Final Fantasy XI FAQ
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Written by: FearTheClown
Index :: Quick Links
v.1 (15.02.02) :: v.2 (15.02.02)
Requirements :: Character Races ::
Job Classes :: Fighting System
Final Fantasy XI, or Final Fantasy Online, is Square Soft's first online game and a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG(MMORPG). Following in the steps of previous Final Fantasies, the game world is in a completely new world called Vana Diel. If you've played an online RPG before you would know that you get to customize your character. Your character customization at this point includes a choice between 5 different races. The races are Hume (human), TaruTaru, and 3 others over which more info will be available in update v.2. Your character customization at this point isn't known, but it can be assumed that you could choose hair color, face, body type (possibly have sliders ala PSO) and possibly costume or clothing. When you start out you will be able to choose a job for your character. If you've ever played Final Fantasy Tactics the job system is going to be very similar. You will get to choose an initial job out of a few available depending on what type of character you are, and more jobs will become available once you reach higher levels or accomplish tasks/side quests in the game. Check the next update for more job system information and an in-depth look at the jobs available in the Japanese Beta Tester version.
A lot of people have been wondering what the requirements to play this game will be, and a lot of confusion has arisen thanks to this. But here are the requirements for the game:
- 40GB Hard Disk Drive: Japanes price - 148US$, Japanese release - June 2001, US price/release - to be determined.
- Network Adaptor/56k Modem: Combination of Ethernet Adaptor for BroadBand (dsl, cable, etc.) users and a 56k modem. No Japanese or US release date available. Price: 40-50 US$.
- Keyboard (optional for typing): No Japanese or US release date available, price - unknown, USB keyboard also will work.
- Mouse (use unknown): Check above.
- PlayOnline Monthly Fee: Unknown but best guess is 10 US$ per month or 5 US$ per month per each character.
A few common questions:
Q: Can this game be played offline?
A: No it is offline only.
Q: Is the hard drive used to save characters or the memory card?
A: Neither, your characters are saved online. This way cheating is reduced since it will be harder to hack into your characters.
Q: What is the monthly fee for?
A: MMORPG's require a large amount of bandwidth that Square Soft will need to maintain and pay for, thus costing Square a large sum of money.
If there are any more questions you have, please ask them on the NBrid boards. Check for the next update soon for information on the Character, Classes, and the Job system.
As said in the first version, it was noted that the world is called Vana Diel but inside this world there are 3 kingdoms, Bastok Republic, Federation of Windhurst, and San D'oria kingdom. Each kingdom is populated by a certain race as the majority and is a good place to start out when you begin a new game, although you can start in any of the 3 kingdoms when you create a new character. The current 5 character races are as follows (pics coming soon!):
- Humes (Humans):
As in most games these are the most balanced of the races and are able to use a variety of skills. They mainly reside in the Bastok Republic. - Elvaan (Elves):
My favorite class(I just love elves), they make very good warriors. They're a tall, proud race which can lead to problems with other races at times. Their physical features are they are tall, and have pointed ears. They live in the San D'oria Kingdom. - Mithra (elves/fox):
This race is a sort of elf hybrid with a type of fox because their skin is tanner than an elf but they have a tail! The males of this race are very rare and so you will only see females of this race so you can't be a male Mithra. They're well versed in natural science and live in the Federation of Windhurst. - Tarutaru (um, dwarf like just not as scrubby):
They're well known for their magical abilities and live in the Federation of Windhurst. They are VERY short and have pointed ears, and a darkened nose (very cute, I've seen a pic of them!). - Galka (Ogre like):
These tall broad shouldered beasts would best be called "un"intelligent just by the way they look. Powerhouse is an understatement and that is why they are best known for almost being "slaves" for the industrial part of the Bastok Republic. They are only males or no gender at all since they reproduce by 'Reincarnation' (looks like square is taking another crack at religion....).
As you can see, or read, the character races are quite diverse and the only 2 that might be said to resemble each other are the Humes and the Elvaan but it looks like there will be a wide variety of looks for a person to choose from. Pics are coming soon!
The Job system is similar to that of Final Fantasy Tactics in a way and yet still has its own take on it. The way it works is this, you get to pick from 6 initial jobs but more will become available as you do side quests or things for NPCs and you will be rewarded with scrolls. Now, from these scrolls you will be able to change your job but sometimes you will be able to have a Sub Job. The sub job is half the level of your main job and if your main job is odd then you round down on the sub job. Here's a demonstration:
MAIN JOB :: SUB JOB
Warrior lv. 1 :: Black Mage lv 1
Warrior lv. 2 :: Black Mage lv 1
Warrior lv. 3 :: Black Mage lv 1
Warrior lv. 4 :: Black Mage lv 2
Warrior lv. 5 :: Black Mage lv 2
Warrior lv. 6 :: Black Mage lv 3
So if you were a warrior lv 50, your sub job would be lv 25. Basically, you'll get to use the abilities of your main job and the abilities of the sub job at half the level of your main job, get it? Think about it for a second, its a little tough to comprehend. I believe you'll be able to change your main job freely after you obtain a certain scroll but until then you'll have to go to a place in your home kingdom called the Mog House to change your main job. Also, EXP. you gain in battle only goes towards your main job and not your sub job. So, to gain the levels in your sub job you'll have to make your sub job your main join for a little bit. It's a little complicated but simple once you understand it. Here's a list of some of the initial jobs you can start out with when you make a new character:
Beginner Jobs
- Warrior - high HP
- Monk - good bare handed fighter, cheap equipment
- White Mage - skilled in the art of healing, essential element of any party
- Black Mage - skilled in the art of attack magic (think vivi from FFIX)
- Red Mage - able to use some black and white magic, average fighting abilities
- Theif - quick and agile, ho-hum fighter
Everyone wants to know about the fighting system so here's the low down. It's an Active Time Battle done through menus. Basically, you automatically attack the monster unless you decide to use magic or an item, this is done to keep the battle flow going. If you cast magic it will take your character a certain amount of time to cast it depending on his level and the casting of the spell could be interupted if he's attacked, so alot of skill is involved in spell casting too. Experience comes in the form of Job Points so you don't actually level up but your job does. More battle system info coming as it arises.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many people can fight a monster at a time?
A. You roam around in parties created by a party leader, the party can have at the most 6 people. Things can get interesting though if you need help against a monster you can create an alliance of 3 parties, thus having 18 people fighting a monster at once. How this will be accomplished exactly I don't really know, more info on this in a later update.
Q. What's the point of the 3 kingdoms?
A. Just starting points but there could be alot more to it like wars between kingdoms and that. Also, there may be smaller little towns you can visit but I'm not really sure at this time.
Q. Will there be Player Vs Player (PvP)?
A. It's a possibility but in the Beta test version there is no PvP. Possibly there will be an arena where players can have at it but right now there isn't.
Q. What kind of equipment can your character equip?
A. Depending on what your character's main job is and sub job is you can equip different equipment but I believe that the equipment instead of just being able to equip it will have a level requirement much like Phantasy Star Online equipment does.
Well, that's it for update v.2. Post question about FFXI on the NBrid boards so I know what I need to put in v.3.