Final Fantasy XI Official Strategy Guide for PS2 & PC

Rating:
Summary: Meh
Review: Final Fantasy XI presents a enjoyably challenging and redeeming system of play, and it deserves an equally redeeming guide. This how, does not make the cut. Do not be intimidated (or encouraged for that matter) by it's length, because half of it is utterly useless. Not only is it big on uselessness, it's slim on the areas that players could actually use, like strategy of missions/quests and how to acquire items. My final verdict, mediocre at best.

Rating:
Summary: Better from what I have heard of the fall 2003 guide
Review: First I want to say I started on this game without the guide played it for awhile did a few quests and got bored of it. I decided to buy the guide. After getting the guide and using it to complete missions and more quests, and learning where everything was, I got hooked on the game. This guide will enhance the enjoyment of the game. The one reason I give it four stars is because there are some flaws but it seems like all guides have some sort of flaw. I noticed one flaw was for the command macro for summoner for realeasing your summons it doesn't tell you to put the command <me> in I set this macro up and couldn't figure what I was doing wrong till a friend asked if I put the command to cast it on myself. I realized that was the problem but the command wasn't in the book. But this is really a minor flaw, and you will want to create your own macros anyway and just use the book as a basis for creating your own macros. Now the other problem with this book is its outdated because I have already come across two quests not found in the book and more new will follow once I get the newest expansion Chains of Permethia. I can't wait to get the new guide. If you are just starting out on this game then get this guide if not wait for the next guide which I hope comes soon. This guide really helps make the game more fun, I was totally lost without it. Coarse there are websites you can go to to help you do the quests but it kinda bites having to look at your pc and play the game at the same time, and you can't do this if your playing FFXI on your pc.

Rating:
Summary: Hmmm
Review: Hard to say really. But, i msut commend the guide for being MUCH better than the first one... Weapons, armor, skills, characters, are all organized in a much better fashion than before. It is very user friendly, with an updated Quest log for each town, in each zone. Semi-detailed mission database, and a good character and job layout in the beginning.
Here is the annoying thing about the guide... finding specific details on quests, and missions, and Notorious Monster drops, as well as any monster drops, or stolen items, is impossible. There is no minute detail to anything, just generalized instructions on who to talk to. Most of the time no directions, or clues as to where specific areas may be. Highly annoying. However, it is worth the buy just the same, simply for the charts, character creation information, and well... the generalized info just the same.
Happy gaming

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good...
Review: I got this for my birthday, and I was pretty happy with it. It had a bunch of stuff on the crafting skills, told you about your job, subjobs, quests, missions...Until you actually tried to do some of the quests only from their instructions. It was nigh on impossible. So, I currently refer to this book (it is a book, nearly 400 pages long) for the basic, sketchy information on something. And if I need anything more complicated, I go straight to www.google.com "final fantasy xi " it works very well, and I almost always use a great site ... Alakazham or something like it. VERY detailed, great site. I would use it over the guide, but the guide can be used while playing, and the website you have to get up (or turn off FFXI if on the computer version) Soooo...4/5 is for it's accuracy and "pretty pictures". lol...

Rating:
Summary: Lacking
Review: In my opinion, this book isn't worth the price you pay. I made the mistake of buying it because I thought it might be useful.

Pros:
-It has plenty of information on quests, missions, and jobs.
-There're pretty pictures! :\
-There's a big list of all the spells.

Cons:
-Alot of the information is incorrect, or vague, at best.
-There're many things that aren't even covered that are important, and very useful, including, but not limited to: Residence furnishings, Artifact Weapon information, and certain special job abilities(Wide-scan, anyone?), just to name a few.
-Some of the "strategies" seem a bit opinionated. In some cases you need an experienced opinion, but not in most. Example: His belief that ninja is not particularly a good support job. Many players do think that it is.
-Lack of ANY maps aside from the four main cities and the port towns, Selbina and Mhaura.
-Lack of much real...er.. Strategy. Particularly for areas. The only "strategy" in the guide comes from the Job section, where he mentions things you should do as a <insert job here>.

All in all, this guide is not worth the buy, heck, Elshimo is like an afterthought in the guide, despite the fact that you spend way too much time there, in many cases. I think that this guide could be actually good, given that it had alot more real information, and some real strategies for alot of other things.

Rating:
Summary: It's not that bad
Review: It's this simple.. If you're new to role playing games or are less then lever 30 and don't have to be spoon-fed information, buy the book. If you're over level 30, been playing the game for a year or have to be handed information, then don't. I personaly find the book priceless. However, you may have to do a little digging to find what you want until you get use to the layout.

Rating:
Summary: Meh
Review: Its not the worst either, but this one could have gone a bit further. I was especially disappointed with the map treatments - most were too small to but useful.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best player's guide I have read
Review: Its not the worst either, but this one could have gone a bit further. I was especially disappointed with the map treatments - most were too small to but useful.

Rating:
Summary: Zero is more like it!
Review: Nothing makes me madder than when I'm playing and somone references this POS. For example, most recently while doing the summoners quest, a friend told me that according to "the Guide" that we shouldn't leave Sarabataru otherwise we wouldn't experience all the weather. This guide is the reason we have so many warrior/white mages running around thinking that they are training to be paladins, when in reality they are getting much less party invites, and severely gimping the parties they do get in. "The Guide" recomends taking a Chocobo on your first trip to Jeuno; go figure that one out and then tell me this is still a good guide.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended, with notable upgrades to its information
Review: Now in an updated edition for Spring 2004, Final Fantasy XI Online Offical Strategy Guide is a resource packed with full-color screenshots and in-depth strategy, and an absolute must for anyone interested in the complex and enthralling massively multi-player online role playing game that is Final Fantasy XI, currently available for both the personal computer and the Playstation 2 entertainment system. Final Fantasy XI is an extremely challenging game, that when first started up may overwhelm the player with menus upon menus, and the seemingly towering challenge of raising one's lowly level 1 character to fame and fortune. The Final Fantasy XI Online Official Strategy Guide covers everything from basic statistics for all race and class combinations, to general gameplay advice, a glossary of common acronyms and abbreviations used online, a long list of monster battle tactics and weaknesses of monsters, a trade skill database, maps, a weapon and item database, detailed quest walkthroughs, and much, much more. Highly recommended, with notable upgrades to its information to reflect the ever-changing online world.

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