Garrison
Garrison is a defensive, cooperative type of Gameplay in FFXI. In Garrison, you and your party (or alliance) are tasked with defending a number of non-playable characters (NPCs) called recruits from four waves of Beastman (such as Goblins, Yagudo, Quadav or Orc) attacks.
Garrisons begin when a specific item is traded to the guard at the outpost. You must be of the same nation as the guard in order to trade the item. Once the item is traded, everyone in the party or alliance will receive the level cap, the recruits will appear, and then the first wave of Beastmen will appear.
Garrison Levels
Each Garrsion has a level cap, depending on from what Outpost you begin your Garrison. See the following sections for details on each (including locations and the items needed to participate.)
Parties and Beastmen
Garrisons can be fought with one party, or with an alliance of two or three parties. The number of Recruits you need to defend, and the number of Beastmen that will attack depends on the number of parties that are participating.
There are four waves of Beastmen in each Garrison run, and in the last wave, one of the Beastmen is an NM. The following chart illustrates the number of beastmen that will appear depending on the size of your party:
| Alliance Size | First Wave | Second Wave | Third Wave | Fourth Wave |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Party | 2 Beastmen | 4 Beastmen | 6 Beastmen | 7 Beastmen |
| 2 Parties | 4 Beastmen | 6 Beastmen | 8 Beastmen | 9 Beastmen |
| 3 Parties | 6 Beastmen | 8 Beastmen | 10 Beastmen | 11 Beastmen |
Garrison Strategy
Once all Beastmen from a wave (or group) of attackers are killed, the next one will appear a few minutes later. Killing off all the Beastmen quickly will mean little downtime for your group, so a common tactic is to have one player kite a single beastman around the area. This means that one player, usually a Ninja with Utsusemi: Ichi, will have one beastman follow him/her around away from the rest of the Garrison. This tactic gives the mages an opportunity to regain their MP and to cure any party members or NPC recruits that need HP.
Garrison Deaths
If you die during a Garrison fight, you can no longer participate. Once you are raised or re-spawn, you will be unable to influence the Garrison with cures, or by fighting against the Garrison Beastmen.
Of course, when you die in Garrison you only lose the amount of experience points that you would normally lose at the level of the cap.