Treasure of Aht Urhgan revealed

I'd doubt the Blue Mage thing if it weren't for the pictures of it using Spider Web and that Raptor Breath move. That doesn't prove it's a blue mage or anything, but it does seem most reasonable.
 
Acutie said:
I'd doubt the Blue Mage thing if it weren't for the pictures of it using Spider Web and that Raptor Breath move. That doesn't prove it's a blue mage or anything, but it does seem most reasonable.
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the pictures dont, but the artice about the whole thing does
 
Here is a piece of what was posted on http://ffxi.somepage.com/. If you wanna read the whole thing, just click on the link.


Very little is being officially confirmed by Square-Enix at this time; they have put out the teaser trailer to let it get some attention, and aren't giving out much information beyond that. There are some bits of info on a handful of Japanese sites from small interviews done with the PR team that Square-Enix has available at the show:

As expected, the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion pack will feature at least one new job, new zones, and new storylines.

When asked about whether there will be multiple new jobs, the answer was that "there probably will be, but they could be combined", lending weight to the speculation that the new job shown may have Geomancer/Elementalist features as well.

The use of level-capped areas is being looked at but isn't decided yet, based on looking at how they worked in the Chains of Promathia expansion.

A new director has been put in place for this expansion; map designer Kouichi Ogawa will be heading up Treasures of Aht Urhgan.

The beta test of the Xbox 360 version of FFXI will include up to Chains of Promathia but not Treasures of Aht Urhgan; presumably, the new expansion will be coming out sometime next year, after the X360 FFXI is already up and running.

On the same vein, the North American beta for X360 FFXI is being scheduled with Microsoft, based around the release of the Xbox 360. It is undecided whether the Japanese beta for the game will happen at the same time or not, since the X360 is being released a few weeks later there.
 
that article is not written by a SE representative, so that article are speculations too. Doesn't prove anything.
 
Uzor, this is bits of info given from the Public Relations team of SE when they were interviewed. I don't see how that's a speculation although it's saying that SE wouldn't really comment what type of job or jobs are being released as of yet.
 
they also said they didn't get any info besides what's shown on that video. What they're talking about in the article is how Blue Mage worked in the other FF's, to give some explaining as to what Blue Mage is for people who didn't play the earlier FF's.
 
Hooray for BUMs!! :D

With Blue Mage confirmed, I've heard rumors of other jobs.
So far Square-Enix hasn't disclosed those other jobs.
It would be neat if they did include another refresher job, tanker job, and DD job. Especially since BUMs can take a turn of becoming a PT friendly job but also a soloing job. They may be just as fun, if not more fun than BSTs.

What SE should surprise us with are some new races. Not NPC or story based races like Kuluu or Zilart. But like the rumored male mithras they spoke about long ago on an interview about the PS2 FFXI debut. Supposively they are "rumored" to exist. If the cats finally come out of hiding,...don't be surprised if you see a decline in mithras (the manthra type that is LOL).

That or something new to add to our plate of FFXI.
But back to the new expansion....my guess is that it'll come out when the X-Box 360 version of FFXI comes out. And with that will be the graphical updates because SE mentioned in an article of theirs' that the X-Box version will look better than ever. The PC version will also be eligible for these updates granted your PC can hold up to them.

I'm not too sure about the PS2 version. Unless it comes with the expansion pack. (Hopefully..."otherwise" prepare for a long long long download and install :? )

We'll see.
 
Reynard said:
Most of the best "spells" BLU could use is AoE. Spider Web, Breath attacks, Bomb Toss. All AoE, way too risky to use in party situations :\.
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hmm sorry bud but have you never seen a BLM use -agas?? Those are AoE and are safe in most PT areas. Granted there are some areas where it's kinda risky (Boyahda Tree as an example in the lvl 52-56 PT area), but from what i remember of levelling BLM to 75, there were camps where you could safely AoE in most of the XP areas.

Translation from the french article, if anyone can use it..

La grande nouveauté de Treasures of Aht Urhgan sera l'addition d'un nouveau job, le Blue Mage (mage bleu).

The main addition from Treasures of Aht Urhgan will be the addtion of a new job, the blue mage.

Le Blue Mage est une copie conforme du même job dans les précédents Final Fantasy : il est capable d'apprendre les techniques des monstres pour ensuite les reproduire, moyennant un certain nombre de MP (c'est ce qu'on appelle, en bref, la magie bleue).

Blue mage will be a CC of the same job in previous FFs : he can learn techniques from monsters to reproduce them after, at the cost of a certain amount of MP (which is called blue magic)

The following paragraphs also talks about other things that could be added, such as more jobs, new quests and missions, as well as raising the level cap. But those things haven't been confirmed..
 
The only thing they said in the paragraph I didn't post was the they video showed what seemed to be a Blue Mage job and abilities nothing about how it used to work in other FF games.

The part I did post, which was a bulk of the info on the site, was based on interviews with SE PR so they are not speculations.
 
Grasinthor, I didn't mean your interview. I ment the Japanese one on a Japanese gaming site, where it even *says* that no information about the new expansion other then what it showed on the video was revealed, and where it *says* that they got shocked when they showed it (which I HIGHLY doubt SE representatives would be), and where they then start talking about the Blue Mage job.

This interview everyoen take as 100% true, even though it's NOTHING BUT SPECULATIONS! -.-; See why I'm so annoyed? Everyoen refer to that article as the all-mighty god, and say things like "No, Blue Mage won't work like that, because the article says..."

Here's the article;
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20050916/tgs_ff11.htm

And here it is translated;

Square Enix officially announces “Final Fantasy XI: The Treasures of Aht Urhgan.” A new job, the “blue mage,” and new areas…directed by Mr. Ogawa.

In addition to unveiling the Xbox 360 version of “Final Fantasy XI” over in the MicroSoft Booth, Square-Enix corporation also officially unveiled the third expansion to “Final Fantasy,” following, “The Chains of Promathia,” entitled, “The Treasures of Aht Urhgan.” What a wonderful surprise it was to all of us gathered in the hall who had merely hoped to see the newest developments surrounding the Xbox 360, and instead were treated to the showing of the expansion disk as well. Although there was not a lot of information revealed, allow us to introduce what we have uncovered to the best of our knowledge.

First, please be aware that the information revealed was limited to a promotional video and a demonstration by the staff of the FFXI team. In fact, the showing of the video had not been announced previously and came as quite a shock to many, including ourselves.

Although the video itself was barely a minute long, the contents were extremely rich. Accompanied by a number of cryptic messages, the video begins as a digest of the most famous scenes from the “Rise of the Zilart,” and the “Chains of Promathia,” before launching into a lightning quick introduction to the four new areas.

These new areas include a ghost ship, an eerie swamp land reminiscent of the Boyahda tree, a beautiful verdant grasslands and a brand new sea route that is drenched in adventure. During the scene featuring the new sea route, one can see on the cliffs beyond, a view to whet the appetite; the tall walls of a grand castle and a cityscape with large domes tinged with Middle Eastern flair. It is unknown “where” the new areas will be in relation to the present Vana’diel…however to house a vision so grand, surely the only remaining area would be the very other side of the World Map.

At the end of the movie appear the FFXI community’s much anticipated new job, “Blue Mage,” wearing Middle Eastern robes. The Tarutaru uses what resembles a spider’s special attack, “Spider Web,” while the Hume raises his hands high over his head whilst breathing the Manticore’s “Heat Breath.”

In regards to the Blue Mage job, while it is certainly not a mainstream job, it is a very beloved one to those familiar with the FFXI genre—if asked to think of 10 jobs that define FF, it’s impact is enough to make such a list time and time again.

The Blue Mage’s special ability is, “Blue Magic.” By using a skill called, “Learning,” a Blue Mage may learn the attacks of enemies, using such in exchange for MP. There are many useful skills that can be learned, and the job itself will no doubt become a staple. Additionally, did you know that the existing FFXI commands, “Check,” and the BST’s “Examine,” were actually originally Blue Mage abilities?

However, such line of thought is based on previous examples, and we do not know for sure if the Blue Mage will continue to have such abilities in FFXI. What we hope to say however, is that this job will be come a middle line type (tanks are front line, most mages are back line) that will require MP; although until we are sure of the effects of “Learning,” who knows what will happen.

But at any rate, we all know that one of FFXI’s strengths is in the variety of enemies, the various unique attacks they use and the scale of the attacks they use. It should be safe to say that by harnessing these new abilities for ourselves, users can create a whole new way of playing. No doubt, the Blue Mages abilities will have a great impact on the level restrictions and support job system of FFXI. As for what attacks can be unlocked, at what level, and for how much MP? That will become a showcase of the developers’ skills.

Now, at the MicroSoft FFXI Corner, we were able to ask a few questions to the Publicity Producer, Mr. Wada. Although he would not review any more than was already revealed by the movie, we do know that the Director is now “Chains of Promathia,” Map Planner Kouichi Ogawa.

Contents are oft considered new jobs, new areas and new storylines and events that drive the whole. When asked the number of new jobs, he responded, “I am not able to answer that.” When asked if there were multiple jobs, a more positive, “I wonder…” We were also quite interested in learning how the story would continue to unfold. In the original and “Rise of the Zilart,” a direct approach was used by leveling from 1 to 75, whilst in “Chains of Promathia,” a more dramatic, level restricted area was introduced to create a more severe game balance.

With the changing of the guard to new director, Ogawa, while the number or specifics of quests and missions are yet unknown, the approach to unfolding these events will be wholly unique to “Treasures.” And with that, we conclude the report of what is know. We will be informing you of any new developments as they are unveiled
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