FF14 vs FF11

[Sigil.9054]

So as some of you know, I'm interested in FF14, but my interest comes during this akward period where I can't actually play it. (As far as I know, new account creation is suspended until 2.0, even though the servers are momentarily back up.) So I was thinking:

 

How similiar are FF11 and FF14 in terms of gameplay and structure? I know the setting and story are different, but are they similar in some/any respects? in what ways do they differ?

[Eva]

The two games are vastly different. The most alarming similarity I think would be the similarity with the five playable races. In FFXI they're Elvaan, Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru, and Galka. In FFXIV their respective counterparts are Elezen, Hyur, Miqo'te, Lalafell, and Roegadyn. There are some variations - for instance Galka have tails and Roegadyn do not. But the FF11 versions generally seemed to serve as the inspiration behind a more refined corresponding race in FF14.

 

Other similarities include the avatars/primals, magic spells, jobs (all seven of which are in FF14 are also in FF11 along with thirteen others - and two more coming to FF11 next year apparently). Like the races, these jobs and their "artifact gear" look different between the 11 and 14 versions as well.

 

Others will draw comparisons between places like Windurst (one of the cities in FF11) and Gridania (the forested city-state in FF14) but a lot of that is left to interpretation.

 

As with most things there are similarities and there are differences. The developers have had roughly a decade to pump FF11 full of lore and numerous expansions have given the game a lot of different layers and made the world a much larger place, where FF14 is still relatively new and sometimes feels a little bit more clunky and restrictive by comparison, though I believe this is what the ARR will be addressing.

 

I'm sure there is a lot more that can be added to this. My own opinion is that the gameplay overall is much smoother and less complex, but I realize that may also be because I spent much longer getting used to it. FF14 sometimes feels awkward to me. The concept of "classes" in FF14 kind of graduating into the jobs we've all grown to know and love in many FF games is one I still find a tough pill to swallow at times. And the lack of variety in that regard is often frustrating. That is to say when there are only 7 jobs, and so many having leveled all of them, it's difficult to feel unique. In FF11 there's much more variety.

 

Hope this helps answer your question. Without knowing more specifics, I'm left to make kind of generalizations and express some of my own personal opinions. I like both games on equal levels, but I seldom play FF11 any longer.

 

 

EDIT: Also the worlds of Vana'diel and Eorzea are quite different as well. Vana'diel feels more medieval overall but has smatterings of references of things like ancient technology and such. Eorzea at times almost feels a bit more steampunk and technology is a bit more widely distributed.

[Sigil.9054]

Thank you for that response, Eva. It was indeed helpful.

 

Always one for more information, I'm curious to know other's thoughts on the matter.

[Niteshade_Rune]

Hmm, I think Eva pegged alot of it,

but speaking from my own personal opinion and perspective. Well my opinion is semi biased as outside of having played and put a solid chunk of time into FFXI it was also my first true mmo experience , played when it first launched(in the US).

 

So outside of the striking similarities in the races, the magic and such. I guess to someone like me it just has this familiar and semi nostalgic feel to it. From UI sounds to just the overall gameplay there are aspects that remind me of XI. I've kinda referred to it as a spiritual successor and I think others have as well. At the same time I know there are quite a few differences, sadly its been so long since i played XI or even XIV for that matter ( shame on me I know ).

 

It does though feel smoother and alot more accessible to a casual layed back player like myself. I tend to roam solo alot during mmos, in an RP/IC sense im the lone wanderer/adventurer type. FFXIV felt very accessible to just going out into the world and doing my own thing, whether it was harvesting/gathering materials for crafting or craft related leve's to just hunting and enjoying the gorgeous visuals. Compared to XI its noticably easier to do these things , XI was at least during its beginnings a bit unfriendly for the XP gain/solo player ( Primarily compared to the majority of most newer mmo's where lvling seems to come by faster in many cases ) This doesnt phase me much as XI was my first mmo so the Solo 'grind' if u will never seemed harsh to me haha, it was what i came into the mmo world on.

 

... I think I had more senseless rambling then overall insightful or helpful input on your topic, luckily Eva covered alot of it

[Momoji Momochi]

I think it would be better to say how they are different, because some things that appear the same are merely superficial.

 

First, the similarities between the FFXI and FFXIV races only runs skin deep. There is no doubt that the appearance of the FFXIV races are a different stylistic take on those from FFXI. Other than that, their cultures are completely different (except for hume, who don't really have a definitive culture).

 

The city states in FFXIV vary in terms of the level at which they mimic the original big three of FFXI. The only comparison that can be made legitimately between Limsa Lominsa and Bastok is that they are both port cities, and that Galka/Roegadyn call the city home. However, racial tensions are almost non-existent in Limsa Lominsa, instead replaced by tension between the navy and pirates.

 

Gridania really doesn't resemble Windurst or San d'Oria. The city has no racial identity nor a strong central authority. The padjal listen to the elementals of the woods, which in my opinion is far less impressive than how the Star Sybil listens to the heavens for guidance. However, the Padjal seem more interested in maintaining a balance in nature between the Gridanians and the forest spirits than actually leading the Gridanians to greatness like the Star Sybil did for the tarutaru. Its like they took the shire from Lord of the Rings, changed it from being built on open plains to a forest, and then added a good does of asian animism into the mix.

 

Ul'dah has a strong central authority like San d'Oria, but it's run by lalafell, is Persian inspired, and is built in a desert. So not really all that similar to San d'Oria. It's the capital of the Dunesfolk, but the city feels about as multiracial as Gridania. The excuse for all the races being around is that they opened their doors to other races since it was good for trade. The whole Lalafell running the show thing kind of gets deluded a bit as a result. Perhaps its similar to a city in the Aut'Urghan expansion, but I never played that part of FFXI, so I wouldn't know.

 

I've got to hit the sack, so I'll leave it at that for now.

[Rhostel]

My recommendation is, unless you're so sure about playing XI that you're going to ignore anything anyone says away, just forget about it. It's not something a new player can do anything with without a great deal of effort and reliable contacts among current, dedicated players.