Final Fantasy XI

The eleventh installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XI is currently available for Windows, Playstation 2 and Xbox 360. Final Fantasy XI is also available on Playstation 3, though this version of the game plays through emulation, and there is no noticeable graphic improvement playing on a Playstation 3. Final Fantasy XI (more commonly known as FFXI) strays away from other Final Fantasy games, being the first and only Final Fantasy MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online RPG). It is also much different in the sense that you are not the only hero. Cooperating with other players is strongly encouraged, as "soloing" becomes increasingly difficult for most jobs past level ten. Battles are all real-time.

This game has three expansions, Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and Treasures of Aht Urhgan. Each expansion adds its own story which players can choose to complete. Also each adds new areas are available to explore, many of which require the player to complete all or part of the story, weapons, armor, equipment, creatures, and sometimes even new methods of gameplay (IE: Assault, Ballista, or Besieged).

A fourth expansion pack has been announced, titled Crusaders of Altana in Japan, and Wings of the Goddess in North America. It is scheduled to hit retail store shelves sometime in November 2007, which will see the simultaneous release of this latest expansion in Japan, North American, and Europe.

Controls
The controls to this game are somewhat difficult to new players, particularly for users of the PC version. The game seems to have been designed with the controller in mind. Mouse functions are a little sloppy and counter-intuitive as the interface will often decide where to move your cursor inside of a very limiting field. That being said, players who play on the PC version will be able to quickly adapt to the controls and during rare occasions does one player use the mouse to control the character.

The controls are all based around the Num-pad, but can also be switched for keyboards without one, such as those built in most laptops.

Button Configuration (PC, W/Num-pad)
Num-Pad:

4 = Move Left

8 = Move Foward

6 = Move Right

2 = Move Back

5 = First Person View

9 = Zoom In

3 = Zoom Out

/ = Walk

* = Rest shortcut

0 = Select nearest target.

- = Open Menu

Enter (num-pad) : Confirm

F keys:

F1 = First Party Member (Determined on the list located at the lower right hand corner.)

F2 = Second Party Member ""

F3 = Third Party Member ""

F4 = Fourth Party Member ""

F5 = Fifth Party Member ""

F6 = Sixth Party Member ""

F7 = Target Self

F8 = Select nearest NPC (Party members' avatars in between the player and a target will prevent easy manual targetting; this targetting method enables other players a failsafe means of assisting with a single target)

F9 = Select the nearest PC.

Arrow Keys:

Up Arrow = Rotate camera (Up)

Down Arrow = Rotate camera (Down)

Left Arrow = Rotate camera (Left)

Right Arrow = Rotate camera (Right)


 * Note: When engaged in combat or in another window where Arrow Keys have an alternate function, holding Shift + Arrow Key will operate the camera.

Other Keys:

Tab = Target nearest target

Ctrl + [#1 - 9] = Use scripted "Macros" or shortcuts that the player makes to quicky cast spells and use abilities.

Alt + [#1 - 9] = Use macros #10 - 18, 10 being 1 and 18 being 9.

[Alt or Ctrl] + [Up or Down] = Change between macro configurations, good when the player decides to switch jobs or use a different macro set up.

Enter = Confirm

Esc = Back

Scroll Up = Zoom In

Scroll Down = Zoom out

Pause/Break = Log out

Jobs
Final Fantasy XI uses the concept of "changing jobs". The six standard jobs from the base game are:
 * Warrior
 * Monk
 * Thief
 * White Mage
 * Black Mage
 * Red Mage

Beside the six "standard" jobs, there are also six "extra" jobs in the game. These are accessible by levelling a "standard" job to level 30 and then completing a quest in order to unlock the new job. The "advanced" jobs are:
 * Beastmaster
 * Bard
 * Paladin
 * Dark Knight
 * Summoner
 * Ranger

Rise of the Zilart added three more "extra" jobs to the game:
 * Ninja
 * Samurai
 * Dragoon

Chains of Promathia did not add any new jobs to the game, but Treasures of Aht Urhgan added three:
 * Blue Mage
 * Corsair
 * Puppetmaster

The unique job capability of Final Fantasy XI is the ability to equip a "main job" and a "subjob" or "support job". The "support job" ability is a quest based in the towns of Mhaura and Selbina, and you are eligible for the quest at level 18. The purpose of a "support job" is to enhance your "main job" and is always half the level of your "main job"; for example, a level 75 White Mage could choose a "support job" of Black Mage, and would have all the abilities that a Black Mage has access to up until level 37 (provided their Black Mage is leveled that high). The player can typically choose what job he wants to use for his sub job, but some combinations fail to work and typically don't allow the person to get invited to a party. Since getting into a party is crucial to the game play aspect of FFXI, it is important for the player to choose what job he is going to level up to 75 and know what job he needs to level to support his main job. This makes the game rather hard for novice players to grasp and fully understand what main job needs what support job.

Links

 * http://www.playonline.com Official Final Fantasy XI site
 * http://wiki.bluegartrls.com/Main_Page A Final Fantasy XI Wiki
 * http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org Wiki specifically for Final Fantasy XI.
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XI Final Fantasy XI on wikipedia.org
 * http://ffxi.somepage.com
 * http://ffxi.allakhazam.com
 * http://www.killingifrit.com
 * http://www.bluegartrls.com/forum/
 * http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/
 * http://www.ffxicooking.com
 * Final Fantasy XI Intro (google video)
 * warcry job guide
 * Warcry Final Fantasy XI main guide
 * http://www.ffxi-atlas.com Online maps for FFXI
 * http://www.ffxiah.com View Auction House history