GamerEscape

While many of us here are eagerly awaiting the clock to strike midnight to bring in 2020, Japan has already moved into the new year. To mark the occasion, Final Fantasy XI Producer Akihiko Matsui has posted the following letter:

Happy New Year, adventurers!

You may recall that last year I declared our intent to bring FINAL FANTASY XI’s safely to its 20th anniversary together with all of you. Toward that end, we drafted version update plans under the theme of “revisiting common wisdom with a fresh look,” and celebrated many success stories—revamping the installer program, refurbishing our promotional site, and otherwise working on various tasks that made it easier for returning adventurers to come back and for new players to start playing with minimal fuss.

2019 was also a year in which we continued to promote new playstyles. In addition to the recent reworking of Domain Invasion, we implemented new battlefields that brought some favorite mission battles back to the forefront—both things we are very proud of. I hope you enjoyed these changes as much as we enjoyed bringing them to you.

And here we are, entering a whole new decade. In 2020, we want to continue building on this foundation to create an even more fulfilling Vana’diel experience.

The word “fulfilling” means different things to different people—new adventures, quality of life improvements, and more. We’ve already started work on a number of items towards both these ends. In the realm of new adventures, we’re striving to bring you all-new content in which you can reforge Wanted equipment. For quality of life improvements, we’re going to remove system-side hurdles to eliminate various pain points, such as adjusting battle area entry systems.

I’d like to end my greetings by wishing health and happiness to you and yours in the New Year and by reaffirming the development and operations teams’ commitment to bringing you exciting adventures in the world of Vana’diel. We hope that you continue to enjoy FINAL FANTASY XI, and we’ll see you in game!

Akihiko Matsui
Producer, Final Fantasy XI

Looking ahead, 2020 is shaping up to be a great year for Final Fantasy XI, including the first Final Fantasy XI event in North America in over ten years.

Those adventuring in Vana’diel will be able to take place in the New Year’s Gear Getter Campaign which begins on Saturday, January 11 and runs until the end of the month. The campaign will feature increased seal and crest drop rates, additional spoils from seal battlefields, and more!

The day before the campaign kicks off will see the arrival of the January version update bringing adjustments to Beastmaster as well as changes to Ambuscade and Domain Invasion.