February 28, 2010 - A FINAL FANTASY XI fan event is held at Nippon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event featured announcements regarding the new level cap and Abyssea trilogy, as well as a performance by The Small Onions.
February 28, 2010
Events in Vana'dielFebruary 28, 2010 - A FINAL FANTASY XI fan event is held at Nippon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event featured announcements regarding the new level cap and Abyssea trilogy, as well as a performance by The Small Onions.
March 23, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
March 23, 2010 - A World Merge is performed for the first time in seven years in order to adjust World populations, resulting in a total of 24 Worlds. Additionally, the World Transfer and character creation restrictions are lifted from the Odin and Bahamut Worlds, which were previously overpopulated.
[Source World → Destination]
Pandemonium → Asura／Garuda → Lakshmi／Kujata → Valefor／Seraph → Bismarck／Midgardsormr → Quetzalcoatl／Fairy → Sylph／Remora → Leviathan／Hades → Cerberus
March 23, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
March 23, 2010 - Trial of the Magians is added, in which adventurers can upgrade their weapons and Empyrean armor by fulfilling certain conditions, such as defeating certain monsters or gathering specified items.
March 23, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
March 23, 2010 – A new set of notorious monsters later referred to as “Abyssean NMs” (also “Voidwalker NMs”) is added. Abyssean NMs are invisible and can only be unveiled by purchasing clear abyssite from Assai Nybaem in Ru’Lude Gardens, then using the /heal command in a corresponding area. These notorious monsters are the subject of certain routes in the Trial of the Magians, often as targets to defeat or obtain loot from.
March 23, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
March 23, 2010 – Summoners gain the ability to form a pact with avatars Alexander and Odin, which can only be summoned when Astral Flow is active. Odin uses Zantetsuken to instantly KO or deal damage to foes, whereas Alexander’s Perfect Defense reduces damage taken and greatly increases resistances to statuses. Perfect Defense in particular gains popularity among those aiming to quickly decide a battle against powerful notorious monsters.
March 23, 2010
Events in Vana'dielMarch 23, 2010 – Adventurers are tasked with defeating the Shadow Lord in past Vana’diel in the campaign operation “Fiat Lux.” This operation is only available when Xarcabard [S] and other areas in the Valdeaunia Front are controlled by the Allies Forces of Altana, leading to an enormous surge in campaign battle activity.
June 22, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
June 22, 2010 - The first part of the Abyssea trilogy, "Vision of Abyssea," is added, unlocking the Abyssea areas La Theine, Konschtat, and Tahrongi. By exchanging Traverser stones for Visitant time, one can extend the duration of their stay in Abyssea areas.
June 22, 2010
Behind-the-scenes Commentary
With the way production was organized back then, the amount of content we planned for would’ve been difficult to deliver through an expansion disc, so we chose to release it as downloadable content instead. After considering our various situations at the time, we set upon development with the resolve to leave no regrets behind, even if it ended up being our last expansion.
One aspect we tried to tackle was how party compositions tended to lean towards certain jobs. We wanted to allow for all sorts of jobs to be used, and one answer we came up with was the weakness system. (Akihiko Matsui, Producer)
June 22, 2010
Events in Vana'dielJune 22, 2010 - The level cap is raised to 80 with the addition of the Limit Break quest "New Worlds Await," which involves trading 5 Kindred's Seals while having 3 Merit Points. This is the first time the level cap is raised in six and a half years.
June 22, 2010
Behind-the-scenes Commentary
The level cap was periodically increased up to level 75, but doing so without any new areas involved an extensive process of repositioning the monsters for leveling up. This in turn caused other issues, such as conflicts with recommended levels for other content, and so increasing the level cap was far more troublesome than it may have seemed on the surface.
As a result, the Level Cap 75 Era went on for quite some time, and as players began to express that they felt trapped, we decided that increasing the level cap was the only solution. As I mentioned in another entry, we resolved to leave no regrets even if it became our last expansion, and thus ultimately increased the level cap all the way to level 99. Ironically enough, I later regretted this decision, wishing we’d set aside 10 levels or so for Seekers of Adoulin. (Akihiko Matsui, Producer)
June 22, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
June 22, 2010 – New weapon skills are added alongside the level cap and combat skill cap increase. Learned at combat skill 290 and 300, many of the new weapon skills are elemental attacks or have area-of-effect properties.
June 22, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
June 22, 2010 - Walk of Echoes is added. This battle content takes place in a battlefield which first appeared during the events of Wings of the Goddess.
June 22, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
June 22, 2010 – Following a version update, level restrictions are removed from Promyvion, Phomiuna Aqueducts, and all other Chains of Promathia areas. With this change, the Chains of Promathia storyline can be progressed alone to some degree, and later becomes completely soloable with the introduction of alter egos.
From June 22 2010
Adventurers' HistoryJune 22, 2010 – Leveling methods change drastically with the introduction of Abyssea, with full 18-player alliances becoming the primary method of leveling as adventurers gradually work out how experience is gained in Abyssea areas. As adventurers can gain experience even from monsters with a significant level difference, Abyssea areas not only become leveling camps for level 75 to 80, but also from level 30, the minimum requirement for entering the areas. Although low-level adventurers are unable to contribute through battle, they settle into a role of using Forbidden Keys to unlock sturdy pyxides for their parties.
September 9, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
September 9, 2010 - The second part of the Abyssea trilogy, "Scars of Abyssea," is added, unlocking the Abyssea areas Attohwa, Misareaux, and Vunkerl. The large-scale combat system Bastion takes place in these three areas, where participating adventurers can earn Resistance credits to exchange for Empyrean leg equipment.
September 9, 2010
Events in Vana'dielSeptember 9, 2010 - The level cap is raised to 85 with the addition of the Limit Break quest "Expanding Horizons," which involves trading 5 Kindred's Crests and having 4 Merit Points.
September 9, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
September 9, 2010 - Empyrean armor, commonly known as AF3, is added along with "Scars of Abyssea." Head, leg, and feet equipment are obtained from "Scars of Abyssea" areas, whereas hand and body equipment are obtained from "Heroes of Abyssea" areas. Empyrean armor features low stats and only becomes powerful upon upgrading to +1 and +2 through Trial of the Magians. Items required for the upgrades can be obtained from quests and NMs in Abyssea areas.
September onwards 2010
Adventurers' History
September 2010 onward – As the weakness system for notorious monsters in Abyssea areas is gradually deciphered, adventurers begin proactively attacking weak points for greater yields of spoils.
Warriors and ninjas particularly excel at locating the “red weaknesses” that can be exploited by elemental weapon skills; the former due to their proficiency in many weapons, and the latter due to their expertise in swords and daggers. Furthermore, the powerful enhancements of Atma enable even small groups to tackle powerful notorious monsters, and groups of various sizes and compositions are sighted throughout Abyssea areas.
December 7, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
December 7, 2010 - The third part of the Abyssea trilogy, "Heroes of Abyssea," is added, unlocking the Abyssea areas Altepa, Uleguerand, and Grauberg. Dominion Notes required to exchange for Empyrean body equipment are obtained in these three areas.
December 7, 2010
Events in Vana'dielDecember 7, 2010 - The level cap is raised to 90 with the addition of the Limit Break quest "Beyond the Stars." In addition to trading which involves trading 10 Kindred's Crests and having 5 Merit Points, the quest also requires winning a mini-game.
December 7, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
December 7, 2010 - Wings of the Goddess concludes its three year story with this version update.
December 7, 2010
Events in Vana'diel
December 7, 2010 - The Porter Moogle storage system is added. Relevant items are stored away according to the content in which they are obtained, and can be accessed from Porter Moogle NPCs in cities.