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http://www.playonline.com/updateus/041007rj2qe8.html

Oct. 7, 2004 (JST*) Update Details
*Japan Standard Time

New Promathia missions have been added.

Players undertaking the Promathia mission "The Savage" will now be able to proceed from Riverne - Site #A01 to Monarch Linn. However, it will not be possible to enter the battlefield for "The Savage" unless Monarch Linn has been accessed from Riverne - Site #B01.

In the quest "All by Myself," the status of "Invisible" will be canceled while the level restriction is in effect. Also, an issue during the quest where other parties were unable to attack monsters that the NPC had disengaged has been addressed.

The effect of the monster ability to draw in opponents has been extended to include pets, avatars, and wyverns.

An issue in level restricted areas concerning level 75 characters gaining limit points regardless of the accumulation mode setting has been addressed.

An issue in level restricted areas concerning the number of experience points gained being calculated incorrectly when high-level party members are KO’d has been addressed. All other instances of the number of experience points gained in special circumstances being incorrectly calculated have also been addressed.

The amount of time that elapses before certain monsters and NMs reappear after being defeated has been altered in several areas. No changes have been made for monsters that only appear after a certain condition has been met.

The coordinates where a characters appears after using the black magic spell "Escape" has been changed for the following areas:
Promyvion – Vahzl/Spire of Vahzl

The type of monsters appearing in several areas has been changed.

The location of several monsters in the following areas has been altered:
Uleguerand Range/Attohwa Chasm/King Ranperre's Tomb

PCs and NPCs in battle, or the currently targeted PC/NPC have been given display priority.

An issue where crystals could be obtained from monsters that do not yield experience points while wearing the Kingdom Aketon, Republic Aketon, or the Federation Aketon has been addressed.

Adjustments will be made to the length of time the "Memory Stream" remains active in the following areas:
Promyvion – Holla/Promyvion – Mea/Promyvion – Dem/Promyvion – Vahzl

An issue concerning parts of the Oldton Movalpolos area that could be accessed by means not normally possible has been addressed.

The names of the following dark stalker monsters in Lufaise Meadows have been changed:
Formor Monk -> Fomor Monk
Formor Black Mage -> Fomor Black Mage
Formor Summoner -> Fomor Summoner

Item drop rates for monsters in the Chains of Promathia areas have been adjusted.

Guild members now reveal synthesis recipes that have previously been kept secret.

The purchase price for the following items has been adjusted:
Antlion Jaw/Bugard Skin/Bugard Leather

The item "antacid" is now stackable. The number of these items producable by synthesis has also been adjusted accordingly

It will no longer be possible to unequip “Enchanted” or “Dispensing” items during use.

The following item name has been changed:
"Shade Spats" -> "Shade Leggings"

An issue concerning a difference in the color of certain text between the Windows version and the PlayStation2 version has been addressed.

The previous cursor position will no longer be remembered by the "Refined Search Option Menu."

An issue where a "polboot.exe" error was detected when performing a FINAL FANTASY XI file check on the PlayOnline Viewer has been addressed. (Windows version only.)

http://www.playonline.com/updateus/040914gs7tr3.html

Sep. 14, 2004 (JST*) Update Details
*Japan Standard Time

[Event-Related]

A "Chains of Promathia" page has been added to the mission menu.

A new quest to increase the size of a player's gobbiebag has been implemented. A player must have completed the "Gobbiebag IV" quest in order for the new quest to be triggered.

Several new key items can now be purchased with guild points. Using these key items allows players to synthesize a plethora of new, never-before-seen products.
The key item obtainable at the Fishermen's Guild improves an angler's chances of catching certain prey.

The following changes have been made to Ballista:
-A variety of new items can be dug up using the /quarry command.
-When the special rule, "The potency of Sleep will be decreased" is applied in a Ballista match, players will gradually build up a resistance to Sleep if the spell is continuously cast on them.
-If the Chains of Promathia expansion pack is installed, exclusive Conflict BGM will play during all matches.

A new activity known as "clamming" is now available on the coast of a certain area.

Two new regions--the Tavnazian Archipelago and Movalpolos--have been added. Also, a number of new areas have been added to existing regions.

New "escort" quests have been added. In addition, players will now be able to cancel a previously accepted escort quest if they do not wish to complete it.

Dozens of new quests have been added in all four nations, as well as the new Chains of Promathia areas.

Nomad Moogles have been placed in several new areas.

The area a player reappears in after completing the Zilart mission "The Celestial Nexus" has been adjusted. This change does not affect any aspects of the story.

The number of areas where players can fish monsters has been increased.


[Battle-Related]

A variety of new monsters have been added to the Chains of Promathia areas.
Some of these enemies have the ability to see through Sneak and Invisible spells.

The range of select monsters' ranged and area attacks has been adjusted.

Elementals can now use enhancing magic.

Monsters caught while fishing, as well as those that appear when the security system of the "matter emulators" is in effect, will now only attack the player that caused the monster to spawn. However, these monsters can be attacked by anyone (as long as the color of the name has not changed to purple).

The viral attacks used by certain Chains of Promathia monsters have new detrimental effects.

The maximum amount of experience that can be earned from a single battle has been increased to 250 for players from level 51-60, and to 300 for players from level 61-75. In accordance with this change, the maximum amount of experience that can be earned during EXP chains has also been increased.

The "Moogle Merit Management" system that was introduced in the July 2004 version update has been expanded.

[HP/MP]
Max HP / Max MP

[Attributes]
STR/ DEX/ VIT/ AGI / INT / MND / CHR

[Combat Skills]
Hand-to-Hand Skill / Dagger Skill / Sword Skill / Great Sword Skill / Axe Skill / Great Axe Skill / Scythe Skill / Polearm Skill / Katana Skill / Great Katana Skill / Club Skill / Staff Skill / Archery Skill / Marksmanship Skill / Throwing Skill / Guarding Skill / Evasion Skill / Shield Skill / Parrying Skill

[Magic Skills]
Divine Magic Skill / Healing Magic Skill / Enhancing Magic Skill / Enfeebling Magic Skill / Elemental Magic Skill / Dark Magic Skill / Singing Skill / String Instrument Skill / Wind Instrument Skill / Ninjutsu Skill / Summoning Magic Skill

[Other Skills]
Enmity Increase / Enmity Decrease / Critical Hit Rate / Enemy Critical Hit Rate / Spell Interruption Rate

Only the skills which current level 75 job possess can be increased.
The attributes in each of the above five categories can only be raised a limited number of times. This is known as a “combination.”
Depending on his/her main job, raising combat skill may not necessarily allow a player to use certain weapon skills, which can be learned through quests.

For more detailed information on Moogle Merit Management, select "Game Guide" from the FINAL FANTASY XI top page and read the “Merit Points” section located in the manual under "Game Basics."

The effect of Enhancing Magic will wear off upon entering areas with level restriction or battlefields related to those areas.

Players will now receive experience points when fighting monsters in level-restricted areas (this only applies when fighting in the new Chains of Promathia areas). The amount earned per battle will be calculated using the following two methods, with the player receiving the higher total of the two:
(a) EXP calculations made based on current party level and number of party members * 0.5
(b) EXP calculations made based on actual party level (before level was restricted) and number of party members * 1.0

EXP chain bonuses are based on the party level before the restriction.
When in merit point accumulation mode, all EXP earned in this fashion will be changed to limit points.

When a player is KO'd while in a level-restricted area, the amount of EXP lost is determined by the player's level after entering the area.

The MP cost for the white magic spell Dia II has been reduced from 59 to 30.

The MP costs for the black magic spells Bio and Bio II have been reduced from 22 and 66 to 15 and 36, respectively. In addition, the amount of damage caused by the spells will now be affected by the caster’s dark magic skill. This adjustment also affects the damage caused by Bio III (used only by monsters).

"Scythe" has been added to a black mage's combat skills. Black mages will now be able to equip certain new weapons.

The skillchain element of the dagger weapon ability "Evisceration" has been changed.

The recast time for the paladin ability "cover" has been lowered from 5 minutes to 3.

The level required for paladins to use the white magic spell "Raise" has been lowered from 75 to 50.

The area of effect for bard "etudes" has been changed to "single party member." Also, the casting time of these songs has been substantially reduced.

The casting time of the bard song "Goddess's Hymnus" has been reduced.

The effectiveness of the ninjutsu "Utsusemi" now relies on the type of attack that is being used on the caster. When attacked, the following five outcomes can occur:

Caster evades attack and one "copy image" is lost.
This normally occurs when the caster is hit with a single physical or magical attack.

The number of lost copy images varies.
This normally occurs when the caster is hit with an area attack such as Whirl of Rage. The number of copy images lost (and extra damage taken) is calculated by taking into account the potency of the attack as well as the caster's current ninjutsu skill level.

All copy images are lost and the caster takes damage.
This normally occurs when the caster is hit with an area attack spell such as Firega.

The caster takes damage without losing any of his/her copy images.
This normally occurs when the caster is hit with breath, or self-destruct type attacks.

The caster is enfeebled without losing any of his/her copy images.
This normally occurs when the caster is hit with an enfeebling spell that does not inflict damage, such as Silence.
All enemy attacks fall into one of the above categories.
The copy images created by the spells Blink and Aerial Armor can also be removed in the same manner as that explained under "the number of lost copy images varies" (above).

The dragoon weapon skill "Wheeling Thrust" has been enhanced.

Dragoons are now able to equip select throwing weapons.

When a dragoon uses the "Super Jump" ability during a battle, now his/her wyvern will also perform a super jump, preventing the monster from attacking the pet. However, this jump will not affect the wyvern's enmity.

Avatars can now participate in skillchains and magic bursts by carefully timing the use of the ability "Blood Pact."

The damage and accuracy of several avatar attacks have been adjusted.

The macro command <pettp> can be used to view a pet, wyvern, or avatar’s current TP.
The charmed pet’s TP decreasing, while it is not in the combat mode, is by design.

Avatar TP will now affect the damage of select magical Blood Pact attacks. Just as with normal player TP, after the attack, the avatar's TP will be reset to zero. Avatar TP does not affect physical, enhancing, or enfeebling Blood Pact techniques, and thus will not be lost after an avatar uses one of these abilities.

It is necessary to defeat the monster's wyvern to complete the orb battle, "Amphibian Assault" successfully. The "Amphibian Assault" can be accessed from Sacrificial Chamber by using the Moon Orb.

Continued...