Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI is the first MMORPG to be released in the Final Fantasy series, and the first in the series to feature online play. It debuted in Japan on the Sony PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released on the Windows PC on November 5 of the same year. It saw its North American PC debut on October 28, 2003, with a North American PlayStation 2 release on March 23, 2004, making it the first Final Fantasy in North America to be on the PC before being released on a console system. It is also the first cross platform MMORPG, as both PC and console versions connect to the same servers.

The newest expansion to the game, 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.

The World

Final Fantasy XI takes place in a world named Vana'diel, or more specifically, one of the multitude of parallel worlds named Vana'diel.

As this is an online RPG and each Square Enix server used to host the RPG can only cope with so many players, there are multiple servers, each representing a different parallel world. These worlds are named after summoned creatures from earlier Final Fantasy games (for example, Diabolos, Ifrit, Ramuh, etc.) and there are currently (as of January 2004) just over 30 of them. Both PC and PS2 players, as well as Japanese, North American and European players play together on all the servers.

A player is allocated to a random world when they are created, the only exception to this being that a player in a given world can buy a worldpass (a 10-digit passcode), give it to the new player and that player can then enter the worldpass to get onto that particular world. Once on a world, a player cannot move to another world, except via a special character called a World Shifter (put there by the administrators of a server when it has too many players and some need putting onto less populated worlds). This happens infrequently.

The four main cities in Vana'diel are the cities of Bastok, Jeuno, San d'Oria and Windurst. 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 reacheable by walking, some require the use of ferries, airships, chocobos or teleportation points. Each area in FFXI is quite large, and as a beginner much of the game play consists of getting from point A to point B. However, once characters reach level 20, they can receive chocobo licenses which allows the player to rent a chocobo (the ubiquitous rideable bird-like creature in Final Fantasy games) which allows players to travel up to two or three times faster through all non-city or dungeon zones. Other forms of transportation exist within Vana'diel as well, such as the ferry between Mhaura and Selbina (two small coastal cities) and airships which will take you from one major city to another.

People and Politics

There are five playable races in Final Fantasy XI:

• Elvaan — the 'elves' of Final Fantasy XI, potent healers and damaging fighters, though low on magic points and accuracy. The Elvaan can be male or female. They live in San d'Oria.

• Hume — basic human beings who are able to do everything to an average degree. The Humes can be male or female. They originated in Bastok but have spread throughout the world of Vana'diel.

• Galka — large brutish, apelike humanoids who are best in fighting professions because of their high strength and health points. The Galka reproduce through reincarnation and therefore have no specific gender. The race is generally considered male. They form the minority population of Bastok but originated in Rabao.

• Mithra — catlike humanoids who are more agile and accurate than others. There are very few male Mithra and only females venture into Vana'diel. They live in Windurst and on the island nation of Kazham.

• Tarutaru — Tiny, cute and adorable humanoids who excel at magic because of their high magic points. They live in Windurst.

There is a sixth race called the Beastmen, who comprise all the 'evil' races of Vana'diel. These are made up of the following species, which together follow the Shadow Lord behind the original story's misfortunes:

• Antica (Ant-like humanoids.)
• Demons
• Fomors (Undead versions of the 5 races.)
• Gigas (Giants.)
• Goblins
• Moblins
• Orcs
• Quadav (Turtle-like humanoids.)
• Sahagin (Fish-like humanoids.)
• Tonberries
• Yagudo (Bird-like humanoids.)

At the start of the game players choose whether to side with Bastok, San d'Oria or Windurst. The initial goal of Final Fantasy XI (insofar as there is one) is to fight for your country and help it conquer as much of Vana'diel as possible. Doing so not only confers status and advances each of the nation's stories, but also provides elemental crystals that fuel item synthesis, points to spend on special equipment and teleportation to that region. If the ratio of player deaths to beastman deaths gets too high, the region falls to Beastman control, and many of these activities can't be done.

Players also choose one of the following six classes ('jobs' in the game) to start as:

• Warrior (WAR): A melee class with high proficiency in many weapon types, especially the Great Axe or one-handed Axe. Offensively and defensively balanced. WAR abilities include Provoke, which draws the attention of the target, and Double Attack, which randomly adds a second strike to a melee attack. The Warrior's 2-hour ability, Mighty Strikes, guarantees critical hits for 30 seconds.
• Thief (THF): A melee class with crucial enmity control abilities. In party situations, responsibile for managing enmity with high-damage back-stabbing abilities. Thieves often use daggers as well as swords or hand-to-hand weapons to deal massive spike damage. At level 30, THFs are able to perform SATA, an acronym for Sneak-Attack-Trick-Attack, which involves activating both of those abilities in quick succession in order to create and transfer a large amount of enmity to another party member. Thief abilities besides SATA include Steal, which robs opponents of items, and Flee, which increases movement speed. The Thief's 2-hour ability, Perfect Dodge, confers 100% a attack evasion rate for 30 seconds.
• Monk (MNK): A melee class with high HP and excellent damage output. Almost always found with hand-to-hand weapons, the Monk also has some proficiency with staves. Monk abilities include Boost, a stackable ability which increases the power of the next melee attack, and Chi Blast, a long-range energy attack. The Monk's 2-hour ability, Hundred Fists, enables nonstop melee attacks for 30 seconds.
• White Mage (WHM): A mage class that specializes in healing and restorative magic. White Mages use staves and wands almost exclusively. White Mage abilities include Divine Seal, which raises the power of the next white magic spell, and Auto-Regen, which gives constant HP regeneration. The White Mage's 2-hour ability, Benediction, restores a large amount of HP to the caster and party without delay.
• Black Mage (BLM): A mage class that specializes in "nuking," direct damage magic. Black Mages use staves and wands almost exclusively. Black Mage abilities include Elemental Seal, which raises the power of the next black magic spell, and Conserve MP, which randomly lowers the MP cost of a spell. The Black Mage's 2-hour ability is Manafont, which reduces the MP cost of every spell to 0 for 30 seconds.
• Red Mage (RDM): A mage/melee hybrid class with particular aptitude for enhancing and enfeebling magic. It is a point of some contention whether low-level RDMs are better off using their weapons in combat or staying back with the other mages, though it is generally accepted that they choose the latter at higher levels. Red Mages can be found with a variety of weapons from swords and daggers for melee damage to wands and staves for stat bonuses. Red Mage abilities include Fast Cast, which quickens spellcasting, and Convert, which switches the user's HP and MP values. The Red Mage's 2-hour ability, Chainspell, allows instantaneous spellcasting for 30 seconds.

Once a player attains level 30 with any one of the above classes, the player can complete quests to obtain "extra" jobs:

• Samurai (SAM): A melee class that specializes in performing skillchains. Excels in gaining TP due to job specific abilities. Samurai wield 2-handed Great Katanas almost exclusively. Samurai abilities include Store TP, which increases TP gain, and Meditate, which quickly generates TP. Samurai are also very strong against demon enemies. The Samurai's 2-hour ability, Meikyo Shisui, allows the user to perform three weapon skills consecutively.
• Dragoon (DRG): A melee/pet class with the ability to summon a wyvern ally and perform jump attacks. The polearm (i.e. lance or spear) is the Dragoon's main weapon. Dragoon abilities include Super Jump, which allows the DRG to leap high into the air, escaping danger for 5 seconds, and Spirit Link, which heals the DRG's wyvern. Dragoons are very strong against dragon enemies. The DRG's 2-hour ability, Call Wyvern, allows it to summon the wyvern.
• Dark Knight (DRK): A melee/caster class possessing very high attack but very low defense stats, capable of casting some black magic spells. Commonly uses a Great Sword and/or Scythe. Dark Knight abilities include Souleater, which sacrifices HP for added attack damage, and Last Resort, which sacrifices defense for added attack damage. Dark Knights are very strong against arcane enemies. The DRK's 2-hour ability, Blood Weapon, allows the DRK to drain the opponent's HP with every melee attack for 30 seconds.
• Ninja (NIN): A melee/caster class that uses reagents in its "ninjutsu" magic. Generally plays the role of a "blink tank," repeatedly using the "Utsusemi" spell to create shadow images that absorb all damage. Can also use other types of "ninjutsu" to inflict damage on the enemy and enfeeble their opponent. Ninjas almost always use a pair of 1-handed katanas. Ninja abilities include Stealth, which reduces the chance of being detected by enemies, and Dual Wield, which allows the Ninja to equip two weapons at once. The Ninja's 2-hour ability, Mijin Gakure, is a suicide attack that deals massive damage with no experience penalty upon death.
• Summoner (SMN): A pet/mage class that can manifest, at a certain MP/second cost, magical avatars (known as summons, espers, GFs, eidolons, or aeons in past FFs) to aid in battle. Summoners must battle and defeat these avatars before being able to summon theme. SMNs use staves and wands. Summoner abilities include Blood Pact, which enables the avatar to use its own abilities, and Auto-Refresh, which confers constant MP regeneration. The Summoner's 2-hour ability, Astral Flow, enables the avatar to unleash immensely powerful elemental attacks at the cost of all the summoner's MP.
• Paladin (PLD): A melee/caster class possessing very high defense but very low attack stats, capable of casting some white magic spells. Paladins are often found with swords, but may be seen using staves or greatswords as well; however, at lower levels Paladins generally use 1-handed swords so as to be able to equip a shield. Paladin abilities include Shield Bash, a blunt attack, and Cover, which allows the Paladin to take damage in place of a party member. Paladins are very strong against undead foes. The Paladin's 2-hour ability, Invincible, reduces all damage taken by the PLD to 0 for 30 seconds.
• Beastmaster (BST): A pet/melee class that can tame monsters to do their bidding. BSTs are generally recognized as the only job capable of gaining experience points without a party at any reasonable rate. BSTs are commonly found with an axe. Beastmaster abilities include Charm, which tames monsters, and Heel, which calls tamed monsters back to the BST. Beastmasters are very strong against a multitude of enemy types. The BST 2-hour ability, Familiar, allows the BST to thoroughly tame an otherwise disobedient monster for extended time periods.
• Ranger (RNG): A melee class that specializes in long-range weapons. Because ammunition is expensive, Rangers essentially pay for their damage output, and the upper limit on what can be spent (and thus how much damage can be dealt) is very high. Rangers use bows, crossbows, and guns, as well as daggers for close-range melee damage. Ranger abilities include Barrage, which fires multiple arrows at once, and Shadowbind, which roots a target in place. The RNG's 2-hour ability, Eagle Eye Shot, confers tremendous power and accuracy on the next ranged attack.
• Bard (BRD): A "caster" class that specializes in enhancing and enfeebling songs. Bards equip instruments as ranged weapons and also light melee weaponry including clubs and daggers. Outside of their songs, Bards have only four job abilities: three passive Resist Silence traits, and the 2-hour ability, Soul Voice, which doubles the effect of songs.

Additionally, at level 18 players can acquire the use of a "support job" or "subjob." Support Jobs operate at a max of half the level of the player's main job, and gives the character abilities, spells and stat bonuses from that job.

One of Final Fantasy XI's most notable features is the flexibility of its job system, adapted from previous Final Fantasy titles. Players can 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. The subjob system lacks this flexibility, however; while any job can be subbed under any other, each job has at most two or three "viable" possible job combos, outside of which little benefit is gained from the subjob.

Details

• Final Fantasy theme — includes familiar elements from previous Final Fantasies, including music, jobs, spells, summons, items, monsters, 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.
• Map — The world is broken up into different zones. 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. 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.
• Storyline — 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. 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 six major plots in the game:

• Sandoria Storyline
• Bastok Storyline
• Windurst Storyline
• Zilart Storyline
• Dynamis Storyline
• Chains of Promathia Storyline

The newest plots are often not available in their entirety at first, and are unlocked gradually over time.

External Links

• PlayOnline (Official North American Site)
• PlayOnline (Official European Site)
• Allakhazam's FFXI Site
• Final Fantasy Net's FFXI Section
• Final Fantasy XI Strategic Guide
• IGN FFXI Site
• Final Fantasy XI OGaming
• Final Fantasy XI Fishing Forum
• Final Fantasy XI Wikipedia