August 2022 FINAL FANTASY XI Digest

[Akihiko_Matsui]

The latest FINAL FANTASY XI Digest is now available! The digest covers key features from the most recent version update. Check out the video, try the version update, and leave a feedback based on your experience of playing the new content.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G0XniNUhQww" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Please reply to this thread to leave your feedback.
Please only post feedback pertaining to the version update and digest video in this thread.
To better collect your feedback, we ask that you post one specific feedback per reply (of course you are allowed to post several replies!)
Before posting your feedback, check the thread to see if similar feedback was already mentioned and hit the “Like!” button instead of re-posting the same feedback.

* The NPC curating Sortie, Ruspix, will be temporarily disabled upon the launch of the August version update in order to address several last-minute issues. Read on (https://t.co/eH2ysqhphD) for details.

[Monsuta_Man]

Cool to see emp getting some love, but I think I read you have to complete a battle on the job you want a specific upgrade, to receive the upgrade? Shout out to all the BST out there lol......

I mean, this could be really good, or really bad. I cant $hit on something I has not played then come back salty, editing my comments. Maybe the community will finally see how beast BST is after all these years? Or maybe you can trust it? We shall see.....

Good to see an update like this regardless.

[Alhanelem]

probably shouldn't use that word, even with a dollar sign, just saying. That said, it does indeed specify in the patch notes that you need to use the job whose gear you want to upgrade. But both the patch notes and the video state you can use trust.

[ManaKing]

I am extremely excited for all the new gear on all my main jobs. RDM, RNG, RUN. Honestly couldn't be happier.

I hope BLU is going to be ok. I don't play it but my friends do.

Hopefully there will be some extra surprises built into the earrings and set bonuses.

edit for feedback: The objectives are quirky and silly. I've managed to get a sapphire and upgrade pieces, but no boxes for earrings for drops. I've unlocked all the keys and most of the teleporters so hopefully there will be more loot as I regularly kill all the mini NMs and start working on the actual bosses. So far, I'm pretty happy with everything.

Keep up the good work for the +3s and hopefully throw in a couple of surprises on the gear to get people excited about getting them.

[Shuko]

I hope this six person limit is like omen was at first, temporary. Otherwise I really enjoyed the missions!

[Alhanelem]

I hope this six person limit is like omen was at first, temporary. Otherwise I really enjoyed the missions!Not me, I hope it's permanent, I don't want to have to go yelling for big group party invites. Supposedly, +3 will be in its own content. Maybe then they could do it. +2 shouldn't be a huge bother when +2 relic and AF isn't.

[Immortal]

Having an event ALLOW an alliance does not mean you have to bring one. You should have no problems with people bringing in more players, it decreases wait lines and lets people have fun with whomever they want and not a strict static. I see 0 problems with allowing an alliance into things with perhaps offsetting it with additional HP or harder mechanics depending.

[Dekusuta]

All the AF/Relic upgrade events have so far allowed alliances. I truly hope they allow alliances, it will allow existing groups doing these content to switch over with the same roster

[Alhanelem]

Having an event ALLOW an alliance does not mean you have to bring one.If a content is designed for 6 players, allowing an alliance would completely trivialize the content.

Like I said, it seems the +3 stage will come from a different content. They can make that alliance tailored if they want, but it better be like existing ones where I can gradually grind it out without one.

[Sp1cyryan]

I appreciate the 6-player only aspect and fact that you must actually do the content on the job you wish to upgrade, thank you.

[Velner]

If a content is designed for 6 players, allowing an alliance would completely trivialize the content.

Like I said, it seems the +3 stage will come from a different content. They can make that alliance tailored if they want, but it better be like existing ones where I can gradually grind it out without one.

Yes, taking on Reisenjima HELMs or Tumult Curator with 18 people is "trivial" . . .

[VoiceMemo]

Yes, taking on Reisenjima HELMs or Tumult Curator with 18 people is "trivial" . . .

Well these 2 examples are of less is more situations, because of the hp scaling.

[Velner]

Well these 2 examples are of less is more situations, because of the hp scaling.

Sure. . . but more importantly, these examples demonstrate that content can certainly be designed for both single party and alliance without making the content "trivial."

[Uriah]

Just making the HP higher isn't a good method to make 6 player into 18 player.

[Velner]

Just making the HP higher isn't a good method to make 6 player into 18 player.

That's really not germane to the conversation, though, is it? The only point that I am making is that is that content has been made that is appropriate for 6-person to 18-person without being made trivially easy. Therefore, this conversation that content needs to be single party OR alliance is a false dichotomy. The method by which scaling should be done is really a separate conversation. After all, there are other clever ways SE has scaled content without HP scaling (like Dynamis-D being in 3 waves).

[Anza]

All the AF/Relic upgrade events have so far allowed alliances. I truly hope they allow alliances, it will allow existing groups doing these content to switch over with the same roster

This. Figure out some scaling, sure. But FFXI is inherently a social game, and it sucks to have to leave people out if you have 7+ wanting to do something together.

Omen and Dyna are the most recent alliance content, and having a more current endgame event supporting alliances would be good. As it is, the more current endgame content is ALL based on 6 person max. Odyssey Sheol/Gaol, monthly Ambu refreshes, even ML parties.

I like the ability to make progress and get Empy +2/+3 stuff solo or with a single party. But I also want something newer than Dyna Divergence for alliances to be able to do together.

[Sp1cyryan]

That's really not germane to the conversation, though, is it? The only point that I am making is that is that content has been made that is appropriate for 6-person to 18-person without being made trivially easy. Therefore, this conversation that content needs to be single party OR alliance is a false dichotomy. The method by which scaling should be done is really a separate conversation. After all, there are other clever ways SE has scaled content without HP scaling (like Dynamis-D being in 3 waves).

It is germane, and there is no false dichotomy. This game has steadily moved away from alliance content. Balancing it for such has typically been lazily done via HP scaling. Which either rewards or punishes players for taking more or less. That's not balance, and the team can better design something for a party than an entire alliance. So it's a matter of balancing it for more or less, and that's the dichotomy because more is 18 and less is 6.

No other event in the past, prior design choices, or Tanaka's favorite shirt to wear to the next anniversary matters. We could sit here and argue about what balance is or who thinks divergence is or isn't balanced. We could debate that its design in no way applies to any other event due to the entirely unique nature of it. However, it doesn't matter because everyone here wants what they want. Luckily, players like myself who see more merit in 6 player content are going to be more satisfied than not in how all future content is created.

This happens every time too. "But muh LS can't all do ambuscade together!!!" When that event also clearly needs to be 6 player content.

[Velner]

This happens every time too. "But muh LS can't all do ambuscade together!!!" When that event also clearly needs to be 6 player content.

Why are you quoting a sentence I didn't say, to make a point I didn't make, and using 'muh' instead of 'my' to call me stupid? Rude. . .

And I think it's actually pretty funny that you pointed this out. Despite the game design moving towards single-party, you aptly point out that there is pushback from the community every time. Even on content like Ambuscade that has practical reasons why it absolutely should be single-party.

The fact remains: the game can be developed to support both single-party and alliance content. The only actual lazy decision is to not bother attempting to scale the content for an alliance because that would actually require extra steps and planning. And everybody who doesn't like the "balance" of 7+, or the hassle of creating a party beyond 6, can stick to the single-party. That's why I call it a false dichotomy. We could have both.

Saying you don't like it so nobody should like it. . . it's like when religious cults demand a television show be cancelled because they're offended. Just don't watch it.

[Alhanelem]

This. Figure out some scaling, sure. But FFXI is inherently a social game, and it sucks to have to leave people out if you have 7+ wanting to do something together. You can do this content with 1 person. Thus, you could easily just do two parties even if you don't have 12. I'm glad you have 7+ people to do content with, but I don't (at least, not on command), so I'm happy it's designed the way it is. I repeat, no one hass to be left out, just divide up however many people you have into multiple parties that can each run the content.



Saying you don't like it so nobody should like it. . . it's like when religious cults demand a television show be cancelled because they're offended. Just don't watch it. In your example, it's not watching the show that would offend them. it's the mere existence of it, and/or that someone would have the audacity to dare to make it in the first place. Kinda like how there's a few people on this forum who hate FFXIV merely because it exists and not because of any positive or negative attributes the game itself may or may not posess.

[Velner]

You can do this content with 1 person. Thus, you could easily just do two parties even if you don't have 12. I'm glad you have 7+ people to do content with, but I don't (at least, not on command), so I'm happy it's designed the way it is. I repeat, no one hass to be left out, just divide up however many people you have into multiple parties that can each run the content.

Even if the parties work out perfectly and you have two fully balanced parties or three fully balanced parties, it is not the same experience at all to go in with three separate groups. Event time is a time when we all come together as friends in Discord to play XI and to hang out. This may be a surprise, but there is a social aspect to this game outside of just doing the content. . . I'm also here to have fun with my friends. Splitting us up is only having fun with *some* of my friends which is less fun no matter how you slice it.

And I get that you don't care because you don't play in a large group. And that's perfectly fine. But why would you also want to make sure other people don't enjoy it as much as they could even if it would have zero impact on your experience? That's what I don't understand about people reacting so negatively when others express their desire for alliance content. . .

[Sp1cyryan]

Why are you quoting a sentence I didn't say, to make a point I didn't make, and using 'muh' instead of 'my' to call me stupid? Rude. . .

And I think it's actually pretty funny that you pointed this out. Despite the game design moving towards single-party, you aptly point out that there is pushback from the community every time. Even on content like Ambuscade that has practical reasons why it absolutely should be single-party.

The fact remains: the game can be developed to support both single-party and alliance content. The only actual lazy decision is to not bother attempting to scale the content for an alliance because that would actually require extra steps and planning. And everybody who doesn't like the "balance" of 7+, or the hassle of creating a party beyond 6, can stick to the single-party. That's why I call it a false dichotomy. We could have both.

Saying you don't like it so nobody should like it. . . it's like when religious cults demand a television show be cancelled because they're offended. Just don't watch it.

It isn't rude. It's just direct.

Sure, it can be designed for both. Just like I could be an astronaut. I probably have a better chance at being an astronaut than this game does now at being designed and balanced for 1-18 content. The Dev team is no longer able to even attempt to deliver that.

I don't care if there is pushback from the community. The community whines about anything. They are ignorant and lackadaisical on average with a general if not complete lack of objectivity. So it's not that I issue decrees on what is acceptable. That's clearly not what I am saying.

[Catmato]

Kinda like how there's a few people on this forum who hate FFXIV merely because it exists and not because of any positive or negative attributes the game itself may or may not posess.

I think a lot of the perceived hate is actually directed at people bringing it up, just to jump to its defense.

[Zuidar]

Kinda a oversight but there's no new moogle slip to store empyrean armor reforge +2

[Zhexos]

Greetings everyone,

Some of you may have already heard the news but the issue preventing the release of Sortie has been addressed.


Good day, adventurers.
Matsui here.

I’m pleased to report that we have addressed the issues preventing us from releasing Sortie on day one of the August version update. Ruspix will be available upon the completion of today’s maintenance, enabling you to enjoy tackling the challenges that await you in Sortie.

I would like to again apologize for the delay and express my gratitude for your patience. Hope you enjoy the latest battle content!

We'd love to hear your feedback on this new content, so please be sure to give it a try!

[Velner]

Greetings everyone,

Some of you may have already heard the news but the issue preventing the release of Sortie has been addressed.



We'd love to hear your feedback on this new content, so please be sure to give it a try!

So far Sortie is confusing. It's a bit intimidating. It's giant. It's a mystery. And the music is fantastic. I love it so far! Honestly, last night jumping into Sortie as soon as it launched with no information was a ton of fun! Can't wait to go in again and give it another crack!

[Uriah]

Greetings everyone,

Some of you may have already heard the news but the issue preventing the release of Sortie has been addressed.



We'd love to hear your feedback on this new content, so please be sure to give it a try!

To call it a disaster so far, is a dramatic understatement.

[Velner]

It isn't rude. It's just direct.

I think it was actually indirect to the point of almost being passive-aggressive. But, really, there is no point in a discussion on it; the new content IS 6-man. I'm just a cat lover and am off to enjoy it~

[Sp1cyryan]

To call it a disaster so far, is a dramatic understatement.

The implied gravity of this statement is misleading, and therefore untrue. However, yes there have been some issues. There are probably some bugs left over.

[Uriah]

I think that with people disconnecting and being stuck in limbo for hours (soon to be days) because of it, disaster properly conveys the "gravity".

[Sp1cyryan]

I think that with people disconnecting and being stuck in limbo for hours (soon to be days) because of it, disaster properly conveys the "gravity".

Are you one of these people? Do you have first hand information about it? If so, then share it here or in any appropriate place. Otherwise—no.

[Uriah]

There are more than enough testimonials, there's nothing to show and share.

[Sp1cyryan]

There are more than enough testimonials, there's nothing to show and share.

Then follow through to the conclusion of that logic, please.

[Alhanelem]

I think a lot of the perceived hate is actually directed at people bringing it up, just to jump to its defense.
Don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of grievances with it. I enjoy the PvP and the story and a few other things, but the constant dumbing down of the jobs to pull in more players has really been getting to me. I generally don't do dungeons past the first clear, I don't raid and don't care too much about crafting/gathering anymore. Taking up too much time is a part of it though.

So don't worry, I'm not going to call it a perfect or amazing game because it isn't. And while they've been doing a lot of things I don't care for lately, It has its appeal and there are good things about it. My grievance is just people who hate on it for it existing and blame everything that's happened with FFXI on it. Personally I feel like FFXI being slow to adapt to changing trends and not doing more to keep itself modern (i.e. update to support modern tech- many MMOs I've played from the time period that are still around today have since upgraded their clients with support for newer directX versions and graphical and performance improvements that don't even have a particularly high cost and made the games look nicer without a total revamp) was a bigger factor. THere's a bit of irony in that Naoki Yoshida, who is actually the head of the business unit that runs both games, has actually been instrumental in keeping FFXI going.

I'm really tired of being painted as a white knight, when I can certainly recognize the flaws and issues, as well as the strengths, of the games. I'd have much less of an issue if more of the people here were looking at things more objectively. I only look like a white knight because they're kind of being dark knights and aren't as open minded as they could be. SE isn't infallable and I know that.

[Uriah]

See;

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/59821-Recovery-from-Asura-World-Technical-Difficulties-%28Aug.-16%29

[Details]
- Being disconnected from the server at the Outer Ra'Kaznar area in the Asura World and not being able to log in

[Alhanelem]

Not gonna lie, maybe I'm doing something wrong but this feels like one of the most boring battle events ever to me. Just one kind of not-terribly-threatening-but-thicc monster outside of a few monsters with special conditions? Couldn't you have like... two kinds of rank-and-file mobs?

[Zuidar]

So in the update patch, the only thing added to the list of supported items storable by porter moogle was the new ammo item obtained from the new VR missions for Slip 03 and yet there's no new mog Slip to store +2 reforged Empyrean Armor.

[Catmato]

stuff

like clockwork

[Velner]

Not gonna lie, maybe I'm doing something wrong but this feels like one of the most boring battle events ever to me. Just one kind of not-terribly-threatening-but-thicc monster outside of a few monsters with special conditions? Couldn't you have like... two kinds of rank-and-file mobs?

Wait. . . you figured out how to get into C and D and have killed all the NMs (at least 4)? And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there several types of rank-and-file monsters? Acuex, leeches, hecteyes, elementals, Umbrils. . . and that's just having been through A and B. I haven't been to C or D yet.

[Sp1cyryan]

See;

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/59821-Recovery-from-Asura-World-Technical-Difficulties-%28Aug.-16%29

Yes, that utterly lacks the ridiculous hyperbole of "calling this [event] a disaster be an understatement."

[Uriah]

The only thing the game is for is playing. The problem literally prevents the games singular purpose. Text book disaster.

And lets not forget the months delay, the failure in "testing" leading to missed deadline, translation errors, and the complete and total lie about balancing because empyrean reforge would be imbalanced. and 4 hour queue.

[Catmato]

The only thing the game is for is playing. The problem literally prevents the games singular purpose. Text book disaster.

And lets not forget the months delay, the failure in "testing" leading to missed deadline, translation errors, and the complete and total lie about balancing because empyrean reforge would be imbalanced. and 4 hour queue.

oh no i deliberately play on an overcrowded server and now bad things are happening to me because of the overcrowding. how could this happen to me

[Alhanelem]

This is the whole reason the world pass system originally existed. The system picking your server meant server populations stayed balanced.

Asura -is- overcrowded - especially during free play events. If you're having difficulty to do something and it's related to player volume, it's a situation cuased by overcrowding and is unique to Asura.

If you transfer to a less full server, you make things better for everyone- fewer people have issues due to overcrowding, and the experience for people on the server you join improves (or not, if these forums are any indication....)

[BobbinT]

oh no i deliberately play on an overcrowded server and now bad things are happening to me because of the overcrowding. how could this happen to me


actually... just had ppl transferring from Asura to server I reside after tried Sortie. lol

[Sp1cyryan]

oh no i deliberately play on an overcrowded server and now bad things are happening to me because of the overcrowding. how could this happen to me

Events should actually be designed with the instance demands of the most populous servers in mind. Not that of Leviathan or something. Compared to the population of the 75 or even 99 era. Asura isn't over crowded, but rather over-focused.
The Devs just need to design things a little better and/or dedicate more instances to an event. With the virtualization of servers now, this shouldn't be an issue.

[Catmato]

Events should actually be designed with the instance demands of the most populous servers in mind. Not that of Leviathan or something. Compared to the population of the 75 or even 99 era. Asura isn't over crowded, but rather over-focused.
The Devs just need to design things a little better and/or dedicate more instances to an event. With the virtualization of servers now, this shouldn't be an issue.

Did something happen that would make someone think SE would change their M.O. and start implementing things in a sane way?

[Alhanelem]

Events should actually be designed with the instance demands of the most populous servers in mindI mean, they are, this is why new battle contents since ambuscade have two layer zones. But we never needed this, or crude queues mind you, until everyone started piling on asura. But the point remains that if people didn't do this, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place. The solution to one ovecrwoded server in a sea that aren't is not to just keep increasing capacity just for that one server, it's to take advantage of all the other ones you have. Knowing that another server could give you a better experience and choosing not to because they view more players = better no matter what (despite finite limits to capacity). While they may be able to add more layer areas etc. eventually the server cluster will reach a hard limit on population. The fact that Asura was closed for some time due to the name database being full is telling.

It may be on a smaller scale but this is the same problem FFXI has been dealing with- finite server capacity that has already been pushed to its limits (only problem is for a while there was nowhere to go). There are finite limits and Asura is pushing them.

[ManaKing]

I can happily report that I have waited for 5 minutes once to bring my group in, the rest of the times it was instant. Very little reoccurring weirdness or bugs. If you choose to play on Asura, you have Asura problems. Asura's problems aren't going to go away by Dev mitigation, they could be lessened, but they aren't going to go away because people decided to dogpile a single server. Your patch days and first couple weeks are going to be a dice roll between clogged queues or full dumpster fire. It's not like this is a new experience and you've had plenty of time to move servers or accept how it is always going to be.

They should honestly give out free server transfers away from Asura and make transferring to Asura cost triple IF they cared to divert traffic away from Asura. Feel free to send time filling up forum pages in the meantime.

[Voidstorm]

I don't know if someone already mentioned it on the other 4 pages, but please add an "Item level 119 +2 empyrean eqiupment" storage slip.

[Velner]

I am absolutely loving Sortie. However, we learned today that there is a mere 100,000 limit on Gallimaufry. Is there any chance that this limit could be raised to make future runs more worthwhile after we finish our +2 sets? Thank you for your time and consideration.

[jasnekholin]

Sortie is great fun, but the randomness of the earring system is quite frankly absurd. Not only are there random stats, you have to hope to get a good box drop and then get the job you want. 3 layers of RNG is too much!

[Voidstorm]

Dear Square Enix.


Please make sure to add a Handbell Prime weapon.

The last handbell we got was Dunna. We never got a Aeonic Handbell. MEGA OVERSIGHT!
Another reminder. THIS is when we got our last handbell: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/41117-Apr-8-2014-%28JST%29-Version-Update
That's right, Apr.8,2014: 8 years ago.

We need a new useful handbell as GEO is not even a proper job at the moment. It casts a few bubbles then goes A.F.K. until the bubble dies or you move to a new location.

If you try doing additional things, your bubble will die, or you will because you aren't sitting in full DT+petDT.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/832111032788058183/1016775568865382410/unknown.png


The other pet jobs also suffer from the lack of petDT on normal gear which causes BST DRG SMN PUP & GEO to all suffer using terrible gear in order to let their pets live longer. (DRG & SMN just accept their pets are just going to die fast)

EDIT: days later I'm still the latest post, so I'll just edit this in.
If you do consider making another handbell, please give it master+pet DT. say DT-15 pet: DT-15
It's a JSE tier REMA after all. should be at the level of utility as aegis. I'd also suggest adding a unique indi spell to it. Maybe some kind of hybrid buff spell to make the party less likely to die. DEF+MDB+EVA+M.EVA (MDB=magic defense bonus)