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Final Fantasy XI Online gets another expansion: Wings of the Goddess photo

After five years you'd think everyone would have stopped playing Final Fantasy XI online by now, but this is not the case! Not only does the community continue to somehow thrive, but it will now see an expansion pack this winter ... further prolonging the problem. Square's site has very little to say about the upcoming add-on but there is a cinematic movie trailer worth checking out.  Here's all they note:

The development of "Wings of the Goddess", a new FINAL FANTASY XI expansion disc, was announced today at the SQUARE ENIX PARTY 2007. In conjunction with this announcement, a new site has been created to provide the latest development details as they become available, as well as give fans the opportunity to view exclusive images from the expansion.

While I think the game is gorgeous and did play it non-stop for six months, I've always been a critic of its extremely passive battle system (Wait for the meter ... press button. Repeat! No personal combo chains?!! Zzzzz...), long monthly level grinding in random parties after level 20, extremely low enemy variety per zone, and worst of all -- a barely existent storyline. Thus, I have to look at the expansion's promise of "a lost tale retold" with some skepticism. The game is essentially plotless to begin with!

I'd really like this game to evolve so hopefully they're delivering more than just more rare drops, bigger maps and shiny new trivial crap to auction off. I'm also bothered by how absurdly stoic everyone is in battle in comparison to other games in the FF library. Can we get a drama teacher expansion and get these people to loosen up a bit?

 

 


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23 comments | showing # 1 to 23

ghettobelmontes's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 11:26
ghettobelmontes
LOL at lvling down.
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 11:39
BahamutZero
I bet all four people are really excited about this
Crunshii's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 11:39
Crunshii
oh no, whats this!? another expantion pack?? oh noes! we must come back! back in time to re-joice the untold stories! -_-;

sorry, that sure was lame of SE, they should have focused on mentioning the secret MMO their working on, instead of pulling this (final) marketing gimic. lol, "marketing gimmic,"::: squeeze the juice till the last drop i say!, until they will release the new MMO in 2008.

Fact is No one is planning to come back, people are getting banned from left and right (More people are getting banned than people dying in Iraq, nice way of SE cutting their own legs), over 2k people (per server) and counting!, and those who actually found the light back to RL are slowly taking the right steps (aherm, raises hands after 4 years)

those who still play can flame me but this are the facts.
Nazo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 11:51
Nazo
Huh? barely existent(note spelling btw) storyline? You serious? FFXI has an incredibly rich storyline if you bother to play through the missions. If you choose to focus on grinding then that's all you're gonna see, doesn't mean there's nothing else there.

FFXI is doing pretty well and is still one of the more popular MMOs. The people getting banned are cheaters and RMT, this is a good thing for the game, not bad. Even if this expansion doesn't bring anyone back it's still worth while for the existing customer base.
Just because they have a new product in development doesn't mean they should abandon their current customers.
twesterm's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 13:44
twesterm
I do not know what you peopel are thinking but FFXI still has a fairly big community and actual players that do not cheat other than using Windower are not getting banned left and right.
nerpin's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 14:19
nerpin
Levels 1-20 were great. Then I got sick of teaming with idiots. Spending 3 hours to find a party that falls about in a half hour is NOT fun.

That's probably why City of Heroes and WoW grabbed me. I can team if I want to but I'm not dependant on others to accomplish things.

..FFXI was pretty though.
William Haley's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 14:21
William Haley
I believe FFXI has an install base of something like 500,000 now (use to be in the millions). That's no WoW, but what it is?

However, the game does have a story, you just have to be really, REALLY dedicated to get through it. The missions are so freaking hard that even capped out Japanese players in all purples (!) havent finished most of them. But there is a story there, and FFXI is actually one of the few MMORPGs to offer something like that on the scale that they do.

I also find it hard to believe that Square banning CHEATERS and creating new expansion packs on top of the tri-yearly major updates can only be considered a positive thing for those who actually play.

That being said, I am no longer one of those people. As Niero mentioned, fighting the same EXACT monster at level 40 as I did at level 5 is just utter bullshit. Even FFXII had different skins for the same monster types, and that games was about 1/100,000,000th of the length of FFXI. That, and all the good stuff like Chocobo raising and balancing fixes didn't come until I had finally given up.

Still, I miss my RNG/NIN far more than my Night Elf Hunter.

This trip down memory lane has been brought to you by having no life for an entire year.

twesterm's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 14:32
twesterm
You have to remember that FFXI was originally made for the PS2 and the way a lot of things are (no multiple skins, limited storage space, ect) is because of PS2 limitations. They could completely stop supporting the PS2, but they can't really afford the userloss.

As for it's no WoW and that's why it has only 500,000 suscribers, yes, that is why it still has suscribers after so many years. Most MMO's try to copy WoW and that's why they die. Like it or not, FFXI is a completely different style of play and that is why people still play it.
PikkonX's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 14:59
PikkonX
I agree with most of the things that were pointed out about FFXI, but as others have said, it certainly does have a storyline. The award for non-existent storyline goes to WoW where the only main plot exists through the lore of previous games in the series and that lore isn't even supported by the game anymore. Blood Elf Paladin...
Niero's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 15:42
Niero
See, I remember in early parts of the game you do a variety of things and you're involved with castle royalty for a bit, meet the princess, and so on ... then the story goes into this void from level 20 until like level 40 when some other small event happens. Then I see stuff like the Treasures expansion and people are getting excited about fighting Level 50 imps? No thanks
Nazo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 18:02
Nazo
Wow, could you possibly miss the point any more? People don't get excited so much because of the new mobs, it's the new content that is the big deal. ToAU expansion introduced a whole new continent to explore, a new storyline (oops there's that word again) to play through, besieged (epic battles, up to 600 players defending the city from beastmen), 3 new jobs, assault, salvage, etc etc. In other words, loads of new stuff and new play modes to try.

I get that a lot of people don't like FFXI, I'm pretty much done with it myself, but your posts reveal your ignorance of what the game has become. And posting such ignorance up in a news story is unworthy of this site.
Triggerfinger's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 22:18
Triggerfinger
NOT ANOTHER DAMN GAME
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2007 22:23
king3vbo
this game is terrible, why is still around?
MrDunbar's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/13/2007 01:08
MrDunbar
I'm in that category of, "Used to play it, and did enjoy it, up till about level 60"

I'm a patient guy, but the grinding really does get to you, however, for most of the people with such comments as "this game is terrible, why is still around?", and to Neiro's dismissal of the game, I must say nay!

As previously mentioned, this is a very involving and entertaining game, and far too many people give it far too little credit.
twesterm's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/13/2007 01:50
twesterm
@king3vbo
"this game is terrible, why is still around?"

Wow, you think it's terrible? Well I guess since your opinion is the only one that matters rather than people that have actually played the game I should listen to you.

So since I hate WoW (and have even played it a good bit) does that make it a terrible game?
Doug's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/13/2007 12:52
Doug
FFXI is an excellent game. There are a lot of things about it that are different from WoW (like relying on other people so much) but what you will discover is how strong the community is because of that. This was my first MMO. When I first started playing back in October of '05 I was clueless. I soon discovered that all you had to do was ask for help without begging 0r t1pp1ng l13k 7h1s lawlz. Any bit of info you needed was readily available if somebody within rage had it. I know I wasn't just 'lucky' because I not only had one person teaching me I had all of Vana'diel there to coach and guide me to where I am today. I tried out WoW one day and was disgusted by the GANKGANKGANK LULZFUCKINGNUB LERN2GANK attitude displayed there. So IMO you can keep your so-called "superior" game. I, however, look forward to the new expansion.
Eze's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/14/2007 00:22
Eze
Grinding? yes of course, its a mmorpg what else did you expect. Storyline, yes it has one if you follow it. i personally havent finished much of the story line but have been playing a long time. I'm just lazy to finish the story line.
Nazo was on the money when the expansion is all about the added content.
as for Nerpin: Sorry but if your sitting for 3 hours for a party there is something wrong. Ever heard of friends? Take one of your friends and Duo of course its not as quick for exp but while makin exp and cash you can search for other memebers to make a party. sometimes you just have to START the party yourself verses waiting for people to pick you up. I built every party my THF was in from level 50 all the way to 75. it was not always easy making a party, it never is, but it was all smooth sailing. take some dam Initiative.
MrDunbar: To really experience the game you need to get level 75. thats where all the fun is. to stop at 60 is like reading a quarter of a good book and stopping.
Eze's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/14/2007 00:25
Eze
Grinding? yes of course, its a mmorpg what else did you expect. Storyline, yes it has one if you follow it. i personally havent finished much of the story line but have been playing a long time. I'm just lazy to finish the story line.
Nazo was on the money when the expansion is all about the added content.
as for Nerpin: Sorry but if your sitting for 3 hours for a party there is something wrong. Ever heard of friends? Take one of your friends and Duo of course its not as quick for exp but while makin exp and cash you can search for other memebers to make a party. sometimes you just have to START the party yourself verses waiting for people to pick you up. I built every party my THF was in from level 50 all the way to 75. it was not always easy making a party, it never is, but it was all smooth sailing. take some dam Initiative.
MrDunbar: To really experience the game you need to get level 75. thats where all the fun is. to stop at 60 is like reading a quarter of a good book and stopping.
shiro's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/14/2007 13:45
shiro
if anybody bothered to do the missions you'd be rewarded with some rich storylines and beautiful cutscenes, though it does take some time to get through. FFXI is the only mmorpg that i know of that keeps up with story and introduces new missions instead of just creating two new characters with the same old jobs but with new areas. Though i do enjoy ogling my blood elf lady
tewsfraba's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/31/2007 10:50
tewsfraba
For Final Fantasy 11 Cheats Final Fantasy 11 Gil and Final Fantasy XI Guides go to http://www.exploitsrus.com/ffxi.html
tewsfraba's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/07/2007 00:10
tewsfraba
Samurai4life's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/13/2007 00:14
Samurai4life
Hmmm.. sounds to me like to me the person that posted this topic is one of the many ppl that couldn't make it to 75. I myself quit when i got my samurai to lvl 60, but just recently came back and pushed till i hit 75, and whoever said that hitting 75 is where the fun begins is right. Sure i had my fun times at lower levels, begging 75's to help me with quest lol, but once u hit 75, it's so much fun, wether it be HNM's, Sky, Sea, Dynamis, Assault, Salvage, or w/e floats ur boat the most, this game has it. Just takes time.

The one thing i love most about this game which made me turn from WoW was the adult environment, no little kids spamming as many cuss words as they can come up with here.
sickstringshredder's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/28/2007 07:39
sickstringshredder
FFXI has one of the best storylines for an MMORPG i've experienced. The thing is, you have to want to be a part of it. Plus in order to get alot of 'l33t' shit you have to do the story lines. I've also noticed a trend in which all the people who say the game sucks are the same people who spend their first 25 levels subbing rdm as a warrior saying "this is the best job/subjob combo for healing!" all whilst wearing Leather Armor from level 7.

Like half the comments on the thread have stated also, there's alot of fun after reaching 75.
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