Vana'diel Complete

[Yeargdribble]

This, from what I'm told, was shown at a JP (go figure... they never tell us anything directly) gaming expo. This would be the completely world of Vana'diel. Of note to some people, the Island of Tsahya is the home land of the Mithra. Also, the other continents are often mentioned in passing in various places in the game.

Something notable is that there are dots on the map that one would assume represent cities (big ones with MHs). There 15 of these in the unreleased areas. Pretty incredibly considering we've only seen 5.

This seems pretty ambitious for SE, though I have doubts that all of it will see the light of day. Considering it took them 4 years to give us just half of the Aht Urghan Empire, it seems it would take them another 15 years at their current rate to release it all.

I still think it's really cool and while I think they should work on fixing the current problems in the game before getting too crazy with extra content, it really does make you think about how much could potentially be in store for the game if they are able to maintain enough playerbase to make it worth funding the expansion of Vana'diel to its completeness.

It seems to me that for them to go really make the progression that so much land would require, they will almost definitely have to raise the level cap (which they said long ago they won't) or at least start dramatically improving gear progression.

[Misfit]

I want to go to the Island of Tsahya prz. :3

And if they raise the level cap, I am DOOMED! D: I'm still not even 75 yet! This is taking FOREVER! *goes to play WoW*

[Yeargdribble]

The problem is, the majority of people that continue to play FFXI are 75 and there are pretty much out of room to grow and feel accomplished. Most casual players do quit FFXI for WoW just because FFXI doesn't really offer much for the casual gamer by comparision. Just adding land masses won't be enough to make the majority feel like they are going somewhere. I really think if the game is going to be around for another 5 years the level cap will have to be raised. Surely this will create insane balance problems. I've discussed them extensively on BG and how skewed things will get at every 5 levels as new abilities become available from subs. Some of the 100/50 combinations are seriously a mind smurf.

I'm glad that they've put a face on the world. So many things are so vague as it is. You hear about these other lands, but they don't feel real to you unless you can look at them on a map like this.

[chionos]

This is awesome. I've always wanted to know what the rest of the world was like. Gigas homeland sounds interesting to me. SE could do so much with the rest of the world, I hope they don't waste it.
I think that there are ways that SE could work around the imbalance. For instance, putting a lvl 75 cap on all current areas(that aren't already capped), so that 75's could grow but not come to dominate the current areas even more. It would also be very simple for them to just not allow certain abilities/traits(th2, chiblast, the biggy refresh) to be available while that job is subbed. It really is that simple. I think SE will eventually raise the cap, b/c they're out to make money, and they'll come to the conclusion that they won't be able to continue making money without expanding the game beyond adding areas.

Personally though, while I would absolutely love to be able to get to lvl 80, I would be ecstatic just to be able to go the new areas. I hope, as well, that some of the areas won't be quite so high level. SE doesn't just need to figure out how to keep their vets, but how to get new ppl to play, so ignoring low-mid level content is not in their best interest.

[Rostum]

Oh my...

That's one huge world. x.x;

I hope I'm still around in FFXI to witness the world being open like that. For now I'm just waiting for the far east to be open so that I can continue on with my ToAU missions! Though, I still need to complete Zilart (nearly there) and CoP (not nearly there).

And, I don't mind if the level cap stays 75. It could be a good idea though, if you were to cap it on the main continents / aht urghan, and have it raised in other areas. My only concern then, is that they give us more room to hold equipment!

[Ouch!]

With the new MMO coming out, I expect Final Fantasy XI won't be getting anywhere near as much attention as it currently does. Sure, the new MMO won't be out for quite some time yet, but, as Yearg pointed out, at SE's current rate of expansion, the new game will come out long before this all becomes available. I just think it's a shame that a majority of this will just become unrealized potential.

Here's to wishing for an offline game taking place in FFXI universe! A world that huge would put any other to shame.

[Mirage]

I'd pay 50 bucks to get access to mithraland.

[Del Murder]

Preventing certain job traits/abilities from being used while a sub seems the way to go. They already do this with 2hrs after all.

I want to explore that world!

[Yeargdribble]

SE doesn't just need to figure out how to keep their vets, but how to get new ppl to play, so ignoring low-mid level content is not in their best interest.

Once upon a time I would've agreed, but not any more. Now that I've all but quit I notice how many people have actually quit. BG is a huge endgame community and it's amazing how many of these endgamers are leaving because they've just run out of room to grow. Some people are content with leveling 12 other jobs to 75, but that leads to another major problem......

And, I don't mind if the level cap stays 75. It could be a good idea though, if you were to cap it on the main continents / aht urghan, and have it raised in other areas. My only concern then, is that they give us more room to hold equipment!

Inventory is bad enough as it is. People that want 3+ jobs at 75 essentially have to start gimping their current jobs to do so. It's impossible to have the best situational gear for all of your jobs because there just isn't room. In Ra/Ex stuff alone this is a problem. The problem would be more severe, as Om pointed out, if they raised the cap.

They are screwed if they don't raise the cap and they are screwed if they do raise the cap. It seems like the only way the game can grow is if they ditch PS2 support and find new ways to give us armor storage.

I think per-job-closets would work. Give us a closet (10 spaces for every 10 levels) for each job that can only hold gear that said job can wear. Sure that's a lot of space, but for someone with multiple 75s, it's nearly the only way to have multiple jobs ready within a reasonable time frame to do anything without an hour+ of muling. Having 70 spaces for my BRD alone still wouldn't be enough. I'm generally 57/60 when doing anything and I essentially have to review what I'll be doing and leave certain potentially important things in my MH.

With the new MMO coming out, I expect Final Fantasy XI won't be getting anywhere near as much attention as it currently does.

This is the other reason SE needs to focus on keeping vets happy. Vets are the ones that keep a game moving. The people who are still playing UO and EQ today are vets. These games don't attract new players (or at least not a substantial number of them). New people are going to go to new MMOs instead of the tired old FFXI which is famous for its grinding. If SE doesn't add room for the vets to breathe and grow.

Additionally, as new games come out SE faces another problem. The mid-levels of FFXI are a problem... Not for new players, but for old ones. There is a declining population of mid-level players and getting a PT will become increasingly difficult (especially for the 14 out of 18 jobs that aren't popular). People will either be forced to static with members from their endgame LSs or just not level any other jobs (except maybe BST).

SEs hand will be forced to either make things soloable or start condensing servers at that point. I also think that server consolidation will be a red flag for many. This will essentially signal to the players that FFXI is in its death throes and certain people will begin filing out and looking for the next big thing.

Preventing certain job traits/abilities from being used while a sub seems the way to go. They already do this with 2hrs after all.

I agree with this. Many JAs have been adjusted to be gimped when subbed (meditate comes to mind). The big things like Refresh aren't as big of an issue as people make them out to be. Just make subbed Refresh 1/tick. Keep in mind the cap would have to be 85 for people to /RDM for Refresh. Ballad III (in the dats) is level 85. I'm sure they could give RDM Refresh II around there as well. When your main refreshers have 5/tic refreshes on you and the endgame for 85s is designed for having 5/tic, having 1/tic isn't going to really break the game. Convert has more potential of hurting things if everyone had it. A SMN/RDM could last nearly indefinitely, but so what? A RDM/NIN can do that as it is now.

Also, there has been the fear that "ZOMG but then evry1 wud sub RDM onry!!!" So what? Everyone subs the same crap now too. Just because there may be a paradigm shift doesn't mean much has really changed.

[Mirage]

I need two mules just to support 3 jobs where the highest is 40.

It's not just gear, but I want to at least have a buffer of 10 items so that I can actually get some items when I run around leveling. It stings when the rare but somewhat valuable item drops, but you can't get it because your inventory is full. Because of this, I send every piece of equipment I can't use on my current job to my gear mule. Makes it sort of a chore to switch jobs, but it's the best I can do, because I can't afford maxing my gobbiebags and i can't seem to get that mog house upgrade :(

[Yeargdribble]

I need two mules just to support 3 jobs where the highest is 40.

It's not just gear, but I want to at least have a buffer of 10 items so that I can actually get some items when I run around leveling. It stings when the rare but somewhat valuable item drops, but you can't get it because your inventory is full. Because of this, I send every piece of equipment I can't use on my current job to my gear mule. Makes it sort of a chore to switch jobs, but it's the best I can do, because I can't afford maxing my gobbiebags and i can't seem to get that mog house upgrade

And the problem only gets worse. At 75 you'll likely have a ton of Ra/Ex gear (Relic, AF+1, Abj gear, god gear etc) and that's just the visible stuff. Start adding in Ra/Ex accessories... I have at least 10 Ra/Ex Earrings and Rings. Eventually the Ra/Ex stuff is taking up a ton of space even when you mule your gear away. Then try being ready to do events on more than one job and being expected to play your best. If they are short on WHMs and you're geared up for BLM, well then you have to spend an hour getting gear from a mule... but they need you at the event NOW!

This also makes it a chore if you want to level a mid-range job and still be ready for endgame events on 2-3 jobs. It becomes virtually impossible.

[Del Murder]

What are the four 'popular' jobs? I'm guessing Pld, Nin, Whm and Rdm.

[Yeargdribble]

What are the four 'popular' jobs? I'm guessing Pld, Nin, Whm and Rdm.

Well, talking specifically about XP (which is where popularity matters most), I'd say NIN, WHM, RDM, BRD for general all level purposes. For endgame merit PTs it's a little different. In order for merit PTs it would be BRD > RDM > WAR > NIN > WHM.

I don't think of PLDs as a popular job. They are fine for a while, but the 60s (when people first start TP burning) they become less welcomed and by the 70s nobody wants your PLD for XP.

I'd also say that it's not as simple as I usually put it where there are popular jobs and unpopular jobs. There are definite tiers. For normal PTs it's something like this.

Tier 1 - BRD, RDM, WHM, NIN, PLD, COR

You pretty much can't have a PT without these jobs in most people's eyes. They all get pretty fast PT invites all the time. PLD drops off at the high end. RDM doesn't come into stride until the lower-mid-levels. COR is starting to gain recognition as a decent support job, though it doesn't get its Refresh until around the same time as RDM.

Tier 2 - SAM, BLU, WAR, RNG, MNK

These are the widely accepted DDs. RNG lost a bid of favor since their nerf, but they probably aren't bad enough to fall to the next level. MNK has generally been an unsavory job because they can't make distortion early on. The started to gain popularity when KRT PTs started up, but they are still only so-so.

Tier 3 - SMN, BLM, ... almost THF

These are the people have take if you have to. SMN is a last resort healer and BLM is a last resort DD with the benefit of being able to backup heal. BLM popularity seems to have plummeted with people giving up SCs at earlier levels (which is a mistake... just because someone works in a merit PT doesn't mean it works at all levels).

THF barely makes it into this group. They are nearly in the lol category of popularity. They do have a role of hate management and when allowed to do their job can save a NIN tank. Most don't know how a THF works or know how to play with one so they are just thought of as crappy DDs without a real role in many groups. Like SMN and BLM, they are picked only to fill a spot that cannot otherwise be filled most of the time.

Tier 4 - DRG, DRK, PUP, BST, ... maybe THF

These are the lol jobs. BST is a little less so and almost deserves a group of its own, but people won't invite a BST just because they think of it as a solo job. DRG, DRK and PUP face the strongest stigma in the game. Most people would rather disband their PT than fill a spot with one of these jobs. Too often I've been in PTs looking for a rep and they say something like, "There's only a PUP looking... you wanna just disband?"

Like I said earlier, THF nearly fits into this category, but the reason I'm iffy about THF is that THF actually has a role. These other jobs do not. They might count as DD, but are thought to be subpar compared to Tier 2 jobs. The real issue is that these jobs allow for less margin of error. You must be the absolute best equipped on one of these jobs to gain the respect of a crappily geared tier 2 DD. The reality of the numbers is highly irrelevant. What matters most to people is the stigma and they just refuse to look past it.

[Rostum]

Yeah, a reason other than having a lot of fun with WAR, was to level it for merits. I capped Crit Up Rate on PLD in merits, and it was just so slow and boring. So the rest of my merits will have to be done with WAR. =P

[Markus. D]

I still feel sorry for the Drg job ._.

whats everyones thought on it from your own eyes?