Distance

Distance

Distances within FFXI are measured in terms of a unit of distance called the yalm, commonly indicated with the ' symbol. Precise distances are only accessible through third-party programs, but FFXI provides various clues for judging distance without them:

Distance	Effect
50'	Maximum distance for a character (PC or NPC) to be drawn or targeted.
30'	Maximum auto-attack range. Also the maximum range for log messages about mob actions, and the furthest that a mob will notice your actions (and generate hate).
26.8'	Maximum distance for a mob to start casting.
25'	The outer ring of the radar for Ninja (main or sub job). Also maximum Ranged Attack and Quick Draw range.
21.8'	Maximum distance for most targeted spells cast by a player. This varies slightly from one area to the next.
20'	The outer ring of the normal radar. At 20' a character's radar dot is almost entirely outside the ring. This is the maximum range for Chi Blast. Also magic and blood aggro range.
17.5'	Maximum range to order an offensive Blood Pact.
16.8'	Provoke, pet commands, some spells (Requiem)
15'	The faint inner ring of the normal radar. Also sight aggro range and the maximum range for ranged Weapon Skills.
10'	The very faint inside ring of the radar. This is easiest to see by looking at the spokes of the compass; they are most visible within this ring. Also the radius of -ra spells and Bard songs sung with voice and wind; string radius varies with your string skill, from 10' when you first learn the song to a maximum of 20'.
8'	Sound aggro range.
6'	Trade, checking an NPC.
5'	Blood Pact: Ward range (centered on avatar).
3'	Maximum melee range (often larger, depending on the size of the enemy).

If you are fighting an enemy that uses AoE special attacks, it is very useful to know the range of its attacks so you can stay outside of it. Here are some examples:

Distance	Special Attacks
3.4'	Throat Stab Max Melee distance you should be when fighting any tonberry without drawing it closer. When you see "*Tonberry* readies Throat Stab" You can easily step back and dodge the attack.
8'	Bomb Toss (centered on primary target), all Zdei attacks
10'	Whirl of Rage, Mysterious Light, Fluid Spread, Fanatic Dance, Auroral Drape
15'	Dream Flower, Stormwind, Level 5 Petrify, Crystal Rain, Self-Destruct (?), Antiphase
20'	Mijin Gakure, Empty Seed, Death Trap
30'	Astral Flow

Positioning

Attack Regions

Because of the specific ranges of each ability, many of the more difficult battles in the game require very delicate positioning of players. In addition to the various AoE attacks, there are also Cone Attack which are directional in nature.

To the right is a scale diagram of a tank and a monster. Around the monster are three circles. The inner circle is the 10' radius, the middle is 15', outer is 20'. These are the three most common ranges for AoE attacks. Around the tank is one circle with radius of 20.8' which is the maximum range for Cure. As you can see, if the monster has both Cone Attack as well as 20' AoE attacks, there is only a very small area in which healers can stand (the green area) which allows them to avoid splash damage and still heal the tank.

Distance and Ranged Attack

The accuracy and damage of Ranged Attacks varies with the distance from the enemy. For damage, each weapon type has a distinct "sweet spot" for maximum damage.

• The sweet spot also varies with the size of the enemy; it will be farther away if the enemy is larger.
• Longbows and shortbows may have different sweet spots, though the table does not currently reflect that.
• These values were calculated before the Ranged Attack "un-nerf" patch, so the differences may be smaller now.

Distance	Bow	Crossbow	Gun	Throwing
1'	65%	65%	75%
3'	70%	75%	85%
4.5'			100%
5'	78%	87%	100%
5.5'			100%
7'		100%
7.5'	100%	100%	95%
8.5'	100%	100%
9.5'	100%
10'	98%	96%	90%
15'	92%	90%	88%
20'	89%	86%	86%
25'	87%	86%	85%