Free trials, Starter Packs and Expansions - Need help?Follow

Every day on the forums we see someone ask the same questions, so I'm here to answer them. I'd like to see this stickied so we can reduce the number of these posts we see every day, and pick on people who don't read stickies. (That's the fun part of having stickies in the first place!)


Q) What is the Vana'diel Collection 2008? What is the difference between the $2 starter pack and the free trial?
A) Vana'diel Collection 2008 contains everything you need to start or make your game complete as it currently stands. It includes all expansions that exist at this time. The $2 starter pack (which can be found at many game stores, if they still stock it) includes 30 days of free play, and all of the starter areas, but does not include any expansions. The 14-day free trial is exactly like the $2 trial, except it only lasts the indicated 14 days. With the starter pack and free trial, you can expect to play in EXP parties until about Lv25, then you will need the Rise of the Zilart expansion to leave for Elshimo Island.

Q) I am nearing the end of my 14-day free trial. Can I keep my character if I buy the game?
A) Yes. You will not need to create a new character since you have already invested so much time and effort into your current one. See the end of this post for instructions on how to upgrade your account.

Q) My Starter Pack or 14-day free trial didn't come with registration codes for the expansions. How do I get them?
A) You may purchase the expansions individually (not very cheap) or purchase the Vana'diel Collection 2008 which contains every expansion you need for US$20.

Q) The galka, Guddal, in Port Jeuno won't take my keys for Kazham airship pass. What's up?
A) Kazham is an expansion area -- part of Rize of the Zilart expansion pack. You will not be able to go there until you have installed the expansion and activated it.

Q) When I try to zone into an area like Bibiki Bay or Carpenter's landing, it kicks me out saying something about my expansions not being installed or registered. WTF? I put in the disc and went through the install process!
A) But did you activate that expansion?

Q) Okay, smart ***** How do I activate my expansions?
A) Once you have logged into Playonline, click "Service & Support" then "Membership". From the drop down box, select "Expanded Services Registration" and click Next, select "Final Fantasy XI" in the next drop down box, then click Next again. Select the expansion you want to activate (by placing a tick in the box to the left of it), and click Next. You will be prompted to enter your code. Voila, it's registered. You should now be able to go to those areas and do those quests.

Q) Vana'diel Collection 2008 came with only one code. How am I supposed to register my unregistered expansions with it?
A) Simply follow the instructions posted above under 'How do I activate my expansions.' Enter that one code for any of the four expansions. When it is activated, you will be asked if you want to activate all the expansions with that same code. Agree, and you're done.

Q) I just started, or I'm on a mule and fishing SUCKS. I can only catch a few fish before I get a lot of messages stating "You didn't catch anything."
A) A recent change has made it difficult players with less than 2 weeks of playtime and lower than Lv20 to fish large amounts of fish in order to combat certain game-altering activities you will hear a lot about if you hang around on the forums.

<< HOW TO UPGRADE YOUR 14-DAY FREE TRIAL >>
The information below comes straight from the Square-Enix website which can be quite annoying to navigate at times. Regardless, if you're looking for this info here, you may as well get it here.

1. Purchase a retail version of FINAL FANTASY XI (BL.ed - I suggest Vana'diel Collection 2008 for US$20)
2. Log into PlayOnline Viewer with the Trial Version POL ID / Password that was used during the Free Trial period
3. From the PlayOnline Viewer, select "Services and Support", then "Membership", then "Content ID"
4. Agree to the conditions for upgrading the account
5. Enter a Registration Code for the full retail version of FINAL FANTASY XI.
a. At this point, also enter any additional registration codes for Expansion Packs
6. Update the payment information for the account by providing credit card information
7. Verify the payment information
8. You will then receive a confirmation that upgrading to a full account has completed
9. You will now need to reactivate the Content ID(s) for the account
10. Select "Reactivate" to start the Content ID reactivation process
11. In the Membership window, click on "Please select a category"
12. Select Reactivate Content ID'
13. Select Reactivate Content ID' again
14. Select the Content ID(s)you would like to reactivate
15. Verify the Content ID(s) chosen for reactivation
16. Content ID(s) reactivation is then completed and you will now be able to play FINAL FANTASY XI

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I hope this helps anyone who has questions about their account, and if I think of anything new to add, I'll edit this post. Happy Hunting!

Edited, Dec 19th 2008 9:58pm by BeastmenLord

Rakuru-Rakoru in Lower Jeuno at (I-6) starts the quest. I couldn't find a page about it on Alla, but here it is on Wiki (sorry to post to outside source.)

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/The_Miraculous_Dale

Keep in mind, you have to be 75 to even start the quest.

Good luck!

Sorry about that. Just changed to default font color for the text.

Ohhhhh, now I see how I missed that. I thought the Data Analyzer (and) Logger were two different items, so I only searched for one and came up with bupkis.

Thanks for the link, sorry 'bout that.

Edit: Oh, it really was missing. I see now that it was just added. Good job doing it so quickly. ^^

Edited, Dec 18th 2008 11:34am by BeastmenLord

Glad I asked, that NM quest doesn't sound worth it at all.

And you actually placed the disc in the drive and clicked "Install Wings of the Goddess Expansion"? If so, does it give you an option to uninstall just that expansion? If so, uninstall the expansion then reinstall it. If that doesn't work and you know you have it activated, you may have to uninstall FFXI and POL completely and reinstall, which would not be so pleasant.

Thanks Codyy. ^^

I have a question about free trials and the Vana'diel Collection 2008.
When you get the 14 day free trial and decide to buy the Vana'diel 2008 collection, are you also able to use the 30 day free play time that comes with the collection on top of the 14 days of the free trial? Or does the 14 day free trial get deducted from the 30 day of free play time?

Edit: sorry I just found the information on the web. Apparently it does include a free 30 day of play time on top of the 14 day free trial.

Edited, Dec 20th 2008 3:50pm by Ryugan