FINAL FANTASY® XI: Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition

PlayOnline is the worst thing I have ever had to use to login to the game. This service took hours of my life just to figure out how to log into the game because instead of using my Square Enix ID, you have to make a service account using a key on the website, then you get an e-mail that has a bunch of gibberish keyslams you use as your actual login and password BUT you cannot use just that, no you need to slap those in, then enter your actual Square Enix ID details, but not in the same place, first you put your username in the first page, then get asked for password in the second. Oh and you have to type it in using a clunky inbox and if you end up getting it wrong 3 times, because it's really easy to get it wrong, your account gets locked and you have to wait a couple hours. I do not care how good or bad the game is, this account system is so hideously horrible I would not recommend anyone who is a normal person bother with it.

Playonline is the true raidboss

Hard to get into, but insanely addicting once you finally break through the wall. This review is coming from the perspective of a completely new player experiencing the game for the first time. I just finished the Chains of Promathia expansion at the time of writing this review. The first 20 hours of gameplay are honestly rough. You have to overcome a lot of hurdles before the game starts showing its true colors. The controls feel outdated, PlayOnline is annoying, and the early nation missions aren’t exactly the most exciting content, both FFXIV and FFXI first pull you in at the start of the expansions. A lot of guides are basically necessary if you want to follow the story and understand the systems. As a new player, the game does a terrible job explaining many of its features and quality of life options. I didn’t know about Survival Guides until near the end of the standalone game, and I didn’t discover Trusts until around level 30. I also had no idea Unity Warps existed, so I walked all the way to Jeuno the old school way just to get my first mount. At the time it felt frustrating, but looking back, those moments are part of what makes the journey memorable. Without the help o…

peak

Man, this game is just a borefest. I was able to deal with the PlayOnline stuff, but the game just isn't fun. Probably some of the worst take on combat I've ever seen in a MMO.

To me, this game combines the worst aspects of wow and RuneScape with far less charm than both. I want to like this game as I’m a huge wow and ffxiv fan but maybe it’s simply not my cup of tea. On a positive note, the game runs and plays pretty well on a steam deck, so if you can get over the atrocious native ui (which does grow on you over time) and are looking for a great and deep mmo on your steam deck maybe this game is for you!