Final Fantasy XI producer Akihiko Matsui will be stepping down from his role, to be replaced by director Yoji Fujito. This announcement came by way of the game's official website today, wherein Matsui shared his reflections on the project. Matsui started as a battle designer the company's first MMORPG before moving to the director's chair in 2010, ten years after he joined the project. After a stint as Final Fantasy XIV's lead combat system designer for the successful A Realm Reborn relaunch, he returned as a producer on Final Fantasy XI after Hiromichi Tanaka's departure until the present day. He is often seen on short broadcasts with director Fujito sharing information about monthly updates coming to the game. Of course it shouldn't be forgotten that Matsui's resume is quite impressive, even aside his long career leading Final Fantasy XI. Starting off as a battle designer for Final Fantasy IV back in 1991, he would come to work on other beloved 16-bit era RPGs like Final Fantasy V, Romancing SaGa 2, and a little game called Chrono Trigger which he also directed. Moving into the PlayStation, he also worked on the SaGa Frontier and as a game and systems designer on the

The planned March update for Final Fantasy XI is out today, bringing with it a set of new content including the latest chapter of The Voracious Resurgence storyline and a March Login Campaign. Additional details on the new content added in the March version update include: The Voracious Resurgence – In the final chapter of the saga, Chapter 11, Part 1, a betrayer in the midst awaits in Castle Zvahl. Login Campaign – The March 2023 Login Campaign runs from Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 7:00 a.m. (PST) to Sunday, April 9, 2023, at 7:00 a.m. (PDT). Receive points and exchange them for in-game items such as the ♪Phuabo. Further details on the March update can be read over on the official forums here. The We Are Vana'diel special site has also been updated with a variety of new content including We Grew Vana'diel #18, featuring an interview with localization guru Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and hos thoughts on the past two decades as a member on the localization team.

In the latest monthly update to Final Fantasy XI available today, Ambuscade has refreshed corses and demon encounters, and Sortie has been updated to further address congestion players are experiencing. A chat log "term filter" can also be created by editing local files to include those terms. Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito talk about the February update’s highlights below. You can check out the detailed update notes on the official forums here. Ambuscade In February's update, Volume One features Corses, while Volume Two features Demons. The Corse encounter has been adjusted where it will no longer use Gambol Macabre when its skeleton minions are not present — which the team says will be an easier fight if you focus on the minions. However, if the Corse uses a special ability when the targeted player is a certain distance away, it will always use Gambol Macabre regardless of whether any minions are present. Additionally, when the Corse uses Blood Weapon, it will remove any negative status ailments from itself and its minions. If you're playing at a distance to limit what special abilities the Corse can use, make sure you don't move too far away. Sortie The team is making adjustments to address the congestion and they thank players

In the latest monthly update to Final Fantasy XI available today, Ambuscade has refreshed moogle and flan encounters, and the second half of Part 10 of The Voracious Resurgence scenario will commence after ad delay. Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito talk about the December update’s highlights, as well as ongoing and recurring campaigns. You can check out the detailed update notes on the official forums here. Ambuscade January 2023's Ambuscade update will feature moogles in Volume One, and Flan in Volume Two. Both of these re returning encounters, yet will have adjustments from their previous iterations. In the moogle encounter, the size of the beneficial area created by the two moogle minions has been expanded. A unique message has been added for when the minions begin to move. The boss will also gain a resistance to damage from Blood Pact abilities, but only when its SP ability is in effect. In the Flan encounter, the requirements for the boss to change modes are now the same across all difficulties. Additionally, the mode where players can deal more damage will now last longer than it has previously. Golden Bombs will appear when certain requirements are fulfilled, continuing on from the last month's Ambuscade. The team notes that January

In the December monthly update to Final Fantasy XI available today, Ambuscade has refreshed Meebles and Harpeia encounters, and Odyssey has its final tier of difficult added, alongside available upgrades. Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito talk about the December update's highlights, as well as ongoing and recurring campaigns. You can check out the detailed update notes on the official forums here. Ambuscade December's Ambuscade update features Meebles in Volume One and Harpeia in Volume Two. For the Meeble encounter, the special ability Meeble Warble will take longer to activate in Easy through Very Difficult modes. Additionally, when the boss gains the effect of Hundred Fists, it will gain a resistance to damage from consecutive uses of Blood Pact abilities. The Harpeia encounter's boss has had its HP lowered so it should be easier to defeat. Up to three Golden Bombs will appear when certain requirements are fulfilled, which the team advises is a good way to earn Hallmarks. Odyssey In this month's update, Veng +21 through +25 will be unlocked in Odyssey. This means you'll be able to further upgrade your gear; by defeating a Veng +25 boss, it will allow you to upgrade the relevant gear to Rank 30. This unlock allows

In the latest monthly update to Final Fantasy XI, the tenth chapter of The Voracious Resurgence scenario commences with Gumbah in Bastok, and will allow players to further reforge their Prime Weapons. However, players continuing past this chapter will need to be in possession of a Prime Weapon that has a DMG value. Updates to Sortie and Ambuscade have also been implemented, and players will be able to use the 'Matsui-P' alter ego in Trust. The latest developer video digest highlights the latest, which we've transcribed below. You can check out the detailed update notes on the official forums here. FINAL FANTASY XI Digest #41 — November 2022 Final Fantasy XI Producer, Akihiko Matsui:Hi, nice to see you again. The 10th episode of The Voracious Resurgence has started. Not too many missions are left. We hope you all enjoy the story the end. To our Western players, greetings! FFXI Producer Matusi here. Final Fantasy XI Director, Yoji Fujito:Greetings! Director Fujito here. It's time for the FFXI Digest for November, the eleventh month of the year. Matsui:It's now been six months since our 20th anniversary and it's very heartwarming to see so many adventurers continuing to enjoy their time in Vana'diel.Fujito:We appreciate all of your continued support!

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

Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito walk us through Final Fantasy XI‘s September 2022 version update details, including updates for Ambuscade content, adjustments for Sortie congestion, and the next part of The Voracious Resurgence scenario. The update is available today. In Ambuscade, this month's Volume One features Dullahan while Volume Two features Hydra. For these returning encounters, the Dullahan now gains damage resistance to consecutive hits from Blood Pact abilities during its Blood Weapon effect. On the other hand, the team has eased the requirements for the minion to use recovery abilities when enfeebled - the key to victory seems like it will be to cleverly manipulate the minion's behavior. For Hydra, the boss's HP has been slightly reduced, and in Normal and below, its heads will regenerate slower than before. The encounter should feel more manageable in Normal difficulty. In September's The Voracious Resurgence update, the second half of Part 9 will be released, and will continue from where the story left off in Adoulin. You'll be able to visit a certain location which will be centric to the story. As for Records of Eminence objectives after completing Part 9, they're scheduled to be completed next month. Additionally, the first stage of Prime

Producer Akihiko Matsui and director Yoji Fujito walk us through Final Fantasy XI's August 2022 version update details, including a delay for the new Sortie feature, the next part of The Voracious Resurgence scenario, and the Ambuscade update. This month's Ambuscade update Volume One features Ramuh, while Volume Two features Morbols. Enemy summoners in the Ramuh encounter are now susceptible to heavy and bind effects, which will make it easier to go on the offensive. However, they now take reduced damage from various damage types, including non-elemental damage. You may need to switch up your strategy from before. The Morbols idol group SHINING BLESS encounter returning from 2018 is largely unchanged, but a Golden Bomb will appear if you fulfill certain requirements — it's even possible to run into multiple Golden Bombs if you plan correctly. This is a good opportunity to earn hallmarks. Exemplar Points will no longer be gained or lost in Ambuscade. The team envisions Ambuscade as a "place for returnees and players who just hit level 99 to take their first step into end-game content by way of getting better equipment and learning about max level combat systems in a trial-and-error way." Therefore, the team wanted to reduce the

Final Fantasy XI Online's July 2022 update is live, and features a bunch of smaller-scale battle adjustments and updates for Ambuscade. In the summary below, we get an idea of what to expect. For Ambuscade — this month's Volume One features Goblins, while Volume Two features Antlions, and both of these encounters have been adjusted to be easier. However, in order to maintain an appropriate difficulty for each level, the Goblins have had some of their damage increased and given Regain. Volume One and Two's have been eased for Easy difficulty and below and in general there have been a variety of adjustments. Regarding the Spike Flail ability used by Wyrm enemies in Domain Invasion, which was adjusted last month. The team received feedback the Spike Flair was triggering on players who were attacking from the flank. Until now, bosses were sectioned into two 180-degree arcs in the front and back. So depending on where you stood on the flank, certain positions would've been considered to be on the rear. To address this, they divided bosses into four arcs of 90 degrees each, and you'll only be "behind the boss" if you're in the 90-degree arc behind them. Monster for farming