Why do we play this game?

In the last few days I had to think more and more about why we actually play this game. I remember how much fun I had when I started. Everything was new and amazing, people were so friendly and the only goal was to level, unlock exciting jobs and do missions to see some of the storyline.

In May this year I will have been playing for two years. I still love the game and there is so much i want to do, but I have also noticed that I often forget to have fun in-game.
For most people it's all about gear gear gear gear gear. We set a goal, work towards it and finally get a shiny new piece of gear. We're happy. But wait, our char is still not perfect, we're still gimp by elitist standards. Gogogo we need more new gear.

That's the one thing that makes me sad in this game. The elitist thinking. I admit, I am a regular visitor to BG forums and during the last few months I have set my own standards up very high. To me only the best is good enough. I put a lot of pressure on myself so that my Bard and Samurai are up to par.
But I do have to admit I miss the times when I was just a little taru who could explore to his hearts content and be happy.

The problem in this game is that it's already been out since 2003. There are quite a number of players who have been playing for years. They have almost everything you can get, they're in very strong HNMLS and to them gil grows on trees. I often hear: "Come on dont be dumb, making XXX mil is easy as cake."
Then when we discuss it further we notice that making this "XXXmil" is done by using your LS points to get items to sell, or from LS allowances. Or from maxed crafts. So even these people have to admit that for a player that has only started recently and is not in a LS that gives their members gil and a player who does not have crafts levelled, obtaining gil has been a very tough challenge since all of the farming nerfs to combat RMT.

I'm not complaining. I manage to get by somehow and I have amazing friends who help me out and not a moment goes by where I am not grateful for this.

The thing that gets to me is how this "ZOMG I need better gear" mentality affects not only myself, but also my friends. Recently a very close friend of mine got mad at me cause another friend had bought me a piece of gear. I had not asked for it and had even sent it back, saying that I felt I had already received enough presents during my FFXI time. He insisted I keep it, since he had bought it to make me happy and for me to use it.
My other friend saw me with this item and felt it was "getting old" that I always get stuff. It really made me feel bad. I care about my friends and I am always happy when they get stuff since it helps their chars grow and also helps the LS become better at events.
If you're reading this, I don't want you to be mad at me. I've heard before that some people think I gloat when I get things. But to me there is a difference between genuinely being glad over obtaining something and voicing it and gloating about something. I think it's just the way I was raised. I was taught that when you get or achieve something you should be thankful for it and you are allowed to openly be happy about it. So if anyone thinks I was gloating, I am sorry, I definately was not and it was not my intention. I just believe that being happy about something and talking about it a lot shows positive energy towards something which just attracts more positive things. So no negativy around me please, I like to be a positive Taru.

The "I need leet gear" mentality is something you can find in every single MMO and not something that will disappear. But I have found a bit of the old fun I had in the game when I started and will try to focus more on that and less on gear. We all have our weak moments but I'll try my best.

My social LS has been growing even more and it's a really interesting LS to be in. We have some major elitist people with full salvage sets, then we have Buttons who tries to be top tier but still has a ways to goo and is a noisy taru that yacks nonstop (haha), we have very dedicated levellers who instead of trying to max gear on one job level every single job for the fun of it, we have casual players ranging from lv20-75.
Although my LS has been turning into an event LS with us doing Sea, Sky, ZNM, Limbus and ground camping when we feel like it, we also have a few players with a very unique take on the game who inspired me to try and find the fun in the game again.

We have a galka in our Linkshell called Yellowmage who has been playing for a few months now. His highest job is only lv20 but he literally went and did every single quest he can, because he wants to see the story behind vanadiel. I often felt bad when he asked for help but everyone in the LS was too busy with events to help out.

I just love his way of thinking. He doesn't play to be the highest level with the best gear, he plays for the story, content and adventure. He visited La Theine for the first time this week and was so amazed by the rainbow that I just had to stop and think. I definately wanna feel like that again.
My little taru friend Markus also reminded me today that the game has more to offer than just logging in to events a few times a week. He has not been in the LS as much anymore and it turns out he has been taking in quite an amount of new little Tarus and helping these players get started in the game.

Wow that was a wall of text lol. But it feels good to get it out of my system. xD I'll continue to strive to get my Bard and Samurai to be the best they can be and there is no way I will give up my quest to get my bard a Manteel haha. xD
But I want to focus on the fun in the game again. On my friends who I've met in the past few months and who are all special to me. :D

Thanks for reading guys, the next update will have tons of screenshots again, I promise. xD