HorizonXI is an 'era+' FFXI private server offering its adventurers a 75-era experience that preserves the spirit of Final Fantasy XI. It was initially released on December 17th, 2022, and is a progression server starting at the Chains of Promathia (CoP) expansion. As we all know, there are many FFXI private servers. Why is HorizonXI, as one of them, worth your try? Well, we give the following reasons.
Emerges as Occasion Demands
One question has been asked to Square Enix these years by many FFXI players: many adventures in FFXI look fondly on the “level 75-era” of the game, so have you considered adding “classic servers” like other long-running MMOs like World of Warcraft? The developer said, “I'm skeptical about classic servers, especially because I don't think they're viable from a business standpoint”. For example, the cost of setting up and running a classic server would require a much higher fee than the main service.
Players want to go back to a simpler time when getting to a level cap was a journey. So, here comes HorizonXI, a server looking to recreate the classic experience but with a twist known as era+. The game aims to provide the polished retail-like 75 cap experience many players are looking for.
Unlike WoW Classic simply releasing those expansions in their increasing level caps, HorizonXI is a progression server, meaning expansions will be released over time in the order they originally came out. Future expansions on HorizonXI will all be tuned to the idea that characters do not progress past level 75.
Adjustments
The developers plan to build adjustments focused around horizontal progression and systems balancing.
For example, in terms of jobs, Black Mage has historically been an excellent damage dealer in the endgame, sometimes overused. HorizonXI adjusts that dominance and also provides a better leveling experience. Ranger’s Eagle Eye Shot in current retail is kind of useless, so HorizonXI implements changes to improve the underutilized portions of it, so your favorite jobs and preferred ways of playing aren't left behind.
In an interview with Final Fantasy XI's directors, they were asked, “Is there one feature or mechanic that your team always wanted to implement in Final Fantasy 11 but couldn't because it wasn't feasible or workable?” They responded they wanted to provide a customizable UI system, and this had actually progressed as far as play testing, but at that stage, they encountered a flood of concerns surrounding maintenance costs. Due to these fairly high costs, they ultimately decided not to pursue it any further. So, players took it upon themselves to craft tools in order to make playing the game less cumbersome, like Ashita and Windower.
For example, there is a minimap as a small map to your screen, and the party buffs at the bottom of your screen will let you know which of your party members are appropriately buffed.
But some Ashita and Windower addons are not approved in HorizonXI. Here is the list.
The Team
The HorizonXI team has over 100 volunteers who are passionate and experienced FFXI players. The team is split between developers, balancers, testers, community managers, translators, artists, musicians, game masters (GMs), and community creators. Many of the team members have previously worked on other major FFXI private servers, providing quality content to hundreds of active players. They are very active on their discord and will quickly address issues as they arise. It is a very promising community.
Final Words
Sure, there have been issues and bugs since its launch day, but HorizonXI is an MMO that is worth playing. Best of all, it is free to play. If you didn’t get a chance to play it back in the day, try it, and you won’t be regretful.
For the record, some of the content comes from Kwech’s Youtube video. If you like the content, be sure to subscribe to his channel. If you need in-game gil in HorizonXI, welcome to MmoGah, one of the best places to buy MMO in-game currency.
