Mystery of the three Strange Apparatus

[ForeverZero]

Recently, I have been wondering about these three strange apparatus that have been in the game since the beginning and seem to have no use. I am talking about the ones located in King Ramps Tomb, Fei'Yin, and Ranguemont Pass.

All these years and they seem to have no use. I researched some forum threads from years ago and people have tried trading several items to them and nothing. I have tried trading chips to them from limbus and Pso'xja with no results. I am currently working on getting doctor status on the other 8 to see if that will change anything.

This has just been bugging me for a while. Maybe they have no use at all and I'm just wasting my time. Anyone else have any ideas to try?

[Alhanelem]

dont waste your time with it. They are offline, disabled, nonfunctional. getting doctor status has been done before, it doesn't matter. They simply are nonfunctional. It is likely they intended to be used later and either forgot about them or simply havent used them yet.

But maybe if you go to sea and hit all the ebon panels and kill absolute virtue with 18 PUPs then reach the secret minus floor in nyzul isle, you'll reactivate them.

[Abbylu]

Actually, back in the old days, if you traded a color chip, and something else I think, and had your super secret code, the apparatus would spit you out an item. The item of choice was an Arcane Flower pot. It's been so very long since I've done it, I don't fully remember all the ins and outs. I'd venture to say that I found the info on Alla, but it could have been Somepage or even KI.

! An infinity core. That was the something else.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Recently, I have been wondering about these three strange apparatus that have been in the game since the beginning and seem to have no use. I am talking about the ones located in King Ramps Tomb, Fei'Yin, and Ranguemont Pass.

They exist more as bits of lore than anything to interact with, really. You'll note they have the same colors as the three chips you can get in Pso'xja. They're non-functional specifically because of their proximity to Fei'Yin (rewatch your Rise of the Zilart cutscenes if need be).

If something were to interact with them, it'd probably be something added with Adoulin. Otherwise, I note that the functional ones are not even accessible during the Crystal War Era. Now, is that just a programming oversight, or is that itself part of lore...

[Mayoyama]

I'm pretty sure there are a couple targetable spots in sea that I've been told dont really do anything either... much like the infamous "missing no." pokemon in red/blue.. theyre probably programmed to be there but didnt get finished by the time it got pushed out.. and never got fixed either

[Alhanelem]

Actually, back in the old days, if you traded a color chip, and something else I think, and had your super secret code, the apparatus would spit you out an item. The item of choice was an Arcane Flower pot. It's been so very long since I've done it, I don't fully remember all the ins and outs. I'd venture to say that I found the info on Alla, but it could have been Somepage or even KI.

! An infinity core. That was the something else.
thats what happens at the other 8 apparatuses that actually work. He's talking about the three others that exist but are offline if you check them.

[dragmagi]

Oh there was a process to get codes from those on wiki but you'll need a drop from dyna statues and a color chip. It'll make you some some stuff like arcane flower pot, rune weapons, and or crystal clusters. Generally not worth the time.

[Rustic]

Oh there was a process to get codes from those on wiki but you'll need a drop from dyna statues and a color chip. It'll make you some some stuff like arcane flower pot, rune weapons, and or crystal clusters. Generally not worth the time.

Again, they're talking about the three that are completely dysfunctional, not the ones that actually DO work. That is, there are three Strange Apparatus that do -absolutely nothing whatsoever-, and cannot be traded the appropriate chip/core arrangement that the others can. Heck, you can't even trade a wrong one and spawn one of those elementals, IIRC.

[ForeverZero]

They exist more as bits of lore than anything to interact with, really. You'll note they have the same colors as the three chips you can get in Pso'xja. They're non-functional specifically because of their proximity to Fei'Yin (rewatch your Rise of the Zilart cutscenes if need be).

If something were to interact with them, it'd probably be something added with Adoulin. Otherwise, I note that the functional ones are not even accessible during the Crystal War Era. Now, is that just a programming oversight, or is that itself part of lore...

Hmm, maybe I will check out some old cut scenes. Haven't thought of that yet.

Oh yeah, and I tried to access the functioning ones during the crystal war as well. The Garlaige Citadel(S) one was blocked by a wall which couldn't be walked through. I couldn't figure out how to get to the lower levels of Crawler's Nest(S), it was blocked off by a fence.

Another interesting thing is that in these older threads from 2005 several people mentioned that the Fei'Yin Apparatus had a cyan crystal in it. I have visited it three times recently and it was a dark crystal each time. I am almost wondering if they were on to something back then, but just gave up.

[Camiie]

Yeah they seemed to make a concerted effort to block off Zilart related stuff in WotG. Along with what you discovered, you can't go through the Pass at all. Fei Yin is blocked off by an avalanche. You can't get into Jeuno, Qufim, Dangruf Wadi, or Zi'Tah. The crag zones are all cut off and bypassed by new zones. Not only that, but there aren't any Weapon mobs running around any of the visible Crystal Line structures.

[JackDaniels]

Yeah they seemed to make a concerted effort to block off Zilart related stuff in WotG. Along with what you discovered, you can't go through the Pass at all. Fei Yin is blocked off by an avalanche. You can't get into Jeuno, Qufim, Dangruf Wadi, or Zi'Tah. The crag zones are all cut off and bypassed by new zones. Not only that, but there aren't any Weapon mobs running around any of the visible Crystal Line structures.

Just a guess, maybe the residual energy from the crag calamity took a couple decades to manifest into the weapon mobs? Or just a continuity error.

[Demon6324236]

I have to think they meant to do the weapon thing, even if I don't know the story reason behind it.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Just a guess, maybe the residual energy from the crag calamity took a couple decades to manifest into the weapon mobs? Or just a continuity error.

My guess is simply that the weapons we see in the present are from the Crystal War itself.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Another interesting thing is that in these older threads from 2005 several people mentioned that the Fei'Yin Apparatus had a cyan crystal in it. I have visited it three times recently and it was a dark crystal each time. I am almost wondering if they were on to something back then, but just gave up.

I imagine it'd have to be cyan, since it makes more sense for Ranguemont to be gray, as it can't even be clicked on.

But I'm looking at it right now and you're right: nothing. I wonder if it got lost in an update or is a new graphical glitch.

[Omegablue]

As far as we know, magicite started leaking around 30 years prior to FFXI, probably as part of the trigger to the "allied" expedition north. While there and crying over being a Ken doll, Raogrimm's emo galkan rage attracted him to the Dark Crystal where there was sadly no muppets. But there was a contact to Odin. And Odin is basically FFXI's MARS/ARES/KHORNE/MONKEYPAW/MEHRUNES DAGON. He just wants constant throwing down. And a skull cup of wine.

10 years later, as the war wages around the crags and spines, more damage occurs and we get it leaking not just at the ends but small cracks leaking all over. Ceramic Cement can only take so much. And then over time local wildlife, undead spirits, etc. etc. get mutated into the Weapons.

And that my friend is why Kentucky is wrong, because life, uh, finds a way.

[Rustic]

Close. Evil weapons are a combination of two things- the discarded old weaponry of the war combined with energy leaking from the Crystal Line (and similar ancient machinery) and earth spirits called "kobolds", who are corrupted and possessed by the corrupted and empowered sword (or in at least one case, the polearm!). Think of them as the equivalent of undead- only in this case, it's an old piece of metal soaked with blood and violence providing the seed for the entity, rather than the spiritual remnants of a living creature. Remember the whole thing about "swords having souls"? Well, here you go. They ain't pretty.

The boggarts in the Inner Horutoto Ruins are a similar example of this phenomenon. VERY rarely, enough negative energy can fuel the formation of a weapon elsewhere, but it's very rare and usually only in battlefields or other places of gruesome, nasty demises (and usually close to a line or other bit of ancient machinery anyway). Juggler Hecatomb's the best example and it's the only one in Gusgen Mines...as a warning about digging too deep (in this case, to the underground portion of the line nearby, visible going that-a-way in the Highlands).

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

I ran around the broken apparatuses again, and can't see a cyan-colored light from any of 'em on either console, so it's not some PC-only graphical glitch.

Now, the Ranperre's Tomb and Fei'Yin devices both have the same text, in spite of one being lit up and one not:
It is some sort of device.
There is no response...

Now, I could have sworn that at least one of the two spit out some sort of garbled message (different from the "trade a chip" dialog on the working ones). Am I misremembering, or is this perhaps some sort of once-only message I'm thinking of?

[Limecat]

Maybe they're super-advance meat grinders, and if you stick leeches or opo-opos or chocobos or tunnel worms into the top, they come out the bottom as ground round.

[Umichi]

I'm gonna laugh if they only function on specific days in the FFXI year and no one has discovered them yet :) much like the nm in zitah that only spawns during the "Rainy season" ingame for the zone.

[ForeverZero]

I'm gonna laugh if they only function on specific days in the FFXI year and no one has discovered them yet :) much like the nm in zitah that only spawns during the "Rainy season" ingame for the zone.

Lol, I thought about this as well. For all we know it could be something like new moon, on firesday, during the summer, at 3:00 AM game time. D:

[Babekeke]

Isn't that something that the .dat miners would have found though? Or would it be server-side only?