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Final Fantasy XI launches the October version update
If you're an avid Final Fantasy XI player and you've missed your Wings of the Goddess characters, you'll be happy to know that you're getting a big dose of nostalgia in the game's most recent update. A new quest has been added that allows Summoners to call forth Atomos and everyone to summon Lilisette's Alter Ego, provided that you've already finished off the Wings of the Goddess missions. And that's only the metaphorical tip of the iceberg. The October update also rolls out new battlefields pitting players against Ifrit Prime, Shiva Prime, Titan Prime, Ramuh Prime, Garuda Prime, and Leviathan Prime at a higher level of difficulty. There are also several job improvements, including wide-scale buffs to pets over level 100, weapon skill improvements (such as Puppetmasters getting an A+ rank in Fists), and other assorted buffs (Ninja shuriken are now far more attractive and usable). Take a look at the full update notes for more fixes, improvements, and general buffs.
Iranian court summons Mark Zuckerberg to answer privacy concerns
We've got a feeling that Mark Zuckerberg will, regretfully, be unable to accept this particular foreign invitation -- especially after all the recent name-calling that's been coming out of Iran. Nevertheless, a court in the south of that country has reportedly ordered the Facebook CEO to attend a hearing to answer complaints over privacy, specifically regarding Instagram and WhatsApp. There have been calls for both services to be blocked in Tehran, but they're still operational for now, perhaps partly due to a degree of protection from more moderate forces within the country. The precise details of the court summons are hard to be sure of, because news of it comes not from the court itself, but from an official within the Basij militia -- a voluntary paramilitary force that is regularly called upon to protect Iran's theocracy from dissent. And frankly, that's exactly the sort of geo-political context that might further dissuade Zuckerberg's PA from scheduling an appointment.
Adobe preemptively cuts prices to avoid wrath of Australian lawmakers
Adobe has suddenly knocked 20 percent off its prices in Australia just one day after it was summoned to publicly defend those prices in front of a parliamentary committee. The monthly fee for a subscription to Adobe's full Creative Cloud has dropped from AU$63 to AU$50, so it's now only $1 more than the US price when you factor in currency. The no-contract monthly cost has also fallen to match how much Americans pay -- from AU$95 to AU$75 -- which is exactly what Australian lawmakers have been demanding since 2011. We can't decide if this is a move of brilliant cunning on Adobe's part, or just a blatant effort to side-step blame for how much it's been charging up to this point. Either way, it puts Microsoft and Apple in a sticky situation, because they've been summoned to the same inquiry and may be left with fewer excuses to cling to.
Indian court tells Google and Facebook execs to stop by, have a chat
India and the various powers that be on the Internet have had a bit of a contentious relationship for the past year or so. The primary issue has been censorship, in that the Indian government wants more of it and the giants of the tech world want no part. After originally filing suit against Microsoft, Google and Facebook in December of 2011, the Delhi High Court let Redmond loose from its litigative snare. Unfortunately for the Big G and our pal Zuck, they're still on the hook for failing to block offensive content, particularly that of a religious nature. The Magistrate hearing the case will be issuing summons today, asking the global executives of Facebook and Google to come in and answer for their alleged crimes. So far there's been no reaction from either company, but with both actively working to have the case dismissed we wouldn't be surprised if any response amounted to a very diplomatic middle finger.
The Mog Log: Weakness is strength
If you think about characters in the online Final Fantasy games compared to the console-based equivalents, you have to come to a kind of demoralizing conclusion: Your character online is pretty weak. In Final Fantasy XI, you can cap out your Black Mage and you'll still never learn Ultima. In Final Fantasy X, by the time you have your Black Mage using Ultima, you've still got most of the endgame ahead of you. Final Fantasy XIV might move the power scale upward, but at this point your character hasn't even actually mastered being a Paladin, much less summoning anything. Final Fantasy VII, by contrast, gave us three different versions of Bahamut to summon just to keep him relevant, and he was still nowhere near the best. And you know what? It makes the games much more fun to have these barriers in place. Players have been clamoring for high-end summons in Final Fantasy XI since forever ago, and the fact that it's not even on the visible horizon for Final Fantasy XIV is disheartening to some. But there's something to be said for a play environment where these touchstones of power remain out of reach, certainly for now and possibly forever.
The Mog Log: We all live in a community submarine
This week, like the week before, has seen an explosion of controversy about Final Fantasy XIV. I have not really taken part, as I have been far too busy playing Final Fantasy XIV to care one way or the other. But after a month of people's impressions, it seems like the perfect time to dive back into the meat of the community topics -- much like we did last month around the same time, as a matter of fact. Sadly, Final Fantasy XI has been fairly quiet, both due to the anger generation systems its successor features and due to a general sense of community burnout. After all, we're about two months away from another version update, and thus far we've heard nothing about what's due for December. Still, jump on past the cut for discussions about Final Fantasy XI as well as FFXIV, with the usual dosage of commentary to accompany each.
Massively's tour of Final Fantasy XI's March update
Eight years doesn't sound like a very long time unless you're talking about MMOs. Then it's the equivalent of dog years, only larger. But Final Fantasy XI has been running for all that time, and the game is still running strong -- and more to the point, bringing out a number of updates, improvements, and other positives for the game. Even as a veteran player, I haven't seen all of the content that's out there -- really, I'd be surprised if I've done much more than scratch the surface. I was given the lucky opportunity to get a guided tour of all the improvements and new content that the game had added with the most recent update, and it's certainly one of the more impressive drops the game has seen. Two entirely new summons, a new quest type, the penultimate missions in Wings of the Goddess, new Notorious Monsters, new areas... it's dwarfing to even consider it. I only had a chance to hit the highlights, and even then it was a lot to cover. So jump on past the cut, and see what's there to be seen.
Chaos Rings trailer looks awesome
Just yesterday, we heard about this new Square Enix RPG due to come to the iPhone this year, and today, not only do we have official confirmation, but a first official trailer as well. And boy does it look great -- over in the console world, Final Fantasy's creators have been saying that they can't make them like they used to, because the newer HD technology just makes old-school artisanship tough to do. But a platform like the iPhone, with its built-in limits on graphical fidelity, might be just the place for the old-school vibe to live and thrive. 3D characters on 2D backgrounds? What appear to be turn-based battles against bosses and summons? A story featuring emo-haired heroes and J-pop ballads? Boy are we in. The Japanese version says "Available soon on the App Store," but we'll keep an eye on the other stores as well and let you know when this drops.
More on Final Fantasy XI's VanaFest prize and March update
Although VanaFest 2010 is moving into the memories (fond or otherwise) of Final Fantasy XI fans everywhere, there are still bits and pieces that remained unanswered questions. For instance, what exactly are the prized Chocobo Berets going to do when players get their hands on them? Thanks to Corinth on the popular fan translation site JP Button, we finally have our answer: they turn players into chocobos. Using the hat turns everyone in the party into an egg which, when hatched (by removing the buff), will temporarily turn a player into an adolescent chocobo that improves their movement speed somewhat. High time to start making friends with attendees or trivia contest winners for that. The translated information also points to the hats being available with the March version update, which looks to be going live on March 23rd. The VanaFest site has a full breakdown of what's due with the update, but in short it's set to include the penultimate parts of the Wings of the Goddess storyline, job adjustments, and the long-awaited Odin and Alexander summon spells. It's also introducing the new "Trial of the Magians" quests. so the end of the month promises to be very busy for Final Fantasy XI -- even if you're not waiting to hatch from a hat-induced egg.
Guildwatch: Ninja tested, GM approved
This isn't guild drama, but what a move -- Kokor of Draka convinced a PuG to help him through a second run of Gun'drak just so he could ding level 80. And take a guess what he did as soon as he dinged -- yup, split off to Naxx, leaving the PuG, who'd just helped him level the last few points, in the lurch. The jerk store called, and they just ran out of Kokor.More stories of drama in this week's Guildwatch below, including a prodigal son that isn't so welcome. Plus, we've got downed and recruiting news from around the realms -- if you want to know what the guilds are up to on your server, it's in here. And don't forget, send your tips on drama, downed and recruiting news to wowguildwatch@gmail.com, and you'll see them right here in the future.
