Why Ballista?

Why Ballista?

—Written by Evviva

Disclaimer: I realize that this may not apply to everyone, as FFXI has many things to offer.

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Many would wonder, “Why would a FFXI player even consider PvP style gameplay in an MMORPG designed to sustain interest via an intricate reward system? This entry will be taking a closer look at the true reason behind the most well endowed mystery this game has to offer. I had a lot of fun writing this post; likewise, my wish is for you, as the reader, to have fun with it, as well, and hopefully be able to relate to it.

1. Rewards

Rewards in an MMORPG equate to a promise, a promise that at the end of the day, your gameplay will be rewarded with a tangible item, perhaps some sort of intricate evolution of your avatar or your chosen path in a quest to unfold closer to fruition. As a business model, MMORPG culture is riddled with dopamine at every turn. These vast complex worlds put the user in a state of true fantasy, bringing closer those dreams of grandeur and accomplishments. The trance induced is one of great power. With that said, rewards in FFXI play an important role.


Let’s step away from the obvious rewards for a moment, and focus on the non-tangible. Remember when you still believed in Santa? (Santa is real. Don’t tell me otherwise; I know where you live.) Getting your hands on the presents with your god-damn name on it and actually opening them, you know, as in opening them with a force that only He-man and Aquaman would know. That feeling of bliss overcomes your entire being after laying eyes on this magnificent present, but let’s step out of the body and mind of a 10 year old for a moment. Let’s focus on the pare… Santa for a moment. Does this valiant warrior receive the gifts earlier mentioned? I’d wager to say ‘yes’, but in a non-tangible format. There is no present that he can touch, but he can see and feel the positive energy sparking around them.

This example would be considered the perfect relationship between game developers and players, but in the real world, Santa charges for every gift he bestows, even those glorious socks you had your eyes on all year. Oh boy!

The way that the aforementioned relates to FFXI -and- Ballista needs to be broken down further in order to be understood.

1a. FFXI Rewards

Incredible variety, gil, experience points, merit points, shinies, quest/mission completion, storyline advancement, social interaction, reputation, challenge (sometimes), scenery, fireworks of magic and abilities pleasing to the eye, longevity (as long as the rewards are fresh…), and rubbing one out when E.body finally drops. Shut up don’t judge me. This is what dreams are made of. It’s like walking into a strip joint where the strippers are performing a Cirque de Soleil performance, making you a bacon and avocado sandwich -and- sucking your *** at the same time. (The ladies can replace the obvious genitalia and the sandwich with a cheesecake.) How can you say ‘no’ to that?! Legit.

1b. Ballista Rewards

Decent variety, social interaction, reputation, challenge, fireworks of magic and abilities pleasing to the eye, longevity (despite it’s lack of updates, the event has sustained longevity), and rubbing one out after playing a perfect game. As you can see, masturbation is the secret of a good reward in FFXI, Ballista, and everyday life. Thank me later. Upon closer examination, Ballista seems to remove some of the essential ingredients in the trance concoction required to keep players coming back for more… or does it?

Ballista is a team PvP oriented game within the FFXI universe. This event does not possess ‘tangible rewards’. It has it’s own unique flavour of entertainment, challenge, longevity, and social interaction that keeps players coming back for more. Despite it’s minimal attraction as opposed to the general FFXI universe, Ballista is an extremely rewarding -gaming- experience to those who choose to give it a serious chance. One of the key components to the rewarding factor of Ballista is its ruthless challenge and prominent longevity.

1c. Reward Conclusion

As players who indulge in a digital environment, what is it that we are truly after? Are we hoping to recreate the set of Weird Science and zzzzzzzzap our own “Lisa” into existence? Everyone is different, and thus, the scope of a reward is widened. FFXI is a melting pot by default, as it belongs in the MMORPG genre.

To quote Nicky Yee, a research scientist at "Ubisoft" studying gamer behaviour:

“The most obvious appeal derives from the elements of achievement in these environments. They cater to to players who enjoy accumulating wealth, rare items and tangible power. The other main appeal derives from the ability to chat, make friends and affiliate with larger social groups such as guilds. Many players also find appeal in becoming immersed in a fantasy world and becoming part of a story that is being told. Also, certain players enjoy competing with other players or even annoying and manipulating them through devious means. And finally, some players are fascinated with the mechanics and geography of the world. For them, the satisfaction comes from unraveling the game.”

It’s easy to see that FFXI caters to every kind of individual’s definition of reward. /golfclap FFXI, you are a money making, tear inducing, perpetuating joygasm machine, but I digress. Let’s analyze how Ballista can be just as appealing and catering to the Planet of the Apes.

1c1. Accumulating Wealth

This is where Ballista widens it’s grip, and no, I’m not talking about the bitching double your 3k if you win an official match!!!!!!! I’m talking about every Ballista player’s responsibility to stay up to date with equipment and consumable demands. Thus, procurement of funds becomes increasingly important in the overall experience in a Ballista player’s playtime.

1c2. Rare Items

Goldmember. It’s very much real.

Ballista players have the privilege of saying they possess the rarest items FFXI has to offer. Take, for example, these Pallas’s Bracelets that Chancellor Teishi is sporting (augment: ranged accuracy+7) and even this Eurytos bow that the Singingbrakeman is so very proud of (augment: damage+2). These are just two example of incredibly rare pieces acquired through the Fields of Valor Elite training regime.

1c3. Tangible Power

What greater power is there than standing over the corpse of your mauled opponent and yelling “BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL, I HAVE THE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!”? Or even the capital gold “VICTOIRE” dancing on your screen as your team reigns victorious from a hard fought Ballista match. Alas, tangible power is in the eye of the beholder once again, and as cool as I think He-man is, some people really might like the pink Power Ranger.

1c4. Ability to Chat, Make Friends, and Affiliate with Larger Social Groups

During a Ballista match, you are forced to relay information, be it to your skillchain partner {Ready to start skillchain!}, notifying the other 30 partcipants to stop attacking you because you need to poop and, of course, nothing says friendship, respect, and love like a great swordfight. You’re gay for even thinking that, seriously.

1c5. Appeal in Becoming Immersed in a Fantasy World and Becoming Part of a Story That is Being Told

Remember Spartacus? FREE THE SLAVES!! Well, everytime you defeat those annoying little Taru, or the pompous Elvaans, slutty Mithra, or self-righteous Hume, you make a story worth etching into the greatest of the great books of war. Vote for a Galka run Vana in 2013.

1c6. Players Enjoy Competing with Other Players

This is the bread and butter, the toast and jam, the bong and a blitz, the crepe and a pancake of what Ballista is all about.

1c7. Annoying and Manipulating Other Players Through Devious Means

Shout out to my freaks, I know you’re reading this, Zahara and Feiwong. Every part of the game has some kind of super-imposed *** that feel important enough to cause a good thing shame. Ballista is no different.

1c8. Players are Fascinated with the Mechanics

There is so much to test for Ballista that it’s actually mind boggling. This is one of the bigger reasons Ballista has remained fresh to this day. Now, how can I start throwing my colossal lances as angons…

1c9. Geography of the World

Sorry guys, Dora the Explorer is all out of ideas on this one :(. Jugner Forest, Pashow Marshlands, Meriphataud Mountains, Diorama, and that Brenner island are the only options that Ballista players have.

So, as you can see, the reasons for playing Ballista are obvious unless you’re one of those people that only wants to play Where’s Waldo with your friends.

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2. Gameplay and Goals

Most gamers enjoy a variation of grinding and or challenging gameplay. However, having a distinct goal usually requires the player to go through a series of grinding and/or challenging venues to attain such a goal. Thus, it is up to the player to decide how much grinding or challenge is necessary to reach the promised land, that is, if the promised land is even within sight.

2a. FFXI Gameplay and Goals

Within the FFXI universe exists a multitude of obstacles, be they challenging and or grinding, all of which are designed to prevent you from reaching the sweet, sweet nectar of your chosen goal in the most time consuming manner possible. Cockblocks”R”Us. This begs the question ‘how important is this goal to me, and do I enjoy the actual gameplay required to reach it? Am I playing the game or is the game playing me? Is this even a game anymore?’ FFXI has incredible variety, but it is up to the player to discern if it is worth their logged in time to partake. FFXI is a game with bountiful choices, quite often marginalized into a tunnel of efficiency. Let’s take a high level notorious monster fight in FFXI as an example. If this particular notorious monster has a desirable drop, it will be dissected by the community to recognize the most efficient method to go about fighting it. The goal seems to be to feel good about your accomplishments and the time spent playing the game. Universally universal.

2b. Ballista Gamelpay and Goals

Ballista gameplay is very different to the current style of play present in FFXI. The player is faced with challenges completely unorthodox to the rest of the game. Ballista emulates a digital sport if you will; it has rules, regulations, scoring, penalties, and team tactics. Outcast by the majority due to its extremely challenging and “un-rewarding” metagame, Ballista is a true hidden gem that many have yet to discover and or give a real second chance. Common Ballista goals revolve around maximizing hybrid equipment sets via augmentation and ingenious sync options, muscle memory adaption, memorization of specific rook movements, monetization of strategical opportunities, expanding the challenge, and ultimately making good decisions. Since Ballista is a team game, major accountability strain is placed on the individual to perform well under extreme pressure in a constantly expanding dynamic battlefield. The most prevalent goal for any Ballista player is to play as many games as possible. We are all self admitted *** :D

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Video courtesy of Vyii!



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Conclusion

PvP in FFXI is an excellent gaming experience. Regardless if you enjoy 1v1 bouts, team play or level capped events, Ballista has something for everyone. If you happen to give Ballista a chance; please don't get discouraged by the harsh learning curve, help and support is available from numerous sources.

There are various forms of the game, ranging from beginner to extreme, it's sure to appeal to every individual.

I personally realize the time investment necessary might be discouraging to some, but if you just stick to it, I'm sure you will not be dissapointed.

So, the next time you scratch your head over the question ‘why Ballista?’, I challenge you to turn your frown upside down and ask yourself, “Why not Ballista?”

Hope to see you out there! :)

Evviva/Azurro of Carbuncle~



BONUS POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Motivation Assesment Results: ((Having a hard time copy/pasting the graphs at work D:))

Eh, tried to give this a serious read but lost me in the first couple of paragraphs. Devolves quickly into the rant of a 12 year old that just discovered bad words and hit puberty.

Overall Assessment:


Your Achievement percentile rank is 99%. Your Socializing percentile rank is 7%. And your Immersion percentile rank is 0%.

@Evviva Your 99% teamwork vs my 6% definitely makes it clear why you enjoy team pvp while I prefer 1v1.

Thanks for the criticism, eh.

P.S. It's not a rant. Maybe you should look past the "bad words" and immature jokes and read between the lines. My only wish is for other readers to not marginalize and devolve the post as you did.




Thanks for posting your results!

You're right, it is clear to see why we enjoy our chosen venues, /salute :)

For a compendium on MMORPG culture, behavior, motivation and various other subjects, visit;

The Daedalus Project.

OP updated, thanks for reading~

Honestly a lot of this made no sense to me -_-. Especially 1b. Ballista Rewards, because I don't think there are any unique rewards from it (except from the ONE ballista tournament and maybe the blue night cap thing? or was that the same tournament? idk...idc).

Unique rewards, hmm yes.

The event itself doesn't really shower you with items, however it does provide you with rare items as a by-product of the time invested in getting stronger for the event.

I cover a little bit of that in 1c2. I realize it only applies to level 60 cap team play ballista (augmented items are so unique you won't find two players with the same augments), but I'm sure someone who plays other venues Ballista has to offer can elaborate.

The main point I am trying to convey is that Ballista is a unique gaming experience, it does have synergy with the rest of the game of course, but it's entirely it's own beast. How you choose to spend your logged in time is entirely up to you~

Ballista players have the privilege of saying they possess the rarest items FFXI has to offer. Take, for example, these Pallas’s Bracelets that Chancellor Teishi is sporting (augment: ranged accuracy+7) and even this Eurytos bow that the Singingbrakeman is so very proud of (augment: damage+2). These are just two example of incredibly rare pieces acquired through the Fields of Valor Elite training regime.


Those items have nothing to do with ballista though. You can obtain those items without touching ballista. Hence my entire point and confusion

This thing is cool (*^.^*). Thanks for posting it.

Touche!

The Ballista community that I am a part of has an abundance of rare items such as these from numerous players; thus my rationale for listing them as an "item" reward synonymous to Ballista.

My personal thought process when I see an FFXI player with an augmented item such as the ones listed is that they are a level 60 cap Ballista player. They are rare in retrospect to their purpose.

Thanks for sharing your results!

Yeah, once again though. Literally nothing to do with ballista lol. I had a dex+ life belt when the augments first came out. Had ***to do with ballista lol

Good for synced bird parties amirite?





Ballista players adopted the augment system a long time ago as part of Ballista, semantics could be argued to death, but you won't see other players with the equipment I mentioned unless they play Ballista.

P.S. We don't augment life belts.

Someone is quite passionate about this little event, nice to see even the smallest things in this game can still be enjoyed by a set group of people.

You're graspin at straws as far as the physical rewards of Ballista, sorry.

People only care about better gear and time spent 'as wisely as possible' on FF most of the time, so PvP is among the lowest priority. Add the fact that it's rather unbalanced in FFXI and it only helps bury the entire thing completely. Now don't get me wrong, I love it on occasion with my friends just for: fun/showing-off/pissing them off/getting pissed off/bets/boredom and the common "destroy someone in brenner/ballista to shut them the hell up." But the rewards you're talking about are quite frankly... crap when compared to current gear which is usually rare/ex anyways.

I'm pretty sure anyone can say/write anything about PvP in FFXI with or without an unnecessarily long and ridiculous post, and it honestly won't change a thing about it. Again, it is fun (for some people) but for the most part, it's not, so why bother ranting? (Despite whether you disagree or not, it is what it is.)

You might as well just have posted, "I love Ballista" and it would have held the exact same meaning.

This game is good at what it does, it's an MMORPG the mechanics in this game do not do well in pvp at all. that's why it is so funny seeing someone brag how great they are at an unbalanced. poorly implemented system like ballista, it's like saying they are the best at playing tacks, no one else really cares but them and thier small group of friends.

ballista never was nor will ever be a good event other then giggles, but it's something to do i guess.

My entire reasoning for posting this 'rant' is for the people who don't fall in this category:

"People only care about better gear and time spent 'as wisely as possible' on FF."

Indeed, I am reaching out to a minority.

It also might help certain individuals realize... omgosh Why Ballista?



If us playing Ballista is relative to playing tacks, what would playing an MMORPG relate to?

Edit: What makes a good event?

I only started doing Ballista recently, in order to help Ayerro get her LS started. After the first few matches, i was thinking "This is some boring/shitty/unbalanced crap right here, once she finds enough people who actually like this bollocks, i'm outta here!" I used to get angry over losing and being killed (I'd get some serious nerd rage) but things have changed...

Once you really get into it, you start to appreciate the sport, and all the unique erm... Ok F it, i suck at this, i'll stick with the "I love Ballista" idea for here, i lack Evv's way with words...

But yeah, i came into this event expecting very little, and i've pretty much stopped playing the other parts of the game... I was hammering dynamis, trying to save for a 2nd relic, but i just can't be arsed now, it's just so boring compared to ballista (yeah i could do both, they don't really clash, but somehow it made me lose interest)

It's definitely something i'd encourage people to try, and try a few times. It might surprise you, and you might find yourself loving it...

PvP in any MMO has a considerable penis measuring factor.

Also, to be interested in Balista one has to be interested in PvP. I am not.

I mentioned tacks because i deemed it to being equal to the usefulness and entertainment as ballista is.



Something that isn't mind numbing and boring, but that varies by person obviously.

edit: had to fix the post, last one was a mess.

Just like to put it out there that many of the people in our linkshell participate in our matches when they're not involved with their endgame things.

Even if you're not a ballista fanatic, you could join a match that's faster paced and hit something that's not stationary like an NM, usually. I've heard so many complaints in /tells, LS chat, random parties, people in Port Jeuno, letting the server know that they're bored and sitting in Jeuno <-- I do that, every day.

For me, it's nice to exploit player weaknesses like you would with PvE, and personally, I enjoy the fast-paced decisions/reactions that you need to play well. Of course, some mob could be readying a TP move for me to Stun, but they're more or less more predictable than different people's play styles in ballista, job combinations, and overall team.

I saw someone mention unbalanced teams somewhere in this thread. Many of us in the shell immediately assumed that as soon as we saw a RDM on the opposing team, that we've lost and couldn't do anything about it. For a few matches, I was on the team that always lost to a mage. V actually showed us how to deal with mages and circumvent the problem, so if you learn how to play/work with your team - friends and people you've never met - a set up that may seem unbalanced is usually easy to handle, but again, skill and practice is definitely needed. If you went into a match and didn't know how to deal with a RDM on the other team for example, yes, it'll be unbalanced just because of the capabilities of the job itself.

As for rewards, sure, I like getting good gear, but I've seen some drama in endgame shells. I remember years back, I was in a Sky LS and someone lotted on Byakko's who wasn't supposed to. Drama, long waits - I don't like stress and drama, especially from a video game. Sure, I'll go ahead and 99 a Ukon, and perhaps receive some admiration and an ego boost, but it turns out to be more of a task. Again, I know that ballista isn't for everyone, but it's worth a shot if you're actually annoyed with the rest of the game. <__<

Or you could just play a game which has real PvP, that gives real rewards, has a real community, and more than a handful of people across all servers play.

I like FFXI and I like ballista - I like the community on this game. I play a game to have fun, and ultimately, most people play a game to get some kind of recognition apart from the fun. Recognition for good gear, top linkshells, most skilled, whatever. Recognition even within a small community is still recognition. In my experience, people usually don't enjoy being "noob" and even in PvP on XI, we have the "noobs n' proz."

The current situation will ballista on Fenrir -> It's not as big as it used to be, but it's not so bad where I'm the only one person on all of Fenrir that likes ballista. My linkshell has about 45 members, and consistently have an average of 2-4 matches per week. Many of our members also attend all three matches in a day, taking up more than 4 hours of their play time. Matches usually consist of 3v3 on an okay day, and 6v6 on a good day.

I don't put all of my time into PvP, so I'd rather stay on the game that I enjoy. We have a real community. I wouldn't enjoy ballista as much as I do if I never talked to anyone from my linkshell and if all we did was just go, finish, repeat. At this second, I'm talking to some shrunken elvaan (V >__>) from a different server about test server matches. I wouldn't call our community non-existent or not real, even if it is small.

When i play COD (i don't, i hate it) i don't expect a Mars bar to pop out of my PS3 every time i get a headshot... It's not about rewards, it's about having fun.

Yes, there is an unfortunate lack of people interested in the event, that's why threads like this are made, to try and increase awareness/interest.

I'm failing to understand why Ballista isn't "real PvP"? It's harder to play than most of the PvE in FFXI.

Because ballista caters to mainly caster or caster/meele hybrid being the most "optimal" specificly dark knight since they not only have spells such as drain/aspir 1 and 2 to constantly cast on your opponent untill they die while restoring there own but highest attack boost in job traits to melee, and rdm who has fast cast and stronger attack spells.

It is horribly unbalanced, in other words, it's only hard if you don't play those 2 jobs for it. so it's not a surprise if someone gets impressed by a rdm or drk winning alot because they are using the easiest jobs for ballista and winning.

so if you don't use rdm or drk it will definitely be "harder then PVE" because all the drk or rdm has to be is somewhat skilled knowing the basic job learning curve to mow down most people. rdm is a bit harder since it dosn't have a massive attack boost and strong weapon to back up on like drk however.

It's a joke. seriously. fun? that is all up to you. nothing wrong with enjoying it. but skill wise?, not even close.

Just to clarify, i play 60cap, where it really isn't that horribly unbalanced. And it's a team game, if both sides have a RDM, then even if it's 10 times stronger than any other job in the game, the teams would still be balanced. It's not always perfectly balanced, but it's never totally 1-sided.

It's worth a shot if you've never done it before, it's very different to PvE but it's still FFXI. If you think it's crap and worthless, then just leave the thread, all the negative talk is the reason alot of people never try it.