So I’ve been playing Final Fantasy XI since US PS2 release back in April/May of 2004. It’s been a long time, and a lot of changes have happened.
It hasn’t hit me how different things are now until recently. Several of my good friends in game have quit, no one does Campaign or Besieged anymore, servers have merged, and I’m still level 76 when everyone else has already hit level 90. Even how people level their jobs has changed. Before it was about grouping into a party of 6 and beating up mobs outside of cities. Nowdays, it’s all about Abyssea. Experience points are easy and fast to come by there.
It’s just not the same anymore.
That said, I’m not quitting the game. I felt a tad sad when I was looking at my friends list of all the people I know in game that have quit. It made me feel like an aged dinosaur. I didn’t know what to do. I pretty much sat there, chatting with people while my character sat in my Mog House waiting for the Besieged that never happened because I had to log off.
I guess that’s just how it goes. Changes happen in real life, so why should I be surprised when the same happens in a virtual world?