Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito walk us through Final Fantasy XI‘s Octoberr 2022 version update details, including updates for Ambuscade content, a new area for Sortie along with a new level of Empyreum gear, and the return of the Harvest Festival seasonal event. The update is available today.

In Ambuscade, this month’s Volume One features Medusa, while Volume Two features Formors. Volume One will be a returning encounter. The team made certain abilities easier to deal with by lengthening their activation time. Volume Two will be a new encounter featuring five Harvest Festival-themed Formors. You’ll win if you can defeat their leader, the Elvaan, but it may be quicker to take out the other members first. They’ll have a special ‘Trick or Treat’ ability, so the team asks to make sure you bring sweets along with you.

A new area will be added in this update to Sortie. You’ll need a specific item to enter the new area, so be sure to obtain that first. Reaching the new area will be a prerequisite for making the +3 Empyrean gear, which will also be added. Making them will be quite the long process, but their attributes will be enhanced even further. The team says they’ve made the attributes worth your time, so they hope you give it a try. They also made it possible to confirm temporary items in your possession even when you’re outside of Sortie — which was heavily requested by the community.

The Voracious Resurgence is on hiatus this month as the team is working on the next story update. There will be new Records of Eminence objectives. The Harvest Festival seasonal event will return once again this year. Treats will be handed out, and the Pink Masquerade will return as usual. The pumpkin hunt also returns this year with new hiding spots for the pumpkins.

Event-Related

• Item level 119 +2 Empyrean armor can now be further reforged.
  • Starting the Process
    Speak with Ruspix in Leafallia (H-8)
  • Reforging Prerequisites
    In order to commence your Empyrean reforging journey, you must access newly-opened sections of Sortie while on the job for which you wish to reforge Empyrean gear.
  • Required Items
    The reforging process requires gallimaufry—currency earned in Sortie—and Ra’Kaznar starstones. Both of these can be obtained from treasure coffers that appear when fulfilling certain conditions within Sortie. Ra’Kaznar Starstones can also be purchased using gallimaufry.
  • Reforging Period
    Players must wait one day (Vana’diel time) after turning in the item they wish to reforge.
    * Reforged Empyrean armor will be able to be stored with the Porter Moogle in a future version update.

• Records of Eminence has undergone the following additions and adjustments.
  • The monthly Records of Eminence objectives have been swapped out.
  • New objectives have been added. These objectives can be set once certain conditions have been met.
    
• New designations have been added.

Battle-Related

• A new section has been opened up within Sortie.
  A particular item is required to access this new section.
  
  * A last-minute issue with certain notorious monsters within Sortie has been identified, and they will be implemented in the November version update. These notorious monsters were intended to be accessible via the temporary items Ra’Kaznar fragment #1 / Ra’Kaznar fragment #2 / Ra’Kaznar fragment #3 / Ra’Kaznar fragment #4. We apologize for the inconvenience.
  
  Note that the above has no effect on players being able to reforge Empyrean armor to +3. Players will be able to obtain them normally in the October version update.
  
• Ruspix will now give players information about which Sortie temporary items they are in possession of.
  
• Ambuscade has undergone the following additions and adjustments.
  • The foes in Normal and Intense Ambuscades have been swapped out.
    * As such, the corresponding Records of Eminence objectives have changed.

• Intense Ambuscades have undergone the following adustments.
  • The amount of time between readying and activation of the following abilities used by Bozzetto Freyja and Bozzetto Skathi has been increased.
  • Petrifying Dance
    • Very Easy: From 4s to 5s.
    • Easy: From 3.5s to 5s.
    • Normal: From 3s to 5s.
    • Difficult: from 2.5s to 4s.
    • Very Difficult: From 2s to 4s.
  • Impaling Disregard
    • Difficult: From 2.5s to 4s
    • Very Difficult: From 2s to 4s.
  • Bozzetto Freyja’s how has resistance to multiple-hit pacts.
  • Bozzetto Frigg’s logic for starting to use special abilities has been changed to own HP remaining. Additionally, the a visual effect will now display when Bozzetto Frigg becomes able to use those abilities.
    • Very Easy: 40% and below
    • Easy: 80% and below
• The amount of time between readying and activation of the following abilities used by Bozzetto Frigg has been increased.
  • Raqs Baladi
    • Very Easy: From 4s to 5s.
    • Easy: From 3.5s to 5s.
    • Normal: From 3s to 5s.
    • Difficult: from 2.5s to 4s.
    • Very Difficult: From 2s to 4s.
  • Chastening Disregard
    • Difficult: From 2.5s to 4s
    • Very Difficult: From 2s to 4s.

• The chance of Bozzetto Frigg’s autoattack applying petrification on Very Difficult have been decreased from 20% to 5%.
• Certain items obtainable in exchange for hallmarks have been swapped out.
• Certain items obtainable for total hallmarks have been swapped out.
• Certain items obtainable in exchange for badges of gallantry have been swapped out.

Item-Related

• New items have been added.
• The following item is now storable via the Porter Moogle
  • Storage Slip 22 — Blueblade Fell

Resolved Issues

• The issue in Ambuscade wherein Bozzetto Frigg and Bozzetto Skathi’s locations were incorrect under certain conditions.
• The issue wherein players logging in to Reisenjima Henge under certain conditions would have their The Voracious Resurgence progress set to immediately after completion of Nii’s Last Stand.
• The issue wherein footstep sound effects would not play in certain locations.
• Various issues with incorrect text.
• Various issues with incorrect or misleading item help text.

Known Issues

• The issue wherein logging back in using a certain method after disconnecting would cause the macros of other characters on the same account to be overwritten.
  * Data can be recovered if you have macros saved in advance via the FFXI config options or character select screen.
• Various issues with incorrect text.
• In Sortie, the total number of treasure coffers in the newly added section is incorrect.
  * This issue is related to the delayed implementation of certain notorious monsters. In the October version update, two coffers are mentioned but only one will appear. In the November version update and beyond, both coffers will properly appear.
  * Added Tuesday, October 11, at 0:00 (PDT)