Final Fantasy XI Official Strategy Guide for PS2 & PC

Rating:
Summary: FFXI
Review: There are alot of guides out there that arent worth the money to buy. There are also some that are really worth it. This is one of those special few. This guide is the second of probably many more. It covers even more than the Fall edition. It covers everything from what are good character and job choices to locations and levels of almost all of the monsters. Even at the $20 price tag this is worth it. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of money
Review: These guides are very thorough but there's nothing in them that you can't find on-line and with all the patches for this game, they become quickly outdated. Save your money and don't buy.

Rating:
Summary: Much Better then the Fall 2003 version!
Review: This book containes information on Final Fantasy XI for both the PS/2 and the PC. This version improves in all Areas it list crafting skills all the was up to level 79. A full map of how to get to every location. Much for detail and helpfull information includeing a more complete list of items, quest, food effect. a Must Buy! If you Own Final Fantasy XI for Ps2 or PC BUY THIS BOOK! I never buy guides but a friend talked me into buying the previous version and it was extreamly helpfull and this updated guide is ever more so!

Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful
Review: This book has lots of quest/misison information descriptions of all the core and advanced jobs with information on how to group, equip, and what spells you get. Tons of equipment, potion/food effects, and more than enough information on mobs and NM's to keep you flipping through the pages. Also has a primer on the conquest system and has helpful macros for all jobs. I think I'll buy the updates twice a year.

Rating:
Summary: um...no
Review: This guide is not worth the money, or the time it takes to drive to the store. You're much better off looking up information on the various online sites where it is available. most all of the information in it is based on opinion rather than fact. Descriptions of quests, missions, etc. are incorrect or vague at best. I mean oh, lets give them full page pictures of the emotes, and area maps that are the size of postage stamps. The spell and equipment lists are far from complete. save your money and don't bother with this useless guide.

Rating:
Summary: A good buy
Review: This is an update to it's Fall 2003 edition, which was it's first run through. As owner of both, let me give you a quick rundown. The first book was geared toward the newer player: enemies, spells, abilities, etc did not exceed a certain level (50). Also in the first book were thumb-sized images of maps of most areas (quite helpful) which sadly, are missing from this book. However, that's about all I have problems with. Keep in mind this book is up to date as of April 2004 (an update hapened in May), but don't discount all the wonderful information. More quests, abilities, spells that go up to 75, A little more detail in some of the missions, this is the 2nd edition. Not found in the first is an expanded meal effects and some excellent beginning strategies that will be used well into the advanced levels. All in all, a great resource, for the PS2 and the PC!

Rating:
Summary: An extremely poor and incomplete guide LESS then 1 star
Review: This seemingly updated version of the original FFXI official strategy guide was highly anticipated by many of my friends. When this guide was issued I hurriedly ran to the nearest EB and bought this guide thinking it would unravel more of the countless mysteries that surround FFXI and would not disappoint me like the original had. What I received was the exact same FFXI official strategy guide whose pages I had been using as padding material for packages with only about 50 pages of new content added in.

PLAYERS BE WARNED, this guide is NOT worth the money you spend on it, all the information contained within is extremely basic and can be found out from numerous websites or by simply asking ANY lvl 50+ person within the game. This guide is COMPLETELY useless. It does not profile HNMs, gives no information on DYNAMIS, <<<NO RANK MISSION INFO AFTER RANK 5>>, gives absolutely no system for lvling craft skills or useful info on ANY craft. It gives a player NOT even a conception of how the aggro system, renkei system 50+, conquest system work or how the night and day cycles, moon-phase, affect a player's performance both on the battle field and while crafting and harvesting!!!. This guide does not even give basic lessons in EFFECTIVE PARTY STRUCTURE, something that should be on page 1!! of any guide dealing with a game as party reliant as FFXI (They EVEN SUGGEST making 4 man parties to challenge VT monsters if you cannot make a 6 person group!! That's fine and dandy in the first 15 lvls!! of a 75 lvl game but after that, this advice will HURT you more then help you and your friends will laugh at you for even taking it). This guide does not even offer practical pros and cons for jobs and advanced jobs and even suggest TARUTARU as a race choice for a first time through Dark knight. This guide could be the INSTRUCTION MANUEL for this game and not a strategy guide because it barely gives anything away. Every time I walk through a wall and find a "strange device" and am asked for a password, I curse at this guide and rip another page from its spine. THIS GUIDE DOESN'T EVEN SUGGEST GOOD LVLING LOCATIONS PAST LVL 25!!! There is no mention of the Maat fight nor any real help with ANY GENKAI! a MAJOR part of the game when a character reaches 50+. ANY experienced player knows that this game only BEGINS at lvl 60 and this guide ENDS at lvl 50. 90% of useful game info is MISSING from this guide. It is as if I made a walkthrough of the first hour of a regular console RPG and then leave you to figure out the rest. This is supposed to be a strategy guide. Its supposed to give me answer not leave me with more questions then I went in with!
OH, you want MORE things that are missing from this guide... hmmm lets see: BCNM 30,40,50,60, garrison, kindred seal BCNM, coffer locations, Artifact armor gear locations, Relic armor descriptions and info on obtaining them, Relic weapons info and info on how to upgrade them, garrison, ballista, the LVLS OF NMS!!!! and HNMS, info on Zilart missions, info on the sky pass, info on Tu'lia and the hall of the gods, info on the GODS, profile of forced NM pops, tricks and secrets such as how to walk on the rail of an airship, info on mining and ifrit's cauldron, info on the AVATAR BATTLES! and fenrir, info on QUESTED RARE/EX items like the Opo Opo Crown, not to mention info on ANY serious quest in the game. So what are you left with: a guide full of "oh this is a sword.. you have to attack enemies for experience"! and other nooblette things like LISTs of weapons and armor in the game... oh , wait they have that list already up in the Jeuno AH you fools!, any noob can check it and see almost ALL the available items in the game, their stats and lvls, and *gasp, even how much they have been selling for! If lists are your fetish then by all means spend the money, you might even take this guide to bed with you! I have seen poor guides before, but this is by far the most infuriating of them all, even 90% of the players in the PICTURES of this guide have armor less then lvl 20 and not one has armor greater then lvl 50.
But I must confess this guide has served a purpose... It has kept me warm on a particularly chill summer's eve when I used it as kindling to start a fire in my fireplace.

Rating:
Summary: Last version
Review: When i got this game, the guide really helped alot. It, however, dosn't cover all online gudes can, and has to be updated often. witch brings me to the point of saying: This is last season's version!~! This guide will not cover anything about Chains of Promithia