156-510: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is the second expansion pack to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn , a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix for macOS , PlayStation 4 , and Windows , then later on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S . It was released on June 20, 2017, just under two years after Heavensward , the previous expansion. Like for its predecessor, Naoki Yoshida served as director and producer and Masayoshi Soken composed
312-646: A false flag attack on Baelsar's Wall in Eorzean Alliance uniforms, hoping to restart the war. The player character, named the Warrior of Light for defeating Gaius, and their peacekeeping allies the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, arrive to restore order, but one Scion, Papalymo, sacrifices himself in the process. His travelling companion, an Ala Mhigan orphan named Lyse who had posed as her elder sister Yda,
468-479: A "Best of Final Fantasy XIV " compilation album . Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Original Soundtrack collects music from the launch of the expansion pack to Patch 4.3, "Under the Moonlight". The album was released by Square Enix on July 4, 2018, on Blu-ray Disc and includes a code for an exclusive "Wind-up Tsukuyomi" in-game pet. The album earned praise from Harry Gill of Original Sound Version, who appreciated
624-405: A "Magic Burst". In order to create the best possible skillchains and magic bursts, players must work together, focusing on each other's actions and timing. Final Fantasy XI uses the concept of changing Jobs in a similar fashion to Final Fantasy III , and currently has twenty-two Jobs as of the latest expansion pack in 2013. There are six "standard Jobs" available to choose from at the start of
780-462: A Garlean calling himself Shadowhunter rescues them. The other Scions seek Zenos' grave, finding it empty, and suspect an Ascian has possessed his corpse. Eorzean Alliance leaders meet in Ala Mhigo to invite it to join, and to debate their next move. A psychic disturbance afflicts the Scions, seeking to "throw wide the gates", leaving Thancred, and later Y'shtola and Urianger, comatose . In Garlemald,
936-525: A Garlean citizen: if she regains her memories, she may join the exchange, otherwise she will remain. Asahi returns with the conscripts and his parents; the shock of seeing them rekindles Yotsuyu's childhood memories of abuse and being sold into prostitution. Armed by Asahi, she murders them and returns to him. He manipulates her into summoning the primal Tsukuyomi during the exchange, breaking the treaty as he intended. The Warrior defeats her, but as she dies, she avenges herself by killing Asahi as well. Afterward,
1092-409: A MMORPG should have as much content as the base game. Having explored the skies in the previous expansion, Heavensward , Yoshida made the seas a focus of this expansion and included swimming gameplay. For the setting, Yoshida felt that players would expect Ala Mhigo based on the direction of the story so the designers pushed to include an entirely new area to surprise them. The art team deliberately drew
1248-641: A castle-like structure known as a Rook. The second form is known as "Brenner", and features a capture the flag type system. From time to time special seasonal festivals and events are held. They last only for a set period of time and offer a variety of fun or useful rewards. Many events have changed over time, adding new features and eliminating old ones. These events are geared towards any level, often restricting players to level 1, so that veterans and novice players alike can join in together. Events celebrated are often thematically based on real life equivalents, for example: Valentione's Day in place of Valentine's Day ,
1404-456: A certain type of enemy. A party can expand into an alliance, with up to three parties combined, with a total of 18 players. Alliances are necessary to complete more difficult challenges: including missions, quests, nation or territory driven events, and defeating notorious monsters. Much of end-game play consists of alliance forces overcoming these higher level challenges and can even allow several alliances to enter into specific instances owned by
1560-503: A character to become well-known and respected by NPCs; a higher fame rating will open up new interactions and quests with NPCs. At release, over one hundred quests were available to play and each expansion pack has added its own set of missions and quests. Players obtain in-game money known as gil by completing missions, quests and defeating Beastmen, though unlike previous Final Fantasy games, these monsters drop only small amounts. Gil can then be exchanged amongst players for goods through
1716-435: A consistent quality over such a large and eclectic score. Stormblood continued the positive trend set by Heavensward , with many reviewers calling the expansion even stronger than its predecessor. Reception of the expansion was "generally favorable" for both PC and PlayStation 4 versions, according to review aggregator Metacritic , based on 21 and 15 reviews, respectively. Out of 39 reviews on OpenCritic , 92% recommended
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#17327799196121872-711: A contrast between two different types of Japanese aesthetic for Doma and Hingashi, rather than simply replicating the Edo Japan of the popular imagination. The expansion was announced at the Las Vegas segment of Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2016 , which took place in October of that year. Further details about the expansion were released at the Tokyo and Frankfurt events, including the release date, new jobs, locations, and raids. "Story skip" and "level boost" items debuted with
2028-493: A core set that is reprinted indefinitely, instead, they are retired and replaced with new expansions on a quarterly or bi-annual basis. Expansions usually introduce new rules, or game mechanics, expanding the game's library of cards and rules set. Final Fantasy XI Final Fantasy XI , also known as Final Fantasy XI Online , is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square and then published by Square Enix as
2184-458: A downloadable version of the PlayOnline client which is compatible with the operating system, although small bugs have appeared. In September 2010, Akihiko Matsui became the director of Final Fantasy XI . Only three months later, on December 10, Matsui left the team to work as "Lead Combat System Designer" on Square Enix's new MMO, Final Fantasy XIV . His replacement as director of XI
2340-492: A factor that features heavily in group, or "party" play. To defeat more powerful monsters and gain experience points efficiently, players can join a party. A regular party has room for six members. Like in many other games, a well-balanced party will consist of several archetypes- namely a healer, a tank (the party member with high defense that will be the main target of the monster), and the damage dealer. The enmity system comes into play heavily in parties, as players try to keep
2496-556: A glowing response, Samurai was lauded for its combo system, and both were commended for providing unique gameplay experiences. Finally, Carter and Messner took time to extol the improvements to PvP , with Messner calling it "one of my favorite activities in Stormblood ". Reviewers applauded the artistic and environmental design of the expansion. Ginny Woo of GameSpot felt that the Asia-themed zones were "well-integrated" into
2652-405: A group of players (e.g. Dynamis instances entry is controlled by an hourglass item). Final Fantasy XI ' s incarnation of Limit Breaks are "Weapon Skills". Physical damage given and received fills a Tactical Points (TP) bar, to a maximum of 3000. Any amount above 1000 is able to be used up by being channelled into a weapon skill. These skills vary in effect depending on job class, what weapon
2808-401: A guest collaborator to work on a series of large-scale raids for the expansion. Yoshida met Matsuno, an avid player of Final Fantasy XIV , at a work dinner and was surprised by his request to be allowed to write something for the game. Matsuno wrote the scenario for the "Return to Ivalice" raids, which involve uncovering the ruins of the ancient Ivalician civilization and exposing the truth about
2964-410: A largely player-based economy, with a heavy reliance on auction houses in each of the major cities of Vana'diel. There are certain economic controls in place mainly in the form of fees for putting items up for auction. Transportation, auction house, item storage, and fees do not go to players; these gil sinks effectively remove money from the economy to prevent inflation. The city of Jeuno used to levy
3120-575: A level 10 Ninja, while still primarily being a Level 20 Warrior. The support job system allows for job-merges never before seen in the Final Fantasy series. However, there are some exceptions to the system. One-hour abilities and other abilities deemed signature to a particular job (such as Call Wyvern for Dragoons) are restricted to being used only on the main job. In addition to completing quests and missions, players can participate in several side- minigames and other activities. One such minigame
3276-415: A new area called "The Forbidden Land, Eureka" debuted with Patch 4.2. Its gameplay is inspired by "old school" MMORPGs, including Final Fantasy XI and others. In Eureka, players must use an elemental wheel to exploit monsters' weaknesses and increase their own Elemental level. Unlike the rest of the game, players lose experience points if defeated and can even "Level Down". Later sections of Eureka permit
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#17327799196123432-547: A new major storyline to the Final Fantasy XI world, along with numerous areas, quests, events and item rewards. In 2015, Square Enix released the final main scenario for Final Fantasy XI titled Rhapsodies of Vana'diel . Final Fantasy XI became the final active server on the PlayStation 2 online service. Support for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions was ultimately ended on March 31, 2016, leaving only
3588-541: A protracted setup process and elements of the game design that require a large time investment. It has also been noted that this game is the first to move in a wildly different direction while remaining in the main numbering line, as opposed to the Tactics and Crystal Chronicles games which became their own side series. The user base for the PlayStation 2 version was truncated initially because of limited sales of
3744-535: A revived Solus zos Galvus, in truth an Ascian, reminds his grandson Emperor Varis that Solus founded the Garlean Empire "solely to spread the seeds of chaos". Maxima, and many Populares, defect to Ala Mhigo. Alphinaud has stayed with Shadowhunter to investigate Ascian activity, while the Empire mobilizes to retake Ala Mhigo. Meanwhile, Hien assembles a Far Eastern Alliance of Doma, local tribes, Steppe warriors,
3900-507: A series of objectives to overcome or complete and enemies to defeat, generally within a certain time frame. Popular shared spaces activities include hunting Notorious Monsters , fiends that rarely appear and drop precious loot. The only way to attack other players in PvP is to enter one on one competition activities known as "Conflict". The first form of competition, called Ballista, involves players competing to score points by throwing petras into
4056-515: A special "Ultimate" difficulty battle, designed to be the most challenging content in the game. The gameplay and quest structure of Stormblood largely match that of its base game. As with many MMORPGs, players interact with each other in a persistent world that responds to their actions. A dramatic overhaul of the battle system accompanies the level cap increase to level 70. The changes fall into three broad categories. First, battle abilities were redesigned to eliminate redundant actions and improve
4212-449: A specific role within group play due to their area of expertise. Job traits are passive abilities that are always in effect, while job abilities must be activated by the player in order to come into effect. They last a limited time and have a "cooldown" period before they can be used again. Magic spells are available to certain jobs, and in addition to a cooldown period, they often consume MP or some form of item in order to be cast, while at
4368-585: A statement noting that this was not the case and users should not worry about the services being shut down any time soon. Final Fantasy XI is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), and differs from previous titles in the series in several ways. Unlike the predefined main characters of previous Final Fantasy titles, players are able to customize their characters in limited ways, including selecting from one of five races and choosing their gender, facial style, hair color, body size, job, and nation allegiance. Also diverging from previous games in
4524-661: A surprise attack. Garlean Prince Zenos yae Galvus joins, easily outmatching even the Warrior. Unimpressed, he withdraws, leaving survivors to rebuild. Unable to confront the Garleans head-on, the Scions follow Alphinaud's suggestion to foment revolution in Doma, Zenos' other province headed by the cruel Yotsuyu goe Brutus, to divide the Imperials' forces. The group sails for the Far East. In Kugane, they reunite with Gosetsu, crossing
4680-550: A tax on bazaar purchases inside the city, but was removed in a patch in the December 2008 version update. Square Enix has stated that the trade of items for real currency is officially a violation of the Terms of Service for Final Fantasy XI . In early 2006, Square Enix discovered that a group of players had found a way to generate game currency and exchange it for real currency, which, in turn, drove up prices for all items across
4836-401: A well done but unoriginal game and also noted that North American players were forced to play with already much more experienced Japanese players who had already completed the game's various quests. GameSpot criticized it at release for having an unconventional control system, a lengthy installation, and having no player versus player (PvP) aspects. Other elements receiving criticism include
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - Misplaced Pages Continue
4992-567: A year prior to its announcement with a "scriptwriting retreat" involving producer and director Naoki Yoshida and the main scenario writers. Full development began in October 2016 with the team size ultimately reaching over 250. The process for developing an expansion involves laying out the progression from main game to expansion in detail, and categorizing these elements so that developers would not get confused between patch content and expansion content which were being created simultaneously. Yoshida emphasized in his design philosophy that an expansion to
5148-586: Is Mizuki Ito. At one point in 2011, Square Enix considered to port Final Fantasy XI for Sony PlayStation Vita . On June 24, at the end of VanaFest 2012, a festival in Yokohama, Japan to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Japanese launch of Final Fantasy XI , Hiromichi Tanaka , for health reasons, decided to step down as producer of the game and leave Square-Enix. Akihiko Matsui was selected to replace him. In March 2023, Yoji Fujito replaced Matsui as
5304-480: Is a collaboration with Soken and the latter serves as the main theme for the game. Susan Calloway returned as the featured vocalist. Soken used "militant advance and invasion" as the central idea to the soundtrack, contrasting between powerful military marches and "those on the receiving end" of this encroachment. An example of this is the Ala Mhigan national anthem , "The Measure of His Reach". It has two versions,
5460-455: Is equipped, how full the TP bar is, and how proficient the player is with the weapon. If partying with other players, one may use these weapon skills in succession in order to create a "Skillchain". A skillchain creates additional damage after a series of weapon skills are used. Building on this even further, magic used on a skillchain at the right time will receive a boost to its damage; this is called
5616-410: Is fishing, where players can measure their strength against the fish they attempt to catch. Another is clamming, where players collect as many fish or sea creatures as possible without going over their bucket's size limit. Gardening allows players to raise plants in their residence, or " Mog House" as it is known in the game. The raising and breeding of Chocobos was a long-requested activity enabled in
5772-618: Is inspired anew to throw off the Garlean occupation. The twins Alphinaud and Alisaie, and the Scions' coinkeeper Tataru, aid her. The Alliance ultimately captures the Wall and fortifies, expecting imperial retaliation. Meanwhile, Gosetsu, one of Hien's retainers, comes to recall Yugiri and able-bodied Doman refugees. The Alliance contacts the main Resistance force across the Wall, led by Conrad and his lieutenant M'naago, while Zenos moves to crush
5928-409: Is involved in these events, and intends to destroy Vana'diel to prevent Promathia from absorbing the life of the world. Treasures of Aht Urhgan concerns the Empire of Aht Urhgan which opens up to the nations of midlands after years of self-imposed isolation. As a new and powerful nation, it is of concern to the nation of the player, who is sent as a representative. The player then becomes embroiled in
6084-581: Is the main character in the Chains of Promathia expansion pack. The storyline is primarily followed with missions through the governing nations that exist in the base game as well as each expansion that the player is affiliated with. Nation or governing body affiliation is relatively simple, sometimes requiring prerequisite quests being completed and have several stages of progression to achieve higher recognition and reward throughout each story. Some missions are even required to be completed to further progress into
6240-415: Is the world of Vana'diel, a rich world with diverse climates, ranging from northern glaciers and southern deserts, to ethereal realms and sky landmasses. Vana'diel is divided into a number of regions, which are subdivided into areas known as "zones". These zones are available for exploration and consist of outdoor areas, dungeons, cities, and towns. Players are able to explore a portion of Vana'diel, including
6396-451: The 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , the expansion Chains of Promathia received a nomination for " Massively Multiplayer/Persistent World Game of the Year ", ultimately losing out to World of Warcraft . During the following year's awards ceremony , The Vana'diel Collection received a nomination for "Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year". Final Fantasy XI was referenced in
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - Misplaced Pages Continue
6552-432: The Final Fantasy series. The music of Final Fantasy XI was scored by Naoshi Mizuta , Kumi Tanioka , and Nobuo Uematsu . Composer Yasunori Mitsuda was also asked to contribute, but at the time he was unable to do so, as he was scoring the music for Xenosaga . The game's five expansion packs since were scored by Mizuta alone, after Tanioka left to pursue other projects and Uematsu left Square Enix. The opening of
6708-693: The London media again in order to play. Sonic & Knuckles for the Mega Drive/Genesis was unusual in that it functioned as both a stand-alone cartridge and as an expansion pack for both Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 . Collectible card games, or CCGs for short, are typically released as expansion sets, composed of booster packs . CCGs may be referred to as "living" or "dead", and living CCGs are routinely published with supplementary expansions. CCGs generally do not have
6864-675: The Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti GPU , which the President of Square Yoichi Wada described as the most powerful graphics processor available at the time. The game cost two to three billion yen (~$ 17–25 million) to create along with the PlayOnline Network Service and was assumed to become profitable over a five-year timespan. By creating a unified game world instead of different ones balkanized by language, development costs were cut 66%. Since recurring monsters of
7020-616: The Zodiac Brave Story , based on the fable of the same name in Final Fantasy Tactics . He made an effort to integrate the story into the existing XIV setting and ensure that players who were not familiar with previous games set in Ivalice could still enjoy it. When Matsuno saw how enthusiastic the development team was about the first part of Return to Ivalice, he felt compelled to expand the story and design for
7176-401: The firmware the PlayStation 3 had at the time. This problem was fixed in December 2007 when Sony released firmware update 2.10 for the PlayStation 3 . This allowed all backwards compatible models—20GB model #CECHB01, 60GB model #CECHA01 and 80GB model #CECHE01—to play XI . After working with Microsoft to resolve the game's incompatibility issues with Windows Vista , Square Enix released
7332-439: The nature of war and colonialism for particular praise. Others, including Williams and Sam Prell of GamesRadar+ , noted that the excellent writing for the villains were a boon to the story. Reaction to other aspects of the game's pacing was more mixed. Most critics agreed the new side quests were still lacking, although Fahey acknowledged their variety as an improvement on the previous expansion's. Because of this, Prell felt
7488-488: The 2018 cycle, the game won "Best MMO" from Massively OP . Expansion pack An expansion pack , expansion set , supplement , or simply expansion , is an addition to an existing role-playing game , tabletop game , video game , collectible card game or miniature wargame . These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, adventures or an extended storyline to an already-released game. While board game expansions are typically designed by
7644-483: The Alliance storms the capital. The Warrior faces Zenos a third time, finally overpowering him. Zenos retreats, unveiling the primal Shinryu, captured by Omega above Baelsar's Wall . Using his Resonant powers, Zenos fuses with Shinryu and battles the Warrior. Zenos and Nidhogg's eyes are ejected from Shinryu upon its death; Zenos commits suicide, completing Ala Mhigo's liberation, while Estinien later arrives and destroys
7800-582: The Auction House, or be used to purchase items and rewards from NPCs. Unlike some MMORPGs, there is very little focus on player versus player (PvP) combat; the game instead revolves around player versus environment (PvE). There are numerous PvE activities and events for players to partake in, including instanced activities and shared spaces activities. Some instanced events include Dynamis, Salvage, Assault and Nyzul Isle, which involve anywhere between 6 and 64 players. These battle grounds give players
7956-544: The Azim Steppe tribes. They assault Doma Castle, defeating Yotsuyu's forces. Defiant, she collapses the castle atop them, but Gosetsu holds the ceiling up for the others to escape; both he and Yotsuyu are presumed dead. Hien reclaims his kingdom and pledges to aid Ala Mhigo in kind. On returning west, word spreads of Doma's freedom; numerous Imperial provinces go into open rebellion, stretching their forces thin. The Ala Mhigan diaspora and liberated labor-camp workers swell
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#17327799196128112-658: The Beastmen are some of the game's main antagonists. The events of the game are set 20 years after the Crystal War, a devastating war where the Middle Land nations of Bastok, San d'Oria and Windurst fought and defeated the Shadow Lord and his army of Beastmen. Players deal with the aftermath of this conflict in the original story, and may travel back in time to aid in the war effort with the expansion pack Wings of
8268-620: The Confederacy, and nearby provincial rebels. They re-purpose ancient Allagan technology, erecting a massive energy barrier against Garlean air attack, which blocks the Shadowhunter's vessel. He brings Alphinaud, who has also fallen comatose. The Warrior identifies the Shadowhunter as Gaius Baelsar, who survived the destruction of the Ultima Weapon . He has discarded his title of "van", focusing only on slaying Ascians. He reveals
8424-505: The EXP grind, which involves constant battles to access different parts of the game, and overcrowded camp sites. The expansions have been mostly positively received, with praise for the amount of content added, but increasing signs that the graphics of the game are becoming outdated. The IGN review of the Xbox 360 release was similar, noting that it was a large amount of game content, but had
8580-679: The Egg Hunt Egg-stravaganza in place of Easter, and the Starlight Celebration in place of Christmas. Battles in Final Fantasy XI take place in the world in which players move around, a first in the series, where battle had previously taken place in a separate screen via random encounters . The surprise of the random encounter system is achieved via aggressive monsters, who will attack players based on different factors such as sight and sound. This format would continue in future Final Fantasy games. Monsters within
8736-476: The Emperor has begun producing the chemical weapon Black Rose and mobilized the provinces, under command of Elidibus possessing Zenos' body. Further, Lahabrea's death has left Elidibus and the mysterious Emet-Selch as the last Ascian leaders. Gaius departs for Garlemald, harrying Black Rose production; while Hien leaves for Ala Mhigo, joining the Warrior of Light and the Alliance leaders to parley with Varis before
8892-632: The Enlightened Races and Beastmen is a plot point throughout the game. Final Fantasy XI is represented in the Dissidia game series by Shantotto, a female Tarutaru Black Mage from the Windurst storyline, voiced by famed voice actress Megumi Hayashibara in the Japanese version and Candi Milo in the English version. The game's prequel adds Prishe, a female Elvaan from Tavnazia, who
9048-571: The Goddess . Several parallel worlds are available, such as Dynamis and Abyssea, in which the beastmen won the Crystal War and conquered the land. Final Fantasy XI features five playable races known as the "Enlightened Races": In addition to the playable races, there are two other non-playable Enlightened Races, known as the Zilart and the Kuluu. These ancient races were thought to be extinct, and are
9204-687: The Goddess Altana wept five tears that gave life to the five Enlightened Races of Vana'diel. The God of Twilight, Promathia, condemned her weakness and the life that arose from it. Promathia cursed the five races with eternal conflict amongst themselves by bringing forth their darkest attributes: the apathy of the Humes, the arrogance of the Elvaan, the rage of the Galka, the cowardice of the Tarutaru, and
9360-608: The Middle Lands, Near East, and with the release of Seekers of Adoulin , the near west. Six city states exist in the available lands, The Republic of Bastok, The Kingdom of San d'Oria, The Federation of Windurst, The Grand Duchy of Jeuno, The Empire of Aht Urhgan and the Sacred City of Adoulin. While most areas are accessible by walking, various modes of transportation, ranging from the classic Final Fantasy Chocobo and airships to special spells, facilitate movement across
9516-602: The PC platform playable. A mobile client for the game was under development by Square Enix in collaboration with Korean developer Nexon , using Unreal Engine 4 , but was cancelled in late 2020. A spin-off mobile game, Final Fantasy Grandmasters was released on September 30, 2015. A new, episodic story series titled The Voracious Resurgence was added to the game in 2020, concluding in June 2023. In May 2022 rumors had circulated that FFXI may soon be shutting down. Yoji Fujito released
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#17327799196129672-491: The PlayStation 2 version 85% based on 57 reviews and 85/100 based on 49 reviews, the PC version 82% based on 44 reviews and 85/100 based on 25 reviews the Xbox 360 version 69% based on 32 reviews and 66/100 based on 25 reviews. Famitsu rated the game 38 out of 40. Computer and Video Games Magazine noted that it was one of the most welcoming MMORPGs despite the cumbersome initial registration and setup. IGN called it
9828-628: The PlayStation 2's hard drive and network adapters that were needed for the game. The Japanese release of Rise of the Zilart was the number one selling game when it debuted in 2003 with 90,000 copies sold in the first week. The Treasures of Aht Urhgan , released three years later, sold over 103,000 copies for the PlayStation 2 in Japan during 2006. In the United States, Final Fantasy XI ' s computer version sold 340,000 copies ($ 15.5 million) by August 2006, after its release in October 2003. It
9984-507: The PlayStation 4 version for free. Stormblood also updates the game for compatibility with PlayStation 4 Pro . Two modes are available, one focusing on framerate and game performance and the other focusing on graphical resolution. A companion app for mobile phones was released in August 2018. It allows players to chat with friends, schedule events, manage inventory, and sell items using the in-game Market Board. The development team schedules
10140-545: The PvP system by dramatically overhauling it in Stormblood . All jobs gained dedicated PvP actions that are balanced separately from the rest of the game. The changes were aimed at paring down the number of actions to produce a smoother experience. They are also designed to support a potential PvP tournament scene, including the "Feast Regional Championship" series which was held as a part of Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2018 . Yoshida brought on Yasumi Matsuno , director of Final Fantasy Tactics and other Ivalice games, as
10296-405: The Resistance's ranks. Raubahn and Conrad press the advantage, taking a key bridge on the route to the capital, opening access to Gyr Abania proper. The Warrior and Lyse also defeat the primal Lakshmi to clear the way. In the next battle, Fordola sends artillery fire against a Garlean watchtower on Zenos' orders, killing its defenders and mortally wounding Conrad. His last request makes Lyse leader of
10452-485: The Resistance. The liberators push into the Lochs surrounding the capital, building a forward operating base . The Scions infiltrate a Garlean base and extract their comrade Krile, whom Garlean scientists had experimented on to replicate her Echo. Fordola has become their prototype "Resonant" and Zenos receives the perfected version. The Scions capture Fordola through trickery to fool this ability. With air support from Hien,
10608-571: The Ruby Sea, aided by Blue Kojin traders. They also convince the Confederacy to drive out the Empire by breaking its contract with the Red Kojin mercenaries and defeating their primal, Susano. They find Yugiri in Doma, whom Prince Hien has asked to measure his peoples' will—if they desire freedom, he will return from exile to lead; if not, he will surrender himself to Garlemald to ease his people's suffering. When Zenos arrive in Doma for an inspection,
10764-568: The Ruby Sea. Only the port city Kugane lies open to foreign trade, with Hingashi proper off-limits, acting as pastiches of Edo-era Japan and Nagasaki , respectively. In the Ruby Sea reside turtle-like Kojin tribes, and the Confederacy, a loose pirate coalition and protection racket. While Gridania, Ishgard, and Limsa Lominsa remain involved, of the Eorzean Alliance states, only Ul'dah plays a major role in Stormblood , due to Flame General Raubahn Aldynn being an Ala Mhigan refugee. Immediately prior to Stormblood , an Ala Mhigan Resistance faction makes
10920-535: The Susano boss trial, the latter comparing it to Metal Gear Rising . The system-level changes to combat were also well-received, including the streamlining of role actions and job unlocking, the consolidation of underused stats, and the Job Gauge user interface. Another consistent feature of reviews was praise for the two new job classes, Red Mage and Samurai. Red Mage's interweaving of melee and ranged attacks earned
11076-506: The Warrior attempts to assassinate him but is again defeated. Zenos, intrigued, spares the Warrior, seeking a future, more intense conflict. Villagers previously rescued by Yugiri rally and drive off the Imperial retinue. Inspired by their spirit, the Scions travel to the Azim Steppe seeking Hien. He lives among the Mol, who nursed him to health after a previous failed rebellion. Planning to win
11232-560: The Warrior defeat Lakshmi, and the conference begins drafting for a parliamentary republic . Meanwhile, sultana Nanamo pursues repatriation of Ala Mhigan refugees, via rebuilding the Saltery , producing jobs and valuable resources. With an emotional farewell, she persuades Raubahn to return to his homeland, promoting his son Pipin to Flame Marshal. The Warrior and Yugiri find Gosetsu and a totally amnesiac Yotsuyu. Hien, heeding Gosetsu, commutes her sentence for mental incompetence . However,
11388-509: The Warrior learns Asahi acted on orders from Zenos, who has mysteriously survived his suicide, to discredit the Populares and promote the warmongering Optimates faction. The exchange completes under Maxima quo Priscus, Asahi's lieutenant and a loyal Populares member; he promises to carry Doma's peace treaty faithfully to the capital. Alphinaud joins him, hoping to survey Garlean politics. Zenos' personal guard downs their airship mid-flight, but
11544-424: The Xbox 360 version was the sixth most played game on Xbox Live . As of 2008, the game had 500,000 subscribers. By June 2012, Final Fantasy XI became the most profitable title in the Final Fantasy series. While many MMOs have switched to some form of free-to-play model, the base monthly subscription price point for Final Fantasy XI has remained the same at $ 11.95 since its debut in 2002. Final Fantasy XI
11700-518: The Yanxia theme which had only harp and kokyū . He is particularly proud of his work on Shinryu's and Tsukuyomi's primal boss battle themes, which include motifs from "Stormblood" and Yanxia's theme respectively. Each phase of the Tsukuyomi battle theme references a different aspect of Yotsuyu's life. This theme, "Wayward Daughter", received the most votes in a player poll to select the track list for
11856-434: The arrival of her stepbrother and Garlean ambassador, Asahi sas Brutus, complicates matters. Claiming to represent the reformist Populares party, which opposes Garlean expansionism, Asahi suggests a prisoner exchange: Doman conscripts for Garlean prisoners of war, including Yotsuyu. His only demand is that Doma prevent any summonings in its territory. Hien readily agrees, but due to Yotsuyu's condition, denies her status as
12012-513: The balance of the level grind between story missions was off, a criticism also lodged by Leif Johnson of IGN and Steven Messner of PC Gamer . On the other hand, reviewers recommended players to avoid the paid "story skip" and "level boost" items in favor of playing the story for themselves. Various aspects of the gameplay and battle system received near universal plaudits. Chris Carter of Destructoid described battle encounters as "stylish and engaging" and Prell and Messner were impressed by
12168-453: The concept are module and, in certain games' marketing, adventure . The price of an expansion pack is usually much less than that of the original game. As expansion packs consist solely of additional content, most require the original game in order to play. Games with many expansions often begin selling the original game with prior expansions, such as The Sims Deluxe Edition ( The Sims with The Sims: Livin' Large ). These bundles make
12324-582: The development of Monster Hunter: World to finally make good on the latter's suggestion with the goal of celebrating Monster Hunter ' s newfound global audience. The collaboration consists of a boss battle against Rathalos in Stormblood and a Behemoth hunt in Monster Hunter: World . The collaboration with Final Fantasy XV was also long in the making. In the run-up to its release in 2016, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata and Yoshida discussed working together but wanted to wait for
12480-669: The development of their own MMORPG and suggested that it be based on the Final Fantasy series. Since MMORPG creation was seen as a "greater cause", Final Fantasy XI was made by a merger of four crews: the Parasite Eve II and Brave Fencer Musashi teams from Osaka , and the Mana and Chrono Cross teams from Tokyo . Development began in November 1999. The game was the first developed under Square's new philosophy to develop for "all platforms and media". Hiromichi Tanaka ,
12636-527: The eleventh main installment of the Final Fantasy series. Designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka , it was released in Japan on May 16, 2002, for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows -based personal computers in November of that year. The game was the first MMORPG to offer cross-platform play between PlayStation 2 and Windows. It was later released for the Xbox 360 in April 2006. All versions of
12792-530: The emperor's son, Zenos yae Galvus, whose brutal oppression of the conquered imperial subjects impels the player to act. Traveling these diverse lands, players join forces with the Ala Mhigan Resistance and the deposed Crown Prince of Doma. In addition to adding new areas, the expansion pack increases the level cap , adds two new character classes , revamps the battle system for existing combat classes, and introduces swimming gameplay. Stormblood
12948-455: The envy of the Mithra. He created the Beastmen, commanding them to forever fight the people of Vana'diel and occupy their minds, so these children would never have time to group together and construct a pathway like the ones before them. The creation lore's sentient Crystal, Gods, Children, and the truths behind them feature as major plot points in several Final Fantasy XI expansion packs, while
13104-413: The era. However, Lilisette and her partner encounter Lilith, an alternate timeline version of herself who wishes to keep the war going to maintain her time while negating Lilisette's. Seekers of Adoulin concerns the western continent archipelago of Adoulin, and the Sacred City of Adoulin. The city was a focal point for colonization 200 years before the present game, but when colonization efforts failed in
13260-425: The expansion's early access period. A special upgrade campaign allowed affected players to obtain the PlayStation 4 version for free. Stormblood marks a shift in the ongoing conflict with the Garlean Empire. Players lead rebellions in the imperial provinces of Ala Mhigo, an Eorzean city-state conquered twenty years ago, and Doma, a Far Eastern nation with a proud ninja tradition. These regions are administered by
13416-406: The extinction of their race. The two Zilarts plan to become Gods by opening the path to paradise , and the player is charged with thwarting their plans. Chains of Promathia revolves around an Elvaan girl named Prishe and the dead Twilight God Promathia, who had originally cursed the Zilart race, and the attempts of various factions to either complete or stop his resurrection. The wyrmking Bahamut
13572-403: The eyes. In post-credit scenes, Lyse amiably resigns from the Scions to focus on rebuilding Ala Mhigo; Emperor Varis (Zenos' father) is visited by Elidibus; and Gosetsu and Yotsuyu are revealed to have survived. Lyse calls a constitutional conference of local and tribal leaders. One Ananta tribe summons their primal, Lakshmi, pushing Lyse to call on Fordola's Resonant resistance. Together, she and
13728-477: The flow of combat. Second, a new set of "role actions" ensures that all players can access critical abilities to their role— tank , healer , or damage dealer. Finally, all classes gained a "Job Gauge" that displays all class-relevant information in a more visually distinct way. Two new job classes were introduced as well—the katana-wielding Samurai and the versatile Red Mage, both damage-dealing classes. These jobs begin at level 50 with their own storylines connected to
13884-508: The focus of the first two-game expansions. There is also a large supporting cast of NPCs involved in quests, missions and the game's storylines. The game features several typical Final Fantasy fiends , including Goblins, Sahagins and Tonberries. Several of these races are known as Beastmen, a distinction made between fiends who possess higher than average intelligence, exhibiting self-awareness, emotions, culture, and religion. The complex relationship, bigoted views, and reasons of conflict between
14040-466: The follow-up story to Rhapsodies of Vana'diel , concerns the mysterious "world eater eggs" appearing all throughout the land of Vana'diel. The idea to develop Final Fantasy XI as an online game was conceived by Hironobu Sakaguchi when establishing Square Pictures headquarters in Hawaii. Impressed by western MMORPGs that he discovered there, such as EverQuest , Sakaguchi convinced Square to begin
14196-530: The game and the unreleased Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections . Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy- , a 2004–05 concert series, featured "Ronfaure" from Final Fantasy XI . A ten-track album of music inspired by Final Fantasy XI entitled Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel was released by The Star Onions on August 24, 2005. Final Fantasy XI has additions released every few years. Expansion packs add new story, jobs, zones, quests, and content to
14352-471: The game features choral music with lyrics in Esperanto . According to Uematsu, the choice of language was meant to symbolize the developers' hope that their online game could contribute to cross-cultural communication and cooperation. He also noted the increased difficulty of scoring a game for which there was no linear plotline, a major change from the previous Final Fantasy games. It was the first game in
14508-416: The game is "one of the few [MMORPGs] able to maintain a monthly subscription model". Carter concluded that the expansion followed the "same routine as the base game", but admitted "that routine is a winning one". During the 2017 awards cycle, the expansion won "Best MMO" from Game Informer , Bleeding Cool , and RPGamer . It was also Editor's Choice for "Best Post-Release Content" at PlayStation Blog . In
14664-540: The game more accessible to new players. When games reach the end of their lifespan, the publisher often releases a 'complete' or 'gold' collection, which includes the game and all its subsequent expansions. Some expansion packs do not require the original game in order to use the new content, as is the case with Half-Life: Blue Shift , Uncharted: The Lost Legacy , Dishonored: Death of the Outsider or Sonic & Knuckles . Some art, sound, and code are reused from
14820-545: The game operate under a system of "claim" and " enmity ". A monster is claimed the moment a player performs any offensive action upon it, whether physical, magical or ability related. With some exceptions, once a monster is claimed it can only be attacked by players in the party or alliance of the player that claimed it. A monster will focus its attention on whoever has built up the most enmity. Players have several means at their disposal, including spells, abilities and items, to build up enmity or shed it to their advantage in battle -
14976-528: The game require a monthly subscription to play. The story is set in the fantasy world of Vana'diel, where player-created avatars can both compete and cooperate in a variety of objectives to develop an assortment of jobs, skills, and earn in-game item rewards. Players can undertake an array of quests and progress through the in-game hierarchy and through the major plot of the game. Since its debut in 2002, five expansion packs have been released along with six add-on scenarios. Each expansion pack and add-on brings
15132-516: The game required. Having been released on the PlayStation 2 as well as the personal computer, it became the first cross-platform MMORPG ever created. On June 14, 2002, the game server was down for four hours for maintenance to the database servers, bug fixes on the text interface, and a new patch for the game client. This is thought to be the first patch ever released for a console game. Other early issues included complaints by American players that experienced Japanese players had already completed all
15288-484: The game world. Ancient lore states that Vana'diel was created as a playground for the Gods and their children, who themselves were spawned from an enormous and sentient Crystal . Eventually wishing to be one with the Gods, the children constructed a pathway to paradise. They were smote down for their insolence and their cities cast to the bottom of the sea. After seeing the destruction of her children and filled with sadness,
15444-416: The game's restraint in unfolding the complexity of the narrative and increasing emotional investment into the characters, calling it a "slow burn". Mike Fahey of Kotaku thought the game did a good job of keeping a fast pace and maintaining the player's motivation. Simon Parkin of Eurogamer appreciated the influence Yasumi Matsuno had on the story's tone. Many reviewers singled out the game's themes about
15600-425: The game, Beatmania Append Yebisu Mix, was bundled with the PlayStation version as the game's 2nd disc, with subsequent append discs being released as standalone retail releases. Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 was marketed as the first expansion pack released for the PlayStation. The game required the player to insert the London disc, remove it, insert the original Grand Theft Auto disc, remove it, then insert
15756-439: The game, while add-ons are smaller in scale, adding a smaller selection of the aforementioned items. All of the expansions and add-ons have been released on PlayStation 2 , Microsoft Windows , and Xbox 360 , with the exception of Seekers of Adoulin , which did not see a PlayStation 2 release outside Japan. Final Fantasy XI received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave
15912-406: The game, with a top critic average score of 88. Stormblood sold 33,000 units across standard and Complete Edition versions in Japan in its first week, making it the best-selling video game of the week in that region. It exceeded the developers' expectations in terms of sales, critical response, and player numbers. Praise for the story was common among reviews. Mike Williams of USgamer commended
16068-478: The game. After one standard Job has reached Level 30, the "extra Jobs" are accessible upon completing certain quests. Players are able to change their jobs any time from inside their house or by speaking with a Nomad Moogle. In June 2010, the long-standing level limit of 75 was incrementally increased to the higher level cap of 99, finishing in the December 2011 version update. Jobs have a combination of unique "job traits", "job abilities", and magic spells, giving them
16224-448: The game. In response, 700 accounts were permanently banned and 300 billion gil was removed from circulation. That July, Square Enix banned or suspended over 8,000 other accounts for similar manipulation and commerce. Since 2006, Square Enix has regularly banned accounts found to be in violation of the terms, some of them using third-party tools, effectively removing billions of gil from the in-game economy. The setting of Final Fantasy XI
16380-583: The ground invasion. Varis reveals to the Alliance that the Ascians created the Empire to sow discord and bring Calamity, and explains that they seek to undo the planet's sundering; their Calamities merge Shards back into the Source. He offers an alliance: permit Calamities to continue, until the reunited souls of mankind are strong enough to fight the Ascians directly. Disgusted, the Alliance unanimously refuses, and battle commences. Alisaie falls comatose soon after
16536-472: The increased budget and production values afforded with the new expansion. He singled out the Lakshmi battle music, "Beauty's Wicked Wiles", as his favorite primal theme in the entire game and felt the soundtrack overall was stronger than the previous expansion's. Though he felt "Revolutions" was weaker than previous vocal pieces, Greg Fisher of Video Game Music Online was impressed by Soken's ability to maintain
16692-597: The intrigues of the Empress's court and the growing fears of war and darkness coming to Aht Urhgan. Wings of the Goddess primarily occurs in the era of the Crystal War, 20 years in the past from the main Final Fantasy XI setting. The player discovers and crosses mysterious time portals alongside the Hume/Elvaan mix Lilisette, and are led to help the Regal Feline Cait Sith reduce the suffering of
16848-468: The job as producer and director of the redevelopment efforts, his friend and Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto tried to warn him away from the project, fearing for his career trajectory. When Yoshida persisted, Tsujimoto offered assistance from Capcom and Monster Hunter to promote the game. Yoshida declined this as well, wanting Final Fantasy XIV to succeed on its own merits. Remembering this gesture, Yoshida and Tsujimoto reconvened during
17004-421: The land of life - but chooses brutal expansionism and religious persecution to stop summons. Found at the eastern edge of Eorzea, the focus region of previous expansions, the city-state of Ala Mhigo rules over the arid Gyr Abania region. Its land bridge to the other continents acts as a buffer state to Eorzea. Twenty years before Stormblood, the Empire conquered Ala Mhigo in the wake of a popular uprising against
17160-454: The later parts. Keita Amemiya , creator and character designer of Garo , was invited to contribute monster designs for these raids. In exchange, armor and weapons from Garo were added to the game as part of a collaboration event. Stormblood also features collaboration events with Monster Hunter: World and Final Fantasy XV . The seeds of the former were planted during the development of A Realm Reborn in 2011. When Yoshida took
17316-418: The launch of Stormblood . These were created in response to complaints about the long story questline that might be daunting and inhibiting to new players. Yoshida explained that they were deliberately priced to be as expensive as the game itself to discourage players from using them too freely, instead urging prospective players to experience the story from the beginning. The developers responded to criticism of
17472-451: The main continent of Ulbuka, the nation fell in population and shifted to trade as a focus. Now colonization has begun once again, and players are free to explore the region. Rhapsodies of Vana'diel concerns the conclusion of the previous Final Fantasy XI storylines with the threat posed by the Cloud of Darkness and an alternate timeline version of the player. The Voracious Resurgence ,
17628-529: The main storyline of the game is told, and quests , which do not advance the main storyline, but fill out the game's fantasy world. Completing missions allows a player to advance in rank, which grants access to new areas, several privileges, and various other storylines. At first, a player may only complete missions for their home nation, though they are able to change allegiances later on, allowing access to other nations' storylines. Quests may be undertaken for their various rewards, or to acquire "fame", which allows
17784-484: The monarchy. Gaius van Baelsar, the legatus leading the invasion, had intended to conquer all of Eorzea, but stalled in the face of Eorzean and dragon resistance. He instead builds Baelsar's Wall at the Ala Mhigan border, waiting for an opportunity. Further, he established the Crania Lupi ("Wolves' Skulls"), a native Ala Mhigan irregular unit offering citizenship for service. After Gaius' defeat in A Realm Reborn ,
17940-417: The monsters attention off fragile jobs and on the tanks. One of the key aspects of the battle system lies in the extreme flexibility of the party composition: unlike many other games, there are no constraints on the role (or "job" class) of the party members. This feature allows to tackle every fight with a wide array of different strategies, while encouraging the community to share new, creative ways of handling
18096-413: The new Emperor Varis zos Galvus made his son, Zenos yae Galvus, imperial viceroy . Zenos' harsh and sadistic tyranny contrasts with Gaius' egalitarian, meritocratic policies, and he whiles away his time seeking worthy opponents for lethal combat. Doma, in the far East, is a previous conquest of Zenos. Formerly a proud martial kingdom, Imperial occupation has sent rightful Prince Hien into hiding and broken
18252-558: The new settings. Unlike Heavensward , they are accessible to any player with a level 50 class, regardless of story progress. In addition to new dungeons and raids, Stormblood introduces a new player versus player (PvP) mode called Rival Wings. Two teams of 24 players face off in goblin -run war games . Points are earned by destroying opposing bases and robot minions. Players are able to call down and pilot giant mecha after achieving certain objectives. The mode has been compared to multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games. Finally,
18408-404: The number of dungeons added during odd-numbered patches. As with previous expansions, Square Enix released five major patches for Stormblood over the course of its two-year content cycle. Masayoshi Soken composed the majority of the expansion's score—over 100 tracks—in addition to his duties as sound director. Nobuo Uematsu composed two vocal tracks, "Stormblood" and "Revolutions"; the former
18564-426: The online game Minna no Golf Online in the form of a Final Fantasy XI -themed lobby. Square Enix released the second MMORPG in the series in 2010, titled Final Fantasy XIV Online . The original version received generally unfavorable reviews and the new version was released in 2013, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn . Dawntrail , the fifth expansion pack for Final Fantasy XIV released in 2024, introduced
18720-442: The opportunity for players to find rare items in order to equalize the game and stop the practice of "gil selling", or exchanging real money for in-game items. The item auction system was shut down temporarily once due to some players exploiting the system. Items can be created by consuming elemental crystals (obtained by fighting monsters) with other ingredients in a process called "synthesis". Recipe results can vary widely based on
18876-411: The original and a version used under the Garlean occupation that has harsher sound and more violent lyrics. The main musical phrase of "Stormblood" reappears multiple times throughout the soundtrack with different instrumentation and stylings to match the context. Due to the setting, Soken incorporated Asian instruments into his orchestration and chose to pare down the number used in field tracks, such as
19032-517: The original creator, video game developers sometimes contract out development of the expansion pack to a third-party company, it may choose to develop the expansion itself, or it may do both. Board games and tabletop RPGs may have been marketing expansions since the 1970s, and video games have been releasing expansion packs since the 1980s, early examples being the Dragon Slayer games Xanadu Scenario II and Sorcerian . Other terms for
19188-442: The original game. In some cases, a stand-alone expansion such as Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death , or Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna includes the original game. Expansion packs are most commonly released for PC games , but are becoming increasingly prevalent for video game consoles , particularly due to the popularity of downloadable content . The increasing number of multi-platform games has also led to
19344-510: The peoples' spirits. Leaving for Ala Mhigo, Zenos promotes Yotsuyu goe Brutus, a Doman turncoat who hates her countrymen, to acting viceroy. Doma takes inspiration from the cultures of ancient China and Japan. The Azim Steppe, north of Doma, houses numerous nomadic Au Ra tribes, who hold an annual Naadam as their leadership competition, based on the Mongolian Naadam festival. Hingashi, an isolationist island nation, lies eastward across
19500-414: The player is able to use an external keyboard that is USB compatible for communication within the game. The head-up display in Final Fantasy XI consists of a log window, menus, and several game information elements. The log window at the bottom of the screen displays system messages, battle messages, and text input by other players. Players may choose to filter what appears in the log window. "Menus" allow
19656-402: The player to access different commands, status windows, and configuration options. The "action command menu" appears just above the log window and gives the player several options to interact with the game world. Several menu options are available through the use of keyboard shortcuts, as well. Story related gameplay in Final Fantasy XI consists of two major components: missions, through which
19812-401: The player's skill, the quality of the player's equipment worn, and the ingredients used. There is large speculation (though nothing evidently documented yet) about the moon phase, direction the player is facing, in-game day (every day of the week is assigned an element), and even time of day the synthesis is performed to either increase or reduce the results of the recipe. Final Fantasy XI has
19968-399: The producer of the game, said that the title is heavily influenced by Final Fantasy III , especially in its battle and magic systems. According to Tanaka, Square put in Final Fantasy XI what they could not put in the first Final Fantasy titles due to technical limitations, thus making XI the "most [representative] Final Fantasy of all the episodes". The game was developed and ran on
20124-399: The producer, while Matsui would in some form continue supporting Final Fantasy XI . In 2006, between 200,000 and 300,000 active players logged in per day, with 500,000 total active players and around 150,000 online at any one time. By April 2009, the total number of active characters exceeded 2 million for the first time. By June 2012, Final Fantasy XI became the most profitable title in
20280-453: The quests. Square Enix responded by adding new servers in order to have game worlds with fewer expert players. Final Fantasy XI is one of the first cross-console video games, and has continued to update its software to allow the game to run on new consoles. In March 2007, a patch was released to enable gameplay in French and German. Square Enix noted that Nintendo 's use of " Friend Codes "
20436-479: The rebellion, aided by the Skulls' commander, Fordola. Stormblood opens with sympathetic Alliance leaders hoping to aid Ala Mhigo. Raubahn dispatches the Warrior of Light, Lyse, and the Scions to meet the Ala Mhigan Resistance, seeking support for an Alliance incursion. Conrad, a major Resistance leader, gladly accepts their aid. However, Fordola rem Lupis, a Garlean loyalist, devastates the resistance headquarters in
20592-430: The release of a major update approximately every three months. Each of these free content patches includes a continuation of the main scenario as well as new raids, features, trials, and dungeons. Minor patches that come in between major updates focus on quality of life improvements. With Stormblood , Yoshida reallocated resources to facilitate the development of new types of content (e.g. Eureka, Ultimate raids) by reducing
20748-430: The release of more expansion packs on consoles, especially stand-alone expansion packs (as described above). Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath , for example, requires the original Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars to play on the PC, but Xbox 360 versions of both the original Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath are available, neither of which require one another. The Japanese version of Konami 's Beatmania
20904-546: The right time in their respective content schedules. In both games' events, players battle the other title's version of Garuda to win new outfits and mounts . Support for PlayStation 3 (PS3) ended with the release of Stormblood . The change allowed developers to increase the speed of loading non-player characters , as the PS3 had limited input/output capacity, which in turn permitted faster travel speeds for mounts. A special upgrade campaign allowed affected PS3 players to obtain
21060-528: The same time requiring the user to stand still. Additionally, each job has a special one-hour ability that performs an extraordinary function. The unique system of Final Fantasy XI ' s job system is the "Support Job". This system allows a player to augment their character with abilities, traits, and spells from another chosen job, at half the level of their current job. For instance, a Level 20 Warrior setting Ninja as their support job would allow them to use all Ninja abilities, traits, and spells up to that of
21216-410: The same world and can interact through automatic language translation from a library of translated phrases. The game servers are run by Square Enix as part of their PlayOnline network. Players have the option of using any combination of a keyboard, mouse, and controller to play Final Fantasy XI . While by default, a player using a PlayStation 2 or an Xbox 360 uses a virtual/in-game keyboard option,
21372-414: The series are known by different names in the Japanese and English versions of the other installments, it was decided for Final Fantasy XI to use both Japanese and English names for different varieties of the same monsters. A simultaneous release on the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows as well as concurrent Japanese and American release was originally considered, but this was later changed. There
21528-494: The series for which he composed while he was no longer a Square Enix employee. New music has been employed for special events, such as a holiday score titled "Jeuno -Starlight Celebration-" which can be heard in the city of Jeuno each mid-to-late December since 2004. The game's music has been released in CD form several times and has been featured in Final Fantasy concerts. Some of the game's music has been released on iTunes , such as
21684-453: The series, the game takes place in a fully three-dimensional landscape with enemies freely roaming in it, allowing battles to occur in real time as opposed to the random encounters used in previous games - a trend continued in every numbered Final Fantasy title since. There are currently 16 public game worlds available for play, down from 32 at the game's height, with approximately 15,000 to 20,000 players in each. A private Test Server
21840-401: The soundtrack, with Nobuo Uematsu contributing the theme song. The expansion pack was released as a standalone product for current players; for new players, the "Complete Edition" of Final Fantasy XIV that originally launched with Heavensward was updated to include both expansions. In order to make necessary engine improvements, service for the PlayStation 3 game client was terminated with
21996-451: The start of the additional storylines of each expansion or specific areas. Players begin the game as residents of one of the three main countries: San d'Oria, Bastok, and Windurst, and must help band the nations together against the resurrected Shadow Lord. The expansion Rise of the Zilart reveals that the Crystal War and the resurrection of the Shadow Lord had been masterminded by the Zilart princes Eald'Narche and Kam'lanaut, who survived
22152-609: The story. Johnson saw "new heights of creativity" in the wild plains of the Mongolia-inspired Azim Steppe. Carter noted that the 4K resolution mode on PlayStation 4 Pro was an impressive feature. Reception for the addition of swimming gameplay was less enthusiastic. Although Fahey found the underwater environments to be visually appealing, he concluded that it was "woefully underutilized", a sentiment echoed by Carter. Overall, critics praised Stormblood as an improvement over Heavensward . Fahey observed that
22308-513: The successful first engagement. The Warrior drives off Elidibus, but nearly succumbs to the disturbance, leaving a stalemate. The speaker gives instructions: seek a beacon at the Crystal Tower to avert a ruinous future. Meanwhile, the real Zenos, who had cheated death by using the Echo to switch bodies, sets out towards Garlemald to reclaim his body. Planning for Stormblood began well over
22464-641: The summer 2006 update. Chocobo racing began in March 2007, which allowed for the racing of player-raised Chocobos against non-player characters (NPCs). Winning racers can earn "Chocobucks", which can be used to buy, for example, items that assist Chocobo breeding. An important part of the game is the accumulation of items, especially rare ones, which allow players to create powerful weapons, armour and food. There are many ways to obtain items, such as harvesting, excavating, logging, mining, defeating monsters, and digging by using Chocobos. Square Enix attempted to increase
22620-403: The summer of 2006; in the fall, however, Square acknowledged that online subscription revenues were "unsatisfactory", despite the steady performance of Final Fantasy XI . By December 2003, there were over 200,000 subscribers to Final Fantasy XI , allowing the company to break even and start making a profit. There were between 200,000 and 300,000 active players daily in 2006. As of August 2006,
22776-415: The title of Final Fantasy Online was suggested. Following an August 2001 beta test in Japan, a public Japanese beta test was done four months later in December. Following its PC release, Final Fantasy XI was listed as one of IGN 's most anticipated PlayStation 2 games of 2004. Sony launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to promote the game along with the PlayStation 2 hard drive add-on which
22932-591: The upcoming Naadam for the Mol, he hopes to lead the Steppe's warriors to bolster the liberation army. After passing Steppe initiation trials, Hien and the Scions gain the Mol elder's blessing to participate. The Warrior secures victory for the Mol, and the Steppe's warriors eagerly join Hien's cause. Returning to Doma, Alphinaud presents Hien with a Far Eastern Alliance: the Confederacy, Doma, the Blue Kojin tribe, and now
23088-582: The use of Logos Actions, which are unique spells and abilities that players craft using materials found in the zone. Eureka culminates in a high tier raid called the Baldesion Arsenal that challenges 56 players to work together to overcome it. Stormblood occurs on three main continents of Hydaelyn, a fictional planet with diverse Earth-like climates, focused on the Garlean imperial provinces of Ala Mhigo and Doma. The Empire seeks to eliminate "primals" - summoned beings shaped like deities which deplete
23244-409: The vocal "Distant Worlds", which was released on the Japanese iTunes store on September 13, 2005, having been put in the game in a July 2005 patch. A compilation CD box was released on March 28, 2007, titled Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack Premium Box , which included the four original soundtracks from Final Fantasy XI and its three expansion sets, as well as the previously unreleased tracks from
23400-500: Was also discussion of an Xbox release, but was abandoned mainly because of its small 8 GB hard drive. Originally announced on January 29, 2000 at the Square Millennium Conference in Yokohama, there was a great deal of negative press. There were questions raised about naming the game the eleventh in the series, since it was not clear whether the game would have a structured story, which it ended up having, and
23556-687: Was awarded the grand prize from the Japan's Consumer Entertainment Software Association (CESA) for 2002–2003 along with Taiko no Tatsujin . It has also received GameSpy 's 2003 PC MMORPG Game of the Year Award and IGN's Game of the Month for March 2004, citing the game's huge customization and its successful cross-platform and cross-language game world. It received a runner-up position in GameSpot ' s 2004 "Best Massively Multiplayer Online Game" award category, losing to World of Warcraft . During
23712-451: Was opened to eligible players to aid in feedback of updates in development for the game in mid-2011. The servers are named after summoned monsters from previous Final Fantasy titles, such as Ifrit and Diabolos. Players have the ability to move between servers, though Square Enix charges a "world transfer" fee to do so. There are no region-specific or system-specific servers, and unlike most online games, players of different languages play in
23868-556: Was the country's 51st best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. The Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack was number 36 and Wings of the Goddess was number 40 on the top 50 best-selling Xbox 360 games in Japan as of December 2007. For the April–September 2004 financial period, Square Enix saw online gaming, particularly Final Fantasy XI , sales increase by 101 percent and operating profit increase by 230.9 percent. Revenues held steady from subscription services in
24024-549: Was the first game on the PlayStation to support expansion packs, which were branded as append discs. These discs included additional tracks and required the original Beatmania disc (and later playable Beatmania game discs) to play. The discs required the player to access the Disc Change menu on the Beatmania disc, remove the Beatmania disc, insert an append disc, then press the start button to play. The first append disc for
24180-452: Was the primary reason XI was not brought to the Wii . In December 2006, the PlayStation 2 versions of PlayOnline and Final Fantasy XI were able to install and run on the PlayStation 3 . The Vana'diel Collection 2008 discs for the PlayStation 2 had installation issues on the PlayStation 3 , causing them to be unusable at first since they weren't on Sony's list of HDD compatible titles in
24336-425: Was well received upon release and earned nominations for "Expansion of the Year". By August 2017, the title had reached a cumulative total of 10 million accounts. As with its predecessors, major content patches were scheduled for every three months. The first one—"The Legend Returns"—was released on October 10, and premieres a storyline written by Yasumi Matsuno that features his signature Ivalice setting, as well as
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