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There’s a growing unease in the Final Fantasy XI community. It’s one of those subtle things that no one is willing to outright talk about, but it’s still there, just beneath the surface of a surprising number of discussions. And it’s a bit unusual for an MMO, because it’s not fear or anxiousness about something being broken from the last update or an upcoming update.

No, it’s more about the question of whether the upcoming updates will be the last, or if there will even be any changes that could break something. There is an elephant in the room with a big number fourteen on its side, and while few fans of the game are upset that Final Fantasy XIV is coming… well, it raises no shortage of questions about the future of the game we’re already playing.

And it’s not new. People were saying as far back as the leadup to the July update that something was rotten in the state of Jeuno. But when coupled with the promise that Final Fantasy XI isn’t over… well, there’s an excellent article that almost every fan needs to read on Allakhazam, summarizing what no small number of fans have been thinking. Where are we actually going to be when the dust clears?
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Mustapha Final Fantasy XI

For most people, Valentine’s Day either means either buying something nice for your partner if you’re in a relationship, or staring in silent rage at the endless array of heart-shaped candy boxes if you’re single. Unless you’re a player in Final Fantasy XI, in which case it means yet another opportunity to get yourself a heart-shaped wand and possibly fulfill your dream of being a magical girl. The not-so-deceptively named Valentione’s Day is fast approaching yet again, and as per tradition, the official site has put together a short piece of fiction to commemorate and preview the event.

This year seems to hint at a slight twist to the events of prior years — while the charm wand has become strongly associated with the event (since that was how one earned it in the first place), it’s usually the end reward of the process. The small preview story seems to hint that we’ll be called upon to slay more than a few monsters with said wand before everything is said and done… or perhaps it’s just a sweet little vignette. Either way, Final Fantasy XI players will get a chance to find out between February 4th through February 15th.

Castiglione Final Fantasy XI

The game might be no spring chicken, but Final Fantasy XI is still an overall success, and has more than a few accomplishments under its belt. It’s a successful MMORPG on a console, has its own fan convention, has eight years of history, and clearly has made enough an impact to have two subsequent Final Fantasy games with clear ties to it.

All that being said, though, it’s possible that you may still not have played it, despite a variety of excellent deals available. If you fall under that header and want an excuse at checking it out in anticipation of Final Fantasy XIV, or if you’re a longtime fan hoping for a unique piece of memorabilia, Square-Enix is giving away an excellent little incentive.

Register as a Square-Enix member by February 22nd, and you have a chance to win one of four copies of the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection — signed by the game’s producer, Hiromichi Tanaka. Fans eagerly anticipating Final Fantasy XIV will likely recall that registering for the game’s beta also required a member account, so this only further sweetens the deal. If the chance sounds appealing, it’s well worth the few minutes it takes to register.

gmaxwell Final Fantasy XI

Apparently, Square-Enix isn’t satisfied with just launching the highly-anticipated Final Fantasy XIV this year. In partnership with Gamepot USA, they’re also going to be rolling out Fantasy Earth Zero, a new game for this side of the pond. The game promises PvPvE elements a la Aion, will be free to play, and should be available early this year.

Sound like a remarkably short turnaround? That’s because the game isn’t actually new, having launched in Japan in 2006. Square-Enix had initially put quite a bit of promotion behind the game, but it very nearly died in its home country soon thereafter. Gamepot saved the game from a swift death, uncoupled it from the rather ill-fated PlayOnline Viewer, and moved to a free-to-play model that’s been working out quite well for the game ever since.

Tortured history aside, players can expect Fantasy Earth Zero to deliver a very active PvP experience with large-scale battles, as well as the usual high production values associated with a Square game. Take a look at the official teaser site to see about entering the local beta, and keep an eye open for more details about the game become available in the likely very near future.

Castille Final Fantasy XI

Those of you who are currently playing Final Fantasy XI or who have played it in the past will remember the PlayOnline Viewer. Those of you who haven’t will have no idea what it is, which might be for the best. Square-Enix originally included the program with the launch of Final Fantasy XI with the expectation that it would serve as a hub for a variety of different online games, so it would serve as a chat program, a launcher, a social network hub, and a support site.

Of course, when you think of all those things, what you probably think of is Steam, which does all of those things quite well. The PlayOnline Viewer, on the other hand, has proved excellent at doing… well, it mostly means more clicks before you get into FFXI. And as Pet Food Alpha has recently noted, it also seems to be hosting wholly unmoderated explicit chat rooms.

Square-Enix has stated that Final Fantasy XIV will not use the viewer, which means they seem to have abandoned it as a poor idea. Steam works, in part, because it sells a variety of both online and offline games, most of which don’t come from its parent company. With a clunky interface and strange functional restrictions on it, it’s hardly a surprise that the service never took off… but in light of recent events, the company’s policy to ignore it completely might not be the best plan.

Catalans Final Fantasy XI

The new year isn’t one of the major holidays celebrated by MMOs — the favorites are the recent winter holiday season and Halloween events, with the possible Valentine’s Day or middle-of-summer event. But there’s still a time and place for ringing in the new year, and if there’s one thing that Final Fantasy XI loves, it’s holiday events. (Or killing players in Dynamis. It’s a fine line.) This year’s event focuses on the spirit of the tiger, with two celebration NPCs roaming the world surrounded by the auspicious spirits of tigers.

While the official posting only tells the story explaining the event, FFXIclopedia has a preliminary guide explaining the event. Chasing the NPCs and trading enough items to them allows you to receive furnishings for you house, or a vanity weapon that can then be used to pick up a unique painting. The event seems to be taking place at random spots all across Vana’diel, with a list of confirmed spots on the guide to help players obtain their new toys. While the game’s spiritual sequel is due out this year, it’s still a good time for Final Fantasy XI players to celebrate another year in their game of choice.

Mustapha Final Fantasy XI

In some games, adventurers are just regular people, albeit very well-trained and highly-armed people who are a bit dangerous to have hanging around too long. In others, however, there’s something special setting them apart, even beyond the fact that they spend all of their waking lives running through muck-infested ruins. Add Final Fantasy XIV to the latter list, as fansite FFXIVCore has translated the most recent issue of Dengeki Playstation, which includes some information straight to the magazine from the developers. They make note of the fact that adventurers have a specific power to change the world, albeit one distinct from the time-travel mechanics used in Final Fantasy XI.

The translation covers a lot of ground, and reveals such tidbits as the lack of any hybrid magic-and-melee classes in Final Fantasy XIV — such abilities will come from a character’s growth in multiple areas rather than a specific class such as the Red Mage or Paladin. More details on character creation are included, with the creators talking about both a more flexible creator than Final Fantasy XI and the possibility of changing elements of a character’s starting armor. There are also some tidbits on the political state of the land and the three-way conflict between the adventurers of Eorzea, the Garleann Empire, and the beast tribes. Unfortunately, there’s no answer to the question many of us want answered — namely, when we can start the beta.

Castillans Final Fantasy XI

This week I present you with something different. Over the weekend, I participated in an interesting New Year’s gaming resolution thought up by the illustrious Phil Kollar. His reasons behind playing over the weekend were to finally finish Final Fantasy XII, but mine were wholly different. For me, it was an experiment to see if I could glean any useful information for what was to come in Final Fantasy XIV. Did I fail or succeed? Well, I’d like to say the latter was achieved, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

10:33am Saturday, January 2nd

Today I start playing Final Fantasy XII for “reals”. I began playing earlier this week, but only got a few hours in before I was distracted by work and other life stuff. It’s probably for the better, as this weekend is the “Phil Kollar Special New Year’s Marathon Final Fantasy XII Session” that got me interested in replaying the game in the first place.

Why am I writing about a game that ostensibly isn’t an MMO? Well, read on and see.

You know, it’s an interesting thing, this game. It’s most certainly a singleplayer game, but it has strong overtones of a massively multiplayer online game. The open world design, integrated combat system and “sidequest-ish” hunts all pull inspiration directly from the realm of classic online persistent gaming. The degree to which playing this game feels like Final Fantasy XI is quite amazing. However, there’s probably a little World of Warcraft influence to be found as well.

I’ll be playing through 12 and looking back on my experiences with Final Fantasy XI in order to develop some understanding of what we might expect to see in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV. Granted, 12 isn’t connected to 14 in the same way that 11 most certainly is, but that doesn’t discount the fact that much of 12 speaks to what the online team has been and continues to work on. They must have been paying attention when 12 was in development. I certainly know I would’ve watched closely; especially to press and public reactions.

Curiously, 12 garnered a rather strong following for a main Final Fantasy game that strayed considerably far from the path previously laid by Square (Enix) alum. Fans of this series are undoubtedly familiar with repeated thematic and mechanical re-imaginings. Except that 12 represented a major shift in design and thematic philosophy. So, as I play through the game today and much of tomorrow — before writing the rest of this week’s column — I’ll be considering what’s in store for us in 14. Hopefully, I can derive some semblance of understanding for not just that game, but other MMO design as well.

Castres Final Fantasy XI

There are certain changes, usually big ones, that don’t exactly produce… positive reactions. In fact, they generally produce screaming rants and huge doses of rage at how they were handled and implemented. You know the sorts we’re talking about. Star Wars Galaxies and the Combat Upgrade. Ultima Online and Trammel. Final Fantasy XI and the nerfs to Beastmaster “catch and release” tactics. All loathed changes, many of which led to an exodus of players.

Really, leaving a game can be the best way to express displeasure with a change. It’s the surest way to send a company the message that they’ve done something that will no longer justify your monthly subscription. On the flip side, your individual impact is small, you once loved the game… a lot of players will choose to rough it out, in hopes that things will improve or with the knowledge that the changes can’t be all that bad. And for games where you have a lifetime subscription or are experiencing it free-to-play, your absence isn’t really a deterrent at all.

So, do you vote with your wallet? When you’re fed up with what’s been done, do you head off for greener pastures? Or are you of the mind that it’s not even worth the bother, that they might well not even tie your departure to the change, even if you say so?

Castres Final Fantasy XI

There’s a new version update out on the Vana’dielian streets, and that means we’ve journeyed to Jeuno to meet up with our super-seekret contacts at Square-Enix and talk shop on what’s new in Final Fantasy XI.

This latest expansion pack, A Shantotto Ascension, comes bundled with the November version update, as is customary for the past few updates to the title. So, in addition to being able to pay 10 bucks to attempt to foil Professor Shantotto’s aspirations of having her own empire, the game has been updated with a brand new crafting system called synergy, the new ability to add “slots” onto your items and upgrade them with evolith modifications, more job updates, and an improvement to the existing wedding system!

As you can see, it’s a busy time in Vana’diel, and we got to jaunt around the world and find out more. So come along, follow in our adventurous footsteps, and find out what all the fuss is about!

The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born

The tour opened up with a long journey (and by long, I mean a magical teleport that took two whole seconds) to the bustling town of Windurst, where I was introduced to a cutscene featuring the magical experiments of the great Professor Shantotto.

For those of you not in the know, Shantotto is one of the game’s foremost black mages and makes appearances in many of the Windust questlines and even the world event questlines. She’s a curious little woman as she speaks entirely in rhyme, usually showing up as some sort of powerful figure or weasling her way into adventures. In short (but not shorter than her), she’s a little full of herself. Then again, if you could bend space and time, you’d be full of yourself too.

In any case, the opening trailer showcases a rare accident in the Professor’s experiments, creating a large warp rift that pulls her in and triggers a gigantic explosion (shown above.) The Professor disappears from Windurst from some time, only to later reappear with an army of odd, Tarutaru-like solders. However, the Shantotto that reappears is nothing like the old Shantotto — this one is fixated on creating her own empire and conquering all of Vana’diel to showcase her might.
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gmaxwell Final Fantasy XI

The start of the beta signups for Final Fantasy XIV was certainly good news for the many people anticipating the game next year, but it didn’t exactly pierce the fog surrounding the game. Square-Enix, of course, has always played their cards close to their chest when handing out previews, but there’s still so much more to learn about the game and a number of curious people. FFXIVCore, a fansite with an active base of users translating as much new information on the game as possible, has posted a set of new scans and translations detailing that most important of processes in an MMO: character creation.

While there isn’t as much hard information as fans would like (and isn’t that always the case), the characters on display boast a wide variety of slight differences, as noted by the article. There’s also some information regarding a third force in the game’s main conflict, the Garlean Empire, although details on it are scant. Still, the promise of a detailed character creator is certainly alluring, as are most of the pictures we get regarding said character creator. Final Fantasy XIV often winds up releasing news and previews in chunks, so it’s best to keep an eye open for the next few days for further possible information.

Castiglione Final Fantasy XI

There’s something to shout about if you’re looking forward to Final Fantasy XIV — the game is now accepting applicants for its beta testing. We’ve heard that the game is slated for release some time next year, but this is one of the obvious indicators that it’s closer than we might have thought. So if you’re as excited about the prospect of getting to play the game as some of us, you probably clicked that link before you read any further.

Anyone still reading, of course, should be apprised of some minor conditionals first. The test is only open to those 18 years of age or older capable of submitting reports in fluent Japanese, English, French, or German. (Luckily it’s not in all four at once.) You’ll also need to be connected to the Internet and capable of downloading large amounts of data, but that’s de riguer for MMOs, so it merits less of a mention. There will be multiple rounds of testing, with each one adding further testers, and the official page states that testers will be evaluated based on their application rather than order in which they applied. That doesn’t mean that Final Fantasy XIV fans shouldn’t hurry on over — but you’ve probably already done that back in the first paragraph.

Castillans Final Fantasy XI

1-2-3-4-5 might not be the combination on your luggage, but it could fetch you a tidy sum of gil or some rare items in Final Fantasy XI in the near future. The third iteration of the Mog Bonanza event is incoming, and those five digits might be the key to riches. Or to irritation at having thrown money away on a ridiculous gamble. Starting on December 24th, all characters who have been in existence for at least 45 days may purchase a Mog Bonanza marble, which then is inscribed with five digits of the player’s choice. On January 29th, 2010, a set of winning numbers will be chosen.

Of course, you might argue that your odds of getting exactly the right five numbers are rather low (1 in 100,000 or so), which is true. But luckily for everyone involved, it’s easier to win than matching the whole number. The best prizes go to those who match all five numbers, but even if just the last digit of your chosen numbers match the picked numbers, you win a reward. Your odds of that are about 1 in 10, which isn’t a bad deal. For the full rules and the details of the rewards, take a look at the official page, and start dreaming of high-powered artifacts and buckets of gil in Final Fantasy XI. (We recommend 8-1-5-1-6, if you’re so inclined.)

Mustapha Final Fantasy XI

Back in the day, there were two ways to play most MMOs — you could form a group with other players, or you could stay inside the cities and wait. Those days are long gone, of course, and it’s a rare game that doesn’t allow a player to do quite a bit without the support framework of a group. But there’s a point to be made about what’s been lost in the process, and We Fly Spitfires has an interesting take on how we now have to be pushed and prodded into grouping. There was a time when people were expected to group to complete tasks, but players are increasingly opposed to the idea as more and more becomes possible to solo and we grow less and less patient for finding a group.

Unsurprisingly, Game by Night brings up the obvious counterpoint: that evolving game design has relegated forced grouping to the past. There are more MMO players now than there were back then, and the majority of them started on games such as World of Warcraft or City of Heroes where grouping was only occasionally necessary, and even then only for specific tasks. By removing the requirement, player expectations become different, and there’s no longer a sense from most of the playerbase that soloing should be possible for a majority of tasks. It’s a debate that’s been had over and over through the years, but as the solo play model becomes more and more expansive, it no doubt will be revisted time and again — and attitudes toward it will shift as the playerbase does.

Castillans Final Fantasy XI, World of Warcraft

So you’ve unlocked your sub-jobs and you’ve leveled through the Valkurm Dunes in the jobs you wish to carry on with? Then it’s time to move on to the next areas. The previous part of this guide was focused on getting yourself acquainted with the partying and leveling system, unlocking sub-jobs, and generally getting used to the activities that you’ll be immersing yourself in for the rest of your life here in Vana’diel. This final installment will be focused on moving on to the different leveling areas, and should inform on the things one needs to do until they reach level 30, and many new doors are opened to you in the form of over a dozen new advanced jobs!

After getting out of the Valkurm Dunes, the next area most commonly used for partying is an area named Qufim Island, located right off of Jeuno. The tricky party here is reaching Jeuno without dying repeatedly. To get to Jeuno you’ll have to travel through one of three routes, depending on your starting country. If you’re from San d’Oria, you’ll go through the La Theine Plateau to the Northeast, and follow the road through Jugner Forest right into Batallia Downs. Once there, travel to the East, avoiding monsters all the while, and eventually you will come across the gates into Jeuno.

If you’re from Windurst, you’re looking at one of the more rough routes. Through Sarutabaruta and North through Tahrongi Canyon until you reach the Meriphataud Mountains. Sticking to the left side of the road through the Meriphataud Mountains should keep you safe from most enemies, but the next area, Sauromugue Champaign, is notoriously difficult to navigate. Not only will you have the displeasure of evading Goblins, Yagudo, and Dancing Weapons, you’ll have to avoid several dinosaur monsters and tigers as well. Taking it slow and sticking to the left most of the time, you should be able to reach Jeuno with some patience.

From Bastok, it’s somewhat difficult, but anything is easier than the Windurstian route! Heading through South Gustaberg, go straight through North Gustaberg and travel Northeast through the Konschtat Highlands into Pashhow Marshlands. This is the only abnormally difficult area on the Bastokan route, really, as every which way is crowded with monsters. There are three paths through the marsh, a small passage sticking to the left side, the main passage through the middle that is rather large, and a smaller passage sticking to the right, and neither way is easy. To the left you’ll run into fungaur, bees, among other things, in large quantities, crowding the passage. The main passage is wider, giving you more room to maneuver, but the larger area also holds larger monsters such as Goobbue, Marlboro, and several other disasters waiting to happen. This one is probably your best bet. Once out of the marsh, just follow the road up through Rolanberry Fields, avoiding Quadav when needed of course, and you’ll reach Lower Jeuno in no time. Head down through Port Jeuno and descend another set of stairs and you’re in Qufim Island.
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sarah2009 Final Fantasy XI Final Fantasy XI