Final Fantasy XI: Heroes of Abyssea is the third and final Abyssea "Battle Area Add-on" for Final Fantasy XI released in 2010. It concludes the Abyssea storyline, as it takes the battle for Abyssea to the borderlands. Heroes of Abyssea completes the Empyrean Armor sets with the implementation of its body and hands slot pieces. Unlike Final Fantasy XI: Vision of Abyssea and Final Fantasy XI: Scars of Abyssea, this add-on features a fourth new area, the battlefield area of Abyssea - Empyreal Paradox, used for the conclusion of the Abyssea storyline. Content in Heroes of Abyssea caters to players above level 75.
Heroes of Abyssea requires players to have both Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart and Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess expansions registered and installed to play. Characters must be level 30 or above to access Abyssea-related content.
Service for Heroes of Abyssea commenced on December 7, 2010 (JST).
New additions[]
Quests[]
Heroes of Abyssea does not formally include missions, but contains quests that mark the main storyline of the Abyssea add-ons. Unlike the previous two Abyssea add-ons, this add-on comes with a special story Notorious Monster (the final boss) featured in a quest battlefield to mark the conclusion of the storyline.
Other new quests are also available for players to undertake.
Areas[]
New zones[]
Enemies[]
This list does not include reskinned enemies of the same genus or unique bosses.
Gameplay systems[]
- Dominion
- Dominion Ops
Characters[]
Apart from each player's own character, who drives the storyline, there are a number of non-player characters that take on significant roles in the Heroes of Abyssea storyline.
- Joachim is the first Abyssean who meets with the player. He introduces the player to the realm of Abyssea and serves as the first point of contact between the player and the survivors of his own world.
- Gilgamesh of the parallel reality of Abyssea was once the pirate leader of Norg, but now serves as an officer of the resistance effort against the hordes of invading monsters.
- Esha'ntarl of Abyssea, who Gilgamesh refers to as the li'l mistress, is an Abyssean who is only able to perform a partial dimensional crossing into Vana'diel. She provides the player with insights on the plight of Abyssea.
- Prishe of Abyssea, is an Elvaan girl who once faced off against Promathia with the champions of Abyssea in the Empyreal Paradox.
Story[]
The story continues from Final Fantasy XI: Scars of Abyssea.
Emissaries of God[]
After the adventurer rescues seven Abyssea areas from the vile creatures that menace it, Joachim informs them that Gilgamesh wishes to meet with them again, this time in the Hall of the Gods.
In the Hall of the Gods, Gilgamesh explains that he needed to use its magnetic field and introduces the adventurer to the "li'l mistress", Esha'ntarl of Abyssea. Unlike Gilgamesh, she cannot traverse across worlds and has to use the magnetic energy in the hall to perform a partial dimensional crossing.
Esha'ntarl explains that the cataclysm that has befallen Abyssea is due to the will of the Twilight God, Promathia who had desired and succumbed to death ages ago. Altana, in sorrow of his death, bestowed him the light of the crystal and sundered the true crystal into five parts, creating the mortal realm. The will of Promathia to return to his full self has persisted, and the lives claimed through the cataclysm are a part of this grand scheme. His full resurrection would mean the demise of Abyssea.
Although Esha'ntarl blames herself for the events that have transpired, Gilgamesh claims it was more due to the Champions of Abyssea who have disappeared. Esha'ntarl thus goes to investigate the matter.
Later, when the adventurer rescues all nine Abyssea areas, Gilgamesh summons them to the Hall of the Gods again.
Esha'ntarl explains how numerous parallel realities have existed that are now growing unstable due to Promathia's will. As He gradually reverts the world to its former state of Paradise (the realm of the Gods), new species of fiends have come about as a result.
In Abyssea, the adventurer's alter-ego had once gone up against Promathia in the celestial capital of Al'Taieu, but perhaps to no avail. Al'Taieu, which exists in a paradox state, had been ripped out of Abyssea and should have plummeted back into Abyssea, but this has not happened. Instead, Al'Taieu has ascended to the moon.
Esha'ntarl suggests for the adventurer to confront Promathia, but due to the cataclysmic transformation of the land, the existing portals to Al'Taieu no longer exist. She believes the gateway is being blocked by the caturae, a species of mysterious fiends that have appeared since the cataclysm began, and urges the adventurer to seek them out and defeat them.
With all six caturae in Abyssea defeated, the adventurer meets with Gilgamesh and Esha'ntarl again, and they confirm that the caturae were linked to the Twilight God and concealing the gateway to Al'Taieu. A spatial disturbance has manifested on Qufim Island, which could signal a path to Abyssea's Al'Taieu. They entrust the adventurer with the mission to seek out this disturbance and confront Promathia once and for all.
The Wyrm God[]
Upon traveling through the disturbance, the adventurer arrives in Abyssea - Empyreal Paradox and meets with Prishe, who is shocked to see them still alive. She explains that the adventurer's alter-ego had failed to stop Promathia, resulting in the events that led to the cataclysm. As she herself is immortal, she has remained trapped up in Al'Taieu. Promathia has absorbed the darkness contained within Selh'teus and evolved into the dreadful form of a terrifying wyrm.
Considering how people from Vana'diel gain additional powers in Abyssea, Prishe lets the adventurer confront Promathia without her aid, and they defeat its wyrmal form, Shinryu. Although Abyssea is saved from destruction, the damage He has done to the world will not revert automatically, and Abyssea will have to gradually rebuild itself back to its former glory.
Prishe stays behind in Al'Taieu to watch over Abyssea. Joachim congratulates the adventurer for having righted the world in a seemingly impossible task. Gilgamesh and Esha'ntarl are grateful, with Gilgamesh encouraging the adventurer to pop by in Abyssea to help with rebuilding. Esha'ntarl thanks them, but also requests that they pay a visit to Prishe every now and then, as the burden of all that has happened affects her the most. Prishe gets lonely in the Empyreal Paradox and has the adventurer to promise to frequent her. She and gives them a gift of an abyssite of the cosmos in return.
Music[]
In addition to the two tracks also used in the previous Abyssea add-ons, Heroes of Abyssea introduces one new track, "Shinryu", used in the final boss battle.
Notes[]