Welcome to the World of Tomorrow! (Version 1.0)
You’ve just installed Final Fantasy XI on your PC and you want to get the most out of the experience. I’ll be pointing you to all of the right places in order to optomize your experience!
1) Get Windower
Alright, this issue divides the community somewhat, but overall the line is divided amongst people who play FFXI on a game console and those who play on PC. I’d be willing to be the MAJORITY of FFXI PC players use Windower. It offers too many conveniences to be ignored.
Now, that said: Windower is a 3rd party tool and Square Enix does not allow users to utilize such outside utilities. Treat Windower like fight club when you’re in the game: don’t talk about it. It’s that simple. If you don’t talk about it and don’t do anything blatantly obvious with any 3rd party tool, your chances of being banned for using Windower are extremely slim. You might find forum posts stating that a person “just used Windower” and were banned yesterday, but the overwhelming majority of these folks ended up admitting to fish botting, hacking through walls, pos-hacking, etc. They did something really stupid.
So travel to the official Windower site, download the latest version, and set it up on your PC. While at the Windower site, also grab the following plugins and put them in Windower’s /plugin folder:
-Spellcast: The name is misleading. Spellcast is an automated utility that you can easily configure to swap in and out gear for when you perform any action (spells, job abilities, weapon skills, etc.). Going from the natural game limits of macros to Spellcast is a HUGE leap in convenience for the player. Since you’re just starting out with Windower and Spellcast, be sure to grab a User Submitted XML file to use with it for the jobs you play on. Put the files in your /plugins/spellcast directory named for the jobs you play (ie. “RDM.xml” for Red Mage, “DRG” for Dragoon, etc.). This will allow Spellcast to change to the correct settings files when you change your main job!
From personal experience, if you are a high level BLM, grab Aikar’s script. If you play THF, try out IneptVagrant’s THF file. These two files will show you what Spellcast can do at it’s best!
-BlinkMeNot: Prevents party members, spell targets, and yourself from blinking when their gear chances. Absolutely invalauble if you main heal in a party often. Also good for helping reduce lag for the rest of us!
-Yarnball: Really simple utility that keeps track of the buffs you cast on party members. It displays a countdown timer for each buff and the target’s name. Great for RDM, SCH, and WHMs who have to buff the whole party.
-Infobar: Displays a handy information bar at the top of your screen. Can display a mob’s job and level, elemental weaknesses, estimated EXP you might get from it, what it drops, what can be stolen from it, etc. Pretty darn handy!
-EXPWatch: Displays a bar right below your chat log showing your current EXP and Limit Point totals, your TNL, and your calculated EXP/hr. Now you don’t have to do the math yourself.
These plugins will get you started. Load them in game by typing “//load [plugin name here]” Later, once you get some experience with which ones you like using, edit the /scripts/init.txt file so Windower will automatically load them when the game starts!
2) Optimize Your Graphics!
Note: Changing these settings for the better will require your PC to do more work. You will have to find the right settings for your own PC and personal tastes to be satisfied.
For this step, there’s an easy way and then there’s the right way.
The easy way is a simple (and safe!) file that you can load on your computer that changes your ingame resolution to a value higher than the official Final Fantasy XI configuration program. By doing this simple adjustment, the graphics in FFXI will improve greatly.
The right way is a detailed guide on the wiki about what every graphic setting ingame does and how you can adjust it for the better. You will be able to optomize your own settings for what you want out of the game.
3) Firefox and Plugins, Security Token
Not too long ago, RMTs (real money trade/gilsellers) started inserting malicious code into banner ads that they paid to place on FFXI-related sites. This code allowed them to hijack player accounts, move them to another server where they needed gil and items to meet demand (incuring a $25 transfer fee for the REAL OWNER!), strip them of their valuables, and usually use the account in a fashion that would end with the player banned. This was a BIG DEAL and it took Square Enix quite some time to sort out the mess.
To protect yourself (and to improve your standard web browsing as well), I recommend downloading and using Firefox as your web browser. To further your security, get the plugins No Script and AdBlock Plus. With this setup, it is very unlikely this will ever happen to you! Also, you’ll be better protect from computer viruses in general. Thank me later.
To help players fight this security threat, SE releases the security token in the Spring of 2009. This handy little device has a big red button on it. You press it once, it displays a unique code you type in to login, and then press it again. Then you sit it aside until you decide to login again. It’s very easy to use and definitely worth $10. As an added bonus, you’ll get the Mog Satchel — which adds so much on-hand inventory space you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it!
Check here for more details on the Security Token and how to buy it.
In Closing
So that sums up what I believe every FFXI PC player should know about playing the game on the PC. I will do a blog update when this post will be updated in the future as errors are spotted or information becomes outdated.