LogFAQs > #951404853

#5. Final Fantasy XI (PS2, 2004)

536 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes, 8 seconds. That is my gameplay time in FFXI from 2004 to 2014. The majority of which is from 2004 to 2010 when FFXI was essentially my entire life. None of that is idle time either. I had a garbage internet connection for a long time that would disconnect if I was not there to F5. MMOs are a plague. I am one of the lucky ones where this didn't destroy my life, in fact my life was markedly better because of this game. It never got in the way of me working or paying bills or having a social life. Like on occasion yeah I didn't go do stuff because I wanted to game, but I didn't lose everything like so many others that played this or WoW or whatever.

I started this game with 3 high school friends, on PS2. We made a Linkshell and progressed til we merged with a larger group and became an endgame LS. For about 7 years I was a LS Council member (a leader of the group). So I organized events, gave direction during raids, and handled LS Reward Points for drops etc. We beat pretty much all the content there was to beat for a long time. My PS2 eventually died entirely from this game. As well the laptop I got for college basically melted from this game later.

I was a Dark Knight main. I also used Monk, Black Mage and later Blue Mage.

So things this game did for me. Met some of my best friends to this day. Who I lived with for 6 years and allowed me to save up to buy my own house. This game also led to me losing my virginity as a woman in my LS it turned out was also in Ottawa so we got together, hit it off and stuff happened. We ended up not being compatible as a couple at all but still get along great as friends. This game also helped me get over being shy and passive. The leadership role I took in this game has really carried over to the real world. I actually use FFXI as an example in interviews. Which sounds insane, but a common question is how would you lead and motivate your team. FFXI was that on a way bigger sale, when I tell them I organized 60 people at once from all over the world via text and voice chat they can't even fathom it usually.

FFXI was also one of the most challenging and least accessible games ever. You were forced to make friends or never progress. Much like B8 now, it was my entire social life pretty much and I met many of the people from my LS. They have since made the game very easy to play solo, but initially my lord what a slog. Losing EXP for dying in a game where you die a lot, really big problem. Walking everywhere before you get chocobos or fast travel and everything, they really beat it into you to be good at this game and always alert.

Hyper Notorious Monster hunting.... NMs that spawn on a 24 hour cycle. Or 1 week cycle. That have amazing drops, and several LS would be there. Sitting, for hours because of a 3 hour spawn window. Hovering a finger over your provoke macro trying to get the claim.

Gilfarmers and Bots. Man if there was one thing to unify all the rival LS, it was these jerks, only there to claim, get, sell, and then sell the gil for real world money.

Managed to find some old pics from our LS from a guy named Azmo.





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I am Nick. Go Sens, Bills, Blue Jays!
UotY 2015, You should listen to The Show w/ Ngamer and Yoblazer