The MMO Everyone Forgot - Final Fantasy 11 in 2024 (FFXI)

[@sawmanUK]

If you want to see me explore more dead MMOs then leave a like on the video Website: www.DogWaterGaming.com

[@pipz420]

Items do auto stack you just have to adjust it in config.

[@sawmanUK]

@@pipz420 ah, thats good news then lol

[@RetroSmoo]

Pirates of the Caribbean Online. I remember mostly spending my time sinking ships then spending all my loot on BlackJack

[@Thingsyourollup]

I just got the Horizon XI client and joined that private server. It recreates the glory days of the FFXI lvl 75 cap era and it's extremely populated and definitely not dead. It's almost like FFXI is experiencing a revival.

[@sorenvalen]

the game ff11 steam has a issue where the game the steam number are only the paly online luncher once the log in to the game and the window opens up it ends up closing the steam version so you cant log hours into it plently of palyer paly the game no the busyest game i have seen but enough to paly with

[@LilT2o00]

2005-2010 ffxi is an era that simply can never be replicated. If you missed it, all you'll ever experience is stories from people who were there.

[@Khanfuzed1]

RIP

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Started in 03 which happened to be when I moved out and got my first pc on my own. It was amazing.

[@spotifyseascapessmoothjazz]

It was the peak of gaming

[@ceruleannomad3922]

Amen to this

[@Dracale]

Was there for NA release. Talk about smooth. Played on PS2 then went to PC. My wife and I have fond memories of the game. We quit when wings came out and the cap was raised. It just didn’t feel like FF11 anymore.

[@despain8726]

FFXI was the best MMO at it's peak. Treasures of Aht Urhgan era was amazing.

[@UltrEgoVegeta]

Absolutely my fav dlc for xi

[@Coffeebeamz]

I'll never forget taking th first boat to Aht Urghan at launch.. So many memories.. So much sky.. So many HNMs.. There will never be another mmo like it.

[@jackblack7797]

Hell yeah so many memories I’ll never forget

[@teddychu1177]

@@UltrEgoVegeta Wings of the Goddess for me... Time Travel shenanigans and everything

[@nevitt2236]

Come to horizonxi, the game is 75 cap and will be getting this expansion soon.

[@trumangarrick9646]

Ah yes the game where a rabbit would murder you in the starter areas

[@SuperRamos619]

FFXI is a game where, no matter what level there was always a rabbit that would murder you.

[@celestiangaming87]

YES!! Love this game so much! I play a private server original 75 cap era everything so niicee

[@lee1130fromtwitter]

Rabbits were the thief job class. That's why they were tough

[@Bootus123]

In retail, there’s a high level NM rabbit that has Endeath lol.

[@thegoldmine4111]

@@Bootus123 Wrathare is no joke

[@lee1130fromtwitter]

Also fun fact final fantasy 11 was squares Golden child for decades It literally saved the company from bankruptcy after the failed spirits within movie. Square leaned on the profitability of final face 11 for year after year to recover. Only 5 years or 6 years after final fantasy XIV came out did it surpass final fantasy 11's revenue finally.

[@Dracale]

1.0 in FF14 was bad…..really bad.

[@ShiroCh_ID]

@@Dracale it almost kill SE as a whole isn't it? Before the ARR thingies

[@atheist101]

​@ShiroCh_ID Yeah Square was in the serious red zone from 1.0. It was a massive failure that destroyed people's trust in the company as a whole. Then ARR came out and blew everyone out of the water. It's almost a big of a success as NMS was.

[@idontwannatypeaname]

So many times when Square barely saved themselves from bankruptcy

[@rjhick1]

And they are making the same mistake with FFXIV lol

[@magnusgrel]

FFXI needs a remaster

[@sawmanUK]

Yes!

[@idwgames]

If FFXI got a remaster it would be a guarantee that I would return

[@pipz420]

If anyone could make a good UI for ffxi combat and macros. It would be the perfect mmo.

[@Nightweaver1]

It does, but it'll never get it. Square Enix is content to continue pouring endless cash into their cash cow FF14.

[@pipz420]

@@Nightweaver1 Then we need to encourage indie devs that this is what we want. It needs more but I think there is a lot of good here.

[@pragmat1k]

So when it comes to Final Fantasy XI, because of the state of end game more or less requiring daily login to play a few hours for grinds that can last up to a year, my recommendation to those interested is get the game, pay the first sub or two, clear the full story, treat it like a single player game, enjoy your time, and move on. I started playing in 2004 when the game launched in the US. Inventory cap is 80, not 60, you also get a mog sack, mog satchel, mog case, lots of extra storage. Plus you get wardrobes for your equippable items. There is an option to auto sort your inventory to items will auto-stack. When it comes to the story, because FFXI was originally designed to be horizontal, you didn't need previous expansions to play current ones, the narrative is more story driven rather than character driven like XIV. When it comes to MMOs XI still feels like home to me after playing for so many years. I've taken long breaks, but I always come back because I miss it. Your experience on servers will vary though because of huge population differences. The game has also reached a point where savvy users will create multiple accounts and run them as bots. Think of it as a fancier version of the Trust system, which is usually not enough to let you make good progress on end game content, but it is enough that you can still comfortably do MSQ and side quests. The game is charming, I love the art style, the armor designs are better than most of what's in XIV to me, the music is nostalgic. I've loved my time in XIV over the last 20 years.

[@iudus]

FF11 was my first MMO. I still have a lot of fond memories of the game and how brutally hard it was. FF1 didn't hold your hand like modern MMOs, it punched you in the face and then mocked you for thinking you knew what you were doing. What an experience.

[@sawmanUK]

It was certainly an experience having to work everything out, I had like 20 in game hours and like 5 hours reading stuff on the wiki

[@dragonriderabens9761]

if that really is the kind of experience I can "look forward" to with FFXI, it has gone from a "alright, let's see what we got" to a hard pass in an instant I do not understand how anyone finds that fun I play games because I feel like life does that to me enough, and want to feel powerful if I wanted to feel like I was getting kicked in the face for fun, I'd go get a 2nd and 3rd job and just stop playing video games entirely

[@iudus]

@@dragonriderabens9761 From what I understand the game has had a lot of quality of life improvements and other things added that make it not quite the same difficult experience it was 20+ years ago.

[@Khanfuzed1]

back in the day everyone wasn’t necessarily min/maxing from the jump. it was more about exploration and partying up to get through story content. people literally halfway lived in game it was a sort of escape. it was so vast and interesting relative to anything else going on while still having all the final fantasy charm. so by modern standards, yeah very frustrating stuff. Though it made it feel more organic and immersive vs. quest icons and waypoints to everything important.

[@felldoh9271]

@dragonrider Because of the incredibly rewarding experience you feel inside yourself on top of the incredibly charming world of FFXI.

[@ScawyFF]

"Paying a monthly sub and not getting any new DLCs" the game is actually still getting updates to this day! They're not super frequent but I believe the latest expansion wrapped up like just last year? I don't play the game but I do get notifications on any new patches that release and one just came out the other day, however I believe most of it's end game related.

[@Tardisntimbits]

"The MMO Everyone Forgot" Me, who never shuts up about it, despite also playing XIV. Lol

[@Derek9598]

right, im stoked for the XI collab in nov on 14.

[@Ostr0]

​@@Derek9598Wait what they're doing it!?

[@Polychromatic8]

​​@@Ostr0 the upcoming 24 man raid series in Dawntrail is based on XI

[@kalandarkclaw8892]

Right!? I have so many fond memories of this game and friends that I know irl that played this game too

[@kalandarkclaw8892]

​@Derek9598 me too I'm really excited to see what the bring to the table

[@Ryotsu2112]

The trust system didn’t come into the game until it was like 10 years old or more. For a very long time you had to group with people after around level 13 unless you played Beastmaster. It was very grindy and there were few quality of life elements. You could t even teleport to a crag unless a White Mage they learned the spell for that crag took you there. Now you can teleport from crystal to crystal like FF14.

[@sawmanUK]

I kinda like that idea, I think theres too much hand holding and making everything easy in modern mmos...

[@user-fp6mi7lj1s]

​@@sawmanUK if u like a challenge private server catseyes have a hardcore mode. Cant use ah delv to 1 when u die until you hit 75

[@Bootus123]

@@user-fp6mi7lj1sHorizonXI has something similar, but there’s no way I’m spending all that time just to lose everything lol

[@pipz420]

The top things ffxi did I wish returned to mmos. Hundreds of Open world Named monsters, Sub job system, Weapon combos with other players (Skillchain) and magic combos (Magic burst), In combat macro systems, and level cap areas with level sync.

[@Bootus123]

@@pipz420 yes! BCNMs and other capped fights really added to the feeling that endgame was not a destination, but something along the journey. Capping content like Promyvions also made it so gear wouldn’t be invalidated as you progressed. It’s one of my favorite parts of the game.

[@terrykubinchak6006]

the sound when you logged on... oh man that brings back so many memories!! i absolutely loved ffxi back in the day!! i play ffxiv now, but ive been thinking of getting my old account back on ffxi !!

[@esergio]

Felt the same way when I heard it!

[@Thingsyourollup]

I just created a new account the other day after being gone for god knows how long. It just makes me feel so legitimately sad inside playing it because a world I remember as alive and vibrant is just empty and quiet and lonely. Almost every zone I enter brings back a memory I made playing there and I go back to those exact same spots and see... nothing.

[@BaronLector]

Originally there was no in-game tutorials. In fact, one of the memes about the documentation of this game is there was a Brady Games guide that is the butt of all jokes as it was out of date and incorrect about many aspects of the game upon its release. Players relied heavily on FFXIclopedia for information.

[@Thingsyourollup]

Oh god... yeah I had that guide. It was still a handy reference for vendors, crafting recipes, some maps, and for repeatable quests.

[@BaronLector]

My wife and I (Baronless and Baronlector, respectively) have "come back" to this game for easily the 10th time in the last 15 years. Currently on Sylph. We started our most recent pilgrimage less than 24 hours ago.

[@Thingsyourollup]

Hey I just started up again on Sylph a couple days ago. It was my home server back in the day. Tyru in game.

[@DuskLumoria]

I was actually in your guys' linkshell way back in the day on Sylph. Hope all has been well!

[@BaronLector]

@@DuskLumoria We jump between FFXIV and FFXI these days (currently in XIV). What's your XI name?

[@Thingsyourollup]

I actually just downloaded the FFXI Horixon client and joined that. It's amazing!!!! Its a completely free private server that recreates the glory days of the 75 cap era. And it's populated like the good old days too!!! Y'all should check it out.

[@Yadamane]

You played the first few hours on hard mode. Melee only on BLM without a sub, and with the race with the lowest hp. Honestly if you can survive that grind you can survive just about anything the game has to throw at you. Also I 100% recommend getting through Chains of Promathia. It is one of the best MMO storylines ever created.

[@Lyachos]

The anime "Welcome to the NHK" Had a Hikkikomori in it that played it all day. The protagonist also had a look in the future where he was 55 and still a hikki living with his parents and playing it, it was this good.

[@Cameliasinensis506]

People play private servers because the game was just different back then and some of those servers try to recreate that feeling. The incredible hardships created tight knit communities and worthy achievements.

[@kalandarkclaw8892]

@@Cameliasinensis506 150% you needed friends to progress. And if you were a dick to people you didn't get very far. I miss this aspect especially in ffxiv.

[@tiersei]

I absolutely love FFXI but yeah it's hard to justify its sub price these days. I kinda wish they'd bundle its sub with FFXIV at a discount.

[@Jambara]

I know some retail people are hesitant to try private servers but it's crazy how much of a better experience it is, Horizon XI for example has: - it's free (it's highly speculated that Ninja pays all the costs of running the server) - 1 click installer and login (no PoL) - Addons built right into the launcher, can click them on and off, including UI addons - Active GMs who monitor for cheaters and respond to tickets - High player population and because dual boxing is forbidden every player is really a person and not someones 5th bot account. - it's free

[@aestheticPhantasm]

@@Jambara Seriously stop shilling HorizonXI. Aerec and Kipling are running that server into the ground. The economy is overinflated by dupers and the staff got caught selling RMT to the player base. Just stop trying to funnel people into it, it's morally corrupt the amount of time you're wasting of people's lives if you promote HorizonXI.

[@BarbellMethod]

What I miss from FFXI; - No teleporting (real travel) - The Subclass system - Leveling skill with Weapon types - Skill chains

[@brandohernandez9991]

The best era social at it peaks, lots of shouting and interaction. Especially raise hah

[@Bootus123]

Skillchains + Magic bursts are awesome. Now that just about everyone can solo Skillchains, it’s still fun to make your own multi-step Skillchains and have other people burst on them as you go.

[@thegoldmine4111]

@@brandohernandez9991 GOBS TO ZONE!

[@spotifyseascapessmoothjazz]

I miss pre-MPK patch when aggro mobs could chase someone across a whole zone and then walk back to their starting area, massacring low-level players along the way. It created a lot of variability in the state of each zone at any given time and made the world feel more alive. It was also hilarious. 😂

[@Bootus123]

@@spotifyseascapessmoothjazz it definitely added a real world element of danger, but also MPKs were a HUGE problem and needed to be addressed.

[@jimjones9631]

I still play ffxi to this day and have a sub running. It was such a magical time and to this day i still feel the pull to go home to Vana'diel.

[@chrislaughlin9019]

My friend you haven't even touched the surface of FFXI. The first thing you should have done is start the rhapsodies of vanadiel. it would have guided you through the things you needed to do. The expansions added to this game will give you solid year of play time.

[@KendallGandFam]

FFXI will forever be my favorite game of all time. So many fun jobs and an in depth storyline with all of the stories correlating to each other. I was in there from 2003-2010 and then 2015-2018. Btw, that Bradygames book I bought with this was always laughable

[@wretchedabyss1394]

FFXI, there are a number of private servers basically trying to recreate the ToAU era experience, but ToAU is held together by the most spaghetti of codes.

[@ImmortalDraylo]

and none of them are functional, just play retail

[@wretchedabyss1394]

@ImmortalDraylo eh Horizon is alright if you don't take it seriously. Retail has a problem that Horizon fixed which is the multi box meta. If playing retail didn't make me feel like I had to multi box then I'd play it but here we are. Trust can only get you so far.

[@ImmortalDraylo]

@wretchedabyss1394 what makes you feel you have to multi box? Like what is forcing you to do it? It's the same thing as shouting to find a group or linkshell on those private servers.

[@Bootus123]

@@ImmortalDraylothere’s so much “daily” grind in retail that your progress is crazy slow without a static. Because of this, lots of people multibox so they don’t have to coordinate schedules with five other people.

[@Bootus123]

@@ImmortalDraylohorizon is absolutely functional. Not sure what you’re going on about lol. I like both retail and horizon.

[@Aeon373]

Man I used to be addicted to this game back in the day. I miss those days

[@kimfry4019]

I played FFXI for almost `10 years and I loved every min of it, I left the game 10 years ago, when I look at at it today it feels like I never left,

[@suburbantimewaster9620]

I actually remember playing that game when I was a kid.

[@GoddessCynthia]

FFXI on private servers is probably one of my favorite MMOs. I'm a FFXIV main, but I still put FFXI in my rotation. I still disagree with your views on FFXIV, but I'm glad you checked this (imo not at all forgotten MMO) MMO out.

[@sawmanUK]

Honestly, after playing FFXi , im tempted by FF14 again...

[@pipz420]

You will do more talking to people in one day of ff11 than a month of ff14 even in 2024.

[@1992Latvian]

@@sawmanUK Do it :D

[@Skyztamer]

@@sawmanUK Assuming you're on the free trial of FF14, you have essentially three full game's worth of story content for free (base game and the first two expansions)

[@Ephremjlm1]

I like 14 for what it is, but man every time I go back to something like HorizonXI the feeling of playing is just 10x better imo. Both are great but nothing has ever given me the same satisfaction that FFXI has given in many iterations of the years.

[@Apo_Alaia]

This takes me back :D Played for 5 years since NA launch... great memories but also the reason why I did not touch another MMO or even a MP game for 10 years. if you wanted a 2nd job with ungodly 'working hours' boy did it have a Dynamis for you.

[@koalabumismine]

The era lasting to 2010 was the best MMO that ever existed. Private servers exist to emulate that era. Post 2010 is quite a different kettle of fish.

[@allthatishere]

FF11 was really great back in the day! It reminded me of Morrowind in a lot of ways; next to no holding, no quest markers, etc. Amazing social scene, challenging from level 1, multi-classing like the FF Tactics games, amazing storylines and soundtracks. I really like FF14, but FF11 still takes the cake for me.

[@poppysgtspanky]

I’m glad I found this comment; I’d always say ff11 was like an mmo morrowind in some ways and they always thought I was crazy lol

[@picantepollo6238]

Am I alone in always being nervous about watching FFXI content? It’s always an emotional roller coaster the second I start hearing some of the music and seeing the zones again. Floods of memories.

[@Thingsyourollup]

Omg yes... I actually bought the game again a couple days ago and Im starting fresh, chugging along doing my leveling grind... But i've had to wipe actual tears because many many zones I had great memories in and now when i zone in and go to those exact same spots, theyre just quiet and empty.

[@kalandarkclaw8892]

@picantepollo6238 I feel that the hot takes from the people who didn't experience the back when it was current just drive me up the wall because they have a hard time adjusting to games from back in the day. Don't get me wrong I love that people wanna see it but I wish they could even just a little suspend their expectations a little and stop comparing it to more modern games. That really isn't giving it a fair shake.

[@ApexVash]

FFXI will always be my all time favorite MMO I've ever played. It was my first and I started playing the year after it came out. Between the numerous linkshells and friends I made in addition to all of the incredibly difficult content at the time. I really do miss the amazement and discovery of everything the game had to offer. I don't think there will ever be a time where I have that type of experience in any other game. As difficult as it was to level back then I do feel like the experience you got to have with others was so much fun.

[@StabbyMcGroin5264]

This was my very first MMO and I absolutely fell face first into it. To this day the soundtrack is my favorite from any game with the Windurst Theme being my absolute favorite. The aesthetic of this game grabbed me right away also.

[@idwgames]

FF XI has such a special place in my heart. I LOVE this game. You can play the game solo now and that's so cool too...

[@OGBuddah]

I really enjoyed the video, and I think you did nail the real core of what make Final Fantasy XI great. The players. As a 20+ year player myself, from the Bismarck server, I commend Leeja for being such an outstanding example of the kind and open nature of the players in FFXI. Thank you!

[@FoxFireStorm]

I played FF11 before Steam, on my PC, and I still have all the discs, going to Wings Of The Goddess, which was the last Expansion I played. I had printed out papers that explain Magic Burst and Skill Limit Breaks so we could use them in party camps. I had one character who do dragoon (my main job), Red Mage, Dancer, and Summoner (Summoner is amazing in 11). I miss it sometimes, but left when they made it more solo friendly.

[@alannixable]

Dude I think it took me a freaking day to walk outside. The town was so huge and it was my first mmo I was just overwhelmed.

[@riverwulf6721]

My buddies and I didn’t even know there was an outside of San d’oria.

[@CJG619SD]

The endgame gameplay of retail is incredibly different from the lower levels, whether you focus on the lv75 or lv99 content. The subjob system, combined with the horizontal gear progression, lets you do incredible things. RDM/NIN at lv99 is a thrill. Fav. expansion: Seekers. Fight me.

[@Bronwyn031]

All those FFXI memories are flooding back in from watching your video. I must've had 1000's of hours in that game. I stopped with 14 (1.0) came out and when it failed, I waited for Realm Reborn to come out. When I quit RR, I moved on to Black Desert Online and that's where I've been ever since. But man, do I have FOND memories of XI!!! 🤗 I didn't even know it was still around and with so many new expansions.

[@SwordsmanOrion]

I have never once forgotten this game. FFXI was my entire life for almost 2 years straight. And less obsessively for years after that. This game was incredible memorable and in some cases unbelievable.

[@rikiautv6320]

This will NEVER be forgotten.

[@FFXIHDOverhaul]

Great video! I've spent...a great deal of time in this game. Been thinking of getting back into it again. ❤

[@groundpounder0541]

The thing that 11 had that 14 doesnt is the super close community. Combat was slower paced and it allowed you to have a chat lolfest with your friends during battle. I find 14 is very fast paced and theres little time to chat. I made some friends to this day from XI

[@Derek9598]

That was the biggest stop gap for a lot of players upon US release... the game does not hold your hand at all, not days there are tutorials but starting out... you had a booklet guide that is it... figuring it out is part of the fun(as you seen). As a huge XI fan, the game needs some love as there is so much content, like a mountain of story you can do.. such a good game and when 1.0 XIV released all those years ago we had hoped for something similar but alas wow semi clones are popular with the masses compared to grindy, hard, social MMOs. While they have made it more user/solo friendly over the years with trusts, grouping used to be mandatory, no getting around it, ever. Well, unless you took up beastmaster, which in itself was a grind but rewarding. I come back to the game often and love to see people doing first time gameplay of this game, great video! Also additional note, you can sort and auto stack by turning auto stack on, which I swear needs to be on by default. If you ever consider giving it another go by all means, pm me. Learning the ropes is fun, but doing it solo can be daunting to see the real light shine!

[@BaronLector]

Back on the PS2 over AOL dial-up, the initial update would take me 16-24 hours as it first checked each file individually, and then downloaded each file individually.

[@kalohaggard1729]

One of the funnest things about FFXI was traveling through zones you had no business being in and trying to survive just laughing as half the zones mobs chased you .

[@SirChucklenutsTM]

We never FORGOT, FFXI. It just was unheard of. It was a very cooperative experience, with an immersive community. The combat system, at the time... well, it was a combat system. It was what it was, a turn based JRPG MMO

[@mister-x2]

I had much more fun figuring out how to play than actually playing. lol. Stopped around level 60-ish or so. I hope the long standing rumor of one day having the subs for ff14 and ff11 merge into a single payment becomes true one day.

[@SkepticalChris]

I loved FFXI, but it was very hardcore and punishing for a game. I still play today on a private server. But it was indeed punishing, couldn't level at all without a group, (unless beastmaster) at the time. I only played up to Treasures of Otter-Gaunt or whatever that expansion was called. Aggroed mobs that will simply never stop chasing you until you died, being deducted EXP if you died, ya it was punishing. I had a Tarutaru character, or as they were called "Tawutawu" that always was fun to play. The cuteness was always at overload status. But FFXI's best feature by far was the subjob system where you could combine classes in a virtually endless set of combinations. My favorite is still Redmage/Dancer combo where he can cast, melee, restore and be so self sufficient he can do pretty much anything :)

[@DylanFoster-j9z]

its insane the emotion that the ds 'you died' gives immediately even though its just a yt video and out of context

[@johnwayne4219]

I’ll be coming back in 2 weeks. I can’t wait! My character name is dargo

[@addisonsani1552]

On the Google bit: I was friends with two hard-core FF11 players who even worked as GMs for the NA servers. Back then, game knowledge absolutely passed through players and community-built wikis

[@graceggale]

FWIW, the jobs are actually SUPER flexible later in the game with gear which is something I love. Melee WHM, DPS BRD, tank BLM, etc etc. Beats the hell out of holy trifecta based games.

[@Winter420]

'played by anyone with a 1 at the start of your birth year' oof why you gotta make me feel old :(

[@donnyyasu2764]

My favorite game of all time. I miss the golden era of it. It could never be replicated even if they made a faithful remaster. Different era and different days.

[@nickv3085]

Horizon xi feels very similar to the old days. If you are a super hardcore no lifer, some cracks will show, but honestly back in 2005 my journey felt exactly the same as when I revisited the game last year on horizon. Got two jobs to 75, redid all the story content, and quit haha. The endgame was never for me. The idea of it was cool, but it’s just too much of grind.

[@donnyyasu2764]

@nickv3085 OH I played there before, it's awesome. But what I mean is that MMOs aren't really social hubs anymore, and youtube and the internet is now takes away from a lot of mystery ffxi had back in the day. Back when you had "written testimonies" instead of videos

[@Thingsyourollup]

@@nickv3085 I've heard about this server. How populated is it?

[@MalcomMalediction]

I played this back when I was 14 or 15 years old lol....never again. It was painfully grindy back then and boring. It looks like it hasnt changed much.

[@Tinandel]

I played this game back on launch, waaaaay back in the day.... but I wound up quitting around level 45 or so. It was INTENSELY grindy, very unforgiving, took forever to get groups together, and just generally felt bad a lot of the time. That being said, it definitely had a certain charm. Everything being so punishing made any achievement feel genuinely rewarding; I still fondly remember doing the questline to collect my racial gear, and venturing into a mine dungeon full of monsters and undead who could squash me flat effortlessly, looking for a series of chests. The genuine element of risk to so many things being way outside of my weight class and significant XP loss on death, meant that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

[@Duni_of_Astora]

Didn't forget, still playing it daily, and there's been 3 full expansions since 14 came out and new story still being added via patches. And we getting new servers as well. So not dying at all.

[@Bootus123]

Servers like HorizonXI that you showed there exist to give people the level 75-era, which plays WILDLY different than the game today.

[@aestheticPhantasm]

Do not waste your time with HorizonXI. For anyone reading this, I repeat, you are willingly accepting a Trojan Horse if you get invested in HorizonXI. It's not what it appears to be, though it seems to have a high pop and you will hear people praise it, many are regretting this decision once they get deeper into the truth of what Aerec and Kipling are doing with this server. The ownership and leadership are abysmal, duping runs rampant, and the devs have been caught already selling RMT to the playerbase. Seriously, I know it because I fell for the same bait, and several months in, started seeing tons of unfulfilled promise by the devs, constant walk backs of plans and poorly managed Nerfs of jobs, and this is just the tip of the icebergs. Are there nice and great ppl in the community (playerbase), yes, absolutely. Do those nice people know what they are in store for? Not likely, because they are so on board the hype train for nostalgia they cannot see the forest for the trees that is HorizonXI is none of the things it claims to be, especially not the grandiose claims the leadership makes. But hey, if you're a glutton for punishment and love to be talked down to and berated/abused by the staff of a ps, then by all means, learn the hard way.

[@Thingsyourollup]

How populated is the server?

[@Bootus123]

@@Thingsyourollup not sure of the total population, but it has anywhere from 800-2,500 people on at a time, depending on the time of day.

[@Thingsyourollup]

@@Bootus123 I downloaded it today already nostalgically in love.

[@Bootus123]

@@Thingsyourollup it’s a great time! If you haven’t already joined the discord, make sure you do ASAP.

[@lordbane5627]

If you want an MMO that I think you would love, try Warhammer Return of Reckoning. It's like an open world pvp focused version of WoW. It's completely free and insanely popular with massive 100 person+ battles in open world maps.

[@Blackgz]

You would’ve loved it Been on ffxi 20 years + Many good memories

[@Mindgames91]

Great video! I will never forget my time playing this on the PS2 with the HDD and internet adapter. Such a cool thing to experience as a young teen. The playOnline was an absolute nightmare ***!! I played it for almost 2 years before getting a PC that was able to play games on... And I downloaded WoW. I never looked back on this game (besides playing the amazing OST) until recently with some private servers. Great nostalgia but the game is pretty rough, I would love to see it modernized and remastered.

[@XxAtomic646xX]

the reason it takes ages to update no matter how fast your internet is, is bc it downloads 1 file at a time instead all at once like modern downloads are. this was bc back then 1 file at a time was fine bc most ppl were on dial up lol

[@bloodlustshiva1]

2002-2017 for me. Bloodlust on the Shiva server. I was the last holdout of all my friends, I gave up when they kept adding new tiers of lvl 99 gear. Grinding I'm fine with, making all my current gear useless every few months I am not.

[@bbake3030]

I just started playing this game about a month ago for the first time. I am having a ton of fun with it, but I must say, Google is an absolute must. I have beaten the base game missions and started with the extra missions added to the nations in the Rise of the Zilart expansions. I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here. Thanks for the vid, made me even more excited to keep chugging further in this game.

[@JS-kr8fs]

I wouldn't say we forgot, but it's like remembering a time when you were okay with kidney stones, when you've experienced not having kidney stones. For the time, it was the only MMO style you could play, but it was painful, old, punishing, and consumed more of your life, career, and friendships than you'd like to admit. But now there's much better options in MMOs.

[@jamesstark6499]

Wait, XI is “restrictive?” XI is far less restrictive than XIV. Some jobs can be different roles, and there’s more than just tank-healer-DPS. Blue Mage can actually do content in XI, while XIV’s BLU is just a side thing. There’s so much creativity in XI’s gameplay. Download Windower or Asura to fix the UI, get a second screen like an iPad and pull up BG-wiki, and you should be golden. I definitely recommend you keep playing. It’s so much fun

[@Dandizz]

"That's a weird looking FUCKING cat!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Thingsyourollup]

I actually just bought this game again three days ago and started playing after being gone since... 2010? So many memories I had in this game with my friends, plus all the new friends I made. I never even hit a level 75 despite playing the game for years. Playing now just makes me sad remembering the long past fun times of yesteryear. Every zone I enter brings back a memory I made there. You still see the occasional person in a town or at a warp crystal but the world seems so empty now, sort of like a metaphor for my life and all the friends i've lost contact with over the years.

[@BenRiley83]

Chains of Promathia, Treasures of Aht Urghan, and Wings of the Goddess era was absolutely unforgettable! What a time to be alive!

[@squigssquigley8523]

Also, current generation FFXI is great for people who want to play every FF title. It takes maybe one or two months to complete the story line with all expansions and can be done solo for almost all of it. The story is great, and definitely is worth the price at this time just to play amd experience.

[@nopecaim1140]

Private servers are an attempt to recapture the 75 cap era when FFXI was at its peak. They can't do it perfectly but some are a lot closer than retail will ever be. I miss the og era when you needed to build a community and interact to ever progress. So many great experiences just grouping with randoms and spending a night xping on enemies.

[@GoodGirlPeruru]

I find it incredibly amusing that the game has become known for the stretched graphics and wide character models that you can literally disable by messing with the aspect ratio settings once logged in, and was not at all how it looked back in the day (unless of course you had a widescreen display and opted not to change that setting)

[@crossrazor]

I played from start until like 9 years ago i was a cosole player but im wondering if its worth coming back and starting back from 1-99. I missed valkrum dunes.

[@Tom-gp2uo]

I heard about this so much later on from a friend I met around 2009 to now, how he would play with a few people and how much he loved it. So many stories from it. Funny ones, exciting sounding ones. I loved old school mmos, but I always stuck to PC and was an FF single player puritan so I ignored it. I really wish I played it back then, I can’t imagine how much it would’ve stuck with me growing up.

[@christopherbartleson8918]

Thanks for this video; it was immensely nostalgic for me from my early days in the Navy stationed in Japan and playing this game on the computer I built.

[@sin9479]

I wish you were able to play this during 2005-2009. Such good times. When people talk about FFXI in fondness they are talking about the lvl75 cap era and its why private servers like HorizonXI exists. funnily enough there used to be a discount if you had a sub to FFXI and FFXIV but that was during FFXIV 1.0 (2010) and it disappeared after that. Also there are no western or eastern servers. All those servers were worldwide and its why there is a built in translator. I consider FFXI to be an MMO and FFXIV is more of a pseudo MMO. I play both and have fun but when I need my MMO fix i play XI (On HorizonXI because lvl75 cap, no PlayOnline, just a regular launcher, and no monthly fee)

[@aestheticPhantasm]

HorizonXI is trash, people have just not realized it yet. Please stop name dropping it, only sets more people up for rude awakenings once they get too far in and realize how garbage that server really is. If anything, play retail, and support actual FFXI devs. A lot can be done in Retail and it is still accessible for many player types.

[@rann1074]

Playing that game at launch was very very different. You basically couldn't fight monsters unless you partied with other players. Monsters were so hard that people would just camp out at the entrance to zones waiting on people to show up to party with. So it was even more difficult to play back then.

[@masterpills]

I would play this again in a heart beat but a 12 dollar monthly fee is so greedy it's crazy especially with all the other MMOs out there now. If it was 5-7 or free which it honestly should be at this point it's player base would double or triple at least. I still remember the Dunes, and Quifim like it was yesterday. Honestly everything about this game was a masterpiece and I remember vividly. House parties, hitting the dunes and the difficult leveling jumping tremendously making being social a must, quests like sub job and dragoon, weapon and job leveling, everything was so much fun. One of my favorite games of all time and would love to play again but again that monthly fee for a 20 year old MMO is just crazy

[@Justin-sky]

Started playing again during the pandemic and have been in love all over again, lol 😂

[@IDisagreeWithYouAlot]

This was hands down one of my favorite if not most favorite gaming experience. I still listen to the soundtrack. It’s my most listened to playlist on Spotify. This game will always have a free home to live in my heart. If I could choose to live in another world it would be that one. I would literally leave everything behind in this life to live in that one. Which these days isn’t saying much. The world sucks.

[@frankbrodie5168]

You say the mobs will chase you down and kill you if you run away. But the mobs do have 'zones' that if you get far enough away they will wander off back to their zone. I mean, it's not the 10 feet away that FFXIV seems to have. But it's a sensible distance. This DID NOT used to be the case back many years ago. When you could amuse yourself by aggro-ing a high level mob miles across a zone, and drag it with you all the way to a zone line far away. Leaving the mob to slowly wander back to it's spawn point. Potentially aggro-ing and/or killing anything low enough level in it's path. Top bants at the time.

[@Khelendil]

As an Info for ppl interested in XI: U pay the Sub a bit different to XIV as in its 1$ per Char u create + 11,95$ for the Base Account. So to play the Game with a single Char u pay 12,95$, 13.95$ for 2 Char and so on. In XIV u pay 12,99 for up to 8 Chars in total PER SERVER (if i remember correctly the server part) Also MAX Inventory is 80 n the Quests (yes there are several, 10 Slots each time i think) for them r located in Jeuno (another City which is more or less the Main Hub for Mid to End Game) But nice vid for a recap ^_^

[@networknomad5600]

All the cons you listed are why people play HorizonXI. Very simple install and config, much better UI, and people to actually party with in a state of the game that is much closer to FFXI's original launch.

[@kytele]

if you can accept that it is unfair and staffed with wierdoes sure

[@cawvhmoob]

Wow! I remember playing hours and hours on this. I wonder if there are still linkshells I use to play with. That was the best part in this game. Your whole linkshell get together to fight bosses for drops.

[@Leonesaurus1990]

My first FF game, and still is my favorite. Love the job system, combat, art direction, world, lore, music, skill-chain system, gear progression, and so on.

[@youdontknowmegigna]

Come to HorizonXI, yall. Huge population and biggest dev team I've seen for a private XI server. In CoP atm, soon enough releasing ToAU. The install process was streamlined for HorizonXI, btw. 10 mins + install time.

[@Bootus123]

Definitely correcting you on the lack of updates. The last full expansion was in 2015, but they’ve put in equivalent content of like another three full expansions since then. They update the game every month.

[@Pak_Flesot]

I was 90 days of logged time, and never saw level 75. My black mage was 71. Bard was 51. But this was back in 2006, and things were different then.

[@gearzdesign]

Oh the memories of ffxi. I still have the box and documents from the original pc beta test. The only gripe I had with the game was you had to group to grind for exp (unless you level beat master). Many of the items you have in your video didn't come out for the game until far after the initial release.

[@RJ-qp9gu]

I enjoyed ffxi. Played the beta & fell in love with it. Enjoyed playing with people around the world. Had played ppl from several countries regularly. Game was hard, heard they made it a lot easier which you still think it complex

[@egosumalpha6325]

It was so complicated, that everybody teamed up and helped eachother. Many friendships beyond the online world were forged. In my FFXI years, I never heard someone be agressive or talk down on someone else. (aside from the picky 2brd pty onry) everything took ages. Even finding a group and getting to a camp spot could take almost an hour. Unthinkable these days.

[@pyro2611]

If you enjoy the social aspect of MMOs that modern MMOs don't have, its worth checking out (some) private servers. FFXI from 2007 and FFXI from 2024 are pretty much different games at this point.

[@ChocobosinSpace]

3:35 😂 seriously, I wish the game got overhauled. I'm a big fan of ToAU/WoTG era, and I believe there are some great and beautiful stories to be told in there. It's still kind of social though, some players are dying to help for content to see how OP they can get ☺

[@norrdinenouar]

FFXI was and still is to this date the best game I have ever played in my entire life! Almost got addicted! Still in love with the awesome music! Naoshi Mizuta and Nobuo Uematsu are forever in my head!

[@davidbrenet6711]

FFXI was a part of my life for 10 years. Fur sure the Best mmo ever who could never be replicated. What a game, soundtrack were amazing, this game was also hard, so hard, i remember waiting for party 1 day without ont because i played mnk ;)

[@RetroTravo]

I got a good chuckle out of "4 hours , 30 minutes later I had setup and configured FFXI and was ready to play"

[@cattysplat]

Pre-WoW MMOs were something else. Hardcore to the core. I know it's not the same today since many quality of life improvements but I'm sure some of that DNA is still in there.

[@randallkoskubar2303]

I only tried this as the free trial version, and the only thing i remember was fighting squirrels at lvl 1, bunnies at lvl 2, and rushing agead to get merced by a lvl 4 lamb.

[@HoopleBogart]

Me and a buddy are playing on HorizonXI and it's been a blast, and we're complete noobs. It's freaking amazing. Just the music and exploring the world has me addicted to an mmo and i'm getting close to 40. Cool video thanks!