The Vana'diel FAQ

[Andromeda]

There are a lot of questions new people have for FFXI. Here is compiled the commonly asked questions about FFXI for those looking to join or have questions about the game.

What is FFXI?

It is a MMORPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Means thousands of people across the world logged on playing the game at once.

Is it offline?

No, purely online, wait for FFXII if you want a new FF that is single playered.

Is there a fee and what is it?

Monthly fee of $12.95 for one character, each extra character is $1 more. And those wanting to play Tetra Master, that is another $1 to play that.

What are the system requirements?

PS2:

Hard Drive
Keyboard (Optional, though prefered)
PS2 Console
Dualshock 2 Controller
Network Adapter

Computer :

Minimum

800 MHz Pentium (R) III PC
Windows 98
DirectX(R) 8.1
128 MB RAM
6.5 GB Hard Disk Drive
56K connection
ATI Radeon video card with 32MB of RAM
or
NVIDIA Geforce video card with 32MB of RAM

Suggested

Pentium 4+
Windows 98/2000/XP
DirectX(R)Latest Version
256 MB RAM
6.5 GB Hard Disk Drive
Cable+/DSL+
64M Graphics card

When you have one Character can you change that characters main job to another without suffering some sort of loss?

There is no loss, FFXI encouragings changing jobs, so change your job as much or often as you want. This also makes it easy to have one character and not two or three.

I want to get FFXI, but should I get the PS2 version or the PC version. What is the difference?Is there one? Or is it just a matter of opinion?

PS2 has a comfort that people can get into sense it naturally comes with a controller and feels like a game, everything is accessible from the controller and it is all simple to get around. However, the graphics are less than that of the PC version which has bump mapping, higher textures, etc. Though you will have to buy a controller if you want that simplisity that the console has.

Other issue is price, PC comes internet ready these days and if you are a gamer already, its ready to play FFXI just install. No extra costs needed, PS2 requires a Hard Drive and Network Adapter, and prefered a keyboard, so it will run you about 130-150 to get everything.

I was thinking about buying a copy of this game in the near future, but i am a little blury on the online roleplaying part of it. Is there an actual point to what you do or do you subsrice to a character, and just free-lance around the world?

FFXI has a story line, something unique to the game which many online games forget to add or have a very weak story, but FFXI story is as deep and complex as any FF you will find. However, it may take you a year to get all the story or even a third of the story.

Soloing is a possiblity at times, though the game encourages teamwork and partying, so expect to with friends or people throughout a lot of your travels.

A lot of what FFXI is about is finding your own path and doing what you want to do. There is more than enough things in the game to entertain you for a long time to come.


If there are any other questions about the game you have post them here please and they will be answered.

[Skai]

FFXI has a story line, something unique to the game which many online games forget to add or have a very weak story, but FFXI story is as deep and complex as any FF you will find. However, it may take you a year to get all the story or even a third of the story.

I cannot stress enough that Final Fantasy XI have a very, very deep story. Personally, I love it. I guess it is popularly known to have a shallow story because in order to enjoy it, one must be a high level player, and have dedicated and trustworthy friends to tackle on the missions together. Only then will you be able to get the deep storyline.

[Mirror]

Hello, i need your help.

I need Final Fantasy XI Registration Code.

I Do a Update of FFXI and my pc erased this data and now i cant play the game.

Help me please.

Mirror001@yahoo.com

[Dawezy]

Your registration code should be located in the back of the Final Fantasy XI manual. If you have lost that entirely, then, there is nothing we can do to help you - since supplying you with a fresh code would be a violation of the ToS.

So, buy a new copy, is all I can say.. but before you jump the gun, look through your game manual, and make sure you noted down your POL ID code & pass aswell as checking for the FFXI Rego code.

[Strong Bad]

Is there a Level Cap? As in... What's the highest level you can obtain..?

[LocoColt04]

Is there a Level Cap? As in... What's the highest level you can obtain..?

The highest level a player can currently obtain is 75. There are rumors, however, that Square-Enix may move the cap up to 99 with the next expansion.

[Skai]

While a single job may only reach to level 75, you can switch to other jobs and bring them to level 75 as well, meaning you can max out every single jobs. That's about 1125 levels.

[Usagy]

It's very unlikely that they will raise the levelcap once again. They have updated the merit point system twice already though.
OK for the people the don't know what that is I'll explain.
At 75 you got the option to switch from experiecnce points to limit points. (you can still get 40K exp in level 75 so you don't delevel everytime you die).
For every 10K limit points you get, you get 1 merit point. You can use these to upgrade your stats. Like str+, dex+, elementalmagic+ etc. differs per job as well.
There is a big possibility that they'll just upgrade this merit system again, that way you can get stats that would normally be for example for an level 76-77 job.

Peace out

[studomer]

So I havent played FFXI for over a year, so I know my account was deleted. But now that I reinstalled the game, it wont accept my POL registration code. I dont get it. From the information I have gathered it seems like you can only play the game once and if your account is deleted thats it, you have to buy the game again.... but this can't be, SE can't be THAT stupid, or are they?

I have the original registration codes and everything, but it just dont work. Is there something I can do? or is SE really that crazy? I mean really, how can I not be able to play again? I bought the damn game, I have the damn codes.... whats the crack here?

[LocoColt04]

Your account was cancelled. Completely.

You'll need a new copy of the game, so that you can get a new code. Your current code is null and void. There is, however, another way... but that's ONLY if PlayOnline has another "Return to Vana'Diel" event. During that time, users can re-activate their accounts. I don't know when/if they might do it again though.

[OnOneRyder]

I've been concidering purchasing this game, but this like this really turn me off of it. So basically, if you're inactive long enough, you're completed screwed and you need to buy a new game? That's complete BS.

[OnOneRyder]

I have several questions that I'd like answered before I shell out the money for this game.

1. Does interaction with other players mean I can fight them? Can I simply walk around picking people to mess with and steal there stuff if they die?

2. If there is a story line, and everyone interacts, can't only one player/team complete it? Say there is a final boss, once it's beaten, isn't the story pretty much over?

3. How do I pay for playing? I assume it's credit card charged, is it just reocurring payment or pay per month?

4. While playing with people, is there a method of chat or something to converse?

I know I probably could have found these answers elsewhere in Faq's and message boards but I just want the basic answers to these. (not just yes/no answers but not too in depth). Thanks

[Andromeda]

I'll move this to our FAQ, but first I will answer your questions.

1. No this is not like Ultima and WoW, etc, where you can fight people whenever and steal from their dead bodies. There is combat in the game against other players, but that is specific to the Ballista. Ballista take place around the world during normal game play, you simply sign up for the Ballista and go to the area where it is going to happen. Each Ballista takes place at a specific time and place. So if you are traveling through an area, you are often likily to see these going on, though unless you are signed up, you can't fight in it.

2. The storyline takes place independently for every character. Your character will start at the beginning and follow the story. Anyone helping you can visit the story again if there are cutscenes, or if they are on the same part as you are. However, there is no part of the storyline that is ended once one person completes it. Everyone is allowed to play the story, other will be able to help you through your travels though.

3. Method of payment is credit card or debit it is up to you. They ask for a VISA, Mastercard type card, if you have a bank card that has a VISA or something on it, it will work equally.

4. Method of conversation is in 5 ways, there are tells, they are private messages between two people; says these are just messages sent out to a small area around you anyone can hear it that is near enough; party is messages sent to party or alliance members only, no one else other than them can hear it; linkshell is just like party, except only people in your linkshell can hear you; and shouts are like says, but sent over the majority of the map you are in (and I have tested it, shouts do not extent over the whole area unless it is very small).

[Andromeda]

There is an upside, the whole package only cost $30 now, so you can get both expansion and the game all for less than you probably bought it the last time. Makes the purchase a little easier to swallow. Though I am in a situation, PC does not have CoP expansion, and they do not really sell that expansion anymore, so if I want it, I have to buy the whole thing just for one expansion. ^^ But anyway, I think the deal is the same for both PS2 and PC.

[LocoColt04]

I've been concidering purchasing this game, but this like this really turn me off of it. So basically, if you're inactive long enough, you're completed screwed and you need to buy a new game? That's complete BS.

It's not a matter of "if you're inactive enough," rather, it's a matter of whether you've cancelled your account and left it alone for long enough.

Your information won't go ANYWHERE unless you cancel your account in the first place. But why should they continue spending money to hold your information once you stop spending money for them to hold your information? It really makes perfect sense, you know. You stop paying for a service, and you stop receiving a service.

And besides, like I said, they hold your information for three months after cancellation in case you decide you want to come back to the game anyway.

Being "inactive" makes no difference. As long as you pay, they don't care.

[ZeroVivi]

Okay whom ever plays final fantasy xi....i'd like to know what all servers people are all...becuz im on the asura server and i need ppl to join my ls...so tell me what server your on and maybe i could find u eventually haha...thanks

[Andromeda]

Go to the member profile you will find out where everyone is. It is easier than trying to have everyone post where they are. And in regards to that, the bulk of the TFF members are on Alexander. Newer members are on different servers, but you will not find as many on them.

[Geostigma]

if you still remmeber your pol id and pass it would be no prob to login back ? but an update can't erase your paper in the back of your book or erase a pol id

[Drake Teglen]

Here's what you should do. If you plan to quit playing, then cancel your Content ID, but DO NOT cancel the PlayOnline account. PlayOnline is free, and you can keep it on your PC without ever playing FFXI and use the chat and email features. Then if you decide to come back later, then your POL is still active, so you just purchase a new content ID, or reactivate it if you haven't waited too long.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this, but that's what a guy I play with told me to do when I quit playing for a while, though it was just a few weeks, and it worked fine.

[Bricotius]

Yup that's exactly right. The PlayOnline services are free of charge the only thing you have to pay for is having Content IDs. Though you need to keep in mind that if you want to take a break, your Content IDs are only stored for 3 months. So unless you want to wait until they run the 'Return to Vana'diel' campaign, make sure you reactivate within that time, or just start over.

Cancelling your PlayOnline account is something altogether different. Once you do this, you are nullifying your copy of FFXI. The registration codes become invalid and the copy of the game is unusable. This I believe is done to prevent resale of the game for profit. We all know about the selling of accounts on such places as eBay and how SE has a big problem with that. This is basically a way of assuring that you cannot recirculate an already used version of the game, which may or may not contain Content IDs and such.

[Caije]

Hey got a bit of a question, If I bought a ps3 when it comes out will this game be able to be played on it, or does nobody know this yet?

[Bricotius]

You raise a good question....I would think that for the most part, they would make PS2 games compatible with the PS3. Sony did that on the PS2, making PS1 games playable on the new console. However, since FFXI requires an external hard drive on the PS2, it may not be compatible.

I would think that Sony would want to address this compatibility issue as it would mean big $$ for them. Meaning that they should make the PS3 system capable of playing ALL PS2 and probably even PS1 games. Although, isn't the projected system cost $700? Sounds kinda unreasonable to me. I mean, you can buy a decent enough PC with that kinda money. Although FFXII does look damn good.......

[jmur]

You raise a good question....I would think that for the most part, they would make PS2 games compatible with the PS3. Sony did that on the PS2, making PS1 games playable on the new console. However, since FFXI requires an external hard drive on the PS2, it may not be compatible.

I would think that Sony would want to address this compatibility issue as it would mean big $$ for them. Meaning that they should make the PS3 system capable of playing ALL PS2 and probably even PS1 games. Although, isn't the projected system cost $700? Sounds kinda unreasonable to me. I mean, you can buy a decent enough PC with that kinda money. Although FFXII does look damn good.......

I'm hoping you mean FF XIII, cause FF XII is for PS2. Well I do know that PS3 does not have the dual shock function. However PS3 does have a harddrive so I think it would be compatiable. They have said that PS3 is backwards compatiable with PS1 and PS2 games. However you never know if there are any promblems with the old games till you try it. Or someone else tries it for that matter.

[Andromeda]

Yes, but FFXI is not an ordinary PS2 game, so we cannot really assume that it will work properly with it. But it does not hurt to give it a try when the console comes out. If it works, you just have to install the game on the HDD, since I do not think that the PS2 HDD is compatible with the PS3, maybe it is. I can't remember if there was something said about that. Though if it does work, then you will have to remember that there is a 20gig system and 60gig system. And FFXI is currently taking up about 13 gigs on my PS2 last time I looked. So you will be tight on space possibly on the 20gig, depending on what uses Sony will have for the HDD.

[Darkwolf]

what are some advantages and disadvantages of the hume and elvaan races, theese are my top 2 for my character, and I've heard elvaan are good swordsmen, and humes are balanced. Is there any more I should know?

[Skai]

Humes are balanced in the sense that they can change to every single job and will not have any statistical advantage or disadvantage. Elvaans on the other hand are more efficient in melee type jobs and is pretty decent on WHM (white mage). If you're planning on trying out all the jobs, Hume may be a better choice for you. If you're the type that likes to wield a strong weapon and beat the living shit out of things, then Elvaan may be the one for you.

When it comes down to it, any racial disadvantages can easily be overcome by equipments. Even a Galka SMN can be the best if he got the equipments to back him up. What I recommend is choose what race you think looks better because you'll be sticking with it for a long time. Best to look at pretty ass than ugly ass, right? I also recommend that if you choose a certain face, check out how it looks in game too before you decide on a final choice. The characters you see during the character creation doesn't necessarily reflect how they really look in game.

In my humble opinion though, I think that for male, Elvaan is more stylish and cooler than Hume. As for female, I like Hume more.

[Darkwolf]

which is best for ranging?

[Skai]

Ranging as in only doing range attacks or range type jobs like RNG (ranger)?

If it's only range attack, it's mostly determined by the job, like whether if the job can use range weapons. If you're asking what race is best to play RNG then that is an obvious choice in favor of Mithra, with Tarutaru coming second statistically.

[Darkwolf]

Ok, well I kind of want to be both swordsman and ranger (using both weapons to mix it up a little), which would be best for me, humes or elvaan? by physichal appearance, I can go with both.

[Skai]

I think you should focus more on the jobs you wanna play rather than race. Because in all honesty, racial stats doesn't matter in the long run. It's the job that you want to play. I guess, since you wanna play a melee job, I'd say go for Elvaan.