FFXI vs. WoWFollow

Which one is top dog? I am interested in your opinion. I played FF for about a year and after a day of WoW the choice was pretty clear to me. I sold all my stuff away for 1 gil and let my 56 PLD retire into the abyss of cyberspace...I currently have a lvl 42 PLD in WoW and to tell you the truth the WoW Jibe would kick the sh*t out of the FF Jibe lol.

If you told me that I would put down FF a few months ago for WoW I would have told you that you were crazy and that I would never quit FF (San Doria FOREVER!!!) My brother forced WoW upon me about a month and a half ago by buying me the game and subscribing for me. So I decided what the hell I'll give it a shot. I knew the game was good from reviews and all but I didn't expect it to be that good. I really thought that it would be on par with FF. Boy did it blow my mind...

In terms of the raw game, WoW has FF (imo of course) by a few light years. The graphic engine (although a little cartoony but ff has tarus so you can't really complain lol) is better. The quest system is phenomenal; quests not only progress the story line but also promote fame and give you xp! The story of WoW and all it's side plots, for me anyway, has a lot more subtance than Vanadiel. There is literally zero downtime (well for PLD's atleast). All classes (classes=jobs in ff speak) have refresh and regen automatically and all classes have the capacity to solo their way to the level cap. Oh and I forgot to mention there is no xp penalty for dying!!! The economy and auction house system is better, crafting is by far and away a better experience, traveling is much simpler and more enjoyable (each player receives/buys individual mounts that thet own)...I could go on but I want to elablorate more on some of the features I already mentioned and I also want to get to the grand daddy of them all PvP.

Have you ever gotten frustrated by the fact that you can't do anything worthwhile solo in FF? Need to get G1 done? Better find high levels to get you that paper... Are you tired of shouting in Jeuno for help getting an AF key? If you said yes then WoW is the right game for you. WoW gives you the option of soloing quests or doing them in groups either way can be done. Alot of my old ff buddies compalin about WoW saying that it's too easy, mind you they haven't tried WoW yet (all my friends that have tried it have already converted), but what they fail to realize is that WoW is not less challenging it is just more rewarding for the amount of rl time you put in.

Another thing that I love about WoW is class/job diversification. All players are different. I'm serious. Blizzard put in alot of time into the classes and all the equipment. No 2 PLD's are exactly alike thanks to an insane amount of choices equipment wise and talent wise. Talents allow you to distinguish your player from all the other players in your class. They allow customization of your character according to your personality and desires. Want a damage dealing PLD that can take hits well? Easily done in WoW by maxing out Retribution and Protection talent trees. Can you say the same for a PLD in FF? No. Every single PLD looks exactly the same and serves the same purpose in FF. A WoW PLD has the potential to be a main tank, a backup tank/healer, a main healer (YES that's right),and a DD (really i'm not kidding). This is true of all classes in WoW not just PLD; I only stress PLD because that is what I have real experience with. A side effect of this is that party makeup can be anything you want it to be. Want a party of all PLD's? It works great i've tried!!

I failed to mention this but it's worth noting. WoW has a myriad of instanced dungeons for virtually every level range. An instanced dungeon is unique for each party that enters the area which reduces lag and allows your party "alone time" so there is no mob stealing. FF only has dynamis which is only good for high levels. I experienced my first dungeon in my teen levels of WoW. It was amazing and the closest experience like that in FF was the Shadow Lord mission (SM 5-2) but only the Deadmines of WoW wasn't nearly as annoying.

Now for what really sets WoW apart from FF, PvP. WoW by itself is a much better game than FF (again imo) but the PvP aspect of WoW places it in another universe from FF. In contested territories battles between Horde and Alliance members can occur wherever and whenever. The fear of dying in FF was due to the tremendous amount of xp and rl time lost; the fear of dying in WoW is much different. My heart pounds faster and the hairs on my back stand up as I engage in battle against another player. Yes FF has ballista but that is a controlled battle that really has nothing on WoW's PvP. In WoW the two factions are really at WAR! As a result there are countless events that can be organized that expand the experience of WoW. Guild raids are common where your entire guild attempts to sack an opposing town. There are specific instanced areas designed for PvP called Battlegrounds. Some BG's are capture the flag while others require you to kill the other side's racial leader. In addition there are incentives for engaging in PvP. There is a ranking system in WoW that bestows titles to players who distinguish themselves in battle. I am currently a Private working toward becoming a corporal. If you work your way above the enlisted ranks you gain access to the Officer's Barracks where you can get Officer specific equipment and mounts.

So that's WoW in a nutshell. I know I'm probably going to get rated down for this but I really don't give a f*ck about karma anymore. Blizzard has it's own forum that links directly to your in game character so I won't be visiting these boards as much anymore. I'm really just interested in what you have to say. I know most of you have spent alot of time in FF. Hell I know I have...my level may not show it but my crafting sure does (lvl 76 BS in FF ---> lvl 243 BS Specialized in Armorsmithing in WoW) and looking back I can say that FF was fun but also very frustrating. Knowing what I know now I wish I had made the switch earlier...but I'll always cherish the good times in West Ron and the classic music of San Doria!! Please send me feedback I'm looking forward to it ^^

*Note: If you do decide to switch over, my name is Jibe and I'm on the Warsong server.

I'm not flaming WoW, I'm planning on trying it soon. But judging from the first few pararaphs, WoW is 'easier'. I wouldn't say 'more interesting'. Hell it might be what suites you, but personally, the challenge I receive from FFXI is what keeps me playing FFXI.

I hate WoW not because of the game or the graphics but because of the maker... Blizzard.
I play'd Diablo 2 for a while (a long while) and I know Blizz's rep. I don't trust them and I would never pay to play one of the games.

You're just pointing out the "good" things, and hiding the "bad" things. I haven't read your whole thread, I've seen tons of these ... but here are some additions :

The quest system is phenomenal; quests not only progress the story line [WoW hasn't a storyline. It's only a world. There are quests bound to eachother and have "small" plots, but there are no "missions" like in FFXI.] but also promote fame [In FFXI too.] and give you xp! The story of WoW and all it's side plots, for me anyway, has a lot more subtance than Vanadiel [I've played WoW for 2 months, then done the 3 PM of CoP. Now I realize that FFXI's plot rocks, and that WoW has no plot at all, only a background]. There is literally zero downtime (well for PLD's atleast). All classes (classes=jobs in ff speak) have refresh and regen automatically and all classes have the capacity to solo their way to the level cap. Oh and I forgot to mention there is no xp penalty for dying [No, there is an equipement durability penality. It means that you don't lose EXP, but gold.] !!! The economy and auction house system is better [There are only 2 auction houses, one on each continent, and the auction is time-based (example : [Long Sword] Current Bid : 4CP - Auction ending in : About 6h), which means that if you aren't in front of your comp a few mins before it ends, you're usually owned by someone else. Also, in FFXI if you want an item, you'll have to pay the price but you'll have it. In WoW, you don't need money, but luck. Want your Lv40 sword ? Dropped 1/15000 time on a type of monster. Good luck.], crafting is by far and away a better experience [Easier. In FFXI, having 80+ in a craft means something, in WoW you can get 300 in a few days.], traveling is much simpler and more enjoyable (each player receives/buys individual mounts that thet own [At Lv50]) [What's the difference between an Airship and a Griffon, or a Chocobo and a Mount ? The only thing that makes travelling in WoW more enjoyable is that you take less time.] ...I could go on but I want to elablorate more on some of the features I already mentioned and I also want to get to the grand daddy of them all PvP [It's a matter of opinion. I don't think there are much people who'd like being killed by a Lv40 while they were doing a quest with their Lv15 char in a low-level area. I personnaly prefer to play with friends and enjoy the game together, instead of being killed by 30+ higher level/killing lower levels. The fun of the PvP is in the Battlegrounds, or by raiding with your guild. In FFXI you do PMs, Missions, Garrisons, Eco-Warriors, Dynamis, etc ... It's a matter of opinion ...].

(And the worst thing for WoW IMO, is that there are a lot of 13-year-old kids I-know-how-the-world-works-you-suck. Pretty much annoying in a PT.)

Like I said, it's a matter of opinion. If you have more fun with WoW than with FFXI, that's good for you ;). I think you can only judge a game after having played it, and so you can decide which you have the most fun with. Your choice was WoW, ours is FFXI ^^-. Have fun there.

Edited, Thu Jul 14 07:59:21 2005 by Freyir

Freyir, where have you gone?

Nice post, I too made the switch and am loving it. Not to criticize you Andy but notice you say I "heard" over and over. Can't go by what you heard which was probably basis. People in my LS before I quit bashed WoW and had never played it. If lag was unplayable would people seriously pay a monthly fee to play? Common sense lol. Blizzard has more users than any other MMORPG at the moment as well. There's thousands of people playing on PvP servers (me) and who love the PvP. There's great class balance in WoW and PvP is less depenent on gear and class than in FFXI. PvP biggest factor is skill and it's incredibly fast paced, each job has a ton of abilities to use (even melee). There's Roleplaying servers, PvP servers, and normal servers to cater to what you like. Battlegrounds is a million times better than Ballista if your into staged team combat. There's more ways to talk to people in WoW than in FFXI.

Now you don't have to go by what you heard Andy. =)

I left FFXI to play WoW.... Deleted my character, gave my LS a million gil, and buddy that I had played with 2.2 mil and went onto WoW. I had a 50 hunter and a 48 priest but I had to stop playing. Why? Cause the game is pretty damn boring after awhile. The only time you ever party with people is when you need a quest done and people's partying skills in that game are horrific compared to FFXI. After three months, I realized that I was doing the exact same thing that I had started doing three months ago and that I had been doing it everyday for the last three months. WoW is cool for people that like to solo or don't have much time to play but not for me. I had to start over in FFXI and now I'm up to lvl 70 Rng and am so glad that I came back.

I'm not flaming WoW, but I do play both of them. WoW is nice cause of the fact you can solo all the way to 60. There really doesn't seem to be a need to group/party but when u do it's total CHAOS. An in must MMRPG's I though that's what you should do is group/party to work as a team. Ive playing WoW on an off for about 1-2 months now an I have already reached LvL 41 with a warlock an gotten very boring cause you find yourself do the same thing over an over again. To me there not much of a story line to it either, maybe because Im a FF fan ^^. IMO WoW is for the Novice MMRPGers while FFXI is for the more Experinced / Hard Core Player.

Long Live FF /cheer

Edit: gammer an spelling sorry

FFXI WoW
Char - 55pld 41 - Warlock


Edited, Thu Jul 14 15:49:16 2005 by Raisltin

For the months of Feb. 2005- March 2005, I played WoW instead of FF-XI. Yet, I returned to Vana'diel roughly after reaching Lv. 36.

I could go into what makes WoW better, and what makes FF better, yet it seems to me that more often then not, these items are subject to opinion on a personal level. I just generally came to conclude this: WoW is for people who dislike many aspects of FF-XI. And vice versa. (I'm not saying that's 100% true, but it seems to be the case most times.)

Most of friends who played FF and went to WoW think I'm slightly crazy for sticking with FF. For a while, I too was drawn in by the lures of Blizzard and thier mighty game. It was glorious, it seemed as though every aspect that made me irate in FF seemed to disappear. Yet in the end, it also seemed the reasons I like FF seemed to be not appear at all, and it would also seem that my reasons for liking FF seemed to outwiegh FF.

So, while I played I WoW I cancelled my FF account, but didn't delete anything. The entire time I played, I kind of regretted leaving FF. Come May, I went back to FF, and this past week, I fully cancelled my WoW account. To be honest, I don't feel a bit of remorse in leaving WoW at all.

I'm not saying FF is better, nor is WoW. It's all opinion. They really seem to be two games on the opposite ends of a spectrum in many ways. Odds are, if you REALLY don't like FF and find it to be more tedious then fun, go try WoW. If you find WoW to be too boring, try FF-XI. That's really all I've got to say on that.

TseTsuo I've seen alot of FFXI v WoW threads and see that everyone who quit couldn't cut it and it just irritates me. WoW forums have a few FFXI trolls who come on saying bias stuff and I see the "they couldn't cut it" alot. Alot of the people who did convert had the game since PC or PS2 release and were well off. I don't think everyone who goes back to FFXI are bad PvPers and couldn't cut it in WoW. MMORPGs really aren't that hard, not anything compared to some regular RPGs their just time consuming. That goes for WoW and FFXI. I personally don't like FFXI but it's all perference. I like Coke better than Pepsi but that doesn't mean Coke is better than Pepsi, I just like it better.

Thanks for the rate down nerds ;).

Short train of thought:

FFXI and WoW are not particularly comparable. The only thing they really have in common is the genre. In the end, they appeal to a different preference set. For example, some have mentioned the epic storyline in FFXI as a plus. Some like smaller plots they can trace throughout the game (many of the quests in WoW). Some like the more social aspect of FFXI, some prefer it to be (more) optional. Some like the more directed mission line of FFXI, some like the ability to roam and jump quests easily. And, believe it or not, there actually are quest lines similar to mission lines in FFXI - you just have to look for them - something else based on preference.

When friends have asked me to compare the two, I really can't. I can only say I prefer one (WoW) over the other because of my own personal preferences, not how aspect of game A is better than game B. They're both great games, in the end.

In the end, they're games. People play what they like and should enjoy what they play, not just play it b.c it's the lastest/greatest thing.

I wouldn't touch Wow with a ten foot poll. Ive heard nasty things and ive heard good things but theres no way. before FFXI i had to deal with blizzards **** in Diablo II and Warcraft III.
My belief is that games like fable and WoW are just trying to steal buisness away from The true winner FFXI. I would go back to playing single player games then start another MMORPG. ESPECIALLY one started by blizzard. From my experiences you can be a ****** and still hack any blizzard game. I should know ive done it in every single one.

Those are some of the reasons why I am not interested.

What is the sense of danger if death is meaningless ? Why should people need to develop real strategies if they can just throw themselves at whatever for hundreds of times until they succeed ?

Where is the community, if you can just level to max by yourself ? When you get to max level, you barely know anyone, but you need to do instances to get better gear (aka raid), but most of the guilds are only made up of people who've known each other in RL or from other games... There has been complaints on the WoW boards already about this; the game changes completely from a solo one to a raiding one at level 60.

As for regen/refresh all the time... once again, interdependancy between classes = interaction = community.


I'll keep waiting...