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Final Fantasy XI Basic Information: Part 3
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The Linkshell
A linkshell is a form of communication in Final Fantasy XI. When you purchase a Linkshell, inside the linkshell is 64 pearls. You hand the pearls out to the people you wish to share a private chatroom with. When you hand out some of your linkshells, the people who receive them will be able to talk to you secretely without having anyone else being able hear. Pearls can have their own color, which you may chose either by the default colours, or by using html (Like #FFFFFF is white). Since gil is scarce in this game, it may take you a while to be able to purchase them. They are very useful for clans.
Linkshell FAQ:
There are three "ranks" in a linkshell.
Linkshell: This is the person who bought and opened the shell, they are able to create linkpearls and convert linkpearls to pearlsacks. They are also able to kick people out of the LS, or throw away the LS.
Pearlsack: These people may create linkpearls and also kick people out of the LS. They can remove themselves from the LS by destroying their pearl, but they cannot break the LS itself.
Linkpearl: These people can speak and listen to the linkshell only. They cannot create new pearls or kick people out. They can either turn off or throw away their pearl.
How to Create a Linkshell:
An unopened shell can be bought from three locations, between certain times:
South Sandoria F9
Bastok Port E7 (item shop)
Windurst Port H9 (between weapon and armor shops)
Once you have bought an unopened shell, you open it and set up the LS. A name (mixed caps alright), and a colour must be chosen. The color is chosen with red, green and blue slider bars, but the pearl that appears next to names appears a lot lighter than the colour you set there. From that moment onwards name & color cannot be changed.
Linkshell Limitations:
You can only list people who are online and have their linkpearls turned on. Since you cannot break a person's pearl if they are not visible on the list, this gives people a chance to "escape" punishment if they do something bad. There is some leeway due to the delay in updating the list from the server side, but if that person logs off and is still displayed on the list, I think you will get an error message if you try to break their pearl. There is no way to control the conversation on lists, other than removing people entirely, which is a bit harsh at times. Additionally, there is no way to see who has created or broken linkpearls. This gives pearlsack holders almost the same power as the LS holder to recruit or kick members.
Linkshell Politics:
This is really a piece of advice for potential LS owners, though sack holders and pearl holders are welcome to take note. This is an online game and you meet all sorts of people. While you may have disagreements in real life, the potential for disagreements is so much higher online because of different cultures and common problems of misunderstanding. If your LS gets big, you will have to deal with this, there will be no easy escape. Small disagreements can quickly flare up into vicious flame wars, so try to calm them down as quickly as possible. a good way to do this is using private tells to the parties involved, and if they don't calm down, kick them. The LS is a public forum, and if arguments start, other people will be quickly drawn in, and everyone will be affected by the bad vibes. Another good way to prevent this kind of thing is to establish a clear set of rules from the very start of the LS's existence.
Be extra careful about who you give pearlsacks to.
At first it might seem like a good idea to give them to a lot of people, to make it easier to distribute pearls, to make people feel good about the LS and to have a good span of time coverage, but it is very hard to take a sack back once you have given it. Of course, technically it is easy, but I'm talking abuot the psychological impact. People will think you no longer trust them which can result in personal conflict. It's much better to take things slowly at first, make the extra effort to distribute pearls with 2 or 3 sack holders, rather than getting yourself into a sticky situation. Try to get a feeling for people's attitudes before you give them sack privileges. See how they cope with arguments and flared tempers, though don't go out of your way to create a bad atmosphere, just to test them.
Non-game communication.
Chances are, your LS may pick up momentum and become an entity outside of the game, where people chat in forums and such like. Try to establish a consistent hierarchy of moderators and ensure that your game rules are also followed on boards. Display the LS rules in an easy to find place and make sure people know about them. You may feel like you're being too heavy-handed at times, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. While you may damage relations between yourself and the culprit, it is better for the rest of the LS if they can continue without problems. But the last thing you should do is bear grudges from your side. Keep an open mind - it's easy for people to make mistakes, and while they may seem offensive at the time, they could quite easily regret the situation afterwards. Grudges only prolong this problem, but with care you can patch up differences quickly.
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Moogle House
In Final Fantasy XI, when you make your character and go online, you are given something called a Moogle House. The Moogle Houses are located in the resedential area of your kingdom. In your Moogle House, you can do many things to customize it to your needs.
Planting a Seed (Plant):
You can buy a seed from a shop, and plant it in a pot in your Moogle House. By, using crystals, you can manipulate the growth patterns of the seeds as they grow over time. The option for using crystal is only available after the plant has developed somewhat.
Vana'Diel Tribune:
You can read this newspaper that is located at Playonline's website.
Interior-Decorating:
You can customize the look of your Moogle House by adding furniture, and other items. Become a virtual Martha Stuart! |
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Servers and Game Masters
Servers:
There are 20 servers in Final Fantasy XI, each containing about 2000 players each. You cannot pick which server you start in because it is randomized, to prevent over-population. You can do it another way, though, by creating characters and then deleting them until a desired server is found. The servers are mainly named after summon monsters.
00 - Bahamut
01 - Shiva
02 - Titan
03 - Ramuh
04 - Pheonix
05 - Carbuncle
06 - Fenrir
07 - Sylph
08 - Varfale
09 - Alexander
10 - Leviathan
11 - Odin
12 - Ifrit
13 - Diablos
14 - Caitsith
15 - Quetyacoatl
16 - Siren
17 - Unicorn
18 - Gilgamesh
19 - Ragnarok
20 - Seraph
21 - Lakshmi
Game Masters:
A Game Master, commonly reffered to as 'GM' can be found throughout the world of Vana'Diel. Game masters are actual employees of Square who get paid to moderate the game and catch any cheaters or hackers dwelling in the game. They get the best equipment, armor, and jewlery in the game. You will rarely see a GM having a conversation with others, unless he is helping them with something. To become a GM you must go to Playonline's Final Fantasy XI site and fill out an application form and send it to them. They may be accepting applications when Final Fantasy XI comes out in North America.
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Guilds
Alchemist - Able to make medicine and refinining materials. A useful guild to have.
Boneworker - Makes armor, weapons, and accessories out of the bones of monsters. The materials for making the armor, weapons and accessories are easier to find, and therfore, the items will be of less quality than that of the armor, weapons, and accessories made from a blacksmith.
Blacksmith - Able to make good quality, valuable, armor, weapons and accessories from metals. The materials for blacksmithing are harder to come by than the materials used for boneworking. The Bastok Mines is an example of a source of precious metals and minerals. The product of these materials are made for the heavier type of character (not for Taru Tarus =)
Carpenter - Able to make things from wood, like furniture for your Mog House and arrows for Rangers
Cooking - Pretty much self explainable. Able to make foods that have multiple (pausitive =) status effects. Such as: HP and TP restoration etc. A very useful (and cheap in the ways of materials) guild to have.
Fisher - Fishing would be a good secondary guild to have as a cook. You can catch fish, and then cook them. You can receive items, catch fish (of course...) and also catch monsters, which you will then have to fight.
Jewler - Makes accessories (rings, armlets, anklets, necklaces etc.) from minerals, that will have a positive impact on your status (i.e. raising you health by a given percentage.) This is a pretty useful guild to obtain.
Skinworker - A skinworker produces leather armor, robes, and hats. This may not be the most useful guild, for say a Galka of a Dark Knight, but it would be useful for the more lighter characters (i.e. a Taru Taru.)
Tailor - The tailor does basically the same thing as the Skinworker guild, but it provides a little less quality with the items produced from the Skinworker guild. |
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