[Corrderio]

The November major version update, starring the third and final add-on scenario, "A Shantotto Ascension—The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born," is now available for your downloading pleasure! With compelling new Wings of the Goddess quests, more heart-pounding action with the Moblin Maze Mongers, a host of job adjustments, and throngs of game-enhancing tweaks across the board, there is bound to be something for adventurers of all stripes!

Drool over the details here.

[Corrderio]

*This version update contains the game data for the add-on scenario "A Shantotto Ascension—The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born." After downloading the update and purchasing a registration code, the scenario will become playable
* Players must be level 10 or above to participate in the add-on scenario missions.
* After purchasing a registration code, a period of time may be required before the in-game content becomes accessible.
* If the "A Shantotto Ascension" logo remains faded even after purchase, please wait a few minutes and exit to the PlayOnline FINAL FANTASY XI main page. After this, return to the game title screen and examine the logo again.

Event-related
*New quests, based primarily in areas introduced since the Wings of the Goddess expansion, have been added.



*The following changes have been made to Moblin Maze Mongers:

-A new Maze Voucher has been added.
-Maze Voucher 8: Overcome your opponent in a test of angling prowess.
-Several new Maze Runes have been added.
-New rewards have been added.
-The variety of monsters appearing in the Sanitization Team objective has been increased.
-You can now exchange unused Maze Runes for Moblin Marbles by talking to the Lower Jeuno NPC "Chatnachoq."

*The following changes have been made to the Chocobo Circuit:

-The amount of chocobucks awarded to first, second, and third place winners in chocobo racing has been increased.
-New rewards have been added.

-The race schedule has been adjusted.

*NPCs issuing wedding certificates to characters who fulfill certain conditions have been added to the following areas:
Chateau d'Oraguille / Metalworks / Heavens Tower
Furthermore, treasure caskets vending wedding-related goods have been made available adjacent to the abovementioned NPCs.
*These changes will come into effect when the new Wedding Support service is officially launched on November 18.

*In the quest "Inside the Belly," more varieties of fish can now be turned in to the quest-starter NPC.

*Certain gates located in the following area have been adjusted to remain open at all times:

- The Eldieme Necropolis [S]

*The following changes have been made to fellows:

-Adventuring fellows can now be fitted with a wider range of attire when called by a character equipped with certain items.

*The new craft skill "synergy" has been added.
*This skill will be displayed in the craft skills window under status in the main menu, but will not be effective until following the version update scheduled to take place as early as late November.

*The following changes have been made to Campaign:

-NPCs distributing temporary items will no longer appear in beastman strongholds during Campaign Battles.
*Campaign Arbiters, however, will distribute temporary items as before.
-New treasures have been added to those obtainable when participating in a union in the Beaucedine Glacier [S] and Xarcabard [S].

Battle-related
*Several new Notorious Monsters have been added to the following areas:
Carpenters' Landing / Bibiki Bay / Uleguerand Range / Attohwa Chasm / Oldton Movalpolos / Newton Movalpolos / Lufaise Meadows / Misareaux Coast / Wajaom Woodlands / Arrapago Reefs / Mount Zhayolm / Halvung / Mamook / Aydeewa Subterrane / Alzadaal Undersea Ruins / Bhaflau Thickets / Caedarva Mire / East Ronfaure [S] / Jugner Forest [S] / Vunkerl Inlet [S] / Batallia Downs [S] / North Gustaberg [S] / Grauberg [S] / Pashhow Marshlands [S] / Rolanberry Fields [S] / West Sarutabaruta [S] / Fort Karugo-Narugo [S] / Meriphataud Mountains [S] / Sauromugue Champaign [S] / West Ronfaure / East Ronfaure / La Theine Plateau / Valkurm Dunes / Jugner Forest / Batallia Downs / North Gustaberg / South Gustaberg / Konschtat Highlands / Pashhow Marshlands / Rolanberry Fields / Beaucedine Glacier / Xarcabard / Cape Teriggan / Eastern Altepa Desert / West Sarutabaruta / East Sarutabaruta / Tahrongi Canyon / Buburimu Peninsula / Meriphataud Mountains / Sauromugue Champaign / The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah / Ro'Maeve / Yuhtunga Jungle / Yhoator Jungle / Western Altepa Desert / Qufim Island / Beaucedine Glacier [S] / Xarcabard [S] / Fort Ghelsba / Palborough Mines / Giddeus / Castle Oztroja / Upper Delkfutt's Tower / Castle Zvahl Baileys / Garlaige Citadel / Ranguemont Pass / Toraimarai Canal / Crawlers' Nest [S] / Korroloka Tunnel / Eldieme Necropolis [S] / Lower Delkfutt's Tower / King Ranperre's Tomb / Dangruf Wadi / Inner Horutoto Ruins / Ordelle's Caves / Outer Horutoto Ruins / Crawlers' Nest / Maze of Shakhrami / Garlaige Citadel / Fei'Yin



*The distribution of certain monsters has been adjusted in the following area:

- Xarcabard [S]

*The follow adjustments have been made to ranged attacks:

-Detailed damage messages for ranged attacks have been added.
-New damage messages displayed after a successful ranged attack will indicate the effectiveness of the attack in three levels. Critical hit and missed attack messages will remain unchanged.

*Adjustments have been made to the following ranger job abilities:

-Velocity Shot
The duration of this ability has been increased from five minutes to two hours.

-Unlimited Shot
Once activated, this ability will remain in effect until you successfully hit your mark.

-Camouflage
Rangers with this ability in effect will incur less enmity for ranged attacks. Furthermore, there will be a chance that the ability remains in effect even after a ranged attack.

*A new ability has been added to the summoner job class.

-Avatar's Favor (Lv.55 Recast Time: 5 minutes Duration: 2 hours)
Channels the avatar's power towards a beneficial status effect for party members within range. Reduces perpetuation cost while active.

Beneficial effects granted by each avatar:



*The new pet command "Ready" has been added to the beastmaster job class.

-When in control of a pet called forth via the "Call Beast" ability, the pet command "Sic" will be replaced with "Ready." By fulfilling the following conditions, "Ready" will allow you to select a specific ability for the pet to use from its arsenal.

- The pet's TP is at 100% or more.
[list]- Sufficient charges have accumulated for the ability you wish to use.

-Regarding charges
Regardless of the beastmaster's level, called pets will spawn with a full three charges available. Upon using this initial allocation of charges, one charge will accumulate for each minute the pet is present.

*Adjustments have been made to the following scholar job ability:

-Modus Veritas
After a helix spell is cast on a target, a predetermined period of time must elapse before Modus Veritas can be used effectively. Furthermore, certain Notorious Monsters will now demonstrate resistance to the effects of Modus Veritas.

Item-related
*Several new pieces of equipment have been added.

*Several new synthesis recipes have been added.

*Several new furnishings have been added.

*The add-on trilogy bonus gift item can now be obtained via the treasure coffer located within the Tenshodo Headquarters in Lower Jeuno.
All characters under a single player account registered for all three add-ons will be eligible for this gift.
*Should the item be discarded, players may have a replacement reissued by examining the same treasure coffer. However, doing so will cause the enchantment's recast counter to be reset to the highest value.



Detailed information regarding this item is available here.

*The following items may now be handled by special event storage NPCs:
Pepo Lantern / Cushaw Lantern / Calabazilla Lantern / Otokogusa Yukata / Onnagusa Yukata / Otokoeshi Yukata / Ominaeshi Yukata

System-related
*New terms have been added to the auto-translate dictionary.



*A new chat filter has been added that blocks tell/shout messages containing words which are deemed to be offensive or inappropriate.
*The default setting for this chat filter is OFF.
*The list of words deemed inappropriate will be expanded as required.



*After placing a GM call via the Help Desk button in the main menu, the subsequent system message will no longer indicate your current place in the queue.

English Version Only
*The name of the following equipment item has been adjusted for consistency:
Dobson Bandanna => Dobson Bandana

*The name of the following unusable item has been adjusted to alleviate confusion:
Orc Helm => Orc Helmet

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The Evolith and Synergy systems are scheduled to be introduced in a version update after mid-November.

*The following job-related adjustment previously announced via Topics has been canceled:

-Reduction in enmity generation for ranged attacks.

[WolfwoodOfTrigunMax]

Corrderio, on 09 November 2009 - 11:04 AM, said:

*Several new Notorious Monsters have been added to the following areas:
Carpenters' Landing / Bibiki Bay / Uleguerand Range / Attohwa Chasm / Oldton Movalpolos / Newton Movalpolos / Lufaise Meadows / Misareaux Coast / Wajaom Woodlands / Arrapago Reefs / Mount Zhayolm / Halvung / Mamook / Aydeewa Subterrane / Alzadaal Undersea Ruins / Bhaflau Thickets / Caedarva Mire / East Ronfaure [S] / Jugner Forest [S] / Vunkerl Inlet [S] / Batallia Downs [S] / North Gustaberg [S] / Grauberg [S] / Pashhow Marshlands [S] / Rolanberry Fields [S] / West Sarutabaruta [S] / Fort Karugo-Narugo [S] / Meriphataud Mountains [S] / Sauromugue Champaign [S] / West Ronfaure / East Ronfaure / La Theine Plateau / Valkurm Dunes / Jugner Forest / Batallia Downs / North Gustaberg / South Gustaberg / Konschtat Highlands / Pashhow Marshlands / Rolanberry Fields / Beaucedine Glacier / Xarcabard / Cape Teriggan / Eastern Altepa Desert / West Sarutabaruta / East Sarutabaruta / Tahrongi Canyon / Buburimu Peninsula / Meriphataud Mountains / Sauromugue Champaign / The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah / Ro'Maeve / Yuhtunga Jungle / Yhoator Jungle / Western Altepa Desert / Qufim Island / Beaucedine Glacier [S] / Xarcabard [S] / Fort Ghelsba / Palborough Mines / Giddeus / Castle Oztroja / Upper Delkfutt's Tower / Castle Zvahl Baileys / Garlaige Citadel / Ranguemont Pass / Toraimarai Canal / Crawlers' Nest [S] / Korroloka Tunnel / Eldieme Necropolis [S] / Lower Delkfutt's Tower / King Ranperre's Tomb / Dangruf Wadi / Inner Horutoto Ruins / Ordelle's Caves / Outer Horutoto Ruins / Crawlers' Nest / Maze of Shakhrami / Garlaige Citadel / Fei'Yin

Wut

[Kleiner]

i dont like this "three part" update.

Also, what's with canceling the enmity reduction to R.As?

And one last thing, wtf at synergy having a CRAFT SKILL level? If i have to grind synergy, i just won't even bother.

[Corrderio]

WolfwoodOfTrigunMax, on 09 November 2009 - 11:09 AM, said:

Wut

Mobs for the syngery items I bet.

[Terrous]

WolfwoodOfTrigunMax, on 09 November 2009 - 11:09 AM, said:

Wut

Might be the new NM system that drops the Evolith.

[.Sotek.]

If it's a system that spans that many zones then I really can't stop laughing at the people that don't want anything to do with it because getting something crafted is such a huge issue for them to overcome.

[Phlow]

Did anyone ever really get Modus Veritas to work reliably and use it as a means to take down AV regularly? I know it was supposed to take an extreme amount of co-ordination to land 9+ on a mob just before the tick.

[Terrous]

.Sotek., on 09 November 2009 - 11:22 AM, said:

If it's a system that spans that many zones then I really can't stop laughing at the people that don't want anything to do with it because getting something crafted is such a huge issue for them to overcome.

I don't think you are going to be able to just pay a crafter to attach the evolith.
Both the player and the crafter/crafters are going to need a certain level of Synergy skill.

I would guess that you aren't going to be able to skill up synergy very well unless you have a high level craft either.

It may not have to be a 100 craft, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have one.

My problem with the system and what we can guess at how it works is, if the Evolith is not sell/tradeable, if the Augmented gear is not sell/tradeable. If you need a high level crafter/s, if you then need to level an unprofitable second craft (synergy).

Who exactly is going to be able to use these items?

What percentage of people in the ffxi community are high level crafters? How many of them are going to grind through another skill in order to possibly augment a piece of gear? Then how many of those crafters are going to spend the time to skill Synergy, Knowing that they won't be doing it for a profit but just for their own few items they would want to augment?

I am going to guess it is a very small percentage, so if it is a small percentage, then what was the point of adding the system, adding multiple new NM's, changing all the gear that can possibly be socketed, if it is not meant for the majority of the player base?

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe you won't need a high craft, maybe crafting synergy won't be a pain, maybe you won't need multiple high level crafters to socket an item, maybe you will be able to trade or sell all the evolith you will find when hunting all the new nm's, maybe you will be able to hire crafters to augment for you, and all you have to do is sit there and hope the crafters Synergize it properly.

Maybe this system will be great. But from what i have read and understand of this system now, it's not.

[.Sotek.]

Quote

I don't think you are going to be able to just pay a crafter to attach the evolith.
Both the player and the crafter/crafters are going to need a certain level of Synergy skill.

That's right, I actually need to take part in Limbus to lot on AF items.

etc etc

[Terrous]

.Sotek., on 09 November 2009 - 11:49 AM, said:

That's right, I actually need to take part in Limbus to lot on AF items.

etc etc

So you think a system called "Synergy" is going to let you just sit there and accept your item once the crafters have completed it?

[.Sotek.]

Assuming it goes to lot, yes.

Assuming not, all you need to do is trade the items in and let the crafters take care of the work. So... Yes?

Sure beats assuming you need to level every craft to 100 to even be able to do more than 5 synergy synths. If you had any idea about crafting you'd know you can easily level them to a high enough level without any subcrafts. Original crafts are just a subcraft for synergy and I see no reason why it's be treated any differently.

[Corrderio]

Phlow, on 09 November 2009 - 11:27 AM, said:

Did anyone ever really get Modus Veritas to work reliably and use it as a means to take down AV regularly? I know it was supposed to take an extreme amount of co-ordination to land 9+ on a mob just before the tick.

Nope, AV hasn't been killed by this methood. However this was still fairly broken.

[pathwriter]

You really are irritating, Sotek. Tell me, does it smell nice being lodged several feet up SE's collective rectum?

You make it sound as though the servers are bursting with players right now and that getting anything done is easy. You know how many people in my Friend List are still active? Three. Everyone I know and played with down the years has quit. Doing a /sea all inv 55-70 at 3 PM on a Wednesday will turn up about 12 hits, 8 or more are J only (meaning that it's something like 5 AM over in Japan). During NA primetime, it's not a lot better. Ever try to get people do a climb from floor 46 to 55 in Nyzul Isle? It's pulling teeth because "everyone" has finished Nyzul Isle climbs and, anyhow, there's only about 100 people in Whitegate, half of them AFK. Have you tried to complete Crystalline Prophecy in the last week? It can take two hours of looking for people and, even then, you have to bribe them in spite of the rewards available to them from the mission itself.

The idea of having to a.) grind up a craft skill (the most boring and heart-breaking thing you can possibly do in FFXI) and b.) collect people who have also leveled a brand new craft skill is questionable. How many people do you know with a capped racing Chcoobo, a level 70 Fellow, a full complement of Maze Runes, and a fully leveled Pankration pet? I'm betting not many because these marginal additions get used for about two weeks and then dropped by the majority population. It might be possible that Synergy will work out, but if it really is dependent on having a lot of other people to participate with, it's going to be a serious headache. I can't even get people together to do KS30 for a Senjuinrikio because, as I said, my Friend List is barren, my server is increasingly full of xenophobic Japanese players, and the active server population is in severe decline.

[Terrous]

Only the claim-holding character may deposit ingredients into the furnace. Similarly, at the conclusion of synergy, the resultant product will be obtainable only by that character.

Seems like the item will not go to lot. And seeing as the Evolith and Augmented items are exclusive, that leads me to believe that you will have to be in the crafter circle party and have an active role in it.

The only way I can see it happening the way you hope, is if once the claim-holder removes the item from the furnace it then goes to the treasure pool instead of his inventory.

[.Sotek.]

Quote

You really are irritating, Sotek. Tell me, does it smell nice being lodged several feet up SE's collective rectum?

I do try.

And I'm not even defending SE. They've given no reason for this system to fail. They've improved on Augments. You get to fucking pick, the exact reason everyone hated augments. But because a few synths require more people and a few synths require previous crafting experience this system has apparently become complete shit to you. I really don't understand it. Is it that hard to be anything but a complete whining bitch every time a new system comes around?

Quote

How many people do you know with a capped racing Chcoobo, a level 70 Fellow, a full complement of Maze Runes, and a fully leveled Pankration pet? I'm betting not many because these marginal additions get used for about two weeks and then dropped by the majority population.

Those are really funny examples you bring up.
I must have missed the part where Chocobo breeding and Fellows weren't completely pointless and Pankration wasn't barely justified by Zeni (which I seem to recall you defending when I complained at it way back when).

I'm sure people are going to drop Synergy in a week because it's too much of a problem to get done for putting stats on their gear, though. God, the thought of having to do anything for new gear sure is horrible, why do people play this game again? It was my understanding getting better gear or sitting in Whitegate doing nothing where the only two options, outside quiting and shutting the fuck up.

Quote

I can't even get people together to do KS30 for a Senjuinrikio because, as I said, my Friend List is barren, my server is increasingly full of xenophobic Japanese players, and the active server population is in severe decline.

I've (somewhat) recently got COP and ROTZ finished from the very start, got the majority of my Dynamis wins back and got statics for just about everything I want to do. Heck, leveling is, as usual, not held up by anything but my increasing laziness.
Your server just sucks. Sorry.

[Corrderio]

[Sotose]

pathwriter, on 09 November 2009 - 12:04 PM, said:

You really are irritating, Sotek. Tell me, does it smell nice being lodged several feet up SE's collective rectum?

You make it sound as though the servers are bursting with players right now and that getting anything done is easy. You know how many people in my Friend List are still active? Three. Everyone I know and played with down the years has quit. Doing a /sea all inv 55-70 at 3 PM on a Wednesday will turn up about 12 hits, 8 or more are J only (meaning that it's something like 5 AM over in Japan). During NA primetime, it's not a lot better. Ever try to get people do a climb from floor 46 to 55 in Nyzul Isle? It's pulling teeth because "everyone" has finished Nyzul Isle climbs and, anyhow, there's only about 100 people in Whitegate, half of them AFK. Have you tried to complete Crystalline Prophecy in the last week? It can take two hours of looking for people and, even then, you have to bribe them in spite of the rewards available to them from the mission itself.

The idea of having to a.) grind up a craft skill (the most boring and heart-breaking thing you can possibly do in FFXI) and b.) collect people who have also leveled a brand new craft skill is questionable. How many people do you know with a capped racing Chcoobo, a level 70 Fellow, a full complement of Maze Runes, and a fully leveled Pankration pet? I'm betting not many because these marginal additions get used for about two weeks and then dropped by the majority population. It might be possible that Synergy will work out, but if it really is dependent on having a lot of other people to participate with, it's going to be a serious headache. I can't even get people together to do KS30 for a Senjuinrikio because, as I said, my Friend List is barren, my server is increasingly full of xenophobic Japanese players, and the active server population is in severe decline.

QFT

[shigo]

WolfwoodOfTrigunMax, on 09 November 2009 - 11:09 AM, said:

Wut

yeah, I thought that too at first but remembered about those new systems.
Anyways /welcome new NMs \(*^.^*)/

[Requim]

If it's just crafting to create socket slots in the items it should be easy enough to deal with. That's just as simple as paying a fee to a crafter in a city, which should be plentiful soon enough.

If you actually need the skill to augment the item itself and it is location based...have fun trying to persuade a crafter to run 10 minutes to give you -1 second to your two hour. The economy will settle itself, it's just highly likely this system will be super lame and unused, but who knows, maybe the items won't be nearly as shitty as the screenshots!

Also amusing they suddenly decided to cancel the ranged enmity, so basically you have some inferior attempt to copy a windower plugin and then a JA's duration increase.

And hey, I had my chocobo for like a month before he abandoned me due to neglect! So take that mister two weeks...but otherwise valid.