Final Fantasy XI Heroes of Abyssea Trailer
November 29, 2010
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VanaFest 2010 Bomb Shells
Posted on February 28, 2010 by Zack Reese
Square-Enix announced moments ago a healthy amount of exciting new information for their long-running online title that is sure to excite players new and old alike that will breathe new life into one of the longest-running MMORPGs still on the market, a game today celebrating its 8th year on the market. If a dancing Nobuo Uematsu won't excite you, then perhaps all these huge announcements will.
NOTE: Much of these reportings were issued directly off Twitter from the official VanaFest spokesperson.
Up first is the news that with the soon-to-be-released March update, Wings of the Goddess will finally mark the conclusion of the past nation quest storylines with a major battle in the enemy heartland of Valdeaunia involving all three nations working together to overcome the Shadow Lord. Those who do accomplish this feat will be rewarded with items and other earnings, but when the director of the game, Koichi Ogawa, was asked if those would be the last of the rewards, he just smiled.
Also during the event, it was announced that players will be to equip new weapons that will allow players to unlock and use previously Campaign-only weapon skills. The example given was being able to wear pieces of the Shadow Lord's (the main baddie in the storyline) armor and weapon.
A new branching quest system was announced called, "Trial of the Magians". Quests that players decide to embark upon will be divided into a number of categories, and progression in each will allow players to earn different rewards, such as weapon enhancement, armor enhancement, and more.
Players will initiate a quest by trading their piece of equipment to the Magian Moogle NPC at which point a list of corresponding quests will be displayed. Players may choose a quest based on difficulty level and the enhancement they would like added to their weapon, which will be granted upon the fulfillment of the quest objective. Afterwards, the item will be returned to them with the desired enhancement. A single item can undergo numerous upgrades. By trading an already-enhanced item to a Magian Moogle, players can undertake successive quests to have it further improved. Multiple quests can be undertaken simultaneously.
By repeating the quests, up to 80 different features can be added to a single weapon. With figures such as Damage and Delay added to the equation, there exist 500 possible attribute patterns for a single quest branch. This offers a huge amount of growth made available to characters on a scale hardly seen in any other online game. Overall, players will be able to pick and choose which quests to do based on the stat that they want to improve.
Another exciting revelation is that the team behind Final Fantasy XI will be raising the level cap of all players all the way to 99 from a former peak of 75! To compensate for this, new abilities and magic will be introduced for each character job to allow previous “main job” specialties being available as a “support job". Along with this news, there will be an addition of new areas to EXP in, addition of monsters in previous areas, an introduction of a new type of "merit points" and an increase in the maximum number of upgrades players can give will also be increased for those trying to hit level 99. These adjustments will be made in the upcoming June update, with most of the content on this update being aimed at aiding leveling up parties and assist in high-level game content.
Whether you see it as a way to expand the game much farther or to keep people busy until FFXIV comes out is all a matter of perception, I suppose.
For Summoners feeling a little drag in their daily lives (finding a party, for one), two new avatars have been announced! Alexander and Odin will join the cast as newly-acquirable summons for players to stress over in the upcoming March update. Alexander’s Astral Flow (two-hour limited avatar-specific skill) “Perfect Defense” will reduce the amount of damage sustained and prevents of status ailments for all party members, while Odin’s Flow “Zantetsuken” defeats all foes within an area of effect. Zanketsuken's damage and accuracy will be calculated based on Summoner MP (magic points), with the number of enemies in the area reducing the amount of damage. Both of these Summoners will only be called upon to invoke their Astral Flow, however, so players will not be able to use them in regular battle.
More job-specific updates include:
RANGER: Possibly adding an ability that helps decrease enmity, or an ability that offers double-powered attacks that consumes double the ammo.
BEASTMASTER: It will soon become easier to make and obtain the materials needed to make high-quality jug pets. There will also be new jug pets and charmable monsters added; maybe even an ability to transfer enmity onto your pet.
MONK: May see an ability that would grant higher accuracy and subtle blow in exchange for lowered TP gain and a WeaponSkill restriction.
RED MAGE: Addition of new enfeeble spells.
DARK KNIGHT: Looking into adjusting dark magic accuracy and cast times. With increased spell usage, the team will also consider new ways to recover MP, as well.
DRAGOON: Discussing ways to enhance the wyvern’s powers and thinking about creating a new type of “Jump” ability.
PUPPETMASTER: With adjustments to attributes of the Harlequin and Valoredge X-900 frames and the performance of attachments, automatons (the job's pets) will be made more durable against incapacitation. In addition, the hand-to-hand combat rating of puppetmasters will be raised from rank C to A, making them formidable combatants in their own right by increasing damage and accuracy.
SAMURAI: Thinking of lowering the level you earn Sekkanoki, to open it up to jobs with /SAM support. Maybe a new ability, too
WARRIOR: May get an ability allowing them to tank for a short period of time enhancing their versatility in parties.
WHITE MAGE: Possibility of receiving new divine and healing magic spells, and more chances to use divine magic. (That sounds really helpful for those of use White Mages who always had a hard time in later levels keeping up with healing different groups of players)
THIEF: An enhancement to Treasure Hunter as well as a new type of Steal ability may be in store.
CORSAIR: Considering adding a greater gambling aspect to COR by making XI a special number that enhances roll effects.
DANCER: Dancers may see different methods of TP gain as well as the possibility of casting Waltzes on members outside of their party.
BLACK MAGE: All you need to know? They will soon be able to use the spell of.... METEOR! (Cue the "One Winged Angel" music!) This spell will be unlocked when players reach a certain level after the level cap is raised to 99. Expect the journey to acquirement (or crafting) to be a challenging one.
The future direction of any other job not listed here will be announced at a later date after the March update.
A new trailer was played during the show announcing three new high-level battle area add-ons, called “Abyssea”. Compared to previous add-ons released for the online title, adventurer focus will be on fighting strong enemies, epic battles, and new armor to collect. "AF3", or a third set of Artifact Armor (job-specific equipment) was also announced in conjunction. Paladin and Black Mage armor was shown off at this time. The first release, "Vision of Abyssea", will be released this summer at a $9.99 (£7.99) price point. “Scars of Abyssea” and “Heroes of Abyssea” will be released later on in the year to round out 2010.
Due to concerns over RMT (Real Money Trading) activities, player populations in some worlds have diminished. To solve this problem, the decision has been made to merge the lower populated worlds with fuller ones, with the goal of being able to balance player counts across all worlds and all time zones to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. According to Global Online Producer Sage Sundi, this is set to go into effect during the March version update, where the number of worlds will be reduced from 32 to 24.
A new environment called the "Walk of Echoes" will introduce a whole new hoarde of Notorious Monsters to scare the bejeesus out of players when they are unfortunate enough to come across their paths. These creatures range in size from small blob-like creatures to towering dragons reaching heights above most of the buildings in Vana'Diel! This enigmatic wasteland of memories will also play part in a lot of future "Wings of the Goddess" missions as it works its way to its thrilling conclusion! The content will be made available during the Summer.
Those involved in the skill trade of Crafting will be happy to hear that the team has announced that you will be able to achieve higher synergy skills and new recipes will become available. These include new warp items as well as new guild-related items! Does that mean we will finally see uniform-clad guildmates flood the towns? Time will tell.
As you can plainly see, Final Fantasy XI still has a lot of life still left in it even with the advent of Final Fantasy XIV. The fact that Square-Enix is putting this much work into a game already in its 8th year shows the huge amount of care and consideration they have put into the game, and nothing will detract them from delivering to players an experience that will last another eight years. Thank you for reading our coverage of VanaFest 2010. Please tell us what you thought about the announcements either in the comments section or on our forums!
NOTE: Much of these reportings were issued directly off Twitter from the official VanaFest spokesperson.
Up first is the news that with the soon-to-be-released March update, Wings of the Goddess will finally mark the conclusion of the past nation quest storylines with a major battle in the enemy heartland of Valdeaunia involving all three nations working together to overcome the Shadow Lord. Those who do accomplish this feat will be rewarded with items and other earnings, but when the director of the game, Koichi Ogawa, was asked if those would be the last of the rewards, he just smiled.
Also during the event, it was announced that players will be to equip new weapons that will allow players to unlock and use previously Campaign-only weapon skills. The example given was being able to wear pieces of the Shadow Lord's (the main baddie in the storyline) armor and weapon.
A new branching quest system was announced called, "Trial of the Magians". Quests that players decide to embark upon will be divided into a number of categories, and progression in each will allow players to earn different rewards, such as weapon enhancement, armor enhancement, and more.
Players will initiate a quest by trading their piece of equipment to the Magian Moogle NPC at which point a list of corresponding quests will be displayed. Players may choose a quest based on difficulty level and the enhancement they would like added to their weapon, which will be granted upon the fulfillment of the quest objective. Afterwards, the item will be returned to them with the desired enhancement. A single item can undergo numerous upgrades. By trading an already-enhanced item to a Magian Moogle, players can undertake successive quests to have it further improved. Multiple quests can be undertaken simultaneously.
By repeating the quests, up to 80 different features can be added to a single weapon. With figures such as Damage and Delay added to the equation, there exist 500 possible attribute patterns for a single quest branch. This offers a huge amount of growth made available to characters on a scale hardly seen in any other online game. Overall, players will be able to pick and choose which quests to do based on the stat that they want to improve.
Another exciting revelation is that the team behind Final Fantasy XI will be raising the level cap of all players all the way to 99 from a former peak of 75! To compensate for this, new abilities and magic will be introduced for each character job to allow previous “main job” specialties being available as a “support job". Along with this news, there will be an addition of new areas to EXP in, addition of monsters in previous areas, an introduction of a new type of "merit points" and an increase in the maximum number of upgrades players can give will also be increased for those trying to hit level 99. These adjustments will be made in the upcoming June update, with most of the content on this update being aimed at aiding leveling up parties and assist in high-level game content.
Whether you see it as a way to expand the game much farther or to keep people busy until FFXIV comes out is all a matter of perception, I suppose.
For Summoners feeling a little drag in their daily lives (finding a party, for one), two new avatars have been announced! Alexander and Odin will join the cast as newly-acquirable summons for players to stress over in the upcoming March update. Alexander’s Astral Flow (two-hour limited avatar-specific skill) “Perfect Defense” will reduce the amount of damage sustained and prevents of status ailments for all party members, while Odin’s Flow “Zantetsuken” defeats all foes within an area of effect. Zanketsuken's damage and accuracy will be calculated based on Summoner MP (magic points), with the number of enemies in the area reducing the amount of damage. Both of these Summoners will only be called upon to invoke their Astral Flow, however, so players will not be able to use them in regular battle.
More job-specific updates include:
RANGER: Possibly adding an ability that helps decrease enmity, or an ability that offers double-powered attacks that consumes double the ammo.
BEASTMASTER: It will soon become easier to make and obtain the materials needed to make high-quality jug pets. There will also be new jug pets and charmable monsters added; maybe even an ability to transfer enmity onto your pet.
MONK: May see an ability that would grant higher accuracy and subtle blow in exchange for lowered TP gain and a WeaponSkill restriction.
RED MAGE: Addition of new enfeeble spells.
DARK KNIGHT: Looking into adjusting dark magic accuracy and cast times. With increased spell usage, the team will also consider new ways to recover MP, as well.
DRAGOON: Discussing ways to enhance the wyvern’s powers and thinking about creating a new type of “Jump” ability.
PUPPETMASTER: With adjustments to attributes of the Harlequin and Valoredge X-900 frames and the performance of attachments, automatons (the job's pets) will be made more durable against incapacitation. In addition, the hand-to-hand combat rating of puppetmasters will be raised from rank C to A, making them formidable combatants in their own right by increasing damage and accuracy.
SAMURAI: Thinking of lowering the level you earn Sekkanoki, to open it up to jobs with /SAM support. Maybe a new ability, too
WARRIOR: May get an ability allowing them to tank for a short period of time enhancing their versatility in parties.
WHITE MAGE: Possibility of receiving new divine and healing magic spells, and more chances to use divine magic. (That sounds really helpful for those of use White Mages who always had a hard time in later levels keeping up with healing different groups of players)
THIEF: An enhancement to Treasure Hunter as well as a new type of Steal ability may be in store.
CORSAIR: Considering adding a greater gambling aspect to COR by making XI a special number that enhances roll effects.
DANCER: Dancers may see different methods of TP gain as well as the possibility of casting Waltzes on members outside of their party.
BLACK MAGE: All you need to know? They will soon be able to use the spell of.... METEOR! (Cue the "One Winged Angel" music!) This spell will be unlocked when players reach a certain level after the level cap is raised to 99. Expect the journey to acquirement (or crafting) to be a challenging one.
The future direction of any other job not listed here will be announced at a later date after the March update.
A new trailer was played during the show announcing three new high-level battle area add-ons, called “Abyssea”. Compared to previous add-ons released for the online title, adventurer focus will be on fighting strong enemies, epic battles, and new armor to collect. "AF3", or a third set of Artifact Armor (job-specific equipment) was also announced in conjunction. Paladin and Black Mage armor was shown off at this time. The first release, "Vision of Abyssea", will be released this summer at a $9.99 (£7.99) price point. “Scars of Abyssea” and “Heroes of Abyssea” will be released later on in the year to round out 2010.
Due to concerns over RMT (Real Money Trading) activities, player populations in some worlds have diminished. To solve this problem, the decision has been made to merge the lower populated worlds with fuller ones, with the goal of being able to balance player counts across all worlds and all time zones to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. According to Global Online Producer Sage Sundi, this is set to go into effect during the March version update, where the number of worlds will be reduced from 32 to 24.
A new environment called the "Walk of Echoes" will introduce a whole new hoarde of Notorious Monsters to scare the bejeesus out of players when they are unfortunate enough to come across their paths. These creatures range in size from small blob-like creatures to towering dragons reaching heights above most of the buildings in Vana'Diel! This enigmatic wasteland of memories will also play part in a lot of future "Wings of the Goddess" missions as it works its way to its thrilling conclusion! The content will be made available during the Summer.
Those involved in the skill trade of Crafting will be happy to hear that the team has announced that you will be able to achieve higher synergy skills and new recipes will become available. These include new warp items as well as new guild-related items! Does that mean we will finally see uniform-clad guildmates flood the towns? Time will tell.
As you can plainly see, Final Fantasy XI still has a lot of life still left in it even with the advent of Final Fantasy XIV. The fact that Square-Enix is putting this much work into a game already in its 8th year shows the huge amount of care and consideration they have put into the game, and nothing will detract them from delivering to players an experience that will last another eight years. Thank you for reading our coverage of VanaFest 2010. Please tell us what you thought about the announcements either in the comments section or on our forums!
Final Fantasy XI
Platforms:
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Square Enix
Players: One
Release Dates:
Developer: Square Enix
Players: One
Release Dates:
16 May 2002
23 Mar 2004
17 Sep 2004
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Final Fantasy XI gets an all-in-one release
August 31, 2009
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NICE! hahah i was just recently cnthaitg with you and you said you will upload a video soon.. im sure you meant to say you already uploaded one. nice video, ill have to try this
ReplyThe downfall to a eihghr level player helping you quest is that eventually you will end up having to grind monsters for exp because you will be rushed through the quests so fast that they won't stay in line with your level.I personally prefer getting the quests out of the way but some people like the stories.Maybe she should start a new character with you so you can level together and help each other out through the harder quests?Hope that helps
ReplyI agree. I have quite a few friends who played with me during my days on FFXI, and have felt sort of robbed, like it just a big middle finger to their efforts. You could perceive this as a method from Square-Enix to move everyone over to Final Fantasy XIV. It makes me wonder if they will be consistent by having the level cap on FFXIV be 99 as well. Time will tell.
ReplyI think that all the ones that have gotten to 75 should already get a bonus on their 99 lvl. At least give them to 90. In all fairness that would be the best way to keep the ones that have already made it to lvl 75 and also enhance the gear also like the Rx equitment. You will lose alot of the 75 lvl ppls. As i know that i have talk to alot of them and they r thinking of quitting the game. They have worked hard at this game and feel that it is not fair of them not getting some reward for their efforts. Please take this into account because if u dont u will lose alot of gamer's on this server. Thank u for listening
Reply