Will I have to pay for FFXI / How much does it cost?

• New PlayOnline account: 30 days free
  
  
• $12.95/mo for the first character
  
  
• +$1/mo for each addtional character/Content ID

Hey! I was billed more than $12.95!

• If you are in Canada, exchange rates can change how much you pay month to month.
  
  
• ALL billing is done pre-paid on the 1st of every month
  
• If you are coming out of your free month, you are pro-rated for the time you played between when your trial ended and the start of the next month.
  
  
• If you re-start in the middle of the month, you'll be billed for that month, in addition to the next month.

Is FFXI any good?

Its a completely subjective opinion. It's a very difficult and time consuming game. This game is probably not for you if you have a lot of obligations in real life, or cannot handle the things you've got already. Know your limits.



Can I suspend my account?

If you cancel your content ID, you will not be able to play. As long as your POL ID stays active, your character data will stay on the server. Inactive accounts are terminated after one year.



NOTE: For a limited time you can have a deleted character restored with The Return Home to Vana'diel Campaign. See this page for more details: http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/campaign/wcb/index.html



About PlayOnline(POL) IDs, Content IDs, and CD Keys

There is no CD needed to install POL, FFXI or any of the expansions of any version(Ps2/PC/360). The codes that come with these CDs can be used with any version(Ps2/PC/360).

The POL key is used to make a NEW POL ID. POL accounts cannot be merged in any way. New POL accounts have a 30-day free trial for FFXI. There is no fee to use POL. You use POL to buy Content IDs to play FFXI, Tetra Master, and make new FFXI characters. Content IDs are paid for on a monthly pre-pay basis. On the 1st of every month, you pay for the coming month. In situations where you start in the middle of the month, you are pro-rated for that time. Cancelled POL IDs cannot be recovered, and neither can the data/characters on them. You can use the code that comes with the cheaper PC version of FFXI to start a new POL ID on PS2 or 360.

• Can I log onto my account somewhere else other than my PS2 at home? Yes, all the data is stored on the FFXI servers.
  
  
• Will I be able to use the Expansion areas? As long as you have the expansion registered on your account, and wherever you are has it installed, you will be able to access expansion areas.
  
  
• Can I share a POL ID? Only on person can be logged onto a POL account at a time
  
  
• Can I re-use a CD key after I have cancelled my account? No, once a key is used to make a new account/register an expansion it is indefinately expired.

Can I pick my server?

You can only be invited to a server with a World Pass (See world pass thread). Otherwise you are placed on a random server, based on population.



Expansion packs?

FFXI Can be played without the expansion packs, however, you will not have access to the new / additional areas and/or jobs provided by that particular expansion pack. With that being said, once you purchase, install, and register your expansion pack the subscription fee does not change. The current expansion packs for FFXI are: Rize of the Zilart, Chains of Promethia, and the newest is Treasures of Aht Urghan. Rise of the Zilart comes with all versions of the game, and does not have to be purchased seperately.



HDD Basics.

FFXI for the PS2 requires the Hard drive and a network adapter. The HDD works ONLY with the old model, large PS2's. If you remove the HDD and place it in another ps2, it must be reformatted, as it binds with the specific ps2 it's installed in. FFXI takes roughly 8gb of HD space.



Do PS2 players really play with PC and 360 players and Japanese players?

Yes.



I can't connect to FFXI/POL! I get error: POL-_____

The numbers of the error doesn't really mean anything, unfortunately. Check the offcial FFXI site and make sure the servers are not down. If you're having connection troubles with PS2, try asking for help in the PS2 forum.



Communicating:

FFXI supports a USB Keyboard and Mouse, which are HIGHLY reccommended. Voice Chat is not supported in FFXI.

• Why can't we use a headset? Its simply in the nature of MMORPGs. While Voice Chat could be useful in some situations, overall its not pratical.

There are several ways to chat, and are as follows:



/s (say) - Outputs text to the nearby surrounding area. Also can be performed with /s or Ctrl + s. Ex: /s hello would say hello to those nearby. Can be seen by everyone nearby in range.

/sh (shout) - Outputs text to a large surrounding area. Also can be performed with /sh. Can be seen by everyone in a large area (almost an entire zone)

/p (party) - Outputs text to the party chat. Can also be performed with /p or Ctrl + P. Can only be seen by party members

/t (tell) <name> - Outputs text to player specified by name field. Ctrl + R automatically sets your text command to replay to the last person who sent you a tell. Keep pressing Ctrl + R to scroll through a list of people who previously sent you a tell. Can only be seen by player specified. EX: /t Darkmage sup

/l (linkshell) - Outputs text to linkshell chat. Can also be performed by /ls or Ctrl + L. Can only be seen by people on the current linkshell.



A linkshell is an item you must carry with you, and equip to use. It allows all people on that linkshell to converse no matter where they are in the world of Vana'diel.



Races and Starting Towns:

There are five races to choose from in FFXI and three starting towns, a brief rundown of each follows:



Tarutaru - A short in stature and magically adept race. Taru's have the highest INT and MP pool of all the races

Mithra - An agile race of cat ladies (female only race). Mithra's sport high DEX and AGI.

Elvaan - A noble race sporting high MND and STR.

Hume - The hume race of FFXI. Generally average Stats, well rounded race.

Galka - A large hulking race sporting high VIT and HP. Generally thought of as a Male only race (they are actually asexual)



The starting cities:

• San D'oria - A castle like fortress surrounded by forests. The beastmen that abound in this area are the Orcs, which are....well, orcs. This is the hometown of the Elvaan and if you start an Elvaan character here you get a special nation ring with the following stats: Def + 3, Mnd + 1, Str + 1. Home of the woodworking guild, blacksmith's guild and tanners guild.
  
  
• Bastok - An industrial technology center situated amongst large rocky mountains. The beastmen that occupy the areas around bastok are the Quadav, which are upright walking turtle like creatures. Hometown of the Humes and Galkas, starting a character of either race here will net you the Bastokian Ring: HP + 3, Dex + 1, Vit + 1. Home of the blacksmith's guild, and goldsmith's guild .
  
  
• Windurst - Home of the great star tree, situated in fields. Windurst is the home of the Tarutaru and the Mithra, starting a character of either race will get you the Windurstian Ring: MP+3, AGI + 1, INT + 1. The beastman that reside near Windurst are the Yagudo, Yagudo are birdlike creatures. Home of the fishing guild, clothcraft guild, and bonecraft guild.

The Jobs:

You are able to switch between jobs/subjobs at any Mog House or nomad moogle you run across anytime you wish, creating a variety of job combinations and leveling opportunities.



Starting Jobs

These jobs are available at the beginning of FFXI

• Black Mage (BLM)- The end all be all of Magic Damage. If you wish to make things go boom, here's your job.
  
  
• White Mage (WHM)- The healer of Vana'diel. Provide support effects (Such as protect, shell, bar elements) and healing to your party.
  
  
• Warrior (WAR)- The original tank, also good at dealing melee damage. Highly effective with a wide array of weapons.
  
  
• Theif (THF)- Dagger master, and hate control. Uses abilities to transfer hate to different party members, steals, and provides Treasure hunter services.
  
  
• Redmage (RDM)- The multi mage. Has less MP than White or Black Mages, however, possesses higher defence, natural abilities for white and black magic as well as melee abilities. Number one in enfeebling magic.
  
  
• Monk (MNK)- High hit points, low defence and #1 in Hand to hand combat. If you wish to pound on things, here ya go.

Advanced Jobs

You must be level 30 and then do a quest to unlock the following jobs.

• Paladin (PLD)- Tank class, high defense and vitality, designed to take the hits for the other members of the party.
  
  
• Beastmaster (BST)- Can charm beasts to act as pets in combat. Pets fight along side you.
  
  
• Bard (BRD)- Sings / plays songs to enhance your party.
  
  
• Summoner - Calls forth avatars to fight alongside you
  
  
• Ranger - Specilized ranged attacker. A master of crossbows, longbows and guns.
  
  
• Dark Knight - A fusion of the Black mage and Knight. Uses heavy weapons such as scythe and greatsword with the ability to cast some elemental and dark magic. Low defense.
  
  
• Ninja - Most commonly a tanking class. Uses ninja tools to cast spells which reduce enemy resistance, or inflicts status, also includes Utsusemi which calls forth shadows to absorb hits for you.
  
  
• Samurai - Master of the great katana and the weaponskill.
  
  
• Dragoon - Master of the jump abilities, polearms and also calls forth a Wyvern to fight along side them.
  
  
• Blue Mage - Upcoming job in ToAU. Uses monsters own abilites against them.
  
  
• Corsair - Upcoming job in ToAU. Masters of the hexagun, uses luck abilites.
  
  
• Puppetmaster - Upcoming job in ToAU. Uses a marionette to fight with them.

Each job acquires it's own specific job abilities (JA), which can be used, and then have a waiting period before they can be used again (cooldown). Different abilities are gaind by leveling that job. All jobs start with their respective Special ability (Two hour, 2hr, so named for it's 2 hour cool down).



Subjobs

Upon reaching level 18 you can undertake a quest, at the completion of which, you will be given the ability to equip a subjob.



Subjobs operate as such: They are always 1/2 the level of your current main job (assuming you've leveled your subjob; EX: you have leveled Black Mage to 10, and not white mage. So if you select Black Mage as your main, and White Mage as your sub you would be 10BLM/1WHM. EX2: you have lvl'd BLM to 10 and WHM to 15, and you select BLM as your Main and WHM as your sub, you would be (10BLM/5WHM). You do not actually lose levels for setting a job as your sub, nor does your subjob level along with your main job, they must be leveled independently. Benefits of a subjob: Your subjob boosts your stats and you also gain abilities from your subjob. As a BLM/WHM you gain MND, MP, INT and the WHM job ability Divine Seal (at the proper level).



Auction house system:

The Auction House in FFXI has no relation to a traditional Auction House. When you list an item at the Auction House, you set a minimum price that you're willing to sell your item. When a player goes to bid on an item, they can check the price of the last 10 sales, and base thier bid on that sales history. Bidding involves entering a price you're willing to pay for the item. If your price meets or exceeds a listed minimum price, you win the bid. If there are multipule of the same item listed at the same price, the player who had his item up the longest will sell first.



Abbreviations / Player slang:

BLM - Black Mage

WHM - White Mage

RDM - Red Mage

THF - Theif

WAR - Warrior

MNK - Monk

PLD - Paladin

SAM - Samurai

NIN - Ninja

RNG - Ranger

BST - Beastmaster

BRD - Bard

DRK - Dark Knight

SMN - Summoner

DRG - Dragoon

PUP - Puppetmaster

COR - Corsair

BLU - Blue Mage

POL - PlayOnline

SE - Square-Enix

Gil - Gil is the currency used in FFXI

AH - Auction House

Zone - A specific place or area of FFXI, also used to mean changing zones EX: Zoning

Tele - Teleport

Aggro - Usually used as "I got aggro", or "Do these aggro?". Term for aggressive monster behavior where they attack a player based on certain factors.

BRB - Be Right Back

AFK - Away From Keyboard

BRT - Be Right There

XP/EXP - Experience Points

TNL - To Next Level - Amount of XP needed to acquire the next highest level

WC - Water Closet - Japanese version of bathroom/restroom

LOL - Laugh Out Loud

NM - Notorious Monster

BCNM - Burning Circle Notorious Monster

LFP - Looking For Party

Tank - Job which is designed to hold "hate" and take the hits for the rest of the party

NPC - Non Player Character

GM - Game Master - The law, order, and rule enforcers of the land.

D2 - Dezone II - abbreviation for a BLM spell called warp II which sends a party member to their home point.

HP - Home point - Place where your character will return if you die and do not get a raise

HP - Also known as hit points

MP - Magic Points

TP - Tactical Points - Requried to perform weapons skills, must have at least 100% to perform a weaponskill

SC - Skillchain - Occurs when the correct combination of weapon skills occurs in succession giving an additional damage and elemental effect.

MB - Magic Burst - Occurs when casting the elemental spell which corresponds to the elemental effect of a particular skillchain. Results in additional damage from the spell.

MB - Also an abbreviation for Manaburn which is a style of party which incorporates a large number of Blackmages casting high level magic to quickly kill a monster.

MH - Mog House - Player residence in which you can change jobs, view your safe, and check your delivery box. All HP/MP are regained upon entering one's MH and most negative status effects are cancelled.

ZZZ- usually entered when a player has been put to sleep, player will wake up upon being hit, or having a cure spell cast on them.

OMW - On My Way

MT - Mistype - said the wrong text/reply to the wrong person or LS or party. EX: meaning to say something in /tell and saying it in /party is a MT

K/KK - ok

4tw/ftw - For the win!

DoT - Damage over time - Damage caused over time.

Buff - Magic causing a postitive status effect, such as protect which increased defense

Debuff - Magic causing a negative status effect, such as slow

PvP - Player versus Player - Combat in which players can damage and defeat each other. FFXI has two types of PvP: Ballista and Brenner

W.T.F. - What The ****

Lvl'n - Leveling

Lvl'd - Leveled