Is it worth it?

[Mavet]

From my experience, this game goes very slowly in terms of building your character, doing quests and missions.
I mean, the game dosent really point stuff out to you and getting the maps is a bitch.
Finding party members took forever and made the leveling process alot slower but safer.
You dont really feel any part of the story until the higher levels(I guess, I wouldnt really know, stopped playing around lvl 15...) and you dont leave the big city much, you stay around it cuz the game makes you paranoid about thinking about the insanely hard monsters outside the outskirts of the town.

Maybe Im just ranting but Id like to see some opinions since this game looks really cool but really disappointed me when I played it.
Plus the fact that you cant choose your server really sucks(if its still like that).

[Desi]

First I'll quote your own post. Secondly I answer your last statement first. You can choose your own server now. Even though you could have always posted on a message board that you would like a World Pass.

From my experience, this game goes very slowly in terms of building your character, doing quests and missions.
I mean, the game dosent really point stuff out to you and getting the maps is a bitch.
Finding party members took forever and made the leveling process alot slower but safer.
You dont really feel any part of the story until the higher levels(I guess, I wouldnt really know, stopped playing around lvl 15...) and you dont leave the big city much, you stay around it cuz the game makes you paranoid about thinking about the insanely hard monsters outside the outskirts of the town.

Maybe Im just ranting but Id like to see some opinions since this game looks really cool but really disappointed me when I played it.
Plus the fact that you cant choose your server really sucks(if its still like that).

Of course it is slow. That is the nature of a MMO, to move slowly and suck in the money the benefit for the playerbase is a better feeling of accomplishment and/or weeding out weak players. Also it can affect people that don't have the schedule for me (like me this semester).

The clue is in the writing. FFXI expects you to do the work of reading up the history of each nation and footnoting every detail. So using logic and the game background can get you through any quests unless the end result is a enemy. There are tons of guides online that can help you with every little detail in the game. I and any player of FFXI would recommend without hesitation. MMO's just aren't the genre for people that are afraid of a little/lot of help in the form of strategy guides. Now I am not pointing at you for being stubborn I'll say just using you as an example. I have no idea if you like using guides or not.

As for the maps being hard to acquire. I don't believe so; pretty much have all except a few that I cannot access or have to fight mobs over and over hoping for a key.

At level 15 you could finish rank 1 and most of 2 by yourself really. Nations don't give you much of the story during those parts (except San d'Oria) because you are new blood. Why trust some random adventurer with your secret political or religious matters? Of course though you are expected to stay in your starting nation for a good while maybe visit a satellite town here and there. You move to the Duchy of Jueno at 20 not by choice but by force due to all the players being around that area from 18+. The Mithra village of Kazham from 25-31(or 2 or 3), then back to Jueno till 50. You battle at constantly changing areas so you won't be looking at the same walls for more then five levels though can't say the same about the enemies you face. The nation of Aht Urghan is your goal at 50 and that lasts till 75. After that you stay in Aht Urghan, search for exceptional gear in Tu'Lia and Al'Taieu , or go to the past from help of your friend Atomos.

Do I recommend that you try again? I am not sure. It really all depends on if you found a job that you like and at 15 you only have access to 6. Though nothing wrong with sticking with any of those but a favorite job can keep you entertained. Example I love my Bard and Blue Mage. If I was stuck as White Mage, Red Mage or Warrior I may have killed myself.

[Mavet]

WoW wasnt slow for me, it actually gave me the feeling of a normal RPG in some way(although time would say differently), but here it felt really slow and sad(need more saturation!)...

Im going to attempt another go at this after I finish FF7 with a friend, hoping he would keep me into it.
Btw, do monsters drop equips later on?

and for the record I dont like using guides. I just do when to comes to the risk of missing Vincent.

[Desi]

That is what sets WoW apart. It does not follow the standards. It focus' itself on raids and quests and less of level grinding. FFXI does not fit in the casual mode. It is carebear but not to the point that endgame is for everyone. WoW is a different beast and comparing to it is a lost cause.

[Mavet]

Btw, do monsters drop equips later on?

And is it mostly grinding? since that kinda bums you out when you know that youre going to grind for 2 hours for a mere level when new equips come around every 5-10 levels and where there isnt much story.....

Plus do missions and quests give out exp? or just items and ranking?

[Desi]

Monsters do drop equipment though rarely. Killing with signet, sanction, or whatever on gets you points that you can use towards free equipment from your nation. Notorious Monsters drop the best equipment and with a better rate but a worst spawn time. You shouldn't had to grind for 2 hours at level 15 without a level. That doesn't come around till mid 50's.

The only exp you get from missions and quest are from whatever you kill on in the form of a exp scroll.

Or if you just want all the information about history, current story, job mythology you can go here http://www.bluegartrls.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=47

[Dark Vincent]

I don't have anything to add that Desi hasn't said. FFXI is awesome, but yes like any MMO it's a different type of game, progresses slower and you must benefit from mutual information if you want to get far. Don't worry it won't affect your experience overall ^^'
Here some helpful links for your restart:

http://wiki.bluegartrls.com/Main_Page

http://www.ffxi-atlas.com/

[Thimien]

FF11 has been my life for about 2 years, and ok i really dont have time, so all i have is a Dark Knight 75 and a Samuray level 60, but trust me after you get to know some people, and help out, just go with the flow, and make some sort of game plan, like today il try and get to this level, or do this mission, you start feeling your actualy getting things done, but really there is no end to that game, lol i got the new xpansion pack, and i havnt even started it yet, cause im to busy with Real Life, plus when i go online, i have missions ready for me.

ohh well i say, stick to it, it gets better, its slow, but good, and you meet alot of people.

[smileonben]

i have played Final Fantasy XI for 2 years,and i have a dark knight lvl 75.Generally speaking,i have not enough time to get gold in game,so i bought some gil from an site named brosale(dot)com,and then i have enough gil with me,i save more time ! maybe you don't agree with my action,but ill tell you that its very easy to us to get gil...i suggest you to have a try on brosale or other site.i trust that you can have a good experience.:P