Let Producer Matsui Know How He Should Catch Up on 2 Years!

[MarkovChain]

*I want Nyzul to be changed so that it's not as easy to win with cheat tools.
suggestion 1: reduce floor length, remove lamp order objective
suggestion 2 (revamp) : allow to start from previouly recorded floor, but instead let the boss have a lower droprate.
*I want 16 macro lines.
*I want the ability to dual box (playing 2 characters on one computer) with the official launcher (like I can play on the test server and normal in 2 windows anyway).
* I want exclusively 6-man-able content (or less, salvage-style).
* I want more content like sky/legion abjuration where you try your luck to get something worth with synergy.
* I want new gear model for the new salvage.

[SpankWustler]

It's really cool to see such a personal-sounding message from the new producer.

So, first of all, I'd like to apologize in advance for any future implications I may make that he may not be wearing pants.

Both of my suggestions are very vague.

First, most problems brought up by players are worth taking seriously even when the solutions offered are nuttier than Mr. Peanut's nutty butt or impossible to implement for technical reasons. A solid eight times out of ten, there is a real issue at the heart of that completely insane or technically impossible change being suggested.

Second, please keep in mind that the players have grown and learned about Final Fantasy XI over the years. Many of us are now graduate students, writers, bear-wrestlers, teachers, scientists, or 30-year-old virgins who have gained mysterious magical powers. Along the way to finding a cure for dwarfism or learning how to perform a twirling reverse-suplex on a polar bear, many of us took a first-year college statistics course.

So, we know how the numbers that make basic functions (such as those behind spells and weapon-skills) work do their thing. We know that the median and the mode may be very different things and that not all samples are representative.

As a result, we're much happier with explanations that go into the mathematical or ideological innards of things than "this does this because we made it do this and it does this on purpose because we made it do this and that is that". I mean, what is the best possible response to that kind of answer? Relief that FFXI isn't developed by throwing laptops at stray cats and letting the chips fall where they may?

That sounds harsh, harsher than I want to come off, but I can't think of any gentle way to express the feeling that "this is intentional" gives off to many players when given in response to a request for change. It is a relatively harsh feeling, as far as first-world middle-class extremely dorky video-game-stuff goes.

I might not agree with the reasoning provided if the Development Bros were to say "We want people to spend X hours moving merits around a week, so we'll never uncap merits completely," or "We want a Blue Mage to change his or her spells around mid-fight during Voidwatch so his or her swords will see more use," but I would respect those detailed answers and that would provide something for the community to discuss.

I realize this kind of explanation requires more time and effort, and possibly even someone from the corresponding department to write it out originally, but I feel it would help move discussion in a much more constructive direction on both sides.

[Vivivivi]

Hello, and thanks for your outreach to the fanbase, it really means a lot to us to hear directly from you

Top changes I would love to see:
-Clearer, cleaner user interface with HD displays in mind. While I know the team is hard at work making the new UI, I think it is important to keep in mind that on a hi-res display, text is very small and difficult to read.

-Anything that can be done to improve the "feel" of the speed of the game. Such things as characters "blinking" when changing gear, superfluous menus, and the unusually resource demanding things such as verdical confluxes are all examples of things that make the game "feel" sluggish.

-Voidwatch rewards system (I know, I know, I know). While the cells for sought after drops are a nice start, I have personally fought Kaggen 100 times and still do not have the body armor. A points system, or even a system similar to abyssea seals that at the very least might give players a sense of progression would be far more rewarding than just hopeless spamming of certain void watch monsters to obtain sought after equipment.

-A general emphasis on making things less complicated when addressing revamps to old content. I was delighted to hear about the abolishment of the cells from Salvage! These types of systems introduce unnecessary levels of complication that take away from the fun of these types of events.

-A throwing weapon skill! Kind of a random request, but it sure would be fun for Ninjas and Thieves who have taken the time to skillup this combat skill, and add a little bit more depth to their use of ranged attacks. I could see an emphasis on enfeeble effects, or even a sort of area of effect of the target type maneuver.

- And finally, a general emphasis on "fun" as opposed to "work" when making adjustments or developing new content. Please keep this in mind! I am not requesting for things to be easy, because that's not fun! However, in my opinion, as noted above with regards to Voidwatch, a feeling of progression towards a goal is not only fun, but rewarding. This is why I very much like the process in which Empyrean armor is obtained. You may not get the item you desire in a single run, but seals have a relatively high drop rate, and +2 items can generally be obtained without a yellow proc even in small quantities. These types of systems keep players like myself motivated to continue to play, because you can measure your progress towards a particular goal by counting seals, +2 items, dynamis currency, ichor, etc, while on the contrary, fighting certain void watch monsters dozens, or hundreds of times, or in the case of Provenence Watcher which is even worse, spending 1-2 hours to do all four fights, and walk away with little more than a log, is not only frustrating, but it becomes not fun, and less appealing to partake in.

Again, thanks so much for your outreach, and please keep us updated

[Eurell]

Rework the enmity system so that having a tank is actually viable again.

[Dazusu]

Personally I would like to see some world-spawning HNM. Ones that pop every 5-10 minutes, so there's no promotion of cheating or monopoly. Ones that are up/waiting to be killed and deliver a battle that's challenging enough to be notable. No temp items. No over-powered 'buffs'. No stupid 'one shot' moves which are unavoidable without Perfect Defence to the entire alliance.

More importantly though, is as the poster above stated - Rework the enmity system (re-scale it) so tanking is viable once again - and deliver content that needs a tank other than <insert random DD>.

[Kaisha]

He should probably start by reading the last couple year's worth of update notes, since we had all of Abyssea, Voidwatch, and the lvl-cap raises during that time.

Then afterwards, join a linkshell on a lvl99 character with moderate gear and get a taste for how current FFXI endgame plays, and then figure out things from there as far as SoA content will run.

[Eyeballed]

On the premise that we ought not remove any aspects of the game currently in place, I'd like you to add to it. Simply, I'd like to see value put back into the game's mid-play. This is what I propose:

- Certain existing weapons/gear of varying level, which can be crafted, be attached to varying parameters such as Weaponskills, Damage, Accuracy, etc. The weapon itself will carry a cumulative factor of relative progression the more these parameters are fulfilled, where ultimately the weapon can be attributed in various ways (cap gear, abilities, etc.). This progression should exclude EXP gain as a parameter for progression, and should be exclusive to defeating Even Match enemies and above.

[Helel]

This probably won't receive many likes since most people are too cheap to play RNG in the first place, but the prices of bullets need to be seriously looked into. Adaman ores/ingots need to be made more readily available (voidwatch?) or the number of the bullets synergized needs to be increased. Currently RNGs have to pay 200-300k per event . . . just to play the job.

[larrymc]

I would like more 3-6 man content that is challenging, and progressive. Content that does not depend entirely on luck, and rewards skill and innovative job usage, rather than a fix, specialized format (2 SCH + 4 DD)

[Vagrua]

Lower Heavy Metal Plate requirements for Empyrean Weapons or make them drop more from Voidwatch. Even 500 of these would still be considered a challenge to get. 1500 has always been unrealistic to casual players.

Adjust Dynamis Lord to drop 1 Umbral Marrow to remove strain on relic owners.

You're aiming mostly at the casual playerbase nowadays; you cannot make requirements impossible for those that only play 2-4 hours a day due to jobs/families.

Fix PLD so that it can actually tank in environments where all enmity is capped.

RDM isn't even considered in content nowadays. Do something to make it useful again.

Remove the restrictions on meriting Weapon skills.