The Final Fantasy XI Online team has set the dates for this year's Harvest Festival. According to notices posted on PlayOnline, the seasonal event runs from Friday, October 16, at 1:00 a.m. PDT to Monday, November 9, at 6:59 a.m. PST. The team describes the Harvest Festival as one of the two largest festivals in Vana'diel.
The event centers on searching Vana'diel for pumpkins and on festival-themed minigames held in each nation. The notice lists activities including Grab those gourds!, a fight against the monster Pyracmon, handing out treats to characters in costume, the Pink Masquerade costume contest, Wake of the Lilies and a set of seasonal festival stalls.
The Ilm set returns
The Ilm equipment series returns again this year, with its five pieces split between the festival, the October 2026 login campaign and item trades:
- Ilm Tiara (head): Grab those gourds!
- Ilm Manillas (hands): trade specified items to the Curator Moogle
- Ilm Weskit (body): October 2026 login campaign
- Ilm Lappa (legs): trade specified items to the Curator Moogle
- Ilm Huaraches (feet): Grab those gourds!
Players who meet specified requirements in the festival activities and minigames can also earn one #FES dial key per Earth day. The key unlocks the festival dial in the Gobbie Mystery Box, which the team says holds rewards from content such as high-tier mission battlefields and high-tier avatar battlefields.
Older event items, on a trial basis
A second notice covering the same October 16 to November 9 window reopens access to a set of older items through the Curator Moogle. The team said many items added over the years came from limited-time events that are not scheduled to return, or offered only limited chances to obtain them, and that it is trialing the exchange to make some of them available again or easier to get.
Returning items include the Cushaw Lantern, a pumpkin furnishing, alongside the Ilm Manillas and Ilm Lappa, Travesty, a Demonic Axe, a Shadow Lord shirt and a Shadow Lord statue. The exchange also offers materials used to weaken boss monsters in three Dynamis areas: Shadescale Talon, Cagebeast Blood, Shadescale Heart, Shadescale Femur and Shadescale Skull for Dynamis - Buburimu; Absorbent Moss, Odorless Fungus and Redolent Root for Dynamis - Valkurm; and Sea Monk Venom, Perforated Wing and Undying Moiety for Dynamis - Qufim.
The Curator Moogle can be found at Chateau d'Oraguille, the Metalworks and the Clerical Chamber of Heavens Tower, where players check which items each exchange requires. Some trades call for rewards from the current seasonal event or another limited-time event, according to the notice.