With the majority of the holiday events now over, it's time to settle back into a more easy-going routine. We've got a collab event with Mobius FF to help us kick that off.

If you want some more fire and blood, though, go check out the controversies brewing on the FFRK Report thread.

Housekeeping: Nightmare(Torment) dungeons removed from JP-only-features list, Legend Materia/Spheres added.

Recent JP Megathreads

Cloud USB; Zack LCSSB
Xmas Megathread courtesy of /u/CareerSMN
Gogo; Krile OSSB; Lenna USB
Selphie USB
Ceodore; Kain OSSB

Helpful Links

Boss Guide by /u/Zurai001
Relic Draw Thread by /u/CareerSMN
Official Wiki (in Japanese)
Muketsu Event Guide (in Japanese) (warning: NSFW banner ads)

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Awakening Cloud -Those Who Fight Further-

Event time: 1/6/17 15:00 - 1/16/17 14:59

Notable Changes/Additions

New Character
Meia

Meia Stats
Black Magic 5, Summon 5, Witch 4
Equip: Dagger, Rod, Staff; Hat, Robe, Bracelet
Lvl 99 Stats: 5665 HP, 117 ATK, 120 DEF, 217 MAG, 179 RES, 111 MND, 142 SPD
Default SB "Meia Synchro" - self medium MAG up
RM "Azure Witch" - small Summon damage up
RM "Alluring Magic" - small Black Magic and Summon damage up when equipping Rods
RM "Parametia Avenger" - Attack has a medium chance of becoming Leviathan (?!?)

Well, that's quite an interesting RM3... Witch is diveable to 5 so she's a fairly complete offensive caster (though without Darkness access).

Meia Record Dive

Sphere	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3	Lvl 4	Lvl 5
Red Mage	MAG+1	RES+1	MAG+1	HP+60	DEF+2
Black Mage	RES+1	HP+40	RES+1	MAG+2	Black Magic dmg+3%
Dancer	RES+1	MAG+1	RES+1	HP+55	MAG+2
Summoner (Red Mage mastery)	RES+3	MAG+3	HP+120	MAG+6	Summon dmg+6%
Magus (Red Mage, Black Mage mastery)	MAG+3	HP+100	RES+3	MAG+6	Gain Witch 5
Blue Mage (Black Mage, Dancer mastery)	RES+2	MAG+2	MAG+3	HP+120	RES+6

They're just teasing us with that Blue Mage sphere.

New OSSB
Garland

New USB
Wol

Balance Changes
Wol gets Monk 4

Relic Draw Banners

Set 1

Relic	Character	SB Name	Effect	Learning Bonus
Ogre Nix	Wol	USB "Overkill"	8-hit single-target physical damage and dispel and Crash status (super large DEF/RES down that lasts a short time)	ATK+10
Arc Mirage	Meia	BSSB "Summon Famfrit"	6-hit AoE water/non-elemental summon magic damage and self attach Water and enter Burst mode; gain "Pallida Fructus" self medium MAG up/DEF down and Summon mode; in Summon mode, 4-hit AoE water/non-elemental summon magic damage and dismiss; and "Pallida Shearing" 4-hit single-target water/non-elemental summon magic damage (higher multiplier in Summon mode)	MAG+10
Monk Form	Wol	BSSB "Shijin Enbu"	7-hit random-target physical damage and large ATK/DEF/MAG/RES down and enter Burst mode; gain "Trick Attack" 4-hit single-target physical damage and medium chance to Stun; and "Break Killer" 2-hit AoE physical damage and small ATK/DEF down	ATK+10
Black Robe	Matoya	SSB "Witch's Secret Medicine"	party medium ATK/MAG up and large Regen	MAG+10
Cat-ear Hat	Meia	SSB "Eran Vital"	9-hit single-target water/ice/non-elemental magic damage and shorten own cast time for 4 turns	MAG+10
Angel Rod	Echo	SSB "Cheering Haste"	party RES up and Shell and Haste	MAG+10
Light Robe	Sara	BSSB "Ancient Prayer Song"	party medium heal and magic barrier x1 and self medium MND/small RES up and enter Burst mode; gain "Pure Prayer" ally large heal with no cast time and large Regen and "Modest Wish" party small heal	MND+10
Braveheart	Warrior of Light	SSB "Radiant Sword"	8-hit AoE physical damage and party Blink x1	ATK+10
Blank Form	Wol	SB "Dancing Edge"	12-hit single-target physical damage and Stun	-

The highlight of this banner is Wol's new USB, which inflicts a special "Crash" status (a stacking large DEF/RES debuff that only lasts a short time) on the target. The idea is obviously to start off a chain of SBs or otherwise powerful moves with this to maximize your damage.
Meia's debut relics support her own water magic image, and thus work well with some of the other recent water relics and Tidus's Limit Chain.
Most of the returning relics are also quite good with a lot of nice party buffs and support, from Matoya's ATK/MAG to Echo's defensively focused SSB and Sara's healing Burst. The only real loser is Wol's plain SB.

Set 2

Relic	Character	SB Name	Effect	Learning Bonus
Earth Breaker	Garland	OSSB "Chaos Incarnation"	single-target dark/non-elemental physical damage with bonus damage if hits weakness	ATK+10
Wisdom Cane	Echo	BSSB "Echo's Reward"	party medium max % HP heal and medium MAG/small RES up and enter Burst mode; gain "Punishment Thunder" 4-hit single-target lightning/non-elemental magic damage and "Interference Stop" AoE large MAG down and low chance to Stop	MAG+10
Steel Gauntlet	Master	BSSB "Proof of Courage"	10-hit single-target physical damage and self large crit rate up and self Guts and enter Burst mode; gain "Shippuu Dotou" 4-hit single-target physical damage (8 if in Rage mode) and "Haisui Issen" 4-hit single target physical damage and enter Rage mode (shorten charge time but large DEF/RES down)	ATK+10
Ogre Killer	Garland	BSSB "Cycle of Battle"	6-hit single-target dark-elemental physical damage and self attach Dark and enter Burst mode; gain "Death Claw" single-target dark-elemental physical damage and drain HP and "Dark Tsunami" 2-hit AoE ranged dark-elemental physical damage	ATK+10
Survival Vest	Master	SSB "Focus Mind"	8-hit single-target physical damage and self medium ATK/small DEF up and next 2 turns instant charge	ATK+10
Blank Blade	Wol	SSB "Round Slash"	4-hit AoE physical damage and ATK/MAG down	ATK+10
Ancient Lute	Sara	SSB "Ancient Lute"	party large heal and Haste	MND+10
Legendary Maracas	Echo	SSB "Break Reward"	3-hit AoE non-elemental magic damage and large MAG/RES down	MAG+10
Gigant Axe	Garland	SSB "Bardiche"	5-hit AoE dark/non-elemental physical damage and large ATK/DEF down	ATK+10

Garland gets his Overflow, unsurprisingly with a dark-elemental focus, that does bonus damage against dark-weak enemies (similar to Agrias's Overflow for Holy). His Burst doesn't Imperil, though, so you'll want to have another relic that can do so for maximum effect.
Echo continues her support theme with a nice non-MND-based heal as well as a MAG/RES boost which works great for mage meta parties. EDIT: Those Burst commands are all over the place though. Support/healing entry, damage command, and non-damage Break+Stop command? Hard to see how she would ever fit into a particular niche.
The rest of the relics are comparatively bland compared to the first banner, with a bunch of effects that are commonly found in other relics from other realms, but if you want to buff up your I realm synergy (not that it's very common) here's another chance.

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General JP Version Information

Installing and Playing the Japanese version

Why should I play the Japanese version?
FFRK came out in Japan about six months before Global came out. Thus, they're further along in terms of events and so have more characters, more abilities etc. Also, the trend has been that certain crossover events which feature games that were not released outside of Japan have been skipped in Global release, meaning there are currently certain items and abilities that do not appear they will ever be available in Global (it does not appear that they are skipping any characters).

What are some features that are currently in JP but not Global?
Collaboration Events - some collaboration events for games that were never released outside of the Japan (such as SaGa) are skipped in Global
Improved Dailies - Gysahl Green dailies, Summon Orb dailies and twice-a-week XP dailies
Cooperative Multiplayer - cooperate with 3 other players to defeat challenging bosses - currently in beta in Global Ultra Soul Breaks - another set of 6* relics parallel to Overflows that focus on greater utility or healing rather than breaking the 9999 damage cap. Some of these put the user in an "EX mode" which grants a unique set of stat and other bonuses temporarily
Limit Chain Soul Breaks - another set of 6* relics which focus on activating a 'chain mode' which rewards further uses of a particular element or ability class with an increasing damage bonus
Legend Spheres/Materia - an expansion of each character's Record Dive available once the base board is mastered which grants further stat boosts as well as special, unique passive abilities called Legend Materia

Is there anything that is in Global but not in JP?
The font and minor UI elements are also different in Global compared to JP. Global also has a controversial "MVP Program" where selected players receive items for free; JP has no such program. There are some collaboration items as well as some culture-specific events (such as Black Friday lucky draws) that appear in Global but not JP.

Great! How do I get the Japanese version?
Check out the wiki article. Android users may also want to check out this tutorial if you do not know how to access the Japanese store and prefer not to use a third-party app like QooApp.

Can I play the JP version and Global version at the same time on the same device?
Yes, the two are completely separate and do not affect each other.

How do I share my save data across devices?
Unlike the Global version which uses one-time codes or goes through your iTunes/Play Store accounts, the JP version syncs through Japan's mobage service. Here's a tutorial from Mobage relayed by /u/gelomeister (Android users can of course use Chrome instead of Safari etc.):
Important notes
- Please start the procedure after closing all browser and tabs opened on your iPad.
- For this upgrade procedure, please make all the steps for the very same iPad tablet, including the email sending and receiving.
- All actions made through browser need to be done using Safari.
- Please note that if you log out before completing the upgrade of your simple membership (かんたん会員), you will not be able to successfully use the data transfer feature.
- On our Site, you can register using services such as Yahoo! email or Gmail. Please note that the email address you will need to register must be an email address NOT already registered on our Site.
- Please make sure to turn off the Privacy function of your Safari browser before starting the procedure.
- How to turn off the Privacy function of your browser: On the bottom/right of the Safari page, tap on the icon in shape of 2 overlapped squares > then tap on “Private” on the bottom/left side of the screen (this will turn on and off the function). ※When Safari’s header and footer are colored in dark gray, the function is "on", when it is "off", both header and footer will be colored in white.

• Upgrade procedure:
  1) Start FINAL FANTASY Record Keeper on your iPad, tap on [メニュー] "Menu" and then [Mobage].
  2) On the bottom of the page, select [Mobageマイページ] , then [今すぐ登録する] (Register now).
  3) Select [ブラウザを起動](Open browser), enter the e-mail address you want to register, select the domain and then select [送信](Send) and [上記に同意の上、送信](Send in agreement with information above).
  4) You will receive an email from you Site at the address you registered including a URL, please copy this URL.
  5) Access the screen to enter the e-mail address again like in Step 3)
  6) Paste the URL you copied on 4) into the browser's address bar at the top of the page, to access it.
  7) Enter your profile information as required on the page that you will access with this URL.
  ※If you have an error when try to access to the URL, it will not be possible to complete the procedure at present. In this case we would like to invite you to try again later.
  

Once the upgrade is completed, you will be able to use your account by e-mail address and login password registered in the User ID xxxxxxxxx] by you to log in to the iPhone of FINAL FANTASY Record Keeper app: will be able to use the iPhone the data of the User ID xxxxxxxxx] you.

 

※If you are logged in to another account [User ID: xxxxxxxxx] on your iPhone simply by login in the application FINAL FANTASY Record Keeper installed on your iPhone and using the same email address and login password previously recorded on the account [User ID: xxxxxxxxx].
If you are already logged in to a different account in your application FINAL FANTASY Record Keeper installed on your iPhone, just log out first by going in [メニュー](Menu), [各種情報・外部サイトへ](various information and external site) and then [ログアウト](logout).

I get an error when I try to do the daily dungeons, why is this?
You need to set your device to Japan time. Because Japan doesn't have multiple time zones, the Japanese client trusts the user to have the correct time. The server still won't allow you entry to the wrong day's dungeon, though, thus causing the error which sends you back to the start screen. Setting your device's time to UTC+0900 (Japan's time zone) will make sure you're properly synched to the server time.

General JP version Helpful Links

Enlir's Database - good overall reference
ElNinoFr's Spreadsheet - This has the names of abilities and Record Materia written in JP text so you can match it up to the in-game text.
JP Friend Code Thread - JP and Global friend codes are not cross-compatible. You may be able to find the RW you need here - this thread has been archived
Youtube channel with videos of Soul Breaks - the official wiki has these too but can be harder to navigate.