As I was scrolling through all the new information just added to the official Japanese FFXIV website I came across something quite interesting... Quite interesting indeed. Something that could be easily overlooked with all the excitement of new pictures, information and discussions... Do you see it yet? As of now, we have the five races of Eorzea, three of which have male and female counterparts, two of which are gender specific for each gender, as well as two tribes within each race... But what's this? Something is off balance, something is not right... The Highlander? Why is there only a picture of a Male and why does it say only Male Mercenaries of that tribe are seen around anymore?
What this does, is throw off the balance of a equal amount of playable characters for both Males and Females, essentially giving males one more option than females. Now now ladies, there's no need to panic. I highly doubt in modern society a company like Square Enix would dare to do something so taboo. What does that mean? Well it means more or less we're going to be seeing something to return the balance of playable options for both males and females. Most likely a all female tribe. But where will it fit in...? Perhaps a new race...? And why would they keep this from us at this point if there was only one more tribe of all females to be added...? Why would they risk the bad publicity and panic of their being more options for males...?
Once you ask these questions it seems obvious... Square Enix is teasing us, they have more up their sleeves than meets the eyes, and they did this to make us think... More than likely there will not only be a tribe of all women (like the highlander is to all men) announced before release, but we will most likely see other tribes and perhaps new races announced with it. For those of us still hopeful of Square Enix adding Male Miqo'Te this comes as great news and gives us new hope.
If you think about it logically, if I was Square Enix personally, I wouldn't want to announce something coveted and wished for as Male Miqo'Te till the very end. Why is this you ask? Because, If they announced to early on it would lose it's sense of hype, however if they announce it at a date closer to release where it comes as a BIG SURPRISE and something that a lot of people have wanted for a long time, it will influence a lot more people and make it easier for them to make the purchase of FFXIV. It's all about marketing my friends!
There's also a possibility that Square Enix could add a all-female tribe to the Hyur just as they did with the Highlanders. It would also make sense if you look at the names. We have Highlanders, Midlanders... But what about Lowlanders? Those could very well be the race of all-female-Hyur. Who's to say? There might be more tribes added for ALL races. Square Enix seems to want to give us a lot of options this time around, perhaps they will give the ladies a more bulky/amazonian tribe if they wish to be like that, and give the guys a more feminine tribe (like male miqo'te) if they want that option as well. And there's always the chance that Square Enix just might not have the information ready for us yet (as they've shown with how they add bits and pieces at a time, like the city-states and disciplines). Nothing is set in stone yet, so all we can do is wait.
Till we learn more, keep these thoughts in mind and remain hopeful!
(Screen Shot and Picture in this Article belongs to and all rights reserved to Square Enix Co, LTD.)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Highlander, and a new hope for more Races!
Official FFXIV website updated.
The official FFXIV site has been updated! Although right now it has only been updated in Japanese. In the next day(s) it will be updated on the North American and European sites, until then I'd like to direct your attention to The Official Japanese FFXIV website. Here you will see all new information as well as more pictures on the new races and tribes for FFXIV! Since it is only in Japanese right now I will give you some rough translations and a few of the new pictures. (Credit for Translations goes to Lumokai from FFXIVzam.com)(pictures are owned and all rights reserved by Square Enix Co, LTD.).
Midlander
Among the populous Hyuran, the majority is comprised of this great clan. They reside in various regions, and are enriched with a diverse livelihood. From a young age, Midlanders become accustomed to books. Because of this, they seem to have a deep, intellectual society.
Highlander
The highlanders dominate the remote, northern highlands. They are the strong, muscular, tribe of the Hyuran. After their city-state of Ala Mihgo fell to the Garlean Empire, with the exception of Male Mercenaries, it has become rare to see them in other cities.
Plainsfolk
The Plainsfolk gather and built villages from the materials of the plains, and have come to be called "The people of the Plains". Their earthly green, flaxen hair resembles vegetation. With their large ears, they can hear even the faintest footsteps of a mole.
Dunesfolk
Large, domesticated livestock are made to carry the homes that the dunesfolk migrate and live in. They live with the movement of the soil, and are called the "People of the Dunes" among the Lalafell. One of their unique features is that their eyes are enveloped by a protective clear film, which makes their eyes resemble a Crystal Ball. On their forehead, a jewel which represents their star of fate is affixed.
Forester
For hundreds of years, this Elezen tribe have inhabited the deep green forests. They are proud of their hawk-like eyesight, and excel in archery. Nowadays, those who have adapted to city life or those who live a nomadic life in the plains often return to the woodlands.
Shader
For hundreds of years, the Shaders have inhabited dark caves. Developing bat-like ears, they can sense the enemy's movement by the rustling of clothes. Because of this, many Shaders excel in hand-to-hand combat. Turning to thievery in order to sustain their cave-dwelling life, they are despised by the forester as turncoats.
Seawolf
Known as "Seawolves", this Roegadyn tribe is feared as marauding pirates from the northern seas. Nowadays, the number of Seawolves who fare the high seas are becoming numerous.
Lohengarde
Residing in the vicinity of volcanic craters, the Lohengarde are a tribe of Roegadyn who are faithful in the "Gates of Hell". They are called the "Gatekeepers of the Flame" . Not only are their bodies hard and tempered, their "fire-walking" asceticism allows them to nurture the qualities of magickal ingenuity.
Sun Seekers
One tribe of the Mi'qote call themselves "The people of the Sun". The followers of the Sun God Azema are numerous, and they are very active in the daytime. They have cold, piercing,, colorful, cat-like eyes.
Moon Keepers
The other tribe of the Mi'qote call themselves "The Wards of the Moon". They are the many followers of the Moon God Menefina, and many follow a nocturnal lifestyle. Many of the Moon Keepers apply vivid war paint onto their face.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Official FFXIV website updated.
As of March 12th 2010 the official FFXIV website has been updated. Mainly, it has been updated with the information we already knew thanks to Famitsu. But be sure to check it out. Go to the "Gameplay" section under "Disciplines" and you will find new detailed information about the disciplines in FFXIV. Still much info is left to be added for the disciplines themselves, and many other aspects of the official website. But for now, be sure to read up on the latest information they added regarding some of the disciplines, how they will work, what weapons they will use and more!
Beta Test Site Now Open.
Well it would seem the BETA test site is now open... "Technically", although as of right now the client (BETA version of the game) is not yet up for download. Word on the street is that Square Enix is having some technical difficulties feeding the hamsters that power the servers- Errr, I mean Square Enix is having some technical difficulties with the test servers. No one knows yet when it will be open, hopefully sooner than later so we can get this all underway and get closer to final stage BETA and the final product.
More rumors continue to circulate about Square Enix sending out more BETA test invites, however, these from what I see are nothing more than rumors. Still no word has been received on the winners of the BETA test invites from the premium FFXI websites "BETA test invite drawings" held about a month back.
I guess for now, all we can do is stay tuned and hope for the best. Keep checking those E-Mails/BETA test site/FFXIV official site/Blogs/Forums!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
New Information from Famitsu!
New information has just poured in from Famitsu Magazine. This information is just a little more insight to the jobs of FFXIV and how they will work and be played. Quite the interesting read indeed.
With all that being said, I will link you now to the articles discussing this very matter.
Article on Zam.
Article on Eorzeapedia.
Article on FFXIVcore.
Original Artical on Famitsu (In Japanese).
It's nice seeing how your physical positioning when fighting will play a big role in this game, depending on what your job is. It also seems like always, each job has strengths and weaknesses. The six major elements will also be making an appearance and the developers even talk about how this could come into play with the jobs themselves. Sadly, Light and Dark don't seem to be elements that players will be using and taking advantage of. This could very well change though, it's too early to tell, as the game is still in it's Alpha Stages.
For those of you wondering, the elements are Fire/Earth/Wind/Water/Thunder/Ice. Each element is weak to one and strong to one. It makes a game a bit more interesting and seems to be playing a bigger role than it was in FFXI even.
(credit for the image goes to Eorzeapedia and Square Enix, co. LTD)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Let the BETA begin.
Vanafest 2010 brought some exciting new information regarding Final Fantasy XIV. Beta information, to be exact. Turns out the official Beta will be up for download on the official FFXIV beta tester website on march 11th. From what I heard, Square Enix sent E-mails out on the first of march informing people who got into the first stage of Beta, which they are calling the "Alpha Test". If you got in, congratulations! If not, don't fret. Square Enix seems to have picked the Beta testers completely randomly, for the Alpha Test at least. Or perhaps they only had so many spots and wanted a bunch of different types of people, machines (PC only at the moment, sorry PS3 owners), and demographics.
One can rest assured though, as these tests go on, quite frequently they will add more and more people, they send this themselves in a interview. The best thing to is... "Check your E-Mail... And Check it often". As time goes on they will add more and more people to the Beta, commencing with the final "Open Beta" which will most likely last several months as it does with most MMORPG's. Open Beta pretty much is the final Beta stage and more or less anyone can get in. So, with all that being said, keep up your hope. If you didn't get a E-Mail from Square Enix yet, just keep checking regularly.
One thing to note though, is that this E-Mail can often come up in Spam Folders, so be sure to check yours. Another thing, is that the E-Mail will come to the E-Mail address you have registered on your Square Enix account. If you don't have a Square Enix account it will come to whichever one you registered with on the Beta Application.
Official FFXIV website updated.
Sorry for being slow about this, however not too long ago the FFXIV site was updated with new information. As of now, this is the latest information on the FFXIV site. The update consisted of more information being added about the story of Eorzea, new character customization options, as well as new screen shots.
Be sure to check it all out on the official FFXIV website under "World > Races, World > Story" and "Media".
Changes to my Blog...
For Awhile now I've been keeping this blog as updated as possible, however a lot of the information here is simply me copying information I have found for your viewing pleasure and presenting it to you. Although, more often than not I could have simply linked you to the information itself. However, that being said, Most of the time I have indeed added in my own opinions and views as well as a few of my own translations and interpretations on what things mean.
I've kept this site up because I have been a avid FFXI player since it's very beginning and have much pride in how proficient I was at that game. Because of this I was always at the cutting edge of new things, top notch gear, and the best strategies around. I took a lot of pride in finding out exactly what was the best gear combinations, job combinations and generally how to do things with peak performance in any kind of situation.
FFXI was my bread and butter and major hobby for the longest of times, however when the slightest rumor of a successor to the longstanding MMORPG was rumored to be in development years ago, I started my research. I started looking, lurking, and trying to find as much information as possible, I was even there back when everyone started calling it "Project Rapture". When FFXIV was announced at E3 I knew -many knew- it was going to be announced, so when the announcement of FFXIV did come forth I wanted to be on the forefront of data and up to the minute information on this sort of thing.
However, I have found that there are other sources of information (mainly the Japanese Magazines), and better translators than myself around, sadly... I have (with given credit) used a lot of the information (while adding my own to of course) on this site. But at the end of the day, their big teams and staffs can do a better and quicker job than I can.
So the time has come that I think some changes should be made... The fact is, this information is already available on other parts of the internet for your viewing pleasure, quicker than I can get it up. So I have decided simply to link to that information for you. Don't worry though, this will allow me to add up all the different sources in one place as fast as possible and keep them compiled (something most sites won't do so they keep their exclusiveness). But the main reason for all of this?
I will be able to write more articles simply on my own terms, about what we know. Not so much just information from Square Enix and the Japanese media, but what you can expect from a expert MMORPG gamers point of view, what to look for, etc. Think of it like those idiot's guides to everything (not that I'm implying there's any idiots on the internet...)
So I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog and the coming articles and information!
