Final Fantasy XI Update Released

The Aht Urhgan Story Continues, along with new changes to the FFXI system

October 18, 2006

Square Enix has announced the release of the latest version update to its MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. The update includes the continuation of the Treasures of Aht Urhgan storyline that was added to the game with the latest expansion pack in the spring.

In addition to the new Aht Urhgan missions are changes to the Besieged system, updates to player job abilities and various other updates.

Chocobo Raising

New colours of Chocobos have been added to the game, with the attributes they gain having a great impact on their colour. Chocobos can now be woken up in new ways, and a few changes to care plans have been introduced.

Besieged Changes

This update introduces Level 6 Besieged events, increasing the level cap of the monsters (or mobs) in the area to 160. New enemies and notorious monsters (NM) will appear in these Besieged events.

Temporary items which can assist in Besieged will also be given to participating players. These items will be removed at the end of the event.

Also, the amount of experience points (exp) and imperial standing (IS) that players can earn in Besieged will increase. The level of the monsters in Besieged will affect the amount earned to a more significant degree. Defeating NMs in the Besieged event will also give a bonus to the exp/IS earned by players.

When players lose a Besieged and the Astral Canscendence is removed from Al Zahbi, players will no longer lose experience points if they venture into the Beastmen strongholds to retrieve the treasure.

Assault

Ten new Assault missions have been added. Two new mercenary ranks have been added to the Assault system: Sergeant and Sergeant Major. New items have been added which may be purchased using Imperial Standing credits.

New Monsters

A new race of beastmen, the froglike Poroggo, will now be seen in some Aht Urhgan areas.

Job Adjustments

New Samurai job abilities have been added. See the previous article on Samurai job changes for full details.

The Dark Knight's Absorb-TP will now absorb TP proportional to the mob's actual amount of TP. Spirit Surge will now reset the timers for the Dragoon's job abilities, and Empathy + Spirit Link will transfer Stoneskin to the wyvern.

Summoners are also getting a variety of adjustments: Blood Pact has been divided into two abilities — Blood Pact: Rage and Blood Pact: Ward, allowing you to choose between an aggressive and defensive stance for your avatar. The two abilities share a common recast timer.

These are the most significant adjustments that have been announced for the update, but others are also included.