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| I left my starting job for last. Also, yes, I stayed up til 5AM. |
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| I did the math: that's about 1,610 hours. This probably includes quite a bit of idle time. |
About a year ago, I set out to try and see if it was even possible for me to accomplish this. In the beginning, it was an ambitious "well, I'll try and see how far I get" sort of a project, but as time went on, I became more determined as the goal itself became more and more realistic. The looming deadline of March 2016 kept me motivated as I plugged away at over a decade's worth of content. I was anxious over achievements involving content I wasn't familiar with (especially Ballista), and there were times I wasn't sure I'd make it in time as the months passed into the new year.
In many ways it was a lonely sort of journey. Most players I know had long since stopped playing FFXI, even questioning why I'd go back and play it. Many others had never played the game to begin with, so talking about my latest accomplishments wasn't exactly an interesting topic to bring up with most people. Still, I knew I wasn't the only one still playing, nor was I the only one trying to unlock all the achievements. From Xbox 360 achievement forums to the FFXI subreddit and even finding friends on Twitter, I got encouragement and advice while on my quest to unlock 'em all.
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| Mumba and Bigbrett, indispensable allies in my quest for Ballista gold. Thanks again guys! |
The achievements themselves are mostly an excuse to experience much of what FFXI has to offer, something I hadn't been able to do until recently. While one could argue that achievements themselves aren't important or worthwhile, they acted as a sort of roadmap for me to follow as I finished storyline after storyline, battlefield after battlefield. It was also nice to have "proof" that I accomplished these things, showing what I had finished and what I still needed to do.
I enjoyed a majority of the experience. FFXI is an older MMORPG with an older mindset, but I've always been comfortable with "old games" (because I remember when most of them were new), so that wasn't a negative thing for me at all. The changes made to the game in recent years made soloing most content very accessible, so most of the time, it just felt like I was playing an offline RPG with some online components.
There were certainly quests here and there with annoying requirements, there was quite a hefty level grind involved, and there were entire types of content (Assault...) that weren't very fun solo. At the end of it all, however, I was proud to have experienced FFXI in at least some form. The storylines, characters, and music will remain with me for many years to come, and as the title of this post indicates, I don't consider this the end.... not at all. The game will still continue strong on PC and eventually on mobile, and there are things I've still yet to accomplish in the game.
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| It's not always easy, Lovingyou... |
I'll be writing up a couple more blog posts about my experiences in FFXI soon. One will detail the achievements themselves and my notes about them, and I'll probably write up my thoughts about FFXI itself as well. Stay tuned!
For now, though, I'll be taking an extended break and enjoying my newfound "freedom". When I do return, I'll take my time and enjoy what Vana'diel has to offer. Until then, this is Kittywoo of Asura, signing off!
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| One of my favorite areas in the game. The Blueblade Fell area in Lufaise Meadows. It seemed like a good place to take a nice long rest as I logged off. |
5 comments:
I actually have been trying to finish up all the main story content, too. I've gotten through up to Wings of the Goddess, but I won't be completing the add-ons or Seekers until after the console versions have been shut down.
A few question, did you do the Abyssea content? Is it soloable? And how much story is there in those three packs?
I don't really keep up with blogger, but I'll try keeping an eye for future posts.
Hey, thanks for commenting!
I haven't done any of the optional add-ons myself because I was focusing on achievements content. I did dip my toes into Seekers just to access the town itself, because right outside the walls is a great zone to get a job from 90-99. Having a couple of 99 jobs is really useful for clearing out old content solo!
I'm totally in the dark about Abyssea. It was once a great way to powerlevel from what I understand, but the Rhapsodies key items increased EXP gain for everywhere EXCEPT Abyssea. So nowadays it's easier to just level up in normal content areas, or Escha. Storyline-wise I know it does have a story and several NPCs from various nations show up in it, but I've never heard it mention among the great, memorable stories in the game.
I've heard that pet classes as well as Blue Mage can solo Abyssea with sparks gear. Getting an i119 weapon via Seekers might be a good idea before tackling Abyssea solo.
I appreciate your interest in my little ramblings! I considered posting them elsewhere, but tumblr is pretty bad for communicating and livejournal is dead, so here I am. I post links to my blogs on my Twitter @Kamiwoo when they get published, but keeping track is hard, I know.
Thanks for the info!
Yeah, I only have gotten one job to 99, Ninja. Working on Paladin because that's the job I have a love affair with, but when things get tough I just bust out NIN lol.
Thanks for the heads up about Abyssea. I think the plan is for me to finish the 3 story pack add-ons, do seekers, Rhapsodies, then if I feel like it, mess with Abyssea. But we'll see. I also have an itch to get back to XIV. I haven't played since 2.4.
Apparently I follow you already on twitter lol. But I added you to a list so I can see your posts a bit easier.
In terms of older storyline quests, I'd say it doesn't really matter what job you were, as long as you were level 99 in sparks gear at least. I soloed it all as Dancer, but I ended up leveling Scholar to 99 as well for a couple of Assaults that warranted quick AOE kills. I really do want to go back and level some jobs I love to 99, Paladin being one of them! That's also my main in FFXIV, and it's one of my favorite FF jobs in general.
I'd suggest at least doing Rhapsodies until you get the +180% EXP bonus from key items, it also grants various other little boosts that really help things along. Beyond that the boosts mainly focus on endgame stuff so the latter half of it can wait, it's not possible to solo the last boss as of now as I understand.
FFXIV's Heavensward expansion is really great, I highly recommend it. Right now it's pretty easy to catch up to endgame with the way progression is right now. I'm on Exodus if you wanna say hi =p
I'll try to tag you on Twitter when I update my blog here as well!
Oh boy. Yeah, good to know the last boss isn't soloable. As long as I don't need to grind a ton, I don't mind trying to get a group together for that stuff. But I haven't like... actually played a party role since 2008, so I'd be worried I might not be super effective. I capped out my spark points so 119 gear hasn't been an issue, but no idea where that gear falls in the grand scheme of things.
I'm on Sargantanas we'll probably only ever cross paths in a miracle duty finder match up, but maybe someday lol.
Thanks! That'd be a big help! I follow a ton of people, so it's hard for me to keep up with individuals. It's the twitter life I've chosen to live lol.
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