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Buy all Final Fantasy XI add-ons and start teleporting
The last of Final Fantasy XI's add-on scenarios is coming out in just about a week, but that's not all that's coming with it. Players who have purchased all three of the mini-expansions (A Crystalline Prophecy, A Moogle Kupo d'Etat, and A Shantotto Ascension, all of which have small flash sites) will receive a special in-game item following the next version update. The fact that it's a cape may not sound like much, but veteran players would be rather interested in the item's special enchantment: it allows you to teleport. Players who haven't experienced Final Fantasy XI might not realize just how difficult and frequently dangerous transport through the game can be. Most leveling is done by working your way to a dangerous location, surrounded by monsters that can easily slaughter a lone player. The Nexus Cape reward will transport the user instantly to the party leader's location, thereby enabling easy movement from one spot of relative safety to another. It's only usable once per day, but it's a nice added bonus for those who've grabbed all of the additional scenarios. If you're holding out for the Ultimate Collection due on the tenth, don't despair -- as it contains all three add-ons as well, players with the collection will also receive the Nexus Cape. More details on its mechanics are available on the official announcement.
Massively's hands-on with Final Fantasy XI's April version update
Prophecy, valor, campaign, and item augmentation, oh my! This latest version update was packed with goodies for the Final Fantasy XI player base, making sure that something for everyone was included in the game. I recently got the chance to sit down with the Final Fantasy XI team and play through some of the content, experiencing what their newest mini-expansion, A Crystalline Prophecy, had to add to the game.Past that, I also had the chance to see the new Fields of Valor areas in action, aid the Mithras in defending Windurst from the beastmen during the Crystal War, and experience some of the hard tasks in the campaign missions first hand.So does the April update get a thumbs up? Is Crystalline Prophecy worth the ten bucks? Those questions and more will be answered within.
Massively's hands-on with Final Fantasy XI's April version update pt. 2
The Crystal War Missions of Campaign The new missions in the Campaign area of the game offer some tough challenges and nice rewards for players looking to further the storyline of Wings of the Goddess. Of special note are the cutscenes, which were very emotional and also very beautiful. Compared to some of the original cutscenes that the game shipped with, these new scenes are very active and dramatic. Funny characters, camaderie, and full blown combat were abound in the seven minute cutscene I watched -- all which included my character fighting back to back with some of Windurst's most talented military heroes. The boss battle I got to participate in was tied directly into the events of the prior cutscene, as players need to use clues from the cutscenes to locate where to go and what to do. In our battle, one of the Mithras was injured as she fended off hordes of beastmen with a slew of grenades, forcing our party to find her and help defend her. Unfortunately, once we located her door, we were attacked by a group of beastmen that included a very powerful boss. Even with five well geared level 75 players, including me as the white mage with my brand new white mage abilities, the boss took a considerable amount of time (and a little cheating) to defeat. As to the fate of the injured Mithra... let me just say that I was a little heartbroken by the end of the cutscene, and I only knew the character for ten minutes. Our overall impressions of the version update and mini-expansion are... For a game that's close to seven years old to feature challenging, engaging content, well-written story, and beautiful graphics is in itself amazing. The version update even seems to be slowly upending the former hardcore playstyle of FFXI, creating a more welcoming game for newbies and veteran players alike. If you have Final Fantasy XI and have let your account lapse, my suggestion is to certainly come back and give the new version update a try -- especially regarding additions like the Fields of Valor. FFXI has evolved from a game of ruthless intentions into a challenging, but rewarding experience for those who are willing to stick with it. Additions like being able to add your own stats to items via item enhancement only make the game more approachable for today's World of Warcraft audiences. The version update brings much to the game and makes for a thumbs up. A Crystalline Prophecy, however, is a little shaky. While the content starts at level 30, it cannot be finished until the player is level 75. The storyline looks to be decent and the end reward seems to be worth 10 dollar price tag, but the level 75 requirement pushes this one into the territory of "buy it if you can finish it." This isn't an expansion I would recommend for players just starting with the game, but it certainly is a purchase for those who are already FFXI veterans. But, newbies, if you can afford the 10 dollar price tag and have a character at or over level 30, go ahead and grab it. It's a nice addition to the game, especially for a price of 10 bucks.
Final Fantasy's April version update is live, brings A Crystalline Prophecy with it
Sure, the majority of people are clamoring over Patch 3.1 for World of Warcraft today, but you Final Fantasy XI users already received something just as juicy -- the April version update.For those of you not in the know, the April update launched expansions to many of the current game systems -- such as Moblin Maze Mongers, Fields of Valor, and Campaign -- and also added the ability for players to enchant items via "Item Augmentation." The update also added some nice changes to the White Mage, Red Mage, and Summoner classes, and will be the first of Square-Enix's revisit to all of the classes in FFXI.The big news though was the unlocking of Final Fantasy's first "mini-expansion," entitled A Crystalline Prophecy: Ode of Life Bestowing. This expansion is a short little storyline, but gives players a nice piece of armor for completing it. Even better, you can choose how to augment the armor after you receive it, customizing it to your favorite class.Looking for all of the patch notes in their lengthy glory? Check them out on the Final Fantasy XI website.
Final Fantasy XI's first bite-sized expansion coming 'sort of' soon
Take a look at your calendar boys and girls, because in just one week from today the first mini-expansion for Final Fantasy XI will be available for download at $9.99 with tax included. Yep, March 23rd is the date announced on the official website -- but there's a catch.Players who purchase the digital update right now won't receive the actual content until the next version update, which is tentatively scheduled for early April. So it's more of an announcement of a pre-order being made available soon... on a digital product.Hey, we're not marketing and business guys or anything, but isn't that kind of silly? We see no need to pre-order something that has an unlimited amount of "copies" and exists in an ethereal, digital, online state. Maybe if Square Enix offered some kind of little bonus for pre-ordering, that'd be one thing. As it is now, we guess this affords someone an ethereal, digital online piece of mind.[via Eurogamer]
