Editorials @ Video Game City

Final Fantasy XI, oh what a game it is. A world filled with choices that are all placed in your hands. Do you want to go in this dungeon? Or would you like to visit that snowy field over there in the distance? There will almost never be a time when you are “forced” to do something, unless it is a situation that you placed yourself in. Just released for the Playstation 2, Final Fantasy XI has been opened up to thousands of more players that will venture to Vana’Diel in search for adventure, loot and glory. For the Playstation 2, it is a pricey investment, but if you are looking for something fresh it can be worth every penny depending on how you take to it. Of course, do not go out and buy it if your budget is extremely slim, but it’s something that you really have to think about. Regardless of your personal decision, Final Fantasy XI is the most polished and accessible online RPG on the market and if you are a Final Fantasy fan, you will get what you paid for in spades.

Character Info:
Name: LifeForce
Race: Hume
Current Level: 5
Weapon: Onion Sword

This Week's Monsters:

Wild Rabbits
Forest Hares
Tunnel Worms
Carrion Worms
Orchish Fodders
Goblin Fishermen

What is this that you are reading right now? Well it’s a weekly column of course. Every week you will be front row and center to learn about all of my adventures through the lands of Vana’Diel. From my struggles to level up my character, to the eventually required social mingling that comes with grouping later on in the game. Why am I doing this you ask? Well I cannot speak for everyone, but being a devoted Final Fantasy fan myself, I debated the price and commitment that the game required from the very beginning. I will do my best to show you the true depth of the game that is not at all present in static screenshots, so that maybe you will be able to pull enough information out of me, to make your own decision. A few things that have to be mentioned initially is that the game does require some commitment. But before you take that word to heart and relate it to the many people who have used it to describe EverQuest, understand that this game was built with both hardcore and casual gamers in mind. You can log on, kill a few monsters, and log off, and feel quite satisfied. Long play sessions are never forced upon you like other games in the genre have. You can play at your own pace and enjoy it for however long you want, but it is significantly longer than your average RPG, so you can expect to be playing it for a long time. Final Fantasy XI is an excellent online game, and depending on how you play, it may just end up being one of the most enthralling game experiences you will ever have. Join me for the next ten weeks as I outline my journeys from the very beginning to the point where everything becomes second nature. I will talk of my experiences with other players and groups. I will describe the quests I have taken and the monsters I have fought, and of course I will throw in the humility that comes with the frustration that all online games can induce. I hope you enjoy this column as much as I have had in my time writing it. Be sure to check out my full review of Final Fantasy XI (PS2) on April 18, 2004 which will give a more general view of the game.

"A worm, yes a worm"

Well this week, I don’t have a whole lot to say in terms of my character or progress. This has been my first week playing and while not a lot usually happens when you first start out, I had some pretty interesting experiences so far. The character I created was of course “LifeForce” and I chose a Hume (Human) Warrior. I will change my class later on when I reach a higher level, but the Warrior is the perfect class in which to start out the game with. I began in the large city of San D’oria which is one of the more highly populated areas in the game. When you are first placed in the city, you are landed flat on your butt with nothing but a sword and some pathetically weak armor. Considering the scale of online games, San D'oria is pretty large, and when I first landed in it, lets just say, I had absolutely no idea where to go or what to do. Luckily I wasn’t alone as I had joined the many new players who had recently purchased the Playstation 2 edition of the game, so the confusions weren’t entirely humiliating. The first thing I did was what I usually do when playing a new RPG, I run to every single NPC I can find and stick them up for information. Let’s just say, they “really” left it up to you, because the NPCs didn’t have much to say other than what was on “their” minds. So I proceeded to do what was usually a death sentence for most other MMORPGs. I went outside the city. The forest I was placed in has been one of the most generous training grounds I have ever seen. The vast forest provides for lots of battling and partying opportunities, and you can pretty much stay there and level up to 10, but I of course had to start out by fighting the small Wild Rabbits. They were actually pretty easy considering how weak I was. In most online games even the beginning takes a long time to progress through, yet with FFXI, the early levels have gone by quite fast. After I fought about for about an hour I reached Level 2, which was a sigh of relief to me because I had thought I would log off that night not having achieved anything. All of the experience I received that one day was from Wild Rabbits and Tunnel Worms.

"Lost in the middle of nowhere"

The second day that I played, I was lucky enough to reach Level 3, because there was “a lot” of drama through the hours. I first started out by going back into the city and picking up a quest from a random NPC that I just happened to run into while I was looking around for some really cheap supplies. I was told that I needed to find 3 Rabbit Hides, and bring them back to him. When I finally did that, I received little over 100 gill. What softened the blow of wasted effort, was the fact that I could do it over and over as long as I kept finding pairs of those hides. Partying can be a very invigorating social experience, but that’s only if the people around you are willing to cooperate, or if there is even anyone there. What I found to be quite funny was that while there were tons of new players in the city itself, few if none of them were brave enough to leave the city gates. So all the players out in the forest were either too powerful, or there were none at all. It’s quite obvious that with the pathetic selection of monsters in the area, that the more powerful players would be in and out of there fairly quick. How did I reach level 3? Well it’s because (sadly) I once again killed more rabbits and worms. The reason I almost didn’t level up was because of all the problems I had with finding parties earlier in the day. So I basically stuck with soloing late at night. Level 4 came the next day and that was a combination of the same strategies that I employed before. There weren’t any notable occurrences in reaching that level. Unfortunately I was stuck at Level 4 for two whole days because I became intent once again on finding a strong party. I finally did when the sun settled and I was of course tired beyond belief. I fought monsters like Forest Hares and Carrion Worms which are slightly more powerful than their similar counterparts that settle closer to the city walls. I reached Level 5 just yesterday which was mostly due to my battles with the strange fish creatures called Pugils and a few Orcish Fodders (Which early on can only really be fought with a strong party). Reaching Level 5 was significantly easier than Level 4 because I had finally found a few good groups. The first one I had was with one single player that was part of the Mithra race, and the other with one Hume and an Elvaan. Both groups were short lived but they did benefit me in terms of how much experience I received. I expect that later on in the game, social interaction will play a much bigger role in progress. Currently though, many people are just too new to the game, or are trying to level up as fast as they can, which is typical of most online games.

"A sight some never see"

Wow, what a week it’s been. You may have noticed that my adventures through levels 1-5 have been both brief, and pretty uneventful, but that’s how it is with most online games in the very beginning. Thankfully it was still a lot better than most because of its helpful community and more forgiving early battles. Let me warn you now though, Levels 1-5 have seemed like a breeze, but each of these levels have taken over an hour to achieve, and these were all in single play sessions. Next week, my adventures will become more intense, and my details deeper. From here on in, leveling will be the biggest challenge of the game, but thankfully, it will also be the most rewarding. Next week you can expect to hear of my journeys from Levels 5-10, and possibly more, along with screenshots, so pardon me while I go slay some more Forest Hares.

"My Very Own MogHouse"