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Latest Final Fantasy XI News Updates and Reviews Updated daily
Final Fantasy XI : Final Fantasy XI Publisher Shares Hit Record LowFeb 09, 2009 11:54:41 PM News Item: 8449
Low share price generally means cutsSquare Enix, the publisher of Final Fantasy XI and numerous other products reported the lowest share earnings in five years according to Bloomberg. Dropping more than 11%, it marks the lowest...
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Final Fantasy XI : Notable Final Fantasy XI column returns as part of 1up's "The Grind"Feb 05, 2009 07:00:00 PM News Item: 8374
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Leveling, Quests, belief 
Game journalist James Mielke resumes his on-again, off-again relationship with Final Fantasy XI in the fledgling 1up blog "The Grind". Mielke's extended hiatus from his "My Life in Vana'diel" column was a blend of time constraints and some degree of burn-out as well. But it seems he missed the game, meticulously after the years already spent playing it, hence his column has returned... again.
On the subject of returning to the game, Mielke writes, "People ask me to this day whether FFXI is stillworthy ofinvesting time into it, and to that I say: Now's a better time than ever to join the game." He writes that Square Enix has implemented a number of features that reduces the drudgeand, with any luck for some, brings more fun back to the game. Mielke specifically points out the beauty of the level-sync feature, allowing citizens to party with higher level characters, and the Fields of Valor quests that have fired up his interest in FFXI once again. If you've been away from the game for a while, have a look at James Mielke's "Reboot" and see what you're missing.Notable Final Fantasy XI column returns as part of 1up's "The Grind" Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Console MMORPGs: Can they get up off the ground?Feb 05, 2009 01:00:00 PM News Item: 8368
Filed under: Business models, MMORPG industry, Consoles
If you don't like chocobos, then you're a little out of luck when it comes to the console MMORPG market. With Final Fantasy XI and the only choice console users have, the market looks ripe for the addition of a few new games -- or does it?
IGN has put together a nice article on the fail whale history of console MMORPGs, starting with True Fantasy Live Online and progressing all the way to shaky in-development titles like Age of Conan, and the solid upcoming titles like The Agency, DC Universe, and Champions Online.
The article also covers the many problems of making a console MMORPG, from poor TV resolution, to UI issues, to just general construction issues in making such a complex game.
But who knows what the console MMORPG market may hold? Perhaps one of these days those chocobos will be chased off by men and women in spandex.
Update: It appears that we forgot to point out EverQuest Online Adventures for the PlayStation 2 in our quick rundown of console MMORPGs. Our apologies! Thanks, Joshua!Console MMORPGs: Can they get up off the ground? Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Pandemonium Warden finally tastes defeatFeb 04, 2009 08:00:00 PM News Item: 8308
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Guilds, Endgame, News items, PvE, Consoles  Seven long months ago, gamers of Final Fantasy XI came across a threat worse than the notorious Absolute Virtue. It was he who resided at the end of the Zeni Notorious Monster system, he who waited for adventurers who could climb the ranks and defeat 12 other notorious monsters. It was the Pandemonium Warden.
And the Warden gave FFXI a boost of publicity when the linkshell Beyond the Limitation couldn't take him down after 18 hours of straight battle. This caused the outcry of over-punishing boss battles, and the FFXI team actually dropped their monsters down a notch from all of the heat. A new rule was placed in with the Warden however -- he would despawn after 2 hours if not defeated within that time frame. Sure, he was easier, but the time limit still made him extremely hard.
But now, seven months after his introduction, the linkshell Shard of Apathy of the Remora worldhas put the Warden down for the count. They successfully tanked through all 10 of his forms, plus his pets, with reportedly 5 minutes left before he was to be despawned. Congratulations Apathy! So when are you running him again?Pandemonium Warden finally tastes defeat Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat insteadFeb 04, 2009 04:30:00 PM News Item: 8307
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Exploits, belief, Consoles, Anti-Aliased
It's no secret that I keep my eye on the Final Fantasy XI community. With two friends running an upstanding linkshell on the Bahamut server, I like to know what goes on in the game.
The current word on the street is the "big banhammer freakout." The vocal gamers are talking about what linkshells were hit by losing gamers caught up in the cheating scandal. But what's fascinating are the words being thrown around -- things like "unprecedented" and "uncalled for."
A quick jaunt across the street to the loving and cuddly galaxy of New Eden shows that something suspiciously similar happened to corporation starbases in EVE Online, also ending with tears, banned accounts, and the exact same arguments being thrown around the community. "I didn't know it was an exploit," "It's not my fault," "They made me do it," and my personal favorite, "You should have fixed it."
So this week's Anti-Aliased isn't dedicated to some developer mishap or some bad piece of game design, it's dedicated to how daft some citizens are when it comes to cheating.Continue reading Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead pt. 2Feb 04, 2009 04:30:00 PM News Item: 8306
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Exploits, belief, Consoles, Anti-Aliased
It's all the company's fault
Yes, it's all their fault that they didn't notice that they misplaced that one period in thousands upon thousands of lines of code. It's their fault that they don't run Salvage 40,000 times a week and check every rock and pebble in Vana'diel.
People who make this rationale most likely never looked at the innards of a agenda -- especially an MMORPG. You have lines of agendaming being done by multiple authors and you have logs that extend miles long. Even with specialized agendas, it takes time to sift through all of that information.
Case in point: Square-Enix fixed this glitch in November and banned citizens in late January. The delay wasn't because they were playing ping-pong in the basement and drinking beer. It was the double-edged decision of first finding who stood to gain on all of their worlds, and then deciding an appropriate punishment. That takes time.
You know, this most likely would have been caught sooner if more citizens would have stood up and reported it, instead of, you know, trying to conceal it. Then, when they get caught concealing it, they blame the company for not knowing about it. That's just poor form.
The game owes me
 The game owes you what? It owes you for all the time you spent playing it, enjoying the challenges with your friends and engaging in an ever-changing world?
Certainly I'm horribly opinionated, but I like to play games for fun. Whenever a game ceases to be fun to me, I stop playing and stop paying. I play because I enjoy it, and I hope other citizens are out there doing the same.
FFXI may be an exercise in sadistic game design, but every gamer has the chance to walk away from Vana'diel. I did because I didn't have the time and I ended up enjoying the lore of World of Warcraft. If you are at the point that you hate the game so much that you believe it owes you something for your time spent playing it, then perhaps it's time to take a step back from it. There are ample other options in the game world.
But Square-Enix isn't without fault
The voices of the banned are right about one thing though -- Square-Enix has been inconsistent. Some citizens are getting banned for being in one of these cheating Salvage runs, and others are getting slaps on the wrists. There doesn't seem to be any clear consistency to how they slapped down the punishments.
The first part of a reliable punishment is to make sure it's handed out consistently and with appropriate measure. Without that, citizens second guess if the punishment is truly necessary. It's like if a professor gave you a D on a test just because he didn't like your hand writing. Your answers never mattered, and that's what makes you angry -- it didn't feel justifyable.
What it all comes down to
Even with Square-Enix messing up like that, it doesn't change the facts. Players knew about the exploit, gamers attempted to hide the exploit, Square-Enix found the exploit, and gamers got what they should have known was coming. All of these citizens had the chance to stand up, call a GM, and say what was going on.
If they had and this problem would have been caught earlier, bans most likely wouldn't have been point outed. These citizens would still have had their accounts. Certainly they would have less gear on those accounts, but it's actually hard to use virtual weaponry when you can't log in.
 Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who can still log into Final Fantasy XI when he wants to. When he's not writing here for , he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane friends. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com, or follow him on Twitter.
Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead pt. 2 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Valentione's Day comes to FFXI this FridayFeb 04, 2009 03:00:00 PM News Item: 8305
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Culture, Events, in-game
No, that's not a fat-fingered typo you see in the headline. For Final Fantasy XI gamers, Valentione's Day is almost here, and the moogles of Vana'diel are out in force to encourage folks to join the love-fest. They have prepared a compilation of romantic little tales from FFXI's citizens to get everyone in the mood ahead of this Friday the 6th, when the Valentione's celebrations will begin in-game. Once things have kicked off, festival moogles will be found at these scenes, advertising the event and getting citizens concerned:
- Southern San d'Oria (J-9)
- Northern San d'Oria (D-8)
- Bastok Mines (I-9)
- Bastok Markets (G-8)
- Windurst Waters (F-5)
- Windurst Woods (K-10)
You'll have until the 16th of February to feel the love, before things go back to normal -- well, as normal as things can ever be at the hands of the moogles.Valentione's Day comes to FFXI this Friday Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Did Square-Enix do the right thing?Feb 02, 2009 08:00:00 PM News Item: 8304
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Exploits, News items, belief, Consoles
The Square-Enix bahnammer in recent times came down onto the Final Fantasy XI community, permanently banning 550 non-RMT accounts that were concerned in performing an exploit that has occurred over a two year time period -- an exploit that some say SE was aware of, but never took steps to correct.
The exploit in question was only obtainable to linkshells concerned several endgame activities. The basic premise was finish the activity and then before the item drops from a treasure chest or monster the alliance of parties would break into their separate groups. For you Warcraft gamers, a raid would cease to be a raid and break down to the parties concerned. Then each of the 3 parties in the alliance would get a copy of whatever items would drop. So, instead of 1 set of loot, you would grab 3 sets ofbooty-- including some items that could be sold for millions on the auction house.Continue reading Did Square-Enix do the right thing? Did Square-Enix do the right thing? Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST. Comments
Final Fantasy XI : Dofus: A Preview to the Search for PowerJan 28, 2009 11:17:19 PM News Item: 8100
The world of Dofus has existed for quite some time and boasting millions of gamers has enjoyed success around the world. What sets this free to play game apart from dozens like it? Ten Ton Hammer delves into the world of unusually named classes and turn based strategy all while avoiding a "jolly massacre."
If the movement wasn't unusual enough, then the combat is sure to catch your eye. Dofus is a mixture of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Tactics with a turn based system. There is a timer with roughly 30 seconds on it allowing you to move and attack, then it's the creature or other party members turn. This means there is an element of strategy concerned that you don't see in real time games. There is no button mashing here, but at my low level it's hard to speculate exactly how deep the system goes. I only had three obtainable abilities (four if you count melee attack), but considering the level cap is 1000, there is no telling what you would have by then.
Our entire preview is just a click away!read more Comments
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