Beta Test and New Trailer

[Nel Celestine]

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Beta Test - Now Recruiting Testers! (01/07/2013)

In preparation for the upcoming launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn on Windows PC and PlayStation 3, we are looking for enthusiastic players to take part in the beta test.

 

Players who met the Legacy campaign requirements can participate in the beta test starting from phase 1 and are not required to apply. However, we ask players who wish to participate in the PlayStation 3 beta test to apply for it.

 

If you applied to be a PlayStation 3 beta tester for FFXIV Version 1.0 and were selected to test the Windows version instead, you need not apply again to test the PS3 versionâyour original application will be reconsidered when we start selecting PS3 testers. However, if you wish to be considered as a Windows PC tester, we ask that you apply specifically for that.

 

Proceed to the beta test application site.

 

[Merri]

And now I have something else to watch over, and over, and over again. Love it. Just boosts my excitement through the roof yet again.

 

Also, Thancred turned into Endemerrin. At least, that's the conclusion our mumble came to.

 

 

 

 

Haha. Thanks Mtoto.

 

 

 

Edit: Xenedra is a wizard.

 

[Ellie]

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2048/lalajelly.jpg[/img]

 

Swiped this from the FFXIV Meme thread on the official forums. Couldn't resist posting here too. :3

[Aysun]

ELLIE. Lol.

 

Super psyched. That is all.

 

 

../runs off and does a happy dance

[Blade]

Pretty sure the Roegadyn is asking the Hyur, "Dude, you didn't leave your relic weapon behind... did you?"

[Moltove]

hum...it looks like that frozen tower is the 'key' that fell from Meteor, 75% positive, at least, meaning that whole area that the battle took place is covered in ice. I wanted to have Molt the ability to go back there within or just after the first year, so depending on how exactly that place freezes over (if in fact it is the landing site) will play a big key in Molt's story...

 

I loled when I realized the Huyr was the only one without his weapon, and as Blade said, it looked like the Roeg was laughing at him. then I got mad that they were able to call Chocobos, no-less armored, out of thin air and rode them.

 

And then there's that crazy structure at the end, once more covered with ice...or...well, surrounded by mountains. Could be around Ishguard, or could be the war zone.

 

What to make of it? What to write, what to write...hummmm...

[Merri]

Actually, the Crystal Tower is something else entirely, not the piece of Dalamud that stuck in the ground.

 

Spoilered because, well.. ...it's kind of spoilerish? I guess.

 

 

It's actually the tomb of the Allagan Empire's first Emperor, Xandes, and was located deep beneath the earth to the northeast of Mor Dhona. It was mentioned during the Monk storyline in 1.0.

 

Direct quote: "I have studied these waves in great detail, and discovered that they can be used to reconstruct an image of their source. And I believe their source is a tower! An enormous, vast, gigantic, underground tower! Do you not see? Of course you don't... It could only be the lost tomb of Xandesâthe first emperor of Allag of whom I spoke mere moments ago. But wait, there it more to tell! You see, it is impossible that a normal building, however large, could release so much ethereal energy. An immense crystal on the other handâthat most certainly could. Putting these observations together, I had no choice but to conclude that the ancients' seemingly fanciful references to the tomb being wrought of crystal were not so fanciful after all!"

 

Remember that concept art of the Aetheryte crystals floating away? Same concept. Ripped right out of the ground.

 

 

The key, on the other hand, is supposedly going to have a significant part in the 2.0 storyline, and my personal bet is it on it being located within Bahamut's Labyrinth. Just my two cents, though. Might be best to be cautious of tying a character to such a potentially volatile piece of lore. We just don't know what happened to it, where it currently is, what surrounds it, or what it even is to begin with. Could be incredibly dangerous, in an impossible to reach place, etc.

[Moltove]

Oh, I didn't catch that the Crystal Tower was implemented in the lore, I thought it was merely hinted at by Yoshi-P and the devs. And here I thought I was spot-on for once -.-;...

 

As for the concept art you mentioned...is this it? http://killingifrit.com/forums/uploads/ ... 175638.jpg

 

I really didn't think that much of it until you pointed that out...hum...So if that's 99% certain that's the Crystal Tower, it does not change much about the terrain, unless if that's very far off to the Northeast...

 

As the key, I'm willing to bet you're right, especially if as Yoshi-P states, that the Labyrinth is going to be HUGE-- and since Bahamut was even bigger, it's safe to say that thing will be inside or at least somehow be a piece of it. I should have said the battlefield itself is a big part of the beginning or middle Molt's 5 year story. But still, that whole area is bound to be in some deep trouble. Depending on how things go down, and more importantly how they settle, Molt may or may not need an alternative backstory to the 5 years. I suppose I'll have to get working on that!

 

 

Thank you, Merrin, for that precious bit of info! >.<

 

I still wonder about that half-ice structure in the background of the final scene...

[Merri]

The general consensus amongst our mumble has been this, more or less.

 

Lore-wise, it's more or less confirmed that the Crystal Tower was pretty much ripped up out of the ground by Bahamut doing his thing, much like a lot of other new ruins and structures that have appeared.

 

This is the Crystal Tower.

http://i.imgur.com/NINjk.png

 

This appears to also be the Crystal Tower (circled), as well as the currently unknown geological mystery that popped up in the past five years.

http://i.imgur.com/gwA74.png

 

Now, looking at this map of Coerthas, we can kind of piece together where exactly everything is located.

http://i.imgur.com/r9J0e.jpg

 

It can seem a bit off, but I personally think that's just because the zone lines don't necessarily mean the corresponding zone is directly below that zone line. It could sort of skew off in another direction and what not.

 

I think at this point the best thing to really do is just wait and see. Speculation is fun and all, but there's really only so much to go on right now.

 

My personal suggestion would be that if you plan on jumping into the roleplay from day one, having a personality and general background set in stone would be enough to get you going while the lore unfolds and more specific choices could be made. I mean, as long as you're confident in your character, it's not like there's a high chance of your character spilling their life story in the first week (Unless, of course, your character is like that. ;>). Plus a lot of characters tend to just develop on the go. I know with Endemerrin, his background was sort of centered around one specific detail and left somewhat up in the air otherwise, but it wasn't an issue because he lived in the now and it wasn't something that ever came up. It was only once I was confident with the game's lore that I really sat down and hammered it out.

 

Backstory isn't always important, in my opinion. It's merely something that defines why your character acts the way they act, unless it's involved in some story-driven plotline you have going with other players.

 

Obviously it's something necessary to character development, but what I'm getting at is you will most likely have plenty of time to flesh it out. Having a general idea of your character to start with is more important than having every single detail of their life fleshed out on day one.

 

It also might seem a bit daunting to be thrown into a community where there's already characters with two years (well, technically one year lore-wise. But we won't get into that whole mess) of character built up. However, there's also going to be plenty of people in the same boat who are starting new characters. In fact I'm certain those will far outweigh us old folk. I wouldn't really say there's any pressure to having a flawless character detailed out at launch, as there will be plenty of people who just run with things at first to get their groove.

 

But again, that's just kind of the way I look at it. Obviously there's a lot of other perspectives, and you could just run with what you want for your character.

Sorry, that ended up a lot longer than I expected it to be.

[Moltove]

Thanks, Merri, that's actually pretty reassuring =).

 

Through beta and launch, there'll be plenty of time to worry about that later and just explore and have fun!