June 29, 2004 Update Notes (FFXI)  

Event-Related

• Ballista matches now follow the schedule listed below. Accordingly, PlayOnline news will only provide information on special rules and settings.

The following changes have been made to the Ballista system:

• The Ballista schedule has been modified.

• All dates are from the Vana'dielian calendar.

• Entry fees have been reduced.

In the event of a cancelled match, the Herald will distribute the following conciliation prizes -key items to all participants:

Ballista Instaport

• Show this ticket to any Ballista event staff to receive a free teleport to the area where the next match is taking place.

Ballista Instawarp

• Show this ticket to a Herald to receive a free warp back to your home point.
• In addition, adventurers who were unable to participate in a match due to an influx of participants will also be able to receive these items after the entry period has ended.
• note that the items must be received before leaving the area.
• These two key items cannot be used during the entry period or during an actual match, and players can only possess one of each.

• Pursuivants have been newly dispatched to all four nations to assist adventurers with their participation in Ballista. Speak with these NPCs to check the schedule (in Earth and Vana'diel time) and rules for upcoming matches.
• In addition, these Pursuivants can teleport adventurers who possess a Ballista Instaport to the area where the next match is being held. This service can be utilized from 24 Vana'diel hours prior to the end of the entry period.

When entering the four nations, a message announcing the details of the next Ballista match will be displayed under the following conditions:

• This message is displayed only once per day (Vana'diel time).
• There are less than 24 hours until the next match
• The adventurer possesses a Ballista Earring (key item)
• When entries to one nation's forces have been halted due to an influx of participants, adventurers from a third nation may now join the side with the smallest number of participants. This is known as a "guest entry."
• The minimum number of participants in a match has been reduced to 3 per nation.
• Also, the maximum allowable difference in participants is 1.
• There are now more items that can be dug up using the "/quarry" command.
• The allegiance of the match's high scorer will now be displayed along with his/her name.
• Player movement is now restricted during the opening ceremony. Participants will be unable to cast magic spells or use abilities during this time. In addition, all monsters will become inactive.
• The first entrant for each nation will automatically become the representative of his/her respective force. The representative will be required to take the oath of fair play.
• At the end of each match, a player's HP and MP will be restored to the maximum amount allowed by the level restriction.
• Players will be able to use the Wide Scan ability from their map screen regardless of their job. Participants can use this feature to locate their allies.
• Using the "Check" command on Ballista participants now gives information on how many Petras the targeted adventurer possesses, as well as whether or not he/she has achieved Gate Breech status. *Two new text commands, "gatebreach" and "petra" have been added. Typing these or using them in macros will display one's current Gate Breach status and number of Petras in possession, respectively.
• The command "/targetopp" can be used to target only members of the opposing forces.
• The following is a list of special rules that may be implemented in various matches. Players can learn of each match's special rules by speaking with Ballista staff (Heralds and Pursuivants) or by checking PlayOnline news.

Open Entry

• All adventurers from all nations can freely join the side with the smallest number of participants.

Time-Restricted Gate Breach

• The amount of time a player is allowed Gate Breach status is limited, based on the current score of the match. Also, the number of Petras that can be scored at a time is reduced from 10 to 5.
• For the currently leading nation, the duration of Gate Breach status is reduced to 1.5 Vana'diel hours (approximately 3.5 minutes, Earth time).
• For the currently losing nation, the duration of Gate Breach status is increased to 3 Vana'diel hours (approximately 7 minutes, Earth time).

Best of Three

• Three 7-hour (Vana'diel time) matches are played, each with a 90-minute interval between them. *Winning a match earns the victors one match point. The nation with the most points at the end of the series is declared the champion.
• However, winning the third and final match and producing the high scorer will result in two match points awarded. This allows both sides the chance for a come-from-behind victory or a tie.

Item Restrictions

• Participants may not use any items they have brought with them to the battlefield. Only items dug up with the "/quarry" command can be used.

Character Display

• During the match, adventurers not participating in Ballista will become invisible to all participants.

The entry process has changed as follows:

• All times listed below are in Vana'diel time.

• 12:00- Entry period begins for those who did not participate in the previous match
• (available to only those adventures who are from the two nations scheduled to battle).

• 16:00- Guest entry begins
• Adventurers from the two nations scheduled to battle will be placed in their respective forces. *During this time, all other adventurers will have the opportunity to join the side with the smallest number of participants (available only when the difference in number of participants has grown too large).

• 18:00- Open entry begins
• Adventurers can join the nation with the fewest number of participants (regardless of allegiance).
• Available only when the special rule "Open Entry" is in effect.
• 22:00 Entry period ends

• In addition to the above changes, several other minor adjustments have been made to the Ballista system.

• High-quality versions of requested items may now be traded for guild points. Also, the point limits for certain items have been adjusted.

• A quest to obtain the new "mannequin" furnishing has been implemented.

• An event cutscene has been added after the final Dynamis Xarcabard battle.

Battle Related

• The number of regions where garrison (outpost) battles can be fought has been increased.
• The level restrictions for these battles vary with the location of the outpost, and each outpost requires a different item to trigger the events.

• Several new orb battles have been added.

• In compliance with the addition of these new orb battles, a battle select option has been implemented. Before entering a battlefield, a query will appear asking which battle the player wishes to enter.
• Example: When trading a moon orb to the burning circle in the Qu'Bia Arena, the following message will appear:

• Information on all new and existing orb battles is listed in the chart below.
• Battles listed in red were implemented in the June 2004 patch.
• The moon orb battle formerly fought in the Cloister of Tides has been moved to the Sacrificial Chamber.
• The rewards received for defeating the notorious monsters in certain existing orb battles have been adjusted.

• All status effects will be removed after entering orb battles with level restrictions.

The locations and levels of certain monsters in the following areas have been adjusted:

• The Shrine of Ru'Avitau
• King Ranperre's Tomb

• The job ability "Sneak Attack" can now deal critical damage to an enemy from any direction when used in conjunction with the job ability "Hide."
• Thieves can now equip certain crossbows and bolts.

• The types of weather that hinder a monster's ability to track by scent have been adjusted.

• The amount of time required for a monster's name to return to yellow from red has been increased.
• If, for example, players mistakenly disengage a monster, it will now take longer for the monster to be targetable by other players/parties.
• However, this increase in time does not apply to instances where players and their pets are fighting two monsters simultaneously.

• Players can now receive “merit points” for experience earned after reaching level 75. These special points can be used to raise various attributes.

How to accumulate merit points

• Any experience earned after reaching the EXP limit at level 75 is automatically converted into merit points. Also, if players wish to accumulate merit points before reaching the EXP limit, they may do so by speaking to the Nomad Moogle floating near Maat in the Ru'Lude Gardens. By doing this, every time a certain amount of EXP has been earned it will be exchanged for merit points, and not added to the EXP total in the usual fashion.
• After agreeing to participate in the Nomad Moogle's experiment, players with multiple jobs at level 75 will automatically accumulate merit points while performing any of these occupations.
• After speaking to the Nomad Moogle, if a level 75 player is KO'd, the experience that was previously earned will be lost and cannot be regained (all further experience earned will be converted into merit points). However, if the KO results in the player leveling down to 74, he/she will be able to accumulate EXP until he/she has reached level 75 again.
• In the event that a player decides to cancel participation in the Nomad Moogle's experiment, the merit points that he or she has earned will still be saved. These points can be restored if the player speaks with the Moogle once again.
• Experience earned by using special items (e.g. a page from the Dragon Chronicles) cannot be converted into merit points and will simply be added to the player's EXP total.

How to check one's current merit point total

• The Nomad Moogle in the Ru’Lude Gardens can inform players of how many merit points they have accumulated. Note that it is not possible to ascertain how much EXP remains to be earned before accumulating the next merit point.
• The maximum number of merit points that can be saved is 10. Any experience earned after accumulating 10 merit points will not be converted.

How to use merit points

• The attributes that can be raised using merit points are listed below. However, there is a limit to how far any one attribute can be raised.
• The number of merit points required to raise an attribute varies depending on the type of attribute and the level to which it will be raised. The required number of merit points and the effect of raising an attribute can be determined by talking to the Nomad Moogle.
• HP max / MP max / STR / DEX / VIT / AGI / INT / MND / CHR

• Maximum HP and maximum MP can only be raised a total of 5 times. For example, combinations such as max +5/max +0 or max +2/max +3 would be possible, while max +5/max +5 would not. As for the remaining seven attributes, these can only be raised a total of 3 times. It is not possible to raise all attributes to their maximum using this system.
• Also, attributes that have been raised can be lowered again, but the merit points used to raise them will be lost.
• In addition, players can speak with the Nomad Moogle to learn how much they have raised their attributes using merit points.
• New types of bonuses that can be received in exchange for merit points, as well as adjustments in the total number of times a player can use his/her merit points, will be implemented in future version updates.

Effects of raising one's attributes

• Using merit points affects the attributes of all a player's jobs. However, there are limitations to the bonuses one can receive, varying with level. In other words, lower-level jobs will not benefit from an attribute being boosted as much as a higher-level job would.

• The main job of dark stalker-type monsters (shadows, etc.) has been changed to black mage. Now these monsters have the ability to use various "-ga" spells.

In some instances, players separated from their parties would receive experience points despite the fact that the following message was displayed on their screen:

• "You are too far from the battle to gain experience."
• This issue has been addressed.

• An issue preventing the normal accumulation of TP after a player's ammo count reached zero has been addressed.
• An issue preventing monsters in Dynamis from calling pets has been addressed.
• An issue where the strength of certain monsters would be incorrectly displayed when using the "check" command has been addressed.
• An issue where the attack "Sprout Spin" used by monsters of the sapling family was not knocking back opponents has been addressed.
• An issue where magic cast by worm-type monsters was not being displayed in the message window has been addressed.

Item-Related

• Mannequins are now available to display equipment in players' Mog Houses.
• There are eight types of mannequins, one for each race and sex. The mannequin's face cannot be chosen.
• Also, mannequins are not limited to job restrictions. Almost any combination of equipment is possible.

• Many other new items have been implemented.

The stack number for the following items has been changed from 12 to 99:

• The synthesis recipe for the firework "brilliant snow" has been added.

The names of the following items have been changed:

Persikos au lait > Persikos au Lait

Tosukanoturugi > Totsukanotsurugi

Beast Earring > Beastly Earring The graphics of the following equipment have been changed:

• Heavy Moth Axe
• Kazaridachi
• Kazaridachi +1

System-Related

• The subcategory "Ballista" has been added to the Search menu. The subcommand "Ballista" can also be used in conjunction with the text command "/search (/sea)."
• This feature can be used to find adventurers who have signed up for, or are currently participating in, a Ballista match. This will also display color-coded information on what forces they belong to.
• Note: The "anonymous" status of any Ballista participants will be automatically changed to "public."

Windows Version Updates

The following features have been added to the FINAL FANTASY XI Gamepad Configuration Tool:

• New drop-down menu "Toggle movement, menu, and/or camera controls"
• Press the specified button to toggle directional control device operation between movement, camera, and/or menu controls.

• New predefined setup "Alternate Setup C"
• A setting used for gamepads with 1 stick and 4 buttons

• In a previous version update notice, it was reported that a new orb, as well as alliance-type orb battles, would be introduced. However, due to unforeseeable circumstances, these battles will not be implemented until a later date.