tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48613735408407336362012-02-16T15:46:19.484-05:00Thoughts, commentary, and news concerning Final Fantasy XI.Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-43507630593156715232011-05-27T18:10:00.000-04:002011-05-27T18:10:31.531-04:00

With all the old areas getting revised enemies and mob placements, things can feel disorienting for players who have been used to the same-old-areas for years now. Where are the new high level enemies to be found in each area? Am I going to have to re-learn where I'm safe from aggro and where I need to watch my ass again? What kinds of mobs are there? I've been wondering all these things myself

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-76400263326708744262011-05-16T18:00:00.003-04:002011-05-16T18:00:04.920-04:00

 Another update, more new gear, and new additions to maximum obtainable stats. Just like before here's a list of FFXIAH gear sets with each slot bearing the highest stat for that gear slot. These aren't practical gear sets to actually put into use so don't look at them as such. Sets that are updated list what gear changed. Full MP and HP to MP Equipment Set Oneiros Headgear beats Pixie Hairpin

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-14596043696408030732011-04-11T01:16:00.000-04:002011-04-11T01:16:55.196-04:00

You're beautiful! A new year and a new development cycle means a new "roadmap" has been released by Square to give an indication of where the game is headed in the long term. So most likely you've already read about the info yourself, but just in case you haven't here's a link to read all about it: Final Fantasy XI Roadmap for 2011 Link Essentially it boils down to 3 large updates and 1 mini

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-74015450003623716562011-03-21T19:48:00.003-04:002011-03-21T19:51:32.959-04:00

Much of the meaty graphical content from the last three years of FFXI has been derived from reskinned older graphics. Things such as areas, armor, weapons, weaponskills, enemies, etc. Accompanying this trend is a popular myth stating that the purpose is because reskinning old graphics helps the PS2 to conserve disc space. I've heard people say this all the time, and I'm sure you have to. But it

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-71728867441744039342011-03-19T14:03:00.001-04:002011-03-19T14:07:07.020-04:00

This post was from a thread posted on the official FFXI forums, but it turned out so lengthy I figured I'd make it a blog post while I'm at it. Since the opening of the forums Abyssea has come under heavy criticism from plenty of clueless "greener grass" types. This is basically my response and defense of Abyssea content. This is a long post... but I think some perspective is needed. Context

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-54293416331114137592011-03-13T23:51:00.001-04:002011-03-13T23:53:18.369-04:00

Due to the tragic circumstances in Japan, we've all been given a little time to do other things while FFXI is offline this week. While looking around and cleaning up the files on my PC I ran into an old folder of Google Earth style maps I made over a year ago now. I had forgotten all about them, but I figure they're sort of cool, so why not turn them into a blog post. Basically I used the

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-4759686418233346682011-03-11T20:32:00.000-05:002011-03-11T20:32:36.038-05:00

This post is just what it says. Looking back at the delay between the final release of "A Shantotto Ascension" and the release of "Visions of Abyssea" in order to guess at how long it may be before we see a new series of content introduced to FFXI. Whether it's more addons or whatever. Here's the breakdown: *All these dates used are the dates the content went live in the update, not the presale

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-22864899689627246752011-01-14T18:00:00.002-05:002011-01-14T18:00:00.445-05:00

Two updates ago I compiled a list of equip sets that offered the most stats for a RDM.  Now I present the updated list for the new level 90 items.  There's a few good additions, most notably the AF3 gloves and body armor.  On top of that there a few items which offer completely unique stats you won't find anywhere else.  Instead of listing every item like my last post this time I'm simply going

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-50628977600585018092010-07-23T19:07:00.000-04:002010-07-23T19:07:20.417-04:00

After this whirlwind update the level cap has increased to 80 and introduced a lot (some might say... a plethora) of new equipment.  I've been having trouble keeping track of where things stand in relation to the best stats available in each category.  I think I've been long overdue to look into this myself and so I spent some time compiling sets of gear with the maximum possible stats in many

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-31978263178685378002010-07-08T19:29:00.000-04:002010-07-08T19:29:04.522-04:00

Even though Visions of Abyssea areas have become thoroughly explored, a lot of unknown information and mysteries remain.  In case you haven't been keeping up with some of the talk and forum posting among the FFXI communities, here's some of the latest info you might have missed. Party Monster: Colibris and their spiteful morsel-snatching ilk may have just had their scaley asses handed to them.

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-62028546646468803892010-07-01T21:18:00.002-04:002010-07-03T20:23:34.693-04:00

The Bare Basics This is going to be a very long post covering much of the info known about Abyssea so far.  If you're new however you might not care to read every single confusing detail.  You probably just want to go in and have some fun with a little advice.  So to start with here's a really quick generalized view of what to expect in Abyssea. Abyssea blends together elements from Dynamis,

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-33332454657012322822010-06-24T19:29:00.000-04:002010-06-24T19:29:56.572-04:00

This is just a very fast summary of what players have discovered so far relating to the new Vision of Abyssea addon.  All of this info was collected from what little I've experienced and the pages of information posted to BG Forums here.  I'm not going to go into much strategy or evaluation, this is just one big summarized dump of info.  I think it makes it easier to read through.  The locations

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-40075368645822561962010-06-21T14:39:00.000-04:002010-06-21T14:39:16.112-04:00

The June update is underway and the Walk of Echos area will finally be accessible for players.  Notably there's no in-game map available for that area and so it's up to players to find a way to create something to help make traveling and strategy easier.  I photoshopped up some such maps long ago, and now that it's actually relevant, you can download them for your own purposes.  (link for the

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-22145491307423560162010-05-22T18:18:00.002-04:002010-05-22T18:26:11.327-04:00

It's always interesting to me to see how our ideas and assumptions from the real world can wind up manifesting in the virtual world of an MMO.  In particular, there are a lot of similarities between real economics and the economics of a game world.  In general a lot of the same principles apply such as supply and demand.  There are many differences as well, but the basics are very similar and

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-39854832250684150992010-04-21T21:07:00.003-04:002010-04-21T21:20:56.312-04:00

By now you've probably seen some of the juicy loot obtained from the Shadowlord campaign Ops battle, Fiat Lux.  The Alexander and Valefor servers recently unlocked this mission and info has been steadily forthcoming.  But in case you haven't checked it out yet I thought I'd summarize some of the info and offer a little advice for anyone with the ambition to attempt unlocking Fiat Lux themselves.

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-88160764848782214452010-04-16T18:30:00.001-04:002010-04-16T18:30:00.735-04:00

The September FFXI update will complete the Wings of the Goddess Nation missions.  Here are some pics taken during scenes of the Wings missions.  Some spoilers are involved, but if you haven't gotten into the missions yet, get to it!  Wings has received a lot of criticism from players for recycling too much content, and focusing too much on low level and Campaign.  But Wings really excels at

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-78155277426003620472010-04-08T18:00:00.002-04:002010-04-08T18:00:03.068-04:00

The Final Fantasy XIV Alpha testing is rolling out and the hype continues to build.  FFXI and FFXIV are going to be sure to share much of the same players and demographics.  So what kinds of things can we reasonably expect for their upcoming relationship?  Here are some of my personal expectations. Remember when FFXII was released and half your linkshell disappeared for a while?  And now that

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-14154665039588351742010-04-01T20:00:00.000-04:002010-04-01T20:00:31.816-04:00

This post is going to be nothing but pure nerding out.  So if you're the type who can't stomach a little speculation just for fun, then you've been warned, don't bother reading any more.  It also contains major spoilers for both the Treasures of Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess plots. As of this update, it's the beginning of the end for the Wings of the Goddess story.  If you've been

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-77633003797561265312010-04-01T18:00:00.000-04:002010-04-16T16:42:57.710-04:00

The next FFXI update will complete the Wings of the Goddess Nation storylines.  Here are some pics taken during scenes from the Shadowreign San d'Oria story.  Only minor spoilers are involved, but if you haven't gotten into the nation missions yet, get to it!

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-9618698803277424472010-04-01T17:23:00.000-04:002010-04-01T17:23:44.021-04:00

The next FFXI update will complete the Wings of the Goddess Nation storylines.  Here are some pics taken during scenes from the Shadowreign Windurst story.  Only minor spoilers are involved, but if you haven't gotten into the nation missions yet, get to it!

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-19189817606760132092010-04-01T17:21:00.000-04:002010-04-01T17:21:56.010-04:00

The next FFXI update will complete the Wings of the Goddess Nation storylines.  Here are some pics taken during scenes from the Shadowreign Bastok story.  Only minor spoilers are involved, but if you haven't gotten into the nation missions yet, get to it!          Gentle Tiger brings the humor to a serious plot.  Volker can pop n lock like a pro.  Or maybe an Ahriman is losing its

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-74828611140270890142010-03-22T12:19:00.005-04:002010-03-22T14:24:16.348-04:00

 Have you seen me? The March update will finally bring the long awaited (and over anticipated) Summoner avatars, Alexander and Odin.  Strangely, it's been years since the Treasures of Aht Urhgan storyline ended and yet here is a fresh addition to its content.  ToA would still appear to have a few loose ends that never seemed to materialize.  One other such example concerns the Nyzul Isle assaults

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-40845490398957674842010-03-21T13:50:00.000-04:002010-03-21T13:50:52.411-04:00

Here's some stuff that happened to me this week. I'm in a new Salvage group after my months of being away from FFXI.  We must have stored up some kind of pity TH because the remnants have been pretty loose with their gear.  Totalling 3 drops in a row from SSR, and the next day 2 Brayette's from back-to-back Gate Widows. I've been hitting up MMM casually whenever possible trying to grab a

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-10697135640262610432010-03-20T18:24:00.003-04:002010-03-20T19:50:50.831-04:00

I've been checking out the Hunt Registry/Evoliths system in case the upcoming updates utilize more of its true potential.  I noticed that there was a lot of info, but there is no breakdown of the Evoliths by their rarity or difficulty to obtain.  And so here I've sorted the current list of Evoliths using info provided by FFXIclopedia.  It's interesting to see which types require the most Scylds

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-9247666140933210132010-03-17T20:05:00.000-04:002010-03-17T20:05:01.652-04:00

Upon the release of Wings of the Goddess some were shocked at what they found on their game disc.  Or more precisely they were surprised at how little was on the disc itself.  The contents of the WotG CD totaled only 352 MB.  Not much bigger than the size of downloading maybe one T.V. show.  Over the span of several updates downloaded content has added around 143 MB resulting in a total of

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-34164233500188937272010-03-10T17:21:00.005-05:002010-03-12T12:32:06.086-05:00

The past year of FFXI has been slow and fairly dull. There have been smatterings of nice gear additions and many welcomed but minor adjustments (e.g. storage). But nothing really engrossing and challenging has been introduced for quite some time. Now that Square has announced future plans for the next year of gameplay let's look back at FFXI in '09. This is a long post so hopefully this can

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-57218439039156557292010-03-10T13:07:00.003-05:002010-03-10T13:29:25.003-05:00

Picture via Mike's Blender.I'm sure we've all seen a lot of bad shouts in our time. And I'm not talking about chatter or spam, I'm talking about shouts that attempt to provide info but contain useless words mindlessly copied because someone saw another person use the same format.The purpose of a shout is to provide information. Your goal should be to provide all the relevant details other

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-24001945118234823662010-03-08T14:04:00.003-05:002010-03-08T14:13:30.967-05:00

The 2010 FFXI Vanafest announced a new trilogy of add-ons to expect throughout the year. Vision, Scars, and Heroes of Abyssea. This series appears to be completely different from the last year's add-on trilogy. Where ACP, MDK, and ASA focused on a story wrapped around quests ranging from levels 20~75, Abyssea indicates it will focus on challenging high-level events. Given that the "quest"

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-41135202443366702842010-02-28T16:19:00.003-05:002010-03-12T13:01:41.063-05:00

In my last post I considered possible implications for the upcoming FFXI adjustments in general. With this post I thought I'd take a moment to briefly comment on the various specific changes themselves. There was an awful lot going on here that put Fanfest 2009 to shame. -Missions: As expected, new missions are on their way. The only thing worth noting here is the Shadow Lord's very Aht

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-81270274559318282052010-02-28T12:49:00.013-05:002010-03-12T13:02:31.704-05:00

In 2009 the Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival had set the bar pretty low concerning any expectations for FFXI's future. And so I approached this years affair with heavy skepticism and mild interest. Could they possibly have anything new to say? It didn't seem likely there would be anything beyond the already well known areas and the usual additions like missions. But Square managed to shock

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-89091822565293218742009-06-09T23:18:00.004-04:002009-06-09T23:37:30.348-04:00

FFXIV guy bears an uncomfortable resemblance to Paul Walker.Predictably enough, it's time I acknowledged the announcement of Final Fantasy XIV. FFXI players have known that project Rapture has been on its way for a long time now, so it came as no surprise. What was surprising however was just how much of FFXIV appears to tip its hat to XI. They have even preserved the same races that

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-67389436055432155772009-06-08T21:53:00.005-04:002009-06-09T23:18:19.637-04:00

There is an new trend emerging in the last few FFXI updates. Field of Valor was treated with steroids. Mog Tablets are souping up Signet while having us comb every square inch of mainland areas. Add-on scenarios entice us to spend our time scouring the oldest nooks and crannies of Vana 'diel. Others have also suggested as much elsewhere; there is a likely motivating factor behind these events

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-45610836140659569352009-04-13T19:10:00.003-04:002009-04-13T19:22:22.673-04:00

Turns out that benign looking crystal you know and love from the opening is actually kind of a dick.It was with hesitation and skepticism that I decided to purchase the new FFXI add-on "A Crystalline Prophecy". My reservations proved well founded after having completed the scenario this weekend. Overall I was underwhelmed and initially incredibly frustrated.Knowing that add-ons are small by

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-41282834821617385162009-02-27T18:23:00.008-05:002009-02-27T19:44:34.987-05:00

This is just a quick post about some of my different little projects to reference them in one go. Incidentally, I think it also exposes my embarrassingly nerdy fetish for maps.EWHAs I mentioned at the end of my last entry, I uploaded my version of EWH with the adjusted translation and zone additions. It can be downloaded here.WotG MapsBack when wings was released, I was annoyed with how

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-5234368492725834422009-02-05T22:11:00.003-05:002009-02-05T22:34:20.285-05:00

Traditionally, FFXI blogs revolve around a player's progress and day-to-day activity. While there's nothing wrong with that, it's just not my forte and I doubt many people would be interested in what type of crab I most recently shanked to death.Instead I intend to focus on topics, new info, or developments I find interesting in the realm of FFXI. Other than that I'll post any matter of other

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4861373540840733636.post-35105747649655262312009-02-05T21:28:00.012-05:002009-02-06T00:18:07.775-05:00

Not along ago I was messing around with an FFXI zone viewing program (EWH) when I noticed something. Some rather basic things seemed to be missing, such as Outer Horototo Ruins, non-rental Mog Houses, and various airship routes. I began to wonder if perhaps the programs creator hadn't been as thorough as he could've been. My interest was piqued so I set out to comb over the games data and find

Gwynplainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02141642249105003216noreply@blogger.com0