The Mog Log: Community guide to Final Fantasy XI and XIV
The great thing about being a fan of Final Fantasy XI is that you're not lacking in any sort of resources online. After such a long lifespan, pages have been created to suit almost any need the community might have. And for a game whose mechanics can be obtuse at times, that's a good thing.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? The Mog Log is Massively's new weekly column focusing on all things both Final Fantasy and online, meaning both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV. For our first installment, we're taking a look at the multitude of fan pages, guides, and other resources for players. Needless to say there are a few more options for the former game than the latter (due to only one of them actually being released yet), but there's already a community building in anticipation of Eorzea's adventures.
PlayOnline.com -- Because, well, it is the official site for FFXI. It's a bit weak in the indexing and overall resources, but it does have a fair amount of news and the ever-important server status information.
Final Fantasy XIV -- The teaser site for... okay, that's totally obvious.
Pet Food Alpha -- Podcasts, news, opinions, and general resources about FFXI from all around. It's as close to a general information site as you can get, with a fair bit of community discussion thrown in for good measure.
Bannable Offenses -- This isn't just the funniest FFXI blog available, but quite possibly the funniest gaming blog out there, period. (Killed in a Smiling Accident might contest that, I'll let them duke it out.) If you've ever thought that GMs don't care about the players and just want to get some cheap thrills out of watching players de-level... you're right. Worth reading from the beginning, despite the length.
Dreams in Vana'diel -- Discussion forums ranging from news items, to roleplaying, to personal opinion, to such unsavory and officially-against-the-EULA activities as installing Windower and modding the game's .DATs. While it has grown a bit more quiet as the game has grown a bit more quiet, it's still an excellent source of community voice.
FFXIVCore -- We don't know how much longer we'll have to wait for Final Fantasy XIV. (We can certainly hope for "not much longer," but if wishes were fishes...) In the interim, FFXIVCore is hard at work translating any information not brought over to this side of the pond, speculating on the game's merits, and offering community-building activities for all. An excellent site.
FFXIV RP Coalition -- For some of you, this is essentially going to be a dead link. But if you're interested in FFXIV and roleplaying, this is a community effort being started by some of the same people who kept the roleplaying community alive as long as possible in FFXI, and it's shaping up to be a strong effort to start off on the right foot. As a dedicated roleplayer, expect to hear more on this topic.
FFXIclopedia -- It's a game wiki. Those pretty much explain themselves. On the off chance that there's something ambiguous, however, FFXIclopedia offers a user-edited database full of information on quests, classes, spells, abilities, and monsters. Since you can also nab the Firefox search plugin from them, they're a great way to check on something quickly.
Campsitarus! -- For leveling or merit parties, the biggest question is usually "where are we going?" (The second, regrettably, tends to be "is there no one besides that PUP/WHM looking?") Enter Campsitarus!, which details a huge number of different camps for all level ranges, along with maps, descriptions of the capacity of each camp site, and what you can expect to be fighting. Useful both for finding where to go, and to prove to your Dunes party that no, they're not ready for Pugils.
FFXI at Allakhazam.com -- Predating the wholesale switch to the ZAM Network, this is the nexus of information on the game, with a large searchable database on most every quest, mission, and item. It also features a robust list of crafting recipes and reagents, which anyone who dives into the knee-deep mud of Synthesis can certainly use.
AlexisLucia's Skillchain Calculator -- One of the keys to leveling is building up big experience chains by taking foes out quickly. One of the keys to that is breaking out some truly memorable skillchains, and for those of us without an encyclopedic memory of how they fit together, this calculator is here. Given your party members, levels, and weaponskills, you can be assured that if there's a way to feed your mages a Magic Burst, it's in here.
FFXI Time Information by Pyogenes -- Time in Vana'diel doesn't synchronize nicely with time in the real world. And with days of the in-game week affecting crafting, open or closed stores, RSE quests, and even the likelihood of weather... well, it's nice to be able to keep track. There have been several calendars and timers released to the community over the years, and this one just so happens to be the one I use.
If you know of any other links that I've missed that you think are important, I can only apologize. Perhaps I can even make it better, if you'd shoot me a letter to Eliot at massively dot com and let me know what I've missed. Then we'll all be equally happy.
(But please, don't send me links to Windower over and over.)
