So I came across a news story that said Final Fantasy 11 closed their most popular server because it was overpopulated and having difficulty keeping up. Which is pretty wild for a twenty-something year old MMO.
It does look very, *very* dated, tho, which is kind of sad. FFXI is obviously never ever going to get a remake and even an update is pretty unlikely just because of the age and complexity of the base code. I mean, you've got *PS2* shit in there. :/ #gaming
Honestly I wouldn't mind giving it a shot myself if they'd drop the subscription fee. $30 base price is actually pretty good, but $13 a month for a 23-year-old MMO where it takes months to get anywhere is kind of wacky.
@CactuarJoe yeah, the barrier to entry is kind of annoying and the community has been asking for a lowered sub or at least a joint sub with XIV. but they do offer a 2 week free trial plus they also have discount campaigns where you can get the package of the base game plus all the expansions and addons for a whole $10. the sub price is paid per character (it's like a base fee plus a dollar for each character you want to activate) but there are also two return campaigns every year that let you come back for 2 weeks for free. I usually come back for those to play with friends then sub for a month to scratch the itch and that's enough for me. The last time I did a return campaign I was able to get all the way through an expansion pack that I'd never touched before. Levelling up is quick now and you can summon story characters as NPC party members to help you fight, and they take the roles of tank, dd, healer, etc depending on which character it is. Once you hit 99 almost all the expansion content in the game is pretty trivial, so for the most part it is just the fun of exploring and soaking in the ambience and enjoying the storylines.