Happy Birthday FFXI! Celebrating the 18th Vana'versary of FINAL FANTASY XI [UPDATE: SE will be hosting an event on 5/22. See threadmarks]

[Toth]

Just posted on http://www.playonline.com/pcd/topics/ff11us/detail/17822/detail.html

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/topics/special/200518_akKPg/imgs/wp011s.jpg

Celebrating the 18th Vana'versary of FINAL FANTASY XI (05/16/2020)

Greetings, adventurers! Matsui here to say a few words on this, the day of the 18th Vana'versary. Today, May 16, marks 18 years since service started for FINAL FANTASY XI. At the same time, the world is dealing with an unprecedented crisis in the form of the novel coronavirus, and I wish for the swift recovery of all those who have been affected. The development and operation teams are currently attempting to cope with the new normal, telecommuting to help prevent the disease from spreading to others. When this situation began, we were only able to do a limited amount of work from home in light of security and development resource-related concerns, but thanks to the tireless efforts of various company departments, we are making steady progress towards achieving full capacity. At present, we are working to bring you things that we originally planning to put in the May version update. Chief among those is the 18th Vana'versary event, which we're doing our best to implement soon, albeit a month later than originally intended.

In addition, we're also going to be bringing you story-related content and much more in this 18th Vana'versary year. We had hoped to bring you more related information in May, but we're going to look for another opportunity to share our plans instead.

That said, we're happy to show you the 18th Vana'versary logo for the first time!

This wonderful Carbuncle-themed illustration was brought to you by the amazingly talented Chisato Asakura, and we hope that this first avatar will remind everyone of our humble beginnings those many years ago as we march ever forward toward the 20th Vana'versary.

I know I say this every year, but we are able to celebrate the Vana'versary because you, Vana'diel's finest adventurers, have chosen to make FINAL FANTASY XI your home away from home. The team is always looking for more ways to continue to provide you with unforgettable experiences, particularly as we look toward the 19th and 20th Vana'versaries, and we pledge to do our utmost to bring you the best Vana'diel we possibly can.

Akihiko Matsui
Producer, FINAL FANTASY X​

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18 years...wow. Having been here since beta, I can say that the game has and continues to be such an amazing experience. The fact it was supposed to end 6 years ago or so and still gets monthly updates is a testamanet to its staying power.


Edit: There is also a Return to Vanadiel campaign ongoing where you can play again for free for a few weeks if you have had a previous account:

Return Home to Vana'diel Campaign

Play #FFXI for free for a limited time with the Return Home to Vana’diel Campaign!

www.playonline.com

Download 18th Vanaversary wallpaper here:

FINAL FANTASY XI Official Web Site

Also, design a trust based on Producer Matsui !

FINAL FANTASY XI Official Web Site

 

[Bradford]

superbly excellent game and one I have had endless pleasure going through for the past few years.

 

[Ocelott]

FFXI > FFXIV...only if FFXI could get a graphics overhaul 😭

 

[signal]

PlayOnline > FFXI

 

[Bavera__]

FFXI > FFXIV...only if FFXI could get a graphics overhaul 😭

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I've heard of a mobile remake but it was so long ago i have no idea if it's even a thing anymore or not

 

[Mattakuevan]

My favorite mmo of all time. I only wish they stuck with the 75 cap. The push to 99 and beyond always felt odd too me and it invalidated so many years of persistent content.

Still play it every once in a while.

 

[BasilZero]

The first and only one of two FF games I will never play :(


I was so sad to find out that it was a MMO.

 

[Disclaimer]

FFXI > FFXIV...only if FFXI could get a graphics overhaul 😭

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This might interest you. Just watched it last night, and was amazed (it's long, but skip to the end to see the final results):

 

[DiipuSurotu]

From the Creators of CHRONO CROSS and SECRET OF MANA

 

[Dekuman]

Oldie but goodie. These are re-uploads of re-uploads, but the video was flash and first circulated in 2004-2005.




Original Japanese

 

[Desi]

So many memories with this game. Easily in my top 3 Final Fantasy's.

 

[mordecaii83]

I'm really tempted to try the game out soon, I played it for less than 10 hours when it first came out with no expansions, but I've heard so many good things about it since then that I kinda want to see it for myself.

 

[Spiritreaver]

This game will always be a part of me. I don't login as much these days, but I still join random FFXI streams on Twitch and lurk and bask in the nostalgia.

 

[darkside]

This game wasn't for me because it was so heavily party based but I'll always remember it for the goofy PS2 HDD it came with.

 

[Disclaimer]

Anyway, happy anniversary to this beloved masterpiece! FFXI is a singular, unique experience, and one I'm thankful I got to experience in its communal prime.

Began playing the game again just last week with a handful of friends, for the first time in some 12 years (quit early in WotG), and wow, the strides that have been made. Not only can 99% of the game be treated as an expedited single-player experience for newcomers, with a party of NPCs in lieu of players, but the tutorials—which didn't used to exist whatsoever—are impressively thorough.

It's difficult to overstate how easy it is to get into FFXI right now. With all the events converging this month, a new player is offered all they could possibly want; there are gluttonous amounts of EXP increases (temporary, as well as limited time permanent items), limited-time available overpowered trusts (party member NPCs), etc.

To give a little perspective: leveling a job to cap used to take months and months of investment, but can now be done in mere days (probably even hours once you have all the EXP increases unlocked). Where 200 EXP used to be as much as you could expect from an enemy defeated by a full coordinated EXP party, it's now easy to get 1000~6000+ EXP from an enemy solo'd with trust NPCs in seconds. Where equipment used to be acquired purely from a player-driven Auction House economy, equipment of any level bracket is now simply purchasable from an NPC using currency you get from just playing the game normally.

Any Final Fantasy fans who've never played FFXI, or older FFXI players who want to bask in nostalgia or finish stories they never did, should seriously consider jumping in right now. You'll be rewarded with perhaps the best Final Fantasy stories of all time—nearly twenty years of content to explore at your leisure. The full game (all expansions) is currently on sale for $10 (down from $30), with a free month of game time to newcomers, and some free weeks for returners as well.

 

[Rotobit]

I started playing it last year and it took me a while to "get" that I didn't need to do every single quest I came across. The trust system made it "click" as a single player experience, but I think I got swamped by other games and never got back to it

Honestly, my only big issue with it is the way story dialogue is delivered through the same window as everything else. Doesn't feel natural at all looking to the bottom left, though I imagine it's great for RP

 

[Aeana]

Now is really the best time to go back considering the overlapping of campaigns going on right now. I went back to finish the story stuff I never did along with some friends, and it's been great. Finally got Shantotto 2.
I kind of regret going to Asura, though, just because the population is ridiculous.

My favorite mmo of all time. I only wish they stuck with the 75 cap. The push to 99 and beyond always felt odd too me and it invalidated so many years of persistent content.

Still play it every once in a while.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, I think it's amazing how they've managed to keep almost everything relevant. I'm not really sure I agree with the assertion that a lot of content was invalidated.

 

[Disclaimer]

I started playing it last year and it took me a while to "get" that I didn't need to do every single quest I came across. The trust system made it "click" as a single player experience, but I think I got swamped by other games and never got back to it

Honestly, my only big issue with it is the way story dialogue is delivered through the same window as everything else. Doesn't feel natural at all looking to the bottom left, though I imagine it's great for RP

Click to shrink...

You can split the chat log into two and customize both windows however you like—one for combat log / NPC dialogue, for instance.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

Jumping back in has been on my mind lately. I think I left right before the gear level stuff but tbh I have no idea how the progression even works now. I think I'm still on Slyph?

 

[Mattakuevan]

Jumping back in has been on my mind lately. I think I left right before the gear level stuff but tbh I have no idea how the progression even works now. I think I'm still on Slyph?

Click to shrink...

Its basically buy your "free" eminent gear (ilvl117) -> Alluvian Skirmish -> Ambuscade -> Endgame

Its fairly easy to get up to speed.

 

[Pikagreg]

Played FFXI for a good 12 years before finally putting away my White Mage robes for good. I had fun with FFXIV but the constant push for progression and attentiveness really wore me out. I loved the side-progression in FFXI. You could get gear 10+ years ago that is still viable and sought after today. The world had a sense of danger that you don't really see in games much today outside of maybe Xenoblade where they place high level enemies in the middle of the starting areas. I am still friends with a lot of my FFXI friends and I have yet to have a similar bonds in an online game except maybe Phantasy Star Online coming close.

I am looking forward to PSO2 on PC because it has a lot of similarities to things I loved about FFXI though I am older now and definitely don't have the time I used to.

 

[Vaser]

The first and only one of two FF games I will never play :(


I was so sad to find out that it was a MMO.

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It's weird, Final Fantasy is my favorite gaming series, but the thought of giving these mmo games a try never even crossed my mind.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

So what are the limitations of the trust system these days? Can I complete Seekers missions just using trusts?

 

[skeezx]

one of the most exhilarating times of my life. and i do mean my life, not my "game life"

can't believe it's still sub though (edit: oh and playonline still, nonetheless). i'd like to always have it installed to kick around every now and again but nah

 

[Yoshichan]

Anyone remember the music video where a taru and a hume or another race where the taru goes

"yes i can yes i can yes i caaaaaaan"

or something like that? Been looking for it for sooo long but can't find it :(

 

[Darkstorne]

Wow! I still remember playing this with a friend before launch at a London game show at the ExCeL centre. Blew me away back then. My friend was far more interested in the other big about-to-launch MMO that was also playable here though. Something called... World of Warcraft, I think? Can't be sure. I just remember thinking he was a fool, and there was no way this cartoon nonsense would be more popular and successful than a new FINAL FANTASY!

 

[Aeana]

So what are the limitations of the trust system these days? Can I complete Seekers missions just using trusts?

Click to shrink...

Almost every story thing in the game can be done with trusts. The final boss of Rhapsodies of Vana'diel presents a challenge, but has been soloed by many people so it isn't impossible.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

It's a shame that Square seems to just refuse to streamline the account making process. The fact that you STILL have to use a PlayOnline account is such a weird thing. I bought the game a few months back when it was on sale and I spent maybe an hour and a half trying to get an account set up and when I finally did...None of my login credentials worked, I was so upset. I had to refund it because I just couldn't waste my time anymore. I really hope they do release a single-player or that mobile remake someday.

 

[Jailer of Hope]

Wow! I still remember playing this with a friend before launch at a London game show at the ExCeL centre. Blew me away back then. My friend was far more interested in the other big about-to-launch MMO that was also playable here though. Something called... World of Warcraft, I think? Can't be sure. I just remember thinking he was a fool, and there was no way this cartoon nonsense would be more popular and successful than a new FINAL FANTASY!

Click to shrink...

Weirdly enough, no one I knew tried to convince me to jump to WoW but I couldn't stop hearing about City of Heroes.

Almost every story thing in the game can be done with trusts. The final boss of Rhapsodies of Vana'diel presents a challenge, but has been soloed by many people so it isn't impossible.

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Wow that's awesome!

 

[Ferrs]

New story content? I thought they finished doing new content.

 

[tjlee2]

My first MMO, really introduced me to joy of playing with other people. Helped that I joined a mostly drama free endgame LS. Had a great time leading Dynamis, but then college came calling so had to stop playing in 2004 (put in about 2 years iirc). Really memorable part of my life.

 

[Aeana]

It's a shame that Square seems to just refuse to streamline the account making process. The fact that you STILL have to use a PlayOnline account is such a weird thing. I bought the game a few months back when it was on sale and I spent maybe an hour and a half trying to get an account set up and when I finally did...None of my login credentials worked, I was so upset. I had to refund it because I just couldn't waste my time anymore. I really hope they do release a single-player or that mobile remake someday.

Click to shrink...

The system they have set up allows you to use a single square enix account to log into multiple FF11 accounts, and a lot of people would be upset if they changed that. (You can associate multiple POL IDs with the same SE account)

 

[Matticers]

I really, really hope they do something like a remaster for the 20th anniversary. I don't think the mobile game is going to happen and even if it does, it wouldn't be the same.

 

[Toth]

New story content? I thought they finished doing new content.

Click to shrink...

So were most FFXI players when they announced the end of the game several years ago haha

But since then, we have had 3 new endgame systems (omen, 4 dynamis d zones, and now odyssey (in stage 1)), monthly super battles (ambuscade v2 Very difficult), new primal and mega bosses fights (which are very hard at VD), and reforgable af and relic armor. They are really trying to keep the game going but there is still some difficulty in adapting the very old FFXI code into more modern FFXIV ideas.

 

[Dekuman]

I really, really hope they do something like a remaster for the 20th anniversary. I don't think the mobile game is going to happen and even if it does, it wouldn't be the same.

Click to shrink...

They may announce mobile plans, but since Matsui's goal is to keep the PC original alive, seems counterproductive.

Also Matsui has attempted to tone down expectations for the 20th anniversary. Suggesting in recent interviews its probably going to be something like a special fan event... (where they could announce something) but they've been pretty clear its unlikely we'll see major content on FFXI. Though Fujito the director has started to talk about adding quest content instead of just dumping battle content on players. An expansion is essentially a bunch of quests, battle content and new zones, so we're some ways there in a sense LOL.

Then agian they've said stuff before and did exactly the opposite, so anything is possible.

 

[Disclaimer]

The first and only one of two FF games I will never play :(


I was so sad to find out that it was a MMO.

Click to shrink...

It's weird, Final Fantasy is my favorite gaming series, but the thought of giving these mmo games a try never even crossed my mind.

Click to shrink...

Y'all should consider it. It's an MMO, but nowadays it can be approached purely like a single-player story experience, with many times the story/content as other RPGs, and a tiny fraction of the time investment an MMO usually requires.

Refer to my other post for how easy to is to get into:

Anyway, happy anniversary to this beloved masterpiece! FFXI is a singular, unique experience, and one I'm thankful I got to experience in its communal prime.

Began playing the game again just last week with a handful of friends, for the first time in some 12 years (quit early in WotG), and wow, the strides that have been made. Not only can 99% of the game be treated as an expedited single-player experience for newcomers, with a party of NPCs in lieu of players, but the tutorials—which didn't used to exist whatsoever—are impressively thorough.

It's difficult to overstate how easy it is to get into FFXI right now. With all the events converging this month, a new player is offered all they could possibly want; there are gluttonous amounts of EXP increases (temporary, as well as limited time permanent items), limited-time available overpowered trusts (party member NPCs), etc.

To give a little perspective: leveling a job to cap used to take months and months of investment, but can now be done in mere days (probably even hours once you have all the EXP increases unlocked). Where 200 EXP used to be as much as you could expect from an enemy defeated by a full coordinated EXP party, it's now easy to get 1000~6000+ EXP from an enemy solo'd with trust NPCs in seconds. Where equipment used to be acquired purely from a player-driven Auction House economy, equipment of any level bracket is now simply purchasable from an NPC using currency you get from just playing the game normally.

Any Final Fantasy fans who've never played FFXI, or older FFXI players who want to bask in nostalgia or finish stories they never did, should seriously consider jumping in right now. You'll be rewarded with perhaps the best Final Fantasy stories of all time—nearly twenty years of content to explore at your leisure. The full game (all expansions) is currently on sale for $10 (down from $30), with a free month of game time to newcomers, and some free weeks for returners as well.

Click to shrink...

 

[civet]

My favorite FF miles ahead of any other. Played it for 4/5 years as a samurai on Midgardsormr. Loved the overall atmosphere, music, art and places, the skill chains and magic burst system, the difficulty, the thrills of travelling with Silent Oil and Prism Powder to places and exp camps, the shouts out for mob trains, the Burning Circle fights, facing Rams and selling skins, earning money by teleporting people in Jeuno, reaching Tavnazia, fighting in Sky, the joys when looting great gears, the satisfaction of reaching Lv 75, and most of all the slow pace.

I'm not sure if I want to or could ever go back to it but I'll keep the dearest memories.

 

[Nida]

Played so very much of this game. Started on the PS2 launch and migrated to PC. Once they sped up the leveling process with massive chains in alliances the game lost it's luster. But so many great memories.

Farming Optical Hat's in a group. Parties in the Dunes and Jungle where a single goblin could destroy your entire party. Competing with Gil sellers to camp HNM's. Helping people get all their summons and AF armor. That first run from your home city to Jeuno. Waiting on an airship for 10 minutes. Waiting to be invited to a party for hours because you chose to level Dragoon.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

The system they have set up allows you to use a single square enix account to log into multiple FF11 accounts, and a lot of people would be upset if they changed that. (You can associate multiple POL IDs with the same SE account)

Click to shrink...

I suppose I can understand that. Unfortunately that doesn't really do me much good though as like I said, it was impossible for me to actually get into the game no matter how many guides I followed. Oh well.

 

[Corthier]

One of the best MMO's I've played over the years. Can't believe it's been 18 years lol. BLU still remains one of my favorite jobs and it's been fun redoing all the steps on a fresh character. With how it is now, it's great playing single player.

 

[Velorath]

Coincidentally, I jumped into this last month and am still going through the story. I played at launch (had the PS2 beta with the HDD and the PC beta), and made it to around lv. 30 before quitting. I could have gotten by with the forced grouping but combined with the harsh death penalties like deleveling there were just too many feel bad moments if you screwed up and caused a group wipe or something.

Now that you can go through everything solo using trusts (NPC party members essentially) and due current circumstances giving me a lot of extra free time I figured now would be the time to go through and knock out all the story stuff. It's always kinda bothered me that this is the one mainly FF game I hadn't completed the story for.

After 18 years and as a game that was designed with the PS2 in mind, it's a miracle it's as playable as it is. I mean don't get me wrong, everything is so menu or macro driven it's a bit of a nightmare. There's no search function for the auction house and you can only sell 7 things at a time. Trying to target something can be frustrating at times, and there are some zones that maybe feel a little too close to FFXIV 1.0 even with having in-game maps available. It's playable though and fun enough that I've overall enjoyed my time with it so far and the improvements the community have made to the graphics and various UI add-ons is impressive.

My thoughts on the storylines are a bit mixed. Most of the stories are actually pretty good, but there are a lot of long-winded cutscenes. I'm really enjoying the Adoulin story at the moment, but my god does if feel like the actual act of proceeding through it was designed by whoever did the quests bridging ARR and Heavensward in FFXIV. Go to this site and you can see how many parts of the quest are "go here and watch a cutscene". Some of the other expansion stories have a bit more gameplay involved but it's not uncommon for 5 minute long cutscenes where 1-2 minutes would have gotten the point across. The other big issue is that there's no real progression through the storylines. Sometimes, particularly in the last story Rhapsodies of Vana'diel it will require you to have progressed up to a certain point in the other stories but for the most part you have access to almost ever story early on and the only real thing gating you is level unless you have someone helping you.

For the most part is doesn't matter too much as the stories are mostly self-contained. The big exception to this is that RoV being the last one ties everything else together. It's also the one where there's the most incentive to progress through as much as you can early on because it gives you a ton of permanent 30% XP bonuses and eventually allows you to up the number of trusts you can have out at once from 3 to 4 and then later 5. Aside from some epilogue stuff I've wrapped up Zilart, Promathia, and RoV, I'm 3/4 of the way through Adoulin, halfway through Aht Urhgan, and still a little early on in Wings of the Goddess (less fast travel options makes it a bit tedious). I'm not sure if I'll mess around with the smaller story packs yet, and I don't think I'll get too involved in the endgame. Getting multiple equipment sets and making macros that include swapping out gear pieces when using certain skills and abilities just seems like a bridge too far for me when it comes to tedium.

Getting into this game isn't something I can actually recommend to people, but for those like me who just really want to get a chance to experience it, you can get through the story content solo for the most part (if Trusts weren't buffed right now for the Alter Ego event going on, I wouldn't have beat the RoV end boss solo) and there is some fun to be had.

 

[Aeana]

Getting multiple equipment sets and making macros that include swapping out gear pieces when using certain skills and abilities just seems like a bridge too far for me when it comes to tedium.

Click to shrink...

FWIW, nobody does this manually anymore. The Windower add-on "gearswap" lets you define sets and change equipment automatically when you use certain abilities. It makes the whole thing pretty set and forget.

 

[Foffy]

I was actually planning on playing this sometime this year.

How does it fare for a solo player just wanting to go through the core content? I was made aware that AI companions are a thing?

 

[Aeana]

I was actually planning on playing this sometime this year.

How does it fare for a solo player just wanting to go through the core content? I was made aware that AI companions are a thing?

Click to shrink...

Yes. And right now until May 25th, some of the best ones are available.

You can do the whole story with AI members provided you've got the good ones.

 

[Foffy]

Yes. And right now until May 25th, some of the best ones are available.

You can do the whole story with AI members provided you've got the good ones.

Click to shrink...

AIs have quality and that changes from time to time? Like, why is May 25th the deadline? Gacha AI? :p

 

[SpoonyBob]

18 years. Man I feel old.

I wouldn't go back and play it like it was when it first made it to America... but I'll keep some of those memories forever.

 

[Disclaimer]

I was actually planning on playing this sometime this year.

How does it fare for a solo player just wanting to go through the core content? I was made aware that AI companions are a thing?

Click to shrink...

Yes, 90% of the content in the game is soloable now -- everything that will concern you going through the stories. You get "trusts," summonable NPC party members, who are quite powerful, and make you totally self-sufficient, to the point where you could go from level 1-99 virtually naked.

Other than that, the game is extremely friendly to newcomers who want to experience the story. There's an extensive tutorial system that teaches and rewards you, and this month there are various events coinciding that drastically increase the friendliness of the game. For instance, not only is there an on-going event that doubles EXP and skill-ups, but next week (beginning tomorrow) you'll get an Echad Ring, which is a permanent item that increases EXP by 150% (up to 30,000 bonus EXP earned)... with just a 2hr cooldown.

AIs have quality and that changes from time to time? Like, why is May 25th the deadline? Gacha AI? :p

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Limited-time events are happening for the anniversary in May that provide access to various particularly overpowered trust NPCs, as well as other rewards. Plus the game's only $10 right now. If you want to get into it, I'd highly suggest buying it right now, and at the very least logging in once for the next several weeks to get the login rewards.

 

[DrSopa]

good times

 

[Minthara]

Almost every story thing in the game can be done with trusts. The final boss of Rhapsodies of Vana'diel presents a challenge, but has been soloed by many people so it isn't impossible.

Click to shrink...

I was actually planning on playing this sometime this year.

How does it fare for a solo player just wanting to go through the core content? I was made aware that AI companions are a thing?

Click to shrink...

Just to add to these points: I recently started a new character on Asura and soloed the whole entire story. However, don't expect to be able to do that as any job, it'll likely need to be a tank or something that can tank (Paladin, Runefencer, Ninja). I did it as a 119 Ninja and I did not die once (you can die a whole bunch of times and a NPC will raise you, so your main enemy is running out of time) on the final boss encounter, but that required precise positioning and knowing what I was doing (I had soloed it before on my old server).

The rest of the story content is a cakewalk compared to that fight, with a few exceptions that may require you to get creative: For instance, to finish the Treasures of Aht Urgan expansion you will need to do an instanced fight with a NPC that can and will die unless you bring AOE crowd control and/or heals :)

If anyone needs any helps/advice and they are on Asura, feel free to PM me and I'll give you my character name. I'm generally on for a few hours every day and really don't mind offering help/advice.

 

[Velorath]

FWIW, nobody does this manually anymore. The Windower add-on "gearswap" lets you define sets and change equipment automatically when you use certain abilities. It makes the whole thing pretty set and forget.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I wouldn't expect people to do it manually. I just have no interest in defining sets through gearswap in the same way that I muddle through combat using the menus a lot because especially while leveling up and getting new abilities frequently, I didn't want to deal with making macros. Also the idea of farming multiple sets of gear doesn't seem like something I'm going to want to do.