The History of Final Fantasy XI

Welcome to The History of Final Fantasy XI - A Treatise by Funkworkz
This is an ongoing project, it is not yet complete!
Mission Statement: I set off and began this massive project after realizing that a conclusive documentation of the evolution of Final Fantasy XI did not exist. Nobody will disagree that the game has entirely changed from when it was first released; but I believe that what once was should not be forgotten - it should be preserved for everybody to see. This beloved game has a place in hundreds of thousands of people's hearts, and I want everybody to be able to have experienced what few did. With this in mind, I set out to sustain all of the ups and downs of Final Fantasy XI's life. This includes perspectives and reactions from players all over the world, English and Japanese alike. I want veterans to read something on the following pages and say to themselves "Wow, I forgot that happened!". At the same time, I want a new player or somebody who has never played, to read that same entry and say "Wow, I wish I was playing to experience that!". If you have information, corrections, images, comments, or anything else that you believe would benefit this project please create a topic on the Talk Page. This page is not about the lore of Vana'diel. Check out The History of Vana'diel for further information on that topic.
Contents To fully enjoy this project, I recommend that you read through from the beginning to end in order. Grab your favorite drink and click on a year below to begin! 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 2012 The Seekers of Adoulin Release Work is in progress!
Project Updates v.2.8.2: Revamped the format of the developer commentary sections. Also added everything that was released so far as of October 2021, which is through 2006. Updated by Funkworkz in October 2021 v.2.8.1: Expanded the Pre-Release & Beta section greatly with new entries. Also added all developer commentary that was released on the "We Are Vana'diel" website to both the Pre-Release & Beta and Release & The First Year sections. Updated by Funkworkz in July 2021 v.2.8.0: 2012, new home page, and new navigation released by Funkworkz in July 2021 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 v.2.7.0: 2011 was released by Funkworkz in July 2020 v.2.6.0: 2010 was released by Funkworkz in August 2019 v.2.5.0: 2009 was released by Funkworkz in August 2018 v.2.4.5: Expanded Version Update entries related to Paladin's evolution over multiple updates. v.2.4.0: 2008 was released by Funkworkz in April 2018 v.2.3.0: 2007 was released by Funkworkz in February 2018 v.2.2.0: 2006 was released by Funkworkz in December 2017 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.2.1.2: 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.2.1.1: Entire project broken up into pages divided by year. v.2.1.0: 2004 & 2005 by Funkworkz in September & October 2017 v.2.0.0: 2000-2003 additional information, images & topics researched, compiled, and re-released by Funkworkz in August & September of 2017 v.1.0.0: Original concept and basic information from 2000-2003 created by Elmer the Pointy on JPButton.com