Ballista

Ballista is one of the forms of Conflict in Final Fantasy XI. With the recent 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.

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.

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
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 Pursuivant. Their locations are: If you have a Ballista Instaport or at least 200 Ballista Points, and the match has not yet started, the Pursuivant will offer you the option of teleporting to the match.
 * Northern San d'Oria - K-9
 * Port Bastok - J-12
 * Windurst Waters - J-9
 * Ru'Lude Gardens - I-8
 * Aht Urhgan Whitegate - G-11

Once at the match location, talk to the Pursuivant 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
 * Lv. 70 - 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 and Invisible 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. Also if either winning team has less members than the other there is a slight gil increase for winning.

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. 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.
 * 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.

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:
 * note to 360 users* Being in posesion of a Gold Ballista Cheveron and talking to a title bard will grant you the option of unlocking an achievment. You must currently have the cheveron in your Key Items for the option to appear, even if you have gotten one before and gave it in due to expiration.

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. 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: The following commands are altered 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.
 *   reveals how many Petras you are holding
 *   reveals if you are affected by Gate Breach status or not.
 * /linkshell - sends a message to all members on your team.

Interaction
The following actions are prohibited: Additionally, all non-participants and monsters will become invisible during the match; however, /say, /shout, and /tell are unrestricted.
 * Fishing
 * Chocobo interaction
 * Using bazaars (or trading) of non-participants or the opposing team
 * NPC interaction, other than the normal Ballista NPCs

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.

Items
A number of items have been developed for use with Ballista, both in the form of Key Items and temporary items

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 Pursuivant is present. Also gives hints and tips during the match.
 * Ballista Instaport - Teleports you to an upcoming match after speaking to a Pursuivant.
 * Ballista Instawarp - Transports you to your Home Point after speaking to a Pursuivant.
 * 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
 * Revitalizer (60+ cap) = /quarry and revitalizer voucher for 700 Ballista points
 * Body Boost = 300 Ballista points
 * Mana Boost = 300 Ballista points
 * Drachenessence = 30 Ballista points
 * Barfire Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Barblizzard Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Baraero Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Barstone Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Barthunder Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Barwater Ointment = 50 Ballista points
 * Petra Eater = 30 Ballista points
 * Catholicon = 100 Ballista points
 * Potion = 15 Ballista points
 * Hi-Potion = 45 Ballista points
 * X-Potion = 90 Ballista points
 * Elixir (50+ Cap Ballista) = 200 Ballista points
 * Hi-Elixir (50+ Cap Ballista)
 * Max-Potion (50+ Cap Ballista)
 * Ether = 20 Ballista points
 * Hi-Ether = 60 Ballista points
 * Super Ether = 120 Ballista points
 * Smelling Salts = 75 Ballista points
 * Healing Powder =100 Ballista points
 * Panacea = 200 Ballista points
 * Remedy = 100 Ballista points
 * Giant's Drink (60+ Cap Ballista)
 * Wizard's Drink (60+ Cap Ballista)
 * Carnal Incense
 * Spiritual Incense
 * Celestial Incense
 * Catholicon +1
 * Lethe Water
 * Lethe Water +1
 * Demoralizer +1
 * Demoralizer
 * Mana Powder
 * Megalixir
 * Lethe Powder
 * Daedalus Wing
 * Pro-Ether
 * Sleeping Potion
 * Blinding Potion
 * Poison Potion
 * Antidote
 * Prism Powder
 * Silent Oil
 * Apple au Lait
 * Orange au Lait
 * Pamama au Lait
 * Pear au Lait
 * Persikos au Lait
 * Apple Juice
 * Grape Juice
 * Melon Juice
 * Orange Juice
 * Pineapple Juice
 * Tomato Juice