pancakesandsex
Member
Welcome to the new Final Fantasy XI 2014 Community Thread!
The new expansion "Seekers of Adoulin" has been out for a year, and pioneers new and old have made their way to the sacred city in search of adventure. This of course means it's time to revamp the community thread yet again!
I run a social linkshell on Sylph called IHOP (http://ihop.guildwork.com/). Please contact Pancakesandsx, Seigyoku, Aurellius, or Talym for a pearl if you happen to be on the server. Alternatively, if you're planning to start, do it on Sylph. For returning players, here's the server transfer information*
*Please note that the actual server transfer cost is incorrect on this page. It should be 18$ not 25$. Everything else is correct.
Player Directory
Since figuring out who is who between the various usernames everyone has can be confusing, I made a handy google doc to keep track. If you decide to join us, add yourself to the doc!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsK-qSOSLMrJdDJZTzRtb1ZBSzNMYlBfVzdnT1FNbFE#gid=0
Information for New and Returning Players:
Recent Version Update Trailers:
May 2014
February 2014
December 2013
Version Update History.
Many of you will be playing FFXI for the first time, or will be returning after so long it’s like a brand new game anyway. Here are a few things you should know.
Official Website:
-The Official FFXI Website is a handy source of news and info about the latest updates (which are now monthly).
New Player Tutorial:
-Several years ago a Turtorial was added. If you’re new to the game I suggest you follow it. It’s got some useful stuff that might give you a little more direction.
Returning Player Guide:
-BG has a returning player guide that explains a bunch of the changes I've also explained below in more detail.
Adventuring Primer:
-The Adventuring Primer contains some basic explanations of new content and what you should look into first if you're a new or returning player. Start here if you're overwhelmed by the community sites like BG etc.
Records of Eminence:
-There’s a brand new super important section in the quest log. Check this out to see what it’s all about. Especially check out the Tutorial quests!
Quests:
-There are a TON of quests.
-Quest are a needed component to get fame in many cities. This stat affects your ability to flag quests (including inventory expanions quests), vendor prices, so even the smallest quest is often worth doing.
-The game won't tell you when you get quests, you can check your log, but there is no other indicator for when something counts as a quest besides some fanfare when you complete one
-Once something hits your log, try looking it up if it’s not immediately clear what to do. The game is very critical reading oriented, and admittedly sometimes just obtuse, but that’s part of the charm right?
Missions:
-The main storyline of the game is played out in the missions.
-These are like really important quests, and are acquired from the gate guards in your starting town. There are also expansion missions, which are usually triggered by entering relevant areas once certain conditions have been met.
-Access to certain areas of the game, and many forms of endgame content are locked behind missions.
Leveling:
-Several major systems have been introduced to aid leveling over the years. Fields of Valor:
-Give bonus xp and a currency called tabs which can be used to get buffs and warp around.
Grounds of Valor
-Same as FoV but these have a bonus for chaining them together and only exist in dungeons.
Records of Eminence
-Accessible at any time from the quest log.
-Can set up to 15 at any time.
-Give a currency called sparks which is useful for purchasing low and high level gear from the npcs, as well as items for special endgame armor.
The Trust Initiative:
-NPC characters from the storyline which you can use to adventure solo.
-Progressing through missions and special story quests gets you access to more.
-Sometimes they get given away via events like login campaigns and such. Watch the official website for details.
-BG keeps track of all the currently and previously available trusts Limit Break every 5 levels up until 99. These need only be done once, but certain jobs have special ones that are part of a larger questline, so you may want to do those too for fun!
-Remember, while you can level to cap very quickly in Abyssea, that doesn’t mean you’re automatically ready for all the level cap content. It’s not a race to the top, and you’ll only have a bad experience if you try and rush to do content that’s beyond your means.
Abyssea:
-Get the initial quests for this started as soon as you hit 30
-Beginning the first few quests allows you to accumulate stones required for access
-There is no upper limit on these, so start right away so running out isn’t an issue when you need them!
-Abyssea Guide
Voidwatch:
-Start this as soon as you hit 75
-Talking to the npcs in each city gets you a fast way between a lot of far away places
-Advancing through the tiers gets you more warps
-This also operates on stones that accumulate at a slower rate than Abyssea. Start this asap so you can have them when you need them, even if you don’t plan to do anything with this for a long time.
-While this event is no longer very popular, it is possible to advance through the content with 6-12 people due to the strength of new equipment if you properly prepare. You can even solo a good amount by using “displacers" purchased with gil.
-Voidwatch Guide
Monstrosity:
-A new system that allows you to play as a monster and battle level restricted players for unique accessories.
Other Notable Events, Changes, and Adjustments:
-Limit Breaks are now soloable
Old Endgame Changes:
-Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Assaults, Meeble Burrows are now able to be entered solo.
-Dynamis, Limbus, and Einherjar can be entered once per day.
-The costs associated with these events has been significantly reduced.
-Kings are now popped with items obtained from KSNM99
Quality of life adjustments:
-The ability to teleport between Outposts in vanilla XI using a new book.
-The ability to teleport between Home points, and the addition of home points to almost every battlefield entrance.
-The ability to purchase previously quest-only maps.
-The ability to access mog house storage from any mog house.
-Additional storage has been added including the mog wardrobe, which you can equip (and macro) from. Yes, you can now have 160 pieces of usable gear.
-25% increased base movement speed.
-Garlaige Citadel banishing gates, Quicksand Caves weighted doors, The Eldieme Necropolis doors, and the Halvung doors may now be opened with one person by completing a quest.
Acquiring these items:
-Eldieme Necropolis - Complete the quest offered by Churano-Shurano in Windurst Waters (F-8).
-Halvung -Trade a "Moblin Oil" item to the ??? target in Halvung [1] (J-8).
-Garlaige Citadel - Obtain the "pouch of weighted stones" key item from the ??? target in Garlaige Citadel (G-8) and examining each of the three gates.
-Quicksand Caves - Complete the quest offered by Lokpix in Eastern Altepa Desert at (G-7).
-The Sacrarium also has a method for opening the door solo now.
---Trading a sealion crest key and coral crest key to Quelveuiat in Tavnazian Safehold (I-10) will provide the player with a Temple Knight key. While in possession of this key, players will be able to open the door by themselves by examining either the large keyhole or small keyhole in Sacrarium (H-7).
* Players must first complete the quest "A Hard Day's Knight" to utilize this new method.
Combat Adjustments:
-The entire enmity system was overhauled and it’s a lot easier to tank effectively.
-Defence has been adjusted to actually matter and monster level correction has been altered or removed.
-Every single weaponskill underwent a damage calculation change in the latest version update. The result is we’re much more powerful, and magical ws are useful again.
Hard-mode mission battlefields:
-Difficult versions of classic previously unrepeatable mission fights, ie, Ark Angels, Tenzen, Ouryu Cometh, etc.
-Most are six-man, but the new Divine Might is 18-man.
-Cost of entry is paid in merits. (Yes, merits.) Even more are coming in future updates!
-Full list of battlefields and drops located here
Synthesis Adjustments:
-A synthesis menu option has been added.
-A command /lastsynth has been added to repeat your last synthesis attempt. Great for crafting consumables.
-Crafting kits have been added for levels 1-50 for every craft.
-Kit + Crystal = item, but you can't HQ with them. They are intended for use in skilling up.
-You can follow the latest news about updates and adjustments on the Official Forum
What’s new in Adoulin?
New Jobs:
Geomancer
Rune Fencer
New Events and Systems:
Coalitions & Coalition Assignments - The bulk of the new content revolves around the Coalitions of Adoulin, and the tasks they present. Rank up in each coalition to access tasks with greater rewards.
Reives - The new ad-hoc battle event in which both monsters and obstacles are fought to clear the way and make the harsh Ulbukan terrain easier to traverse.
Skirmish - A 6-man battle event. Entry is gained by collecting pieces of simulacrum from Coalition tasks, monsters, HELM, and Reives. Powerful weapons can be found in this event. (Can now be entered solo.)
Mog Garden - A new way to acquire items previously only available via gardening, harvesting, excavating, logging, mining, and fishing.
Delve - New high level battle system featuring notorious monsters with interesting damage gimmicks under a 45 minute time limit.
Incursion - High level content where you invade the velk stronghold in Cirdas Caverns and work to clear a series of bosses. Each full set of clears opens a new difficulty level. No known cap.
New Quests:
Quest and Coalition Assignment Tracker
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this game free to play yet?
-No, deal with it.
So since SoA isn’t available for the PS2, does that mean PS2 support was dropped?
- SoA was released for the PS2 in Japan only. (Fun Fact - no PS2 version was EVER released in Europe.) The PS2 lives on. And even if they did drop it tomorrow, it won’t magically cause the game to upgrade.
Hey, I used to play this! Can I get my old character back?
-Yes, using the Character Reactivation Service
How long will it take me to solo the main story?
-If you were to do every main mission from all the expansions, it would probably take you roughly as long as playing a standard single player FF for the first time. Don't burn yourself out though, there's a whole world to take in. The side quests can be just as, if not more rewarding than the main storylines. Some jobs will have an easier time of soloing some missions than others, so it's good to have options as well.
What makes this game so good anyway?
-Here's an awesome post by loona and an article he linked from massively that give you an idea why this sticks so hard with people.
How do I get access to the Mog Satchel?
-Get the security token for about 10 bucks, or get the software token for your smartphone (it’s free, don’t lose your reset code!). The software token didn't work initially but it does now.
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/otp/token.html
Trailers and Media
Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urghan Trailer
Final Fantasy XI Wings of the Goddess Trailer
Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection Abyssea Edition Trailer
Final Fantasy XI Seekers of Adoulin Vanafest Trailer
Final Fantasy XI Seekers of Adoulin Pre-Release Trailer
Final Fantasy XI Seekers of Adoulin Launch Trailer
A Little FFXI Story
Knockin at Heaven's Door - Spoiler warning: This one has some adoulin cutscenes in it.
The Prince of Ephramad - TOAU spoilers.
Future Fabulous - WOTG spoilers.
Norio Wakamoto Promotional Videos
Scenery Video
Crystallize: Final Fantasy XI 10th Anniversary
Where to Buy
Steam
Amazon Download (Ultimate)
Amazon Download (Expansion Only)
Gamersgate
There is also an Xbox 360 version, but the pc version is really the way to go if you have the option.
Other Links:
Official Forum
Blue Gartr Forum
Windower - 3rd party tool that adds things like recast timers and other useful features. Windower 4 is the preferred version to use as it auto updates and includes access to all plugins and addons.
There are several very useful community sites which make it easier to manage (and be a part of) group content, and track your progress in game.
FFXIAH - Auction house tracker, also tracks progress
Guildwork - MMO social networking site, incredibly useful
Linkshell Community - SE's Official LS community site
Thanks to Seigyoku for help with the thread and Aeana for help with the images!