The day of the FFXIV Beta Test Site opening is upon us.  Many people are anxiously awaiting a chance to play the alpha build and test out game play.  What better time than today for Square Enix to give us more detailed information about some of the classes people will be playing around with!  Both Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation have big spreads on FFXIV this week.  Jumping the gun though was Famitsu posting the information on their website just after Japanese midnight last night.  People on the forums and in our IRC chat room were excitedly trying to decipher the text while I…. I went to sleep.  But I’m awake now and as we don’t have an official NA update yet, it’s time to dig into the article!  Keep in mind that all of this is translated from the Japanese and does not contain official English terms for certain abilities and so forth.  Also, the class descriptions are mostly ones we’ve seen before so I’ll leave those out for now.   This article will cover the abilities, weapon skills, and comments from the developers on the fighting classes plus a little information about a couple other classes as well.  Detailed weapon information can will come later if we don’t need an official update soon.

On to the info!

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A couple weeks ago at VanaFest, attendees were lucky enough to get a showing of the latest CG video that was teased in screen shots with the last Final Fantasy XIV site update. 4Gamer has posted several images from the trailer on their website.

We also have our first look at what appears to be the latest build for Final Fantasy XIV complete with a newly modified UI.

• In the image we can see that the player is using a surname “Destiny Katayama”.
• In the top right corner we can see her position on the map as well as the location of nearby targets.
• We can also see that another Final Fantasy XI monster, the Peiste will be making an appearance in Eorzea.

We’re sure to see an update to the official FFXIV site in the next day or so with the new information coming out of magazines such as Famitsu and Dengeki. We’ll have more information about the findings from those sources soon so keep an eye out for them!

The next issue of Famitsu appears to have a ton of FFXIV information.  And when that happens, an official site update is usually not far behind.  So we can all look forward to what looks to be a pretty massive explosion of information in the next 24 hours.  Here are some of the images to drool over while we wait for the official translations and site update.  The Famitsu article has additional images and information (in Japanese) as well.

Thanks to the hawkish eyes of our loyal IRC members, we have been alerted to the fact that the FFXIV beta application page has been updated with some new, and potentially important, disclaimers.

First, you can now re-apply and, it seems, update your beta application.  Whereas in the past it gave you an error message if you tried to reapply, now you can get back to the application form.  The fine print now states:

* If an applicant applies multiple times, only the final application will be valid.

Next, there is also now a place to submit a PS3 beta code on the application form.   The form states:

* If you received a FINAL FANTASY XIV promotional code for registering FINAL FANTASY XIII on the Square Enix Members site, please enter that code now.

There is some accompanying fine print on this aspect as well.

* If you have received a FINAL FANTASY XIV promotional code for registering FINAL FANTASY XIII on the Square Enix Members site, please use it to apply for the beta test.

* If you have already applied for the FINAL FANTASY XIV beta test but would like to apply for the PlayStation 3 beta with a FINAL FANTASY XIV promotional code, please be aware that all previous applications will be invalidated.

* The promotional code will also be required to obtain the FINAL FANTASY XIV secret in-game item, so please hold on to your code until the game’s official release.

Finally, on a seemingly related note, the Japanese beta site has a new (?) sub-page, which appears to confirm that they are now accepting these PS3 applications.  We have not, however, located a similar NA page, but will keep you posted.  And join us in IRC to meet and chat with the hawks.

Our premiere FINAL FANTASY XI site, FFXIclopedia, has been hard at work negotiating for our community special access to the FINAL FANTASY XIV beta. Full notice from FFXIclopedia below:

Well the cat is out of the proverbial bag.  Reports are trickling in and it seems that emails have gone out to some lucky soon-to-be FFXIV testers.  And with that email was a link to the FFXIV beta test site(s):

https://dev-na.ffxiv.com
https://dev-eu.ffxiv.com
https://dev-jp.ffxiv.com

Of course the sites are locked down until March 11, 2010, but looks like the wheels are in motion over at SE HQ.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the release of information at VanaFest 2010 about the upcoming FFXIV beta testing has caused quite a stir in the community.  But many (including us) may have jumped the gun in proclaiming beta to be starting on March 11.  Well in a Q&A session after the event, Famitsu attempted to clarify the global confusion caused by Square Enix’s less than precise language – and here is what they were able to come up with (as translated and reported by Andriasang):

As reported at Famitsu.com, Tanaka was asked when the game’s alpha test and beta test would take place. This information, he said, will be announced on March 11, when the beta tester site goes live. They’re currently making adjustments which could change the date around.

Tanaka was asked about the alpha test in particular. How long will the alpha test, which of course takes place before the beta test, run? His response was that Square Enix will decide that based off user response.

So that’s where things stand at the moment.  As pointed out by Andriasang, Square’s use of the term “beta” leaves something to be desired.  But it appears that Alpha and beta timing will be announced on March 11 via a tester website.  Alpha testing will last for an unknown length of time, followed, of course, by beta testing.  We’ll confirm what we can, but for now we’ll just keep our fingers crossed with the rest of you… to be continued for sure.