If you’ve been following the leadup to Final Fantasy XIV’s release faithfully, you can no doubt rattle off a surprising amount of information regarding the systems and the world’s lore. But unless you’re lucky enough to be in the alpha, you can’t say much about what the experience of actually playing the game is like. While there are certainly plenty of us in the same boat, the most recent alpha test article from Dengeki seems aimed at precisely that — rather than focusing on the facts of the game, the editors have focused on the actual feel of playing in the game’s world.
Translated by FFXIVCore, the newest information gives some facts we hadn’t heard before, such as the specifics of setting the difficulty on Guildleves based on party strength and the time limits involved. For the most part, though, it’s focused on the actual moment-to-moment experience of taking part in gameplay, and the overall impression seems to be a positive one. There’s no real antidote for not yet being involved in the testing of Final Fantasy XIV, but reading the translations does help take the edge off.
Kocherberg Final Fantasy XI
We’re in June now, and as the name would suggest, Final Fantasy XI’s June version update is on its way to bring food and water and smite our enemies. It also will bring the first increase to the level cap in a long time, which means new subjobs, new areas for leveling, and new weaponskills. The last item on the list is something so obvious that it’s almost fallen by the wayside, but Square-Enix made sure to return our attention to the upgrades via a new video on the official site.
In the event that you don’t feel like waiting on the download, we’ve taken the liberty of putting the video available for your viewing after the break. Some of the actual weapon animations look a bit standard, but others use the more dramatic animations reserved for high-end attacks (such as Bora Axe). While we don’t yet know important tidbits such as which elements the skills will be for skillchain purposes, take a look past the cut to get some impression of what your job of choice in Final Fantasy XI will gain with its new levels.
Catherine Final Fantasy XI
We’re just coming off of a holiday weekend here in the US, and Japan had their own recent stretch of holidays, so news on Final Fantasy XIV has been a little bit slower of late. But a recent group of interviews in the June 11th issue of Dengeki have been translated thanks to the team over at FFXIVCore, and they cover topics from materials of armor to the game’s not-always-praised battle system. The first part of the interview talks testing and systems with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuai Komoto, while the second part discusses visuals and worldbuilding with planner Kenichi Iwao.
We confirm that the next phase of testing is set to begin soon, as well as dropping the news that the next test will likely feature an almost totally redesigned battle system. It’s even hinted that players were never meant to experience the current system, that it was there almost as a placeholder. By contrast, Iwao discusses the lore and visual aspects of the game, talking about how items will be made from different materials, and how players who want to play a male Mito’qe shouldn’t give up hope just yet. All Final Fantasy XIV fans are encouraged to read both interviews, since there’s a lot of information available in both — just the thing for the post-holiday doldrums.
Castille Final Fantasy XI
We don’t yet know exactly when we’ll see the anticipated June version update for Final Fantasy XI. We are, however, increasingly aware of what will be contained in said update, and thus far it’s looking pretty good. The list of improvements has just been lengthened with an official announcement of an expansion to Moblin Maze Mongers. Although it’s billed as the Revitalization Team, and it’s meant to help ease the stress of adventuring, the newest iteration seems poised to generate even more stress, unless you find facing off against specially designed difficulty monsters to be relaxing.
Lying in wait in the new maze variant is the master known as Sadistiq, whose name alone should give adventurers a fair idea of what a charming fellow he is. He pits teams against a monster for fifteen minutes at a stretch, with rewards handed out based on how well the party does against said monster — including the possibility of a reward if the party can’t quite take down their opponent. While the official announcement doesn’t go into details, it looks like fans of the maze system will be getting a new way to enjoy it in the coming version update — and if killing monsters didn’t burn off stress for the players, well, you wouldn’t be playing Final Fantasy XI, right?
Kiuperli Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI’s Chains of Promathia was a bit polarizing for the players — you either love it or hate it. No one can argue that it raised the bar considerably on the game’s cutscenes and storytelling, but it was also restrictive in many ways and limited player access to new zones (which were the only non-storyline elements added). It’s a sign of its nature that there are still many players who want to finish the storyline, even though the option has been there for several years. Lucky for players, the June version update is addressing that.
Although the removal of level caps was mentioned in passing at VanaFest 2010, the most recent news gives a specific list of what areas will be affected — all four Promyvion areas, Pso’Xja, Riverne Site #A01 and #B01, the Phomiuna Aqueducts, and the Sacrarium. The announcement goes on to confirm that mission battlefields will also be uncapped, and the monster layout and strength will be adjusted in some of the areas to facilitate characters at 75 and above. It promises to spark new interest in Final Fantasy XI’s most unique expansion and the corresponding zones, which is good news for anyone in the game.
Castro Final Fantasy XI
When news starts coming from Famitsu regarding Final Fantasy XIV, it usually heralds information coming direct from Square-Enix shortly thereafter. Only a short time after the leak that gave us a look at the world map and some of the points of interest, the official site updated with more information on the world. While there was some information accessible from the prior scans, the new section on Limsa Lominsa details the city extensively, as well as adding sections for the two other city states, Ul’dah and Gridania.
Although the three states each bear some similarities to Final Fantasy XI’s great nations, they’re quite different in feel and in scope. The biggest similarity seems to be that much like the previous game, they’re filled with distinct personalities and locations. Limsa Lominsa is the only city to get full detailing on its landmarks, but those range from the former pirate dive that’s been turned into the adventurer’s guild (The Drowning Wench) to the city’s center at an ancient swamped battleship (The Mizzenmast). Final Fantasy XIV fans are encouraged to take a look at the official site for its updates, which continue to paint the world of Eorzea in broad strokes.
Castille Final Fantasy XI
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard anything new about Final Fantasy XIV, although all signs point to the game continuing to do well for itself in testing. But we might be due for another gush of information, considering that the most recent leaked issue of Famitsu contains a few bits that we’ve not seen before… including a nice map of the world of Eorzea. Unfortunately, the translation team over at FFXIVcore hasn’t yet gone wild on the pages, but there’s still plenty to be discovered, from what we can see.
Eorzea’s map vaguely resembles a mirror image of Africa, with a large island off the coast. It doesn’t appear to have an obvious focal point a la Final Fantasy XI’s world with Jeuno at the continental intersection. There’s also a groundswell of information on the guilds and people within the city of Limsa Lominsa, While there’s not a bulk of new information on the game’s mechanics, it’s certainly a fair dose of lore that we haven’t gotten before, and we can only hope it signals the start of another round of big news on Final Fantasy XIV.
Castro Final Fantasy XI
Amidst all of the Final Fantasy XIV news, it would be understandable if players had a bit of a harder time remembering what holidays are coming up in the venerable Final Fantasy XI. But it would be very sad to miss out on this one, the time-honored Feast of Swords that gives everyone a chance to swing wooden blades at animated samurai armor. It might seem a bit odd to have such a holiday presented as foreign in a Japanese game, but that’s always been one of the oddities of the setting.
Per the custom, there’s a short fiction piece detailing the lead-in to the event, which continues the trend of Final Fantasy XI’s moogles being portrayed as inscrutable meddlers. The holiday proper begins on April 27th, with the usual procedures. Talking to an event moogle gives you a special blade, and finding a moogle in one of several zones lets you enchant the blade to hunt the local armor. You won’t be able to fight anything else, but it’s all worth it when you slay the creature and get your ever-coveted cosmetic event rewards. In short, it promises to be fun times for adventurers of all levels, although possibly less fun for animated samurai armor.
Castille Final Fantasy XI
After one iteration at the start of the new year and another run that coincided with VanaFest 2010, you would think that Final Fantasy XI was done with the Mog Bonanza for a while. But you’d apparently be wrong, as the official site has just announced that it will be running once again. But it’s kind of understandable when you realize it’s to celebrate the momentous eight-year milestone the game is hitting. That’s a fine reason for players to start up the number-guessing engine in their heads again, especially when the rewards are still more wonderful prizes for every adventurer.
Most of the rules from prior offerings still apply here — a maximum of ten marbles per character, with prizes handed out in ascending ranks. Getting just the last digit right nets some small but pleasing prizes, while getting all five brings huge piles of gil or rare equipment. While it’s not on par with the Relic and Mythic weapons offered at VanaFest, they’re still desirable for almost any player. So mark your calendar foor May 16th, when marbles go on sale, and enjoy a solid eight years of Final Fantasy XI.
Kins Final Fantasy XI
Information on the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIV has been coming in great rushes with the testing in full swing, and what we’ve been hearing only whets the appetite. Robust character customization, diverse character growth, and a unique battle system all offer something at once reminiscent and yet different from Final Fantasy XI. While Square-Enix has stayed fairly tight-lipped even as we’ve gotten more Japanese news on the game, the first major “leak” from the test has emerged: a full disclosure of the Alpha Tester’s Manual, as sent out by Square to all of the game’s testers.
Although many elements of the game have already been disclosed from other sources, seeing everything laid out in the manual format helps make things a bit clearer. It also goes into more details about the limitations on the test, implying that several of them (such as the 20-ability limit) are unique to this phase of testing. There are also firmer details on things like Aetheryte, which function much like Final Fantasy XII’s Save Crystals. If you’re interested in Final Fantasy XIV, you can still glean more information from the newest leak, but like much news on the game it might just whet your appetite.
Kins Final Fantasy XI
There are male mito’qe and female roegadyn in Final Fantasy XIV. There’s no word currently on whether or not they’ll be playable, but the latest information put out via Famitsu indicates that they are there, at least.
For some players, simply knowing that the somewhat awkwardly monogendered races from Final Fantasy XI will be reaching the wild shores of sexual dimorphism will make the latest bits of news palatable. Others would rather hear about the actual mechanics of playing the game — and luckily for everyone, that’s included with the information as well. It’s confirmed that zone transitions are seamless, as is the background music (most likely with careful crossfades). There are stat differences between the much-discussed clans, but they’re not a huge deal — a far bigger difference is every class getting early access to teleportation and warp spells to make transportation less problematic.
We even get a bit of meta-information telling us that testing on the Playstation 3 should be coming in another couple phases. While there’s nothing world-shattering, the picture being paiinted is increasingly alluring, and it’s hard to argue Final Fantasy XIV isn’t learning a lot from its predecessor.
Castiglione Final Fantasy XI
According to the old saying, March should be shuffling out meekly like a lamb at the moment, but the March version update to Final Fantasy XI has just come roaring on to the live servers. Usually we get a bit more warning from Square-Enix before a patch goes live, but with all of the information we’d heard about the contents of the update from VanaFest 2010 it came with no warning other than an early rumor. That means that trivia contest winners and attendees of the festival will gain access to their special hats, and it means that everyone gets a huge load of content added to the game.
The latest patch’s inclusion of Odin and Alexander as summons was well-known, as was the continuation of the Wings of the Goddess storyline as it nears its conclusion. Less sweeping but still significant is a number of boosts to Puppetmasters, including an upgrade in hand-to-hand skill to B+ level and the removal of range-based calculations from automaton ranged attacks. There are also new Notorious Monsters and new Campaign locations for players to enjoy, so if you’re a Final Fantasy XI player you should probably get to downloading the update.
Mustapha Final Fantasy XI
The official site for Final Fantasy XIV follows several Square-Enix site traditions, by being designed entirely in Flash and having an obnoxiously slow update schedule. Thankfully, an official update has just hit the site, both in the form of several new screenshots (including the lovely in-game shot seen above) and more solid ability information about several of the game’s disciplines. Much of it mirrors what we’d seen in early leaks from Japanese magazines, but the abilities and spells of each class shed more light on how the game will play.
Conjurers are apparently going to play similar to Scholars, with both traditional black and white magic spells in their arsenal, as well as unique tricks such as being able to cast while moving. Thaumaturges, meanwhile, inherit several Dark Knight draining/sacrificing abilities along with several status ailments. And those are just the two casting professions — each of the five physical damage professions seem poised for a wide variety of ability combinations, along with a heavy emphasis on position. The beta information for Final Fantasy XIV still seems to be restricted, but the game is already looking intruiging for both fans of the series and general MMO players.
Koeningsmark Final Fantasy XI
Big news for Final Fantasy XIV fans today, especially if you’re biting your nails waiting to get into the beta. The official PlayStation Blog has announced that the initial production run of Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 will come packaged with a special offer for an in-game item, and an extra shot at a potential beta spot for Final Fantasy XIV.
While it doesn’t guarantee a beta key, anything that increases your chances of playing the game sooner is a good thing. But act now, because once those launch copies are gone, so is the offer.
Castille Final Fantasy XI
It looks like we’re getting another version update to Final Fantasy XI in March. The update’s existence was broken by the official site today, promising more information when VanaFest rolls around in only five days. All we know at the moment is that it will feature expanded missions and improvements across the board, which is more or less standard fare for the game’s large updates.
Of course, that means the update certainly isn’t the big news that’s promised at the upcoming fan festival. But there’s a rumor flying around that we might want to enjoy this update a lot. Square-Enix, it’s hinted, won’t have the game slowly bleed out as Final Fantasy XIV comes into its own — they’re going to outright shut the game down. An employee posted and then retracted a statement implying that the venerable game would shut its doors to make way for Final Fantasy XIV.
Confirmed? Not by a long shot. Square has stated they’ve got more in store for the game, and more than a few players are hoping that a new expansion is the big secret to be revealed at the fan festival. Still, we’ll find out soon enough what the future holds for Final Fantasy XI… and perhaps we’d best treasure our time with it now, just in case.
Mustapha Final Fantasy XI