Category:Ballista

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Ballista is one of the forms of Conflict, or PvP, in Final Fantasy XI.
With the wave of patriotism sweeping Vana'diel, the decision was made to reintroduce Conflict as a form of friendly rivalry between the three nations.

Ballista is based upon San d'Oria military training exercises that involves participants digging up small stones called Petras to toss into goals called Rooks scattered around the battlefield.

Ballista and it's successor Brenner, are most often an event where players enter to test certain spells or abilities for game mechanic research. Ballista and Brenner are long-forgotten by Square Enix. As a result, both events are extremely imbalanced for recreational PvP due to a lack of any updates. Which can make for enjoying them as a serious side activity somewhat difficult. For example, Quick Draw with modern equipment will just KO players.

Obtaining the License

The prerequisite for a Ballista license is Rank 3 in your current nation. You do not need to re-obtain your license if you switch nations. Complete the following mini-quest

  • While reserving the custom match area Diorama Abdhaljs-Ghelsba requires the Ballista License, other players can participate even if they do not have it.


To obtain your license, complete the following steps:

  • Speak with your nation's Conflict Director. They are:
Bastok - Invincible Shield - Metalworks - G-8
San d'Oria - Excenmille - Northern San d'Oria - D-9
Windurst - Mhabi Molkot - Heavens Tower, next to the reception desk
  • Go to the other two nations and speak with their leader. They are:
Bastok - Karst - Metalworks - J-8
San d'Oria - King Destin - Chateau d'Oraguille - I-9
Windurst - Star Sibyl - Heavens Tower, talk to Kupipi at the reception desk
  • After speaking to the other nations' leaders, speak with their respective Conflict Director.
  • Once you have spoken with the other two nations' directors and leaders, return to your nation and talk to your nation's Conflict Director again.
  • Talk to your nation's leader.
  • Talk to your nation's Conflict Director for one last cutscene and your Ballista License.

Participating in a Match

Day
Jugner
Pashhow
Meriphataud
Level
Restriction
1 Entry   Closing Ceremony  
2 Match     30
3 Closing Ceremony Entry    
4   Match   30
5   Closing Ceremony Entry  
6     Match 30
7 Entry   Closing Ceremony  
8 Match     40
9 Closing Ceremony Entry    
10   Match   40
11   Closing Ceremony Entry  
12     Match 40
13 Entry   Closing Ceremony  
14 Match     50
15 Closing Ceremony Entry    
16   Match   50
17   Closing Ceremony Entry  
18     Match 50
19 Entry   Closing Ceremony  
20 Match     60
21 Closing Ceremony Entry    
22   Match   60
23   Closing Ceremony Entry  
24     Match 60
25 Entry   Closing Ceremony  
26 Match     None
27 Closing Ceremony Entry    
28   Match   None
29   Closing Ceremony Entry  
30     Match None

Ballista follows a set schedule according to the Vana'diel calendar. Matches alternate between areas, nations participation, and level cap according to the calendar on the right. The entry day for each match proceeds as follows:

  • 12:00 (Initial Period) - Entry period opens for adventurers of nations scheduled to fight who did not fight in the previous match.
  • 16:00 (Guest Period) -Entry period opens for adventurers of nations scheduled to fight who fought in the previous match.
  • 18:00 (Open Entry) - Entry period opens for anyone to fight. Adventurers are automatically placed on the nation with the least number of players.
  • 22:00 - Entries are closed, except under special conditions.

To travel to an upcoming Ballista match quickly, speak to a Pursuviant. Their locations are:

  • Northern San d'Oria - K-9
  • Port Bastok - J-12
  • Windurst Waters - J-9
  • Ru'Lude Gardens - I-8
  • Aht Urhgan Whitegate - G-11

If you have a Ballista Instaport or at least 200 Ballista Points, and the match has not yet started, the Pursuviant will offer you the option of teleporting to the match.

Once at the match location, talk to the Pursuviant to sign up for Ballista. A participation fee is required upon signing up; the fee varies according to level:

Lv. 30 - 500 gil
Lv. 40 - 1000 gil
Lv. 50 - 1500 gil
Lv. 60 - 2000 gil
Unrestricted - 3000 gil

At 22:00, all participating adventurers will line up facing each other and the Herald will conduct the opening ceremony. Once the opening ceremony has concluded, all players will automatically gain the effects of Sneak (Status) and Invisible (Status) to allow for both teams to get into an appropriate position. At 0:00, the match will begin and Sneak and Invisible will wear off.

Playing the Match

The main objective of Ballista is to /quarry for Petras in order to toss them into the Rooks scattered around the battlefield. Note that /quarry is not always successful at this; it may either dig up a temporary item, a Petra, or nothing at all. Petras may be found anywhere on the battlefield, but your chances of digging up one will increase the more distant from a Rook you are. However, /quarry's success rate is also affected by the current score; members of the winning team will have a lower probability of finding a Petra.

In order to score, you must first gain Gate Breach. Gate Breach can be accomplished by either killing another player, or being in the immediate vicinity of a kill. The latter does not work if you are not in a party; it is recommended to party up both in order to keep track of your teammates' health and to gain Gate Breach easier.

Once you have gained Gate Breach, you must now find a Rook to toss the Petras in. The location of the nearest Rook can be found by using /scout. The act of scoring can be interrupted by any number of actions (both beneficial and hostile), so be sure to have a clear shot at a Rook. You may score up to five Petras at a time, with each Petra counting as one point. If a majority of the opposing team has left the battle area, however, all Rooks' gates will open, allowing anyone to score without gaining Gate Breach

If you have managed to successfully score for your team, Gate Breach status will be disengaged and you must regain it again before being able to score. The first petra you attempt to score will have an extra 3-5 second delay before throwing it into the rook. From there on, even if your shot is canceled, your throwing time will be shortened to around 5 seconds. This will be reset if you go back to camp or zone, but being revived will not reset this.

No experience points loss is incurred for being K.O.'d in Ballista. If you are knocked out, you will automatically be revived within a certain amount of time determined by the number of times you have died without returning to camp. Each death carries a +5 second penalty to waiting for revival (with the timer initially starting at 15 seconds); this revival timer has no maximum limit. Once you are revived, you will be at 100% HP, 50% MP, and 50% TP. Additionally, you will be considered as "preparing for battle" and unable to attack or be attacked.

  • Alternatively, you may choose to return to camp and reset the revival timer while spawning at 100% HP and MP. In either case, you will lose all accumulated Petras; the only way to retain Petras after K.O. is to be Raised and suffer its associated Weakened state.
  • If you are K.O.'ed, lose connection, and reconnect after the match has concluded, the "Return to Camp" option will change to "Return to Home Point"; no experience loss is incurred if you Home Point as a result of dying during a Ballista match.

At 0:00, the match will conclude, and the team who has scored the most Petras will be declared the winner. In a Best of 3 match, the point award for the third match is equal to winning two matches, so the losing team has a chance to force a draw.

Rewards

Rewards in Ballista come in the form of Experience Points, Gil, Ballista Points, and Ballista Ranking.

Experience Points

All adventurers who have actively participated in Ballista are awarded the appropriate amount of experience points corresponding to their level during Ballista.

  • Level 30-39: 300 EXP
  • Level 40-49: 350 EXP
  • Level 50-59: 400 EXP
  • Level 60-74: 450 EXP
  • Level 75: 500 EXP

Gil

The gil reward is equal to double the participation fee. If the match is a draw, both teams will get their gil refunded. The losing team gets nothing.

Ballista Points

Ballista Points are awarded after each match, up to a maximum of 2000. These points are used to reserve access to the Dioramas, purchase item vouchers, and teleport to upcoming Ballista matches.

Ballista Ranking

Players can sign up for Ballista Ranking by talking to the Marshal in the area after a match.

  • Players who have not registered will not be considered in the ranking.
  • After a match, players have 4 Vana’diel hours (about 10 minutes Earth time) to register their results.
  • The ranking list cannot be viewed during the registration period.
  • After the registration period has ended, you must view the ranking list within 4 Vana’diel days (4 hours Earth time) to receive your final assessment and any rewards you have earned.

You can view the entire Ballista Ranking by speaking to the Marshal in Ru'Lude Gardens. However, as this Marshal may not have the most current data, players wishing to see the latest rankings are advised to talk to the Marshals stationed in each Ballista area.

Chevrons

Chevrons are awarded to the top scorer for each job. A player can check the number of chevrons accumulated to date by talking to a Marshal. Also, /checking other players during a match will reveal the total number of chevrons they have received.

Chevrons have the following caveats:

  • Chevrons are only valid for one week Earth time. After that, the player must return the chevron in order to participate in future Ballista matches.
  • Players may only wear one chevron at a time. If a player qualifies for more than one chevron, a decision must be made as to which chevron to receive. A player may, however, refuse to receive a chevron.

The title granted according to the chevron awarded varies:

Ranking Key Item Title
1st Gold Ballista chevron Gold Balli☆☆☆☆star
2nd Mythril Ballista chevron Mythril Balli☆☆☆star
3rd Silver Ballista chevron Silver Balli☆☆star
4 - 10th Bronze Ballista chevron Bronze Balli☆star
Job Key Item Title
Warrior Bloody Ballista chevron Searing★Star
Monk Orange Ballista chevron Striking★Star
White Mage White Ballista chevron Soothing★Star
Black Mage Black Ballista chevron Sable★Star
Red Mage Red Ballista chevron Scarlet★Star
Thief Green Ballista chevron Sonic★Star
Paladin Sparking Ballista chevron Saintly★Star
Dark Knight Ebon Ballista chevron Shadowy★Star
Beastmaster Furry Ballista chevron Savage★Star
Bard Brown Ballista chevron Singing★Star
Ranger Ochre Ballista chevron Sniping★Star
Samurai Jade Ballista chevron Slicing★Star
Ninja Transparent Ballista chevron Sneaking★Star
Dragoon Purple Ballista chevron Spearing★Star
Summoner Rainbow Ballista chevron Summoning★Star
Puppetmaster Silk Ballista chevron Swaying★Star
Corsair Coral Ballista chevron Surging★Star
Blue Mage Sapphire Ballista chevron Sapphire★Star
Dancer Sequined Ballista chevron Sprightly★Star
Scholar Velvet Ballista chevron Sagacious★Star
Geomancer Gossamer Ballista chevron Spiritual★Star
Rune Fencer Steel Ballista chevron Stippling★Star

Battle Alterations

A number of adjustments have been made to keep Conflict (and by extension Ballista) play reasonably balanced.

Job Abilities

The following job abilities are altered:

  • Provoke prevents the victim from targeting anyone except the provoker for a short time. Provoke also effectively prevents the victim from casting self-targeting spells, such as Utsusemi.
  • Steal and Mug steal Petras (if there are any) from the target.
  • Charm, Gauge, and Tame have no effect whatsoever.
  • Flee duration is extended.

Melee

  • Maximum melee range is increased to allow for hitting opponents who are running away.
  • Weapon Skill damage is reduced.

Magic

  • Players gradually build a resistance to most enfeebling magic, as well as Lullaby.
  • Sleep is limited to a 45-second duration.
  • Magic damage is reduced.

Commands

The following commands are only available during Ballista:

  • /quarry - Dig for Petras or items. /quarry's behavior varies according to what Ballista Key Items you have in your possession.
  • /targetopp - targets closest member of opposing nation within range.
  • /sprint - Grants Flee-like speed for a set amount of time. You cannot use /sprint if you are holding a Petra.
  • /scout - Reveals the location of the nearest Rook. You cannot use /scout if you are not carrying any Petras.
  • <petra> reveals how many Petras you are holding
  • <gatebreach> reveals if you are affected by Gate Breach status or not.

The following commands are altered during Ballista:

  • /linkshell - sends a message to all members on your team.

Interaction

The following actions are prohibited:

  • Fishing
  • Chocobo interaction
  • Using bazaars (or trading) of non-participants or the opposing team
  • NPC interaction, other than the normal Ballista NPCs

Additionally, all non-participants and monsters will become invisible to the participants during the match; however, /say, /shout, and /tell are unrestricted.

Other

  • Resist traits are greatly enhanced.
  • AoE magic and weapon skills will only hit those within the same party or alliance as the target.
  • Wide Scan can be used by any job to find everyone on your nation's team.
  • Equipment changing is discouraged. Penalty is automatically inflicted for a couple of seconds when you change any piece of equipment. Penalty effectively acts as a combination of Bind and Stun. You may still /quarry while Penalized.
  • Swapping ammo is allowed, unequipping ammo is penalized.
  • Skill points and Blue Magic spells may not be obtained during Ballista, with the exception of Enhancing Magic skill from spells cast on yourself.
  • The Conflict system was designed during the level 75 era. While the combat system adjustments still apply, the increase in level cap, item level gear, Job Points, and Master Levels can lead to wide variations in player performance. This can be entertaining, but for this reason, the community which exists around Ballista will typically make use of the level restriction for a more consistent experience. Be sure to prepare accordingly in such cases.

Items

A number of items have been developed for use with Ballista, both in the form of Key Items and Temporary Items. The following can be purchased or obtained for free from a Pursuivant.


Key Items

  • Ballista Band - Gives the option of keeping or discarding the first Petra dug up.
  • Ballista Earring - Gives information about upcoming matches once per Vana'diel day when the wearer zones into an area where a Pursuviant is present. Also gives hints and tips during the match.
  • Ballista Instaport - Teleports you to an upcoming match after speaking to a Pursuviant.
  • Ballista Instawarp - Transports you to your Home Point after speaking to a Pursuviant.
  • Petra Shovel - All temporary items dug up are automatically put into your inventory without any prompt. If your temporary item inventory is full, the item dug up will be automatically discarded.

Temporary Items

All players receive 10 temporary items at the start of a match 15 if normal item use is restricted. Players may optionally buy items from a Marshal. The items that can be bought are listed below.

The items listed below can only be obtained with /quarry

Ballista Damage

Db = Ballista Damage Do = Original Damage

Db = Do x (1 - (Do/4000))

References

Ballista Damage Formula (Prothescar; Additional points shown by Asymptotic, BG Forums)

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