February 5, 2003 - Refresh is added as red mage-exclusive MP restoration magic. Although the Scroll of Refresh was added as a Seal Battlefield reward, rumors quickly spread that it dropped from the Taisai in Ranguemont Pass, resulting in an enormous mob of red mages fighting over Taisai.

April 15, 2003 - The beastmaster job ability Call Beast is added in a version update just before Rise of the Zilart's release. This radically changed the beastmaster playstyle and leveling, as they were now capable of fighting even in areas without targets susceptive to Charm. Summoning a monster with Call Beast required the use of jugs, and thus monsters summoned through this method came to be known as "jug pets."

April 15, 2003 – A new job, summoner, is added in a version update prior to the release of Rise of the Zilart.
Its addition is highly anticipated by countless adventurers, who rush to clear the job quest “I Can Hear a Rainbow” on the first day of release, and Leeches throughout Vana’diel are vanquished left and right in search of the Carbuncle’s Ruby required to progress the quest. In the following days, adventurers continue to scurry about the realm to observe the seven weather effects, particularly heat waves, for which many are spotted sweating it out in Valkurm Dunes.

April 17, 2003 – The Airship pass for Kazham is required to reach Elshimo Lowlands and Elshimo Uplands, two of the new areas added in Rise of the Zilart. An alternative to purchasing the pass for a hefty 148,000 gil is exchanging three keys: Ghelsba Chest Key, Palborough Chest Key, and Giddeus Chest Key. Consequently, Yughott Grotto, Palborough Mines, and Giddeus grow lively with droves of adventurers vanquishing beastmen that drop the keys.

April 17, 2003 – The implementation of new jobs has adventurers flocking to accept the relevant quests.
Notably, the quest “Forge Your Destiny” requires vanquishing an NM to unlock the samurai job. However, even if multiple quest participants partied together in defeating the NM, only one could clear the quest at a time, and consequently the battle must be completed once for every individual that accepted the quest. Perhaps inspired by the honorable conduct of the samurai they aspired to be, adventurers form a neat and orderly line to await their turn, and their venerable restraint becomes the talk of the town.

April, May 2003 - Adventurers would encounter Tonberries during their missions in Elshimo Uplands.
Defeating a Tonberry accumulated "rancor" which increased the damage of certain attacks of theirs, so resetting rancor before taking them on was advised.

April 2003 onwards – Leveling adventurers becomes a common sight in the new Rise of the Zilart areas, with the Yuhtunga Jungle particularly growing popular for leveling in the mid-20s.
The Kazham border is a convenient leveling camp rife with Mandragora and Goblins, and should a party member be KO’d, they can easily be revived if another member simply returns to the village and switches to white mage to Raise them. On the other hand, those entering from Kazham risk falling asleep upon arrival to a Mandragora’s Dream Flower, as enemies’ special abilities could still affect non-party members at the time.

April 2003 onwards – Eastern Altepa Desert is a popular leveling destination in the levels between the 20s and 30s, with Spiders and Dhalmels being the primary targets.
With the option of leveling in Western Altepa Desert becoming viable around level 40, adventurers are often spotted by the border neighboring Eastern Altepa Desert or near the prominent Revelation Rock in the middle of the desert.

April 2003 onwards – Those seeking an overworld location for leveling might opt for Yhoator Jungle. Mandragora in the northwest outskirts are suitable targets around level 30, and Coeurls near the Teleport-Yhoat telepoint become viable later in the 30s. However, reaching the former location means traversing the complicated terrain of Yuhtunga Jungle and Yhoator Jungle, often resulting in substitute party members getting lost on the way to their group.

April 2003 onwards – Gustav Tunnel is a prominent leveling location around level 40. Bats and Flies flocking the entrance are easy prey for jobs proficient with piercing weapons, such as ranger and dragoon.
At higher levels, options expand to include Lizards and Pugils in the upper area, or Goblins and Skeletons in the lower area. Though the wyvern NM Bune occasionally terrorizes leveling parties in the upper area, as more adventurers reach level 75, it becomes frequently hunted by those seeking the Enhancing Sword.

April 2003 onwards – The complex passageways of the Quicksand Cave are used for leveling between levels 45 and 50, featuring Spiders and Beetles as primary targets. The Antica are an alternative for when enemies are sparse, but dealing with them can be tricky due to their ability to silence adventurers with Jamming Wave and reset enmity with Sand Trap.
High-level adventurers also have the option to level in the areas blockaded by Ornate Doors. The switch to open the doors requires the combined weight of multiple adventurers, or one powerful, good-looking Galka willing to assist his puny comrades in their time of need. In 2011, the Loadstone key item is introduced, providing all adventurers with the stones to open Ornate Doors by themselves.

April 2003 onwards – Kuftal’s Tunnel is a popular leveling destination around level 50. Inhabited by Crabs, Lizards, and Worms, the tunnel also features the NM Amemet, which occasionally falls prey to several parties of adventurers working together. Following the level cap increase on December 16, 2003, the depths beyond the time-gated boulder become available for leveling, and the HNM Guivre takes residence in the dungeon. Not typically hunted for spoils, Guivre is often left free to romp around the passageways and squash pesky adventurers who dare enter its domain.

April 2003 onwards – Home to a wide variety of enemies, including Crawlers, Crabs, Flies, and Spiders, the Boyahda Tree is perhaps one of the most popular leveling destinations between levels 50 and 70. Those who bully the Crabs in the first area risk retribution from the NM Aquarius, though it often meets an early demise by the hand of high-level adventurers seeking Damascene cloth, a coveted material dropped by Aquarius at the time.

April 2003 onwards – Disbanding parties make frequent use of Teleport-Altep. Due to the relative safety of the route between the telepoint in Eastern Altepa Desert and Rabao, leveling parties often wrap things up by using Teleport-Altep then traveling to Rabao where they would disband. Alternatively, those with access to Escape can cross from Eastern Altepa Desert into Korroloka Tunnel, where using Escape would bring them to Zeruhn Mines for easy passage to Bastok.

Between April and July of 2003 – Leveling methods above level 61 see significant changes during this period, colloquially referred to as the “Level Cap 65 Era.” At the time, in exchange for the penalty for level differences in party members being eased at level 61 onward, stronger enemies yield reduced EXP, and adventurers shift their leveling methods to chain-pulling “tough” enemies. However, because tank jobs such as paladin are unnecessary in this strategy and certain jobs such as black mage are unsuitable for chain-pulling, the version update on July 17, 2003 adjusts EXP calculation for level 61 and higher to be the same as level 60 and below.

Between April and December of 2003 - A strategy using the great axe weapon skill Shield Break becomes prominent, primarily for leveling in the Boyahda Tree.
Shield Break lowers the target’s evasion by a set percentage and proves to be extremely effective against high-level monsters vulnerable to ice element, leading to a widespread strategy of charging TP beforehand, then using Shield Break to significantly reduce the target’s evasion at the start of battle. As this strategy results in players favoring Shield Break alone, as of December 16, 2003, its effect is adjusted to lower evasion by a set value rather than a percentage.

July 17, 2003 - Version update reduces the cast time of ninja's Utsusemi: Ni from 8 second to 1.5 seconds, greatly improving its utility. This forms a new playstyle of cleverly alternating Utsusemi: Ichi and Ni to absorb enemy attacks, which becomes the primary playstyle for many years thereafter.

July 26, 2003 – Following the previous year’s event, a player-held summer festival event is held across all Worlds. The event is officially supported and features appearances by announcement moogles and the sale of fireworks items for a limited time. This is later recorded in Vol. 16 of the Vana’diel Tribune as “Bon-Odori.”
* Vana’diel Tribune was only available in Japanese at the time. The article reads, “The other day, Vana’diel had its second Bon-Odori festival and participants had a wonderful time. This success of this major event is owed to the efforts of staff members who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, as well as the participants themselves.”

Between July and October of 2003, completing consecutive runs of the quest "Trial by Earth" becomes a popular way to earn rewards and farm gil. This comes to an end with the version update on October 21 which limits the quest to once per day.

Fall 2003 – Around this time, a combat strategy known “Yokodama” (literally “side Trick Attack” in English) gains popularity among adventurers.
Following the discovery that Sneak Attack could be used anywhere outside of directly in front of the enemy, adventurers discover they could stand off to the side of the tank and use both Sneak Attack and Trick Attack to greatly increase the tank’s enmity. Prior to this, a sub-tank temporarily overtook enmity with Provoke, then a thief would use Sneak Attack and Trick Attack from behind the main tank. In contrast, this new strategy only requires a single tank and does not need them to build much enmity.
However, it requires a fair amount of practice and lessens the necessity of having a paladin in the party. As such, Trick Attack is adjusted to require positioning behind the target as of December 16, 2003.

After the Windows version launches in North America, Vana'diel experiences a spike in the number of knocked out adventurers near the three nations, as well as more beastmen victories in Conquest. Now considered veteran adventurers, Japanese players used auto-translate and simple English to communicate with these new adventurers from overseas.

December 16, 2003 - The Limit Break quest to raise the level cap from 70 to 75 involves overcoming Maat in a one-on-one battle. Adventurers are prevented from using their support job, while Maat wields the job's "two-hour" ability and magic, making this a tough match for all jobs but particularly grueling for red mage.

December 16, 2003 - Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, and Kirin, as well as NMs that dropped the required items to spawn each are added. Since adjurations to purify cursed pieces of armor are obtained from them, "Sky Linkshells" to hunt down these NMs become rampant in activity. They do not have unique appearances during this original implementation, and Byakko is featured with black fur despite its name literally meaning "white tiger" in Japanese.

A common sight around December 2003. The way to the deepest parts of the Quicksand Caves is barred by the Altepa Gate, located in the center of Western Altepa Desert. Opening the gate requires pressing 4 switches located throughout the area, a task divided between party members and often carried out when fighting NMs to learn a sword weapon skill.

December 2003 onward – Following the implementation of Tu’Lia and an increased level cap, adventurers between level 70 and 75 flock to leveling camps in Ve’Lugannon Palace and the Shrine of Ru’Avitau to vanquish Evil Weapons and Golems. Since progression through Rise of the Zilart missions is required to reach these areas, search comments often mention if “sky” (colloquial nickname for Tu’Lia) is required for a leveling party or not.