The Final Fantasy XI May 2025 update is here, and it celebrates the 23rd anniversary of the longstanding MMORPG with a host of new goodies for players, old and new.
A new race change system and special campaigns are among the new additions to the veteran game.
Take a look at some of the developers’ outlines for the Final Fantasy XI May 2025 update.
Final Fantasy XI May 2025 Update Details
Good day, adventurers!
Now that the cold days of winter are firmly behind us, we can finally welcome the warmth of spring with open arms! As you may know, May is the birth month of FINAL FANTASY XI. Therefore, we are currently hard at work getting ready to celebrate the game’s upcoming 23rd anniversary.
So on that note, let’s get into the details of the May version update.
This month’s updates to Ambuscade
In May, your opponents for Volume 1 are Orcs, while Volume 2 features Flies.
Although the HP for the Orcs in Volume 1 is relatively low, they are also less likely to take damage. Therefore, since the non-boss enemies can be put to sleep, the key will be to use spells such as Sleep and Lullaby to help manage the crowd.
Meanwhile, in Volume 2, try landing multiple skillchains or magic bursts on the boss when the Fly minions appear in order to get the Golden Bomb bonus character to appear. So utilize these techniques against the monsters in order to earn those hallmarks!
Adjustments to Besieged
As mentioned in my New Year’s greetings, we’re making a number of adjustments to Besieged this year, starting with the Morale Gauge.
Here are some of the major changes.
New feature: Implementation of the Morale Gauge
The new Morale Gauge rises and falls according to the battle conditions within Besieged as well as the number of prisoners taken.
In addition to powering up the Five Serpent Generals based on the gauge’s status, players who complete Five Serpent General quests such as “Saga of the Skyserpent” will also receive in-battle support from the Five Serpent Generals. Note that these support effects will also apply to any pets that have been summoned to the battle.
Adjustments to the Five Serpent Generals
The generals are now able to use new abilities and weapon skills.
Unlocking Level 11 beastmen
The beastmen will be even stronger than they were before.
For those of you that have yet to complete the Five Serpent General quests, it’s recommended that you do so before the version update arrives. I wish you luck defending Al Zahbi from the approaching hordes!
Adjustments to the weapon skill quests
This was mentioned as part of the April 2025 version update, but as part of the fixes for the bug that was discovered upon adding Cardians to the Macro Test feature, the target for the weapon skill quests was changed to monsters that give you experience points.
Although this change is in line with our original intentions for the content, it’s also somewhat of a downgrade from what it was previously. As such, we will be adjusting the number of times you need to activate the weapon skill in order to learn it, reducing it to approximately one-fifth of its previous value.
To be more specific, you will now earn even more bonus points when performing a weapon skill skillchain. In other words, you will not need to activate the weapon skill as many times as before.
The race change system is here!
We’ve been busy working on the upcoming character race change system, but we’re finally ready to implement it. Currently, we plan to add the feature sometime during May.
This is not something that you’ll want to use to just casually change your character’s appearance, so be careful when making any changes. However, I think this is welcome news for those of you that have been wanting this feature for a while now.
You can find more details at the official Final Fantasy XI forums.
Yesterday, it was revealed Final Fantasy XI battled back against a post-20th anniversary demise thanks to the enthusiasm of its dedicated fans. Which is why this Final Fantasy XI May 2025 update is a bit sweeter for fans.
Final Fantasy XI is out now on PC.
