On Steam they are selling the FFXI:Ultimate Collection for $20 right now, and im thinking about getting it. My sole reason is so i can basically train myself to what i should expect in FF:XIV (i am gonna pick it up no matter what), since i think they said some of the mechanics are the same, and the races and story are about the same, or continuation. Im just wonder if it is really just too late to start off from scratch w/ this game.

bump, need some input from current and ex-players, please :)

I played it for a month and after I realized i was going to be forced into grouping 99.99% of the time I ran far far away.
 
Being killed by a bunny after the game says "This target is extremely easy for you" irked me in a way that no other game has manged since.

As someone who tried to jump in to it not too many months ago, I couldn't stand it. I found the graphics to literally be an eye sore, and a lot of the menus and movement and everything about the game just seemed clunky. 
 
The interface and actions problems could have just stemmed from me being new, but I found it nigh impenetrable and ended up quitting rather swiftly. 

As someone who has been playing for almost 7 years, I can almost assure you that, at least from what has been seen so far, not too much from XI will be carried over to XIV in terms of the battle command system.  Where XI is very heavily menu based (due to being designed for someone using a PS2 controller), XIV appears to use the, now MMO standard, "hotkeys". This could change by the time it's in beta or official release, but I doubt they'll change it, as it's something most MMO players are used to.
 
And also, yeah the game does look quite dated, but you really shouldn't expect much eye candy for an MMO released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2.  It does still have 500,000 active subs, but I think most people think we're nuts still playing it. But hey, I enjoy the stories found within the game and still am playing with many friends, so I don't have an issue with it.

"As someone who has been playing for almost 7 years, I can almost assure you that, at least from what has been seen so far, not too much from XI will be carried over to XIV in terms of the battle command system.  Where XI is very heavily menu based (due to being designed for someone using a PS2 controller), XIV appears to use the, now MMO standard, "hotkeys". This could change by the time it's in beta or official release, but I doubt they'll change it, as it's something most MMO players are used to.
 
And also, yeah the game does look quite dated, but you really shouldn't expect much eye candy for an MMO released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2.  It does still have 500,000 active subs, but I think most people think we're nuts still playing it. But hey, I enjoy the stories found within the game and still am playing with many friends, so I don't have an issue with it.
"

Go with WoW if you want a good MMO.

" Go with WoW if you want a good MMO. "