So you've been thinking about getting Final Fantasy XI Online but not so sure just yet if you want to get it. Hopefully we can answer some of your questions that you may have to make up your mind.

Q. What systems is Final Fantasy XI currently available on?

A. Final Fantasy XI is currently available on PC and Playstation 2. However production on the Playstation 2 Harddrive with FFXI have stopped as well as the new Playstation 2 model not compatible with a Harddrive so FFXI is mainly available only on PC right now. For Playstation 2 FFXI, you'll need to have an older model of Playstation 2 that support the Harddrive as well as finding a store that still have some back stock of Harddrive available. You can still find a used Harddrive and older Playstation model as well so getting your hands on a Harddrive isn't too hard. You best bet right now is to get Final Fantasy XI PC since SquareEnix continue to support the PC system.

Q. What are the PC system requirements that I need to run FFXI?

A. The minimum requirements are as follows:

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 98 / 98SE / Me / 2000 / XP
CPU: Intel® Pentium®III 800Mhz or faster processor
Memory: 128 MB RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce™ series graphics processing unit with 32MB or ATI® RADEON™ 9000 series graphics card
Sound Card: DirectX®8.1 compatible sound card
Hard Drive Space: 6 GB free hard disk space
CD-ROM Speed: 4x CD-ROM drive (required only at installation)
Other: Keyboard, mouse

Of that's the minimum. You'll probably want a better than minimum to get a more enjoyable experience. And we'll not even talking about your internet speed. While FFXI can run on 56k modem, it's best you have a much better internet connection than 56k. The main sticking point for most people with old PC is having a good compatible graphic card that can run FFXI smoothly.


Q. I still don't know if my PC can run FFXI properly.

A. The best way to find out is download FFXI Benchmark for Windows. Installing this is like having a demo of FFXI on your PC and the benchmark will re-evaluate your PC to see if its good enough for FFXI. You can download the Benchmark here.


Q. What's the fee for playing Final Fantasy XI?

A. Excluding the cost of buying the game, expansion, or harddrive, the montly fee for playing Final Fantasy XI is $12.95 U.S for one content ID. Meaning it cost you about $13 U.S for one character. Additional character will cost $1 dollar extra.

Q. Can I play Final Fantasy XI on different PCs?

A. You can install your copy of Final Fantasy XI on different PCs using your install disc. And you can access your POL online account on a different PC that has Final Fantasy XI install. You just need to input in your POL login name and password since your account and character information is stored on SquareEnix server and not on your harddrive.

Q. Can more than one person play on my account?

A. If you have sons, daughters, wife, or husband, you can create different characters and they can access your account and play those characters. Remember the fee is $1 extra a month of each additional character.

Q. Can more than one person play different characters from the same account at the same time?

A. The answer is yes and no. SquareEnix does allow more than one person to access an account at the sametime however it's not possible to do it with the same registration code. Let's say you created an account and created two characters for you and your significant other. One for yourself and one for the other person. Both people can access this account to play a character but only one can be allowed on during the sametime. If player A is currently playing a character and player B logs in to play another character from the same account from a different computer, then player A will get kicked out. Only one person on each registration code can log in at the same time. The work around this is simple, apparently it's consider one copy for one person per registration code. You have to buy another copy with a different registration code. Install that copy in a different PC and then log in with the the username and password of the account on the other PC. This way more than one person can access the same account at the same time. With different registration codes from different FFXI game copies, both people can now play with each other on the same account using different characters on that same account.

Q. When do I get charge?

A. You get charger after the first free month is up.

Q. How much time do I have if I decide not to play this game again for a bit?

A. If you decide to take a break or no longer have time to play this game again for quite sometime, your characters and account will continue to exists as long as you continue to pay the monthly fee. SquareEnix will not touch your character as long as you continue to pay.

Q. When does SquareEnix erase my character?

A. If you cancel your monthly fees and no longer wish to play again for quite sometime, you have up till 3 months of non payment before SquareEnix decide to clear your character out of their database. You can always start a new character again down the road after you re-subscribe but the character you had before will be deleted after 3 months of non activity and non payment. So if you want to take a break but don't want your character to be deleted then you can continue to pay your monthly bills or cancel your monthly bill short term but re-subscribe again prior to the 3 months time period of character deletion. Cancelling a Content ID is placing it in inactive state so no monthly fee will be billed for that character. If you delete your Content ID then it's mean you delete your character so there's no way of getting it back. Understand the difference between cancelling and deleting a Content ID.

Q. Should I cancel my Playonline ID?

A. Never. And here's the reason why, you get charge base on your Content ID (character) and not on your Playonline ID. If you cancel your Playonline ID, it's like cancelling the game entirely, if you do that and down the road you decide to try FFXI again, you will have to buy another copy of FFXI and reinstall it. Only cancel Playonline ID if you are 100% sure of never ever trying FFXI again. Remember that it doesn't cost a thing to continue to have SquareEnix store your Playonline ID. It's only the Content ID is where the monthly bill comes from. If you accidentally cancel your Playonline ID then you have 3 months to reactivate if before it's completing gone. Best to leave your Playonline ID inside SqaureEnix server.

Q. How do I know if this game is for me?

A. You don't really know unless you actually try it. Everyone has different opinion on this game. You have one month of free gaming minus the cost of actually buying a copy of FFXI to decide on whether it's a game for you and whether or not you have time to commit to this game.

Q. What should I know about this game?

A. This is game that is very addictive and very time consuming. Some will call it a time sink due to the amount of hours you need to put into it. It's not a game for casual gamer so for someone that only have a couple of hours to play a day. You won't get far into the game if that's all the amount of hours you can put into playing this game.

Q. Can I solo in this game?

A. Techinically you can solo in this game using the Beastmaster job but overall this game isn't about soloing. It's about being part of a vast community and partying with other online members. You basically can't get anywhere in this game without help from others or partying with others. The none solo part of this game is its strength and weakness as you come to learn that in order to do anything in this game, you need to rely upon help from others which can be a pain in the butt but yet it's that community feeling of doing things together is what makes this game enjoyable.

Q. Can I choose what server to be on?

A. Yes and no. Officially each time you create a character, it get's randomly put in a server. You can continue to create a character until it gets randomly put on a server you like or you can obtain a world pass to a server from your friend or someone on the server that you like to enter into.

Q. Is there a difference on what server to go to?

A. Not really. Every single server have gil sellers, losers, morons, high prices, ect. There's really no difference unless you are trying to access a server where you know some people such as friends.

Q. Can I transfer to another server later on?

A. No. Once you create a character and it get's put into that server than that's it. Unless of course you plan on deleting your character and creating a new character to another server. But you cannot move an existing character to another server.

Author: -Rpgdreamers

hi, regarding the following:

Q. Can more than one person play different characters from the same account at the same time?

A. The answer is yes and no. SquareEnix does allow more than one person to access an account at the sametime however it's not possible to do it with the same registration code. Let's say you created an account and created two characters for you and your significant other. One for yourself and one for the other person. Both people can access this account to play a character but only one can be allowed on during the sametime. If player A is currently playing a character and player B logs in to play another character from the same account from a different computer, then player A will get kicked out. Only one person on each registration code can log in at the same time. The work around this is simple, apparently it's consider one copy for one person per registration code. You have to buy another copy with a different registration code. Install that copy in a different PC and then log in with the the username and password of the account on the other PC. This way more than one person can access the same account at the same time. With different registration codes from different FFXI game copies, both people can now play with each other on the same account using different characters on that same account.

i used 2 different registration codes on 2 different computers....ok.
but tried to enter on the same ID at the same time, but one got kicked???

any ideas??

amaren

If you using 2 different computers then make sure both FFXI games are from different copy of FFXI and different POL.com account. You can't have 2 people sharing the same POL.com account as it will still work as one POL.com account.
Right now it looks like you are using the same POL account as the first computer.

so i have logged in with my own POL ID

how do i access my character in my ID?

thanks for answering, just seem to have tried everything

Come December I'm giving that a shot. I managed to get 3 copies of FFXI. (PS2 as a gift, PC at full price, and PC for $5!!!) And hopefully this will work. Because unfortunatly if it doesn't, I'm likely going to give up FFXI and convert to WoW (I like that I can heal while standing). I have FFXI installed in my PS2, and my friend has a copy installed in his PC. and if this works I may be able to keep playing FFXI because I can get my friends to play it. There's even the off chance that I may end up playing both, just as long as I can fit them into my jobless budget.

so, how exactly do I do it? do I sign in with my account on my original installed copy, then sign in as a guest with the second copy?

Try this. With one copy and one register code of FFXI, sign up on POL account and remember the username and password of that account. Now on the POL login screen click on Add Member and create another POL account.

So you basically have two POL account but can only access on POL account at one time on one PC.


Now on a second PC install another copy of FFXI and use that one register code. Now log into POL using the username and password of one of the POL accounts on the first PC.

I'm not 100% possible that it will work.

I believe that's a fail. though I'm not 100% on what you said.
I do know that me and the other can't connect at the same time even tough we have different registration codes. And you can't "add member" with a Playonline ID as another addeed member. We also tried it with one of us as a guest.

If your friend has his copy installed on his PC already then only other option is to create a character and using a world pass, you both play on the same server.

I plan on getting this with either Christmas money or getting it for Christmas and was wondering how do you get a world pass?

You have to have a freind on the server you want to go on. They can get it for you, and you use it when you make your character.
Dependant on the server, you can probably get one from any of the members here.

Quick Question, regarding the same subject.
Basically, by registering and getting your own POL account, you have to pay the monthly fee, am I right or wrong?

I gathered there was a free way to have 2 characters on at the same time, but I suppose there isn't. Can anyone confirm this?
Also, this is the only place I heard about such a thing. =x