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Character Experience in the game is handled much like any other MMORPG. Players will have a starting Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Vitality, Mind and Charisma, all of which of course can be leveled up through experience points and quests. Much of what you wear also affects these stats. For instance equip a tunic, and watch your defence go up 2 points. Equip a shell ring and watch your strength rocket up. Square-Enix have really taken their time on this part of the game, allowing for even the most newest of player's to become sword towting strength machines in a few hours of playing.
The controls are simple or annoying depending on whether you have played the game before on the PC version. Movement is standard with your left thumbstick to move and your right used to control the camera. The X button is used to bring up most menu's, and the left shoulder button is to bring up the text windows. The A button is used to select an object or enemy, and allows you to to also context alot of your options. However, the game can often seem more like a chore when browsing through the menu's compared to using a keyboard and mouse for it.
As soon as you start out in any of these worlds you will be greeted by a short introductory cutscene with you meeting the leader of the homeworld. It is good to ask as many questions as possible to figure out what the heck you have got to do because from here on, you are on your own. Be warned, Final Fantasy 11 is quite possibly the most frustrating MMORPG when you start out in the game, and will cause some people to explode with range due to its sense of tediousness. Lets check off a few of the more tedious things in the game. Although you have a map, there is no marker to indicate a quest or mission, so players are advised to wander around and ask the hundreds of NPC's what to do. Tediousness+1. Not only this, but the areas are HUGE, and can sometimes take nearly 10 minutes to walk from one side to another. Tediousness+2. One other annoying section of the game is its currency, Gil. You start of with a measly 10 Gil which you can buy nothing with, but the most frustrating bit is that it is so damn hard to earn the stuff for low level players, that even when you reach the likes of level 6-8, most people will not have enough gil to buy new clothes, weapons or spells. Tediousness +3. However this all changes when you take up a craft. Final Fantasy has one of the best crafting options I have ever seen, with everybody catered for. A staggering 9 crafts are there to be chosen, with some of which are immensely rewarding. Want to make armor, rings and necklaces? Go for the Boneworkers guild. Want to cook? Then you want to head on over to the culminations guild. Or how about some good 'ol fashion fishin'? Run over to the Fishermans guild. Final Fantasy 11 really has something for everyone when it comes to crafting, or should i say something for everyone who is rich? These crafting jobs are extremely expensive to partake in, with the player having to buy all the materials themselves, with some stupidly high prices for good crafting items. Do not try anything that is above your crafting level. To often have I tried to make some wonderful item, only for it to fail and lose all my money that I spent and trying to craft the thing. A unique feature also incorporated into Final Fantasy 11 is its player driven Auction House. Gamers can stick anything they want up for sale, whilst also buying extremely rare items from other players. The Auction House really adds a sense of community in the game, and a fair bit of bidding and banter between Auction House rich men.
Leveling is where the real money (and frustration) lies in this game. Each home world has a huge area outside of the city gates brimming with monsters and various nasties to take on. Low-level players will want to stick not to far from the gate area, this is where all the fairly easy enemies are, and players will level relatively quickly here. Enemies around here vary from the easy Bumblebees, to the Savvana Rarabs (Rabbits). High level players on the other hand will want to head to the middle in order to get the right amount of experience points and will encounter enemies such as Goblin Weavers and the difficult Yaguto Acolytes (Birdmen). At this point make sure you know what class you are. Too many people charge into melee battle when they are a Black/White Mage and get battered by enemies, and too many Warriors stand back even though they should be charging in and helping in the melee fray. Take an enemy down in this game and you will reap the rewards. Most enemies drop precious items, which can be sold on for good amounts of gil. However, get taken down by an enemy, and your experience will drop, thus leveling you down. The battles in this game are pretty fun, but quite slow. Being the traditional Final Fantasy turned based affair, some people who are used to games such as Jade Empire will find the combat very boring. Players must allow the enemy to swing in turn, while also casting magic spells. However once players reach a high level, combat becomes much quicker and exciting, with high-octane spells and wonderful effects kicking in, making sure the action never stops.
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