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The Mog Log: Hours of entertainment from just one boss
Every so often, column topics fall into my lap. Like when someone mentioned in the comments the other day that they were dreading the 18-hour boss fight from Final Fantasy XI would return in Final Fantasy XIV. For those of you who don't know what in the world that was referencing... well, it's time to take a look back at Pandemonium Warden, and the now legendary story of what it took for one linkshell to bring him down. Although by "bring him down," we really mean "fight him for nearly a full day and finally give up." That's the image that Final Fantasy XI's boss fights have in a lot of people's heads. It's a great and evocative image, and it's also riddled with inaccuracies. That having been said, the nigh-on insanity of some boss fights in the game merits discussion as we get closer and closer to Final Fantasy XIV's release. Whether you're wondering about the warden's odds of return or just still believe that the boss fight properly went on for nearly a day, jump on past the break. There's a lot to go over.
Final Fantasy XI update to eliminate 18+ hour boss takedowns
The players of Final Fantasy XI have voiced their anguished concerns over a certain Notorious Monster (NM), and Square Enix seems to have listened. We recently reported on the extreme levels of commitment needed to take down the NM Pandemonium Warden in Final Fantasy XI. A linkshell (guild) ironically called Beyond the Limitation attempted to take the boss on over a solid 18 hour period, and still weren't able to succeed. Consensus from FFXI's players who've been vocal on the matter is that Pandemonium Warden isn't just beyond this particular linkshell's limits, they're beyond anyone's limits. In response, Square Enix stated, "Discussion has spread significantly throughout forums, and it has become apparent that this is indeed an issue of major unrest in the community." The company implied that the methods players have employed may have been sub-optimal, as Square Enix didn't anticipate that NM encounters would be as protracted as they've proven to be. To remedy this, they will alter the difficulty of defeating Pandemonium Warden, Absolute Virtue, and Jailer of Love. "The aim of these changes is to create battles where a decisive outcome may be reached within a shorter period of time," they said. The changes will go into effect with the next version update, which is scheduled for early September. [Via 1up]
It's Pandemonium in Final Fantasy XI
News has spread of a grueling new enemy encounter in Final Fantasy XI. The Notorious Monster (NM) Pandemonium Warden is one of the strongest opponents players can face in the game. But it seems Square-Enix may have raised the bar too high, given the extremes to which players must go to defeat Pandemonium Warden. A linkshell (guild) called Beyond the Limitation recently faced off against Pandemonium Warden over an 18 hour period, but the NM was still going strong. The NM shapeshifts into multiple forms, making it even more of a challenge to defeat; Beyond the Limitations fought Pandemonium Warden through twenty of his possible forms, some of which took hours to kill. Pet Food Alpha, a Final Fantasy XI community site, quotes a member of Beyond the Limitation stating: "People were passing out and getting physically ill. We decided to end it before we risked turning into a horrible new story about how video games ruin people's lives."
