Stiltzkin

I've played some free MMOs (Maple Story, Silk Road Online), and have friends who have played EQ, EQ2, and I have two friends who are obsessed with WoW. But even after talking to them about these MMOs, for me, when it comes right down to it, FFXI still trumps everything. I really believe this. In my FFXI linkshell, we had some members that left FFXI for WoW about half a year ago, and now half of them have returned from WoW to FFXI, claiming it is too easy and just got boring. Granted, FFXI can get boring too, but I still think it is one of the best MMOs ever, if not the best, MMO. Why? Well, sure, it is my first MMO, so I'm biased, but it seems like FFXI is the only MMO that really stands out. Sure, its economy is going straight to hell, just like other economies, but at least on my server there is a large group of people making a conscious effort to not buy overpriced shit off the Auction House so those f*ckers won't keep inflating the economy. And I also got lucky that I found my way into a really cool linkshell (guild, as it seems to be known in most of the MMOs). I've actually met most of them in real life and have hung out with them, so I feel like I'm actually connected with the people I play with. Also the fact that me and my tightly knit circle of friends all started playing FFXI around the same time probably makes me even more biased towards it. I like how any race can do any job, and can be good at it, given the right gear and enough smarts to know how to use your race's strengths towards that job class. I also like how you don't have to level up just to unlock quests. And you don't have to be a certain level in order to pick up a craft (also known as a "trade" in other MMOs). And FFXI has a ton of end-game content. There's Dynamis, Limbus, Sky, Sea, and Moon, all of which are extremely time consuming and should keep any high-leveler occupied for years.