#Server Maintenance
From: FINAL FANTASY XI
Jul. 5, 2004 02:30
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FINAL FANTASY XI Update (Jul. 6)
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At the following time, we will be performing system update 
maintenance on FINAL FANTASY XI. During this period, FINAL 
FANTASY XI will be unavailable. Thank you for your patience.

*There will also be a client update to follow. Please select 
the "Play" button after the maintenance and follow the 
instructions on your screen to begin the update process. 

[Date & Time]
Jul. 6, 2004 from 10:00 to 13:00 (PDT)
*Maintenance completion time may be subject to change. 

[Affected Services]
FINAL FANTASY XI

[Important Update Details]
The following issues have been fixed:

-An issue in which monsters appearing in gaarrison battles 
would not disappear after the quest ended.

-An issue in which monsters' names would bee red or pink the 
moment they appeared, preventing players from immediately 
attacking them.

-An issue limiting the types of monsters thhat can be caught 
while fishing, resulting in the inability to receive items 
necessary for certain quests.

-An issue causing the range of certain spellls and abilities to 
be shorter than usual.

-An issue preventing players from attackingg Old Sabertooth, 
located in the Sauromugue Champaign.

-An issue preventing certain monsters in Dyynamis - Xarcabard 
from using their special abilities.

-Issues regarding the range of certain monssters' spells.

FINAL FANTASY XI Update Annoucement (Jun. 28)
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[Event-Related] 

*Ballista matches now follow the schedule which can be found on the 
news. 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. 
 
-Entry fees have been reduced. Please referrr to the news for more 
information.
 
-In the event of a cancelled match, the Herrrald 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 nexxxt match

-The adventurer possesses a Ballista Earrinnng (key item) 
 
-When entries to one nation's forces have bbbeen 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 maaatch 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 uuup 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 ttthe 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 autttomatically become the 
representative of his/her respective force. The representative will be 
required to take the oath of fair play. 
 
-All HP and MP will be restored at the end   of each match. 
 
-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 parttticipants now gives 
information on how many Petras the targeted adventurer possesses, as well as 
whether or not he/she has achieved Gate Breach status.

Two new text commands,  and  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 taaarget only members of the 
opposing forces. 
 
-The following is a list of special rules ttthat 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. Please refeeer to the news for additional 
information.

-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.

*Information on all new and existing orb battles can be found on the 
news.

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 their participation in the 
Nomad Moogle's experiment, the merit points that they have 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 [HP max +5]/[MP max +0] or [HP max +2]/[MP 
max +3] would be possible, while [HP max +5]/[MP 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, a player 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 certain items has been changed from 12 to 99. 
Refer to the news for more information.

*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. 

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At the following time, we will be performing
 an update of FINAL FANTASY XI.


*This update contains changes that will not 
be implemented into the game until the 
remainder of the patch has been downloaded on 
June 28th. The update is necessary only for 
those using the Windows version of FINAL 
FANTASY XI.

*The Windows client software will also be 
updated at this time. Once maintenance is
completed, the client update will start automatically 
after logging back into FINAL 
FANTASY XI. Please follow the instructions 
that appear on your screen.

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The Jun. 28 version update will raise several items' stack number from 
12 to 99.

To prepare for this change, the auction of these items will be 
restricted, starting from Jun. 25, at 2:00 (PDT) until Jun. 28 (the duration of 
the maintenance period). Players will still be able to bid on items 
already up for auction. Players will also be able to remove these items 
from auction if they desire.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Affected Items:
-Cracker
-Comet
-Konron Hassen
-Kongou Inaho
-Meifu Goma
-Airborne
-Popstar
-Brilliant Snow
-Sparkling Hand
-Air Rider
-Crackler
-Ouka Ranman

* All other items will be unaffected.