hooks back into me. These days, it�s not uncommon to hear of an ambitious new MMORPG

failing just a couple years, or a single year, or less, after its initial release. Final

Fantasy XI, on the other hand, has been going strong, strong enough to justify a brand-new

expansion - and, with this release, an all-inclusive bundle pack - just a couple months shy of

the game�s 11th birthday. And it�s a jarring feeling; this game I�ve been playing for

nine years and change, suddenly has brand-new zones, new monsters, entirely new gameplay

mechanics, a new city, two new CLASSES (for the first time in six years), and of course,

a new plot-mandated cute girl.

After traipsing all over the Middle Lands, Aht Urghan, and various alternate dimensions

and timelines, it�s time to head westward to the nation of Adoulin, a regular boom-town

coming to grips with its impending overpopulation. Sure, there�s a massive expanse of wilds

just a bit further west, but the land doesn�t take kindly to these development efforts.

In fact, said wilds are almost sentient, and mercilessly brutal to all intruders. Thus,

Adoulin�s opened its gates to any explorers interested in beating nature into submission,

with the promise of cash and prizes to those successful in the colonization effort. Thus,

murderhobos abound, destroying wildlife willy-nilly in new co-op events called Reives (which,

fittingly, is from an old Scottish word meaning �to rob or plunder�). There are three

kinds: Lair Rieves which destroy hotspots of monster activity, Colonization Rieves which

destroy constantly-regrowing terrain impediments, and Wildskeeper Rieves, which pit all comers

(and I do mean ALL comers, with no upper bound on occupancy) against giant guardians of the

land. Fortunately, these adventurers are fortified with... a sweet-ass bass guitar line.

But enough of that. You want to know about these new jobs, don�t you? Well, buckle

up for... support and kinda-tanking! Geomancers are area-effect-distributing support mages

who can have two effects going simultaneously: One local to their own body, and one local

to a big glowy sphere thing they can cast on an enemy or another character. These effects

can buff, but their greatest benefits are in debuffing, as geomantic effects are constant

within a given area, instead of having to be cast on a mob and potentially resisted.

Also, area elemental magic is included in the package, as well as a strange job trait

that modifies spells (for greater accuracy, effect, or critical chance) depending on which

direction you�re casting it into. Yes, very weird. While the Geomancer�s local spells

are purchased like any old scroll, the external versions - utilizing the glowy sphere that�s

difficult to pronounce - have to be tracked down in the wild, by knowing the purchasable

version, being above a certain level, and finding the correct point in Vana�diel.

Rune Fencers, on the other hand, feel like Red Mages on steroids, forgoing their debuffing

magic in favor of self-enhancing spells and greatswords. Through the use of runes, they

can deal bonus elemental damage with each hit, increase their (and their allies�)

magic resistance to insane levels, or blow all of the runes for a massive, magic-burstable

attack. (Y�know, if people still did those.)

But for all the slick innovations, like being able to bounce around all the Adoulin zones

at will for a mere pittance of crystals, this new content still feels like good ol� grindfest

Final Fantasy XI all over again. You may notice that I didn�t have footage from Wildskeeper

Rieves earlier in this review; that�s because entry to such battlefields costs an egregious

amount of the local currency. Sure, there�s plenty of ways to obtain Bayld, but there�s

twice as many things you�ll want to spend it on, from maps to armor to crap to make

your armor better. Missions suffer a similarly egregious fate, with your progress completely

halted for a week and change while you churn through quests and complete Coalition Assignments,

only to witness a few cutscenes and then BAM, back to the wait. Of course, that�s when

there are missions to do; as with the last several expansions, the content for Seekers

of Adoulin is still being developed and pushed out in monthly-or-so updates. Heck, Geomancers

and Rune Fencers don�t even have their Artifact Armor yet, for the five minutes or so they�ll

spend between levels 60 and 99. If you�ve never played FFXI before, really, there�s

no time like the present. And if you�ve gone away (perhaps in favor of FFXIV, you

maniacs), well, your moogle is still waiting there for you to come home. Spinning, as always.