To be sure, the transition to online gameplay will mean a lot of changes from what Final Fantasy fans are used to. For starters, random battles are out. Instead, all monsters and enemies will be visible in the game world, so combat should often be avoidable if you so desire. When you finally do engage in combat, you'll find that the battle system has been completely revamped so that it bears little resemblance to those of past Final Fantasy games. Instead of going strictly turn-based (Final Fantasy X) or hack 'n slash (Phantasy Star Online), Final Fantasy XI will feature a curious mix of the two styles. Upon encountering and targetting a baddy, your character will start to fight automatically. If you'd like to make them do something different, like cast a spell, a pop-up command menu is just a button press away. It may sound a bit simplistic, but we're quite confident the combat system will prove to be fun and playable. This is Final Fantasy, after all.