I'm compiling an FAQ so I can post it up on the Shrine and leave it here for anyone who may have any questions about the game. I'm going to try to fill in as many FAQs as possible and since I haven't played it yet, I would like those who have to help me with this. :D

SO ON TO THE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE THING.

General Questions</center>

Q: Should I play this on the PC or PS2?
A: It depends on how souped up your PC is. If you want to be ensured that it'll run graphically smoothly, get the PS2. If you're confident that your PC will run the game well, get the PC. The PS2 retails for more ($100 USD)but it is considered the lower-budget of the two.

Q: Can I play this offline?
A: No, it's an Massive Multiplayer Online RPG, it cannot be played offline.

Q: If I have a POL account setup on the PC, would I have to register my PS2 games?
A: You don't unless you want to pay for 2 accounts. Your POL ID and Reg Codes are compatable with both the PC and the PS2. This also means that you can aquire a copy of FFXI for the PC without the keys and buy the PS2 version and be able to play both.

Q: Can I play online with a modchip?
A: Yes, as long as you disable your modchip beforehand.

Q: I have AOL, can I play FFXI online?
A: As much as I hate to say it, yes you can... but I REALLY doubt you'd want to.

Q: Can I buy the PS2 HDD separately?
A: There are no plans to release it by itself, for right now you can only get it with FFXI.

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Wow.... that's all I have? I must be tired. :(

Just thought that I would say that my computer has a GeForce 4 128MB video card (About a year old card), and the graphics for ffxi are much better, and smoother than the ps2 graphics.

So if you want better graphics and have a good card, you should go with the pc.

Q: Mothly fee? How much?
A: $13 a month, an additional $1 for each character beyond the first, and an additional $1 for Tetra Master.

Here's a quick question.... anyone even play TM?

I did for the first month i had the game. Pretty pointless... not really fun. Would have been much better if they integrated it into FFXI, so you could just walk up to somebody and challenge them, and they could have tournaments in game and stuff, but otherwise, it's similar to playing games on yahoo or something.

Good luck creating a faq for this game. To cover everything you'd probably have to work on it for over a year.

I never played Tetra Master either, I didn't enjoy it 8 or 9 so I never tried it on play online.

Actually it's really just to start up people, I won't go FAR beyond into gameplay. :O

Updated I guess. :O

Here's a couple more (about payment methods and importing the game):

Q: "I don't mind paying the $12.95 monthly fee to play the game. How do I actually make the payments?"

A: At the moment, Square only accepts payment by credit card. The only two brands they accept are Visa and Mastercard (no Diner's Club or Amercian Express for you...). If you don't have a credit card (like myself), you can use a debit card, provided it's again Visa or Mastercard. Ask your bank if you have any queries about getting a debit card.

Q: "Wait. I'm in PAL territories (Europe/Australia) and the idiots at Square-Enix Europe are twiddling their thumbs about FFXI. Can I import the US PC version and play the game in my home country?"

Q: In a word, yes, you can. There was a bit of trouble to start with about only being able to choose from a US or Canadian postal address, but the US PC version works fine in Europe and Australia. When registering, it asks for either a US or Canadian postal address. Use a Canadian/British Columbian one, (with any address will work apparently), and when it gets to your billing location, you can select from a long list of countries, including Europe and Australia, and it will work with no problems.

However, plans are underway to release the PC version in Europe - Beta test applications are being accepted at the moment, so a release isn't too far away (the PS2 version is still up in the air at the moment). But you can still import it if you want. It's your choice.

This is for an FAQ right... i was just wondering if one of you could answe a question for me that i couldnt find.

When is FFXI coming out im New Zealand?!!

i have not seen it anywhere. I would be greatly appreciated if you could answer this question for me.

Well after playing a whole bunch, I'll add more.

General Questions


Q: Should I play this on the PC or PS2?
A: It depends on how souped up your PC is. If you want to be ensured that it'll run graphically smoothly, get the PS2. If you're confident that your PC will run the game well, get the PC. The PS2 retails for more ($100 USD)but it is considered the lower-budget of the two.

Q: Can I play this offline?
A: No, it's an Massive Multiplayer Online RPG, it cannot be played offline.

Q: If I have a POL account setup on the PC, would I have to register my PS2 games?
A: You don't unless you want to pay for 2 accounts. Your POL ID and Reg Codes are compatable with both the PC and the PS2. This also means that you can aquire a copy of FFXI for the PC without the keys and buy the PS2 version and be able to play both.

Q: Can I play online with a modchip?
A: Yes, as long as you disable your modchip beforehand.
(Added: You'll need to disable your modchip to actually boot up your HDD since Sony added a little trick to either disable your modchip or not boot up at all if you have a HDD connected to a PS2 with a modchip in)

Q: I have AOL, can I play FFXI online?
A: As much as I hate to say it, yes you can... but I REALLY doubt you'd want to.

Q: Can I buy the PS2 HDD separately?
A: There are no plans to release it by itself, for right now you can only get it with FFXI.

Q: Monthly fee? How much?
A: $13 a month, an additional $1 for each character beyond the first, and an additional $1 for Tetra Master.

Q: "I don't mind paying the $12.95 monthly fee to play the game. How do I actually make the payments?"

A: At the moment, Square only accepts payment by credit card. The only two brands they accept are Visa and Mastercard (no Diner's Club or Amercian Express for you...). If you don't have a credit card (like myself), you can use a debit card, provided it's again Visa or Mastercard. Ask your bank if you have any queries about getting a debit card.

Q: "Wait. I'm in PAL territories (Europe/Australia) and the idiots at Square-Enix Europe are twiddling their thumbs about FFXI. Can I import the US PC version and play the game in my home country?"

A: In a word, yes, you can. There was a bit of trouble to start with about only being able to choose from a US or Canadian postal address, but the US PC version works fine in Europe and Australia. When registering, it asks for either a US or Canadian postal address. Use a Canadian/British Columbian one, (with any address will work apparently), and when it gets to your billing location, you can select from a long list of countries, including Europe and Australia, and it will work with no problems.

However, plans are underway to release the PC version in Europe - Beta test applications are being accepted at the moment, so a release isn't too far away (the PS2 version is still up in the air at the moment). But you can still import it if you want. It's your choice.

Q: Is it worth it?

A: Okay, this question is basically all opinionated. Basically, it's an MMORPG and nearly all MMORPGs follow the same suit of leveling up one character with all these classes and stuff. Of course if you hate MMORPGs, you're probably not going to like this since it really doesn't offer anything new to those who are just casual players. Also, internet rules apply here... the unwritten rules I mean (don't act like an idiot, don't be an ass, don't do something to piss people off, don't think it's not real life, don't think it's real life, etc etc) so if you cry over something that happens in IRC or something, avoid this game at all costs. To those I haven't scared off yet, there are those who still play and still act dumb, DON'T BE ONE OF EM. Otherwise, if you have played other MMORPGs, you should know the pattern to these things, it's just that the battles have some added elements like Skill Chain and Magic Bursts, a first of it's kind in an MMORPG. As for everything else, that's really just what you like in a game... it's all just online gameplay in the long run.

Q: How do I prepare myself for this game.

A: If you haven't played an MMORPG, you should have the following...

Basic understanding of character development and race development.
Economy Skills and how it works (Supply and Demand)
Reading, you REALLY need to read for this game.
Tolerance with people and dealing with them.
Friends, you're not going to survive alone.
Time, you got to take the time.
Patience, everything isn't going to land on your lap.
Mentality Control, don't be screaming like a nut when you level up.

If you have most of that, you'll most likely be prepared for this game.

Q: How does Square Enix do it's monthly billing?

A: When you first register a Content ID, you'll be placed in Free Trial mode which will last for 30 days (POL will tell you when it's that time). From then, it'll take the remaining days of the month and bill you according to that. After that point, you'll be billed the full payment of 12.95 + extra IDs at the First of every month.

Example: My trial ends May 21, there are 10 more days until June, I'll get billed a fraction of the full price based on the 10 days I have left in the month. (which would come to around 4 dollars I believe), once June 1st hits, I'll get billed 12.95 + extra IDs a month and will be billed again July 1st.

Q: What can I do in POL Client?

A: Well, it kinda acts like it's own little AOL service dealie (oh shit, why did I say that?). You can send e-mail to others, go to chatrooms, send messages to players inside FFXI or TM and read up on various events that is happening to the POL servers. Also, if you own the PS2 version, this'll probably be the only way you can contact anyone online via PS2.

Q: Do I need the disc in to play the game?

A: You don't... but this is a new unique feature to the PS2 as the game is launched directly from the Harddrive instead of a disc. In fact, the game comes preinstalled, all you really need is the POL Disc to register your game and you're set. If you want to watch the opening movie on the PS2 version however, just insert the disc and boot it from there.... however, you can't play it with the disc in the system.

Q: Can I delete FFXI off the HDD and use it for Resident Evil Outbreak, etc?

A: Yeah.. but that kinda defeats the purpose of your 100 dollar purchase since you got FFXI for technically free and there's not a lot of games that support the HDD out there right now... and plus you're gonna have a hard time playing REO with the HDD since a lot of people don't play with HDD option. (but that's for another FAQ).

Q: DAMMIT, THIS GAME SUCKS, I WANT TO CANCEL IT AND JUST THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW! HOW DO I DO THAT?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?shift+1shift+/

A: O_O;;; Okay, so you didn't enjoy FFXI. I suggest you give it another try since the gameplay experience will change per day... but if you REALLY want to get rid of it, just deactivate your POL account. Your characters will remain inactive (assuming you didn't delete them) for 3 months. If you deactivate your POL account, after 3 months, you may NEVER use that POL account again and you MUST buy a new copy of FFXI if you ever want to play again.

Alternatively, you can just cancel your Content IDs and keep your POL account active. When you cancel your IDs, you'll have 3 months to reactivate the character associated to the ID. Once 3 months have passed, your characters will be wiped and you have to start over again. However, POL will have new games released later on like Front Mission Online, it might be wise to have your POL account ready for these games when they do come out. Rumor also has it that several POL games will not cost anything extra to play, so they can be free services where you just need to activate the code and install it.