March 11, 2011 - The Tohoku earthquake hits Japan. In cooperation with the energy conservation effort, the game servers are closed from March 13 until March 25. A Crysta-based donation drive begins, and the Charity Cap in-game item is sent to donors as a token of gratitude.

May 10, 2011 - Dynamis areas for the four nations, Beaucedine Glacier, and Xarcabard are converted to non-reservable areas. Trigger items for boss NMs are introduced, allowing them to be challenged by smaller groups or solo. Dynamis areas for Valkurm, Buburimu, Qufim, and Tavnazia are also later converted to non-reservable areas on September 20, 2011.

May 10, 2011 – With the emergence of Voidwatch, savage entities known as Voidwalkers begin to invade the past and present, which adventurers must slay in order to unveil the true nature of this new threat to Vana’diel. The Voidwalkers spread to further areas as the story progresses and are fought by using the stratum abyssite and voidstone key items received from the Voidwatch Officer. Searching for weaknesses is even more essential when battling notorious monsters in Voidwatch, and rewards for defeating them include the Pulse Panoplia gear.

May 10, 2011 – With the implementation of Grounds of Valor, the dungeon equivalent of Fields of Valor, the majority of monsters in corresponding areas now respawn at a set time interval of five minutes. Each dungeon awards adventurers with experience, gil, and points called “tabs” for slaying a set quota of monsters, and also feature a chance for treasure caskets to appear. Treasure caskets found in areas added to Grounds of Valor later have a chance of containing Torque neck equipment, which increase synthesis skill.

May 10, 2011 - Fafnir and other NMs, which previously respawned based on elapsed time after defeat, are now spawned using trigger items instead. Adventurers can now challenge these NMs without waiting long periods for them to respawn, or fighting over them with other groups.

May 5, 2011 - A World Merge is performed to adjust populations. Certain Worlds which existed since the beginning of official service are merged for the first time, and the total number of Worlds falls to 16. As of 2021, further World Merges have not been performed.

[Source World → Destination]
Titan → Phoenix／Ramuh → Bahamut／Alexander → Shiva／Ifrit → Odin／Diabolos → Siren／Caitsith → Ragnarok／Unicorn → Fenrir／Gilgamesh → Carbuncle

July 12, 2011 - The /yell chat mode is added, but can only be used in Ru'Lude Gardens, Upper Jeuno, Lower Jeuno, and Port Jeuno at this point in time.

September 9, 2011 - The level cap is raised to 95 with the addition of the Limit Break quest "Dormant Powers Dislodged." In addition to trading 1 Kindred's Crest while having 10 Merit Points, adventurers are tasked with turning in one other item, which varies for each adventurer.

November 11, 2011 - An orchestra concert is held at Katsushika Symphony Hills in Tokyo, Japan. The concert is conducted by Masahiko Enkoji, performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and emceed by Emiri Kato. Attendees are presented with the Maestro's Baton in-game item.

December 15, 2011 - The level cap is finally raised to 99. Adventurers at level cap are no longer susceptible to Level 5 Petrify, an Ahriman attack which immobilized them at previous level caps as they were always multiples of 5. The final Limit Break quest, "Beyond Infinity," involves battling the Tarutaru NPC Atori-Tutori in a party.

December 15, 2011 – The quest “Martial Mastery” introduces new weapon skills unlocked by spending merit points. The weapon skills initially deal far more damage with five merit points allocated as opposed to one, a difference which has since been adjusted to be much smaller.

December 15, 2011 - A feature where adventurers can spend Daily Tally points to obtain random items from the Gobbie Mystery Box is added. Minor adjustments are later made to the feature and the box's location.