January 15, 2015 - Players are now able to equip two linkshells at once, and can designate linkshell channels as 1 or 2. However, secondary linkshells come with limitations, such as the inability to view or change login messages.
January 15, 2015
Events in Vana'dielJanuary 15, 2015 - Players are now able to equip two linkshells at once, and can designate linkshell channels as 1 or 2. However, secondary linkshells come with limitations, such as the inability to view or change login messages.
February 19, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
February 19, 2015 – Alluvion Skirmish introduces Yorcia Weald (U), where adventurers can collect key items to call upon monsters and conquer the enemy base while defending their own. The equipment obtained from Yorcia Weald (U) can be granted a wide variety of effects with arcane glyptics.
March 26, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
March 26, 2015 – The Vagary battle content is added, pitting adventurers against members of the Xol Triumvirate, who originally appeared during the Seekers of Adoulin mission storyline. Besting these foes in Vagary not only awards various equipment but also allows adventurers to reforge relevant pieces of Empyrean armor to item level 119.
March 26, 2015
Adventurers' HistoryMarch 26, 2015 - Magic bursts are adjusted to deal increasing damage to monsters with lower resistance to the element generated by the magic burst. The viability of skillchains and magic burst return after being neglected for several years.
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 - The start of the finale of FINAL FANTASY XI, Rhapsodies of Vana'diel, is released. Prominent characters from past adventures reappear for an encore in this finale. The scenario doesn't need to be purchased in order to be played, but requires all previous expansions.
May 14, 2015
Behind-the-scenes Commentary
I had a lot of fun working alongside my trusted companions again for the first time in a while; namely my fellow development team members, as well as the heroines and other NPCs.
For me, the most memorable moment might be when we were deciding Iroha’s character traits and Mr. Ito (Director at the time) shared his very passionate ideas with us. Many of the story elements that came into play towards the end were already decided through that meeting. That said, she might seem like a big eater because of a habit of mine... I tend to use food-related humor when I run out of ideas.
Also, because this was to be the final story, I was filled with an inexpressible feeling to be able to write what I’d been holding back (laughs) so far: a story spanning the entire world and timeline! But who would’ve imagined that the story would later continue in The Voracious Resurgence...! (Yaeko Sato, Planner)
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 - Escha - Zi'Tah sets the stage for Rhapsodies of Vana'diel's first chapter. Its terrain is similar to that of the Sanctuary of Zi'Tah, but the world has lost its vibrance and color. Additionally, Geas Fete is added, which involves battling notorious monsters in Escha - Zi'Tah.
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 - Mog houses can be expanded by fulfilling certain requirements. An open-air courtyard appearance option is later added in April 2016.
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 – Adventurers can now call upon the alter egos of Unity faction leaders once certain conditions have been met. In addition to the original nine alter egos debuting in this update, alter egos of Yoran-Oran and Sylvie are subsequently introduced in the August 5, 2015 version update.
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 – An adventuring primer option is added to the Support Desk submenu, providing adventurers with an in-game guide based on their goals and desired level of content difficulty.
The primer contains basic summaries and details on how to partake in the activities found throughout Vana'diel.
May 14, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
May 14, 2015 - An option to display areas of effect of spells and weapon skills which affect multiple targets is added to the Config sub-menu.
From May 14 2015
Adventurers' HistoryMay 14, 2015 – Escha – Zi'Tah gains attention for its wide selection of relatively weak to high-level monsters. Depending on the composition of a party, the area can serve as a suitable leveling camp for adventurers between level 40 and mid-80s.
From May 14 2015
Events in Vana'dielMay 14, 2015 – Adventuring in Vana'diel changes radically with the key items obtained through Rhapsodies of Vana'diel. These "Rhapsody" key items grant a variety of boons including bonuses to experience and limit points gained, an increase to the maximum number of alter egos able to be called forth at once, and more. With these boons, solo adventurers can level up at quite quickly with alter egos.
June 25, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
June 25, 2015 - An emote for sitting on chairs is added. A seat appears out of thin air when /sitchair is used, and various chairs can be unlocked by obtaining key items.
August 5, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
August 5, 2015 - The second chapter of Rhapsodies of Vana'diel introduces the new area Escha - Ru'Aun. The battle content Domain Invasion is added to Escha - Zi'Tah and Escha - Ru'Aun.
August 5, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
August 5, 2015 – The addition of Sinister Reign has adventurers confront memorable characters from Seekers of Adoulin. Possible opponents include Arciela, Teodor, August, and more as a new NPC is randomly selected in each of the three rounds.
September 16, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
September 16, 2015 – Status icons at the top of the screen now display timers indicating their remaining duration, making it possible to confirm the duration of enhancements and other status effects affecting your player character. The option can be enabled by selecting "Misc. 3" from the Config submenu and setting "Timer Display" to "On," or with the "/statustimer on" command.
September 16, 2015
Adventurers' History
September 16, 2015 – Monsters with the "Apex" prefix begin emerging in certain dungeons in Adoulin areas. Apex monsters have formidable amounts of HP but yield a high quantity of capacity points, making them sought-after by job point farming parties.
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
November 10, 2015 - Rhapsodies of Vana'diel concludes. An ending is added to wrap-up the final chapter of FINAL FANTASY XI. As a note, a message from the developers is hidden in the Japanese mission names of each chapter.
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
November 10, 2015 - Rhapsodies of Vana'diel's final chapter unlocks Reisenjima, an island in the Far East. When adventurers arrive in the sacred land, the area is infested with monsters. While the land hasn't lost its color, its dire situation is similar to Escha areas.
November 10, 2015
Adventurers' History
November 10, 2015 - A vocal arrangement of "Vana'diel March" plays during Rhapsodies of Vana'diel's ending. The lead vocals are performed by Phantasmagoric, joined by a chorus of adventurers, comprised of every single voice recording that was submitted for this song.
November 10, 2015
Behind-the-scenes Commentary
“Rhapsodies of Vana’diel” was performed by the Phantasmagoric duo, but that came about through a chance meeting with one of the singers, RiRiKA. I was at a live concert being performed by fellow Nanaa Mhigo’s member Takurou Iga, when I happened to run into my composer friend Masato Koda. Mr. Koda mentioned he wanted me to meet someone and introduced me to RiRiKA, who was also there to see the concert.
As it turns out, she was previously affiliated with Takarazuka Revue and a talented singer, as well as a passionate FFXI player. At the time, the three of us chatted casually, mentioning how it’d be nice if we could collaborate sometime, but we left it at that. I got to see Phantasmagoric perform live a few times after that, and her singing just blew me away with each performance.
A few years later, when it was decided that “Rhapsodies of Vana’diel” would feature lyrics and needed a vocalist, the first candidate that immediately came to mind was none other than RiRiKA. (Naoshi Mizuta, Composer)
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
November 10, 2015 - The "★Master!" gift is added to each job. Upon reaching the maximum number of job points, three yellow stars are displayed above the character's name, which can be seen by other players.
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
November 10, 2015 - The front right leg of beetle enemies had been reversed for a long time when viewed on the Windows version, which is finally corrected.
November 10, 2015
Behind-the-scenes Commentary
By the time Rhapsodies of Vana’diel was nearing completion, some of the designers had already finished their jobs due to the upstream nature of their workflow. Their next projects were already decided, but they were still part of the FFXI team until Rhapsodies of Vana’diel was released in its entirety, just in case we need to do revisions or bug fixes.
As such, one of them implemented new textures in their own time so we could have more monster variations, while another addressed the Beetle’s leg and other tasks. “Why didn’t we get around to them sooner?” you might ask. Well, that’s because we had a mountain of high-priority tasks that never seemed to end. (Akihiko Matsui, Producer)
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'dielNovember 10, 2015 – The option to take high-resolution screenshots is added to the Windows version of the FINAL FANTASY XI Config tool. Players may take screenshots at the same resolution as their game window by enabling "Take screenshot matching screen size" under "Misc. 2." Prior to the change, screenshots were always saved at a fixed resolution regardless of window size.
November 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
November 10, 2015 – Shantotto II establishes her domain in the Repeat Login Campaign. Her HP may be low, but no need to fret; she stands out from the rest with the highest magic attack you can get. Since then, Shantotto II returns about twice a year to remind her foes (and adventurers!) whom to fear. Ohohoho!
From November 10 2015
Adventurers' HistoryNovember 10, 2015 – The newly added Reisenjima area becomes a popular job point farming destination. The common strategy involves pulling hordes of monsters together to defeat them all at once with blue magic and other area-of-effect attacks. Another reason for Reisenjima's popularity is the various supportive effects granted by Vorseals, reminiscent of the boons granted in Escha-Zi'Tah and Escha-Ru'Aun.
Post Fall 2015
Adventurers' HistoryAutumn 2015 onwards – Rune fencer's tanking capabilities begin gaining recognition with the implementation of Ergon weapons and the gradual power-ups attained through job points. The job requires certain gear and job points to fulfill the role, but nevertheless, rune fencer becomes well-known for excelling in elemental resistances and generating enmity on targets.
Post Fall 2015
Adventurers' History
Autumn 2015 onwards – Blue mage gains notice as blue magic spells and power-ups attained through job points are added. Those who prefer to adventure solo or in small groups are attracted to the versatile range of options offered by blue mage, including physical damage with weapon skills and blue magic spells, area-of-effect magic attacks and enhancements, enfeeblements, and healing.
December 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
December 10, 2015 – Aeonic weapons are introduced as the fourth series of "Ultimate weapons" following relic, mythic, and empyrean weapons. (The prerequisite quest was implemented on November 10.) Obtaining them requires defeating each and every notorious monster appearing in Geas Fete and certain Dynamis notorious monsters. Adventurers equipped with an aeonic weapon may wield merit weapon skills at full power, as well as the ultimate skillchains Radiance and Umbra.
December 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
December 10, 2015 – Shirts styled after Unity leaders are added to each Unity's item exchange list, which can be purchased by having an individual evaluation of 10 points or greater for two weeks running. When your Unity ranking is 8 or below, calling forth your Unity leader's alter ego while your Unity shirt is equipped grants status effect bonuses to the alter ego.
December 10, 2015
Events in Vana'diel
December 10, 2015 - An emote for jumping is added, though it serves no practical purpose in actually leaping over ledges and other obstacles, and is canceled upon taking damage.
December onwards 2015
Adventurers' History
December 2015 onwards – The introduction of Geas Fete notorious monsters in Reisenjima and other new additions gives rise to a method of dealing burst damage by using the summoner SP ability Astral Conduit. The method requires multiple summoners to use Blood Pact abilities in rapid succession while under the effect of Astral Conduit, which becomes a widespread strategy despite requiring certain gear and its ineffectiveness against some notorious monsters.