I have sometimes contemplated what I will do if I ever feel like I have "completed" FFXI. I don't think that will happen anytime soon, and I don't think I could ever stop without reason. Nor could I stop because there is some newer "better" land on which to live, as some of my close friends have done (with WoW and PSU). I enjoy FFXI so much that I have decided FFXI may be my first and last MMO. I do not wish to stretch myself thin, attempting to live a dual life between multiple lands (MMOs). I believe to do so is foolishness. I could never become a master of either life. I could truly only carve out a meager half-hearted existance in both. I have seen it happen with many of my friends who have attempted to live in both worlds. I am grateful that they have not left me entirely, and I am happy that they are enjoying life where they felt it was greener. But I am also saddened, for my life is here and here alone.
Also, if my life in Vana'diel must cease (either by way of unforseen events in real life or by way of the dreaded inevitably of servers permantly shutting down), I wish to retire gracefully and in good standing with my fellow comrades in arms. I wish to complete my career as someone viewed as a kindhearted old man who was thought of as a hero in his youth. I desire this not for want of fame, but that I could be truly thought of as someone helpful, someone who made a difference in the lives of his companions.
There is nearly nothing that can stop me in my quest at this point. To me, finally attaining level 75 with at least one job, fooling around with merit points for a month or two, and beating all of the missions is what I see as a complete life. (That is, I would like to at least attain Bastok Rank 10, and complete ROTZ, CoP and ToAU... Maybe even complete Sandy's and Windy's missions too.) I might even try to gain the highest possible ToAU Mercenary Rank. To me, that would be "beating" the game (just like when you see "The End" on the off-line FF games). Or at least, that would be the biggest chunk of meat of the game, if you will. Like in all previous FF games, there is a main storyline, and then there are countless hours of side quests to do. To me, the missions are the main storyline and my main focus.I might even try Dynamis if I can get a high enough level job to be helpful there. I hear running through them all has some interesting storyline to be read. I might even try to finish all my currently active quests and do join a "God"/HNM LS. Getting my Goldsmithing the rest of the way (currently at 64.7+1) to 100 is still something I'd like to complete, if I can ever find a good way to earn 30+ million in a reasonable time. You know, some other neat stuff like that...
But truly, all of that is just side quests to give me additional stuff to do on my journey. Not to make light of all the other non-mission stuff to do within the game. I enjoy almost every aspect of life in Vana'diel--accept maybe the dunes :P But the real reason I think I'll stay in Vana'diel is the family. Even after the servers shutdown, I could never forget the life I enjoyed here.I enjoy role playing, and Paladin is my favorite job (if you haven't noticed by my blog title). Sure, I have other jobs leveled and I enjoyed doing so, but I play them primarly to become more verstile by having plenty of good support jobs. I also enjoy a change of pace every now and again. I liken it to a vacation for when too many wounds have dragged my spirits down. But at my heart, I really like the Tank role. In Vana'diel, I live to be a valorous protector of the weak, fight honorably, and do good service for my friends and loved ones.
If by some unforseen event, life forces me to retire early, I don't think I could ever sell my account to gil sellers. My life in Vana'diel is like a piece of me, and to sell it to those good for nothing gil sellers would be like sending my own kin as a sheep before the slaughter.
P.S.: This post is the result of reading a wonderful blog: Memoirs of a FFXI Thief, by Alison the Amazing Thief. Thank you for inspiring me, Alison. Specifically, it started as a comment I was going to make (before it got too long) to this post.
2 comments:
Aw this is a very good entry. I feel the same way. I couldnt leave to another online role playing game because I love it on FFXI too much. For me its because I have made close friends there and that's not something that can be fabricated or improved apon with a new game. Yay Thumbmonkeys!
I'm horribly saddened that one of my co-workers was forced to leave the world of FFXI for circumstances which I probably should not discuss. Even though he played on a different server (Remora, I think? I'm on Alexander myself), at least we had stuff to talk about in terms of MMOs.
We still have a ton of stuff to talk about all the time, but we can no longer discuss the daily events of FFXI for they no longer apply to him -- and I'd feel guilty having a one-sided conversation since he doesn't play the game any more.
To be honest, I DO split my time between two MMOs (when I have the time to do so), in FFXI and EVE Online. The latter is such a different world, however, that I don't feel torn between the two when I play. The best part about EVE is that it can actually play itself in terms of skill training.
It's just a shame that I haven't had the time lately to get into either. I can't wait until the middle of January when work isn't so insane and I'm actually calm enough to sit down and play some FFXI.
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