This post was from a thread posted on the official FFXI forums, but it turned out so lengthy I figured I'd make it a blog post while I'm at it. Since the opening of the forums Abyssea has come under heavy criticism from plenty of clueless "greener grass" types. This is basically my response and defense of Abyssea content. This is a long post... but I think some perspective is needed.

Context from FFXI in 2009:
I think it's important to remember what it was like before Abyssea came out. 2009 was possibly the most dull year in FFXI history. Players were feeling, at best mixed, and at worst snubbed by the string of addon scenarios, so more new "addons" were treated with heavy skepticism. On top of this new plans were announced; the level cap was being increased, and at the time it seemed like FFXIV was ready to crush FFXI. The content for 2010 had to be epic or players were unlikely to shill out another $30 and a years worth of subscription for more tedium and fetch frustration. This was the challenge Abyssea was up against. Despite any flaws, it's clear that Abyssea has succeeded at this and provides plenty of value for the purchase price.


Access, Time and Limitations:
Despite how much Abyssea encompasses, it's still basically an event; a side system within the game itself you can participate in within limits (just like Dynamis, Nyzul, Salvage, Einherjar, etc.). Creating access limits have been tricky in the past. You don't want them too strict to frustrate your purchase, or too lax to make it irrelevant. Abyssea's solution is to make it easy to access, and reward you with more time as you advance in the content, or sustain your lights fighting enemies properly.

Rewards:
Remember how you looked through the Augmentable gear selections for the addon scenarios with qualification? "I guess I can get this" you accepted half-hearted. New gear created at 75 was always shackled by the precedent setting gear of "tradition". Sky, Sea, HNM, all the old gear that had to be respected while somehow releasing new gear that people are supposed to care enough to want. It's a losing proposition though. There will always be something that is better than others. Trying to mitigate this fact for years by making niche and ultimately useless items (things like a Dark Knight body with Magic Attack) just fueled low expectations. Occasionally you'd get one new +1 stat here or there. This uninspiring trend reached its apex with Augments and the Evolith system.

But levels 75+ finally presented an opportunity to move past gear which could only off superior niches. Finally there were rewards which surpassed old items in a straightforward manner. New things to pursue and work toward.

Weakness triggers are also a welcome change to the "randomness" of enemy drops. Sure, the drops are still basically a random crapshoot. But at least using weakness' gives you more influence and control over what you get. You can actually do something to encourage the drops you want instead of praying to the Treasure Hunter gods.

Partying and Exping:
The announcement of levels 76-99 was greeted by two mixed reactions: mainly excitement for a higher level cap, but also dread at having to level up another 24 levels. Images of grinding out long exp sessions at Colibri camps came to mind. But again, Abyssea offered an alternative that was far superior to any other exp. Once the mystery of the "light auras" was understood, Abyssea could finally be experienced for all it offered. Levels fly by fast and the painful and sluggish grind we expected never came.

For years it had been standard issue you get Bard, a Red Mage, and as many melees as you can to exp/merit. Now the new Abyssea rules shook it all up. Whole alliances could party at once, level differences didn't matter as much, and enemy exp chains aren't trouble to maintain. The new "light auras" shifted the utility of entire job types. Nuking jobs that used to be limited to the Mount Zhayolm.ghetto were now eagerly invited to parties. And the large alliance size means there's always room for even cult jobs like Puppetmaster or Beastmaster.

The chest drops were also a clever way to give lower levels an active role in a proper exp party. Anyone who knows what their doing can work on opening locked chests to keep the momentum going.


Difficulty:
Abyssea approached challenges in a unique way as well. Instead of limiting players to create a false sense of difficulty (like CoP Dynamis, Salvage, random Nyzul debuffs) you started out comparatively weaker, then gained abilities long term. Through Abyssites and Atmas your progress continues to build upon itself as you participate in the event.

The way the system works allows for vastly different tactics. A small group of 2-6 can take on most mobs and NMs. Or an entire LS alliance could split up for different purpose at once; one chaining mobs for time, the other fighting NMs. Or anything in between. NMs vary in difficulty from simple to very risky and challenging. But thankfully nothing bordering on Absolute Virtue style gimmicky cheapness.

Common Criticisms:
-Leeching and low level burning-
Here we go with this again. I have some mixed feelings about this. Mostly I feel like if you are against leeching, then you should just choose not to do it or party with people leeching. However the exp rate in Abyssea burns is so pants wettingly obscene... I can't say it doesn't feel off sometimes. I'm not sure there's any good answers here. It's done, it's in the game. Square faces no good options at this point. If they nerf it they risk upsetting everyone who enjoys it (which is the old Square method of doing things). If they don't the game does feel like a fast and sleazy AFK session to the level cap. I think their only chance is to offer something players would want to experience by leveling up 30-75ish outside Abyssea. Maybe skillups or some new points, whatevs.

-Lack of story- 
One criticism I've heard was that the Abyssea series didn't offer enough story. I think this is unfounded because Abyssea is not primarily intended for story. It's an event which takes exping, endgame, and a little story all rolled into one. It would be like complaining Dynamis doesn't have enough story. If you want that go do missions or quests.

-The recycled nature of the content- 
Abyssea really is like a huge cocktail mix of every mob, zone and game element ever in FFXI. Yeah it's true, most of it was reused, but it still came together and the content was worthwhile. I'd prefer to have brand new content, more so now especially, but at least good recycled content beats bad new content.

-The new emphasis on lowman events makes large HNM linkshell activity irrelevent-
Good.

-Weakness triggers encourage job bandwagons-
This is similar to the concept of "cookie-cutter" armor setups, and "best" gear. There's always going to be some job that is collectively just a little better or more useful than others. That's just a fact. Whether it's Ranger in 2002 or Samurai in 2008 or Monk for the range of this moment. You can't stop fads. And I think the trigger system did a pretty good job of utilizing all kinds of jobs. I've never seen as many "fringe" jobs like Summoner, Puppetmaster, or Beastmaster participating in parties and events as I have now. How many would you have invited for merit parties or to do Einherjar in 2008?

I guess that's about it. In conclusion I'd say that Abyssea offered much more than I was ever expecting. I haven't had as much fun in an event since Salvage, and certainly it towers above events like the ill-conceived Dynamis and Walk of Echoes. It shook things up at a risky point in time where no one could be sure players would want such vast changes from 75-99. And despite some flaws I think it was successful.