Summoner makes me want to quit.

[Trippyhippy]

I started playing this game about 2 years ago. My intentions were to be a Summoner. I knew nothing about the game as I don't generaly read game magazines or websites involving coming releases. It was "Final Fantasy" and that was all I needed to know. I have never been let down by a FF game, and the MMO that I had been playing was on it's last legs (R.I.P. Earth and Beyond).

So I switched. It was hard to get used to playing, but I figured it out and adjusted my playing style to fit FF. I was disheartend when I found out that you could not start as a Summoner. I told myself "No matter, I'll work my way up to it, it couldn't be that hard". So I lvled Red Mage. I figured, "I can do damage with a sword and cast spells, cool" I played Red Mage in the worst manner possible up until lvl 34. In past FF games, I had considered debuffs a waste of time because you didn't need them on regular monsters, and they didn't work on bosses. Therefore I never used any debuffs and fought my way to lvl 34 as a craptacular Red Mage.

Now I can unlock Summoner! Wow, this is going to be awesome! I spent like 5 days doing the quest to get the job unlocked. I was psyched, I could solo anything in saruta at lvl 3. A large improvement over rdm. But why do I only get carbuncle? I thought "The other "Scrolls" must drop off of monsters in other places, maybe I can get my buddy Zhyk to help me out". So I send him a /tell. The enormously powerful and over lvled 65 Blm that he was, surely he knew all about it.

He gives me the lowdown on how to get the avatars. I was crestfallen. I needed to actually defeat the avatars to get them. This was before they had added the lvl 20 fights, so the Prime battles just seemed so out of reach.

*sigh*

Oh well. Black Mage seemed strong. I always enjoyed spell casting in other FF games. I had it lvled to 20 already as a subjob for Red Mage. I bet I could solo an avatar with Blm (yeah right). So I get to work. Come to find out, I am an exceptional Black Mage (not my words). It went by pretty fast. I got to 50 in about a month. Then I ran into gil issues. I couldn't find help with my AF. I didn't have enough time to play because I was selling pot for extra income, and that's a 24hr/day job.

I talked to another friend from EnB, Kaete. She knew this guy who was nothing short a FF god. He would surely help if I just asked. Then thanks to Skaw, I got all my AF, except the Hat, in 2 days. Awesome! now I'm stacked. But the weapon sucks. Now I need a good weapon. Then I noticed the elemental staves. The cheapest one, Ice Staff, cost more money than I had ever had at 1 time. So I farmed for weeks. Killing tigers in batallia. I was about halfway there one day when Villarel asked me to join a party. I declined and gave him the reason of not having an Ice staff. He wanted a Black Mage real bad. He said, "I have one on me, I'll give it to you if you come party with us." I was ecstatic.

II fought my way to 60, got my hat, then I just quit lvling for about 4 months. I did collected maps, explored, learned how to mine, got a 60 slot gobby bag, maxed my fame in all cities, got up to rank 6, unlocked all jobs and lvlved them all to at least 10 and as far as 40. I had a bit of experience under my belt.

Then as I sat in Jeuno one day, wondnering what I was going to do next, I see <Ifrit> <Full Attack> <Help me out!>. I thought to myself, "I'm too little." But it didn't hurt to ask. So I sent a /tell. I was accepted into the party. Many people died on the way to the battle. but we go there. And I dealt the Finishing blow. I had taken yet another step toward being a Smn. I was back on track. So I killed all 6 of the elementals avatars over a period of 2 months or so. Twice. I had lvled up to around 67 blm. I was stoked. I just needed to go kill fenrir. Then Diabolos was intoduced. In my mind a Smn that doesn't have all the Summons isn't worth his salt.

So I started doing CoP missions. Did the promys, had very little Trouble with them. Got to Lufaise, teamed up with some old friends and got past Diabolos. Now I could Fight Diabolos Prime since I had reached 75. And I did. and I lost. 6 times.

Lucky number 7. Beat him till the white meat showed. Now I just needed Fenrir. So I gather a group of friends, and we go at him. We ate it twice. The 3rd time, I stunned Howling Moon (well, it was me or Darklion, we both tried). We pwned him. now I have all the avatars and I can continue lvling Summoner.

I went from Summoning Magic 109 to 124 without getting a party invite. It seems everytime I do get an invite, it's someone wanting me to main heal.

If you read the above Story, you know what kind of bullshit I had to go through to get my avatars. I feel insulted when someone asks me to main heal for thier party. I have declined more than 1 invite because there was no whm and there wasn't a Ninja in the party. I did all that work to be a summoner, not a healer.

Then I look back at that last sentance. Work. Why would someone "Work" at a game? I get no recognition for it. I will never have anything to show for it. Many times, it's not fun, only stressful. The only thing good that comes from it is the many friends I have made while working at the game.

Andreva... Plamentia... Darklion... Kaete... Diabllos... Allexia... Mrtaru... Geffas... Zoshe... Hellfirebrimstn... Gabrielhellfire... Inuki... Fluffers... Kyp... Mokk... Zeromous... Skaw... Dokkan...

These people are my friends. We struggle together. wether it be towards one goal, or many. We share stories of interaction with other players that only we may understand. We make jokes and use jargin that isn't understood by people that don't play. I spend all my free time in a world that does not exist. People say "Hey man, whatcha been up to?"

All I can answer to non-players is "nothin, playin video games"

I just want to be a Summoner. I had to play for 2 years before I got the stuff I needed to do so. I never bought gil. I never used any hacks. Now that what I wanted is so close within my reach, I must ask myself:

Is it worth my time? Do I keep on doing the same old tired thing over and over? Or do I say good bye to Quetzalcoatl and all the friends I have made along the way?

To say goodbye would be to create a new life for myself. No more MMO games for me ever again. Maybe I could go to school. Maybe I would just find some other piece of electronic trash to take up my time. I feel like I am at a turning point in my life. A change is coming soon. I don't know what that change is, I just know it's coming.

I'll be 1/4 of a century old this year. All I have to show for it is a run down apartment that needs to be cleaned and a lvl 75 Blm.

Woe is me. Thanks to anyone that actually read that whole rant.

 

[Rones]

Work...funny how that word works its way into this game so often. On the plus side few games will give you such a sense of accomplishment. I would recommend waiting until all the job changes are made. Your desire for smn might just come. If you don't enjoy the game, take a break for a couple months.

 

[Mokk]

When the only thing keeping you around is the people on the game it's time to bail.

I hate to put it like that but that's what finally drove me out. There's other ways to communicate with folks on the internet than paying $15 to continuosly grind out content that's mostly the same old thing over and over.

When i split there was nothing left to do that i haden't already done once before with a different skin so-to-speak thrown on it. There was no sense of accomplishment, though i had accomplished much, and why should there be? I don't play games for a sense of accomplishment i play them for amusement, it's not as though i could tout my game accomplishments to anyone else besides the gaming community so why bother? There was no fun left save that i could get from the interactions of the friends i had. These things finally hit me one day as completely absurd and much to the chagrin of numerous people i had to call it a day for FF.

Since then i've got to say i've had better experiences on quite a few other games as i trialed a ton of them before i found my next conquest. I currently have a blast on my game of choice, took my time and enjoyed my way to endgame content, and have found numerous people who make the experience just as worth it as it was on FF without said group of people being the only thing making it worth it. I also manage not to dump most of my waking life in to playing, allowing me to have a functional real life which is nice.

If it's no fun it's not a game anymore.

A break might help, dropping MMOs alltogether might help, a change of scenery might help, but all in all it's ultimately up to you to decide what you want out of an MMO experience and do what you have to to make that happen.

Whatever you decide to do i hope it works out for the best.

 

[Kyr]

.....

 

[Firestreak]

With the right gear, strategy and a decent tank, you can main heal and still play with avatars a lot. With my SMN at level 62 typically I BP as soon as it's available while being the main healer. It seems to me like BPs without curing is an underused party slot.. like WHM who hasted and flashes but doesn't cure. You can do both, just need a tank who doesn't need extreme curing.

 

[Grem]

With the right gear, strategy and a decent tank, you can main heal and still play with avatars a lot. With my SMN at level 62 typically I BP as soon as it's available while being the main healer. It seems to me like BPs without curing is an underused party slot.. like WHM who hasted and flashes but doesn't cure. You can do both, just need a tank who doesn't need extreme curing.

This is how I get by, but once in a blue moon, I get asked to DD, and then I love every minute of it.

 

[Blabj]

Having the partys that you main heal on makes the ones where you DD just that bit better and more fun.

 

[Rones]

I don't play games for a sense of accomplishment i play them for amusement

Those are one and the same for some. I take a special pleasure in accomplishing a difficult task in-game or irl. Finishing CoP is an example. The need to be able to brag about it to others just depends on how intro or extrovert you are (eg: arrogant vs modest). Think of the quiz you recently posted.

 

[Mokk]

Well sure, but the point still stands that if you walk up to a non-MMO player (and let's be fair and honest here) and/or the communities of other MMOs and say "hey, i did this and this and this on FF" the other MMO communities are going to tell you you wasted a bunch of time on a sub-par game (just the growing sentiment, i'm not here to bash the game) and the regular folks aren't going to pay much attention at all.

I get a sense of accomplishment out of hard work irl. I get a sense of joy blowing off rl for a while to play a game and have fun. But that's just me, if you get that same sense out of whatever game you play beans to ya, i think that's great. It's just personally not my schtick, and knowing trip irl i can tell you it doesn't mean a whole lot to him either in the big picture.

 

[Mistra]

Trippy, I read your entire post. It seems to me that you truly just need to get a grip on reality for a while, and I mean that in the most respectful way. You have always seemed quite collected, and it is good that you took the time to ask yourself what exactly it was that you got out of the game. Kyr is exactly right, if you don't play the game for enjoyment, then why play at all? You need a break, or you need to quit if you consider (even incoherently) the game work. Either way, it's up to you, and it's a decision best made by you. Your attachment to the game is most likely the people you have met while playing, but you have to know yourself. Are you playing Final Fantasy XI as an escape? Or are you playing because it brings you enjoyment? It seems that you may have already answered this, but in your post you seem confused. You are right though, some changes need to be made if that is how your disposition is about this hobby. Take some time to figure out what you need to do, and remember man, this game isn't going to help you get anywhere, as you aptly pointed out yourself. The most important thing is, Have fun man. In anything you do, you should try and have fun, and make the best of it.

 

[Skaw]

What Rones said in his first post. SE's hankering to put in something to make Summoners keep those avatars out and use them to fight. That might be the spark.

 

[Trippyhippy]

Having the partys that you main heal on makes the ones where you DD just that bit better and more fun.

I hate being a Whm. Playing that job is the least amount of fun I've ever had. I quit at 42 for a reason. I don't like main healing. I'm real bad at it too. I believe the exact words Mokk used were I "suck out loud" at whm.

I am inclined to agree with him.

If I wanted to be a main healer, I wouldn't play a job that is suited better as something else.

I'm at 45 right now. I already did AF1, it was cake. I have Austere Head body hands and feet sitting in my inventory waiting for lvl 50. I have a full set of NQ Elemental Staves. My summoning magic is around 135, and I'm tired of sitting there looking for party.

I think I'll take Rones advice and just take a break untill I find out what kind of changes they are going to make to the job.

Knights of the old republic II: The Sith lords has been taking up the majority of my free time in the past couple of weeks. Maybe after I get done with that, I'll be back.

If not, I'll offer up (some of) my riches as a prize for a QCDN contest winner.

We'll see what happens.

 

[Grem]

I hate being a Whm. Playing that job is the least amount of fun I've ever had. I quit at 42 for a reason. I don't like main healing. I'm real bad at it too. I believe the exact words Mokk used were I "suck out loud" at whm.

I am inclined to agree with him.

If I wanted to be a main healer, I wouldn't play a job that is suited better as something else.

I'm at 45 right now. I already did AF1, it was cake. I have Austere Head body hands and feet sitting in my inventory waiting for lvl 50. I have a full set of NQ Elemental Staves. My summoning magic is around 135, and I'm tired of sitting there looking for party.

I think I'll take Rones advice and just take a break untill I find out what kind of changes they are going to make to the job.

Knights of the old republic II: The Sith lords has been taking up the majority of my free time in the past couple of weeks. Maybe after I get done with that, I'll be back.

If not, I'll offer up (some of) my riches as a prize for a QCDN contest winner.

We'll see what happens.

Can I win please?

 

[Tagrineth]

If you're so tired of LFP, put in some effort to try to make your own parties. Don't just sit there complaining, because it won't get you any closer to 75.

 

[Mokk]

If you're so tired of LFP, put in some effort to try to make your own parties. Don't just sit there complaining, because it won't get you any closer to 75.

For the record half the parties i was involved with for either xping or random events trip lead and put together. I can't imagine anything has changed on his end for putting things together in the ammount of time i've been gone.

 

[Tagrineth]

For the record half the parties i was involved with for either xping or random events trip lead and put together. I can't imagine anything has changed on his end for putting things together in the ammount of time i've been gone.

If that's the case, then he shouldn't say crap about LFP time...

 

[Mokk]

get pissy about nothing much?

Seriously, have you played another game that required partying as much as FF? Let alone specific job combinations in party for succes, let alone the oversciencing of parties. It's worth bitching about on occasion.

But i'm sure when you go to do it every job you want/need is available... You've never spent an hour or better looking for a brd/whm/war/rdm/pld in your life i'm sure ... :roll:

Edit: not to be too huge of a prick about it but who the hell is anyone to say what someone should and shouldn't bitch about if that's their given situation that they have problems with in the game? Comes off as kinda pompous to me. I don't remember trip asking for criticism.

 

[Kirutaru]

Hey, Tripp.

I hear you. My story is very similar to yours in its number of ordeals and irritations. I won't get into the details, though, I found the similarities to be pretty interesting. I leveled my way as main healer, not really minding since I was 75 WHM over a year before I hit 75 SMN. Now that I have finally made it this far, I find it to be one of the most fun and most rewarding jobs I've played (and like you, I've had my hand at most of them.) I have high hopes for the updates Skaw mentioned, but then again I do feel a slight bit cheated since they're coming so, so late in the game. I just want you to know that all that "work" is worth something, but if you do feel like Mokk (which I don't, but I do understand that sentiment) and all that hard work (in a game) doesn't pay off, then you might wanna take his path, his advice.

Personally, I love pushing to the limits. I love the intensity of a difficult, challenging fight, and the beauty of everyone coming together and working as a well oiled machine to do things right. Unfortunately that doesn't happen as often as one would hope. The world in and out of virtual reality is flooded with assholes and idiots, so you gotta take it in stride. If you do get that incredible satisfaction that I do when you finally get what you've been working for after tenacity and perseverence, then I say stick to it. I've never been able to duplicate the feeling anywhere else.

 

[Tagrineth]

get pissy about nothing much?

Seriously, have you played another game that required partying as much as FF? Let alone specific job combinations in party for succes, let alone the oversciencing of parties. It's worth bitching about on occasion.

But i'm sure when you go to do it every job you want/need is available... You've never spent an hour or better looking for a brd/whm/war/rdm/pld in your life i'm sure ... :roll:

Edit: not to be too huge of a prick about it but who the hell is anyone to say what someone should and shouldn't bitch about if that's their given situation that they have problems with in the game? Comes off as kinda pompous to me. I don't remember trip asking for criticism.

I'm a 75 dragoon, mokk. I could write a goddamn book about LFP.

 

[Mokk]

Then why bash on someone else for being frustrated with it, kinda silly if you ask me.

Do the crawl from 45-65 on monk without the money or the linkshell to back you and holler back at me about how hard drg is on LFP Might be different now, but a year or so back i got real familiar with the cobblestones in jeuno for a while :/

I'm just saying, you know how it is, why call him out for it?

Edit: meanwhile i did 1-35drg in 6 days then never touched it again ><