This Game Is Supposed To Be Fun.. Right?

I've been playing FFXI for a long while now and I've noticed alot of people talking about what's the best for this and what's best for that... why not just let people play how they want to play? It's a game and everyone should be able to have fun and play how they want not how others want them to play. I honestly believe that too many people are stuck in the mind set of "this has to be done this way". I know I ran into this problem many times lvl'ing my war, I ended up tanking most of the time from 12-75, but if I wasn't tanking I was that weird war that always had to see what kind of damage I could do with different weapons and tried to cap everything. The point was to have fun and I think alot of people have forgotten that. Maybe I'm just getting to where I need to retire from this game, but I think people need to stop thinking about themselves and think about others and just enjoy making friends. Am I wrong?

You're wrong and right at the same time.

A lot of this game is now endgame, where things do need to be done a certain way, or they're not accomplished at all. For example, would you really want a WAR attempting to tank Fafnir? I wouldn't trust it. I know that's a far-fetched example, but I'm sure you get my point.

Another point is a lot of people playing this have somewhat limited playtime. Would you want to spend the small amount of time you get to level in a party that's only managing 12k/hr and "having fun", or getting a serious group and getting 25k/hr? There's a point where just having fun becomes counterproductive, and getting down and dirty and playing seriously is much more rewarding.

It all really comes down to what you want out of this game. If you don't care about being the best at your job, getting the best gear, and doing the most damage, then maybe you should just ignore the people telling you that you suck. On the other hand, a lot of people enjoy being the person topping the damage list in the parser. I know I do. That's my version of fun, but I can just screw around too. I mean Jesus, I'm leveling PUP! (in b4 "OMG PUP IS MAD GOOD YO" replies to that)

You have to be fair though.. use your own advice....

"but if I wasn't tanking I was that weird war that always had to see what kind of damage I could do with different weapons and tried to cap everything."

Well I see it like this the point of an XP pty is XP. Each specific job has a role. If you are unhappy with it's role play another job.

It may just be me but I know if I am in a pty trying to gain as much XP as I can and some lol War shows up with a GS (Which just happened to me)

I would suggest he get a Great Axe.

Sorry i know it may take away from you or others fun but you are in effect taking away from others fun by being gimped at a Pty.

Now if you were Parsing # 1 who cares what Weapon you used.... I doubt that was the case though :)

And wait what??? Warriors Tank since when? I used to tank on my War in the Dunes in 2002.... is that what you meant?

I agree it's meant to be fun but at the same time, your method of having fun may interfere with someone elses, if you're doing something "your way" which is upsetting/slowing down/getting in the way of what other people want to do, then it's a problem. So it's really a double edged sword. A give and take sort of thing.

Thank you. I understand what ur saying. No I wouldn't tank Fafnir only cause I know my war don't have good enough gear.. do I think there is a war out there that could.. yes. I've tanked a few nm's with my war but only small ones like the O-hat NM. As for wanting to be the best, I try and have tried time and time again to get good gear for my war but every time I always hit snags like- bad luck, SKY ls disbands when it's my turn to lot GOD gear( has happened 4+ times) Dynamis LS has issues and disbands( about 3 times) let alone my shitty luck with BCNM's. But too me all these things come last in place of making friends and helping them. After 6yrs I still have not finished getting any of the "awesome" gear I want for war... BTW 57 pup here, it's fun :D

@ grimjow- I've tanked many times on war since dunes back when I started in 04. Hell I tank merit pts still, not only first voke but constant voke. It's alot easier for someone to focus on healing if they only have to heal 1 person.

fixed

I understand what you're saying, actually. People get very focused on endgame, and forget that for some of us, the game is largely just an escape from daily reality/stress. People ask how I can spend so much time simply farming or mining, and all I can say is...for me, it's a "zen" thing. I've been a FF fan longer than anyone I know, and even the so-called boring and monotonous aspects of the game are fun for me. I don't need to be always camping an NM or doing Dynamis or completing missions...I can spend a few hours simply killing saplings for seeds, because I find it relaxing and calming.

That being said, however...what others here are saying is also true. Some people do have very specific game goals in mind, and if your wanting to relax and have fun gets in the way of that, they will get understandably aggravated. My advice is to do what I've done...find a LS you can accomplish things in, and create your own for you and maybe your closest friends to simply relax in. It has worked for me quite well. 8)

I think this is a really good summary of how things work in XI, honestly. The only way around it is to either find like-minded people (your attitude isn't at all uncommon, they're definitely out there, and they probably have 75BST, lol) or solo. (hayBST) :c

Was unsure as to why this would be rated down, but it seems like those are fairly universal in this thread for whatever reason. lol

Everyone in this thread is being rated down, even though the replies are concise and genuine (99% of them at least). I don't think the rating system applies in a thread like this, because there's idiots trolling.

There are just certain standards for each job that ppl like to *** about too feel better. Make them happy by fulfill them and dont care about the rest, best is to play with friends to have fun!

In ffxi ppl tend to forget that fun > exp/hour >.>

Your merit mobs last more than one voke? :(

I don't really mind getting slightly less exp in the non merit stages if the pt is fun and with friends. EXP can be mind-rapingly boring and sometimes I just don't want to do it because of that. Merits tho are always boring, so do it right or I'm gonna bounce.

I'd cut in line big time if a leader wanted a SAM tank for faffy, but then again I don't give a ***about any of his or nid's drops, so I'm the last opinion that matters about that lol.

Experimentation is cool but with the drop rates, pop rates, bots, etc, do you really want to wipe to that one KB that got claimed by that other punk *** LS, which dropped a dring?

lol @ wiping to KB but I'm just sayin...

Honestly it was just a question I had to ask as I observed how a lot of people act in this game and on forums. I honestly don't have time to sit around camping HNM's or anything that takes that much time cause I have a wife and 2 daughters to take care of while serving my country. I play this game in my spare time which is also why I only have war and blu at 75 cause I take my time and have fun with my jobs as well as my friends I help. I'm not trying to start fights with anyone or arguments I just wanted to get some thoughts from people that's all.

In my opinion
"having fun" > any other kind of reward you can get from a GAME!
playing the game for fun doesn't mean not playing seriously.
--

You really misunderstood my point, but if you don't want to take the party seriously, I'd rather you not be in mine anyways. Enjoy your xp while I get double the amount by focusing and doing things right in the same amount of time. Then I've got more time to go do the other things I consider fun.

This game is supposed to be fun. However, the time for having fun generally is not in a group setting. Usually that's time to be "serious".
Being in a party with strangers I'd just do what is expected of your job. If you're with friends then by all means have as much fun as possible.
A lot of people take this game way too seriously and if they see someone doing something that isn't exactly like they want it they're going to have a hissy fit until you do it their way.
I dunno. There's times to have fun and times to be serious. Sometimes they go together, but not usually in my experience. If you can mix the two that's great. Most people cannot.

You get to voke more than once each mob? O.o chain 6+ where?

Edit: What he said.

Yeah, that's not what should be happening in a merit party. A voke means nothing when I follow that with a 1k+ WS. Guess what then? 30 seconds till you voke again.... Oh wait no it's dead already. NEXT.

It all depends on the people you find Akuma, on my behalf when i used to level rdm i was a lolmeleerdm from 1-74 and curse anyone that told me otherwise, same with pld i was a lolGSpaladin most of the time minus around dynamis, and sam (my pride and joy =P) i used to start sam/war when i was a nooblet, then moved to sam/dnc, then sam/nin and now for dynamis and stuff i'm sam/rng, yes /rng =D. does someone tell me something hell yeah they do they say i suck ,they say go change to /nin you noob, blah this and blah that, but do I? not a chance in the world i stay sam/rng, why? cause i'm paying for this damn game and i'm going to play it how i want to play it end of story, someone tells me to turn into a "normal job" i just simply leave the party ^^.

Everyone has differnt means of haveing "Fun"....
Personily i enjoy and have "fun" with 3dds 2brds rdm and smashing mobs apart while chaining 200, or while fighting HNMs thats my meaning of fun in this game,

But i do have a friend who thinks fun is spending hrs at end leveling all his crafts, while others enjoy skilling up, or running around killing random NMs that they can find.. question is when in a situation with random people with a common goal of obtaining Exp, you Shld be aiming to achive the best amount of exp in the progress!

no

Idk about you but I don't appreciate paying $13.99 a month for someone who doesn't even know me to tell me what I can and cannot do with the jobs I play. Some stuff I understand (such as rdm only wanting to melee and never heal) but others (such as a drk being kicked for using GS instead of Scythe) is ridiculous. I believe that people should be able to play how they want to an extent.

One of the reasons that I quit endgame is because I don't like being told that I HAVE to do this or I HAVE to do that and if not I am threatened? Really? The same goes for xp parties.

If someone wants to have fun and try something new, as long as it isn't putting a major dent in your xp then what right do you have to tell them they can't?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Game =/= IRL Job

To be the best is fun to have the best gear is fun to play end game is fun. Not having the best gear and not being the best pretty much means your only gonna get into a shitty endgame shell. Things are done a certain way because that's how it is and as its been said lots of fights and things that are worth killing have to be done in certain ways. Now sure you can try and play your own way but if that doesn't involve coming up with your own technique and style you probably are *** up everyone's day. Using random weapons that aren't the best your job can use is just plain stupid. you shouldn't be doing that anyway because its rude there is something called a skill up party don't waste my time doing ***YOU need. and how is doing less damage more fun?!?! but whatever play the game how you want to play but it might be the reason after all these years you still don't have the gear you want.... cause i've been playing for years play my jobs the way they are supposed to be played and i have almost every piece of gear i really want....

To be fair, WAR can and has - years ago even. Nny posted plenty regarding that on BG n' such back in the day. WAR can tank if they can do good damage on the mob. JAs alone, obviously, aren't going to cut it. That said, wouldn't be my preference either for a main tank.


For the OP though, I think the general thing you're overlooking is that for most people, success is fun, or at least, satisfying. Whether people tend to substitute virtual success for real life success and so on is a whole 'nother can of worms, but the long and short is that people push for the better setups, strategies, and so on because overall, they enjoy the success.

The issue there is that the examples you gave -are- of someone thinking about themself, and not others. If you're in an XP party, you have the common goal of getting XP. If you're thinking about others - the other five people in your party, in that case - then you should try to maximize what you're doing in order to gain the most XP. Cutting your damage output in half (or worse) because you suddenly feel the need to get that last 50 points of skill in a weapon is -not- thinking of others, it's being selfish.
If everyone is on the same page, then it's different - nothing wrong with having everyone play odd job combos or skill up weapons or whatever if that's what you've all agreed to do. The problem is when it's not.

tl;dr?

That's like me being WHM/BLM instead of WHM/SCH. Sure, I understand the potential of /SCH, but I'll be damned if I'm going to level another mage job anytime soon. I have more important things to do. When I find something I can't handle /BLM then I'll level it. Until then I'm sticking to what works for me.

I enjoy crafting more than leveling in this game for the most part. I had 99 cooking before I hit 45 WHM. I'm just now getting back to meriting WHM. Once I hit 75, got a buffer, and got three merits I hadn't touched it until this past week. Even then it was only to get enough IS for ISNM with my LS.

The game is what you make out of it. I know I've done some things that people would frown upon all in the name of fun. As long as you're happy, that's what matters since you are paying for your account. If someone wants you to do something differently, ask them if they'll pay for your account. When they say no, continue doing whatever it was you were doing :) The worst that can happen is they kick you from group or LS.

Of course, if you're idea of fun is to make other people miserable, then no, don't do it :P

A reason to quit.
A reason I did quit.
A reason to go outside and do something.
A reason to get laid.
A reason to stop reading my reasons.

solo BST to 75.. theres less of the "you have to do this" or "your gimp if you dont have that".. its just what ever works for you.

alot of BSTs solo /whm but i used /nin and /dnc for 95% of my exp, so like i said its what ever works for you.

some people are not cut out for endgame LSs.. and if you fall into that category then you need to find something in the game that you like.. or quit