Well, that clears things up a bit. After a considerable amount of
vacillation and general lack of clarity, the key question regarding
Final Fantasy XI is solved. As first confirmed in Famitsu Weekly, and
later debuted to the world in the ongoing beta test, the next game in
Square's most lucrative franchise is indeed the first Massively
Multiplayer Online RPG to grace a videogame console (or Computer
Entertainment System, if you will), an online world where all manner of
players may congregate, chat, and do battle with the forces of evil.
This sets it apart from earlier efforts like Phantasy Star Online, where
only a few players could coexist in a game at once. FFXI's servers will
house thousands of different players at a time, and a massive game world
besides.
The story takes place in a world that mixes swords, magic, and
technology on the beautiful planet known as Vana'Diel. In the past this
world was blessed by the source of all things in the world, the
Crystals. Together with their power, those that believed in the light
fought against the monsters that followed darkness. The monsters
destroyed the beautiful villages and cities, turning the lands into a
vaste wasteland, and the water into deadly pollution.
Eventually, mankind was able to fight back the monsters and regain
peace for their land. However, 20 year after the fighting, when people
begin to forget the memories of the horrible war with the monsters, the
scent of evil once again blows over the land of Vana'Diel. All is
resting on the powers of the crystals.
Since this preview is so cursed big, the following index should serve
as your guide to its contents. Notations will be added indicating which
bits and pieces are new, so you can keep up on the most recent
information as it's added:
Races
Many different peoples and creatures inhabit the land. Taking a step
away from the typical hum/dwarf/elf setup seen in most American RPGs,
Square has unveiled the following five different races:
Hume
Tarutaru
Elvaan
Mithra
Galka
Hume
If they're not exactly called "humans" in the lingo of
the world (the katakana in Square's profile omits the
"an"), that's more or less what they are. A balanced,
middle-of-the-road species, with the ability to acquire many
different skills.
Tarutaru
Cute little suckers, ain't they? And they even look big, if you
angle your forced perspective right. These fellows mainly
inhabit the Federation of Windurst, where they're very
well-known for their magical ability.
Elvaan
Or "elves" if you prefer. The Elven generally make
their home in the San D'oria Kingdom, a tall, strong, martial
race. They make the best warriors in the game, but their proud
nature lends itself to internecine strife.
Mithra
The Mithra are an elvish race that inhabit a small corner of the
Federation of Windurst. They're opposed to the development of
science and technology, preferring to remain closer to nature
and rely on their innate physical abilities. They have tails and
large pointed ears. Male Mithra are extremely rare, and only
females ever venture into the outside world.
Galka
They're the tall, broad-shouldered creatures we've seen in
earlier screenshots. As their build suggests, they're powerful
and durable, which suits them well to the industrial life of the
Bastok Republic. Galka, curiously enough, don't pass on many
common physical traits to their descendants -- instead, they all
look fairly different.
There will also be other player character races, some of which have a
distinctly towering quality (presumably something along ogreish lines),
and it wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without any Chocobos to have fun
with.
Chocobos
Some things may change, but chocobos are eternal. Final Fantasy XI
naturally includes the big yellow birds we've all grown to know and
love, although details on their acquisition and use remain a bit
unclear. To get a chocobo, you go by the chocobo stable in town (which
is marked by a little sign with a chocobo on it -- easy enough), but
first you need a chocobo-raising license, which appears to have
conditions attached to it. A high enough job level is one, but it isn't
the only requirement.
Whatever you have to do, once you have that license and a chocobo,
you can go out and run around and hopefully listen to some cool new
chocobo music. Chocobos also have the ability to root in the earth for
greens, which is useful in a couple of ways. For one, you need to feed
your chocobo to keep it happy and healthy. For another, they may dig up
a hidden item when looking for food. When you're on soft turf or sand
(they can't dig in hard earth), try and see what you can find.
Places To Go
The three primary player races inhabit three major nations: the
Republic of Bastok, the Federation of Windurst and the Kingdom of San
D'oria.
The world of Vana'Diel is more or less at peace, and peoples from all
three can travel freely where they'd like to go, but tension between the
countries does exist now and again.
Republic of Bastok
The Humes or humans or whatever you're meant to call them raised
up this nation with their advanced technology and special
natural resources. The capital city grew up around a mine where
the metal Mithril can be found -- it soon became a center of
craft and research.
Federation of Windurst
This is a nation cobbled together out of many disparate Tarutaru
tribes. Their magical powers have raised up huge, organic
cities, seeming to blend naturally with the environment around
them, where the Tarutaru continually refine and develop their
magical abilities.
Kingdom of San D'oria
The homeland of the Elvaan rose up in fragile unity after a
protracted civil war -- it holds together for now, but the
presence of so much pride and violence continually threatens to
break down order. The capital city is kept strong by the
alliance between the royal knights and their religious
counterparts.
Ronfaure Forest
The forest area close to the San D'oria Kingdom which contains a huge
variety of beautiful green scenery. It's surrounded by a certain
mysterious atmosphere.
Gustaberg
An area of barren space surrounding the Bastok Republic. No plants lives
here...only the dried rotten husks of trees and rocks remain standing.
To the north are caves that yield a wealth of minerals.
Sarutabaruta
A wide plain located to the north of the Windurst Federation. Here and
there are plants that are unique to this area. In addition, various
monsters, large and small, live in this area as well.
Grand Duchy of Jueno
Jueno is a young nation situated at a strategic point between two of
Vana Diel's continents, which are joined by a structure called
"Heaven's Bridge." It's neutral to the ongoing power struggle
between the three other main nations, preferring to make money off of
trade with all and sundry. Its towns are occupied by people of many
different races and trades, although the hume and goblin races
predominate.
Sanctuary!
Whichever nation players choose as their home, they'll have a place
to hang their hat. Each major city has a residential area, marked on the
city map, where you can go to relax, regain HP and MP, and store items
for future use in the "Mog House." No Mogs are shown in
screenshots so far, but evidently they have something to do with the
establishments. Mog Houses contain traders and shops that sell useful
items, so head there when you need to stock up. They're also where you
go to change your job.
Final Fantasy XI is the first game in the FF series that is
completely online, of course, with many characters simultaneously
coexisting in one online world. Through the second reality created
through the PS2 and PlayOnline, players can meet various people and
together with them go on adventures. In Vana Dir, a vast variety of
different peoples exist. One of the races of Humans, is a race that is
balanced in various kinds of abilities. Of course there are many other
kinds of races and people with different kinds of abilities for the
player to chose the one that fits them the most. Humans have both male
and female variations, too, so the choices aren't limited to just the
race -- there are other, finer options.
The first thing a player needs to do when he/she starts a new game is
"create" his or her own character. Because everything from the
race, looks, body type, and so on can be set to the player's wish, it is
possible to create a unique original character. This is one of the
biggest points of FFXI, the ability to create your own Final Fantasy
character. The Job System (from Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy
Tactics) allows a remarkable degree of breadth to the skills and
abilities you can give your alter ego.
Jobs
FFXI employs a Job system similar to that seen in Final Fantasy V and
Final Fantasy Tactics. When you create a character, you pick a Job, or
class, which defines its look, general characteristics, and special
abilities. Six jobs are available from the very start of the game, but
it looks as if characters can expand into other jobs as they develop,
including jobs that aren't available at the beginning. They also gain
new special attacks and abilities at certain levels, which can be used
once every two game hours. The big six, as it were, are as follows:
Warrior
Specializes in physical attacks, adept in hand-to-hand combat with a
wide variety of weapons. Warriors are tough, strong, can use most of the
game's more powerful weapons, and develop special abilities geared
towards enhancing their attacks and those of others.
Level 1: Mighty Strike, which allows the user to deliver critical
hits while the attack is active.
Level 5: Provocation, the ability to make an enemy attack you.
Level 15: Berserker, which raises attack power at the cost of lowered
defense.
Level 25: Defensive, the inverse of Berserker, raising defense at the
cost of attack power.
Level 35: War Cry, which raises the attack power of nearby allies.
Monk
A martial artist (remember the Black Belt from the first game?) with
powerful unarmed combat abilities. Monks, like their forebears, are
relatively weak in the early going, but develop into strong fighters
once they gain their powerful multiple attack abilities.
Level 1: Hyakka-reppuu-ken. Or something like that. Hard to translate
this one, but in practical terms it increases the power and frequency of
attacks while active.
Level 5: Tameru, which substantially increases the power of a single
blow.
Level 15: Evasion, which increases the monk's ability to dodge attacks.
Level 25: Concentration, which increases hit probability.
Level 35: Chakra, a self-healing ability.
White Mage
White Mages, the ones in the nice white robes with the cute red triangle
accents, are skilled in healing and support magics. They only learn one
special ability, but they also develop a wide library of white magic
spells.
Level 1: Blessing of God, which heals all allies within its range.
Black Mage
Black Mages get things cooking with powerful attack spells and curses,
and look plenty snappy in their dark robes and cool pointy hats (if you
look around, you may find some shots of Tarutaru mages dressed up just
like Vivi from FFIX). Like white mages, they get just one special
ability to complement their grimoires.
Level 1: Whirlpool of Magic, which allows spellcasting with no MP
expenditure for a time.
Red Mage
Red Mages haven't been seen in the FF series for a dog's age, but fans
might remember them as the all-purpose spellcasters from the first game.
They can cast both white and black magic spells, and have better combat
abilities than their fellows, but the highest level spells are denied to
them, and they're a little slower to cast than specialist mages.
Level 1: Continuous Magic, which shortens the mage's casting time for
its duration.
Thief
Thieves are stealthy, quick, and agile, compensating for their lesser
physical strength with superior evasive maneuvers and sneaky tactics.
And what would a thief be without the ability to steal stuff? It's not
certain whether you can steal from other players, but don't count on it.
Level 1: Complete Evasion, allowing the thief to dodge all attacks
for a time.
Level 5: Steal, the ability to steal items held by an enemy.
Level 15: Surprise Attack, a sneaky backstab that deals major damage to
an enemy that doesn't spot the thief.
Level 25: Escape, which kicks up the thief's speed for a time, enabling
a quick getaway.
Level 35: Pickpocket, like Steal, except it nicks an opponent's gold.
Bard
On the count of three, everyone make a "spoony bard" joke.
One...two...three! Got it out of your system now? Good. Bards are a
blend of magician and musician, using instruments and songs to create
magical effects. They can learn different songs to cast different
"spells," which also vary according to the musical instruments
they equip (flutes, harps, and so on). They have two special skills
announced so far:
Song Effectiveness: Increases the power of songs during its duration.
Etude of Enchanting: The bard sings and plays to produce a mysterious
effect.
Beastmaster
A job with a touch less precedent in the series, the Beastmaster adopts
certain monsters, training them to help out in battle. The skill is
called "ayatsuru" in Japanese, which translates to something
like "manipulate," as with a marionette or puppet. The
Beastmaster uses the skill on a target creature, and if it succeeds,
they fall under the player's control. When a monster is successfully
under the player's command, they have one skill so far:
Fight: "Tatakae," to be precise -- it's a command ordering
the monster to fight. This is among a few other commands (presumably
"heel," "fetch" and the like) found in the Pet
Command window, which opens while a monster is under the player's
command.
Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is a warrior allied with the powers of, well, darkness.
They possess certain supernatural skills in addtion to some of the
special fighting abilities also used by the warrior class, including the
ability to absorb damage. That's the one announced job skill:
Blade Weapon: It seems as if this ought to translate to "Bleed
Weapon." While active, it allows the Dark Knight to absorb the
damage he deals to adjacent enemies as extra HP.
Paladin
The Paladin is the flip side of the Dark Knight, a warrior allied with
the powers of good and right and all that other nice stuff. While the
Dark Knight is a little more offensively inclined, the Paladin's
strengths are more defensive in nature -- in particular, they excel at
the handling of a shield. They have one special skill so far:
Heavenly Shield: This magical abilty creates a very pretty shield
around the paladin, granting temporary invulnerability.
Ranger
Rangers are skilled in woodcraft and such, but their most useful ability
in FFXI is their ranged attack skills -- they're experts at kyuujutsu,
or archery in English. They have an unusually high hit rate, and can
cause status effects with special shots. That's their one announced
skill:
Shadow Attack: If this shot lands successfully, the target is
afflicted with the Paralysis status ailment.
Brand New Bag
As in FFV or FF Tactics, it's possible for a character to switch jobs
in order to develop a broader range of special abilities. A character
switching to a new job retains the special skills developed in their
progression through the previous job, although they otherwise take on
the characteristics of the new job. There are some immediate penalties
to deal with, though, so changing jobs should be a well-considered
decision.
Changing jobs is performed at the Mog House. When you want to change
jobs, go there and select the "job change" command, as well as
the new job. All equipment will be lost in the change (since gear used
by one job will be unsuitable for another), so have a garage sale or
something before you swap. It may also be necessary to undergo a quest
in order to enter the new job. Once that's all taken care of, you set
the previous job as the "support job" under the current job.
Support jobs are valued at half the level they reached as the primary
job, so a level 20 warrior who switches to the white mage job is able to
use the special skills acquired up through level 10.
Communication is taken care of through a simple, easy to understand
system. Everything from getting help on how to continue in the game,
trading unwanted items, who to fight with, you can talk to anyone you
want through a easy system of word inputs, like the icon-based
communication in Phantasy Star Online. For more detailed conversations,
though, it's also possible to type messages into the chat window with a
USB keyboard. There are several channels by which players can
communicate, but they should all be familiar to players of other online
RPGs:
Say: This spreads your message to other players in your
immediate area -- normal real-life speaking distance.
Shout: Louder than Say, the Shout command communicates to
players in a broader range. This isn't a MUD-style global Shout, though,
heard throughout the entire game.
Tell: This sends a message to a single targeted character on
your screen. If they're not visible, though, it looks like it won't work
-- you're not telepathic, after all.
Link Shell: Unless you get a Link Shell item, that is. Details
are scarce here, but it looks like the Link Shell allows characters to
group together and communicate across long distances
Party: Communication between party members is possible without
other nearby players listening in, if you're interested in a little
conspiratorial confabulation.
Let us reason together.
Nonverbal communication is also possible through commands analogous
to old MUD social or emote commands. Typing a back-slash symbol,
followed by certain verbs and occasionally an argument, causes a player
character to perform various animations to convey emotions, opinions,
and information. Here's the selection:
/bow: Bow politely to another player.
/point: Point at another player -- "I choose
you!"
/salute: Salute a superior or other figure of respect.
/kneel: Kneel before Zod!
/laugh: If someone cracks a good joke, reply appropriately.
/cry: Weep over some tragic occurrence.
/no: Shake your head negatively.
/nod, /yes: Nod your head positively.
/wave: Wave in acknowledgement.
/farewell, /goodbye: Wave goodbye.
/welcome: Greet an acquaintance.
/joy: Jump for joy, or otherwise express happiness.
/cheer: Root for the home team.
/clap: Put your hands together.
/praise: Give someone some positive reinforcement.
/smile: Hey, there's facial animation.
/poke: Get someone's attention, or maybe pick a fight.
/slap: Definitely pick a fight.
/stagger: "He will stagger and babble when
questioned!"
Trading
Commerce is the main reason to communicate with strangers in FFXI -- if
they've got something you want, and you've got something they want, you
can barter between yourselves. This is accomplished with the Trade
commands. If you select another character, it's possible to initiate
trading. If they agree to negotiate a deal, two inventory windows come
up listing each player's respective possessions. Select what you want to
give and receive, and if both players agree to the deal, the exchange is
executed.
Cutting a deal.
Groups
If you're interested in a more permanent association than a simple
business deal, though, that's possible as well. Characters will of
course want to join together -- the essential appeal of an online RPG
lies the possibility for interaction and group effort. FFXI looks like
it will offer a chance for a much larger scale of such efforts than
Phantasy Star Online.
Party
You can show others that you want to join in a party by going into the
Menu and select the Join Party option. This will cause the Join Party
icon to show up beside the character's name allowing other to know that
you wish to join a party. Not only can you show you wish to join a
group, you can also invite others to join your group. The control is the
same as showing your wish to join a party, except instead of the Join
Party option you chose the Invite to Party command. This way, a party
will be formed with the inviter as the leader of this party. From this
point on, the party will do as the Party Leader commands with groups
that can have up to 6 members.
Parties converse among themselves via the log window at the bottom of
the screen. The Leader is marked in the main field window with a special
yellow sign, indicating who to talk to if you want to join up. When it
comes to the all-important issue of dividing up treasure, there are two
rules -- it's possible to either automatically divide booty or save it
in a pool for later division. If disputes arise, Square recommends that
those who wish to leave the party "refrain from selfish action as
much as possible" and secure the assent of other members before
doing so.
Alliance
The alliance system is one that must be considered if you're going to
fight against very powerful enemies. It allows multiple parties to form
alliances with each other. For those enemies where they're impossible to
defeat with just one party, this Alliance system will allow the chance
for victory to drastically increase. Alliance will allow up to 3 parties
to join together, so up to 18 players can join together. To allow for
easy understanding, the Alliance Leader will be indicated with a white
mark, to differentiate him from the sub-leaders with their yellow mark.
Combat
Many of the people in Final Fantasy XI are your friends. Many more,
and many things which are not necessarily people, are not your friends.
Thus, it will be necessary to kill them and steal their stuff -- this,
after all, is the way of the world in RPGs. Combat in Final Fantasy XI
is nothing like the systems employed in the older Final Fantasy games,
but it probably won't be too difficult for players of other online RPGs
to grasp. It's a semi-realtime system, blending immediate action with a
variety of limitations necessitated by the persistent online
environment.
Targeting And Attacking
When a monster comes into range, you can use an examine command to
size up its abilities. If it looks like a vulnerable enough target, lock
on and get things happening. Targeting is activated with the press of a
button. This highlights the active target in the game window and brings
up sub-windows featuring the target's statistics and possible actions
for attacking it -- physical attack, magic, item use, defense, and so
on.
Once physical attacks are selected, the player character attacks
automatically at intervals determined by its statistics. Fast characters
can attack more frequently, of course, so it behooves players to train
their agility stats. The tempo of attacks is also affected by what kind
of weapon is equipped -- a two-handed sword, say, isn't quite so nimble
as a dagger, although it naturally hits harder when it does land. When
attacking, remember that you don't have to whack the attack button
repeatedly. In fact, you definitely don't want to do that. Once an
attack is activated, the attack button becomes the attack cancel button,
which releases the target lock and allows the attacker to flee.
Releasing the lock in this way also broadcasts a call for help to the
general vicinity.
Come get some.
Ranged attacks can be initiated without melee combat going on at the
same time. Using ranged weapons is relatively simple -- equip a weapon
in one slot, ammunition in the other, and select "ranged
attack" from the action window. This brings up an indicator to
select from the various targets in range, and confirming the target
selection initiates the attack. Of course, ranged attacks won't work
when melee combat is engaged, so it's important to keep one's distance
and attack quickly, before an enemy can close in.
Magic
Magic, like physical attacks, functions in real time when doing
battle in FFXI. Each spell has the usual cost in magic points, as well
as a casting time, during which the spellcaster is relatively
defenseless (unless his buddies are pitching in), and as in many RPGs,
it's possible for casting to be disrupted if an enemy attacks during
that time. Thus, it's important for a spellcaster to develop their
evasion abilities, and a few heavily-armed associates might help as
well. Casting time is indicated by a meter to one side of the screen,
and varies according to the spell being cast. More powerful spells
demand a longer setup time, although that can be reduced by improving
the appropriate magic skill.
Magic
Magic in Final Fantasy XI is divided into the same two schools as it
is in any other game in the series (providing you don't count the
curious Blue Magic of Final Fantasy IX and others). White mages cast
white magic, black mages cast black magic, and red mages use a
smattering of both disciplines. All mages learn spells the same way,
though, by purchasing scrolls and memorizing the spells contained
therein. Here's a list of all the announced spells employed by mages of
all types (although only specialists can use the highest levels). More
should be added later, though -- many Final Fantasy staples are
obviously missing from these lists.
Black Magic
Fire 1: Deals elementary damage with a fire attribute to
one target.
Blizzard 1: Deals elementary damage with an ice attribute
to one target.
Aero 1: Deals elementary damage with a wind attribute to
one target.
Stone 1: Deals elementary damage with an earth attribute to
one target -- no petrification effect.
Thunder 1: Deals elementary damage with a thunder attribute
to one target.
Water 1: Deals elementary damage with a water attribute to
one target.
Fire 1 G: Deals elementary damage with a fire attribute to
a group of targets.
Blizzard 1 G: Deals elementary damage with an ice attribute
to a group of targets.
Aero 1 G: Deals elementary damage with a wind attribute to
a group of targets.
Stone 1 G: Deals elementary damage with an earth attribute
to a group of targets.
Thunder 1 G: Deals elementary damage with a thunder
attribute to a group of targets.
Water 1 G: Deals elementary damage with a water attribute
to a group of targets.
Poison 1: Afflicts an enemy with a mild poison, dealing
continuous damage.
Venom 1: Afflicts an enemy with a moderate poison, dealing
more continuous damage.
Bio 1: Afflicts an enemy with a severe poison, dealing the
maximum continuous damage and lowering its attack power.
Sleep: Puts an enemy to sleep.
Darkness: Blinds an enemy, reducing its chance to hit.
Stop: Paralyzes an enemy, preventing it from attacking.
Dungeon: Warps the caster and party out of a dungeon and
back to safety.
White Magic
Cure 1: Restores the HP of a single ally.
Cure 1 G: Restores the HP of a group of allies.
Raise 1: Brings a single dead ally back to life.
Poisona: Cures the poisoned condition of a single ally.
Parana: Removes the paralysis condition from a single ally.
Lidark: Cures the darkness condition of a single ally.
Vocal: Removes the silence condition from a single ally.
Dia 1: Deals gradual light damage to a single enemy and
lowers their defense power.
Dia 1 S: Deals gradual light damage to a group of enemies
and lowers their defense power.
Banish 1: Deals a blow of light power to a single enemy.
Banish 1G: Deals a blow of light power to a group of
enemies.
Protect 1: Protects a single ally from physical attack.
Shell 1: Protects a single ally from magical attack.
Blink: Blinds an opponent, making it easy to evade their
attacks.
Stoneskin: Stops a certain amount of damage from every
attack.
Aquaveil: Lowers the probability of a magic attack being
interrupted.
Slow: Decreases the frequency of an opponent's attacks.
Haste: Increases the frequency of an ally's attacks.
Hold: Paralyzes an opponent, preventing any action.
Silence: Stops an opponent from casting magic spells.
Skills
In addition to the special skills each job picks up, characters can
and must learn ordinary skills in order to get by in the world of
Vana'Diel. These cover basic combat and magic abilities, making it
easier to dodge, deal damage, cast spells, and the like. At each step up
in level, a character gets a chance to raise certain skills of their
choice. This is a rundown of the announced skills as yet:
Weapons
Players must become proficient with a particular type of weapon in order
to use it effectively in combat. The higher a particular weapon skill,
the better a character's hit percentage and damage bonus with that
weapon will be. Conversely, a character with a low weapon skill won't do
very well when forced to use that type of weapon in a pinch. Listed
weapon types so far include: unarmed combat, daggers, one-handed swords,
one-handed axes, and one-handed clubs.
Tactical Points serve as a reward for using the weapons with which a
player is skilled. Inflicting damage upon an enemy thus adds to the
Tactical Point gauge, which goes up through 100% all the way to a
potential 300%. These points are expended to perform special attacks,
weapon techniques specific to a particular weapon skill or weapon group
that are learned through use of those weapons. The TP gauge decreases
over time, when a player isn't fighting, so continuous combat is
necessary to use weapon skills on a regular basis.
Evasion
Evasion is the ability to dodge an opponent's attack, especially
important for lightly-armored and agile thieves. The higher the evasion
skill and corresponding statistics, the more likely the chance of a
dodge.
Shield
Equipping a shield lends itself to a better passive defense, but the
higher a warrior's shield skill, the more likely it is they'll also be
able to actively block an opponent's attack and take no damage
whatsoever.
Parry
Parry is similar to shield, but it only requires the equipment of a
weapon to get a shot at blocking attacks. Shield may be assumed to be a
little more effective, although the type of weapon equipped should
affect the usefulness of the Parry skill.
Magic
Like weapons, different types of magic also require skill proficiency to
increase their effectiveness. Mages, and non-mages who happen to have a
magical profession as their support job, must study different categories
of magic to use the spells contained therein. There are six types of
magic: holy magic (general white magic spells), recovery magic (cure and
status removal spells), support magic (defensive spells), weakness magic
(black spells such as Poison), spirit magic (black attack spells), and
dark magic (darkness and a few other black spells).
Synthesis
Finally, there are skills for item synthesis -- check for a full
discussion of that subject in the section about Crystals.
Guilds
Guilds are tradesman's organizations built around specific synthesis
skills. Joining a guild (which doesn't appear to be too strenuous an
effort) allows access to its various services, which are helpful in
several ways. First, going to the guild and training is required to
raise the level of an associated skill. Guilds also offer more direct
assistance in certain tasks. When attempting a difficult item synthesis,
you can go to the guild and get help from an expert, which increases the
chances of success. Finally, guilds also maintain shops that sell items
they make, or raw materials for making those items yourself. The FFXI
site lists the following guilds so far:
Culinarians' Guild: That's Square's language, not ours. If
your vocabulary is not so mighty, "culinarian" means
"cook." This guild thus pursues the art of preparing delicate
and tasty foods (which is more useful a skill than you might think --
look elsewhere for the rundown on food). Blacksmiths' Guild: Blacksmiths forge swords, armor, and tools
from base metals. The best swords are found in San D'oria, although
Bastok has more advanced technology in general, perhaps even including
firearms. Boneworkers' Guild: Exactly what it sounds like, workmen who
craft items out of bone. What items they might be remains a bit unclear. Fishermens' Guild: Fishermen teach the art of, well, fishing, as
well as the crafting of tools useful for that purpose. And they'll
probably sell you some tasty fish, too. Carpenters' Guild: Woodworkers run this guild, which appears to
mainly be devoted to large-scale building and joining projects.
Crystal
One of FFXI's many throwbacks to the early roots of the series is the
focus on "Crystals," crystalline objects that contain the life
force of the world. These are the game's Macguffin, the widget that
everyone is after. Control of the Crystals amounts to control of
corresponding bits of the world, and since all three major nations have
expansion on their minds, the adventurers of each nation are roaming far
and wide in search of Crystals to expand the power and territory of
their homelands.
Crystals can be found in the monster-filled wild lands of each
country. Areas where adventurers travel are ringed by border guards
installed by the government of the nation that lays claim to that
territory in order to aid their countrymen. From the border guards, you
receive a "signet," which is an enchantment that makes it
easier to find crystals or pick them up from fallen bad guys. The
enchantment wears off after a little while, though, so it's wise to get
those crystals while the getting is good.
Crystal Types
There are eight types of crystals, each corresponding to a particular
natural energy and related attribute. Here, handily illustrated, are the
crystals.
Each crystal has its opposite, easily discerned from the listing
above, and each elemental energy also has a particular quality that
describes the manner in which it might prove useful. Fire embodies
combustion; water embodies dissolution; earth embodies joining; wind
embodies separation; ice embodies coagulation; thunder embodies
decomposition; light is the force of reproduction; darkness is rot and
decay. Is this all poetic silliness? Not quite.
Item Synthesis
All these different qualities play a role in the business of
manufacturing items, one of the areas in which Final Fantasy XI seems to
borrow from the latter-day FFs. The key to creating magical weapons,
armor, and other objects is unlocking the different energies contained
within the crystals. For this, you need crystals, raw material, and the
following synthesis skills:
Blacksmith: Crafting metal goods like weapons, armor, and
tools.
Sewing: Creating cloth goods -- hats, capes, and other
apparel.
Alchemy: Brewing up potions and other chemical concoctions.
Woodwork: Working wood (duh), so as to make musical
instruments, shields, furniture, and so on.
Jewelry: Finely working metal and jewels into rings and
amulets.
Tanning: Turning animal hides into clothes, shoes, belts,
and vellum for scrolls.
Gaining levels in item synthesis accords a character more impressive
titles in their chosen trade, and more importantly, it reduces the
chance of costly failure in item synthesis. That's important, because
the crystals and other raw materials necessary to make powerful items
may take a fair amount of effort. The actual business of synthesis is
relatively simple -- once all the items are collected, all you need is a
place to cook. Mix the materials together, add the appropriate crystal
as a catalyst, and if luck is with you, presto! A new magical or
otherwise useful item. Maybe you can keep it for yourself, but one of
the main reasons to specialize in a trade, naturally, is to use your
products to engage in commerce with others.
Meals
Final Fantasy XI's world progresses in real (albeit accelerated)
time, so every so often players will have to stop and eat something.
Going too long without food or water results in gradual penalties to a
character's status. Conversely, certain foods can also have a
beneficial, or at least unusual effect on a character. Square offers a
couple of interesting examples on the FFXI site -- apparently a meal
high in protein increases strength and poison resistance at a cost in
intelligence, while fish benefit agility and paralysis resistance while
lowering magical capability. Go figure.
Some food effects are immediate, while others are latent and must be
brought out through cooking. Thus, if you want to get the most out of
your meals, develop your cooking skills.
Conquest
So here's a question. What is there to do in this big, wide world of
Vana'Diel? Sure, wandering around and killing things is fun for a while,
but it gets a little thin after a while with no overarching goal to give
it purpose. That purpose, in theory, is provided by Conquest, the
continuing rush by the three nations of the world to grab hold of as
much territory in the neutral wilds as possible. After all, while no
state of open war exists, there's still no point in standing idly by
while the other guy grabs a bigger slice of the pie than you do.
The world map is marked with different flag icons in each region,
indicating who controls that area. Each of the three countries has its
own icon, and then there's a neutral black icon, representing unclaimed
wilds. If you'd like to claim some glory for your home country, not to
mention yourself, form a party and go out to try and plant the flag in a
monster-controlled region. Clearing an area of monsters earns conquest
points for your country, and the country with the most conquest points
controls that particular region. Every week, in game time, the points
are toted up and regions change hands accordingly. The monsters are a
player in this phase as well -- if the player death rate in a particular
region is more than 10% (i.e., 10% of the players from all countries
that go in don't come out alive), that area reverts to neutrality.
Anybody can pass through or do battle in an area presently controlled
by another country -- player-killing is not allowed in FFXI, so
competition doesn't lead to direct conflict between adventurers from
rival nations. However, there is still a direct incentive to control
territory. As noted in the section discussing Crystals, adventurers
traveling in a region controlled by their country also get an advantage
in Crystal acquisistion, in the form of signet enchantments from their
border guards.
And that is it...for now. Look forward to much more coverage of Final
Fantasy XI as soon as we can translate it, hunt it down, dig it out of
the beta, or otherwise suck it up and spew it out in your direction.
Thank you for your patience, and since you made it this far, check out
the media section for a few neat new screenshots.
-- David Smith
[06/27/2000] Update
The most shocking revelation at the Square Millennium event in Japan
that was held on January 29, 2000 was most likely had to deal with Final
Fantasy XI. Not only was its announcement a big shocker (it was
announced at the same time as Final Fantasy IX for the PlayStation and
Final Fantasy X for the PlayStation2), but Square revealed that the game
is scheduled for release only a few months after Final Fantasy X.
And guess what? That wasn't even the most shocking news that was made
known. The revelation that shocked the press on-hand and diehard Final
Fantasy fans across the globe was that Final Fantasy XI would be an
online only game.
Yes, you read that correctly. With Final Fantasy XI, Square has
decided to do away with everything that has made the series so popular
in Japan. As any Final Fantasy fan will tell you, Square is one of the
best architects of emotional storylines that combine elements of fear,
love, romance, anger, and excitement. Being an online only game, it will
be near impossible for Square to conjure up an epic storyline that lives
up to the company's reputation.
This doesn't mean that it's going to be a bad game. In fact, it has
the potential to be a fantastic game. Though some people might not agree
that it's a great game, but the truth is that EverQuest for the PC has
developed a huge online following and is a hugely successful game. It'd
be ludicrous to say that Square won't be able to make Final Fantasy XI a
tremendously enjoyable game. In fact, my belief is that they'll be
successful in making Final Fantasy XI a wonderful online RPG.
However, I don't think that it's a good idea to call it Final Fantasy
XI because it diverges too much from the path of the previous games in
the series. Needless to say, whether or not they keep the name Final
Fantasy XI or change it to something like Final Fantasy Online won't
make it a good or bad game. What will matter in the end will be how well
the game plays.
The one problem I foresee is that Square may have some problems
setting up Final Fantasy XI correctly for online play and don't expect
them to release the game on time in Japan. If the date slips from summer
2001 to sometime in 2002, I wouldn't be surprised one iota.
thanks to IGN
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