After a long hiatus, the official Test Server for Final Fantasy XI has opened again, bringing with it a plethora of new content for players to try. Several revisions have been added to Assaults, Einherjar, and Legion to streamline the events. Several battle-related changes are also in the works, ranging from the ease of skilling up Guard and Parry to the increase of the effects of Defense bonus spells like Protect and Knight's Minne. Lastly, collision detection will see tweaks, allowing for players to have less difficulty moving through areas of high traffic.

Can't wait to dive into the new content to test it out, or just want to share what you think of these impending changes? Let us know all about it over on the ZAM forums!

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1128] Magic Adjustments

• The following spell effects will be raised:

  Protect / Protectra / Protect II / Protectra II / Protect III / Protectra III / Protect IV / Protectra IV / Protect V / Protectra V / Knight's Minne / Knight's Minne II / Knight's Minne III / Knight's Minne IV / Knight's Minne V

  In addition, the following effects will also be increased:
  • The bonus defense enhancement granted by Protectra V.
  • The Protecra V enhancement attribute of Cleric's Duckbills +2.
  • The enchantment attribute of Protect Ring and Protect Earring.
  • The Fields of Valor and Grounds of Valor field support effect White Magic: Protect.

• Resistances to the following spells will be changed:

  Foe Requiem / Foe Requiem II　/ Foe Requiem III / Foe Requiem IV / Foe Requiem V / Foe Requiem VI / Foe Requiem VII

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1129] Merit Point Adjustment

• The maximum number of upgrades for the attribute merit point category will be raised from twelve to twenty-four.

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1130] Battle-related Adjustments

• The interval between the conclusion of battle and the next possible time an attack command can be carried out will be adjusted.

• The interval between the time a ranged attack finishes and the next possible time a new command can be carried out will be reduced.

• The guard and parry skills will be adjusted so that they may level up even if the skills do not activate when players are attacked.

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1131] Legion Adjustments

• It will be possible to reenter a battlefield due to all participants being KO'd.
  In addition, the distance that enemies roam will be adjusted.

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1132] Assault Adjustment

• When moving to the next floor during Nyzul Isle Investigation and Nyzul Isle Uncharted Region, characters will zone in at coordinates a few character-lengths apart.

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1133] Einherjar Adjustment

• All rewards procured from the Nashmau (H-7) NPC Kilusha will be displayed on a single page.

From the official Final Fantasy XI forums:

[dev1127] PC collision adjustments

• PCs who have not moved for ten seconds or more are no longer subject to unit collision.