Special Task Force

We are pleased to announce the official formation of a special task force as of October 2006 that will operate within the greater management team.

Formation of the Special Task Force

The management and development teams have been continuously working to combat the proliferation of RMT and the use of third-party tools within FINAL FANTASY XI. However, it was decided that the formation of a special task force was necessary to specifically address the various occurrences of misconduct that adversely affect game balance.

Focus of the Special Task Force

This special task force aims to reduce or eliminate altogether any elements that adversely influence the world of FINAL FANTASY XI, and to encourage a fun and fair playing environment. The main targets of the task force are as follows:

- RMT (Real Money Trading)
- Third-party Tools

Please go here to discuss this on the General FFXI Discussion Board.

With regards to RMT, we have begun investigation of around 100 web sites in Japan and 50 in North America, and are planning to focus our efforts on the largest and most active sites (30 or so sites in Japan, and 10-15 sites in North America).

We also plan to continue combating the use of third party tools by introducing measures against a wider range of tools (not just those that increase movement speed), and focusing on particularly notorious individuals and organizations.

Specific Duties

The special task force will continue measures currently being taken against tools that increase movement speed, and also expand investigations to include other types of third-party tools. We plan to focus specifically on those tools that allow automated farming, obstruct gameplay for other players, or are related to RMT activities.

We will address the RMT issue mainly through eliminating the presence of gil sellers, but also by warning or penalizing specific players who buy gil regularly and/or in large amounts.

The task force intends to conduct investigations into gil sellers. These investigations seek to eliminate the channels for RMT transactions, as well as sources of gil, and curtail the activities of those who farm gil for the purposes of RMT.

Results of Current Measures

Pursuant to the announcements on the official FINAL FANTASY XI homepage, we have banned multiple accounts in four separate instances and continue to do so. In comparison to the rising and falling numbers of banned accounts, the number of account holders has seen a steady decline.

When canceling accounts, we have seen a trend towards account holders possessing multiple accounts. During the measures taken in July 2006 this trend was prevalent when banned accounts were held by over 2000 users. However, in October 2006 when 1,400 accounts were banned, the number of account holders had decreased to the 300 mark.

Accordingly, the number of accounts being banned per account holder is increasing, and we are progressing in our efforts to remove organized groups of account holders from the game.

As was previously stated, we have adopted a new method of investigation that reaches beyond the in-game limitations, and targets the actual RMT sites.

Within a month, these investigations into RMT sites have resulted in the termination of around 100 accounts, and the removal of several billion gil from the game. At the same time, we have confirmed that several of these sites have shut down or ceased RMT activities related to FINAL FANTASY XI.

To build on this success, we intend to continue refining our measures against third-party tools and RMT, and further expand our field of investigation. We are working on ways to track repeat offenders, and will continue to bring you announcements concerning all account terminations.


Your Understanding

The special task force will be making all possible progress towards the goals stated above.

However, even with the new methods we have adopted, there still remain some areas that are difficult to cover. Analyzing the game log is a massive undertaking that takes time to produce results and so we ask for your patience in this matter.

To avoid falsely accusing account holders, all investigations will be conducted with equal thoroughness and care. RMT investigations in particular often include organizations formed through multiple accounts, and time must be spent confirming each case.

While it may be initially difficult to see any progress, rest assured that we are building a fair playing environment one dungeon and one notorious monster at a time. While the special task force will be independently gathering information, we also hope to enlist the cooperation of the community in our investigations.

We hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and avoid involvement in activities that violate the user agreement.


Special Task Force

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Nice
# Nov 07 2006 at 4:20 PM Rating: Decent
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2,652 posts
This is excellent.
Cookie?
# Nov 07 2006 at 2:45 PM Rating: Good
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446 posts
SE, u've earned a cookie...eat it up :D

I am atleast optimistic about the STF, it shows that they are trying. Yes, more can be done...but this is a good start. Thank you SE.
too late?
# Nov 07 2006 at 11:47 AM Rating: Good
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189 posts
to all those who'd shoot this down so fast because of how long it took, all i'm saying is, better late than never. if they kill an account, and another is made in its place, then fine. they'll nuke that too. it's not like it's an inconvenience for them. it's their damn job. at least a push in a forward direction is being made. it would have been nice if it were implemented earlier, but griping on the "if, "were", and "could have" of things that might have been useful in the past is redundant. i'm just happy an effort is being made at all. will it eliminate RMT? course not. i don't think that's realistic. but can it help minimize the effects of RMT in the game? certainly. even if 100 accounts are killed, and then 100 more are made, it's slowing them down. and right now, any action is certainly better than nothing at all.

K.B.~
KwitcherBitchin
OK ...
# Nov 07 2006 at 7:01 AM Rating: Good
Now lets fix that Damn Lag in all of the New Areas! >.< gah! I'm never pleased. :D
Anyone notice?
# Nov 07 2006 at 5:37 AM Rating: Good
For a minute, I thought it was 1st April.

Anyway, glad to see this implemented. I'm just glad for their sake they weren't named Special Task Force Unit.

Imagine the jokes if they were called S.T.F.U.
Statistics!
# Nov 07 2006 at 4:37 AM Rating: Good
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it odd/cute that they have a graph to go along with all this?
Statistics!
# Nov 07 2006 at 11:49 AM Rating: Good
Does anyone else notice that the "graph" has no actual numbers, dates, or anything on it? It's not an actual graph unless it has some way to quantify the data presented. It's just a pretty picture w/ lines going up and down (that may or may not be to scale) that doesn't tell us what's going on.
Wow...
# Nov 07 2006 at 1:30 AM Rating: Decent
Boy... It sure is good that they decided to nip this RMT issue in the butt right away, you know... Before it got out of hand...


...




....



BAHHHHHHHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA!!!! I don't even know how to react to this... I barely play the game anymore because of this RMT nonsense. At this point I think it's pretty obvious they've just lost a lot of business, (people getting fed up with the games messed up economy.) and they want to get some of their revenue back. Heh.

This, much like all of their updates, should have happened years ago.
Whatever
# Nov 07 2006 at 12:39 AM Rating: Decent
Oh yeah Special task force. Big fricking deal. It wont stop RMT it def wont stop third-party tools. Simple logic, ban one... another takes his place. Will it slow it down, sure for a little while. Will it stop it altogether, prob not. Its SE's fault thats there such stuff any way though they dont admit it. Why well lets see, its impossible to do much anything solo in game. People seel item for outrageous prices, and thers no real way to make a whole lot without putting hours and hours of gametime. If you want to stop RMT, then eliminate the need and/or desire for it.
Banning heh that will not stop it. It wont intimidate either or else that would of happened long time ago. Make the game more attractive , make some things soloable make it so we dont have to rely on others for help we prob wont get. Dont let items be sold at outrageous prices. Even if there were no RMT theres a monopoly on the market controlled by the players and SE doesnt do anything to stop it. A monopolized market destroys the game as much as RMT as it creates unfairness for everyone.
You can get mad at RMT camping Ulli and other NM's but if a another group of players does the same thing how are they diff, cause they wont sell the gil they'll make from it, bull crap, it just creates a more monopolized system in-game. And it's those players that destroy the fun and fairness inside the game too. Let the Special Task Force do what they will, but one thing has been proven many times over, Ban one....and another will take his place.
Like GM Armor
# Nov 06 2006 at 9:59 PM Rating: Decent
31 posts
Itd be nifty to see some super ninjas/assasins/solidsnake walking about all "b&nt gil seller." But glowy ninjas would make lil sense...
lolol?
# Nov 06 2006 at 8:23 PM Rating: Decent
And then I laugh at Allakhazam.

Might wanna "un-sell" yourself now eh?

-Tarage
Name
# Nov 06 2006 at 7:44 PM Rating: Good
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5,684 posts
I'm somewhat dissapointed with their team name. When SE first mentioned this special task team force, I thought Square was going to give it a better name like "The Hunters" or someonething with more bravado than "Special Task Force." If I were a gill seller, their name wouldn't strike fear into my heart.

Well, anyway, its good that SE is starting to take a more active role in removing rmt from the game.
Expected
# Nov 06 2006 at 7:32 PM Rating: Good
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81 posts
Gilsellers.... umm... don't remain...?
Good things
# Nov 06 2006 at 7:29 PM Rating: Good
The day when RMT no longer exists will be the day I was right for sticking around to see it happen.

One question arises though, what about all the non-gilfarmers that were in cahoots with them? How would they be dealt with? (since they don't actually handle the gil but instead help farm for hand-me-downs)

Meh, anyway, this is a good thing to hear. If only SE would strengthen its Customer service department.
Sign me up
# Nov 06 2006 at 7:19 PM Rating: Good
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784 posts
S^!t sign me up, Ill bust em out. third party users don't affeectb me as much, i don't even notice them. a problem im sure but to what degree i don't know. it's the RMT's im concerned with. botters of NM's and wasting my lvling space with names like yyhhtttaa.>.> i agree i love talking to players that will respond and actually give props for drops and what not. Nihcru@ Bahamut sign me up!
Task Force
# Nov 06 2006 at 6:57 PM Rating: Good
I think this is great thing have gotten tired of RMTs long time ago specially the ones in pandy that sit there and camp Ulli and all the nms in sky i hope this task force eliminates all the damn god rmts in sky thats for sure^^
/chuckle
# Nov 06 2006 at 6:50 PM Rating: Good
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278 posts
Is this not irony incarnate that IGE-owned Alla is posting this information? el-oh-el boys, enjoy this moment.
/chuckle
# Nov 07 2006 at 12:22 AM Rating: Decent
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6,424 posts
What irony? Doomsayers predicted Alla would be flooded with IGE adds.. there have been none... nor will there be.

If anything, the parent company of IGE made a wise choise, as IGE no doubt will be in white water pretty soon... (not that FF XI is that much of market...)
/chuckle
# Nov 07 2006 at 9:03 PM Rating: Good
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951 posts
Allah and IGE are ran by the same company now.

Kinda funny how Allah see's nothing wrong with it.
/chuckle
# Nov 07 2006 at 8:58 PM Rating: Good
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951 posts
I don't think you get it.

Allah and IGE are owned by the same company, however Allah sees nothing wrong with this...
/chuckle
# Nov 08 2006 at 12:20 AM Rating: Good
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805 posts
I would like to think Allah is worried about more important things... like the shit that gets carried out in his name....
task force?
# Nov 06 2006 at 6:37 PM Rating: Good
<play the theme song for the A-Team!>
Finally!
# Nov 06 2006 at 4:57 PM Rating: Good
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826 posts
Maybe one day the only players we'll be competing against will be legit. I remember the feeling that one day when the Oztroja bots were banned on Ifrit--though they were back with new characters within two days, it was nice to compete for claim against players I knew I had a chance against for those brief moments. Ones I could congratulate if they got drop. :P

Getting claim on both NMs for the first time in years felt fantastic. Now let's see 'em do it again.

It's things like that that make me have high hopes for our new taskforce. I thank them greatly for all they have done so far and hope the trend of success continues. It's about frickin time someone took a stand against the RMT.
Finally!
# Nov 06 2006 at 7:24 PM Rating: Decent
maybe in time,
ppl wont have to compete against each other for nms.
ppl will respect each other and allow whoever was at the camp first get the next spawn.
maybe ppl wont dominate nms like o.kote soley to sell in the ah.
maybe ppl will get what they want for their job and move on.
eh, thats a perfect world.
in order for this to work, ppl would have to get a moral conscious, or SE suspends those that monoplizes nms.
or the implementation of special battles, like orb battles, in which we could enter any time we want with as little as one person to get special items.
no matter what se does, ppl will still change .dat files and make NMs spawn as behemoth, making it unfair to, ok, those of us that play on ps2 ><
oh well, i hear psu is realy fun :)
Finally!
# Nov 07 2006 at 11:07 AM Rating: Good
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826 posts
lgq wrote:
maybe in time,
ppl wont have to compete against each other for nms.
ppl will respect each other and allow whoever was at the camp first get the next spawn.
maybe ppl wont dominate nms like o.kote soley to sell in the ah.
maybe ppl will get what they want for their job and move on.
eh, thats a perfect world.
in order for this to work, ppl would have to get a moral conscious, or SE suspends those that monoplizes nms.
or the implementation of special battles, like orb battles, in which we could enter any time we want with as little as one person to get special items.
no matter what se does, ppl will still change .dat files and make NMs spawn as behemoth, making it unfair to, ok, those of us that play on ps2 ><
oh well, i hear psu is realy fun :)


I'm not talking about a perfect world, just a better one. No competition for NMs at _all_? Where's the fun in that? The whole rush comes from you knowing there's other people there and you outclaimed them by a narrow margin.

I'm talking about a world where the only people trying to claim those NMs are actually doing it for in-game enjoyment and are playing on an even level, be it money, to use, or just to prove they can. I'd like to camp against people that everyone has a chance of beating, not against people who cheat.
Finally!
# Nov 07 2006 at 12:13 PM Rating: Decent
in other games ppl allow whomever was there first to have next claim.
a player was looked down on if they camped agaisnt another person.

competition is okay for some things, but when it takes 2- however many hours just to try to claim a NM, it ends up being such a waste of time.
and the fact is, none of us really know if the other person is cheating or not.

pc users can still change .dat files to make nms appear larger than life.

there is nothing SE can do about that.
im on a ps2, the simple fact that pc users can do this makes me stay away from camping NMs.
you never know who is camping agaisnt you.

id love to see rmt gone, but its not gonna make things anymore fair.
someones gonna have the advantage,
someones gonna monopolize an NM for gil,
someone is going to have HOURS of time wasted.

if ppl were more considerate of each other, then itd be a pretty cool game.

if you really want competition, play balista.
outclaiming a real person to an nm is pretty ridiculous considering its mostly about luck and positioning.
oh and if the nm youre after pops as behemoth, well that takes care of both those huh.

/sigh
Finally!
# Nov 08 2006 at 9:36 AM Rating: Decent
do you know how .dat file swapping works at all? it just changes the ingame textures. it doesn't affect any other computer or the network, just the images on the computer where the .dat files were swapped.
Finally!
# Nov 08 2006 at 11:16 PM Rating: Decent
yep, whats your point? a pc user can make a mob appear as, well, ive stated that already, twice.
lets say youre hunting mee deggi, you switch it out so that instead of appearing as one of the other yags, you see it as behemoth.
that makes it much simpler to hunt.
ive never done it myself, ive been informed from pc users though, theyve sent me pics.
its kinda goofy seeing behemoth in bastok :P
i dont see how se could catch a person for swapping files, which sucks.
but thats why i say itll never be fair, even if rmt are gone.
oh well.
Finally!
# Nov 13 2006 at 12:41 PM Rating: Good
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102 posts
Unless Mee Deggi is a mob with its own specific .dat file, it can't be edited so only it shows up in this manner.

Looking at its picture here http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/bestiary.html?fmob=134
it looks to me like its just the model for any old Mnk type yagudo. Meaning, pc users would have to go in, replace the .dat for that model (not the specific mob) and then wait till they saw the mob they replaced it with. However, if there are any mobs in the same general area with the same model, say this one http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/bestiary.html?fmob=324
or anything else out there that looks like it, ( I haven't been out there in a while) they will show up with the exact same changed .dat(IE Behemoth, w/e you change it to).

As far as usefulness goes the only thing I've even heard that .dat changing was helpful for (other than changing gear to look more ornate/pretty/stylish) is coffer hunting. So, claiming NMs, I don't think so. I'm almost certain Ulli is just a scaled larger model of the statues around him, meaning any .dat changes would effect them too.

Maybe I can't think of any good situations for .dat changes to help claims on NMs, but unless the spawning NM is a different model than surrounding mobs, a .dat change isn't going to help.
Finally!
# Nov 07 2006 at 2:54 AM Rating: Good
That is exactly how i play the game, as a RDM62 i camped Dune Widow for spider Torque because i need it at lvl 64. i had to compete againan rmt that used to be a nice person and even in one of my old linkshells, i thought how could she of been turned to the darkside so easily, was a sad moment.

However i am glad to hear about this Special Task Force, i hope also the current trend of deflation will continue as i know this putting the pinch on those RMT bas#@&ds, i wonder if they work on commission or a flat wage if its commission i can see some people changing jobs ^^ lets all cross our fingers
Finally!
# Nov 07 2006 at 8:45 AM Rating: Excellent
ProtecteroftheHelpless wrote:

However i am glad to hear about this Special Task Force, i hope also the current trend of deflation will continue as i know this putting the pinch on those RMT bas#@&ds, i wonder if they work on commission or a flat wage if its commission i can see some people changing jobs ^^ lets all cross our fingers


A lot of the deflation, particualrly in the consumables market, is purely down to RMT themselves. They actually want prices in consumables marlets to drop like a lead balloon. Why? Because they know that many legit players now have crafts levelled up to 100 or whatever. These players of course play legitamately and have always made their own Gil.

But the Gilsellers know that if they can wreck a comsumables market by crafting for practically no profit, then those legit players will have to find other ways of making their Gil. RMT just use their armies of fish bots and crafters to make Sushi 24/7. That's exactly why it sells for so little nowadays. If they can push many players out of crafting and earning their Gil legitimately, then their logic is they may just get some people to turn to the dark side and actually start buying Gil from them instead.
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