[FFXI] December Update Patch notes. 1up press interview. KWEH!!?!?!1one

Smashism · August 2008

Last Updated 12-12-2008
===============
Final Fantasy XI: Online
ITT we /clap our accomplishments, /sigh about bad parties, and wwww at LS mt.

Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG, that has cross-platform play across the PC, Xbox 360, and the workhorse PS2.
The servers are also international and shared mostly by NA and Japanese players.

The December Version Update Cometh! (12/09/2008)

The December version update, with more new content and adjustments than you can wave a stick at, is now ready for download! The following and much, much more awaits you!
- New missions for the Wings of the Goddess expansion.
- The new in-game system, "Fields of Valor."
-The addition of the Group 2 merit point category for dancers and scholars.
- More rewarding adventuring with Treasure Caskets.
- Additions and adjustments to Campaign.
- Further tweaks to the Level Sync system.

The juicy details are available for your perusal here.

Final Fantasy Fan Fest 1up Interview. Dec 8th.

Announcing the "FINAL FANTASY XI 14-Day Free Trial"! (10/07/2008)

We are proud to announce the launch of the "FINAL FANTASY XI 14-Day Free Trial"! Available for download exclusively through File Planet, the new release features the award-winning FINAL FANTASY XI, along with 3 content IDs with which to create characters, that is free to play for 14 days without the need of a credit card! This is the perfect opportunity to get your friends and family to test the waters of Vana'diel alongside you!

Click here to download the FINAL FANTASY XI 14-Day Free Trial!
US trial
Euro trial
Jap Trial
Might be more?

Includes every expansion you need to get started.

What sets this game apart?

Jobs - 20 jobs currently in the game, all of which can be played on 1 character.
Difficulty - Nothing in this game is handed to you.
Grouping - Most of the time spent adventuring you will be in a group. Putting the Multiplayer back into MMO.
Crafting - Everything dropped can be used in crafting. Game mechanics make low level item's viable on the market. Crafter's dream.
Community - Community is made of mostly experienced players, eager to help. Very mature if not a little to heavy on emoticons.
Atmosphere - Pointy red hats on red mages? Check. Moogle's? Check. Chocobos? Kweh?!?!
Cutscenes - Main story is presented in cutscenes in that classic FF fashion.

More pictures from Grinnin

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25753.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24494.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKlEJ8SuplE&eurl=http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=67384&page=10

Can I solo?

The simple answer is "Yes and no," but it is a bit more complicated than that.

As a brand new character, fresh out of the shrink-wrap, you will be soloing until you get a job to level 10 at the minimum; sometimes upwards of level 15. From that point on, it is in your best interests to find parties, or at least one or two other people to group with, for two reasons:

The monsters get a lot tougher. The power curve goes from a gentle wading pool to an olympic swimming pool to a raging river rapids.

All higher end reward content (the stuff that gets you the cool swag) needs parties in sets of three, (usually) six, and sometimes 18. How to behave in a party is a skill set that you need to cultivate: Without it you miss the whole game.

Once you have some job levels under your belt, and some other resources, you may pursue a job combination that allows you to solo at higher levels. Be advised though, that these jobs are often lonely things, and expensive to boot: Making aquantinces and sharing risks is and always has been the fastest way to advance in the game, in the long run.
(Courtesy of our (M)Bri)

Which server should I join?

Alot of PAers are spread out on the servers. Lately though, many new players have been coming to Carbuncle.
If you are just starting out I recommend playing with a friend or joining us on Carby. There are no requirements to join the Linkshell. There are plenty of high level guys willing to help out the lower dudes, just ask nicely and give people time. There are also a good number of newer players to group with, so don't sweat it.

(Server)

(PA forum name) - (FFXI character name)

Asura

Skullie - Skullie
SkannerJAT - Ramiah
SNES - Arkm
Bama - Dael
Grundlestiltskin - Treva
Kyanilis - Kyanilis
Varega - Varega
scygen - Scygen(?)
fightstrife - Paige
king awesome - Emol

Bahamut

Ultravisitor - Dose
Arcibi - Arcibi

Carbuncle

The Dude With Herpes - Kingshand
Just_Bri_Thanks - Bri
Xhero - Ormi
Pb - Ancalaehte
Smashism - Samash
Trevor Goodchild - Loras
ins0mniac - Dimen
Xanarios - Rikiru
Koopa_Paratroopa - Maus
Demitri Omni - Demitrion
RawrBear - Littlebear
RooX - Lumir
Dyvion - Dyvion
ProfMoriarty - Fefron
zanmatto - Misteyy

Diabolos

WillisIVIIX - Gynin

Kujata

Murphy - Murphie

Fenrir

Elimination - Vyles

Lakshmi

EricKei - Erickei (Hiatus)

Midgardsormr

Professor Snugglesworth - Jorginus
Stryker43 - Caldyen
ProfMoriarty - Ocilus

Pandemonium

seabass - Bassiwassi

Phoenix

Evil_Pig - Karli
GrinninBarrett - Ishmael

Quetzalcoatl

neville - Neville

Ragnarok

UltraMantisBlack - Ultramantis
RavynBlackheart - Vehnibi

Remora

Tcheldor - Tortalius
Freebytes - Freebytes
mystic_knight - Everitt
Xhaztol - Xhaztol
Aoi - Squidge

Shiva

The Laughing Man - Stompy

pm for additions or changes

Newbie FAQ
You've installed the game. You plugged in your keyboard. Now what?

I. New Player Guides
II. Resource Links
III. Consoles
IV. PC and third party addons

I. New Player Guides

SE's New Player Guide
These video's are hosted on the main FFXI site.
They contain easy to understand instructions for all platforms.
Watch all videos, click each section on the left column.

LBR's Gigantious Beginners Guide to Vana'diel
So this is a FFXI podcast, I'll admit the hosts are kind of annoying.
This super long podcast though has a lot of useful information to a new player.
Skim through it sometime while soloing out those first levels.

Forum Post New Player Guide
Kind of opinionated but lots of good macro tips and more.

II. Resource Links

These sites will help. Go here first if you have a question, a lot of basic (and advanced) info is out there for the taking, just look for it. Of course, ask away in this thread if you can't find an answer from these links.
Links by Grinnin!

FFXI Auction House Database
An online AH that lets you check prices and trends from any AH on any server from your browser.

FFXI Wikia
FFXI's Wiki. Just about everything you could possibly look up is in this Wiki.

BG FFXI Wiki
Another FFXI Wiki just in case the other one doesn't have what you're looking for.

Vana'diel Atlas
A site with all the maps and related information in the game. Useful if you're ever lost, or wondering what kind of treasure you can find in a zone.

Vana'diel Bestiary
Excellent source for finding out what monsters exist where; also a handy tool for deciding where to take your party to XP.

FFXI Firefox Plugin
Nifty Firefox plugin. Show FFXI times, searches, skillchains, and more.

III. Consoles

Playstation 2

Must have a fatty PS2
Need a HDD
Must have Network Adapter
USB keyboard

Playstation 3

BC confirmed for consoles that allow it

Xbox 360

Must have HDD
POL and FFXI take up about 7.5 gigs
USB keyboard
Messenger Kit mini keyboard doesn't function correctly. "/" doesnt work.
Free Silver membership required (no need for gold)

IV. PC and third party addons

Steam

FFXI hates steam. Demitri recommends running Apradar(mentioned later) through steam and renaming it FFXI.

Controller Issues

Most PC users prefer to plugin a USB controller and play mostly with that, although many players go without it. See which you are most comfortable with.

If you do use a controller, there are a few problems you may run into.
The Microsoft Xbox 360/Windows controller will have some issues. The MS drivers won't let the triggers work, which you need badly for macroes, trust me.

Xbox 360 Fan Drivers
These fan made drivers let you use the 360 controller correctly with the game.
They also allow you to use budget third party controllers too. Such as, mad catz, pelican, and so on.
MUST BE THE WIRED CONTROLLER, the wireless adapter WILL NOT work with this fan driver, thus making the wireless controller useless for FFXI.
VISTA USERS: Pay close attention to the direction on your install, it is a bit trickier.

Windower - Shhhhhhh

The first rule of windower is you do not speak about windower (in game, ever, I am serious). SE sees all third party software as potential hacks and if they can prove you use it, they will ban you.
Windower is essentially some plugins that provide a multitude of options outside of the default game. You can view other party members TP, distance from enemy, cooldown counters, and way more.
It can also increase the graphics for the game by tweaking the registry (which you can do by yourself at your own risk), so the game appears sharp.

How do you know it's safe to use?
There is no way that SE can detect you using the program, SE has never detected anyone and just banned them for using the program. Now if you run around Sandoria shouting I USE WINDOWER, I don't think I can guarantee your accounts safety.
Even if you discuss it in a party nobody will probably respond, so you are better off just not mentioning it in game, at all, ever. EVER.

How do I use it?
Download the program first. Unzip it to a more permanent location.
Open up "Launcher_GUI"
Click the Advanced box. Set the Overlay Resolution to whatever resolution you want FFXI running at (desktop resolution).
Under: Registery > Background, is where you can change the texture sharpness. Make sure they both match. If X is greater than your background resolution it will create an in game AA effect. Nifty, AND HOW!
Now launch FFXI from this launcher from now on.

I also recommend the DrawDistance plugin to cut down on the fog in game and the infobar plugin to show you enemy details.

Higher Resolution Sprites - UI icon's

Brandson first made some higher res sprites for the game and Emiko has recently taken up where he left off. These icons IMO are clearer than the FFXI default icons and much more clean looking. There is also a widescreen version so no more icon stretching.

In game map replacements

Another old project of Brandson continued by Emiko. Replaces in game maps with more detailed variants that include path information, NM spawns and more.

ApRadar - The third party minimap!

If I could marry a plugin it would be this one. Simply unzip and open when you have FFXI running. It will display a minimap of your current location. Also displays maps regardless if you own them or not, so useful.

Demitri Omni · August 2008

Controllers. CONTROLLERS.

Smashism · August 2008

Yawwwwn. Almost done, taking a break and walking the dog, I'll finish it up with Apradar then throw in the proper spoiler tags. Gonna read it back over for any grammar mistakes I missed too.
Anyone have anything they would like to add?

edit: Media, give me cool movies and screens. Stuff that makes players go WOAHHHH

Demitri Omni · August 2008

Smashism wrote: »

Yawwwwn. Almost done, taking a break and walking the dog, I'll finish it up with Apradar then throw in the proper spoiler tags. Gonna read it back over for any grammar mistakes I missed too.
Anyone have anything they would like to add?

edit: Media, give me cool movies and screens. Stuff that makes players go WOAHHHH

FFXI won't work if you try to use it as a 'non-Steam game' in Steam, but you can set a shortcut to ApRadar and rename it FFXI to use as a display program.

EDIT: Also, FFXI will work with most PS3s, but I don't know which ones specifically.

Smashism · August 2008

Done, I'll add nifty movies and pictures later. if you guys have any cool party pictures send em my way.

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

From last thread:

Just_Bri_Thanks wrote: »

Great jam session this week every one: Next Friday everyone be at Zeruhn Mines at 9PM EST; 6PM PST, and be ready to go. Level range is 14, 13, 12; although it looks like we are all 14. Bring rings if you use them, and those who fall behind by not having them or by dieing during the session will have the rest of the week to make sure they are within range for the next week.

Plan to stay for 2 hours.

GrinninBarrett · August 2008

Nice OP! I rifled through my screenshot folder and uploaded 'em up if you want to use any more

While going through my pics I also noticed a lot were taken while I was dead

GrinninBarrett · August 2008

And I just saw Arcibi's post from the last thread

So I'm at that level in my monk career now (level 25)

Supposedly I can pretty much wear the Republic Subligar from here until endgame if I take it that far

PROS:
+ Attack + 5 is an excellent enhancement
+ I'll never have to spend gil on leg equipment again

CONS:
- IT'S A SUBLIGAR and it's not even the kind of subligar where I get to wear pants underneath (see bone/beetle subligar)
- I'm a tarutaru so I look even worse wearing it
- it's like 20k on the auction house

It is never ok to wear a subligar

Wear those level 25 MNK/SAM/NIN pants or RSE, anything but a metal diaper

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

PC controllers:

I use a PSX to USB adapter pictured here:

I don't think radioshack sells them anymore though, but there's plenty of similar, cheap, items on e-bay.

And for reference it works with wireless Playstation 2 controllers. I don't like the "feel" of a lot of PC controllers and I've used my Logitech wireless on my PS2 for years. It works perfectly with no fiddling.

I tried the 360 controller adapter (the wireless one) and ran into the problem with the triggers and didn't feel like dorking around with it since the fan drivers don't work with the wireless adapter apparently.

Bleh.

Anyway, just saying.

EDIT: IF you feel like looking for that specific adapter it's a Radioshack PSX to USB 26-304. It's also found listed as a Tandy product in some places (probably primarily the EU). I couldn't find any on e-bay but I only spent about 30 seconds looking. Drivers are an easy google search (they've been taken off the radioshack support site where I used to get them) and make sure you pick the drivers that support vibration; if you want it. I think the "official" ones don't support it, but the ones I have do. So yeah.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

Also the thread title is inaccurate.

If you go from windy to sandy you will in fact find no mandys. They are in windy though.

Demitri Omni · August 2008

I have two different models of Radio Shack's PS2 to USB adapter, and both work perfectly, without manually installing any drivers.

Also I'm planning on getting a wireless 360 controller sometime, but I don't know when I'll be able to pick it up. I hear there's going to be a possible patch to the drivers that allows use of the Messenger Kit (the attachable keyboard), and if we ever use Teamspeak or Ventrilo, the wireless headset would be awesome at some point.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

The problem with the wireless 360 controller for the PC version is that the FFXI config doesn't recognize the trigger buttons on it for some reason. So the buttons you'd normally hit on a PS2 controller for your macros just plain don't work.

Otherwise it's what I would be using.

That's good/odd about your adapters. None of my PC's recognize it at all when I plug it in.

EDIT: Also for the 360 wireless controller adapter for windows shown here you can't designate what "system" your controller looks for when you turn it on.

So when you push your guide button it turns on your 360 if it's nearby instead of connect to the adapter. I had to manually unplug my 360 for it to work (i.e. not turn the 360 on and have the adapter recognize the controller). Which just isn't worth the effort IMO, to unplug my 360 every time I want to use the damn controller on the PC. Add in that the triggers don't work in FFXI and I'm just throwing the damn thing up on ebay since I threw out the packaging before testing everything. Stupid me. Also I haven't heard anything good about using the messenger kit in FFXI since, as Smash informed me, it's missing the CTRL key. Which uh...no.

Smashism · August 2008

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

Also the thread title is inaccurate.

If you go from windy to sandy you will in fact find no mandys. They are in windy though.

I knew someone would point that out, but it rhymes better, don't you think?

And yeah, the wired 360 controllers work great with those fan drivers, the fact that you can use a cheapy 10-20 dollar 360 controller sweetens the deal if radio shack doesn't have the part near you. The fact that wireless controllers don't work is pure shit.

And the main problem with the messenger kit like i said in the op is you cant use "/". Think how many times do you use / in an mmo?

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

I think I want to try and get my paladin and Samurai up to AF levels.

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

If anyone on Carbuncle ever parties with Flavi, and it is the account holder playing rather than his retarded sibling, please let them know that they should not share their account with brain donors.

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Just finished Promyvion Holla. Now all I need is Mea and I am ready to continue the missions.

Tharghor · August 2008

Is there a place you can see (video preferred) all the cutscenes? I played this game until level 57 or so, but had to quit. I've always wondered how the story would go on.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

I bet youtube has them.

Noxy · August 2008

Well, I finished the moving process and am not logging in again. Woooo.

EDIT: I actually did log in and was completely oblivious to the fact that I put "not" instead of "now".

Smashism · August 2008

I kinda don't feel like doing any quests or anything today. Just exp.
My BLM is 16, pretty close to 17, so if anyone has anything near hit me up on steam or here.

Arcibi · August 2008

Did the Sleepga II quest with my LS last night

I already know Sleepga II, but the whole thing was set up by Sarm, my real-life best friend who bought the spell for me a while back (so I could assist in the Bastok rank 9 fight against the slimes who split into two smaller ones when defeated), so I could pay him back the ridiculous amount of gil it costs

Anyway, I basically wanted to say that there is a Wham! reference in the dialog for this quest

I wasn't sure if that was awesome or terrible

Dyvion · August 2008

Hey Smash, My WAR is 16, I'm in Selbina right now if you wanna group up in the dunes.

Smashism · August 2008

Dyvion wrote: »

Hey Smash, My WAR is 16, I'm in Selbina right now if you wanna group up in the dunes.

I only made it to 17, we'll party up later probably, I'm taking a break for a bit.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

The only thing more annoying than people who have /p macro's for commonly used skills and abilities are when those macros have misspelled words and terrible grammar.

Smashism · August 2008

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

The only thing more annoying than people who have /p macro's for commonly used skills and abilities are when those macros have misspelled words and terrible grammar.

Jesus, my last dune party was like this.
Everytime the tank pulled he said "Get over here. bitch." and when he did a WS it was "Bring the pain" or "Bring on the pain" or something like that.
His name was Drunkenfist, he tanked fine but sheesh, everytime there was a voke I hated reading that spam.

edit:
Lost Legends (Carbuncle) Dunes swimsuit picture in a couple hours. See you there.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

Soooo...I asked a couple times in /l if I could go to this promyvon and what I had to do to get ready for it, and I sent a tell to bri; but I got no answer on all accounts.

?

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

I answered you. Were you not paying attention?

Edit to clarify: I don't see anything listing that you can't get in, but the only way to be sure is to go to Jeuno and get the cut scenes, and try to enter one of them at a crag.

Eticket109 · August 2008

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

PC controllers:

I use a PSX to USB adapter pictured here:

I have the exact same setup.

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

Just_Bri_Thanks wrote: »

I answered you. Were you not paying attention?

Edit to clarify: I don't see anything listing that you can't get in, but the only way to be sure is to go to Jeuno and get the cut scenes, and try to enter one of them at a crag.

No. Between when I asked and when I logged off /l was totally silent and I didn't get any tells.

Which crag is it that you're going to and what time tomorrow?

Noxy · August 2008

Trying to get a party in the dunes earlier: "()Tarutaru() ()Warrior() ()No Thanks.()"

I almost forgot how stupid people could be. After this game has been out this long, people are still this dense? Seriously? o_O

The Dude With Herpes · August 2008

Fonjo wrote: »

Trying to get a party in the dunes earlier: "()Tarutaru() ()Warrior() ()No Thanks.()"

I almost forgot how stupid people could be. After this game has been out this long, people are still this dense? Seriously? o_O

I haven't seen it. I've been several parties in the last couple weeks with taru pld's, mnks, etc. No one seems to question it.

Maybe they were just idiots.

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Doing Mea tomorrow, sometime between 1 and 3 PST

Edit: And we got Samash into Holla tonight at level 28, so nothing stopping you from coming along on that front.

Arcibi · August 2008

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

Fonjo wrote: »

Trying to get a party in the dunes earlier: "()Tarutaru() ()Warrior() ()No Thanks.()"

I almost forgot how stupid people could be. After this game has been out this long, people are still this dense? Seriously? o_O

I haven't seen it. I've been several parties in the last couple weeks with taru pld's, mnks, etc. No one seems to question it.

Maybe they were just idiots.

I took warrior to 37 for some unfathomable reason

Not once was I refused due to my being a tarutaru*

Hell, there were times were I was main tank! With a great axe! And a monk subjob!

And I only died twice that I can remember!

So yeah maybe this prejudice still exists but I certainly didn't see any of it

*I was, however, told I couldn't be main tank once; I believe their exact words were "taru war may be cute but its no tank lol"

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Got Sam a full set of recollections. Going to do some quests while I let the time tick by.

Edit: The Buckler ear-ring I bought yesterday put a serious crimp in my wallet. I will be glad to sell it off once I level past it.

Dyvion · August 2008

On setup, I have a wired logitech controller, but it's not the one pictured in the OP. In a party the other day they were taking pictures and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my picture button on my controller wasn't working... then they explained, hold R2, hit R1. Ah... screenshots get! Nothing good yet though.

Also, my WAR is 18 now... Have the damselfly worm, need the skull and apron... many crabs will fall to my hands tonight. And then on to the ghouls? in some cave somewhere... hope I can find others to help with this, otherwise I'll be 20 before I can add a support job :P

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Gusgen mines. I can hunt one up for you.

Dyvion · August 2008

Just_Bri_Thanks wrote: »

Gusgen mines. I can hunt one up for you.

Sweet, thanks.

And I'd like to reiterate the fact that this game is Party Centric... every leveling guide out there is arranged for being in a party.

The first party I was in at level 10 was slow going... I could have easily made more exp faster by going it solo.

The party I was in last night was amazingly fantastic, going from level 16 to level 18. The highest Exp I got on a single kill was 360... but the average was about 250. Was tons of fun and there's no way I could have gotten 16 to 18 like that solo.

Hopefully all of my parties are like that! (yeah, right.)

As soon as I get my sub job I'm going Thief/War, tanking is fun and all, but I wanna melee DPS. Not sure what class I wanna grab at 30... BLU sounds like tons of fun... hopefully I'll have a decision made when the time comes to actually make the decision.

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Thief isn't so much DPS, but that is a big part of it. Thief is all about anger management.

Dyvion · August 2008

Just_Bri_Thanks wrote: »

Thief isn't so much DPS, but that is a big part of it. Thief is all about anger management.

The whole trick attack thing is pretty cool. But that's fairly far down the line. (level 45 for that ja right?) It'll be awhile before I get to there... until then it's all stab stab stab!

Just_Bri_Thanks · August 2008

Today's NPC of the day:

Specific NPCs in the Crystal War era can be convinced to support your allied nation during campaign battles. This one is evidently the queen of the faeries, and goes to war with a retinue of 9 faery retainers.

Xhero · August 2008

http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/3599/detail.html

Yeah, leveling just became completely revolutionized.

Edit: Basically, you're going to be able to sync your own level to a party member's (much like the... now obsolete buddy system hats). Dropping from 75 to 10, getting the same experience points as a level 10 would. More important, it also downlevels your gear. Like, say, an haubergeon would have +1 STR at level 10. This is the same in capped areas.

Penny Arcade

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[FFXI] December Update Patch notes. 1up press interview. KWEH!!?!?!1one

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