I plan on someday playing this gigantic game, but for the meantime I thought of a few questions before I do play it, eventually.

1. Can FFXI be played cross-platform using the same account? I got a demo disc from Gamestop a few weeks back for the Windows version, but I actually OWN the PS2 version (using the HD for backups though, and don't have wired internet atm either).

2. What are the limits of a trial account?

3. After trial period is up, can I transfer everything over to a fulltime account?

4. If I were to play the trial now, would I be able to come back to it in a few months for fulltime, or does SquareEnix not care about trials and delete them after they expire?

5a. I've heard that leveling solo has been made easier recently. Is that true? Or is it still pretty tough after level 10?
5b. If it IS easier to level solo, is it because of the expansions or some overall changes to the game?


Just a few questions that I'd like to have cleared up, since I couldn't really find a straight answer on the FFXI/Playonline site thing.

1. As far as I'm aware, yes it can. The game's serial codes are locked to your payment method, but basically as long as you remember your PlayOnline ID and password, you can use any version with that account. Naturally, certain things which are saved on your system (such as background images in PlayOnline Viewer, and macros in FFXI) cannot be used cross-platform.

2. The original free trial period for FFXI basically meant your first 30 days in FFXI was free, although you were still required to register a payment method when you signed up with PlayOnline. There were absolutely no limitations placed on this - you could sign up, play for 30 days and then cancel your account on the 30th day and not be charged a cent. And you had access to everything in the game as normal, depending on what expansion packs you had installed and registered though.

Unfortunately, Square Enix have since confused things by bringing in a free 14 day trial period which I think is indeed a proper 'trial period', where certain things are unavailable. But to be honest, I'm not really sure what this trial version involves.

3.As stated above, the original 'trial period' was basically 'your first month free'. After the first 30 days, Square Enix would start billing you monthly fees for the game, as you had to register a credit or debit card when you first signed up. As far as I'm aware, the new '14 day free trial' can indeed be transferred to a full account at the end, but I'm not entirely sure.

4.If you cancel your PlayOnline account (this would go for both normal accounts and trial accounts I presume), Square Enix holds the account information for 3 months. During that time you can reactivate your account and everything will be fine. After that date though, they delete the account and everything attached to it, meaning if you want to play the game again, you need to purchase a new copy of the game and create a whole new account.

However, Square Enix have been running the 'Return Home to Vana'diel' campaign where deleted accounts can be retrieved so I presume they must archive account information before deleting it.

5.There have been a lot of changes made to the game's design to indeed make it much easier to solo in FFXI. The new Fields of Valour and Allied Campaign battle systems in particular have actually made it possible to never have to party again in FFXI (as an example, I levelled Warrior all the way from 50 to 75 in Campaign, and I've taken Dragoon from 1 to 52 in Fields of Valour exclusively - in both cases though it took me much longer than what it would have if I'd been just exp partying).

However, having said that, experience parties are still the fastest and most efficient way to level in FFXI. It's just now there is a viable alternative to exp grinding.

Some of these changes have been introduced with expansion packs (Allied Campaign in particular is part of the fourth Wings of the Goddess expansion pack), but generally, most have been new functions progressively added to the game over the last few years, mostly as an attempt by Square Enix to stem the bleeding of players jumping ship to World of Warcraft.

Naturally there are still many gripes that Square Enix still have to address (mostly to do with skill levelling), but these changes have more or less greatly improved the overall play experience in FFXI.

Hopefully, this hasn't been too confusing for you. :)

Perfect. Thank you! You cleared up most of the stuff that I've been wondering/worrying about for a while now.

One more question that I came to after posting.

What happened to the PS2 version of the Vanadiel 08 Collection? I can't seem to find it anywhere for a reasonable price.

If I get the PC version, will the expansions work crossplatform as well? Like it will count that my account is upgraded with all 4 and then could I just download the extra info to my PS2?

I don't think I would need the disc, but if I do I might have to buy a refurbished PS2. My PS2's disc drive went out lol.

From what I'm aware, the PS2 version is regarded more or less as obsolete by Square Enix. Hence why they ported the game to the 360 to compensate.

The PS2 version was never available in Europe/the UK/Australia though so I have no experience with the PS2 version. As Square Enix have brought out a patch to make it compatible with the PS3 though, I guess it's not entirely been phased out.

As for the expansions, as long as you have them installed and registered to your account, they should work no matter what version you're playing (as long as that version you're playing has the actual packs installed naturally).

The new mini-expansions however work a little differently, as they're installed automatically to your system as part of the update process regardless whether or not you've actually purchased them - the content is disabled until you purchase those packs naturally.

Personally, I would recommended just buying the PC version, as you can do far more with the game on the PC than the PS2/360 versions (for instance taking screenshots/video recording with FRAPs is one of the things I do). Because FFXI was a PS2 title, it can run pretty well on just about any reasonably modern PC now, as long as your video card is reasonable.

Yeah that's the problem. My computer is a 4 year old tablet PC. The specs are fine, all except the video card. The video card is missing all kinds of shading and particle features and such. So my best bet is actually the PS2 version. And I would go crazy playing it on computer anyways, it's not really "gaming comfortable" to me. I sit at it hours a day as it is, throwing in another reason to sit at it is just unimaginable.

On the other hand, I really want to give FFXI a try, so I'm willing to put up with the PC version for at least 14-30 days, and by then I'll hopefully be in a better situation at home to play it on PS2. Don't have an Xbox, I'm kinda still playing things in the gens before still.

I guess I'll check Gamestop every now and then to see if they have Vanadiel 08 for PS2, at least used. That way I can at least use the discs, and then just buy it on PC to upgrade my account.

And those mini-expansions make the whole updating process sound like a bitch. I've seen my friend wait for updates after the 2nd (I think) expansion came out, and it took him like 3-4 hours to download the necessary stuff into his PS2 (he also hadn't been playing for a few months before that, so that would kinda account for why it took so long lol).

Anyways, thanks for answering my questions dude. ;) Maybe we'll get to kill shit together one day... or not... because, I'll be a noob... and I'm sure you're decked out and level capped. lol

As far as the updates go, on broadband it takes little more than a couple of hours to complete. However, if you happen to be playing on dial-up, prepare for a LONG wait - when I first started FFXI over 4 and half years ago, dial-up was all I had and it took me the better part of a week to finish the updates. At least now I have DSL so the pain of long downloads is a thing of the past.

Anyway, if you do manage to get in game, if you'd like to come to my server (Midgardsormr), I could get you a Gold World Pass to Midgard if you'd like (it entitles you to free stuff you can't get anywhere else ;)).

As for levelling together, I might be level 75, but I still have plenty of low level Jobs I need to grind on which I could easily switch to. The recent level snyc system allows people to party together too regardless of level, so don't feel like you won't be able to do things because I happen to be level 75. :)

From what I'm aware, the PS2 version is regarded more or less as obsolete by Square Enix. Hence why they ported the game to the 360 to compensate.

It's a little more complicated than that. The PS2 version came bundled with the HDD add-on, which isn't compatible with the newer, smaller models of the PS2. Which means newer PS2s can't play FFXI, period. So it's more like Sony regarded it as obsolete, since Square Enix continues to support the PS2 version.


Yeah that's the problem. My computer is a 4 year old tablet PC. The specs are fine, all except the video card. The video card is missing all kinds of shading and particle features and such. So my best bet is actually the PS2 version.

The PS2 version is going to cost you over $100, since you have to buy the HDD in order to be able to run it. It's not really worth it since FFXI is pretty much the only game that works with the hard drive. You would probably be better off waiting until you have a PC that can run it (or maybe just get a new video card, I don't know how much they cost).

I thought I mentioned it, but I guess I didn't.

I already have the whole hdd+ffxi boxset. I just have no internet to play it on, nor the time to play it.

Oh... actually, I did mention it. Third sentence, first post. ;P Move along...