The History of Final Fantasy XI

Welcome to BGWiki's comprehensive Final Fantasy XI History resource! The purpose of this page is to have a full documentation regarding the development, release, and evolution of Final Fantasy XI to what it is today. This page is not about the lore of Vana'diel. Check out The History of Vana'diel for further information on that topic. If you have information or images that you believe would benefit this page, please create a topic on the Talk Page.
This is an ongoing project, and it is not yet complete! To fully enjoy this project, read through from the beginning to end in order. Click on a year below to begin!
Contents Pre-Release & Beta 2000 - 2001 Release & The First Year 2002 The Rise of the Zilart Era 2003 The Chains of Promathia Era 2004 Conclusion of Chains of Promathia 2005 The Treasures of Aht Urhgan Era 2006 Conclusion of Treasures of Aht Urhgan 2007 The Age of Mythical Weapons 2008 The Add-on Scenarios 2009 The End of the Level 75 Cap 2010 The Beginning of Post-Abyssea 2011 The Level 99 Era Coming Soon!
Project Updates v.1.0.0: Original concept and basic information from 2000-2003 created by Elmer the Pointy on JPButton.com v.2.0.0: 2000-2003 Additional information, images & topics researched compiled and re-released by Funkworkz in August & September of 2017 v.2.1.0: 2004 & 2005 by Funkworkz in September & October 2017 v.2.1.1: Entire project broken up into pages divided by year. v.2.1.2: Touched up Version Update entries to all years by dividing Job Adjustments and New Features & Content into their own tables. This will make things easier to distinguish if visitors only want to read those parts of the updates sections. v.2.1.5: Expanded and added many topics across all years. Includes the following topics: Castle Zvahl Charge, Load Fishing, Turtle Curse, Unsho & Unji, Garlic Farmer Conspiracy, The March Festival, 7/2 patch from hell, Vana'diel Clock, Movalpolos Water Festival, Bone-Bone Fantasy, Vrtra appearing at Spook on Lakshmi, and the Silver Hairpin Festival. v.2.2.0: 2006 was released by Funkworkz in December 2017 v.2.3.0: 2007 was released by Funkworkz in February 2018 v.2.4.0: 2008 was released by Funkworkz in April 2018 v.2.4.5: Expanded Version Update entries related to Paladin's evolution over multiple updates. v.2.5.0: 2009 was released by Funkworkz in August 2018 v.2.6.0: 2010 was released by Funkworkz in August 2019 v.2.7.0: 2011 was released by Funkworkz in July 2020 v.2.7.5: Expanded the following topics (click a link to be taken directly to the updated text): Rusty Caps Nerf, Bradygames Guides, Bradygames' FFXI Atlas, Walahra Turban, Salvage Armor Design, Chocobo Digging expanded across multiple years and updates - by Funkworkz in February 2021