The September version update just keeps getting bigger and better! We would like to take this opportunity to announce our intentions to implement some all-new features to both Dynamis and Limbus, as well as a few adjustments brought in by popular demand!

* Blue mage / Corsair / Puppetmaster Artifacts and Relics

The wait is finally over!
At long last, the highly anticipated relic gear sets of the blue mage, corsair, and puppetmaster jobs are here! Rounding out the standard 5-piece sets, the more recently added back and waist items will also be added to September's version update. Players with these jobs can now look forward to obtaining the ingredient items required to temper their artifact and relic gear with even greater enhancements!
When considering how to best introduce this equipment, the development team weighed many options, including the possibility of entirely original methods. In the end, however, the decision was made that such means would be largely unfair by rendering only players with these jobs capable of accessing new game content. Therefore, all of the above items will be procured in the same way as their predecessors, namely via exploits in the Dynamis and Limbus areas.

* Drop Rates

Great care has been put into assuring that current drop rates will see no negative impact from the introduction of the new blue mage, corsair, and puppetmaster gear sets. Players can rest easy knowing that any and all necessary adjustments to the drop rate ratios have been considered and implemented to maintain a fair and balanced game experience.
Furthermore, the overall drop rates of select Dynamis areas, covering the relic gear of all jobs old and new, are set to be raised as well.

* Entry Fees

In light of the additions and adjustments detailed above, the entry fees for both Dynamis and Limbus were also brought under careful reconsideration.
Thanks in part to the ground being made by the Special Task Force in combating RMT-related activities, and subsequent normalization of the game economy, the following reduction in price to entry items will be implemented in the upcoming September version update.

Timeless Hourglass: 1,000,000 gil -> 500,000 gil
Cosmo-Cleanse: 30,000 gil -> 15,000 gil

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Ravidrath said:

All I wanna know is, where is the SCH and DNC Relic armor? They're not really going to make us wait two years for that, are they?

Really curious about the stats on the BLU Relic... I had my gear all planned out, but who knows what we'll see. Hopefully the Blue Magic Skill +15 piece is in one of the weaker slots... maybe head, or hands?

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The storyline for the episodic quests introduced in the Wings of the Goddess expansion pack is set to continue in the upcoming September version update. Adventurers will find themselves thrown into the midst of furious struggles for the continued survival of each nation.

San d'Oria
Having borne witness to the real horrors of the battlefield, Tavnazia-bound Excenmille makes the executive decision to disband the Young Griffons in the interest of his friends' safety. Bitterly disappointed at their captain's sudden change of heart and eager to prove him wrong, the ever-zealous remaining members embark on an ambitious mission that will see them come face to face with a fiendish Orcish plot...

Bastok
Trouble is brewing in the republic as Galkan discontent towards the Hume government and the imperious military police threatens to boil over into all-out civil war. To make matters worse, fueling the fire of rebellion is an unlikely culprit—a sworn brother of the proud Mythril Musketeers. With the unity and morale of the citizens crumbling and the security of the nation compromised from within, will Bastok's defenses be able to hold out should the unthinkable occur...?

Windurst
Although victorious over the Yagudo Theomilitary at Fort Karugo-Narugo, the Windurstian Forces have been left nursing grievous wounds to their ranks. The Mithran Mercenaries, however, could not have chosen a more inopportune time to engage in internal feuding. Old rivalries are reignited as Cobra Command transforms from the city's last bastion of defense into a savage battlefield...

The dark underbelly of the Crystal War will be revealed to adventurers brave enough to answer the call. The future of Vana'diel rests in your hands!

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Deku said:

I have a scholar leveled up and I'm mad. mad!!!

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Old rivalries are reignited as Cobra Command transforms from the city's last bastion of defense into a savage battlefield...

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oneHeero said:

I miss FFXI so much

Fairy Server ftw!

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Darkpen said:

Tell me, people who are still playing: Is the blight that was the aht urghan expansion areas and party-invite tp burn trends gone? Are black mages back into demand? What has become of my lovely home?

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Ravidrath said:

Sadly, no. Black Mage is still a solo job.

...However, there was a promising hint in a recent interview that they're going to add a new mechanic so mages can help melees in some fashion.

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Ravidrath said:

Sadly, no. Black Mage is still a solo job.

...However, there was a promising hint in a recent interview that they're going to add a new mechanic so mages can help melees in some fashion.

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Arsenic said:

This is one of the reasons why i quit.
Even though slow i much rather the oldschool ways of partying.

Everything became rinse and repeat after ToAH released

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Himuro said:

People still play this?

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Clever Pun said:

wow, I really haven't played in a long time - how did Black Mage become a solo job?

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PataHikari said:

It's the most popular MMO in Japan, has around 200,000 players.



For that matter, how can a Black Mage be a Solo Job? (Never played FFXI) I mean, the very nature of the Black Mage seems to be that it would require at least a tank in front of it in order to survive.

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Clever Pun said:

wow, I really haven't played in a long time - how did Black Mage become a solo job?

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Ravidrath said:

Basically, they strongly disincentivized manaburn parties, which were kinda broken anyway. Monsters build up resistance if too much is cast on them.

As for how you solo...

1. Find an open, relatively safe area.
2. Stick Gravity on the monster.
3. Nuke and run around, Sleeping or Binding as necessary.
4. Rinse. Repeat.

Or...

1. Find a Qiqirn (rat Beastman) ranger.
2. Nuke!
3. Sleep it if your HP gets low.

Basically, ranged attacks don't interrupt spellcasting, and Qiqirns will never move in to melee, so you stand back and fire at each other until one of you wins.

Many people also kill Beastman Beastmaster pets for a large portion of the game, since you can one-shot them post-51.


All of these are actually pretty fun, but like any solo job, just gets old, and is better with one or two others.

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Clever Pun said:

interesting - but how fast can you get XP like this? It seems really slow, even by FFXI standards

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Ploid 3.0 said:

PUP is awesome!!

I duoed with a pup for merits (Shouta he also pwns). I was bst 75 btw. They do everything, they nuke hard, range attack hard, and fight hard. It's crazy.

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The FFXI development team is proud to announce the "Level Sync" system, a revolutionary new feature in the upcoming version update that will allow all players—grizzled veterans and novices alike—to adventure and gain experience together regardless of level differences!

The Concept

The development team has been listening intently to feedback from players, and working hard to address concerns such as the following: "I can't party effectively with my friends or linkshell members because our levels are too far apart!" "I invited one of my friends to play FFXI with me, but we can't party together because we don't have any jobs at similar levels!" "I can't find anyone close enough to my level to party with!"

The new Level Sync system is the result of extensive discussions on how to resolve these concerns, while preserving game balance and avoiding abuse and power-leveling by RMT groups. It addresses the issues that have resulted from a steady stream of new, low-level players joining an existing game world populated by scores of high-level veterans, and is part of the ongoing effort to clean up the FFXI community and remove players in violation of the users' agreement.

At the heart of the feature is the new ability for members of a party to "power down" to the level of a designated target player. Now friends will be able to adventure together and gain experience as if they were all the same level!

With the introduction of this system, there will also be major changes to the way equipment is handled in regard to level restrictions. Rather than automatically unequipping items if a player's level is reduced below the item's minimum level, the attributes of high-level equipment will be scaled down proportionally to the reduced level. This will apply not only to the Level Sync system, but to all level-restricted areas and missions. This means that players will now be able to participate in various battlefields, Assault missions, and Ballista, and also to adventure in level-capped areas such as Riverne without the hassle of having to switch equipment!

Read on for more details about how the Level Sync system will work, and examples of how equipment and experience-gaining will be affected.

How it Works

When Level Sync is activated, the level of all party members will be temporarily reduced to that of a target player designated by the party leader. For as long as the Level Sync remains in effect, all party members – regardless of their original level – will be able to gain experience as if they were actually the lower, restricted level.

e.g. With a party containing characters of Levels 75, 48, 46, 30, 12, and 11: If the target character is Lv. 11, everyone will become Lv. 11. If the target character is Lv. 12, the Lv. 30-75 party members will become Lv. 12. (the Lv. 11 character will remain Lv. 11)

* If the target character gains a level while Level Sync is in effect, the other characters' levels will automatically adjust to reflect the new target level.
* Level Sync cannot be used in areas or events where a separate level restriction already applies.
* The Level Sync settings are easily accessible from the main menu.


Three simple restrictions will be implemented to ensure that the Level Sync feature is not abused and does not provide an excessive advantage over traditional leveling.
1)The minimum target level that can be synchronized to is Level 10.
2)The party leader and target player must be located in the same area.
3)There will be a buffer period of thirty seconds when deactivating Level Sync.

Gaining Experience

When Level Sync is in effect, players will gain 100% of the experience and limit points possible to gain at their reduced level. Be aware, though, that no EXP will be gained if the target player is unconscious, removed from the party, too far away from the battle location, or otherwise unable to receive EXP at the time the monster is defeated. In addition, the amount of EXP lost when rendered unconscious will be calculated based upon the player's reduced level.

Equipment

As mentioned above, equipment will also be temporarily powered down to match the player's reduced level. Attributes that will be affected include: DMG, DEF, HP, MP, Status Effects, Accuracy+, Attack+, Ranged Accuracy+, Ranged Attack+, Magic Accuracy+, and Magic Attack+.

* The current plan is for other special properties (including Evasion, Enmity, enchantments and ability bonuses) to be negated entirely.


Ex. 1) Centurion's Sword (Lv. 30)
DMG: 19 Delay: 225 Accuracy +3 Attack +4

Ex. 2) Askar Zucchetto (Lv. 75)
DEF: 23 STR+4 DEX+4 VIT+4 Haste +4%
Set: Max HP Boost

Ex. 3) Goliard Clogs (Lv. 75)
DEF: 19 DEX+4 INT+4 MND+4 CHR+4 Evasion +5
MP recovered while healing +3 Magic Accuracy +2

* The attributes in bold will be scaled down relative to the player's level.


Also, low-level players need not be discouraged! Statistics on higher-level equipment (including HQ and rare items) being scaled down will be comparable to those of common items at the target level. This means that lower-level characters who have obtained special equipment via quests, notorious monsters, or HQ syntheses will still have the best gear available at their respective level!

There are still more exciting new changes that will be introduced, so keep an eye out for the full details to be posted on the day of the version update. Until then, happy adventuring!

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Olaeh said:

Damn, I need to jump back in!! Is there a "GAF LS" or a certain server that holds most of GAF's FFXI community?

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Ploid 3.0 said:

There is, but most quit and the shell was lonely when I stopped playing. I mostly stopped because of that. I was released from the spell.

btw
Server: Fairy
Linkshell: StarsofDestiny

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Kandinsky said:

So you arent the same Ploid i see idling in whitegate? :O

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Jaruru said:

release the new MMO already, SE.

I remember the weekly Dynamis event of my LS was dragging. the Dynamis part of fun. but too much drama/waiting and the drop rate = terrible. ppl never get a balance of how to spread/vote for the rare drops.

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Jaruru said:

release the new MMO already, SE.

I remember the weekly Dynamis event of my LS was dragging. the Dynamis part of fun. but too much drama/waiting and the drop rate = terrible. ppl never get a balance of how to spread/vote for the rare drops.

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Projectjustice said:

Thats the main problem with FFXI. All jobs should be able to solo.

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jiggle said:

*Please note that digging will not be possible in past Vana'diel.

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