Final Fantasy XI

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Final Fantasy XI (ファイナルファンタジーXI Fainaru Fantajī XI) is the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in the Final Fantasy series. It debuted in Japan on the Sony PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002 and was released for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers on November 5 of the same year.

On October 28, 2003, Final Fantasy XI was released in North America on the personal computer along with the first expansion Rise of the Zilart, with a PlayStation 2 release on March 23, 2004. It will also be available on the Xbox 360 April 20, 2006. Final Fantasy XI is the first cross platform MMORPG, as both PC and console versions connect to the same servers, and one of the first modern multinational MMORPGs, as gamers worldwide play in the same virtual world.

A fee of $12.95 USD is charged monthly for the first content ID, and $1.00 USD monthly for any additional content ID thereafter.

The second expansion to the game, Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia, was released in Japan on September 16, 2004, and a bundled version of the game complete with the two expansion packs was released in Europe. Five days later, on September 21, 2004, the expansion was released in North America for $30 USD. In addition, the US version of the full game plus the two expansions was released as a single DVD-ROM called "The Vana'diel Collection" on August 16, 2005. A third expansion, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, was released on April 18, 2006.

In January, 2006, the Final Fantasy XI Xbox 360 Beta was released in the February issue of Official Xbox Magazine in North America and the United Kingdom.

Setting

Image:Vana'diel.jpg Final Fantasy XI takes place in a world named Vana'diel.

There are currently 32 servers available for play (31 for PC and PS2 players, 1 for Xbox 360 beta players), and one server used by Square-Enix for testing. These worlds are named after summoned creatures from earlier Final Fantasy games (Diabolos, Ifrit, Ramuh etc.). PC and PS2 (and the upcoming Xbox 360) players from across all nationalities play together on all servers.

A player is allocated to a random world when they create their first character. Subsequent characters will be assigned to the same server unless the player has obtained a world pass to another server. A world pass (a 10-digit passcode), when given to a player, will allow the player access to a particular world. Once on a world, a player may not move to another world, except during World Migration which only happens when there is an imbalance in server population.

The four main cities in Vana'diel are Bastok, San d'Oria, Windurst, and Jeuno. The rest of Vana'diel is made up of a number of outdoor, dungeon, and minor town areas that have a complex topology. While most areas are accessible by walking, various modes of transportation facilitate movement. Each area in FFXI is quite large and much of the game play consists of getting from point A to point B. Template:-

See Also: Vana'diel

Characters

Races

There are five races that a player may choose from in Final Fantasy XI:

• Elvaan — the "Elves" of Final Fantasy XI. Steeped in the tradition of knighthood, the Elvaan consider themselves superior to the other races. There are male and female Elvaan. They founded the Kingdom of San d'Oria and the Marquisate of Tavnazia.

• Hume — An adaptable race most resembling humans. There are male and female Humes. They formed the Republic of Bastok and the Grand Duchy of Jeuno using the natural resources of the surrounding area.

• Galka — large, beast-like humanoids who possess incredible strength and endurance. The Galka reproduce through reincarnation and therefore have no specific gender, though the race is generally considered male. They form the minority population of the Republic of Bastok but originated in the lands of Kuzotz in the far south, where their civilization was destroyed by the Antican beastmen.

• Mithra — Cat-like humanoids with agility and grace. There are very few male Mithra and only females venture into Vana'diel. They live in the Federation of Windurst and the tropical island of Kazham. It has been hinted that Mithras from Kazham come from a southern island known as Tsahya.

• Tarutaru — Tiny humanoids with incredible intellect and an innate talent for magic. The difference between a child and an adult is sometimes hard to make out. They founded the Federation of Windurst, and live there alongside Mithra.

The following two races are featured in the main Final Fantasy storyline and its expansions.

• Zilart — An ancient race that existed 10,000 years before the present events. Their continued attempts to open the Gate of the Gods are the focus of the Rise of the Zilart storyline. In the game's second expansion "Chains of Promathia," the Zilart are revealed to be alive and well.

• Kuluu — An ancient race that existed during the same time period as the Zilart and were considered inferior to them. Only two Kuluu have survived until the present day; however they were unaccounted for until the Chains of Promathia storyline began. The Kuluu lack the ability to directly communicate to the souls of other Zilart, and are considered inferior for that reason.

Beastmen

There are different races that oppose the original 5, called the Beastmen. These are made up of the following species, most of which together follow the Shadow Lord behind the original story's misfortunes:

• Antica (Ant-like humanoids.)
• Gigas (Giants.)
• Goblins (Diverse, intelligent beastmen.)
• Kindred (Beastmen known as Demons.)
• Moblins (A tribe of non-nomadic Goblins who created and reside in the mining community of Movalpolos.)
• Orcs (Orcish brutes.)
• Quadav (Turtle-like humanoids.)
• Sahagin (Fish-like humanoids.)
• Tonberries (Kuluu mutated by the Meltdown.)
• Yagudo (Bird-like humanoids.)

National Allegiance

Image:FourNationsFFXI.jpg At the start of the game, players may choose whether to side with Bastok, San d'Oria or Windurst. Players who select the "Home Nation" for their specific race get a nation specific ring. The objective of implementing national allegiances is to fight for one's country and help it claim as much of Vana'diel as possible, while preventing outright warfare between the nations by substituting this competition for battles. A special status effect known as Signet facilitates conquest; it is bestowed upon the player by an NPC official from the player character's region, a Ducal Guard in Jeuno, or a signet staff. While under the effect of Signet, engaging in successful battles with an enemy in a region will earn Regional Influence points for the Nation the player character belongs to, and Conquest Points for the player. Signet also causes defeated enemies to "drop" elemental crystals, which can be sold or used to create new items from lesser ingredients. At the end of every week (at midnight Japan time on Sunday night), a Conquest Tally is conducted. The Nation with the highest influence will control the region for the week, and the Nations are ranked by the number of regions they control. If the ratio of player deaths to beastmen deaths gets too high, the region falls under Beastmen control, preventing elemental crystals from dropping until a nation regains control. Additionally, that region's "Outpost" (a distinct wooden structure within one of the region's zones) and guard stands (short flag poles, usually near entrances to other regions' zones) will become unmanned.

Advantages of controlling a region include:

• Regional Vendor NPCs will sell regional products in the nation controlling their region.
• Ability to do the Regional Supply Quest for that region. (Required to Teleport to/from a region, see below)
• Outpost Teleport will now be cheaper for that region. (Level restrictions apply. If Beastmen control a region, you can only teleport to that region.)
• Ability to renew Signet at the Outpost or any regional guard.
• Ability to set Homepoint in the region with no charge.

Job system

Template:Main One of Final Fantasy XI's most dynamic features is the flexibility of its job system, adapted from previous Final Fantasy titles. Players are able to change their jobs in their residence freely and without penalty, allowing the player to experiment with a variety of play styles before settling on a single one. Each job has unique abilities, which must be activated by the player in order to come into effect, last a limited time, and have a "cooldown" period before they can be used again; traits, which are passive abilities that are always in effect; and a special "2-hour" ability that performs some extraordinary function and has an extraordinary 2-hour-long cooldown period to go with it.

There are currently (February 2006) a total of 15 jobs to choose from. In homage to the six job classes available in the original Final Fantasy, the initial jobs available to a player are White Mage, Red Mage, Black Mage, Warrior, Thief, and Monk. Upon achieving level 30 in any of these jobs, a player may opt to complete quests to unlock the jobs of Paladin, Dark Knight, Beastmaster, Ranger, Bard, and Summoner. Introduced in the Rise of the Zilart expansion pack were the Samurai, Ninja, and Dragoon job classes, which can also only be unlocked after a character reaches level 30. In the next planned upcoming expansion for Final Fantasy XI, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, three new jobs are slated to be made available in the game: Blue Mage, Corsair, and Puppetmaster.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Support Job (Sub Job)

Once the player has attained level 18 on any job, he may complete a Support Job quest in either Selbina or Mhaura. Upon completion of this quest, the player will now be able to add a support job to complement their abilities. This support job may be any other job that the player has. Support Jobs operate at a maximum of half the level of the player's main job, and gives the character abilities, spells and stat bonuses from that job at that level (with the exception of the sub job's 2-hour ability, and Dragoon's "Call Wyvern" ability).

Level Cap

The current maximum level in Final Fantasy XI is 75. Level limits are placed at 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70. They are typically referred to as Genkai (level limit) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. For instance, a character who has not finished Genkai 1 will not be able to level to 51 until he or she completes the quest for Genkai 1. Square-Enix has also announced that there are no plans to increase the level cap beyond 75.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Once achieving level 75, a character may continue to earn experience points for two reasons: to get a "buffer" for experience points ('XP') so that XP losses due to deaths do not cause the character to return to level 74, and to earn merit points to be traded in to permanently raise specific statistics and gain other enhancements in the merit system.

Merit Points

At level 75 the player is given the option to convert any future experience points into limit points, gained at the same rate as experience points. Limit points are used to accumulate merit points, at a rate of 10000 limit points to 1 merit point. Merit points can then be used to permanently modify a character, ranging from a bonus to the chance of a melee critical hit to a bonus to any of the seven base statistics. There are caps to how much any one statistic can be raised through the merit system, but it allows for a level of character customization that is not available before the ultimate level cap. A player can choose to return to accumulating experience points instead of limit points at any time.

Plot

Though there are thousands of players, any one player can still achieve a sense of individual heroism by completing quests and missions. Cutscenes and conversations with NPCs place you as an important character who participates with the plot as it progresses. From the player's first steps in their starting city to important tasks completed for certain characters, the player is treated as if he or she is the first to interact with such characters, giving the impression of such events taking place in the present moment.

Other players do not view NPC interaction, despite being in the same area, so NPCs are never "busy" talking to multiple players at once. However, some NPCs may turn to face a player's character and stay in that position until another player's character interact with that specific NPC. Some cutscenes do include other players, such as party members participating in a quest or mission.

Quests provide some story and interaction with NPCs, while missions give a more linear and developed plot. Later missions include a dramatic backstory, and even a final boss that can be defeated, though gameplay still continues. This is a significant difference from many other MMORPGs.

There are eight major plots in the game:

• San d'Oria Storyline
• Bastok Storyline
• Windurst Storyline
• Zilart Storyline
• Dynamis Storyline A
• Dynamis Storyline B
• Chains of Promathia Storyline
• Treasures of Aht Urghan Storyline (on release of ToAU expansion)

The newest plots are often not available in their entirety at first, and are unlocked gradually over time. For example, the both the Zilart and Dynamis storylines are unlocked when the player reaches "Rank 6" in either the San d'Oria storyline, Bastok storyline, or Windurst storyline. Ranks are gained by completing missions for any of the three main cities.

The Dynamis storylines are also unique in that you do not progress by completing traditional missions, instead by conquering certain Dynamis zones. These zones can be entered by up to 64 people at once and have their own set of rules for loot gathering and monster claiming. There are also two distinct Dynamis storylines. The first of which consists of special versions of Windurst Walls, Bastok Mines, Southern San d'Oria, Beaucedine Glacier, and Xarcabard. The last two zones are unlocked upon successful completion of the Windurst, Bastok, and San d'Oria zones.

The second Dynamis storyline (also the newer of the two) is separate from the first and can only be accessed through installation of the Chains of Promathia expansion pack. It consists of Dynamis zones of Qufim Island, the Valkurm Dunes, the Buburimu Peninsula, and the Tavnazian Safehold. Dynamis-Tavnazia is unlocked by completing the former three zones. As a rule, the newer dynamis zones are meant to be conquered by fewer players: Qufim, Valkurm, and Buburimu hold a maximum of 36 players while Tavnazia can only hold 18.

The plots for the three main cities, at least in the missions, are relatively similar, and some of the missions are the same for all factions. The missions rapidly increase in difficulty, so don't be fooled by the relative simplicity of the first few.

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Gameplay

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• Final Fantasy Theme — includes familiar elements from previous Final Fantasies, including; music, jobs, magic, summons, items, monsters, recurring characters from previous titles such as Moogles, Chocobos, and the character Cid.
• Job System — A game system adapted from previous entries in the Final Fantasy series, the job system offers untold flexibility in class selection. By visiting their player residence, players can change jobs freely and without penalty. Additionally, players can later add a "support job" to further enhance and customize their character. Currently, with the 15 jobs there are, a total of 210 different combinations of jobs are possible.
• Map — The world is broken up into different regions, and then zones. Regions are a composite of zones (Sarutabaruta is comprised of Eastern and Western Sarutabaruta, as well as the Inner and Outer Horutoto Ruins). Zones, such as the Inner Horutoto ruins, are where the action actually takes place. Moving from one zone to the next requires loading of data, and monsters cannot pursue you from one zone to the next (this is called "zoning"). On the other hand, this lets the game present different sets of graphics/music/monsters in different zones without taxing your computer/PS2.
• Party System — FFXI forces players to play as groups more so than other MMORPGs. Not only are there functions that facilitate the formation of parties, the experience gain system assures that one must play as a group in order to gain levels past the beginner stage. This allows jobs (classes) that are solely designed for support of parties, such as Bards, to play a much more significant role than solo play. After around the first 10 or so levels, players party as enemies jump in difficulty. Parties can accommodate up to 6 players each, and for more difficult missions and quests, up to three parties can form an alliance to work together to take down difficult foes. However, this system is not without faults. For instance, a party may have enough of 1 class as it is, leaving the player that's looking for a party out of luck. There is also sometimes tension between the English speaking players and the Japanese speaking players.
• Item Synthesis — FFXI has a fairly complex item synthesis system, in which players use Crystals obtained by fighting the various beastmen to turn specific combinations of items into other items. Different recipes, using different classes of ingredients and different Craft skills will produce different types of items. For example, items produced by the Alchemy craft skill under the guidance of the Alchemist's Guild tend to be medicines and antidotes, whereas items produced by Smithing and Leathercrafting tend to be armors of various sorts, and Goldsmithing crafts rings and other accessories. A player may raise in rank within a Guild as their skill for that craft increases, giving them access to item recipes whose products grant higher benefits or net the player more profit. The main flow of profit for crafters in game is the creation of "HQ" or "High Quality" synthesizing. These "HQ" items are synthesis of an item whose cap is lower than that of the player's craft skill level. Generally as the gap between both recipe cap and player craft level increases the higher chance of a HQ synthesis occurring. These items usually provide better statistics than their "NQ" or "Normal Quality" counterparts. These "HQ" items are sometimes regarded by the community as a must have; however, most of the time it is considered a status item, an item that reveals that a player has considerable in game wealth or devotion to a job. Much of the best equipment within the game may not be bought from NPCs, and must be crafted. Additionally, many of the items dropped by high level monsters in the game are used in the synthesis of this equipment.

Game Economy

Image:JeunoAuctionHouse.jpg Overview — FFXI has an almost entirely player-based economy with a heavy reliance on the Auction Houses in each of the major cities of Vana'diel. Usually monsters in FFXI do not drop gil. Various items used in crafting may drop off the monsters that are defeated. Players who do not require the item may sell it to other players via the Auction House. The Auction House is also the primary method of obtaining weapons, magic scrolls and other materials.

Financial Situation : Since Final Fantasy XI has been 'live' for over three years, the game economy has expanded as more and more players acquire more and more gil and items. As time passes, there will be more game currency in any given server economy. This has lead to a natural inflation of item prices, both of general consumables (food, potions, etc.) and transferable assets (armor, weapons, accessories, and the like). Hard figures are unknown, but it would not be far-fetched to assume that some (if not many) servers may have a GDP of well over a trillion Gil. However, because there are servers that have been online for far longer than others, the Purchasing power parity of players on World X may differ greatly from that of players on World Y. The massive difference in Purchasing Power Parity between servers has been a source of consternation for many players, most obviously ones situated on servers with high inflation rates. The laissez faire nature of the economy means there are few price control measures that Square Enix can enact to curb what many players see as rampant inflation. As is detailed below, many players are content to blame inflation problems on "gil sellers" while not taking into account that inflation is inevitable whenever more and more currency is introduced into an economy, or supply cannot meet demand. Furthermore, as trans-server trade of gil or game items is not possible, inflation, and what is effectively a Consumer Price Index, will continue to rise; regardless of the effect of Gil selling, or real-money transfers (RMT), for in-game currency and items. However, the above explanation does not satisfy many members of the Final Fantasy XI community. Especially those players who are of the opinion that the impact of RMT actions are far more severe than may be described here; a valid theory which holds significant sway in many circles, and perhaps with a predominant majority of FFXI players. Without an 'official' study of the economies of the various Vana'diel worlds, it would be foolish to proclaim one theory over another with absolute certainty. Until such a study is accomplished in a relatively objective manner, there will continue to be much discussion regarding the situation of the Final Fantasy XI economy and how its players are influenced by it. A simplified method of describing the reasons behind often high prices due to inflation is available by blaming it on human nature, be it from a "gilseller" or a casual player - almost everyone appears to display no small amount of greed, especially when selling the rarer items dropped by rarer monsters or received as quest rewards.

Economic Controls : While SquareEnix has developed Final Fantasy XI's economy to be quite a "hands-off" player-driven economy, there are still a few methods of economic control that they can exercise (if that is their wish). One economic and inflation control measure that is in place are "gilsinks". By having player characters spend Gil on services, most commonly transportation, or items provided by Non-Player Characters, game currency is removed from the economy as no player profits off these expenditures. However, in the instance of item purchases, the vast majority of players will purchase items from NPCs for the purpose of crafting low-cost items into a high-cost product in a value-added process. Thus, the profit the crafters will reap negates the investment lost in the gilsinking action of purchasing from an NPC. Until the game developers make finished products like weapons, armor, and specific consumables more available and competetively priced with items that can be crafted in a value-added process by PCs the system of gilsinks will remain an ineffective measure to curb inflation.

Conflict

Final Fantasy XI's Player versus Player (PvP) system, is a unique system where players do not incur the loss of experience points. There are two types of PvP matches: Ballista, and the newly incorporated Brenner. Each is a different game, but both have similar details.

The objective of Ballista is to score points by throwing a "Petra" into a "Rook". Participants may find "Petras" by using the Ballista-Only "Quarry" command. Once a "Petra" is found, the participant may score only after attaining "Gate Breach" Status. "Gate Breach" may be attained by killing an opposing team member, or be within the vicinity when an opposing team member is killed.

After attaining the 'Gate Breach" Status, participants have 3 minutes to throw the "Petra" into a "Rook" in order to score points. A maximum of 5 Petras may be scored for each period of "Gate Breach" status. Points may also be awarded for taking out opposing team members.

Brenner, a new from of Conflict introduced into the community on February 20th, 2006, is a game similar to Capture the Flag. The objective is to steal the other team's "Flammen", and place it within your own team's "Flammen-Brenner". Depending on the rules set by the MC (players can change a set amount of rules for a small fee), each team can have either two, four, or eight Flammen-Brenner.

Each Flammen-Brenner has a set amount of hit points, and when brought to 0, the person who dealt the finishing blow will be given the Flammen. The player who receives the Flammen must run back to an empty Flammen-Brenner on their team's side to fill it with the Flammen. If one team has all Flammen, a 3-minute countdown to victory will commence.

Surrounding each Flammen-Brenner is an NPC combatant known as a Posten. These will use powerful magic as compared to the level cap within the battle. They serve no important role in the battle besides damaging enemies and protecting their Flammen-Brenner, and can be knocked-out for a limited time.

Communication

A linkshell is a form of communication utilized in the game whereby gameplayers can communicate to each other all across Vana'diel. A linkshell, as described in-game, is a unique shell that is purchased by an individual seeking to create one. The buyer must select a color for the linkshell and subsequently distribute the "linkpearls" from the linkshell to other gamers. Linkshells can have an infinite number of members. This allows players with similar interests to communicate at all times. Linkshell owners can assign "pearlsacks" to individuals within the linkshell for heightened levels of recruitment in order to spread linkpearls to others at an increased rate. Linkshells serve different purposes, where some are utilized for Notorious Monster (bosses) fights, mission organization, event planning, or mere chat and jest.

Music

Final Fantasy XI was scored by Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Kumi Tanioka. The expansion packs were scored by Mizuta alone after Tanioka left to pursue other projects and Uematsu left Square-Enix. A vocal, Distant Worlds, performed by Izumi Masuda, composed by Uematsu and arranged by Mizuta, was later released in a July 2005 patch. Template:Section-stub

In-game controversy

As with most MMORPGs, Final Fantasy XI is not without its share of controversy. The balance of abilities between jobs is often criticised by players of the game. Certain jobs are seen to be effective and popular for experience points parties and Square-Enix have continued to alter these imbalances to mixed responses. Others issues involve a problem common to MMORPGs, the exchange of real-life money for in-game items or currency, also known as Real-Money Trade(RMT) and other in-game exploits.

Job system — One of the controversial problems within Final Fantasy is related to job selection, popularity and power. As there are a limited amount of slots in a party (only six), the preferred party makeup has evolved over time relating the perceived effectiveness and power of certain jobs in a party situation. For example, Paladins and Ninjas are usually considered for the job of Tank. Because there are currently fifteen different jobs available to play, certain jobs seem to be favored over others. The ability of each player to choose a secondary job (subjob) to compliment their main job is also criticised, as certain subjobs are preferred over others depending on the main job, effectively reducing a player’s choice of gameplay.

In response to some of these problems and imbalances, Square-Enix has changed the nature and abilities of these jobs over the years through updates to the game. While some changes has been seen to been beneficial to some jobs, a likely downside or “Nerf” is experienced by others, whether it was intended or not. Some examples include; Image:FFXI Dragoon.jpg

• Reducing the Tactical points (TP) gained from executing certain weaponskills (a special high-damaging ability) which in-turn reduced the popularity and effectiveness of the Dragoon and Monk classes for parties.
• Changing the dynamics with regards to ranged attacks, is thought to have affected the damage output of the Ranger class and reduced its popularity for parties, reducing the Ranger to mainly become a lure.
• A patch released on December 12, 2005 to combat the problems associated with Monster Player Killing (MPK) has been said to reduce the abilities of the Beastmaster job to gain experience points by themselves.

Exploits — As with most Computer and video games, some players are likely to seek easy alternative in ways to play the game. Final Fantasy XI has some of these exploits in effect including:

• 3rd party programs which have been developed by players that run additional software simultaneously with Final Fantasy XI and alter different aspects of the game to their advantage. Bots, which are computer controlled entities have been developed to complete tasks in-game without the human player being present to control it (sometimes known as AFK gaming). Square-Enix has released updates to the game to combat these issues, but it is believed some still operate within the game.
• Monster Player Kill (MPK) is a method by which a player lures an aggressive monster to attack another player. MPK used to be a common issue in Final Fantasy XI, however a patch introduced on December 12, 2005 increased the difficulty by which a player could successfully do it.
• Scamming is a virtual crime which occurs in the game when players trick or steal other player's in-game items or money. Player-operated casinos are a source of such scamming within the game.

Real-money trade — Like most MMORPGs, Final Fantasy XI has a "real" economy trade, where some players will agree to trade in-game items and money for real money, such as the United States dollar. Players who sell in-game items and money are frequently referred to as "gilsellers" or "gilfarmers" and are generally regarded as being disruptive to the game world. Square Enix has stated that RMT is officially a violation of the Terms of Service for Final Fantasy XI .<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Release dates

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Notes

See also

• Vana'diel
• Final Fantasy XI character classes

External links

Template:Wikibooks

• Final Fantasy Wiki category list for Final Fantasy XI
• PlayOnline (Official North American Site)
• PlayOnline (Official European Site)
• Template:Moby game
• Open Directory Project listing for Final Fantasy XI
• FFXIclopedia Wiki
• IGN Final Fantasy Vault

Community

• Allakhazam FFXI
• Killing Ifrit - FFXI database
• Somepage FFXI
• FFXI Online
• FFXI OGaming
• FFXI Final Fantasy XI QuetzalCoatl Daily News - FFXI QuetzalCoatl Server Community

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