New Final Fantasy XI boss could take 24 hours to kill
by Justin McElroy 
{ Aug 14th 2008 at 11:15AM }
"People were passing out and getting physically ill," guild leaders said. "We decided to end it before we risked turning into a horrible new story about how video games ruin people's lives."
So, to recap: There's a boss in Final Fantasy XI that's so tough that people who play Final Fantasy XI enough to be in a guild don't think it's worth their time. Moreover, he was so difficult it was enough to force them to start making responsible choices with their lives. Mother Brain, you can consider yourself trumped.
[Thanks, Anthony]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Dirty @ Aug 14th 2008 11:21AM
I dont know why, but I find this story awesome on many levels.
Reminds me of the southpark episode.
I will never for the life of me understand MMOs.
Tom18230 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:24AM
That was a great episode.
I also don't understand why people will give up their real lives to life a virtual life.
Josh @ Aug 14th 2008 11:33AM
"I also don't understand why people will give up their real lives to life a virtual life."
You play games, right? Then you're also giving up your real life to become engrossed in some other world for a while.
It's the same with novels, movies, comics, etc. etc.
Dirty @ Aug 14th 2008 11:35AM
I take that back...before I get too much flak. Im just not a fan of them myself. I understand grinding and leveling up can be fun and getting epic loot is fun. I personally like a strong narrative in a game and feeling like I am effecting the world in the game. In MMO's I feel like a small fish in a big pond.
Tom18230 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:38AM
Yes, but I would never give things up in the real world (like time with friends, going out, other hobbies etc) to play games. The people who play these games to such an extent were they would spend an entire day of their lives hacking away at a boss are the ones I don't understand.
Ben @ Aug 14th 2008 12:29PM
Maybe they just didn't have other friends, anywhere to go, or other hobbies to begin with?
That being said, the thing I liked best about playing MMO's is the social aspect. A lot of my real life friends actually played too, so instead of hanging out or going out all the time, you could hang out online once in a while (not to mention you make a lot of friends in game that you never would have met otherwise). And while it's true you seem like a small fish in a big pond, there's more to it than that. Joining a guild makes it feel like your character is part of something bigger.
Also, some of the MMOs do have strong narratives and stories behind them. Some games claim you play in a persistent world and you can actually can have an effect on the world around you (although I've never seen one that actually did, besides stuff like the Sleeper in EQ where if one guild on the server woke him, he could never be seen again). If you actually wanted to make your mark on the game's world, or at least the players, you could always join a guild and become one of the top members, not that I or most people have time to do that (I still remember the names of the top guilds and a few of their better members from EQ from 8 years ago though). Some companies sometimes even name NPCs after players, or reference their names in someway.
Those are just my three cents, anyway.
Saria the Cat @ Aug 14th 2008 1:17PM
@Josh: There's a huge difference between immersing yourself in a virtual world for a few hours a day/week and completely immersing yourself in a virtual world in which the majority of your waking life is spent IN the game instead of the other way around. These are the people that we're talking about here, not casual or moderate players. These types of people have a problem, whether they admit it or not. It doesn't have to be an MMO; it can be any game.
Saria the Cat @ Aug 14th 2008 1:21PM
@Ben: "Maybe they just didn't have other friends, anywhere to go, or other hobbies to begin with?"
You're absolutely right. And if that is true of a person, that really does highlight the fact that they have real problems that aren't just their excessive escapism. Those are serious impairments to a person's quality of life. :(
Xaijin @ Aug 14th 2008 1:44PM
You're a small fish in a big pond because the nature in which MMO's are designed is limited like that. Dont forget all current MMO's have not really evolved past some of the first MMO's out on the market (it's old tech). That is exactly what Bioware said they disliked about current MMO's and is what the next gen MMO is going to be like. A world that is affected by your actions.
Microswirl (MKWii:1676- 4270-3674) @ Aug 14th 2008 2:50PM
"These types of people have a problem, whether they admit it or not. It doesn't have to be an MMO; it can be any game." ~ Saria the Cat
Case in point: collecting flags in Assassin's Creed... ugh... that was MY all-nighter addiction for a while, and I still never found them all; dunno anybody else who has either.
Also, I quit WOW a long time ago, mostly due to the carpal tunnel, but God help me if it ever got released for 360/PS3... If I could play from the couch I'd get addicted all over again.
Cal @ Aug 14th 2008 3:58PM
If you want to affect the world then maybe Darkfall would be the MMO for you (presuming it does come out...)
Dirty @ Aug 14th 2008 4:14PM
@ Ben Its more of a time commitment for that stuff than I am willing to swallow. Too many other great games to play I guess.
@Microswirl I hate those flags with the fire of a thousand suns. I had collected so many, yet I had so many to go. Felt the same way about those crackdown orbs, but at least they were more rewarding. Funny that crack was in the title.
Phil @ Aug 14th 2008 4:18PM
Sorry Square Enix but... Nothing is really gonna bring me back.
My obsession was bad enough to make me fail three classes, I'm not gonna let that happen again.
Halifirien @ Aug 14th 2008 11:21AM
Clearly, they needed more tarutaru involvement.
Kamizar @ Aug 14th 2008 11:24AM
MMmmmm Manaburn parties...
Tom18230 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:22AM
Thats just stupid and boring. Who wants to try and kill one boss for an entire day? Yawn.
Erik Stroud @ Aug 14th 2008 12:04PM
Well, if it is fun, then I probably would. I spent 10 hours playing StarCraft online once. So, I can understand why they did it. But, if it took a monster to understand that making real life choices to save your health is a good idea, they need some kind of therapy. Or just a girlfriend, because I'm sure they are lonely.
jynxycat @ Aug 14th 2008 11:22AM
Reaffirms my belief that everything in FFXI takes 20x as much effort to complete anything compared to the rest of the MMO World -_-
Though, you could argue that world first class guilds in WoW raid for about the same time per day, trying to figure out and kill a brand new end-game boss.
Odds and ends.
Duke @ Aug 14th 2008 11:22AM
"People were passing out and getting physically ill,"
Holy sh*t! Suddenly this game sounds interesting again.
StrangeBum @ Aug 14th 2008 12:40PM
I was kinda thinking the same thing. I might decide to pick this up for the 360 again ;)
juju187 @ Aug 14th 2008 11:22AM
if you play ffxi this is no surprise. The whole game was designed to get you to play long hours. 24- 48 hour spawn times on mobs, and the elite gear that will make you back stab or pretend to be a chick to get...
deadjesterx @ Aug 14th 2008 11:23AM
Sweet merciful crap. 24 hours for one boss? I just don't see the fun in that.
What's next? A boss that takes 72 hours to beat?
"Yeah, Bob? I won't be in the office for the next few days. My FF11 guild is trying to take on the latest uber-boss. How am I going to what? Oh, coke. Lots and lots of coke."
Saria the Cat @ Aug 14th 2008 1:25PM
@deadjesterx: Okay, obviously MMOs aren't my thing, but somehow it seems universally unhealthy if a person uses all their vacation days for the year so they can beat a boss on an MMO. I mean, maybe they'd rather do that than go on a travel vacation or something...I guess I'm just different.
But somehow I doubt that the majority of people who play MMOs that many hours every day would have regular full-time day jobs. Maybe they're just super people.
deadjesterx @ Aug 14th 2008 1:32PM
True, the majority of the people that play MMOs probably only do it for maybe a couple hours a day or only play for a few hours a few times a week.
There is an insane core of players in every MMO though. And I wouldn't be surprised if some of them actually did take off the occasional day or two from work to play. I've actually known a couple of people who took time off when Burning Crusade came out so they could get their flying mount quickly.
And me thinks this article is proof that such gamers do exist.
Saria the Cat @ Aug 14th 2008 1:44PM
Oh, I know the exist, alright. I just wouldn't give any of them the benefit of the doubt that they actually hold full-time jobs or serious relationships unless their girlfriend/boyfriend is also an intense player.
Zoot Suit Jedi @ Aug 14th 2008 4:59PM
You may be onto something there. I am not currently a fan of the MMO, but in this troubled economy (US), a vacation to one of these fantasy lands sure beats drinking Golden Anniversary in the front yard with my feet submerged in a kiddie pool.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 11:26AM
So what? It took me around 30 hours to beat Seymour in Final Fantasy X.
...admittedly, that was because I left the game running and went to do other stuff.
deaftly @ Aug 14th 2008 11:30AM
Seymour was a bitch man, he made Sepiroth look like a pansy.
John Z @ Aug 14th 2008 11:34AM
Call me when you guys kill off Beatrice/Nega Filgaia.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 11:39AM
Sephiroth was always a pansy. I killed him with one omnislash.
zero2dash @ Aug 14th 2008 12:25PM
Zeromus (FFIV), Kefka (FFVI), Kuja (FFIX)
IMO the hardest FF bosses.
I did love FFX but Sin was the dumbest end boss I've ever seen. Seymour wasn't too difficult for me...Lulu + Doublecast FTW
The_Punisher @ Aug 14th 2008 12:26PM
I haven't beaten Seymour yet. I'm up to the THIRD time fighting him (on the ice mountain,), and i've never been able to beat it. He kills characters in one move, it's fking gay.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:42PM
Unfortunately, I missed out on the olden days of Final Fantasy, having been initiated by VII. However, after XII bored me to death I'm now going back and playing VI to see what all the fuss is about.
And yeah, Seymour on ice mountain was pretty tough. Not really tough compared to old-school bosses in the SNES era, but when you've been playing the newer "enlightened" roleplaying games, it sucks when you realize that you have to run in circles and level up...
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:43PM
Oh, and I never use Lulu. Maybe that was my problem?
Blank-Mage @ Aug 14th 2008 2:57PM
Seymour made Seph look like a certified psychologist. The dude summons the twisted, corrupt form of his own mother to do his nefarious bidding. Hardcore.
sinai @ Aug 14th 2008 4:04PM
zero2dash - n00b. kefka was super simple with vanish+doom.
MrSpaceCowboy @ Aug 14th 2008 11:29AM
They could've had it in that 18 hours if they dps'd harder...
LordChimp @ Aug 14th 2008 11:30AM
People still play FFXI????
Shigeru Miyamoto @ Aug 14th 2008 11:51AM
People still play Tibia.
McWeen @ Aug 14th 2008 11:30AM
lol forced them to make responsible choices.
weirdestchild @ Aug 14th 2008 11:32AM
As an avid player of FFXI, I hate it when gaming newsites misquote a large group a people who get together often as a "guild". It's "Linkshell" people, "Linkshell".
In other words.... there are two bosses that could possibly take that long to defeat, 1 that was released about 3 years and no one has beaten, and this new bastard that is just unforgiving.
This game makes my Penance run in FF 10 International look like a complete joke.
Sam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:19PM
they say guild so that non FFXI players will know what the heck they are talking about.
SleeplessKn1ght @ Aug 14th 2008 12:19PM
I was about to make that same point in regards to linkshells. Pretty small issue, but irksome nonetheless.
Justin McElroy @ Aug 14th 2008 12:35PM
It's not a blow-up doll. It's a life-sized sexual gratification simulator.
StrangeBum @ Aug 14th 2008 12:44PM
@ Justin
+1 good sir!
/That's no moon. It's a space station.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:57PM
Justing is the new Ludwig.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:57PM
Justin is the new Ludwig.
Anam @ Aug 14th 2008 12:58PM
Damn. I tried to catch the mistake and missed!
xGeneral DEATHx @ Aug 14th 2008 1:28PM
Lustin is the new Judwig?
Nate @ Aug 14th 2008 1:36PM
WTF is a linkshell?