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Third Final Fantasy XIV notorious monster previewed

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, News items, PvE, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

Zanig'oh is a monster. Not really by his own decision, as he was bred to be a biological weapon, further augmented by alchemical arts and powerful warding runes etched into his scales. But as far as Final Fantasy XIV players will be concerned, he's still the sort of monster that needs to be put down as fast as possible. After all, he's the third notorious monster previewed by the development team, and he drops the runestones that are already known to be the key to powerful armor sets. That means it's drake-hunting season once the December update arrives.

This newest preview also contains the third set available from the allagan runestones, with this set suited toward the more lightly-armored disciples of war. With a strong pirate theme, the set is heavy on evasion, thus making it ideal for players who prefer a more nimble playstyle. We're also promised further previews of the non-levequest notorious monsters, something that should entice Final Fantasy XIV players with the prospect of more rewards and challenges in the wilds of Eorzea. After drake-hunting season is over, anyway.

Third Final Fantasy XIV notorious monster previewed originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log: Hours of entertainment from just one boss

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

Every so often, column topics fall into my lap. Like when someone mentioned in the comments the other day that they were dreading the 18-hour boss fight from Final Fantasy XI would return in Final Fantasy XIV. For those of you who don't know what in the world that was referencing... well, it's time to take a look back at Pandemonium Warden, and the now legendary story of what it took for one linkshell to bring him down. Although by "bring him down," we really mean "fight him for nearly a full day and finally give up."

That's the image that Final Fantasy XI's boss fights have in a lot of people's heads. It's a great and evocative image, and it's also riddled with inaccuracies. That having been said, the nigh-on insanity of some boss fights in the game merits discussion as we get closer and closer to Final Fantasy XIV's release. Whether you're wondering about the warden's odds of return or just still believe that the boss fight properly went on for nearly a day, jump on past the break. There's a lot to go over.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Hours of entertainment from just one boss

The Mog Log: Hours of entertainment from just one boss originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XI update to eliminate 18+ hour boss takedowns

James Egan — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events, in-game, Forums, Game mechanics, Guilds, Patches, News items, PvE

The players of Final Fantasy XI have voiced their anguished concerns over a certain Notorious Monster (NM), and Square Enix seems to have listened. We recently reported on the extreme levels of commitment needed to take down the NM Pandemonium Warden in Final Fantasy XI. A linkshell (guild) ironically called Beyond the Limitation attempted to take the boss on over a solid 18 hour period, and still weren't able to succeed. Consensus from FFXI's players who've been vocal on the matter is that Pandemonium Warden isn't just beyond this particular linkshell's limits, they're beyond anyone's limits.

In response, Square Enix stated, "Discussion has spread significantly throughout forums, and it has become apparent that this is indeed an issue of major unrest in the community." The company implied that the methods players have employed may have been sub-optimal, as Square Enix didn't anticipate that NM encounters would be as protracted as they've proven to be. To remedy this, they will alter the difficulty of defeating Pandemonium Warden, Absolute Virtue, and Jailer of Love. "The aim of these changes is to create battles where a decisive outcome may be reached within a shorter period of time," they said. The changes will go into effect with the next version update, which is scheduled for early September.

[Via 1up]

Final Fantasy XI update to eliminate 18+ hour boss takedowns originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Pandemonium in Final Fantasy XI

James Egan — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Forums, Game mechanics, Guilds, Endgame, News items, PvE

News has spread of a grueling new enemy encounter in Final Fantasy XI. The Notorious Monster (NM) Pandemonium Warden is one of the strongest opponents players can face in the game. But it seems Square-Enix may have raised the bar too high, given the extremes to which players must go to defeat Pandemonium Warden.

A linkshell (guild) called Beyond the Limitation recently faced off against Pandemonium Warden over an 18 hour period, but the NM was still going strong. The NM shapeshifts into multiple forms, making it even more of a challenge to defeat; Beyond the Limitations fought Pandemonium Warden through twenty of his possible forms, some of which took hours to kill. Pet Food Alpha, a Final Fantasy XI community site, quotes a member of Beyond the Limitation stating: "People were passing out and getting physically ill. We decided to end it before we risked turning into a horrible new story about how video games ruin people's lives."

Continue reading It's Pandemonium in Final Fantasy XI

It's Pandemonium in Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XI players blast through new content to find ...?

Michael Zenke — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Patches, Endgame

The beginning of the month saw the folks at Square/Enix dropping a huge update onto the players of Final Fantasy XI. The June update has been months in the making, heavily anticipated by players at every level. For endgame players, one particularly appreciated addition to the game was the new Zeni Notorious Monsters system. Notorious Monsters in FFXI are what many players think of as 'nameds' in other games; they're common-model critters given interesting names and buffed up stats. There's an entire culture in Vana'diel around hunting these creatures, especially at higher level, so the ZNM system was a care package to the high-end players from the developers.

Pet Food Alpha describes the process of working through these new monsters. There are 31 in all, each at a specific tier of content. The tiers have to be climbed in order to reach the most dangerous creatures, with a single fifth-tier monster called Pandemonium Warden being the ultimate goal. A collaboration of linkshells (guilds) worked day and night all month to reach the point where they could take on this beast ... only to have a low level 'test goblin' spawn in place of the monsterous ZNM finale. The developers are on the case.

For more on this new system, check out the hugely informative Blue Gartr discussion thread on the subject or check below the cut to watch a 1st tier ZNM fight with the creature Ob.

Continue reading Final Fantasy XI players blast through new content to find ...?

Final Fantasy XI players blast through new content to find ...? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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