can respectfully agree to disagree. We can also respectfully disagree on which era of XI one feels is the best. If someone said, "2006 was the best year for FFXI" that's different than saying "Treasures of Aht Urghan is the best XI expansion". Those are two different things. I'm looking at the content not in the context of how it was when it came out, but how it stacks up side-by-side. You can argue that's not objective, but it's certainly more objective than purely looking at the game through a lens of nostalgia. I can say, "A bunch of guys who never played Seekers of Adoulin say it's bad", but that's not very helpful and doesn't reflect my opinion. I'm not going to be charitable to that take because it's stupid, and I'm not going to pretend it isn't stupid. I'm also not going to pretend I like Zilart more just because folks love it. I played FFVI back in the 90s, and while I like it, I find it to be overrated. It's still great, I just think it isn't as good as it's reputation. So, with Zilart, I still like it, but I don't think it's as good as it's reputation. That's just called me being honest. And, remember, I gave Chains of Promathia and Treasures TONS of praise in the video, so it's not like I hate old XI content. It's that I'm viewing them on an equal playing field and not giving out extra credit just because of the era it came out, which is the opposite of many old school fans who shun everything after a certain era. You are correct in that I am flippant to a certain viewpoint, but it's a very narrow viewpoint. The viewpoint I am flippant to is: "Everything that came out after 2006 is trash and my solution is to pirate the game". If you want to play the game with old mechanics, do that, and do that in retail. You can, it's easy to do, and anything else is just an excuse to justify piracy and disrespecting the devs. Period.

[@Theprofessorator]

I was wondering how you'd rate WotG. It has SUCH a stigma in the XI community because it took nearly 3 years to actually complete, but it is my FAVORITE story by far and I got so much crap for it, haha. I'm glad you liked it too. One of the few stories that made me cry. Lilisette is also cool because she's one of the only mixed-race characters that we know of. She's mixed hume and elvaan.

[@gregtroyan]

WOTG is fantastic. If you judge it based on the finished product, it's top tier Final Fantasy.

[@randaldegrave6002]

It's nice to see a overview of ffxi story. I've been meaning to go back and rewatch all the cs's. I didn't know a person had already made all those available in a nice package on KZbin, so thank you for introducing to Karvana. I can see things from a new players perspective that you hold but I will strongly disagree with views on private servers. It's not about content that can't be done on retail, it's the nature and culture of the people who play it. As someone who actually lived it, I can say you have no idea what you are talking about, respectfully.

[@gregtroyan]

Korvana's channel is linked in the description and pinned comment. I don't doubt the culture is different on private servers. I've never contested that, but I also insist that there's nothing preventing them from doing challenge runs and using self-imposed restrictions on retail, and I stand by that point. Cheers mate! Best wishes! : )

[@SirVyre]

I like the plug for Vicenarian towards the end. I love that guy!

[@gregtroyan]

He's pretty great!

[@ndirishking]

Wings of the Goddess was my favorite!

[@gregtroyan]

Nice!!!

[@MrJosh6889]

Funny to hear you say you don't like Zilart. For people who played the original game when it was relevant everything about it was a massive leap from what we had in gaming. It was so new and fresh that I'll always have a lot of nostalgia. But my best times in xiv where working through the CoP missions with a real static group.

[@gregtroyan]

Zilart is fine gameplay wise, it's mainly the story that's lacking for me. As far as an MMO is concerned, I can see the gameplay and graphics being a massive leap for the genre, but as a narrative, it's a significant step-down for the FF series when you compare it to X, IX, Tactics, VII, VI, and IV. I like Zilart, but it's still significantly weaker than most of the main story content in XI.

[@Blizzzaga]

thank you for posting

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you for watching.

[@SirVyre]

Most people who complain about Wings of The Goddess in the modern day are old salts who are running through it repeatedly with multiple characters, and they complain because they've had to run through it so many times for the Moonshade Earring. Their wounds and distaste for it are self inflicted. Almost everyone who only does it on one character loves its story. The private server people don't tend to include it, because the private servers are based on one team's reverse engineering of the game, and it only goes up to that era of updates, but couldn't get the content right, so they can't enable Campaign Battles or Besieged or stuff like that. They also get almost all damage formulas wrong, and do quirky things like alter job trait acquisition levels for their favorite jobs and stuff. Don't play private servers.

[@gregtroyan]

I see you haven't gotten to some of my other rants about private servers yet! 😁

[@Metis1337]

Love this video, we definitely need a FFXI single player game/story experience. Too many FF fans never experienced this wonderful world. I'm hopeful Naoshi Mizuta gets a chance to do FFXIV soundtrack for the FFXI raid they're bringing out.

[@gregtroyan]

I do wish more fans of the series knew about all the great stuff contained within this game. Hopefully this video gets popular enough where it convinces some newcomers to check it out.

[@shadowsrose4978]

I remember leavng 11 around 52lvl shortly after cop released. I could not find groups to do content. And solo anything was impossible. I tried returning years later. But was completely lost on where to go of what to do. 14 truly made thismuch easier and streamlined with msq. Maybe ill return again.

[@gregtroyan]

I hope you'll give XI another shot. Try playing along with a guide. It helps a lot and modern XI is very soloable aside from some stuff towards the end of Adoulin, Rhapsodies and TVR.

[@jonathangille8643]

Alyssa adding lvl cap raise and new gear was never the issue. It was being able to stand inside abyssea afk to plvl. Older players that wanted to party and lvl outside of it found it much much harder to get ppl to do so after that expansion. This was one of the more heavy point that the mmo lost its mmo part. You barely met ppl after that since half would just be "afk" in an alliance. The content and fighting itself was fun but it really did split up the server base a bit more as newer players that didn't have connections to long term links hello found it harder to get into the game and felt the game was even dying even half the server sat inside abyssea most of the day.

[@gregtroyan]

I've heard A LOT of players complain about the level cap and the new gear. I think that the alliance thing is also something that upset players, but even in the comments section of this video, there are tons of people who complain about level cap and gear.

[@DragoonCenten]

Extremely wild takes, but other than that, decent video.

[@gregtroyan]

I only speak the truth. 😜

[@DragoonCenten]

Idk about allat but I live in a free country so hit it up

[@Z10ZeeTen]

For a small group of new players (about 2 to 4), what would be the best way to get through the story content as quickly as possible to minimize subscription fees? I'm also curious how the game handles synchronizing cutscenes and story progression for groups of players.

[@gregtroyan]

The last section of the video is full of gameplay tips. As far as synchronizing cutscenes, if you have a party for a boss battle, all of you will get a cutscene after that battle, but each individual player controls the pacing of the cutscene they are viewing. Your party members won't appear in cutscenes with you. Advice for powering through: Get everyone to 99 ASAP Do Domain Invasion once a day once you unlock it to get high end gear Follow guides Follow the tips at the end of the video If you're doing it with 4 people, have a consistent play schedule. I was able to beat XI solo in about 6 months in-between working two jobs.

[@patrickhulman6429]

fyi domain invasion points are capped at 80+ (depends if your server has killed mireu enough for the plus). DI is not once a day but until you hit the cap (and even then you can get more beads).

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you for that.

[@jordoAST]

Here from NOKAT I am excited

[@gregtroyan]

I am hoping not to disappoint. Also, the Chrono video intro begins by me explaining my criteria for that vid, so I promise it is not spam, hahaha. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoy this video and I definitely want to know your thoughts afterwards! Cheers mate!

[@IggyMaid]

as a story-first player I really want to engage with the story of XI from start to finish, I did try private servers due to the ease of access but finding out they only had a couple expansions at most made me want to try retail - but the nightmare of dealing with playonline & other dated aspects makes it insurmountable for me to access without spending a considerable amount of time just troubleshooting it, getting set up & connected. It was just too much work ;-;

[@gregtroyan]

I recommend giving it another shot. Just watch the video from CallmeKwetch I linked in the description and download Windower and you should be good to go. It's worth it. It will take less time than you think if you get Windower and follow the video guide (5 minute video).

[@IggyMaid]

@@gregtroyan I am currently updating the game via Playonline - it's so slow, but it's progress I suppose, thanks for the little extra motivation to give it another try

[@gregtroyan]

@@IggyMaid I'm really glad you're giving it another shot. Getting the game set up can be a bit annoying of trial and error, but it's a single day process. Once it's good to go, it's smooth sailing from then out, and for 1 day of setup you've got a game that will easily last you at least 6 months. It's worth it, or at least it was to me, and I hope it ends up being worth it for you as well. : )

[@TOjJeto]

I played FF11 back in spring and stopped when FF14's Dawntrail came out, so the game is still rather fresh for me. I know you say 'oh if you don't like Abyssea, don't do it!', but for those who want to do endgame, it has BIS gear for multiple jobs that forces you to do the content, so I do find the comment not to do it if you hate it a bit odd when you consider that longtime players will do endgame content.

[@gregtroyan]

Players who hate Abyssea aren't on retail and are only interested in what was considered endgame content in 2006. If you want to do modern endgame, then yes, you should do Abyssea.

[@reyjusuf]

I think they imply that the explosion at the start of CoP is caused by our battle with the final boss of RoZ but they left it open enough that players don't have to complete base + RoZ for the narrative to make sense. I treat base+RoZ+CoP+epilogue as one continous narrartive. My ratings are: base = 6/10, RoZ = 7/10, CoP = 10/10, ToAU = 9/10, WotG = 8/10, SoA = 7/10. Bastok 7/10, Sandoria 9/10, Windurst 9/10.

[@gregtroyan]

I have trouble getting past the "What? You don't remember what happened?" followed by a cutscene that retcons events. I get the explosion thing, but that part was a bit oof for me. Wow! Sandoria higher than WOTG?

[@jade_harley413]

Came in hoping to get a summary of the vibes of wotg-onward for FFXIV's upcoming release, but came out with motivation to really go in and finish this game. I completely agree about private servers. Great for archival, but very disrespectful and actively destructive to FF11's continued existence.

[@gregtroyan]

Through the comments section, I learned that most private servers include post-WOTG quality of life features like teleports, despite claiming they are trying to provide an "old school" experience. Keeping teleports but removing other content shows their general disrespect for the devs, in my opinion, and makes me have zero interest in supporting private servers unless they are truly acting as something archival. The versions of the game that exists on private servers never existed, and thus they are not archival in my book. Someday, when XI goes down, and I'll gladly play a private server that includes TVR and Trusts and the whole thing, but the picking and choosing of what they think is the "correct" XI is something that never actually existed and is a bunch of disrespectful elitism. I'm so so so glad that you are deciding to continue your XI journey based on this video. I couldn't be happier to hear that. Best of luck with your journey, mate! : )

[@chriss6855]

I recently completed all of the expansion and DLC content for FF11. There a couple things in the intro that I disagree with and found to be a bit exaggerated. 1) FF11 is not the size of 14 FF games. Well... not unless you're comparing them to the SNES era games (FF4 thru FF6). These are not as large as the more modern ones and neither of the expansions are as large as those in FF14. The base game only takes about 5 hours to complete on a level 99 character with the Zilart expansion (felt more like a DLC) only taking about 6 hours. Chains of Promathia expansion was like 20 hours. 2) FF14 has more story content than FF11 by a fairly wide margin. Since you're including the multiple add on DLCs for FF11, you can include all of the normal and alliance raids for FF14. There's also Hildebrand and stuff like Eureka and Bozja. Even the jobs have storylines in FF14.

[@gregtroyan]

1. I was comparing XI to the series as a whole, so yes, that includes the Snes and Nes era. Getting to level 99 is part of the process, so yes, you can beat base XI in 5 hours (if you speed through it) after you spend 10-15 hours getting to 99. Most players probably take longer than that, though. 2. Side-Quests I treat differently from main story. Hildibrand I treat as a side quest, not a full expansion or add-on, so everything like that isn't stuff I count towards the size of the main story. I still need to play the rest of XIV, but it took me the same amount of time to beat ARR as it took me to beat base XI, and based on videos I've seen of other expansions and looking at hltb, they seem to be about the same length plus or minus 10-20 hours. So, when you factor in shorter expansions like Treasures and longer ones like Wings of the Goddess, it still balances out. If we are including all of the side quests in both games, I'm still not sure the size difference, given the hundreds of hours of side quest cutscenes XI has. So, my size comparison between XI and XIV is open to debate as to which is bigger and I concede you may be correct, but given my experience with ARR (which I acknowledge of not being indicative of the whole game), I think the math may not be totally off base for those playing the games at a similar pace to one another, not factoring in sidequests (of which mainline FF games have a varied amount).

[@gregtroyan]

But yeah, if you're beating base XI and Zilart together in 10 hours...you are flying through. That's really really quick and much faster than a normal player.

[@forestadamo4209]

I would put Aht Urghan exactly on the same bracket as Heavensward. Both are smaller in scales and feel more like a side quest to the main overarching story, and focus on one region (Ishgard and Aht Urghan). Both have that particular vibe that you can only find in those expansions through the characters, the lusic, the politics and stakes. Very similar in my opinion. Stormblood had more to do with the main story as it focuses directly on the Empire which was kinda the main antagonist for a while and it introduces Zenos who for some reason would become important in the later expansions like Endwalker

[@gregtroyan]

That's a fair assessment.

[@Ruthos01]

FFXI was my first MMO. I started during WOTG. I fell in love with the road to 75 track and worked really hard on SAM. I got my Hagun, Kirin’s Osode, Hachiru pants, and Tachi: Rana. I quit the game shortly after Abyssea came out because comparable gear was easily available to, “30-80 in a day”, players. This was before I understood the MMO trope of making old gear and content irrelevant after a new expansion drops. I just felt cheated.

[@gregtroyan]

Yeah, it's pretty commonplace in the genre. It you don't know that's what the genre does it can be off-putting.

[@EubyGamingUK]

Hey. man, just gotta add: naoshi mizuta worked on the strangers of paradise: final fantasy game too. His music is honestly a masterpiece in it! I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t listened to it before 😊 i used to make montage videos from that game of the boss fights, and he liked one of the videos i posted on twitter. I got to thank him for his music in that game and especially all the music he made in FFXI. It was a good day! I still listen to that whole soundtrack regularly. I got it upto aht urhgan as i was playing regularly upto that point, so the most nostalgia for the music upto then lol

[@gregtroyan]

Mizuta is so underrated. I absolutely adore his contributions to the series. I have listened to the Stranger of Paradise score and it's a fun time.

[@EubyGamingUK]

@@gregtroyan 100% agreed. When i heard “the chimera” track on the SOPFFO soundtrack, it just took me right back to FFXI lol. Yeah man, that album was a love letter to FF. I hope we see him come back for more in the future, i’d love to see him compose FFXVII

[@gregtroyan]

@@EubyGamingUK That would be amazing!!

[@Kinda_ANastyDude]

As a die hard FF fan, I have played every main line entry multiple times. I put a lot of time in to 14, but am now 2 expansions behind. 11 tho i have put very little time in to and have always been intrigued by it. I got it when it was still fairly new and started playing, but then I got a Xbox 360 and couldnt convince my parents to pay for both an FF11 sub and Xbox Live. So 11 is the one that got away. Which is a shame because nowadays im very interested in these more old school MMOs that I feel as tho I missed out on entirely. Maybe I should finally dive in to 11 soon....

[@gregtroyan]

Hopefully this video is enough to hold you over until you jump back into XI.

[@otherprisma7354]

I really wish they can make an offline mode for this game or a rework of the entire UI and Menu. I really wanna experience the story of this game but some things haven't age well for me to advance further.

[@gregtroyan]

I personally think the UI and menu is great, but I hear ya. A lot of folks feel the way you do.

[@jeremycouch3840]

No offense, but you got it completely backwards. Start with Rhapsody then let it tell you what to do that way you’re able to experience faster and get higher level jobs and unlock more trust help earlier on!

[@gregtroyan]

Well, there's plenty of ways to approach it. I think the do an expansion, do Rhapsodies, go back-and-forth approach is the best middle ground between satisfying narrative and ease of gameplay, but there isn't a wrong way to approach it if one prefers to do Rhapsodies and then go back to finish the other expansions. I found that I had enough trusts to get through the content without issue just doing Rhapsodies inbetween expansions.

[@ElohElAha]

Played this game from 3rd grade to freshman year, never got to 75, couldnt beat matt, bc my main job was rdm and i was forced throughout my entire leveling experience to only heal(and occasional cast bio) so my weapon skill and other things never leveled with me and so was stuck at 70 trying to beat Matt, i did end up getting alot of jobs to the 50-60 area tho, WHM, DRG, NIN, SMN, BLM, PLD, and WAR, and just kinda forgot about matt. I was the guy in Jeuno constantly /Sh "COP/Rank missions help? Do you need it? I Can Help!" I absolutely loved those story lines and would constantly help anyone i could and put together parties to help other people progress thru the story. As a lil young kid tho it was sooo hard to truly grasp the mechanics of the game, alot of the time i had to rely on my dad and his buddies(they were the best LS on Fenrir) to get gear/spells they would so kindly donate😂 My dad would also have me craft/farm mobs for HOURS during the summer on his character while he was at work and he'll pay me in Gil😂😂😂 ill be doing cop missions on one screen and crafting or farming demons on the other😂 I did quit playing throughout my 7th-9th grade years, for sports/social reasons came. Came back to Abbysea, noticed how much the community has changed and the way people would progress and ended up just quiting for good. There was no longer a true sense of a community, just souless beings in abyssea playing follow the leader(basically fates in XIV) Also thank you so much for this video 🧡💜 it was nice to see this game i grew up with again

[@gregtroyan]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I was able to help bring back some nostalgiac memories for ya! Cheers mate!

[@Lioness_Paladin]

I really wish they'd make a scaled down, standalone, single player RPG in Vana'diel to maintain FF XI's legacy as a mainline title I loved playing it as an mmorpg (just don't have much time for it right now) but it's a real bummer to hear it's been coasting on maintenance mode now I also won't lie, it's a real pain having to deal with PlayOnline just to play this game these days lol easily the hardest part of FFXI is getting it started🤣 I hope this game and the world of Vana'diel isn't lost to time

[@gregtroyan]

The good news is that as recently as 2023 the game was adding new mainline story content, so even coasting XI has shown it has a lot of ambition. I'm not sure if we'll get anything after TVR, but the fact that TVR was completed gives me hope that XI truly does have the potential to continue.

[@grimsiight]

i do want to say one thing, hating on players for disliking some of the content that "ruined the game" is kind of a blind look at them. for in order to form an opinion on that content those players HAD to do all those things you said were optional and its an MMO you have a main. experiencing that content "ruined" their main characters. so just brushing that off as an WELL YOU MADE THE CHOICE scoff at them is imo is a hot take. but at the same time understandabl

[@gregtroyan]

My takes are scorching hot and also 100% correct.

[@gdi1093]

Man it’s so wild hearing how much ffxi has changed. I really miss the game, I was one of the original players and played it in 2004 back when only the first expansion was out. Back then it was literally IMPOSSIBLE to solo anything. It was such a tough game.. but so dang rewarding. Glad they balanced it out. Can you still de-level if you die too much? Or did they take that punishing game mechanic out?

[@gregtroyan]

You can de-level if you die too much, but a lot of bosses in the late game don't have that mechanic. Random enemies and earlier expansion bosses still reduce your EXP if you die, though.

[@gdi1093]

@@gregtroyan ah cool, thanks for letting me know. Yeah ok, at least they changed that a little so it’s not quite as bad.

[@gregtroyan]

@@gdi1093With teleports and the like, it's pretty easy to make up the experience lost, even if you end up leveling down. Whenever I die I just level up for like 10 minutes to make it up.

[@gdi1093]

@@gregtroyan haha definitely wasn’t like that back in ‘04! Had to get a solid party going and grind for a while to make up the lost exp. It was impossible back then to solo anything to gain experience. The only monsters you could solo were ones that were so much lower in level than you that you’d just kill them for farming items.the exp earned was negligible

[@TrTai]

Great video, it was a really nice referesher. The private server take is wild, but it's yours, it's an entirely different game even if you put optional limitations on yourself in retail due to how some things are unavoidable and aren't applied to other players as well. Most players still have active subs and still play retail (there's always exceptions), they really do play dramatically different even with the same core. But as a story player, yeah not worth it for you it sounds like, same reason I still go back and play through retail when I just want the story. But if you like seeing how things evolved, or the gameplay side, and even to an extent the community side (though in the modern age that's irreversibly different to some degree no matter what) give it a shot, just be sure to buy your game and support the devs. The official retail game was officially announced to be having the team moved to new projects and being moved into 'maintenance mode' it's still being supported, and I really hope there is more new content, but it's good to know that if SE does ever decide to pull the plug, there's versions that will live on.

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks mate. I hope that if XI does ever officially go offline there are private servers that include all of the game's content as it is in whatever the final version of retail is. I'm less interested in the gameplay evolution side of things (there's another video I made where one of the comments was "This man hates gameplay" and my response was "Honestly this is fair") and have made enough friends playing retail where I don't see much of a need for private servers, at least for me. I do appreciate that, with the level cap quests, there is at least an option within retail to self-limit and play the game closer to 75 era if one so chooses. I view it like buying the FFIX remaster where there's an option for infinite gil and boosting all characters to 99. You can choose to use them if you want, but it's not forced, just an option, in the same way I can choose not eat the cookies in my cupboard. But I do get why even the option of those QOL being there changes the meta, I get that, but I still just kinda shrug it off. That's the perk of being a story-first player and not really caring about gameplay all that much, hahaha. I really appreciate your comment. It was very intelligent, nuanced, insightful, courteous and respectful. I hope you have a great day and wish you nothing but the best. Cheers mate!

[@TrTai]

@@gregtroyan Absolutely, and same to you!

[@ALex659]

You are missing the point of why people don't like modern final fantasy 11, and you are the audience that it was trying to attract with these changes. The fact that you can make it to level 99 and complete all the content completely alone is what people don't like about the game and is the complete opposite of what final fantasy 11 was. I was someone who played back in the day to chains and I quit basically because Dragoon was my main job and it was considered bad and I could never find a party. I also quit because I started to get into high school and had other interests. I came back maybe 5 years ago and played retail and it felt completely not what made ffxi great, ran around leveling making it level 30 in less than 5 hours and never saw another player. Ffxi and other older MMOs was about challenge and social interactions that were enhanced because of the challenge, that's what people are missing. From my understanding wings was the first hated because scholar and dancer made the game very soloable as subjobs. Trusts were the things that put the final nail in the coffin in capturing the old feel of final fantasy 11. I don't think any old players that don't like modern final fantasy have a problem with the zones and story of the later expansions, but they have a problem with how the game went from a very rugged, social, and team based game into a completely soloable experience. Myself I played modern retail for about 5 hours and went to a private server after and never looked back.

[@gregtroyan]

XI made it easy to solo the main story. There's also an insane amount of content that is very rugged, social, and team based. There is a ton of content that is impossible to solo. Modern XI offers both options to players without needing to steal from the creators.

[@ALex659]

@@gregtroyan it's not the same. You needed a group to get to max level starting at level 10. All of the content you breezed through on your playthrough was difficult and required a group. Everything required a group. I would suggest playing on a private server to feel what the magic of ffxi was, even though it's still not completely the same because of the wide spread knowledge, but it's the closest thing you'll get to the original ffxi experience.

[@gregtroyan]

@@ALex659 Nah, I don't want to steal the game.

[@gregtroyan]

You should play retail and try out the ridiculously hard endgame group content.

[@ALex659]

@@gregtroyan I'm good. You're still not understanding the complete philosophical difference of ffxi olden days and what it is today. Square Enix cannot even do a classic server because they have said they don't have all the old data from how the game was before. They literally cannot offer a the service private servers do. I have bought the game twice, once for PS2 and once for PC while subscribing for years.

[@loyalkhayal5842]

That boy Maat was crushing ppl level 75 dreams.... I'm not finna to lie, I miss this tier of difficulty 😢

[@gregtroyan]

It's still there in modern endgame. That stuff is WILD.

[@loyalkhayal5842]

@gregtroyan Nice! I stopped playing after SoA. Abyssea did change the game. Definitely pros and cons with it. But it is what it is. Great video.... man, playing this on ps2 with dial up was wild lmao

[@michaelsmith2619]

I am glad that private servers exist. It means the game will survive when the main servers go down

[@gregtroyan]

Yeah, but in the meantime they are actively hurting the game and making a shutdown more likely.

[@nostars8804]

While I personally loved abyssea, I'd say refusing to participate in abyssea and just ignoring it would have gotten you laughed. You couldn't just ignore it, if you wanted to live in a dream world and just do 75 salvage forever and didn't have lb unlocked past 75 you would have been the butt of every joke in port jeuno shout.

[@gregtroyan]

That's literally what private servers do, and yes, I think they're a joke.

[@binjallaf]

Actually dynamis is still relevant to get the gear that u need for most of end game content. You get the gear which you end up upgrading to become the most powerful set for end game. (For most jobs)

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you!

[@binjallaf]

@@gregtroyan no bro, thank you for the video! It’s awesome!

[@jayr3053]

FFXI is still my favorite MMORPG. I played for about 15 years! I still log in every once in awhile. I wish they would remaster it! 😂

[@gregtroyan]

It would be a massive undertaking remastering the entire game. I can understand why its been put off for such a long time. Maybe they will someday. 😊

[@elraton01]

I was surprised new content happened in 2020. ToAU was one of my favorite expansions because my job BLU finally got in the game. Unlike most, my jobs in Vana'diel floundered from level 50 or below until then and was not happy on ammo and tool consumption and costs in FFXI for NIN and RNG. Abyssea was actually my 2nd favorite, because BLU finally was not crapped on and got relic equivalent gear. No, Karen and Kevin. BLU cannot equip Excalibur or any other relic weapon. Also, Atma in Abyssea finally got magical BLU spells to work as they should have been intended. I remember a LS that we knew how to get all lights to proc so we can just keep adding time while farming in Abyssea. I almost got every atma and other key items except one in Konstchat. Sadly, I'm getting issues when trying to relog in the game if I want to at all, so my 99 BLU is just sitting in his private island in his Mog Garden to this day. Also, if it were not for FFXI, I never would have met my wife. Got married the same year ToAU came out. People since try to get me to play a private server since, trying to sell the "It's only level 75 cap and only has up to CoP in it!" Then I'm like old Captain America: "No. I don't think I will." Pre-Abyssea crapped all-over BLU with the exception of the story IMO.

[@elraton01]

I hear that RDM Maat was a pain, I had to farm the BLU testimony around Mamook twice. I loathe XI's Raubhan so much. But I made my first level 75 and beyond job as BLU as intended. Eating tacos and wearing DEF gear on BLU/THF for cannonball was so fun. Instead of SATA, it was CASATA with Chain Affinity. In Abyssea, since Atmas corrected the stat bug or glitch with BLU magical spells, I was able to /RDM there. Used to go crazy in Promyvion since you had to unlock CoP areas to not be a nerfed BLU and access to spells you can only learn from certain monsters there. Ended up calling myself "Promyvion - Jack", and pretended I learned BLU spells from the Empty until you really could learn from them. Boy, I made sure I set those spells. I even named my chocobo in XIV Promyvion. Sadly, I've yet to complete SoA and Rhapsodies of Vana'diel.

[@gregtroyan]

It's awesome that you were able to meet your wife because of FFXI. Also, I love your Captain America analogy there. Sucks that your character is stuck on the Mog Garden, but I'm glad you got to experience a ton of great FFXI adventures and I'm glad your Blue Mage got to experience the game post-Abyssea. Cheers mate!

[@gregtroyan]

@@elraton01 Man, I really hope you can get back into XI to finish SoA and Rhapsodies. They're both a great time. I love the stories about Blue Mage you're sharing. That's awesome stuff. RDM Maat wasn't that bad of a fight if I remember correctly. One of the harder fights in the game but not unreasonably so, at least from what I can remember.

[@soranortthirteen561]

Expansion girls is such a funny and accurate term I love it

[@gregtroyan]

Let's all simp for Gloom Phantom.

[@crystalchaos462]

Man I gotta dissagree with you. FFXI had a track record of issuing side-grades for endgame gear. Your gear was never invalidated at 75 cap. Each piece of endgame gear had purpose for each job available to use it. It was a piece of you, a part of your journey. What Abyssea did was break up endgame linkshells into smaller social ones. The first reset killed off a lot of veterans who were pissed off about 3 day old characters wearing pink and perle gear doing similar dmg to haguns. Some of us finally were getting good at Abyssea when SoA dropped, and all of a sudden, people were ilvl 100+ and Relic weapons (that we were in the process of making) were invalidated by the delve meta. Smaller LS's like mine kept getting smaller weekly until everyone was gone. It turns out, that when your time isn't respected by a game people will leave it. Also I thought a lot of the newer private servers are still looking to add the 75+ content but with gear and levels adjusted down to 75. This game could Definitely use a remake/remaster, but as long as people pay monthly for the current one, it will never happen. SE is more than content with absorbing the subs as long as it pays to keep the servers running.

[@gregtroyan]

For the life of me, I'll never understand the concept of being upset that new players are able to catch up to play endgame content quickly rather than wanting them to spend 5-6 years catching up. To me, it's an absurd and unreasonable standard to except new players to grind for that many years to participate in new content when there are so many gaming options out there. I'm generally against gatekeeping, and while it can be useful in terms of a sense of quality control, the populist in me likes allowing equal access and doesn't automatically assume, "I struggled for this, so you have to also". For example, being homeless for a time period toughened me up greatly, and while it made me a stronger person and I wish people were overall stronger, I wouldn't wish that experience upon anyone. Or the folks who say, "I have 60,000 in medical debt, so why should you get free insurance?" No. Everybody should get free insurance and nobody should have to suffer homelessness. Those are a bit of extreme real-world examples, but my point is that just because old players had to grind for years in order to play current content doesn't mean it's sustainable for allowing anybody new to enter into the game. I get that for many players, the grind in FFXI is the game. The point of FFXI is getting the gear and slowly making yourself stronger. For me, and for a lot of other players, the grind is what gets in the way of you playing the game (the content). Ultimately, my biggest point comes down to a simple thesis: Why does another player having fun in a way you don't approved (getting good gear fast) ruin the game for you, when you can still enjoy the game you were previously? You can still grind the old ways without quality of life updates (just don't use them). You can still use older gear. The graphics are the same. The music is the same. The locations are the same. The content is the same. Just don't use the quality of life features and let the people who want to use them use them. That's my perspective on the matter.

[@NeatNightOwl]

Regarding private servers, it's pretty simple: You aren't someone who enjoys MMOs, so the gameplay differences between old and modern FFXI don't register as important to you. "It's just QoL, what's so bad about that?" I don't often just bash someone without substance, but that's a pretty brainless take if I've ever seen one. It doesn't take much to see why people may not like something being made easier or less complex, but it takes more than you're willing to give, apparently.

[@gregtroyan]

You know you can limit your level cap in retail and not use the QOL, right? You know there are people playing retail who literally do that, right? You know the graphics and music and locations in retail are literally identical to private servers, right? You know you can use all of the old mechanics in retail, right? I can see why someone might prefer the old style of gameplay. I get that. If there was like, a single thing in private that you couldn't do in retail, I might concede the argument. But mechanically, all the options are still in retail so...nah. It's still dumb and petty, and the fact that there are people in retail playing level 75 cap is proof there is no reason for pirate servers to exist. #SorryNotSorry Thanks for the kind words! 😀

[@HoopleBogart]

@@gregtroyan i'm sorry but that's just a ridiculous take man. have fun on retail though :P

[@gregtroyan]

@@HoopleBogart Yeah, it's ridiculous not to steal a live service game and support the people who actually made the game. :P

[@Flawless-Walrus]

Awesome vid to check out! Came in this direction as the new FF14 Alliance Raid got me intrigued by a lot of the lore and stories Vana'diel had to offer. To that end, do you think you'll ever consider playing through FF14 similarly to here? I'd be very curious to see you go through it, as most of the rankings and such you've done have been quite limited to ARR, the lowest point of the game as we have it. It'd be great to see your takes on the expansions and stories therein.

[@gregtroyan]

The plan is to definitely go through the rest of XIV. Currently I'm playing Another Eden, and content-wise, it's the size of an MMO. Optimistically, I'm hoping to have gone through the rest of the content by the end of January at the rate I'm going. It's an incredible game, but again, it's the size of an MMO. That's the main thing keeping me from beating the rest of XIV, but XIV is next on the list after Another Eden, and I doubt it will take nearly as long (Another Eden has an insane amount of content). I like to focus on one game at a time so I can savor the story fully and move at my own pace, but I am playing XIV with a buddy of mine once a week, helping him get through ARR. Originally, my plan was to finish Another Eden before playing into anything past ARR and I was playing as my character that beat ARR, but since we are getting close to finishing I made a new alt character in XIV (named Lighto after my XI character --- also made him a Red Mage) and will be playing the missions alongside him, so that way if he wants to go past ARR he isn't waiting for me to finish Another Eden. Timing wise, I think I'll finish Another Eden a little bit after we finish ARR together. My buddy moves through XIV at a pretty slow pace, which is why I want to play XIV at my own pace to savor the story, so creating the alt character was perfect. And, I won't lie, it's fun playing as Lighto again. The only thing that would potentially go above XIV on my list would be if there's a good Steam sale on Final Fantasy XVI in between now and when I finish Another Eden, in which case I'd play through XVI first and then the rest of XIV. After I finish Another Eden, the plan is the following: Watch a story summary of 1.0 again (I've already watched all the cutscenes --- though I might rewatch them with post ARR context) Watch a story summary of ARR Beat the rest of XIV I've got a couple videos I'm considering, but the most likely video will be ranking all of the Final Fantasy multiplayer live service expansions that I've played, which would include the content from Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius War of the Visions, and Final Fantasy XV Comrades. I think that would be a pretty fun video and I'm genuinely curious to see where everything lands once I finish XIV's content.

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks for the kind words. But yes, definitely gonna play through the rest of XIV, and I'm hoping to make some serious progress on that early 2025.

[@Flawless-Walrus]

I look forward to seeing the journey! For XIV, I just recommend having someone on hand familiar with most facets of the game, to help you know what content is more vital, stuff like that. A lot of optional content like Alliance Raids, Raid Series, and such are hugely vital for world building, characters arcs, and lore. Then we couldn't have a new player get too far without the glory of Hildibrand Manderville! It's a funky checklist, but a good one to have.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Flawless-Walrus I've already got a checklist: XIV 1.0 Rewatch XIV ARR Summary Crystal Tower Questline Bahamut Questline Hildirbrand Questline Good King Mog Questline Edda Sidequest Heavensward Shadows of Mhcah Alexander Quests Stormblood Omega Quests Return to Ivalice Shadowbringers Eden Quests Nier Raids Endwalker Pandemonium Quests Myths of the Realm Dawntrail Echoes of Vana'diel

[@gregtroyan]

If I'm missing anything, let me know. : )

[@gregtroyan]

Two observations/thoughts: 1. We all know the pirate server people weren't going to watch past the Aht Urghan segment anyway. 2. This is the only video on the internet going over the entirety of XI. Are you really surprised a video that even bothers covering The Voracious Resurgence takes a pro-retail stance?

[@GurenKitsune]

I remember players wanting more solo content because the base got older is why FoV and DNC was made and later trusts (we were given a "fellow" we could customize but it wasnt that great)

[@gregtroyan]

Allowing players to solo early content to catch up to endgame was a good call.

[@GurenKitsune]

It was mostly letting more jobs be able to solo instead of DRG/mage lolPUP and BST; thf and mnk did ok but only at higher levels

[@SuperDeluxe80]

Ffxi is a super deep game. You can solo all the main missions. L119+ content only the early content can be soloed. Voidwatch only solo the nation nm's easily. The tiered nm are alot harder even with master levels..

[@gregtroyan]

The higher level content is insane.

[@Johan87577]

Great video, Greg. I’m one of those vets that played the game since 2005 when we got the game in Europe. I’ve played more or less daily with a couple year break due to life. I play both versions of the game for nostalgia and retail, it’s vastly different game but I’m not here to bark down your throat that I see some comments. I’m hopeful for whatever the devs will come up with in the future and after XIV collaborations.

[@gregtroyan]

Thanks mate! I appreciate ya! I'm hopeful for the Dawntrail stuff too. I've got a long way to go in XIV before I play it myself but I'm incredibly excited for it. I really hope we get more main story XI content someday. Fingers crossed!

[@Jameslikeflagella]

Great video but I have to disagree with the sentiment about private servers. You say it's easy to experience the game the way you want but it's really not possible to recapture the game the way it used to be on current retail servers.

[@Jameslikeflagella]

I loved abyssea and still pay for a retail account but your take here shows a fundamental lack of understanding on the games mechanics to see why sunsetting all the gear everyone worked for years on was such a big deal

[@gregtroyan]

@@Jameslikeflagella That gear still exists in retail. One can just choose not to get the newer, better gear.

[@gregtroyan]

Retail didn't remove the gear. They just offered superior options that were less grindy. If you wanted to play like the old days, you still can. Just don't level past 75 or go to post-Abyssea areas, don't use Trusts, or teleports, and grind away to get that pre-Abyssea gear. None of that was removed from the code of the game and all the quality of life features are optional, the same way there are optional quality of life features in the pixel remasters. I know people loved grinding for years, I understand gear swapping mechanics and chain attacks, and I understand they are still an option in retail. They were not removed, they just became less optimal.

[@Jameslikeflagella]

@@gregtroyan I don't think you can ever truly understand since you didn't play the game as it was. There seems to be changes you don't know about either like increased experience points and lowered difficulty. Bottom line is that XI CANNOT be experienced as it was and even the private servers don't do it justice

[@gregtroyan]

If retail out and out removed that gear from the game's code, or got rid of chain attacks as an option, I would concede your point. But all of that is still there in retail. If you want to stay at level 75, use chain attacks, gear swapping, and avoid post-Abyssea zones and monsters, you can. All of that exists in retail. Private servers just remove content and eliminate the temptation to use better gear and quality of life features. They don't add anything, other than making it easier to ignore content fans don't like by removing the code. In my opinion, it's a lot easier to remove content than to add it, and far less artistically satisfying.

[@Randomname1357]

"Hating an expansion because it increased the level cap and added new gear in a freaking MMO just strikes me as really, really silly." I liked Abyssea. It was new and fun and challenging. In defense of the haters though, it fundamentally changed the game. Gear used to be you'd work as a group for it for months to make incremental gains in efficiency, and always horizontally. The moment Abyssea was released the base level gear you got practically for free at level 78 blew away nearly all of the 75 era gear. And this was the start of a mostly vertical gear progression that ran until modern FFXI. It just felt a lot different. Also atmas and what have you in Abyssea made you significantly stronger, so it felt like a different game. This just didn't work for everyone. A lot of people quit over it, and those that stayed lost a lot of people they had played games with for years. I sub on and off now. It's still a great game. But I can't get my friends to come back to it, even during the free times. It's too different from what they grew up on, and the memories for them are better left as memories.

[@gregtroyan]

I respect your nuanced take here and I'm more sympathetic to those missing that their friends quit the game because of Abyssea than those who quit because of the content itself. For me, grinding for gear is a barrier to actually playing the game, but for folks in the old days, grinding for gear was literally the game. I think Abyssea was a necessary shake up to keep the game alive, otherwise the barrier to entry for new players would continue to become more and more impossible, and I do appreciate that modern XI has returned to horizontal progression for those seeking endgame. In my opinion, modern XI is the best of both worlds: offering vertical progression for those who just want to experience the story and zones and horizontal progression for those who want the grind and endgame challenge. I'm not a constant subscriber to XI either (mainly due to work and other projects), but for me, the good of Abyssea vastly outweighed the bad, and if the big complaint is that the game is less grindy and thus easier to play the actual content...I'm not losing sleep over it. I guess a lot of people did, and it sucks they left the game, but I still generally find it petty. And I'll repeat it again: if XI actually removed the option to play the game as in the old days, I would be more sympathetic. But the fact that the level cap quests exist allows for players to limit themselves to the same systems as the old days, and in general, I think piracy of a live service game (for those who do play on private servers) is bad form, ESPECIALLY when I discovered that those private servers left in some QOL features from later day XI like teleports. If one wants a pure old school experience, don't include modern QOL. That seems extra insulting to the devs, at least from my perspective. I acknowledge I'm a very different player than the old school players. I'm not an MMO guy. I'm not even an average gamer. I play games that many consider to have atrocious gameplay because I tend to be a story-first player, so while some folks can't stomach games like Radical Dreamers or Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, I love those games, because of the story content. The grind is a barrier to playing the game, in my perspective, so I know that I'm coming it from a very different POV. I look at games more like books that you pick up and complete, rather than a sandbox you play in forever like Minecraft. So, I do get to a degree the frustrations with Abyssea, and I have a lot of sympathy for the folks who still play the game (like yourself) that miss the friends you used to play with, but I still have very little sympathy for those who left because certain stuff became less grindy. There's no shortage of things to do in XI and making some of it faster to get through is fine in my book, because it gives players options on how to approach things, rather than forcing them into one particular playstyle that does not benefit busy adults who can maybe only play 7 hours a week. I do really appreciate your comment. It was very thoughtful and one of the best comments I've read on the Abyssea situation on any platform.

[@Randomname1357]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I totally agree on the private server bit. If you're playing someone else's game you should agree to their terms or not play. And you can keep yourself at whatever level. I finished watching this video. It was very well put together. Thank you for all the effort. I especially enjoyed the introduction. I'll recommend it to friends I try to convince to join me.

[@gregtroyan]

@@Randomname1357 Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. And again, thank you very much for your commentary. Cheers mate!

[@bustaballs]

Play on Horizon for something close to the classic experience.

[@zaydraco]

I'm in Asura server if anyone needs any advice or help... I love FFXI, I have played all except 16 (also played 14), but by far my favorite Final Fantasy

[@gregtroyan]

Thank you, zaydraco! If anybody plays on Asura and needs help I hope they reach out to you! : )

[@zaydraco]

@@gregtroyan yeah, my character's name is iehudiel (with i of igloo... People has issues reaching because they use L instead of i). I play normally at night of CST. This game has been fascinating to me. As an adult with family I would not play FFXI without quality of life features...

[@gregtroyan]

@@zaydraco The QOL is a lifesaver for those of us with busy schedules. Glad you've been enjoying the game!