I have a lot of memories of games I played growing up, and strangely about half of them are Final Fantasy related. One that I recall on a regular basis is Final Fantasy XI, a game that quite a few fans missed out on since it was the first online game in the series. Despite its age, Final Fantasy XI is alive, well, and has a new expansion coming to brighten its future.
VanaFest 2012 revealed quite a few things for the future of Final Fantasy XI. Hiromichi Tanaka leaving the Producer position was heart-breaking, but there were some happy announcements, too.
CEO Yoichi Wada enthusiastically kicked-off the event with an announcement that Final Fantasy XI has brought in more profits than any single other Final Fantasy game in history. Yes, that includes Final Fantasy VII which has sold over 10 million copies internationally. How have they done it? Wada shared that over 200,000 real-life years have been spent by players of Final Fantasy XI, which is a testament to its consistent playerbase which pays upward of $11.99/month to play.
As such, a new expansion has been announced and is titled Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin. The fifth expansion in the game's existence will feature a new continent full of rich jungle, steep terrain, and even a new capitol city. Six new guilds will also be included such as the Information Guild, Exploration Guild, and Transportation Guild, just to name a few.
As with previous expansion packs new jobs will be added: the Geomancer and Rune Fencer. The Geomancer will be a support/enfeebling class with some interesting new mechanics to separate it from the Dancer and Bard. On the other hand, the Rune Fencer is a new tank class that specializes in magic-resistance and enfeebling.
To top all of this off, Square Enix is going to include a variety of new content. Instanced dungeons will be added for their first time and will require keys to unlock, but will house some of the best gear in the game. Personal Island Farms will allow players to build up their own space with crops, livestock, and then share it all with friends. Last but not least, Monster Playing lets players transform into a variety of creatures and level up, eventually turning into even more powerful monster types ready to wreck havoc in PvP.
Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin is scheduled to release in 2013.
