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The Mog Log: The trial of Chains of Promathia, part one
When the news first came out about the removal of the level cap in several Chains of Promathia areas, Sera and I had a bit of a disagreement on the news. Or, more accurately, we had a bit of a disagreement regarding the expansion as a whole. Sera was of the opinion that it was quite possibly the best expansion in the game's history. I, as has been stated before, feel somewhat less positive about it -- which is to say that I've usually regarded it as one of the worst. The comment thread to that news showed that this divide was not unique to the two of us. Comments were sharply divided between those who would happily blacklist Chains of Promathia and forget it existed, and those who were heartbroken at something so wonderful being toned down. So I decided to go ahead and take another look at the expansion as an aggregate, both the good and the bad. Out of all the Final Fantasy XI expansions, this one was the most unique. Was it a good experiment, or was it a failure?
More adjustments to Final Fantasy XI jobs with the next version update
More information pours in regarding the upcoming Final Fantasy XI July version update, and the news is all very positive. No nerfs are hiding on the horizon for the game -- instead it's just clear sailing with improvements to combat skill progression, circle protection spells, and blue magic.All players will be happy to see Square-Enix has noted that combat and magic skills are suffering while players level quicker via the Fields of Valor quests and level sync. Because players are spending less time in each level, their skills in combat and magic are simply not advancing fast enough. To combat this, the rate of advancement for skill in weapons and magic has been boosted for the low and mid levels of the game.
Notable Final Fantasy XI column returns as part of 1up's "The Grind"
Game journalist James Mielke resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with Final Fantasy XI in the fledgling 1up blog "The Grind". Mielke's extended hiatus from his "My Life in Vana'diel" column was a blend of time constraints and some degree of burn-out as well. But it seems he missed the game, particularly after the years already spent playing it, hence his column has returned... again. On the subject of returning to the game, Mielke writes, "People ask me to this day whether FFXI is still worth investing time into it, and to that I say: Now's a better time than ever to join the game." He writes that Square Enix has implemented a number of features that reduces the grind and, hopefully for some, brings more fun back to the game. Mielke specifically points out the beauty of the level-sync feature, allowing people to party with higher level characters, and the Fields of Valor quests that have fired up his interest in FFXI once again. If you've been away from the game for a while, have a look at James Mielke's "Reboot" and see what you're missing.
Why you should be playing Final Fantasy XI: Level sync
"Why you should be playing ..." is a free form column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we play what we do!This should be a story that any MMO player is intimately acquainted with. You've just picked up an awesome new MMO and have been flying through the levels. It's gripping you and you really want to share it with your friends. Then you realize the fatal problem that occurs with most MMOs -- you're too high level and you don't want to wait for your friends to catch up.With Final Fantasy XI, this was the brutal nature of the game. Being one or two levels away from your party resulted in decreased exp for everyone involved. Being three levels or more meant the party just didn't work at all and experience was ruined for everyone. It was unbearably hard to get parties, because everyone had to be within 2 levels of one another. With the recent advent of level sync, however, those days are long gone.
New Final Fantasy XI leveling changes detailed, scrutinized
For those of us at Massively that own Final Fantasy XI it's been a little while since we sat down and played the game. This newest version update, however, is causing us to consider a return. Our biggest gripe with Final Fantasy XI was that while grouping was a lot of fun, it was also ridiculously hard to find one. So with that in mind, the three biggest pieces of this update are Level Sync, removal of level restrictions for gear and reduction of the experience curve. Level Sync allows a party leader to bring any higher-level players within the party down to their level. It will essentially allow any low-level players to group with high levels, which is a big win for everyone, unless you really don't want to play lower-level content again -- even with your friends.Square-Enix is making it easier to not only find groups but also to level up into the end-game content, of which there is a ton. Our only worry is whether or not higher level players will really feel like playing in the lowbie zones again, even if it does mean they get to play with friends. Regardless of our worries, this is really a change that should have come a couple years ago, but we're happy to finally see it regardless. We've posted the all-important leveling tweaks after the break.
Final Fantasy XI to receive mentoring-esque Level Sync system
Square-Enix is taking another step towards making Final Fantasy XI a little bit more playable for the masses by implementing what it calls the "Level Sync" system. The feature resembles the mentoring systems found in EverQuest II or Age of Conan in that it allows higher level players to drop down to friends' levels and adventure with them while gaining experience.In its announcement of this feature, Square-Enix went out of its way to emphasize that it has built in the system safeguards against abuse by powerlevelers and gold farmers. There are also some reasonable limitations intended to keep the game streamlined, fun, and balanced. For example, equipment-based stat bonuses will scale down with each level a player drops.There are explicit details at the official Final Fantasy XI website about how experience gains and equipment scale. We approve of this addition (as if you needed us to); in fact, we wonder why certain other games still don't have it. Being able to play with friends regardless of their time commitment and experience is a big positive, and we can't even think of a substantial drawback.[Via Allakhazam]
