FFXI VS FFXIV – Which One is Better?

Final Fantasy XI was released in 2003, and it has been nineteen years since its launch, but it is still played by thousands of players every day. Compared to FFXI, FFXIV is a relatively new title, as it was released in 2010. It was projected to break previous records of FFXI, but it wasn’t a huge success from the house of Final Fantasy. In an effort to revive FFXIV, a new update called A Realm Reborn was released in 2013. After countless efforts by developers, FFXIV finally got the due credit. Now that both games are almost equal, it is difficult for new players to decide which one they should play. This detailed FFXI and FFXIV comparison will help them decide this.

FFXI: Why it’s Better

Here are some good features of Final Fantasy XI to tell you what it offers so you can evaluate whether you will enjoy it or not.

Jobs Mechanics

In most role-playing games these days, character, jobs, customization, and stuff like that is the biggest selling point. In FFXIV, you can use a specific weapon and a specific gear for each character, while FFXI features more choices. With the sub-job feature, you can maintain two jobs at a time and use some skills of the second job as well. With FF11 Gil, upgrade a weapon that works for most classes.

Exploration and Community

You can create parties by inviting other players to go on exploration together. For solo players, Final Fantasy XI now features many different options. You can level up your characters by doing exploration quests only to find new and interesting locations on the game map. Players also get experience points for kills and tasks in a party, but it won’t be that much compared to solo grinding.

Easy Gear Swapping

Weapons feature weapons skills that allow you to deal enormous damage after you land a specific number of consecutive hits. This works for all the weapons, but you need to fill the TP gauge. Not every class is suitable for all situations, so the best option is to keep a macro set in the background. When you use a weapons skill, use the macro set to get the most benefit.

Weapons Skills

FFXIV also features weapons skills, but there isn’t anything special about them like FFXI. Firstly, you will need some time to build the weapons skill, and there is a three hundred percent cap, after which you have to use the skill before proceeding. Although you can use the skill at one hundred percent, that extra wait pays off.

Better strategies

In Final Fantasy XI, you won’t be able to get any information about the next move of the enemy until they actually attack you. Although, you will have some idea by watching which skill the enemy is casting to use the counter. The sub-job system comes in handy in optimizing your strategy according to the battle. You should work on jobs that excel in three different areas such as strength, power, movement, etc.

FFXIV

Easy start but a long run

Final Fantasy Fourteen welcomes players to the world of Eorzea with open arms. The start is very easy and doesn’t require extensive knowledge, but you will still have to spend a good amount of time mastering things. You can get the good gear right from the start by completing some simple quests. Buy FFXI Gil to quickly master all the moves and set on the big adventure.

Predictable Fights

Contrary to Final Fantasy XI, all the fights are scripted in Final Fantasy XIV, so you can easily predict the next move of the enemy and prepare yourself accordingly. This works for all the bosses and trails as well. Moreover, there is a marking system to indicate the next move of the enemy.

With these markers, you can easily avoid damage and finish a fight without taking any damage at all. Everyone has their preferences when it comes to defeating monsters, but there isn’t much of a difference because the end goal is to win the battle for rewards and experience points.

Easily Pick and Max Jobs

Before the trust system update, leveling up your class in Final Fantasy XI was very difficult. Moreover, players had to maintain multiple classes to deal with a variety of monsters. In FFXIV, on the other hand, the job system is the same, and you can virtually use just one gear set for all the jobs and classes. You can also carry as many gear items as you want because there is no bag space limit. Leveling is a lot easier and more fun in Final Fantasy Fourteen.

Intense Battles

When comparing FFXIV and FFXI, FFXIV surely features better battle mechanics and intense battles. In FFXI, you need to scroll through menus to find the right skill for a situation. In FFXIV, on the other hand, you will have all the skills at your fingertips. You will also learn about the next move of the enemy with the markers. If you have good knowledge about the rotation of your skills, you will succeed. The attacking speed and movement speed of characters also increased compared to the eleventh installment of the series.

Dungeons for leveling

For leveling, the Fourteenth installment in the series didn’t take the usual approach and went for a new system. In FFXI, you level up using campsites, but there is strong competition between players to kill monsters on those sites. These sites are also crowded with parties as well which means solo players don’t stand a chance. Final Fantasy XIV features instanced dungeons to deal with this problem. MMOpixel will save the day by providing players with currencies for both FFXIV and FFXI. You need to successfully fight and defeat the final boss in each dungeon to get experience points and other rewards. When a party enters a dungeon, it is counted as an instance. If you can’t find a party of players who are also doing the same dungeon, you can use the built-in duty finder for this purpose. It is a great feature and will surely match you with players who have the same goals.