Another FFXI Private Server.

Hello all! Some of you know about my return to vanadiel series I did on youtube about starting new or returning after along break to retail. This time I decided to try out a private server. I know there are a lot of them and I'll maybe do videos on others but for now, I have a short video looking into GaiaXI server. 75 era but with more modern QoL adjustments for those that don't have 5 hours a day to party for a few levels!

I hope you enjoy!

TL:DR I made a video of starting on a private server. Please enjoy.

Why would anyone here enjoy a video talking about private servers?

There is no world where private servers are good when the actual game is still being supported by the company and it's paying wages of people to work on it. It's not only bad in terms of the people running it being selfish *** (when servers already exist and they just keep making more cause they can), but also it's damaging to anyone playing the game because it has the potential to make the game less profitable and potentially be shut down.

FFXI is not world of warcraft, it's already a niche audience game that is struggling to remain profitable.

This is like enjoying a indi music band and making a video about how to download torrents all of their music and asking people to please enjoy it.

Private servers are great. I have played on them more than once, while still playing retail. They are a different experience than modern FFXI. Both are good and should exist.
They do also generally help keep the community alive. Most videos and streams of FFXI are now private servers. I have also seen more than one player go from private server to retail though it is rare.

Wait, is this one of the things you're putting forward as a positive for PS? Because in my view this is a massive black spot. I can't imagine lots of people are going to PS videos or streams and then converting to retail ffxi subscribers.

It seems to me that these are, exactly as Radial said, drains on the already niche community we have. PS players love to prostheletize their server and most will trash retail at every turn (often with no relevant experiences).

The idea that PS are creating demand for or interest in retail FFXI is a complete farce. I would bet my entire life savings that they are a net negative on retail populations.

The phrase "FFXI private servers eat the young" is a poetic or metaphorical way to describe how new players often struggle or are pushed away in private server environments. Here's why that happens:

⚔️ 1. Veteran-Dominated Ecosystems
Most private servers are filled with long-time FFXI veterans who know the game inside out.

New players (the "young") struggle to keep up with advanced strategies, gear requirements, and social expectations.

? 2. Barrier to Entry is High
These servers often lack proper onboarding, tutorials, or helpful tools.

New players might log in, get lost in the complexity, and log out for good — chewed up and spit out by the system.

? 3. Endgame-Centric Communities
Many servers fast-track leveling or make EXP trivial, pushing players to endgame quickly.

But once they get there, they’re often not welcome without elite gear, knowledge, or connections — a Catch-22 for new players.

? 4. Cliques and Gatekeeping
Small communities often form tight-knit cliques.

Newcomers are outsiders and may struggle to get into social groups, linkshells, or static parties.

? 5. Lack of Modern QoL and Support
Without helpful features (like modern UI, matchmaking, or proper class guidance), new players are left to figure out archaic systems on their own.

The frustration and lack of guidance can feel like the server is “devouring” their desire to play.

? 6. Toxic Elitism or Admin Favoritism
Some servers breed elitist attitudes.

Admins may favor veterans or friends, creating a hostile environment for the inexperienced or casual players.

In short, "eating the young" captures how the structure, culture, and community of some FFXI private servers can unintentionally (or sometimes actively) drive away new blood, stunting their growth or killing interest early.

Would you like tips on finding a more new-player-friendly server or surviving the early grind?

Is this the appropriate thread to request a forum rule against AI slop?

YES! one more tho!

? "The Ballad of the Brave and Brain-Dead"
In lands where lag and bugs hold sway,
The fools log in at break of day.
With dreams of glory, loot, and fame,
They chase a 2005-named game.

They say, “This time, we’ll make it right!”
Then wipe to leeches in the night.
EXP lost, morale is thin—
“Let’s pull again,” says dumbass Jin.

They play on crusty, janky code,
Where servers crash ‘mid Dynamis’ load.
A GM shouts, “We fixed the spawn!”
But Fafnir's still been dead since dawn.

They scorn retail as "pay-to-win,"
Yet buy gil from “Shady Lin.”
They mock newbs with smug disdain—
Then ask, “How do I skill-up cane?”

Crafting's broken, AH is dry,
But still they swear, “This server's fly!”
And when the linkshell eats itself,
They blame it on the auction elf.

Oh noble fools in subligars,
You chase nostalgia like it's Mars.
Forever scuffed, forever proud—
Yelling "/shout BRD LFG" into the void out loud.

The truth? You’re stupid, that is clear.
But gods above—we hold you dear.
For in your madness, there’s a spark:
A love that keeps the old flame... dark.

This is AI Garbage. Be aware.

Maybe Negan Froggs is not the frog we want but surely is the frog we deserva

"Panta the Bark Knight"
By day he naps and chases bees,
He guards the yard, he sniffs the breeze.
But come the night, when moonlight gleams—
Panta wakes from doggy dreams.

With cape askew and mask just right,
He dons his suit, prepared to fight.
No squirrel, cat, or mailman dares
To face the hound who snarls at stairs.

He leaps from porch with silent grace,
A tennis ball his Batcave base.
With rubber bone and mighty bark,
He stalks injustice in the dark.

He saves the toys from toddler doom,
He sniffs out chaos in each room.
He growls at shadows, chews on fate—
Defender of the backyard gate.

Though villains mock his floppy ears,
He chases fear, he chews through fears.
For every howl and every paw,
Upholds the sacred canine law.

So if you hear a rustling late,
Outside your fence or garden gate—
Don’t fear the dark, don’t call your mom...
It’s Panta. And justice has come.

One damages the other, and the ps are often run by the worst people in the community that predate on others. FFXI is a niche title, that struggles to remain profitable. They are already having to lay people off from the dev team, cause profit margins are tight and you have the nerve to defend this bs? Why do you think devs keep being moved off the game exactly? Do you understand how inflation works?

They do not "keep the community alive" it is exactly the opposite, this argument can ONLY be made if the proper game no longer exists. The people running these servers are self serving vultures, nothing more. Any person that really loves this game would never do anything to damage it while it is still being supported. This is why I have respect for people like Atom0s because he could do this better than anyone, but he doesn't because he understands it's hurts the game and community (the majority of XI players will NEVER move to the PS scene if the game shuts down and so the loss of the proper game damages the community, which is why it needs to be protected as much as possible by people who care about it).

Your argument is basically, "I like it so it's good and I don't care if it damages other people". This is up there like stealing cars is ok, cause it's fun when I do it!...but then being mad someone stole yours.

Again, private servers damage the profitability of the game we are playing and potentially pushing it to a point of being unprofitable and being shut down.

XI is run by a massive corporation, they have lots of accountants and managers that demand the game be profitable. If even 1-2 people quit over this video and go play on a PS it damages the game because it's cumulative, it does not matter if YOU keep playing your sub while playing on a rinky dink thing from some guys bedroom, it matters what others do and most people would not do that.

I have played lots of games that were shut down, and private servers created and played those. You don't even pull over 10%-15% of the proper community when the real game closes, it's a bare bones tiny niche community that is created compared to what it is in a proper retail environment. People really need to wise up how catastrophic it would be if Square ceased support, the game would not live on in a PS environment it would in all real ways die on that day.

Ok, I got what you wanted: a Ghibli style art.

Ok, here we go.

(I had to censor it because how gruesome the art ended)

I think out of all my fans, onlu Ms Chatty is missing her Ghibli style mithra.

I hope it will toss me something hot beautiful

Private servers and AI art, a match made in ***heaven.

"Just use AI to rewrite POL and the game for modern engines"

This.

Just to clarify a point: FFXI has no devs at all at this point. There is only 1 dude in charge who gets allocated shared dev resources from FFXIV.

The rest I have no interest in responding to as they are also your own opinions which you are welcome to have :)

No, it's not good. Saved you a click for the video

Most FFXI streams are private servers because nobody wants to play vanilla, and using addons while streaming retail carries a high perceived chance of getting banned. There's basically only Ejin and another guy left afaik, and they both toned their addon usage down significantly after Ejin's ban.

I think part of the problem is that watching ffxi is pretty boring. I love the game and play it a lot, but I couldn't imagine watching a stream of someone playing it. I've watched some streams but often turn them off relatively quickly because it's just not that interesting.

I stream, pretty much exclusively as a way to record videos to review for mistakes etc, and I often find myself thinking: "if someone were watching this right now, it would be boring as hell."

Definitely agree that the fear of getting banned, realistic or not, is a deterrent as well.

Come on down to Richybear's PileofDungXI

It's a private server with the true endgame... Abyssea. 80 cap so you can relive the days of Teal, Perle and PINK being awesome. Also, if we get along on the forums, you'll get favoured treatment. Unless you're a girl. Broads can expect to be hit on, cybered and passed around like a lamp in Einherjar.
We've added QoL adjustments like no functioning NMs. Your 5up3r-1337 LS ready to camp Tia/Faf/KB? None of them pop, not even NQ. But if you do want the benefits of the gear, just use the konami code on the title screen for DT-10, Movement +12 and a free Ridill.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

This line got me laughing harder than it should have XD

private servers have gotten me to resub to retail several times, both are enjoyable, but i find the older variants of ff with custom takes on what once was to be far more enjoyable than what retail is now

my family (dad and brother, much older) would not have been able to hang in retail, and thus the simplicity of the older eras which they were originally familiar and what we grew up with were significantly cozier for them

There is no cozy with older eras, we all did it. You're sitting on your *** looking for group for hours or waiting for an rdm/brd to pop. Waiting to enter Dynamis with 18+ people over 01% drop rates, waiting on Limbus entry or waiting for some HNM to pop you've already killed 200 times before (that you prob won't even claim anyway). Worst of all dealing with power tripping herberts, ls leaders ordering you around like a dog or on a private server some mouthy brainless GM that donated enough, talking to you like ***and demanding you put up with or he bans you.

Old era was a waiting simulator, literally more time waiting for something than doing it. It's fine if you're a teenager, have limited money and this is all a novelty, but not so much when you're 30+, have limited time, and you did it all before anyway.

Cozy is doing things at your pace, not waiting hours and hours on invites or hours for people to get ready to enter something. If you think that's cozy you should move to canada or the uk, the waiting times for medical treatment will have you tripping balls.

that's not the case as much as you want to believe it is, though i genuinely don't think you want to be convinced, so i almost didn't reply to your original post that is littered with assumptions and ***that sounds like projections from past experiences lol

the last 8 years i spent on these servers were unbothered by any of the edge cases you listed, and the time spent with my friends was just as enjoyable as it was back when it was the real deal

not all of the private servers share the same philosophy and the one i enjoy the most is one of the more recently spun up servers that is gaining traction (not the one in the OP, nor do i care to solicit for them) that has nixxed all of the standing around and arbitrary waits, me and the homies hop on and get a chunk of stuff done in a fraction of the time, have a blast, then go our separate ways to spend time with our families.

both retail and private servers are great from my perspective, your philosophy and mine differ, private servers exist for every game you can possibly imagine, the direction that ffxi has headed both doesn't feel comfortable for a lot of people so they quit, and other people wished for something different to happen and thus spawned the servers that make their own changes. those two things are generally the fundamental base for why they've come to exist

edit, because i showed my friend this thread and he doesn't have an account here:

You don't play retail, you're just shilling your crappy server.

Also yes it 100% is as I said, that is the entire point of it. "muh homies" calm down man, you're 30+ and not a teenager.

Also according to your dumb logic, stealing should be legal cause they might just get used to those items and buy them in future. They are an overall net negative to the community and profitability of the game.

Good conversation, man. Really enjoyed it. Have fun content in your echo chamber on a site you can't seem to move away from for a community that's long since lost the members that made this place hospitable and welcoming, instead of accepting any possible alternative reasoning that contradicts what you believe. I come and go sometimes because sometimes I hope to see somebody in particular show some sign of life, and happened to see this thread and gave my input. I'm younger than 30.

Glad you enjoyed it, I didn't. You can go back to your "homies" now and have a blast killing crabs for 4 hours.

gl, cu