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Final Fantasy XI Q&A
A closer look into the huge world of Vana’diel.
Taking an extremely popular franchise like Final Fantasy into the deep realm of MMORPGs, might seem like easy money, but obviously gamers have many questions about what this new entry can bring to either Final Fantasy fans or MMORPG players. Therefore, we at GameZone took a bit of a closer look at some of the deeper workings of Final Fantasy XI, and chatted a bit with Sonia Im of Square-Enix on some of the game’s features.
Sonia commented a bit on the functions of each job class in a group situation. For example, thieves can be very important for a group, since they not only have the ability to steal from enemies (something they are quite famous for in the series), but they can use the sneak attack ability, “which can deal an impressive amount of damage to an enemy”. Black Mages “use element magic” against enemies, which includes your token fire, ice, thunder, water spells and so on, White Mages are healers and can use teleportation spells to transport your group from one place to another.
However, the Mage with a real difference is the Red Mage. The Red Mage class is a somewhat unsung class in Final Fantasy, one which last had real predominance in the very first Final Fantasy. These mages were known for their ability to use Fighter-style weapons and cast basic magic White and Black magic spells, sort of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. However, now it looks like the Red Mage will have some unique abilities, namely “en” magic. “En magic enhances magic and weapons”, making the Red Mage an asset for increased strength in a group situation. Among the other available classes are Monks, who specialize in hand-to-hand weaponless combat and can inflict two hits during one turn and Fighters who can utilize powerful attacks with one or two-handed weapons.
Skill chains are an important part of combat, and can serve up a tasty dish of extra damage on an enemy. Skill chains result when “attacks are performed in a certain sequence in correct timing”. One cool thing you can do in a group is combine attacks for an increased punch. Since “special attacks are element based”, you can link combo attacks and skill chains with others in your group for increased damage.
As is often the case within the world of an MMORPG, Vana’diel is a pretty huge place. Fortunately, there is an easy way to get from place to place: the Chocobo. Chocobos, for those unfamiliar with Final Fantasy’s unofficial mascot, are a giant yellow bird, similar to an ostrich, only looking nothing like it. For a modest fee, you can rent the service of these creatures for thirty minutes, plenty of time to get to many places (or at least another Chocobo renter). Chocobos, however, aren’t allowed to enter towns, so you’ll have to send them on their way when you need to enter one.
Undoubtedly, there are some questions running through most of your minds concerning how this game fits in with other MMORPGs. For example, will the game feature Player vs. Player gameplay found in other MMORPGs? Sonia answered this with a resounding "no". There are no PvP elements whatsoever in the game “to encourage a more cooperative gaming environment, much like many of the other elements in the game. For example there's no stealing from each other.” So all you folks who think you can become a level 30 Monk, come up to the gates of San d’Oria and beat the crap out of every level 3 White Mage Tarutaru that comes out, think again.
Also, bearing in mind the fact that this is Final Fantasy we’re talking about here, just how important is it to play with a group of other people? Could you get far in the game going solo? Sonia says, “It’s up to you how you want to play. Solo is good up to a certain point, but of course, you won’t be able to defeat certain monsters by yourself.”
All in all, Final Fantasy XI is shaping up to be deep, complex, but most of all fun team-based MMORPG. If PvP isn’t terribly important to you, you’re a Final Fantasy fan, or are just looking to take a step into a fun, easy-to-learn yet difficult-to-master MMORPG, keep watch for Final Fantasy XI this November.
Many thanks to Sonia Im and the fine folks at Square-Enix for sitting down with us and answering some questions.
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