[Cactuar]

The FINAL FANTASY XI roadmap for the twelve-month period commencing April 2011 has been released.

Read on for the details.

[Cactuar]

April – September 2011

---

Three version updates are slated for this period.

Generally, major patches will see the release of new content, whereas minor patches will focus on the refinement of existing features. Job adjustments will form part of all version updates, though the scope of changes may vary.

• May Major Version Update
  
  “Voidwatch,” a new battle system designed with high-level adventurers in mind, will be introduced alongside new battlefields in order to reinvigorate existing areas. Rounding off the host of battle-related improvements planned for this patch is a major overhaul of Dynamis, which will include monster redistribution.
  
  Playability-enhancing tweaks are also in the pipes, such as an auction house merger and delivery system improvements.
  
  
  
• June Minor Version Update
  This version update will revolve around fine-tuning content introduced in May
  
  
  
• August Major Version Update
  The level cap will be raised to 95 and accompanied by a broad range of changes; new content and job abilities will be added, and existing ones adjusted. This penultimate stage in the level cap increase will usher in large-scale changes while preserving balance in anticipation of the impending final rise to level 99.
  
  The test server will be launched as the testing and fine-tuning grounds for new content being planned, and can be considered a realm wherein adventurers can experience new features under development. More details regarding the server will be made available in the near future.
  
  
• July – September 2011: Test Server to Go Live
  In conjunction with the test server, subforums dedicated to hosting player feedback will be established in the official forums, the two combining to mark the birth of a new development cycle as outlined below.
  
  • Content under development
    
  • Content announced via the test server and official forums
    
  • Testing
    
  • Player testing and feedback
    
  • Testing by Development and QA teams
    
  • Fine-tuning
    Balancing and debugging based on the findings of step 3; test server updated
    (*Repeat from step 2)
    
  • Version update released

---

October 2011 – March 2012

With the introduction of the test server, we intend to shift from alternating between major and minor patches to more frequent version updates, each of which will host the latest fruit of the new development and testing cycle.

• Version Update Highlights
  
  • Level cap increase to 99
    
  • New adventurer growth elements
    
  • Job adjustments
    
  • In-game systems:
    
    • Voidwatch parts 3 and 4
      
    • The Last Stand (name TBA)
      
    • Dungeon crawling (name TBA)
      
    • New battlefields
      
    • New Grounds of Valor areas
      
    • New treasure casket areas
    
    
  • Monster redistribution
    
  • Fellows adjustments and additions
    
    • Level cap increase (95 and 99)
      
    • New summonable areas
    
    
  • Crafting adjustments and additions
    
    • Synergy: recipes to augment existing gear
      
    • Synthesis: skill cap increase
    
    
  • Playability enhancements

---

Please keep in mind that items featured in the roadmap and their implementation schedule are subject to change. Further details about these and other new content will be released as soon as they become available, so stay tuned to the official channels.

[via FFXI Road Map]

[WolfwoodOfTrigunMax]

[CerGoltana]

Auction House Merger & World Merge = price deflation.

Which would mean it's probably best to sell your high priced shit before this update, and buy it back afterwards. Just a general point of the potential of a fluctuating economy.

This post has been edited by CerGoltana: 08 April 2011 - 07:59 AM

[Corrderio]

Now i want to come back again. I've been trying to keep a positive outlook on XIV but Yoshida has been silent on things to expect for a pretty long time.

[wigglestyx]

Looks like Dangruf Wadi. Guess we'll now have a reason to go there and probably other zones no one has visited in years.


Bunny ear helm looks dumb, heres to hopping its doesn't have crazy stats and other armor looks 100x better.
...and are we getting glowing weapons!?

[CerGoltana]

Dangruf Wadi, Horutoto Ruins, KRT, and a host of other zones still in FFXI actually could be removed from the game for a few days and I'm sure nobody would notice or miss them, so this is a good way to rejuvenate those zones. But adding monsters to those ghosttown zones should bring a little bit of flavor back to them, if only temporarily. Maybe add some cool battle music to go along with it.

[.Sotek.]

"Dynamis revamp part II", guess they didn't forget about CoP Dynamis.

Nice of them to bring us back to old zones, but aren't they forgetting the other zones? ToAU would be nice to visit again and WotG could do with a purpose other than "The VNM in the present are already dead". Is it too much to ask to have multiple events again? I don't want to promote bullshit like old HNMs, but I really do miss being in Dynamis one day and then Sea the next, day after day in Dangruf Wadi does not sound enjoyable, though at least it lacks a red hue to give me a head ache.

[Xani]

Well, shit. Maybe Dynamis won't be like Ballista anymore.
LOL. ._.

[CerGoltana]

Xani, on 11 April 2011 - 06:25 AM, said:

Well, shit. Maybe Dynamis won't be like Ballista anymore.
LOL. ._.

They should totally revamp Ballista.

[WolfwoodOfTrigunMax]

^

[Xani]

Agreed. Ballista was something I'd looked forward to since I started my first character. By the time I got to a level that could actually inflict damage rather than receive it, Ballista was already dead.

[CerGoltana]

Lakshmi still ballistas....

But yeah, I doubt it would be too difficult to implement a rewards system in Ballista with gear stats that function out of the games, but enhance performance in the actual matches (like how WotG gear enhances stats and Campaign as a secondary). Make Ballista Points stackable to 100k instead of 2000, that way people could buy useful items and would be more encouraged to play.

Wait, this is falling on deaf ears...