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Nov 22, 2007 · Now, in the World of Final fatasy XI, the Samurai is the skillchain master. With the ability to open or close almost any skillchain, they are invaluable. Samurai use the Great Katana in FFXI, to unleash swift one-hit powerful blows. inflicting various status ailments towards the end of the game.
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Jul 21, 2023 · A: Buy the game, click here, and select "Add Service Account". Put in your codes, and you should be good. "Select Service" → "FFXI" Under "Active Service Accounts" → "Transfer to regular service" → enter the code provided after you purchase the game. Welcome to the community.
Oct 28, 2003 · Want to Write Your Own Guide? You can write and submit your own guide for this game using either our full-featured online editor or our basic text editor. We also accept maps and charts as well. For Final Fantasy XI on the PC, GameFAQs has 72 guides and walkthroughs.
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- Warm Welcome to New Players!
- Level Zero
- Level 1 - Helpful Tips
- Level 1 - Adventure Awaits!
- Gameplay Mechanics
- Advanced Jobs
- More Helpful Tips
- Level 2 and Beyond - Incomplete
Thank you for coming to check out my guide! I go by Stammer6. I've never been much of an end-game aficionado. Helping new players and experiencing the vast amounts of low- and mid-level content is more my thing. I've been playing off-and-on since the PS2 release in North America but have been active in the community almost the entire time. If you ever care to dig deeper, this entire Wiki is a fantastic resource, and I've added clickable links to many key words and phrases that lead more specialized and detailed pages. Or if you have any other questions not answered by the guide, please feel free to message me!
Our humble home continues to thrive after many years because it stands apart from other games in the genre. As a true sandbox game, decades worth of content open up to you as soon as your adventure begins. Overcoming any one challenge will give you an edge in completing others, as progress is made in many different layers. What this means is this game is uniquely about the journey even more than the destination, as the world is for more than just those at the level 99 cap. Your time is never wasted because everything you do is progress, no matter what your goals are! The game itself offers little guidance because it wants you to choose your own path.
The purpose of this guide is to help you understand your options. Rather than tell you "go here!" and "do this!", my goal is to make it easier for you to digest the overwhelming amount of content offered before you so you may make informed decisions. This way you can still play how you want and get the full Final Fantasy XI experience!
My biggest tip for new players is to never be afraid to ask questions. Final Fantasy XI's community tends to be very welcoming and understanding. Veteran players all know how overwhelming the game can be, as it was designed from top to bottom with teamwork in mind.
There are a few things that happen before your first steps in the world of Vana'diel. After signing up and downloading the game, one thing you might want to do right away is open up FFXI Config and adjust the settings. I strongly recommend Windowed or Borderless Window, as Fullscreen will crash if the game ever shifts into the background (such as by Alt-Tabbing).
Following that, you'll be treated to the game's introductory cinematic. You can turn this off in the config application so it won't play each time you log in. It sets the stage by showing one of the more infamous battles of the war which precedes the narrative of the game by 20 years. The bittersweet victory over the Shadow Lord and rebuilding of society forms the very foundation of the story.
After all that, you've finally created your character! Now you'll be treated to a brief cutscene introducing you to your new home. You'll talk to a couple of colorful characters from your upcoming story missions, and one of them will give you an Adventurer Coupon. Delivering the coupon as suggested will reward you with 50 gil, which you'll quickly realize isn't very much. The game doesn't guide you at all from here, but nor is there any real right or wrong direction to take. Before I elaborate on the things available to you, there are some things you should know about...
Controls & SettingsWhile far from the most exciting thing you can do after taking your first steps in Vana'diel, it's good to familiarize yourself with everything. Final Fantasy XI is old by game standards, so the default controls might not be to your liking. Doing a sweep through each of the settings will make your experience a lot smoother. It's important to understand the controls as well. Much of the game is controlled by menus. Why, the simple act of learning your first spell (if you started as White, Black, or Red Mage) or even trading that Adventurer Coupon are all done in menus. It takes some getting used-to, but it becomes second nature in no time!
WayfindingThe game is broken up into what we call "zones". Every zone has its own map which you may access by going to the bottom of the first page of the main menu. The map will show you the zone's name, your whereabouts, and a grid system which you can use to find things, especially if you're using an online resource. City maps will show shops and other useful things such as the Residential Area and connecting zones. Tabbing left and right on the map menu itself will let you create markers and locate party members. You may also use the feature Wide Scan, which shows a small area around you and will locate NPC's (green) and enemies (red) if you already know what you're looking for. Keep your eyes peeled for the floating crystal Home Points. Simply clicking on it will open it up for you as a teleport spot from any other Home Point in the world! You may also choose one as a point to which you'll return if you're knocked unconscious or if you use a Warp spell.
The TutorialEach starting nation has a tutorial NPC (non-player character) to speak to in order to understand bits and pieces of the game. They aren't too long and introduce some good habits for new players. Open up your map and make sure you're in Southern San d'Oria, Bastok Markets, or Windurst Woods. If not, follow your map and make your way to one of those specific zones. Use Wide Scan to help you find the NPC if you need to! Speak with Alaune in Southern San d'Oria (G-10), Gulldago in Bastok Markets (D-11), or Selele in Windurst Woods (K-10) to get started. I won't get into specifics, but if you get lost, the tutorial quest guide may be found here.
Records of EminenceFound under the Quest menu, Records of Eminence (RoE) is a supplementary reward system. This is another thing I highly recommend becoming familiar with. You simply set objectives and then accomplish them with rewards such as bonus experience points and a unique currency called Sparks. Sparks may be spent in lieu of money to buy all sorts of equipment and other cool stuff from level 1 all the way up to level 99. The objectives may be changed at any time, so you can tailor them to anything you're currently doing. One particularly interesting part of RoE are the Tutorial quests, which teaches you some good habits and even rewards you with some Trust Magic to make leveling up easier!
•Pro-tip: On the third page of "Equipment (Lv.71-98)" is a gun named Ribauldequin, which sells to shopkeepers for a ton of gil! You can use this strategy to buy things that you can't buy with Sparks, such as spell scrolls or items from the Auction House.
Fighting Monsters
Slaying baddies is the most reliable way to earn experience points. It's also a key component to earning money, as you may sell items found on these enemies or use them as components for crafting. Leveling up is the most quantifiable way of strengthening your character. Being higher level makes it easier for you to complete quests and missions, and makes accessible even more content. Certain things such as unlocking the advanced jobs are even gated behind certain levels. If you follow your map to a zone with a red label, such as Gustaberg, Ronfaure, or Sarutabaruta, you can fight enemies. Soloing at these low levels is fairly easy for any job. To play it safe, always /check your enemies before fighting. At these levels you can probably handle enemies that look like Easy Prey, Decent Challenge, or Even Match. If you have a party of other players and/or trusts, you should be able to fight enemies that check Tough or Very Tough, but definitely avoid Incredibly Tough. I recommend swapping out your starting equipment when you can. This can be easily done by spending Sparks (see Records of Eminence above). Remember that mages don't learn magic naturally and you'll need to run into town to buy the scrolls to learn magic. And don't forget to talk to one of the guards before you head outside and ask for them to bestow Signet upon you for all the benefits it provides. Be on the lookout for the floating books known as Field Manuals. There's usually one per zone, and they'll allow you to take on objectives that add even more rewards when you slay groups of enemies. They also reward Tabs, which may be spent to teleport or receive buffs from the books themselves. Be sure to combine this with setting the appropriate Records of Eminence objectives. Lastly, try to obtain an experience band. This may include the Echad Ring, Chariot Band, Emperor Band, and Empress Band. Equip the ring, then scroll down your item list and activate it for a big boost to your experience points. Combining that with RoE and Field Manual objectives, you'll be earning experience points out the wazoo!
Crafting
Crafting is one of the most reliable means of earning money, especially if you can use components you find while adventuring. If you join a guild that makes things that you can use, it will also mean you can save money when buying stuff later on. As effective as Sparks are at acquiring equipment, you can't buy high-quality items that way. And with the community's population growing more top-heavy, finding good stuff on the Auction House is becoming more and more rare. If you already know you're going to play a job like Paladin, consider joining the Blacksmiths' Guild for example. Guilds also feed into one another, allowing you access to more recipes if you've leveled several. And some guilds like the Culinary Guild are super useful for literally every job! Follow the tutorial or find your way through the Records of Eminence quests to properly get started with a guild. Guilds are there to support crafters by offering recipe ideas, guidance (giving bonuses to help succeed), and selling components for their craft. Like combat and magic skills, each craft has a skill associated with it that levels up by working at it. At certain levels, guild leaders will test your skill and increase your rank. Later on, you can even buy items to make you even better at the craft.
Quests
Perhaps one of the most glaring differences between Final Fantasy XI and other games in the genre are how quests are handled. Rather than being an adventurer's main source of each wealth, experience points, and equipment, quests are just another optional means to strengthen you and further your journey. Quests are less plentiful, but individually more significant than you may be used to. Some quests may only reward small amounts of gil, while others can reward you with items to make dungeons more accessible, magical maps, or extremely rare and valuable items. Some quests even result in interesting offshoot storylines themselves, often ending with really outstanding rewards! The one consistent reward between quests is reputation. Citizens of each region each have their own perspective of you, which starts off (as you'd expect) with them having no idea who you are. But as you help the folks around that nation, they begin to talk about you. Before long, you become a household name, and even a hero to the people! Reputation (aka: "fame") is built up as you do quests, and has a number of effects. Townsfolk will acknowledge you more, be more willing to offer you more sensitive and rewarding quests, and will even adjust prices (both buying and selling) in your favor!
Tactical Points (TP)
Tactical Points are a resource acquired during combat by anyone inflicting or receiving damage. Any player character, non-player character, and monster may accumulate up to 3000 points at any time. The most common way to use this resource is to unleash a tactical skill. For adventurers such as yourself, this usually takes the form of a Weapon Skill, which may be executed as long as your weapon is drawn and you've accumulated at least 1000 TP. Performing the attack will consume all of your TP, with its effects growing with how much you've acquired. Weapon Skills are learned automatically by raising your proficiency with that weapon. Monsters gain tactical skills of their own, and may use them just like Weapon Skills. Normally, they'll save their TP and use their abilities strategically. But when their hit points drop below around 25%, they'll usually use their moves as often as they can (whenever they reach 1000 TP). Foes also gain TP a lot faster than the adventurers they face thanks to a bonus which grants them significantly increased TP when struck. This bonus relies heavily on the Agility score of the adventurer, and can be further lowered by the Subtle Blow trait. TP are accumulated by both the attacker and defender any time an attack hits for more than 0 damage. This includes damage from spells, but only for the defender (the caster receives none). Spells without a direct damage component won't feed TP, including spells like Slow and Paralyze. Spells such as Rasp and Poison will not either, as they only afflict the target with a status ailment (even if that status ailment is damage over time). Note that changing weapons (Main, Sub, and Ranged) will reset your TP to 0, as will logging out or entering a different area. Resting will also drain your TP over time. This penalty is removed as long as you're under the effects of Signet (and in an region subject to Conquest).
Skillchains & Magic Bursts
If an adventurer unleashes a Weapon Skill on a foe in short succession after a teammate, this may initiate what's called a Skillchain. Skillchains erupt in additional elemental damage based on the order and compatibility of the skills used. The two skills must be compatible with one another, and the second must be used approximately 2-3 seconds after the first. As the name implies, you can actually continue adding links into the chain with subsequent compatible Weapon Skills. As the Skillchain grows, so does the damage! Note that the target's elemental weaknesses and resistances apply to the element of the Skillchain. Spellcasters can get in on the action as well. If they strike the enemy with a spell associated with the element of the Skillchain within a short window after it erupts, the spell will Magic Burst, increasing its accuracy and effect. This even includes enfeebling spells. Communication is key for making these coordinated efforts. Find out what skills each of your allies have and try to combine in the best way possible, especially if you know what elements your prey are weak to. Try to keep everyone informed of your TP (since allies can't see it) and bring home the pain! If your job is capable, you may even want to eventually carry multiple different weapons in your inventory to make yourself even more flexible to the needs of your parties. No one will blame you if you only have one weapon as a damage-dealer, but it can really help you to stand out around the mid and late levels!
More on Enmity
To summarize the earlier section, enmity governs a foe's aggression based on how much each combatant has done. That's the 'what', but the 'how' is also very important. Understanding how enmity works gives you control over how your foe thinks, and allows you to orchestrate the fight. Enmity is split into two categories. Both are increased differently, and both have their own separate cap, but the total of the two is what drives the enemy's behavior. •Damage-volatile enmity (unofficially Cumulative Enmity, or CE) builds up slowly over the course of a fight. Every action builds a little bit of CE, especially through damaging attacks, skills, and spells. The only way this enmity is lost is when the foe damages you back. Losing a greater percentage of your HP will shed more CE. •Time-volatile enmity (unofficially Volatile Enmity, or VE) is a lot more spiky. Most VE jumps up in great amounts by means of skills like Provoke or a big, clutch Cure spell. It quickly decays over time and is otherwise completely unaffected.
Reaching level 30 is a huge achievement, as it allows you access to the quests which unlock Advanced Jobs. There are no job or race requirements to access any of these jobs. And as stated before, these jobs are in no way better or worse than the six jobs available since the start. You may take any and all jobs to level 99, and they are all perfectly viable at all stages of the game.
, not all jobs are made equal. Some will have an easier time soloing certain content, some will have an easier time finding parties, some will outshine others in certain events. I strongly recommend checking each one out to some extent and finding what suits your play-style the best. Most jobs function well as subjobs as well, so even just taking each one up to Lv.49 or Lv.60 should help you find your favorites. Note that each job begins at level 1.
Communication
Final Fantasy XI is a game heavily based around communication. The slower pace and automatic attacks often allows party members to communicate via in-game text chat, and many elements such as Skillchains and Magic Bursts rely on players discussing strategy with one another. In lieu of "Guilds" or "Companies", Vana'diel uses special pearls worn as earrings that magically communicate through the shell from which they originate. We call these Linkshells, and are our main method of communicating with our larger squads of friends. Because you may hold the pearls from many different Linkshells, many cater to specialized events. New players in particular may find use in speaking to a Linkshell Concierge, as they will match you with a recruiting Linkshell! Like other games in the genre, it offers many different channels for chat. Most players will default their chat to either Party or Linkshell depending on the situation, only using other channels if the need arises. Pressing forward slash (/) will always start typing, regardless of your keyboard settings. The chat you use may be set as a default in menus or prefixed with the following: •/say (/s, Ctrl+S) - To nearby players only, regardless of their relationship with you. /say doesn't get used often. •/tell (/t, Ctrl+T) - Directly to a specific player. This will only work if the next word is the name of a player, for example "/tell Bahamut How's it going?" •Ctrl+R instead will allow you to instantly fill in your text with the last person who sent you a direct /tell. If you're communicating with many people at once, you may use this command multiple times to cycle through the names of multiple adventurers. •/party (/p, Ctrl+P) - To your party, if you're a part of one. •/linkshell (/l, Ctrl+L) - To your linkshell, if you have one equipped. If you have two equipped, you may differentiate with /linkshell1 (/l1) and /linkshell2 (/l2) •/shout (/sh) - To everyone in the same zone as you, like a wider-range /say. Use sparingly. •/yell (/y) - To everyone on the server. It's automatically limited to how frequently you may use this, and many players choose to filter it out. •/echo - To just yourself. •/emote (/em) - To everyone nearby, beginning with your name, and appearing as an emote. For example, "/em hugs the Moogle." would appear as "Bahamut hugs the Moogle."
Syntax and Macros
In addition to text chat being a fundamental part of the game, text may be used as a means to perform nearly any action as well. By following specific syntax, you may execute job abilities, weapon skills, and spells, or do other things like open menus, equip items, and follow your friends. There are lots of small tricks you can add to your text that can really make your life easier. Using open-angle brackets (<>) you can quickly draw information from the game, either for your own use or for communicating in a party. For some examples: • - Your position on the map, using coordinates. • - Your job and subjob, which will read as something like "WAR30/MNK15". You may also use and to isolate main and subjob, respectively. • - Your current hit points ( will show it as a percentage) • - Your current magic points ( will show it as a percentage); extremely important for spell-casters • - Your current tactical points; extremely useful when coordinating Skillchains Those same open-angle brackets may be used to call upon specific targets. For example: • - The target of your cursor • - The battle target of your party; this targets the most recent enemy affected by any party member • - You • - Your pet, if you have one • - Selected target player character; allowing you to browse over the battlefield to target an ally • - Selected target non-player character; allowing you to browse to target an enemy • - This jumps your cursor to the party list and lets you pick your target from that list ( will do the same for an alliance if you have one) Much like picking a channel in chat, you may execute an action by prefixing your text with a forward slash. Some examples: •/ja - Job Ability •/ma - Magic •/ws - Weapon Skill •/range - Executes a ranged attack •/equip - Equips an item to the designated slot •/equipset # - Equips an item set; you can make your own item sets in a submenu within the Macro menu (eg: /equipset 2) All of this combines to allow you to type in your actions. From here, all you need to know is that the name of the action must be in quotation marks. For example: •/ja "Provoke" (This will immediately use the Warrior's job ability Provoke on your cursor target) •/ma "Cure II" (This will bring your cursor to your party list, and then begin casting Cure II on the target you select) •/equip Head "Bronze Cap" (This will equip a Bronze Cap to your head if you have one in your inventory) Macros are programmable buttons you may quickly access by using Ctrl+(1~0) and Alt+(1~0), or if you're using a controller LT and RT or L2 and R2. These become absolutely critical as you level up, as you can combine multiple lines into one button. Anything that you can type, you can add it to a macro. This is where the syntax really comes into play. Even if a macro only has one line, it can really let you bypass an overwhelming list of abilities or spells. And in really big fights between lots of enemies and lots of allies, using targeting can save precious seconds. Furthermore, macros can let you combine communication with actions. Every macro may be given a name and up to 6 lines to code. Don't forget auto-translator in case your team doesn't speak English. As an example: •Title: Protectra •Line 1: /p {Gather together} {Protectra} MP = ( ) •Line 2: /ma "Protectra" •This macro tells your party to gather within range of the Protectra spell, and also communicates your remaining MP, all while beginning to cast the spell For another example: •Title: Ranged •Line 1: /equip Ammo "Acid Bolt" •Line 2: /range •This macro automatically ensures your ammunition is equipped, even if you just depleted a stack of Acid Bolts, and lets you pick an enemy to attack An extremely critical addition to macros is "wait", which may be input as its own line as "/wait #" or following a previous line in brackets as " ". Wait adds a timed delay to the macro, where # is a number in decimal seconds (eg: /wait 1.5). For example: •Title: SC •Line 1: /p {Ready to start skillchain!} TP = •Line 2: /wait 1.5 •Line 3: /ja "Warcry" •Line 4: /wait 1 •Line 5: /ws "Fast Blade" •This lets the party know your intention, prepares everyone with bonus damage from Warrior's Warcry ability (if it's available; if not, it'll skip the line), and then executes the Fast Blade sword weapon skill.
As you grow in levels, the obstacles become more difficult, yet the journey becomes easier. Unique to Final Fantasy XI is that leveling subsequent jobs and repeating progress becomes easier as you go, because everything you do gradually accumulates. Hopefully you've taken the advice above, and are utilizing all of the tools at your disposal such as...
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Oct 20, 2022 · Missions are tasks that a player performs to advance in the main story lines of Final Fantasy XI. Rewards for missions vary. Missions for the three starting cities can reward the player with higher ranks, Gil, national flags, and the ability to purchase new items with Conquest Points. Missions from the expansion areas allow players to unlock ...
Nov 4, 2019 · Take advantage of the Save Station. Clear out the Gorgonopsids, then go to the large outcropping near the Save Station. Defeat the Triffids near the wall, then open the sphere here for nine Diabolic Tails. Head for the map marker (assuming you're doing this at the beginning of Chapter 11) for a scene.
Release Date, Trailers, News, Reviews, Guides, Gameplay and more for Final Fantasy XI
