Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV, also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment of the Final Fantasy series, first revealed at E3 2009, and the second MMORPG in the series, after Final Fantasy XI. The Collector's Edition of the game was released worldwide on September 22, 2010, for Windows. A PlayStation 3 release was originally planned for March 2011 but has been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. Although Final Fantasy XIV is intended to have monthly fees, its free trial period has been extended for an unknown duration.

The universe of Final Fantasy XIV is more technologically advanced than Vana'diel in Final Fantasy XI.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG similar to Final Fantasy XI, featuring a new system of class growth that will give players more freedom in choosing quests. Final Fantasy XIV focuses on character growth, expanding upon the Job System used in Final Fantasy XI, and features a more involved story including a few cutscenes with voice acting, and more complex and varied quests. The game is intended to appeal to players who play on their own and so do not form large parties, but the option to play cooperatively with others is still present. The game does not include a voice chat option, and is limited to text chat only.

Armory System
In the game there are four base disciplines, which each divide into several classes. Each class has its own weapon type, and changing classes is as simple as changing weapons, which is referred to as the Armory System. . Classes can be changed at any time, except during a battle.



You can use almost any skill on any class after learning it, but each skill has an invisible "affinity" value that limits its effectiveness, reducing power and increasing cast and recast times when used on another class. For example, the healing spell "Sacrifice" learned by Thaumaturges has a high affinity with the Conjurer class, working nearly the same when used by one. However, using it on an Archer will result in a noticeably higher recast time and lower HP healing. To help alleviate this, every fighting class has an affinity trait that can be purchased with Guild Marks which increases the affinity for all of its skills when used by another class. The number of skills and traits that can be used at a time is limited by Action Points.

Due to the nature of the Armory System, there is no kind of restriction for using equipment, as you can use any equipment on any class at any rank (except shields that are limited to some classes), and the game scales down the gear based on the difference between current rank to the gear's "Optimal Rank" - the rank where it will provide its full stats. Also, some gear may also have "Favored Classes". While those pieces can also be used by everyone, using in any class that's not the favored will incur a stat decrease, even if the player's rank is at or above the Optimal Rank. This system helps changing classes on the fly, as the player is not forced to have completely different equipment sets for every class he plays. The addition of Rank and Class restricted gear is currently planned.

Character Creation
The Character Creation system allows a greater depth of customization from the player than Final Fantasy XI; players can choose color palettes, hair styles, and face types after selecting a race and clan. Within these choices, players can make detailed adjustments to facial features such as eye, nose, and mouth shape. Players can also decide to add aesthetic features such as scars, tattoos, tribal paints, and jewels if they so wish. Different races have nearly the same stats and develop equally, so all races can play on all classes without any kind of penalty

Guilds
During the game, the player character must join a guild in order to receive Guildleves, decorative cards which each hold a quest for the character to complete. The quests can include anything from hunting a specific monster to item collection or even negotiation with the enemies. The Guildleves can be completed alone or with a party of other players, with everyone being able to reap the benefits of the quest. The players can also multi-task on several leves at the same time.

Aetheryte
In the game, the player characters can move quickly from place to place by using Aetherytes, large shards of crystallized aether that are fused with ancient machinery. These crystals act as teleporters, but using them is limited by the amount of "Anima" points the player has. You can also set 3 Aetherytes as "favorite", reducing teleport costs to that aether by half. Anima is recovered at the rate of 1 point every 4 hours, and teleporting has the following costs:


 * City State Aetherytes on the same zone (For example, teleporting from any point of La Noscea to Limsa Lominsa): 2 points.
 * Wilderness Aetherytes on the same zone (For example, teleporting from Camp Broken Water to Camp Horizon) : 4 points.
 * City State Aetherytes on another zone (For example, teleporting from Limsa Lominsa to Ul'dah): 3 points.
 * Wilderness Aetherytes on another zone (For example, teleporting from Camp Broken Water to Camp Bald Knoll) : 6 points.
 * Favorite Aetherytes - same anima cost as City State Aetherytes.

Battle Regimens
Battle Regimen is a new system devised to replace the Skillchains from Final Fantasy XI. The main idea behind it is the same (players use skills in a certain order to achieve special effects), but trying to reduce the timing factor. One player must begin a Regimen by selecting an action and pressing the appropriate button, which will "stack" his skill on a list. Then, any other players in the party may do the same to stack their own skills in the order they want. Finally, any of the players can unleash the regimen, and all actions are performed in the order they were stacked, generating special effects that may range from plain damage increase to reducing the enemy's defense for a while.

Leveling and Partying
Levels in Final Fantasy XIV are divided into two different values: One's Physical Level and Class Rank. To gain Physical Levels, the player must acquire Experience Points by performing various actions (killing monsters, crafting an item, gathering, etc), which counts towards the total and is the same value for all classes. Leveling up the physical level nets the player attribute points and elemental points, which can be used to increase base stats (strength, vitality, mind, dexterity, intelligence and piety) and elemental affinity (ice, water, lightning, fire, wind, earth). Players may reassign part of his stat points every few hours.

As for Class Rank, each class has its own rank, akin to a job level, and each class must be leveled separately. To rank up, players must get Skill Points, which are often awarded together with experience points. Ranking up a class unlocks new skills, increase the player's Action Points and is used to determine gear effectiveness, attribute caps, gatherers' number of max gathering tries from a single node and his ability to gather from higher rank nodes and crafters' ability to craft higher leveled items, which often have a minimum rank to attempt.

Generally, the most efficient way to gain Experience points with the intention to level up is Crafting or Gathering, as those activities wield more experience points than fighting monsters, and to earn skill points, crafters and gatherers need simply to do the same.

As for Disciples of Magic and War, the most efficient way to earn skill points is to Party. A Party is a group of up to 15 people working together in order to bring down foes. The game uses a 'bonus' experience system to give more skill points based on the number of members in the party and their ranks. For optimal results, an ideal party must have all members within 5 ranks of each other, and is limited to a maximum of eight members, ever since patch 1.17. A party consisted of 3-7 members is called a light party, while a party with 8 members is a full party. A light party receive the "Camaraderie" buff, increasing HP and MP by 5%, as well as magic and physical accuracy. A full party receive an even stronger version of the same buff, with HP and MP increased by 10%

The game has a party search feature that lets players recruit members for their party, searching for specific classes and ranks, leaving a recruit message and stating party purpose ("Guildleves", for example). Players searching for a party just need to state their current class and search. If there are any parties recruiting that class and rank, it will appear on the list and the player may select it and click "join" to instantly join that party provided they aren't in battle.

Another factor that must be taken in consideration is the difficulty of the monsters fought. Skill points awarded are increasingly higher the bigger the gap in player rank and monster level is, up to a maximum of 10 ranks difference. Similarly, skill point gain is sharply reduced should the player / party fight a monster of weaker level, therefore the game encourages players to seek stronger monsters to fight. Guildleves monsters give considerably more skill points than a similar non-Guildleve monster, so Guildleve parties are also common for leveling up.

When in a Party, monsters' aggressive actions are determined by an Enmity system. Almost every action taken during a battle generates Enmity, commonly referred to as "Hate"; whoever possess the most Enmity will have the monsters' attention, and subsequently be attacked. Various classes have enmity control abilities, allowing players to either increase enmity against themselves (moves such as the Gladiator's provoke) or decrease (moves such as the Silhouette from Thaumaturges), as well as traits that increase or decrease enmity generation.

Fatigue System


As of 1.18 patch the fatigue system has been removed completely.

A controversial topic since the game's release is the Fatigue System. This system is in place to prevent excessive leveling, and is a penalty to gained experience and skill points. Upon gaining a certain amount of skill point on a specific class, the player may start gaining "surplus" points on that class, that do not count towards the total. The reduction is gradual and begins at 10% reduced points, but can supposedly reach a point where the player will completely stop gaining skill points should the player keep leveling, although there's no known case of a player reaching that point currently. The skill point gain message and the color of the player's current skill / experience points changes when in fatigue.

Fatigue is completely reset every week after the first skill point gain of that class after last fatigue reset (if you change your class to a gladiator and get your first skill point on a Monday, your fatigue will be reset next Monday, even if you didn't reach surplus). Also, fatigue is slowly reduced should the player start leveling another class, or simply stop playing, encouraging the player to level multiple classes.

Grand Companies of Eorzea
These are the groups being formed by the City-States to combat the coming and current threat of the Garlean Empire.

The Maelstrom

 * Location: Limsa Lominsa

At the heart of the Thalassocratic Navy lies the Lominsan Armada, composed of nine independent squadrons, the First through the Ninth. The Maelstrom is an extension of the First Squadron, expanding its role as armada flagship and granting it power to administer not only the remaining eight squadrons, but the various merchant fleets that navigate the seas off Vylbrand. With the reestablishment of the Maelstrom, the Admiral has also begun the move to invoke ancient maritime law, by which she would promote herself to Chief Admiral, effectively expanding her authority to cover not only state and military dealings, but grant her the power to directly command all ships in Lominsan waters, and freely punish any who disobey. Needless to say, the city-state's pirates are not about to take this encroachment on their freedom without a fight.

The Order of the Twin Adder

 * Location:Gridania

The Order of the Twin Adder establishes a medium from which the Seedseers can return from their wanderings deep within the Black Shroud and directly oversee not only the safety of Gridania's citizens, but the workings of the local guard, Both the Gods' Quiver, who defend the forest from external threats, and the Wood Wailers, who protect it from internal strife, have expressed their support of this temporary measure. There are, however, those within Gridania who would question the ability of the Seedseers, whose duties until now have been limited to various ritualistic proceedings, and doubt whether or not they are fit to lead a nation into war.

The Immortal Flames

 * Location:Ul'dah

Currently, the bulk of Ul'dah's military strength comes from their standing army of mercenaries and the small contingent of the palace guard known as the Sultansworn. To bring order to their ranks and oversee additional wartime training, the Sultana has considered resurrecting the Immortal Flames-an elite force of battle-hardened veterans that once instilled fear in the city-state's neighboring nations during ages past. This unit would act as a core aspect of the army, essentially bolstering its power, and in effect grant more authority to the Sultana and her advisers--something of which those in control of the city-state's economy--namely the Syndicate--are wary.

Story
The game takes place in a land called Eorzea, which consists the continent of Aldenard and its surrounding islands, all situated in the world of Hydaelyn. Eorzea contains several independent city-states: the bustling port and pirate hideout Limsa Lominsa; the wealthy desert city of Ul'dah; the city of Gridania hidden in deep woods; and the mountain top bastion called Ishgard.

Eorzea was first inhabited by gods and goddesses, which the wandering tribes that settled the land started calling the Twelve. The gods blessed the tribes that came to the savage land with welfare, but the tribes began fighting with each other, and war tore Eorzea apart.

Fifteen years before the events of the game, metal-clad warriors invaded Eorzea with flame-spewing weapons and colossal airships. The army came from the Garlean Empire, and it didn't take long before the mightiest of the six city-states, Ala Mihgo, fell under their force. The other city-states united their power to defend themselves, but just as fast as it had arrived, the imperial army was gone again. A new era began at Eorzea, known as the "Age of Calm", which the city-states spent by building up their defenses and training their armies. Before, the cities had hired mercenaries for their inner wars, but now they trusted only professional soldiers, leaving the sellswords unemployed and restless. To keep them from causing harm and steer their energy into helping others instead, the city-states founded a network of adventuring guilds.

Mission 1: Shapeless Melody
During a ship trip to Limsa Lominsa, the player wakes up hearing a soft singing voice, yet cannot see anyone resembling a songstress around. Upon exploring the ship, the vessel is suddenly attacked by a horde of sea beasts. With the help of Sthalmann and Y'shtola, the beasts are defeated, however a giant Sea Serpent attacks and nearly destroys the ship.

Mission 2: Treasures of the Main
Upon arriving on town, the player is escorted to the Adventurer's Guild - known as the Drowning Wench - and introduced to her proprietor, Baderon, who offers general advice and encourages the player to look around the various Lominsan' guilds.

Upon arriving on Fisherman's Bottom, the fisherman's guild - called "pullers" - approach, and the player is asked by Wawalago to escort Sisipu to the Oschon's Torch lighthouse. There, they notice something is wrong and investigate the area, finding a few dead bodies and two suspicious characters talking. These two are Emerick and Travanchet, speaking about an agreement Emerick wants to make with the Sahagin. When spotted by the player, however, both pretend to be mere pullers and leave.

Back into town, the player discovers that the Sahagin have been frequently attacking lately, with the latest targets being the lighthouse and a fleet of the Knights of the Barracuda.

Mission 3: Legends Adrift
On a later mission, Baderon speaks about a mysterious island called Seal Rock, whose legend is famous amongst the people of Limsa Lominsa. Some rumors says that during the recent Sahagin ambushes, a pirate gang known as the Kraken's Arms landed on the rock. Speaking with some of the wench's patrons, the player meets Y'shtola again, who reveals that she is searching for a shadowless man accused of assisting the Sahagin, and plans to search the pirate galleon called "the Astalicia", the Marauders' Guild.

The player then explores the place, only to be found and nearly captured by its pirates. However, at around the same time, the galleon is raided by the Knights of the Barracuda, who are searching for Emerick, and the commotion allows the player to escape unharmed.

Out of leads, Baderon tells the player that the young Lalafell Sisipu wants to talk with him. She reveals the location of a secret fishing hole, and asks a meeting at the place. Upon arriving there, the player finds 1st Squadron Commodore Sthalmann and after a long conversation, learns that he believes that he believe the young pirate Emerick to be the one responsible for betraying his squadron to the Sahagin, but is not sure about the details.

Back in town, the player is asked to meet the assessors at Mealvaan's Gate, who believes he has to return a firearm used during a recruitment evaluation in the Coral Tower. However, the place is attacked by an all female pirate gang known as the Sanguine Sirens, led by Rhoswen, searching for Emerick.

Y'shtola soon appears, showing a great knowledge about Seal Rock island and its secrets, as well as deciphering an ancient message carves upon a tablet shown to her by First Assessor J'arhll. After this, she fights against the ransacking pirates, defeating many of them before the Barracuda Knights arrive and forces the pirates to retreat.

Mission 4: Never the Twain Shall Meet
After these events, the player speaks once again with Baderon, who gives information about Emerick. It seems the young man was once rumored to be held prisoner on one of the Knights of the Barracuda galleons anchored far offshore from Limsa Lominsa. Then, he mentions that Captain Hob on Fisherman's Bottom might provide a passage into the Barracuda Ship.

Right after arriving on the ship, however, a Sahagin ship is spotted closing fast, and the player has to locate Emerick as quick as possible, meeting him and Merodaulyn of the Sanguine Sirens on the lower deck, ready to battle.

The player has to choose who to assist on the ensuing battle, fighting the other on a Boss Battle. However, the fight was a mere charade prepared by the two. Before the player is able to make any questions, Y'shtola also arrives and try to gain information from the pirates, but the Sahagin launch their assault on the Barracuda fleet, who is swallowed by a massive wave created by the same Sea Serpent that was spotted earlier.

Y'shtola protects the player with a magic barrier, who later awakens on one of Limsa Lominsa's docks, with the Miqote's words ringing on his head: "Find the key".

Speaking once again with Baderon, the players learns that the Knights of Barracuda are looking for him and that it's best to surrender. The player goes to the Coral Tower to do just that, but the place is a mess because of the Sahagin attack on the naval fleet. Speaking with Isaudorel, and Commodore Reyner, the player tells about the Sea Serpent attack. Commodore Sthalmann arrives and confirms the story, reporting that his men used an artifact from Mealvaan's Gate to drive the beast back to the abyss, and also informing Reyner than they plan on arresting one Y'shtola for the crime of espionage.

Following Sthalman to the Gods's Grip, the player arrives just in time to find him and Y'shtola fighting. She orders the commodore to surrender to her a powerful “key”, and neither side willing to wield. Suddenly, the world is enveloped into a bright light, and when the player's sight returns, he finds himself in the same place as before, but alone.

Searching around, the player finds Sthalmann, Merodaulyn, and Emerick holding a hushed conversation, and learns that the trio is planning to claim the treasure of Seal Rock for themselves and use it towards their own gain. Once again, a bright light envelopes the player and he finds himself in front of Y'shtola once again. Y'shtola claims that you have the ability to view the happenings of the past, and a meteor shower erupts from skies right after, raining light down upon the player and the others.

As soon as it ends, a strange man appears and fights against Y'shtola, stealing the key and claiming that "power as this does not belong in the hands of your kind", before turning into shadows. The player loses consciousness soon after.

Awakening on Limsa Lominsa once again, the player only recalls a voice speaking of "The Echo". Speaking with Baderon, he learns that a man called Blackburn carried you there and left a message, telling the player to visit the Path of the Twelve, located in the Merchants Ward of Ul'dah.

Mission 1: Flowers for All
The player wakes up hearing a soft singing voice, and notices his/her carriage just arrived on the town of Ul'dah, which seems to be holding a grand procession. Suddenly, the skies turn black and a starshower rains on the skies, disappearing in a flash.

The festivities begin and every thing seems to go well, but a Gobbue breaks off his control and wreaks havoc on the town, until he is defeated by the combined efforts of Thancred, Niellefresne and the player.

Mission 2: Court in the Sands
The player makes his way into the Quicksand, the Adventurer's Guild, and speaks to its proprietor Momodi. She begins to speak about some ways to earn coin around the town, when Thancred comes in and interrupt the conversation. He mentions about talks of war against the Empire, which Momodi confirms that it looks like war will soon come, as well as some rumors that the Gobbue was released because of some imperial interference.

Later on, Momodi suggests that the player should visit the Goldsmith guilds and try to sell a flower received during the festivities to fetch some money, as flowers are always in high demand around town. Speaking with Niellefresne at the Eshtaime's Lapidaries, he mentions about the trade route with Gridania, and how a possible war with Garlemald would ruin it.

Still looking for a way to earn some money, the player visits the Gladiator's guild, the Coliseum. However, the beast tournament was cancelled, as the enraged Gobbue was planned to be the main event. Still, the champions' tourney will soon begin and one of the fighters of the first round's lost his nerve, so Greinfarr asks the player to fill his spot, a fight the player ultimately loses.

Via linkpearl, Momodi speaks about the Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern in Ul'dah, home to the Miner's Guild. Going there, the player witness a commotion involving a thaumaturge named Corguevais, who is being accused of entering the mining shafts illegally and is being attacked by two furious miners. The player tries to calm them down with little success, until Lalafell twin brothers Popokkuli and Seserukka enter the guild and kick the troublemakers off it.

Speaking with the thaumaturge, he says that he only did that because he failed to control the beast during the parade and now is trying to repay all the damages he caused before he's sent into exile. F'lhaminn, the city's songstress, promise to help prevent that fate.

Linette from the mining guild mentions that their primary concern is with illegal miners provoking many accidents lately; She asks the player to go to Camp Black Brush and inform them of the guild's intent to strengthen their punitive measures.

The player reaches Black Brush accompanied by F'lhaminn where they find Corguevais trying to help a wounded child named Ascilia, whose father has been attacked by a giant beast. Thancred appears and says he was the one who led the girl to the camp, as she was seeking out an enemy of her father. The girl then points to Corguevais, who discovers that he is the one the girl is looking for, as it was his fault that the Gobbue escaped.

Back into town, the player visits the Alchemist's guild where Ascillia's father, Warburton, was being treated before passing away. Corguevais is talking with the girl once again, and she says that her father came to Ul'dah to warn about a terrible danger. Corguevais wish to give the man a proper burial, however the cost is far to great for them to pay, so he plans to speak with the thaumaturges to try reaching solution, as those not properly returned to Hydaelyn are damned to become undead.

Mission 3: Golden Sacrifices
Back in the Adventurer's Guild, Momodi speaks of a recent cave in on Nanawa Mines, as well as about a special property of that flower the player sold earlier; it seems they are a powerful ward against some monsters.

Thancred comes in and overhears the conversation, interested. Momodi then mentions that Niellefresne has made it his business to collect those flowers. Speaking once again about the Garleans, Momodi remembers that Thancred is being called by Niellefresne to discuss about their belief that Garlean spies have infiltrated the city.

The player later visits the Platinum Mirage, which doubles as a gambling house and the Pugilists Guild. Upon speaking about the mercenary job they are offering, the player and Qoqoba overhear a discussion on the gaming room and go see what's happening; there they find Thancred, Grainfarr, and Niellefresne discussing about a bet. Thancred then claims that it is Ul'dah's elite to blame for wanting to wage war on the Empire just for them to become heroes, and accuses Niellefresne of being responsible for the incident during the festival; he set the creature free just so he could defeat it and become a hero.

Angered by the comments, Niellefresne leaves the place and gives the money he bet to Thancred, who then asks Corguevais to use it to pay all costs related to Ascillia's father burial.

Later, Momodi informs the player that F'lhaminn is looking for him. Meeting her north of Ul'dah, the player finds Ascillia and Corguevais discussing, as he says that he had the same mission as her father. In the end, Ascillia accepts the money help and F'lhaminn asks the player to try joining the Thaumaturge's guild and learn about their powers - as some say they are even able to converse with the dead.

In the Arrzaneth Ossuary, the player meets Mumuepo, who somehow knows why he is there and even about F'lhaminn, and mentions she is looking for a way to revive the dead since a certain event, but there is no thaumaturgical means to revive the dead.

The funeral rites for Ascillia's father, Warburton, begins soon after, and F'lhaminn tries once again to convince Mumuepo to do something, since Warburton had important information on the dangers threatening Ul'dah.

Mission 4: Calamity Cometh
Momodi informs the player that a group of the city guard has hastily left the city by chocobo. At the Chocobo Stables, the player meets F'lhaminn in a looking for a chocobo in a hurry, as it seems that Corguevais has been exiled from town and left with Ascilia, probably planning to take her back to Ala Mhigo.

The player follows and finds the thaumaturge, discussing with Niellefresne and Greinfarr. Corguevais just says that he wants to save the girl taking her away from Ul'dah before whatever danger comes, and tells Ascillia who was responsible for her father's death. Furious, she shouts that the calamity is "far worse than the empire". In the confusion, Corguevais uses a special horn to summon a horde of beasts and escapes, leaving the girl behind.

The beasts are defeated, but not before F'lhaminn is wounded. She is quickly taken to the Alchemists Guild for treatment. In the guild, the player sees Niellefresne and his companions gathered in a sickroom discussing the possibility of Corguevais being the Garlean spy. F'lhaminn proposes they seek Thancred for answers, but he seems to have been exiled from Ul'dah as well.

Via linkpearl, Momodi informs that the city guard is searching for an exile wandering near Camp Black Brush. There, the player finds Thancred and Greinfarr discussing, as the bard claims to not know nothing about the so called danger, and Greinfarr then speaks about their last resort - Niellefresne will try to convince the thaumaturges o resurrect Ascillia's dead father - which would also mean.

In the Arrzaneth Ossuary, the player and Thancred see a strange light coming from the crypts, and rush there to find a mortally wounded Niellefresne laying on the ground, and Ascilia crouched by his side, shaking in terror. Suddenly, the Echo begins to reverberate and the player is alone.

Making his way down the crypts once again, the player finds Mumuepo and Niellefresne talking about the thaumaturgy of resurrecting the dead, but upon opening Warburton's corpse, Niellefresne is stabbed through from behind. Back to the present, Thancred realizes what just happened and rushes outside, right in time to see as the skies turn black and meteors rain above Ul'dah. In this moment, he realizes that the danger spoken of by all threatens not only Ul'dah, but all of Eorzea, while the player faints.

The player awakens back at the Adventurer's guild, and Momodi tells he/she was found unconscious and brought there by a girl named Minfilia, who asks also asked to be visited at the Waking Sands, in the Merchants Ward of Uldah.

Mission 1: Sundered Skies
Upon approaching Gridania, and starts hearing a singing voice. Before being able to find its origin, the skies turn black and a meteor shower begins, lasting just a few seconds and everything turns back to normal as if nothing happened. Seconds after, an heavily damaged airship flies, and a small yellow light is "shoot" from it, falling in the forest.

Walking in that direction, the player finds Yda and Papalymo laying on the ground, and awakens them. The duo is confused about their situation, and Yda believes they are dead and the player is some sort of angel, but before they can ask anything, a pack of wolfs attacks the group.

The battle does not last long, however. Suddenly, a treant emerges from the ground and attacks everyone, forcing the player to run until a group of moogles, sent by E-Sumi-Yan, calms the treant and saves them.

Mission 2: Souls Gone Wild
Welcomed into town, the player learns about the Greenwrath - hatred of the forest upon those who may cause harm to it - and that he (being an outsider) is full of woodsin, which needs to be cleared if he/she intends to stay safe on the Black Shroud. Miounne suggests that the player visits some of the town's guilds, each one who will provide their own help to the cleansing ritual.

In the Botanists' Guild at Greatloam Growery, a few of the town's young children starts teaching steps of the ritual dances that must be performed during a great Gridanian festival to free oneself of the woodsin. After the "class", some of them stay and asks help to reach a place deep within the woods.

Upon arriving at Lifemend Stump with Powle and Sansa, they promptly run off to see to whatever it is they came to do. Then, a mysterious conjurer appears, who admonishes the player for coming there and bringing the kids, disappearing soon after. Finally, the player meets a moogle, who gets surprised that he is being understood and asks the player to give a message to a young girl named Fye concerning a purification mask that is not broken, and therefore cannot be fixed.

Back into town, Miounne speaks about the Lancer guild, the Wood Wailers. As the magical barrier protecting the forest, known as the Hedge, has been brought down the lancers are searching for the culprits.

Visiting the place, the player is welcomed inside and speaks with Burchard. However the conversation stops when a sudden wave of severely wounded lancers is brought to the guild. Most cannot even say what has attacked them, mentioning only some sort of shadow and a man named Dunstan, who appeared as a wildling - souls whose sins within the wood are so great that the greenwrath of the elementals claims them,damning them to wander the forest for all time. A hunt party will soon begin, and the player's help will surely be appreciated when the time comes.

Mission 3: Whispers in the Wood
Back in the adventurer's guild, Miounne comments about the recent influx of adventurers in Gridania and how that may have something to do with the recent events. Soon after, the self proclaimed "saviors of the wood", Yda and Papalymo, arrives and the ask if any of those adventurers may be preparing to attack the Garlean Empire, to Miounne's surprise, who later denies it. Papalymo then mentions that if that's true, the information they have - that Gridania is preparing to wage war on the Empire - is false.

The conversation is stopped when a boy Khrimm comes in and starts badmouthing the adventurers, claiming that they have not been chosen by the elementals at all, leaving soon after. The duo goes after him.

The player then visits the Carpenter's Guild, to see the crafting of the masks that must be used during the purification rites. Zezekuta of the carpenters explains that the woodsin which clings to a soul is transferred to the mask by the power and magic of the dances. He warns of the danger of a mask breaking should the woodsin be too great for it to bear.

Remembering about the message to Fye, the player searches for the girl and finds her speaking to Khrimm and overhear talk of Fye's oldest brother Dunstan and his tragic fate of being turned into a wildling. Fye claims that she is making a new mask for her brother, refusing to give up hope of cleansing him of his woodsin. Khrimm, however, claims to no longer believe in the existence of the elementals, and the conversation ends with him leaving.

After this, the player tells Fye the mask is not broken, and she is shocked by it, having thought it to be the sole reason her brother and Khrimm's parents were turned into wildlings. Then, she asks the player to try meeting with the moogles again and ask if there is any way to save a wildling.

Speaking with Brother E-Sumi-Yan about Fye and her request, he tells about Pearl Clover Fruits, a favorite of the moogles, and that attracting one to speak would be much easier with one of those. The plan works, and a moogle is attracted; in return for the fruit, the moogle agrees to ask the elementals themselves if a wildling soul can be saved.

While waiting, the player hears and follows the sound of an axe, finding Khrimm chopping at a tree in his attempt to prove that the elementals do not exist. He claims to have seen Fye's brother and his parents in the forest, and that they were not wildlings and that has caused him to cease to believe in the elementals. The moogle returns worried about what just happened, and says that he must try calming elementals and sends another message for Fye - She must stop wandering the forest.

Back into town, Miounne informs you that the archers from the Gods' Quiver have been asking after the player. Going to the archer's guild, Brother O-App Pesi and the Great Bow Lewin tells that it was Fye's brother, Dunstan, who brought down the Hedge. Dunstan was once one of the lancers who fought against the Garlean Empire years ago, but was later exiled from Gridania, and is now thought to be searching for his sister.

Mission 4: Beckon of the Elementals
Some time later, Dunstan is yet be found despite the effort of the Archers. The player once again visits their guild. However, the Quiver's Hold is thrown into chaos as news arrives of some happening in the forest. Archers surge forth from the Hold, and Brother O-App-Pesi of the conjurers himself heads in the direction of the disturbance as well.

There, they find Khrimm, standing before a tree in flames. Because of this, a furious elemental comes forth and there is no way to quell its greenwrath other than battling and defeating it.

The elemental is defeated, but that is not enough to quell the fury of the forest. Brother O-App-Pesi suggests that it may be in the best interest of all to have Fye and her brother leave the forest altogether and asks the player to seek her out.

Miounne informs via linkpearl that it seems that out of fear that Khrimm will become a wildling, he has been taken into the Stillglade Fane. While Brother O-App-Pesi is talking about the boy's condition, Yda and Papalymo return from the wood together with the wildling Dunstan. Because of that, Brother E-Sumi-Yan orders a grand rite of purification, but he fears that saving Khrimm may require Dunstan to give his life.

Finally, the grand rite begins, and a group of moogles arrive. They come bearing a message to the player from the elementals, telling that his/her role in being beckoned to the wood is to be a messenger of the goddess Nophica herself, the Matron. The ritual continues as normal, and in the end Dunstan collapses. This causes the Echo to reverberate, and the sky once again turn completely black - this time, everyone sees it. During that event, Papalymo comments with Yda that they "should've stopped it, and now it's too late".

The player collapses as well, awakening only with the words of an wood hermit telling him to visit the Path of the Twelve, located in the Merchants Ward of Ul'dah.

Path of the Twelve Storyline
The three main storylines converge at this point.

Mission 5: Fade to White
Following Blackburn's lead, arriving at the Waking Sands, the meeting place of the Path of the Twelve. There, he meets their leader, Minfilia, who claims to understand what happened earlier. To prove it, she asks the player to use the power of the "Echo" to see her past.

Upon doing that, the player sees a past conversation held on that same hall. Minfilia then explains that many people have been "gifted" with that power after witnessing a starshower, and that the Path of the Twelve is an organization that offers a meeting place for those people and strives to bring peace to Eorzea, offering the player the chance to join.

After joining, she teaches what she knows about that power; it not only allows a person to see anyone's past - albeit not able to interfere with it - but also allows to access another's thoughts, making it possible to understand their words even without knowing their language.

The player then is directed to Lady Tataru, to register them-self as member of the Path and choose a Path Companion.

Mission 6: Together We Stand
Not long after, a party of sylphs enter into the Waking Sands asking for help, claiming that their home, Moonspore Grove, is being invaded by imperial soldiers from Garlemald. Lady Minfilia then gives her first task to the player: Investigate the Black Shroud with their Path Companion.

Arriving at Camp Nine Ivies, the player is greeted by several sylphs claiming that Moonspore Cove has been invaded, and while they were able to escape, their children - "podlings" - will soon be found and killed by the invaders. Since the whole area is full of imperial troops and war machines, the player must sneak his way to the Groove, avoiding contact with the Garleans.

Arriving at the grove, the player is trusted with a podling and must escape; it seems that not all podlings were saved from the Empire; this, however, shall not deter the sylphs from remaining in the one place they call home.

Mission 7: Toll of the Warden
Later on, Minfilia has a new assignment: The player must visit the Ashcrowm Consortium in Gridania, as they need help.

Arriving there, he learns about the history of Eorzea's crystal trade and how until recently most of the realm's crystals have been obtained by negotiating with beast tribes. However, ever since the beings known as Primals appeared, the tribes refuse to sell more shards, as they are crucial part of the summoning process, and therefore crafters are facing an increasingly higher increase of demand with not enough supply of crystals. Claiming that solving these issues are part of the purpose of the Path, Heydn asks the player to try negotiating with the Amalj'aa around Camp Drybone.

The player then is directed to an Amalj'aa excavation site, where they find an Ashcrown party already engaged in negotiations with the Amalj'aa and the Ixali. Their leader explains that both tribes are on the verge of summoning their "Primals," which, if they are successful, would mean the death of all those in the mesa caves.

After either parley or fighting, the tribes are convinced to stop their summoning rituals, however before negotiation can begin about the crystals issues, a strange creature that the sylphs call "Ascian" appears and frightens the remaining beastmen, who flees. Meanwhile, the player's path companion spots a large sack of crystals left in their hurry, and those should be enough for a while.

Mission 8: Forever Taken
Back into Ashcrown Consortium, Sylphs claim they may be while to persuade the Ixal into resuming crystal trade with them; to do so, they must get "unaspected crystals" - pure crystals devoid of any elemental aspect, perfect for the Primal summoning rituals. To get them, one must simply travel to the far away land of Mor Dhona and bury a crystal there for a time; it will quickly be drained of their elemental energy by the mysterious force said to slumber there.

Upon returning to the Consortium, the sylphs mention mysterious figures known only as "Paragons," whom they claim were the ones who originally taught the beast tribes how to summon the Primals from the aetherial void. Believing that this information could be useful to the Path of the Twelve, the player returns there to speak with Minfilia.

However, things are quite messy on the Walking Sands. Lady Minfilia called a meeting with all the new members of their brotherhood, wishing to address the imperial linkpearls that are being distributed about the realm as of lately. According to the message played on this pearl, the beast tribes are the enemies of Eorzea and mean to summon their "eikons" to kill the peoples of the five races, and calls all city states to accept Imperial Rule and fight against the beast tribes, in exchange of protection against the Primals. Minfilia adds that because of their ability to communicate with the tribes, all walkers will be branded by the Empire as heathens. Upon confrontation of the player's Path Companion, she mentions that she does not plan to stand idly as the empire hunt them; she intends to open up talks with the beast tribes in order to recruit their strength in fighting the Empire.

Mission 9: Lord Errant
After a conversation with his/her Path Companion, the player decides to assist Lady Minfilia in her quest to bring the beast tribes to their side, and travels to the Amal'jaa stronghold to try negotiating with the tribe elders.

Halfway there, the duo meets a pair of Sylphs with similar intentions; they also mention that one of the Paragons have been spotted there.

However, before reaching the center of the stronghold, they are spotted and captured by the Amal'jaa, being put in a cell with several other prisoners. Soon, every captive is led to a large clearing, where the Primal Ifrit is summoned, where a so called "cleansing" ritual is held - brainwashing via magical blue flames. All the other prisoners are affected by the spell, and are ordered to attack the player. Since they are not enemies, they must be not killed - some can be brought to their senses via parley, others have to be attacked.

Ifrit remains silent during the whole confrontation, but as soon as it ends, he starts making several cryptic questions, concluding with the revelation that the player and companion, too, can summon their own Primal, as well as everyone else with the gift of the Echo, and let the player escape upon promising to never summon one and feigning loyalty to Ifrit.

Mission 10: Of Men They Sing
A strange distress call is caught on the Path Linkpearl, and no one knows who was responsible for that, only their location; The player is then asked to go to the signal origin and search for the responsible.

Reaching camp Nine Ivies, their Path Companion is spotted speaking with a group of Soldiers, who claim to be part of the Ala Mhigan Resistance. It seems that one of the members of the resistance was the deceased brother of the player's Path Companion. The soldier also mentions that one of their scouts is missing and is being chased by the Empire; since the scout has crucial information about the Resistance, it is important to find her before the empire does.

Exploring the forest, the player finds the scout severely injured and being pursued by a pack of wolfs. After defeating the monsters, collars drop off of them, showing that they were controlled by the Empire.

Mission 11: Futures Perfect
Back in the Merchant Wards, a group of members from the Ala Mhigan Resistance is speaking with the Antecedent, preparing a special operation against the Empire. The group is planning to steal one of the empire's airships to drive then away from Ala Mhigo. Since the city state is under heavy guard and such mission would be nigh impossible, the target is the least guarded area of Silvertear Falls in Mor Dhona. However, Minfillia warns the player that this has been tried many times before, always resulting in failure and many deaths.

The player agrees to help the resistance and makes his way to camp Revenant's Toll in Mor Dhona, only to find a trio of imperial soldiers attacking the place and being called back to their airship. The player follows the group for a while, until they get reinforcements from one of their heavy magitek machinery, a Imperial Juggernaut.

After defeating them, the player walks until finally reunites with his/her Path Companion, only to find that all resistance members have been slain by a single man - the Imperial Legatus. He easily knocks out the Path Companion with a shot, but before he is able to kill off the player, Yda, Papalymo, Y'shtola and Thancred arrive to stop him, with the pugilist being the only one to at least land a hit on the enemy - with little effect. The battle ends when Zulvan calls a blast from the cannons of the Imperial Dreadnaught and disappears between the smoke.

The player wakes up in a cave, quickly noticing he is actually seeing the past. Some children are grouped there, and Garlean Soldiers come in and start uttering strange verses, brainwashing the children into believing the beast tribes of Eorzea and their Primal must be killed.

The player once again collapses and wakes up back in the present, where he speaks with the mysterious traveler from their home city state (either Y'shtola, Thancred or Yda and Papalymo), who warns that the Empire cannot be defeated in their current state, the player must find something much greater if he has any hope of defeating the Garleans and freeing Eorzea from their menace.

This is the final mission of the main storyline (as of January 18, 2011).

Playable Races
There are five playable races resembling those from Final Fantasy XI. Each race has a new name and their appearance has been slightly altered; additionally, each is also divided into two clans. It has been confirmed that the "missing genders" for some races (Female Roegadyn, Male Miqo'te and Female Midlander Hyur) will become available upon the PS3 release.
 * Hyur
 * The Hyur are a race not originally from Eorzea, having migrated there and brought their technology with them. They are split into two clans, the Highlanders and the Midlanders. They are very similar to Humes.


 * Lalafell
 * The Lalafell are a race from the seas south of Eorzea. The race consists of the Plainsfolk and the Dunesfolk. They are similar to the Tarutaru.


 * Miqo'te
 * The Miqo'te are a race from Eorzea, and like the Hyur, they are not originally native to the region. Miqo'tes are either Seekers of the Sun or Keepers of the Moon. They are cat-like beings, and are similar to the Mithra.


 * Roegadyn
 * The Roegadyn are a race from the seas north of Eorzea. This maritime race is broken into two tribes; the Sea Wolves and the Lohengarde. They are like the Galka, though they lack tails.


 * Elezen
 * The Elezen are the race that has lived in Eorzea the longest and co-exist peacefully with the other races. Elezen can either be Wildwood Elezen or Duskwight Elezen. They are similar to the Elvaan.

Music
Final Fantasy XIV ' s soundtrack is composed entirely by Nobuo Uematsu, the first full musical score he has composed for a Final Fantasy game in ten years, since Final Fantasy IX. Though the full tracklist is still to be released, rearrangements of the series' "Main Theme", "Prologue" and the "Victory Fanfare" have been confirmed. There are said to be 82 tracks in total for the game. The complete soundtrack is not yet available for sale, but a selection of the game's tracks have been released in two volumes named Final Fantasy XIV / Field Tracks and Final Fantasy XIV / Battle Tracks.

The game's vocal theme, "Answers", is sung by American musician Susan Calloway, who is also known to Final Fantasy Online fans as a vocalist of Distant Worlds from Final Fantasy XI.

Production
Originally codenamed Rapture, it was first mentioned in August 2005, although few details were revealed between that date and 2009 apart from a concept video (now outdated), various statements concerning the platforms of the game (the Xbox 360 was considered at one point), and the fact that it was developed with the Crystal Tools engine. Hiromichi Tanaka recently stated that there are no plans for an Xbox 360 version at this time. However, he did say that Square is still talking with Microsoft.

Final Fantasy XIV was originally directed by Nobuaki Komoto, with art design by Akihiko Yoshida. However, because of the game's bad reception, Nobuaki was replaced by Naoki Yoshida as the new director. .

Ever since that announcement, several "letters from the producer" started being posted on the lodestone website, outlining future plans for the game, as well as official polls asking players what features they want to see on the game or previous MMO experience, often receiving tens of thousands of answers.

An official forum was also launched on March 8, to increase the communication between the dev team and players, and is currently on beta phase. Everyone can see the posts on all four languages, but only players with an active Final Fantasy XIV account can post. Official Final Fantasy XI forums were also launched in that same day.

Seventh Umbral Era


On December 31, 2010, a poem was posted on the lodestone foreshadowing planned events and updates for the following year. A few months into 2011, several npcs and sidequests started mentioning the Sixth Umbral Era, a period in Eorzean history plagued by all sorts of catastrophes, as well as the approach of the Seventh Umbral Era, a sign of bad omen.

Finally, on April 29, 2011, several events started happening on all servers, including the appearance of "Deaspected Crystals" as a loot item, the lack of background music on Thanalan, uncommon raining on the Black Shroud, a weird NPC appearing on towns and shouting nonsensical prophecies or a GM logging in and buffing players with Arcanist (a discipline not yet available in the game) spells, leading the community to believe that some of the most radical changes are going to be implemented in the very near future, such as a promised redesigning of the Black Shroud area.

Reception
Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot rated the game 4/10 or "poor." GameTrailers rated it 4.2/10.

Rory Manion of GameSpy rated it 2/5 or "fair."

Charles Onyett of IGN rated it 5.5/10 or "mediocre."

Cheat Code Central rated it 4.2/5.