Square Enix is sending word that they will be launching a special Final Fantasy XI (Xbox 360, PC) 2008 Edition game bundle to all PAL territories by this month. Details on what each pack will carry, and their exact launch date are available in the full article.

Whoever says Final Fantasy XI is boring will get what he deserves. With the upcoming version update to the Treasures of Aht Urhgan, there will be a lot of new and exciting features to look forward, to such as notorious monsters and trying battlefields.

Why notorious, you ask? Let's just say that with the update, a high notorious monster (HNM) is going to be added to the beastman strongholds, and it's not something you'll easily beat.

A new feature implemented in the game is the accumulative magic resistance effect. This will be implemented on monsters with strength readings of "impossible to gauge." This feature will certainly affect the monsters and other players in the game, but the developers made sure that the effect (on black mages, magic users and on monsters) will not be major.

A notorious monster when repeatedly hit with several spells (black magic, white magic, magical blue magic, ninjutsu, to name a few) will accumulatively build magic resistance. (Bahamut in "The Wyrmking Descends" quest and Diabolos in the "Waking Dreams" quest had both been given stronger accumulative magic resistance compared to other monsters.)

Several new battlefields have also been scheduled for certain Treasures of Aht Urhgan areas which you'll be able to attempt using your Imperial Standing credits. Players will be able to make an attempt once or twice a week, or as often as they want to depending on their credits.

Game developers Square Enix are making sure that these new battlefields will be more accessible to players compared to other events like the orb battles.

The exact date of this scheduled update has not yet been disclosed, but expect us to deliver the latest news on Final Fantasy: Treasures of Aht Urhgan.

The virtual world of Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urghan has been experiencing some "real world problems" as congestion and overcrowding are becoming a problem in the city of Al Zahbi. To address this issue, the development team has introduced a series of taxes on Auction Houses and Bazaars, and made adjustments to the Besieged. Theses improvements, as well as upcoming Mog Locker expansion, will hopefully lessen overcrowding in the new towns.

The "Mog Locker" is for players wishing to explore new areas of Aht Urghan. Currently, the capacity is limited to 50 items, but this restriction should be lifted in the next update. In addition, players should be able to use their Lockers from anywhere in Vana'diel, although this will shorten the time of the lease. You will, however, be able to renew the lease (for One Imperial Bronze) from any location.

Other upcoming features:

- The Chocobo Stables in Al Zahbi will open for use. Players will be able to rent a chocobo and ride out into the Wajaom Woodlands, but beware; if the stables are captured during Beseiged, the chocobos will be disabled until rescued.

- New NPC's ones for equipment storage, special event item storage, weather forecast, as well as a "Pursuivant" NPC to transport players to Brenner and Ballista matches.

- The number of special event items that can be stored will be increased.