Get Started

Two ways into Vana'diel. The launcher is the easy one.

Before you start: you need the retail game installed

Tempest XI is a private server for Final Fantasy XI. It is not a copy of the game. Our launcher is about 50 MB and all it does is point an installed copy of FFXI at our world, so the retail game has to be on your PC first.

If you already play FFXI or have it installed and updated, skip straight to the launcher below.

1. Install the full FFXI client

Download the installer from PlayOnline. The download comes as several files. Put them all in the same folder, close other applications, then double-click FFXIFullSetup_US.part1.exe to extract and install.

2. Log in once and let it update all the way

Start PlayOnline and sign in with a Square Enix account. The game will then download years of updates. This part takes a long time and it has to finish. You are done when the updater stops and Final Fantasy XI launches on its own.

There is no separate patch to run for playing here. Getting the retail game fully updated is the whole of it.

3. Then come back here and install our launcher

Once the retail game runs, install the Tempest XI launcher below and sign in with your Tempest XI account. You do not need an active Square Enix subscription to play on our server.

Can I use the free trial?

Partly, and the distinction matters. A free trial account is fine for the one-time login the updater needs. The free trial client is not, because Square Enix state it does not include any of the expansion pack data, and most of what we run is expansion content. Install the full client, not the trial one.

then, once the game is installed

Recommended

Tempest XI Launcher

One click and you are in. Create your account, sign in, and play without leaving the app. Windowed mode and graphics settings are built in, and there's nothing to edit by hand.

One-click login and play
Create an account in the app
Windowed mode and settings
Server news built in

Download for Windows Create Account

Version 0.1.5 · Windows 10/11 · ~50 MB · one-click updates when a new version ships.

Windows shows a blue “protected your PC” warning?

That is expected. The installer is brand new and not yet code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen is cautious about it. Click More info, then Run anyway to continue.

or set it up yourself

Prefer not to install the launcher?

Ashita and Windower both work. Install either from its own site as usual, then point it at our server with the connection info below.

Server address: tempestxi.com

Ashita v3

Install Ashita and add xiloader to your Ashita\ffxi-bootmod folder. Then create a profile with:

File:

.\ffxi-bootmod\xiloader.exe

Command/Server:

--server tempestxi.com

Windower

Install Windower and create a profile. Then edit that profile's section of settings.xml:

<args>--server tempestxi.com</args>
<executable>xiloader.exe</executable>

If your changes don't stick, edit the file on your Desktop and copy it back to the Windower folder afterward.

Ashita v4 (Beta)

Install Ashita v4 beta and put xiloader.exe in Ashita-v4beta\bootloader. In your boot config's [ashita.boot] section, set:

file        = .\bootloader\xiloader.exe
command     = --server tempestxi.com
gamemodule  = ffximain.dll

No GUI yet for v4 — launch with ashita-cli.exe yourconfig.ini.