"Life is a cycle, No beginning, no end."

[thistlechaser]

On 9/28/2005 I joined WoW.
I left FFXI for it, after much foot-dragging and months of lingering on the game long after I stopped having fun.
Today, 4/13/2014, I quit WoW for FFXIV.

Want to see something scary? This is the amount of time I spent online on WoW on one character (I had ten total).


More than a year spent on WoW, on just one of my characters. It's a boggling thought. I can't believe how many years I've been playing. I can't believe it took me this long to quit.

As when I quit FFXI, I stayed on WoW too long. Outside of RP (which is player-generated, not something offered by the game), I haven't had fun in two expansions (so about two years). And, as my friends kept leaving for other games, there were fewer and fewer reasons to stay.

I don't know if I'll ever go back. I worry I might run out of things to do on FFXIV. I'm only in my second month, and I'm almost done leveling all the craft and gathering professions (and I don't really like leveling the battle jobs).

I sort of wish I had sold my gold. Doing that is against the rules, but what would they do, ban me? I would have liked to have gotten some RL money out of all that time playing. On both FFXI and WoW, I quit the game as one of the richest people on the server. I've always kicked myself for not giving my FFXI money away (or selling it), so I gave a good deal of my WoW money to a few people.

I'm a little sad to let it go, but I'm sad over the loss of what could have been more than what really was. I had some very good times in the game and some very bad ones, but lately it was mostly all bad. The game felt like a job, something I had to do, which means it was time to go. FFXIV makes me happy. I love the lore, I love the artwork, I have new and old friends I'm playing with. WoW was a part of my life for a long time though, so there will be a hole for a while.

Key for the non-gamers on my friends list:
FFXI = Final Fantasy 11
WoW = World of Warcraft
FFXIV = Final Fantasy 14, A Realm Reborn
All are MMOs/online games.

(Quote in the subject line came from a random online person, though it's hardly original to her.)

Comments

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

It's so haaaaaaaaaard
to saaaaay goodbyyyyyeeeeeeee
to yeeeeeeesterdaaaaaaaaaay!

I'm sad over the loss of what could have been more than what really was

YES. THIS. THIS EXACTLY.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep. I'm feeling pretty good about the decision today. The emotional draw of FFXIV helps a lot. I just don't know how they do it, but that game pulls at my chest with a force that's near impossible to resist. I've watched the opening movie so many times, but every time I try to log in, it catches me again and I have to watch it once more.



Edit: Click it up to HD, for some reason it's not letting me link it that way.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Oh holy COW, that is beautiful. It gave me chills.

Also I squealed when one of the walker things from FF6 made a cameo, because FF6 is my favorite for ever and ever.

Also ahhhhhhh god, Bahamut is never not the most amazing thing. Bahamut is always SO DONE WITH EVERYONE'S BULLSHIT. SO SO DONE.

And the parties just standing there going "..."

AND THE SAD LITTLE I HAVE DONE ALL I CAN SMILE.

OH

MY

GOD.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

:DDDDDDDDDDDD

You reacted just like I did! And there's so much to see in it! I must have watched it dozens of times by now, and I keep spotting new things! (Not to mention, as I progress through the in-game storyline, I learn about who all these folks are and more about the world and all that.)

All of FFXIV is like that! So many cutscenes and so much emotions and I love it so much. The story is such a big part of it! Not to mention, it's all so beautiful.

But yeah, that smile. Gods, it breaks my heart and makes me so proud every time! It just kills me. :DDD

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

You may enjoy reading the story of Nael Van Darnus, aka how things got to that point: http://gamerescape.com/2013/08/21/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-white-raven/

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Eee thanks for linking that! Louisoix is one of my favorites, and I was really happy to read the last part, explaining exactly what happened in the video.

While I love the current version, I wish I had been around for 1.0, too.

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Once the Dalamud plotline started, 1.0 improved by leaps and bounds. It was fun seeing the changes after each patch - the moon growing bigger and redder, the Imperial patrols spreading across the land, the sort of FATE precursors involving Urianger/the Lambs of Dalamud/etc. It was neat to be around during such a dynamic time.

That having been said, 2.0 is a far nicer game by several orders of magnitude, and there's still tons of room for things to change and grow. There are very few things I miss from 1.0, and the biggest one is easy to fix since I have a soundtrack CD. ;)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I heard that (repeatedly) about 1.0. And agreed! I can't wait to see how V2 is going to keep growing and changing!