(05-12-2015, 06:18 PM)Mae Wrote: -- Core Game, you could progress quite far through the Nation Missions provided you had friends to carry you. I personally had my airship pass (a rank 4 mission, meaning the recommended level to complete is 40) at level 20 because I had a friend drag me around by the back of my harness.Â
Aside from the level cap 50 on Rank 5, everything after required (or suggested) you being as high as you could, only possible with limit breaks.
Quote:
-- Rise of the Zilart (first XI expansion) storyline required a Shadow Lord kill (a rank 5 mission from Core), but you had access to various zones provided you could survive running to them.Â
Zilart require you to complete rank 5-2, and the zones they sent you to had enemies from 51-75.
Quote:-- Chains of Promathia (second expansion), the first mission became available at level 25 regardless of where you are in Core and RotZ. Tavnazia access was gated behind the Promyvions (level 30 content), but other zones were accessible provide you could survive running to them. Some dialouge changed if you had completed RotZ and Core. "Apocalypse Nigh" was the ONLY mission that required you had completed RotZ, and it was technically an optional mission.
Infamous for its difficulty, completing CoP without being carried required every member of the party to be a very specific job/subjob, and carry above-average gear for them. That is, if you didn't farm the super-rare crafted items to debuff the boss. It would remain this way for years after release, making completion of CoP an actual stand-out accomplishment for a long, long time. It also required you to be at the proper level to complete it at numerous checkpoints, culminating in a level 75 fight (and a prior, level 60 fight that outright wiped you if you failed the DPS check).
Quote:-- Treasures of Aht Urghan, your ability to access any of it depended on a short rep grind with a Core faction and farming a couple items to access. Solo, you could get this done as early as level 18. With a high level friend to help, you could get it done at level 1.
The first zone ToAU spits you into is abound with enemies beginning at level 57. The ones that aggro went as low as 61, if I remember correctly. You couldn't actually DO anything there, any more than someone who runs to Northern Thanalan at level 1 can do anything in that zone.
Also, I can guarantee you weren't farming Cursed Skulls solo at 18.
Quote:-- Wings of the Goddess... lowest level I've personally escorted through the Maws was a level 30, I think. So... at least level 30, and not dependent of the previous expansions.
Even worse, the enemies in the WotG zones were all much higher. There were some low level enemies around you could exploit for BST or BLM exp (and in the case of the W.Ronfaure Colibri camp, EXP on from 37-41) but that again was leveling content, not content content. You couldn't actually lay a mark on anything in campaign if you weren't in your high 50s with generous gear.
Quote:-- ACP,ASC, and the Moogle add-on mini-expansions, you can flag as early as 30. And doesn't require previous expansion progression.
All required level 75 or above to complete.
Quote:-- Abyssea... welll..... if you've played XI since Abyssea was released, then you KNOW about Abyssea Leeches.
Leeching EXP (from level 75+ enemies, which are impossible to kill at lv30) is again not representative of the actual content. The lowest level enemies in Abyssea zones again approaches or exceeds the level cap, required a carry to "do" anything.
Quote:-- Far West expansion (I am totally drawing a blank on it...), again accessible by at least 30. Independent of all the other expansions.
Seekers of Adoulin. Enemies all approach level 100+. Can't do jack at level 30.
It's obvious, but I'm a longtime XI player. I dislike it greatly when people gloss over how rip-your-teeth-out-with-a-rusty-pair-of-pliers the actual content was. You're ignoring the content in favor of leveling, which again, required Genkais to complete.