Announcing the December Version Update

[Yoji_Fujito]

Good day, adventurers!
Fujito here.

It's amazing to think that December is already upon us. Once again, the background music playing throughout Jeuno tells us that 2024 is finally coming to an end. It doesn't seem that long ago that people were complaining about the heat here in Tokyo, but it's been pretty cold recently as we welcome winter's embrace. This is also the season when people tend to catch colds quite frequently, so make sure to eat a balanced diet, get plenty of rest, and keep your immune system in top fighting shape!

I imagine many of you are aware of the FFXI Adventurers' Survey that was conducted between Monday, November 11th and Saturday, November 30th. We received a tremendous response from both active and inactive users, as well as numerous players from Japan and throughout the world. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the survey.

We gave a preliminary analysis of the survey's results in our special FFXI program collaboration "Freshly Picked Vana'diel + A.M.A.N. and LIVE!", but we have also received additional comments from a variety of different channels. We plan to take our time and carefully read through all of your replies and take them into consideration when coming up with our future development and management plans. Thank you again for all of your kind support. You have our utmost gratitude!


Now, I'd like to talk a bit about the December version update.

Ambuscade
This month, the Mamool Ja (mage) and Harpeia are appearing in Ambuscade.

For the Mamool Ja in Volume 1, they have the ability to absorb one of the six elements. Therefore, you'll want to make sure you don't accidentally use a powerful weapon skill that deals the same type of elemental damage and restore their health instead!
In Volume 2, your strategy with the Harpeia should be to immobilize them with techniques such as Stun in order to avoid their various debuffs while also restoring your own health during the battle. You will also be able to summon the bonus monster Golden Bomb under certain conditions this time around. There are three ways to summon the Golden Bomb, so try and see if you can get it to appear three times.

Alter egos
Cornelia will be taking a short break with this update, following a rather long stint of supporting all of you adventurers out there. Be sure to keep an eye out for her return in a future update!

Next, I have an announcement regarding the campaigns.

Screenshot Campaign
Have you been able to acquire the Ark Angel costumes that were part of the login campaign each month since June? Now that we're in December, we'll be holding a special Screenshot Campaign featuring these costumes! The details of this campaign will be shared in the near future, so please keep an eye out for additional news as soon as it's available. I'm also looking forward to just what kind of screenshots everyone will be sharing with the community.

You will also be able to exchange for Ark Angel costumes as part of the December login campaign, so this is your chance if you missed out previously.

Return Home to Vana'diel and Discount Campaigns
Many people opt to visit their hometowns to see family and friends during the holidays, so how about returning to Vana'diel—your second or perhaps even third—home for a while?

That's right, we're once again holding the Return Home to Vana'diel and Discount Campaign over the New Year's holiday. These campaigns will be held during the following dates:

• Return Home to Vana'diel Campaign  Saturday, December 20, 2024 – Monday, January 6, 2025
• Discount Campaign                          Until Tuesday, January 14, 2025

For those of you that might have played FINAL FANTASY XIV's "Echoes of Vana'diel - Jeuno: The First Walk" Alliance Raid Dungeon and are missing Vana'diel's friendly confines, or maybe took an interest in the world of Vana'diel from your experience, please be sure to let us know!

A.M.A.N. and LIVE!
We will be welcoming manga artist and designer Mamoru Nagano to the show on Saturday, December 28th. In addition, we have also prepared some exciting content to help close out the year! Nagano Sensei is most widely known for his manga The Five Star Stories, and has also worked on the mechanical and character designs for many classic anime, so I'm sure he'll have many interesting stories to share with us all. This is one episode you won't want to miss!


Lastly, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support of FFXI throughout 2024.
Happy New Year!


Mission and Quest-related

Implementation Timing	Update Task and Details	In-progress Task	Details
December	Records of Eminence	・Update monthly objectives	-

Content and System-related

Implementation Timing	Update Task and Details	In-progress Task	Details
December	Ambuscade	・Replace notorious monsters	-
December	Trusts	・Remove Cornelia’s alter ego	-

Item-related

Implementation Timing	Update Task and Details	In-progress Task	Details
December	Items	・Add new items	-
December	Porter Moogle	・Add to list of supported items	-