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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 Computer s on November 5 of the same year. On '', with a PlayStation 2 release on March 23 , 2004 . It is now available on the Xbox 360 . ''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, '''', 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 ''Final Fantasy XI'' takes place in a world named Vana'diel . There are currently 32 servers available for play, 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, PS2, and 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. ''See Also: Vana'diel '' CHARACTERS Races There are five races that a player may choose from in ''Final Fantasy XI'':
The following two races are featured in the main Final Fantasy storyline and its expansions.
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:
National Allegiance 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:
JOB SYSTEM See Also: Final Fantasy XI character classes 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 (April 2006) a total of 18 jobs to choose from. In homage to the six job classes available in the original , Corsair , and Puppetmaster .1 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 75.2 On reaching 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 delevel, and to earn merit points which may 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. In level capped areas, if the character is on limit point status, they will recieve additional limit points, compared to if they went into the capped area on Experience point status. 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 in the player's Mog House. If a player's job is level 75, and has capped EXP (43,999/44,000), they will automatically go from "Normal EXP" to "Merit" without changing in your mog house. PLOT Though there are thousands of players, any one player can still achieve a sense of individual heroism by completing quests and missions. Cutscene s 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:
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, Ru'Lude Gardens (in Jeuno), Beaucedine Glacier, and Xarcabard. The Beaucedine Glacier zone is unlocked upon successful completion of the Windurst, Bastok, Jeuno, and San d'Oria zones, and the Xarcabard zone is unlocked upon completion of the Beaucedine Glacier zone. 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 and the completion of the Chains of Promathia storyline through chapter four. 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. GAMEPLAY
Game Economy 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, although only 64 members may be on a linkshell at any one time. 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. 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 Point s 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 eighteen 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; , one of the classes affected by " Nerfs" ]]
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:
''', 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'' .3 See Also: MMOG genre challenges RELEASE DATES NOTES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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