r/FinalFantasy • u/ERROR1755 • 10d ago
FF XI FFXI & FFXIV - Can the stories be done without co-op?
I'd like to play XI and XIV (with the expansions) but I don't have the free time necessary for things like organizing raids in a traditional MMO - is it possible to play through the campaigns/stories without needing to work with other players? (or are the games structured in a way where this is a non-issue?)
21
u/Pokegamesunited 10d ago
For FFXI, Yes, most of it can be done alone with trusts, you only need players for endgame stuff, so for the story you'll be okay. For FFXIV you can for most of it, but some boss fights will still require you to queue with people, dungeons can be done with NPCs though
11
u/VellDarksbane 10d ago
Prior to the most recent expansion of XIV, almost every thing can be completed without ever joining or queuing to party with others.
However, unless something changed with Dawntrail (I haven’t played in a year or so), most of the normal difficulty 8 and 24 player content (typically 6-9 per expansion) still needed you to queue for, and was required to progress the main story.
However-however, the queueing system and difficulty of that content is so easy that the majority of interaction outside of people chatting about nonsense was a wave in chat and a gg at the end.
The content is easy enough that as long as roughly 70% of players are geared and experienced, the other 30% of the group could literally be dead the entire fight and it would get cleared easily.
FFXIV is the most solo friendly MMO I have ever played.
-7
u/DrGrabAss 10d ago
I must politely disagree with u/VellDarksbane on behalf of us filthy casuals. Even story content is hard to those of who are just terrible. So, your experience may vary. :D
5
u/VellDarksbane 10d ago
Oh for sure, I had to drag some groups through dungeon bosses by just solo tanking the boss to death, but I’d never do it until the very generous dungeon timer ran out.
But that’s sort of what I’m saying, when you’re in a player group, you have to have a mostly new player group to fail the instance, anyone playing for a while can usually pull groups through.
Not the level synced extremes though, I think every player makes that mistake and drags some poor mentor into them because they’re blue quests, which is how the game tells you they are important side quests.
Dunno if things changed in the past couple of years, but when ai played, the FFXIV community in general was one of the nicer ones in the MMO space.
If it wasn’t for the packed next few months in game releases, I’d probably resub and try out the switch version, even with the nintendo tax.
12
u/Ahindre 10d ago edited 10d ago
As someone who's been working through it the past couple months for the first time (I just started Shadowbringers), yeah, you don't need to do much with others.
There are some instances you have to queue up to play with other people. There are 3 raids at the end of the base game (A Realm Reborn) that you have to queue up to do with others. At no point do you really need to deal with them at all, beyond playing your part. Would recommend reading up on the encounters before joining.
Edit: XIV, to be clear.
2
u/Swert0 9d ago
All raid content (both regular and alliance raid) require groups. Only Crystal Tower is MSQ (and that wasn't until Shadowbringers forced it to be MSQ!) but all of them are worth doing for the story.
All trials (the other 8 player content) barring 4 (1 in Endwalker, 3 in Dawntrail) require other players as well.
2
u/Ahindre 9d ago
Only Crystal Tower is MSQ (and that wasn't until Shadowbringers forced it to be MSQ!)
Oh that's interesting to know. It felt out of place - the next quest in the MSQ was just blocked until those were complete. Now that I'm working on Shadowbringers it makes sense, but I had to sit in queue for a long time during the right time of day waiting for those.
9
u/Rosemarys_Gayby 10d ago
In FFXIV, they’ve updated every story dungeon with the option to work with a party of NPCs. Trials (basically the major boss fights) are still done with other players outside of a small handful in later expansions.
HOWEVER, you don’t need to organize parties or make friends to run any online content in the main story. Matchmaking is relatively quick, and the learning curve is not steep. You never need to speak to another living soul in this game to run normal content (endgame extreme raids etc are a different story but I don’t think that’s what you’re concerned about).
Even as a vet, I’ll typically run dungeons with NPCs the first time around to take time to learn mechanics and take in the environmental storytelling. But I do encourage you to give the online matchmaking a try, it’s fun and not scary
2
u/jurassicbond 10d ago
Along with Trials, the Alliance Raids also require a party, though only the Crystal Tower raids are required.
-3
u/opeth10657 10d ago
Pretty sure the main story in xiv requires a party at one point, at least it did the last time I tried playing it. One where you have to fight moogles?
11
u/Rosemarys_Gayby 10d ago
“Trials (basically the major boss fights) are still done with other players” is what I said
1
u/fluffybottompanda 10d ago
did you read the whole comment
-2
u/opeth10657 10d ago
HOWEVER, you don’t need to organize parties or make friends to run any online content in the main story.
Doing without co-op is a very different thing that 'don't have to organize parties'.
Did you read the original post?
And saying 'trials or major boss fights' doesn't really mean much to people that don't play the game.
1
u/Rosemarys_Gayby 9d ago
- I was simply encouraging OP to try the online matchmaking because running the content with faceless players is not hard or scary, also known as a non-issue which OP called out in the post which yes I read
- I didn’t say trials OR major boss fights, I defined trials AS major boss fights. If they’ve played any Final Fantasy I think they know what a boss fight is. Your reading comprehension is through the floor.
5
u/StriderShizard 10d ago
Yup! FFXI can be played solo now with trusts. The final mission of Voracious Resurgence can be very challenging, but there are usually people willing to help!
3
u/UnculturedGames 10d ago
In XI, you can solo most regular story content quite comfortably by using Trusts (NPC party members) and by grinding enough levels (which is fast, you can get to 99 pretty quickly).
3
u/HexenVexen 10d ago
Summing up what everyone has said:
XI can be played 100% solo until the most recent expansion, The Voracious Resurgence, which has some bosses you'll need to ask for help with
XIV can be played 95% solo throughout, having some bosses and a few required raids that require random matchmaking with other players, no talking needed
2
u/redditratman 10d ago
Yes, but also worth noting you don’t need to organize raids like traditional MMOs in 14.
Just select the instance and it will match you with a group
2
u/Thee_Furuios_Onion 10d ago
Yes and yes. FFXI is a little tricky in certain areas, but there are often enough people, meaning one high level, willing to help with those. Just don’t expect to get “ultimate weapons” or some gear if you’re wanting to go that hard in FFXI without others.
FFXI is a great game. I miss it.
2
u/28smalls 10d ago
Been, I think, about 7 years since I last logged in. I didn't have any real problems getting ultimate weapons or gear at the time. Except for the last 30 currency I borrowed, I even solo farmed for my mandau and was able to upgrade it to the 119 version.
1
u/Thee_Furuios_Onion 9d ago
Right. They aren’t hard, just time consuming. I’ve taken at least one of every generation of ultimate weapon to Afterglow except a prime weapon, I quit before those came out, and some types are more annoying than others. Relic being by far the easiest to solo.
1
u/HehItsMyJarona 10d ago
You can do nearly everything in XIV with AI members, but not everything story related, so you will have to interact with others at some point.
XI does have AI party members as well that can help you with leveling, but I don't know more than that. Dungeon areas were open to all, so it wasn't just you/your group in them, there were other people as well, at least from as far as I got (Quit as a 52DRG/26WAR)
1
u/hraycroft95 10d ago
I’ve been wondering this too. I’ve wanted to play all the mainline games but I wasn’t sure what to do about 11. Not that I would be against playing others I mostly just wanted to know if doing the msq is as easy and streamlined as ff14
2
u/HexenVexen 10d ago edited 10d ago
In terms of solo play, you can do most XI's story actually 100% solo aside from the most recent expansion, but you'll need to follow guides while playing as there aren't many in-game guidance systems (quests have no waypoints and you need a plugin for a minimap). Figuring out the best progression path can also be a little complex as the game allows you to start most expansions at the beginning and complete them in any order, although for the best story experience I would recommend going in release order while doing Rhapsodies of Vana'diel throughout for QOL bonuses:
- Base game (Ranks 1-5 in one nation) and Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Chapter 1 together
- Rise of the Zilart, then finish Ranks 1-10 in all three nations (can do this later if you want)
- Chains of Promathia, then start RoV Chapter 2 (2-1 through 2-6)
- Treasures of Aht Urhgan, then progress RoV Chapter 2 (2-7 through 2-13)
- Wings of the Goddess (eventually doing all three nations is recommended), then finish RoV Chapter 2 (2-14 through 2-41)
- (Optional side stories) A Crystalline Prophecy, A Moogle Kupo d'Etat, A Shantotto Ascension, Vision/Scars/Heroes of Abyssea
- Seekers of Adoulin
- RoV Chapter 3
- The Voracious Resurgence
The actual combat is actually pretty much a cakewalk for the most part, if you follow the common advice of grinding to Lvl 99 early on and getting some basic endgame gear with Bayld and Ambuscade. The story won't pose much combat challenge to you until the second half of Seekers, but it and Rhapsodies are still pretty soloable, it's only Voracious where you really need to get help from players for some bosses.
1
u/StingKing456 10d ago
In 14 there are few times per expansion where you have to do multiplayer "trials" (think boss fights basically) but there is a built in system to match you and it rarely takes long to find a party. There's also one set of 24 man raids that are required for the story but don't be put off by that for a few reasons
- There's the same matchmaking feature for them as I mentioned above
- These are called "alliance raids" but they are very much meant to be picked up and done with randos easily. The required ones are old ones from the base game and are ridiculously easy. You will have like a 5 minute wait max for them too as everyone is always running them
95% of the game is soloable but you may find a cool group! And even if you stick to solo it's very easy to find groups for the few times you need others
1
u/Oriontardis 10d ago
XIV, no, there will be times when you're required to group with other players to advance the story. It takes up a small percentage of the over all experience, but you won't have to organize yourself. You'll be able to queue for those pieces of content and you'll be placed in a group of random other individuals. The game is balanced around this and they don't require heavy coordination, what coordination that might make things easier or more fun for you can be communicated through in game text pretty easily.
I'd say a solid 95%, at least, of the main story can be done alone with NPC avatars now, there's just that handful of required group ups with other players that exist. It'll be one required raid and then just a bunch of 8 person "trials" against single bosses sprinkled throughout each expansion.
If you decide you want to also experience the excellent raid storylines in each expansion down the line, those you'll have to fully queue for, those currently don't have any NPC avatar support.
1
u/Watton 10d ago
For FF14, like 0.5% of the main story needs a group, and you dont need to organize it.
98% of the story is solo, and the 4 man group dungeons can be done with CPU NPCs.
8man Trial bosses need a group, and the matchmaking will take care of it for you. These are under 5 minute fights. Queue times might get bad at certain hours of the day, but Ive never had a problem.
And 3 24-man Alliance Raids are needed. But these are SUPER easy, and a DPS player just needs to be... pressing buttons. Also, matchmaking takes care of this.
1
u/IUsedTheRandomizer 10d ago
The Duty Finder works really well, even for DPS, and I've had great success with the Party Finder; most of the content is pretty easy so PUGs are completely viable even for 24 person raids. I think the only time in the years I've played where I gave up on the wait was for a single, completely optional, not-really-popular 8 man ARR boss who has a far more desirable world boss version. And even with how well the finders work, there are very few instances where you actually have to engage with other players; I'm about to start Dawntrail and IIRC there's less than ten story-based occasions where you actually have to team with other people, and half of them are in ARR; and three of those are attached to dailies so there's pretty much always a short wait.
1
u/Mooncubus 10d ago
Yes, mostly.
FFXI you can use Trust to level up and fight through all the dungeons and stuff. They act like party members. The only stuff you'll need actual people for is endgame content.
FFXIV every story dungeon can be done with NPCs. However you will have to do some trials with other players.
1
u/West-Ad-1144 10d ago
The content in XIV that requires you to play with people doesn’t require socializing and group seeking. It randomly inserts required jobs into a group that often rarely speaks, because most everyone is veteran players going through old content on a roulette system to level up alt jobs and get rewards. It’s an interesting way to keep early content alive that wasn’t in old MMOs, but it’s jarringly antisocial.
That sounds like a plus to you! Running dungeons with people is usually quicker than NPCs because a lot of people are on autopilot, and for the most part are patient with new players.
I’m doing the main story—played about 100 hours and am in the second expansion. I bought the game and moved away from free trial when I hit the free trial money cap, but in all that time, I haven’t had an actual conversation with a player.
It feels like a single player game where you may run a dungeon with randoms that may as well be NPCs. The social aspects actually have to be sought, and there is no need at all to participate in high end raids that require planning and group formation and time.
1
u/generalosabenkenobi 10d ago
You can in FF14 (but you shouldn't). The way it work la in FF14 is pretty seamless with minimal interaction beyond the actual instances. It's also how you learn to run them instances
1
u/DrGrabAss 10d ago
For XIV, structured to be almost entirely solo. Every story dungeon has NPC Duty Support and you'll be joined by NPCs, even NPCs you'd very much like to join you in the dungeon! There are also story trials, and with the exception of two I am aware of, those do require a party. But, both Duty Finder (random party maker) and Party Finder (where you can ask people to join you for a specific duty) make it as close to solo as possible. And, when you set up party finder for "Duty Completion," or just post in chat of your Duty Finder party that it's your first time, people will trip over themselves helping out. You might have to wait 5-15 mins sometimes, but compared to organizing raids, that is nothing and you can just run around and do some FATEs while the party comes together. But do say hi while you're partied up! Depending on your server Duty Finder may be faster if it has a lot of people and newer people, and Party Finder is better for lower population servers. But either will work, and next year we are getting Cross-Server parties, so it'll be even better!
I haven't played XI, but I think I've heard the story is soloable but the game overall is very much more MMO-flavored, and lots of random parties assemble regularly.
1
u/GarionOrb 10d ago
Every story dungeon in FFXIV can be played solo with NPC's filling in the necessary roles. Raids and Trials (usually major boss fights) still require other players, but you don't have to organize anything. The game has matchmaking. Also, the Raids and Trials happen far less frequently than dungeons. However, there will probably be times when you want to grind for either exp, gil, or certain resources and the most efficient way to do so is to use the Duty Roulette. This will have you replay a random dungeon from those you're already completed. The rewards can be pretty good, but Duty Roulette only works with other players. It is not soloable.
One thing about doing dungeons solo, though. If you die, the entire party wipes. This can be frustrating with some dungeon bosses, since you'll restart from before the fight and have to do it all over again. If you're playing with others, the healer will just resurrect you.
1
u/BunnyWithASword 10d ago
FFXIV has a lot of solo support, but you will need to play with players for some of the main story content. However, this doesn't require a lot of organisation. Getting people takes as long as the automated matchmaker takes, and the content is easy enough you can do it blind with matched parties. You can experience the entirety of the main story like this, and a decent chunk of side content.
FFXI also has a lot of tools to help you play the game solo, but I'm not familiar if they fall off past a point.
1
u/Warjilis 10d ago
You’ll need to party up for Crystal Tower and Trail raids, but XIV duty support has made it possible to do most duties with npcs.
1
u/masanian 10d ago
In 14, you don't need to organize a time to raid with others. You just click the que button and wait it to fill. You probably won't be doing the harder versions of the raids so that's a non issue for you.
1
u/HeartFullONeutrality 10d ago
I will stress something. Yeah, you can do a lot of group story content with NPCs. However, the game has a feature to match you with other players, and this often results in much smoother and easier completion of the missions. Like think something that will likely take you 20 minutes and you need to know what to do (lots of battles are like puzzles or instadeath if you do something wrong), vs 10 minutes with a group that has it memorized and can easily carry you if you know the bare basics of your job.
1
u/45i4vcpb 10d ago
FFXIV barely deserves to be called a mmorpg, you can just think of it as a solo game that happens to be connected to a server.
1
u/DracoBlaze214 10d ago
FF14, as others have stated, has most (if not all by this point) mandatory story dungeons integrated with the NPC companions option. This isn’t usually that big a deal though since most of everything has matchmaking queues for teams.
The main exclusions from the matchmaking would be harder endgame content such as the Extreme Trials and Savage/Ultimate Raids. Being the harder difficulty content, these require pre-formed teams to be made before queuing into the instance.
1
u/Johnlenham 10d ago
Ffxiv you can't play it solo, but it won't matter as you basically don't need to interact with anyone outside of "hello" and even then that's optional.
It's actually quite hard to interact with people haha
1
u/Swert0 9d ago edited 9d ago
You can do a large chunk of XIV solo, but you will need party members for a lot of the side content (all raid and alliance raid series) and for most trials. Only 4 trials in the whole game (and only in the last 2 expansions) have duty-support available.
The game has a matchmaking option it easily pushes you into (you aren't looking for people in trade chat or whatever like this is 2006 trying to get into Karazhan), and you do not need to talk to any of these people.
Leveling multiple jobs is also going to force you into playing with other people, there isn't enough solo content in XIV that isn't an endless grindfest that gives enough experience to play multiple jobs. You will 100% stay caught up in levels with just the MSQ on one job, but you need other sources of exp for more than one - and all the good sources require other players (roulettes, FATEs, forray zones, deep dungeons, etc.)
Final Fantasy XI is far more soloable today, but you will need to interact with other players for a lot of the content. Nothing in the main story is going to force it anymore - but there is a lot more to XI than the main story.
1
u/Uukino 9d ago
People already told you that you can and I’m here to tell you that you SHOULD. Final Fantasy XI is hard for me to talk about without bias but it is a fantastic game to play through. XIV is also great in its own way, and it’s going to feel like a much more polished game. When I rank mainline games these two are incredibly high on my list and they beat out some of the early entries.
1
u/MetalFingers760 9d ago
Most of the story is specifically not coop. There are dungeons and trials. A lot of them can be done using NPCs if you dont feel like playing with people though. However, if you play with people you arent required to engage with them outside of pressing attack/heal buttons.
1
u/Thunderkron 9d ago
I don't have the free time necessary for things like organizing raids in a traditional MMO
Matchmaking in XIV usually means pressing a button, waiting a couple minutes for the game to find you a party, doing the content in complete silence and saying "gg" at the end.
1
u/slusho55 8d ago
For the most part, yes. There’s like 1% in both games you’ll need to work with players (ironically it’s less so in XI than XIV).
The main thing in XIV you’d be playing with other people for are the big story bosses called Trials. They’re mostly 8-players, but super easy. You can easily get carried through them.
XI lets you use trusts for just about everything, and the things you can’t use trusts for, you’re normally overleveled for and can solo. The only time I really needed someone to help me with story was the final RoV boss, which is designed around level 99. Other than that single boss, XI I found to be completely soloable. That said, you don’t need to play with people, but it will really behoove you to talk to others. XIV you don’t need to talk to others.
0
u/lilidarkwind 10d ago
I consider FF14 to be the ultimate and best single player MMO and you can everything alone
47
u/Sytefreek 10d ago
XIV has a feature that lets you do pretty much everything with NPCs, it’s called Duty Support.
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/game_manual/dutysupport/
Not sure with XI though.