Thursday, July 12, 2012

Revisiting Final Fantasy XI?

Tom sent me an email last night letting me know he's starting to play FFXI again and asking if I wanted to join in. Apparently a few things have changed since we stopped playing a year ago (in particular the really hard level cap quest got nerfed) so it's entirely possible the issues that caused us to quit are solved. He's also started over on what I think is the biggest server (Asura) which may make it easier to find a lowbie guild if we want.

FFXI is probably my favourite MMO so I'm always willing to give it another shot. I started the install last night (had some issues because I'm running 64-bit Win 7 on my current computer but I just had to find a new PlayOnline installer). I have a wired X-box controller hooked up to my computer now so I can try and see if the controls are more intuitive this way. (The game was designed for play on the PS2 console with just a controller, no keyboard or mouse.) I found an ad for an FFXI expansion coming out in 2013 for xBox 360 and PC. Not for PS2. Which means maybe they'll be able to add new zones and increase bag sizes above 80...

Starting on a new server can make sense in some ways but in others it's a disaster. I read through my previous posts on FFXI today to try to get a handle on what I might lose if I rerolled...

- Advanced jobs, including corsair which was pretty tricky to get.
- All accumulated spells, including invisible which was a pretty rare drop.
- All tradeskill progress. I don't know how far I went, but it wasn't trivial.
- My chocobo.
- Reputation grinds (I think I maxxed out the 4 base reputations with hours of corn turn-ins while watching BSG).
- Bigger bags!
- My ~level 30 race specific equipment which is awesome.
- All my cash moneys.

Not to mention that new accounts have restrictions placed on them as far as mining for fish and gardening among other things.


I don't think I could handle starting over. Especially since I intend on playing League of Legends a fair bit at the same time, I doubt I'd get a lot of those time sinks done in any reasonable amount of time. On the plus side, if Tom rerolls and I don't then I won't fall far behind him right away!

I went to the Square-Enix website and it looks like server transfers do exist for $25. I'm pretty sure that's a lot more than it would be for WoW, but on the 'plus' side you get to transfer all characters for the one fee. I don't think I had more than one character, though.

I figure I'll finish the install tonight, patch up, and see if Asura is a valid server transfer destination. And then probably bite the bullet and transfer over. Anyone else interested?

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