Letter from the Producer, XXIV (01/30/2012)
Hello again, FFXIVers. I hope you’re all having a good time riding around Eorzea on your new goobbue mounts! :)
Well, like I mentioned in my last letter, today I’m going to be writing about the progress of patch 1.21, and posting an updated list of changes to the game. The total list is ridiculously long now, so what I’ve done is just update the parts relevant to 1.21. Take a look if you have the time!
Quests
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Seventh Umbral Era quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Planning and implementation of quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Storylines and world quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Development and release of supplemental storylines and world quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Instanced raid quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Introductory quests for two new instanced raids</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">* Not required for entry into the instanced raids</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>New seasonal events</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Implementation and hosting of new seasonal events</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Player residence quests</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of quests to gain access to player residences in each city-state</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Paladin</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for PLD</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Warrior</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for WAR</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Monk</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for MNK</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Dragoon</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for DRG</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Bard</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for BRD</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Black Mage</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for BLM</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>White Mage</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of level 30-50 job quests for WHM</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr></table>New Content
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center" rowspan="2">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" rowspan="2"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>New instanced raids</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of new instanced raid "Cutter's Cry" (level 50)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of new instanced raid "The Aurum Vale" (level 50)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Paladin content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking PLD<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Learning PLD abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring PLD artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Warrior content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking WAR<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Learning WAR abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring WAR artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Monk content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking MNK<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Learning MNK abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring MNK artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Dragoon content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking DRG<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Learning DRG abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring DRG artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Bard content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking BRD<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Learning BRD abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring BRD artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Black mage content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking BLM<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Learning BLM abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring BLM artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>White mage content</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Unlocking WHM<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Learning WHM abilities<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Acquiring WHM artifact armor</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">To take the form of quests incorporating exploration and battle</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Player residences</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of player residences at inns<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of replay feature for quest cutscenes<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of logout bonus</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Achievements</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Additional achievements<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Additional achievement rewards<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Expansion of achievement system features such as rate of progress</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Intra-city travel</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Implementation of system allowing for warping within each city-state</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.22</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Hamlet defense</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Release of hamlet defense duties</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" ><font color="red">* Postponed to 1.22 due to increase in scale</font></td></tr></table>Guildleves
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font>Abolishing Guardian's Aspect</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Guardian's Aspect to be abolished with the introduction of logout bonus</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>EXP adjustments</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>EXP yielded by guildleves to be adjusted with the abolition of Guardian's Aspect</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr></table>Behest
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Balancing of behests</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Further adjustments to behest difficulty and rewards</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr></table>Company System
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Chocobo barding</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of personal chocobo barding for each Grand Company </td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Special supply & provisioning ops</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Addition of unique and untradable item categories</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr></table>Enemies and Non-Instanced Areas
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Job battle monsters</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of monsters for each job (including NPC battles)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Additional instanced raid bosses</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of new boss enemies for the two instanced raids</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Balancing of enemy attributes</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">Adjustments to enemy parameters and reexamination of drops</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr></table>Battle System
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Job attributes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Implementation of unique attributes for each job</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Job actions</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Implementation of job actions (including combos)</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Class action adjustments</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Continuation of adjustments commenced in patch 1.20</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Battle log revisions</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Partial revisions to battle log spec</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Spellcasting spec changes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Moving will be made to interrupt spellcasting</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Reworking of crowd contro</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Implementation of rules for overlapping crowd control actions</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">* Implementation confirmed for 1.21</font></td></tr></table>Armoury System
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Job System</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Implementation of a system for switching between jobs/classes (tentative name: job stones)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr></table>Items, Synthesis, and Gathering
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">New recipes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Ongoing addition of recipes in line with new synthesis concepts</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>HQ synthesis changes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Revisions to balance and flow for HQ synthesis</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>HQ attribute adjustments</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Changes to the algorithm for determining HQ item attributes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Abolition of slot cost</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Abolition of slot cost for accessories and reorganization of equipping conditions</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Accessory recipe reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Review of synthesis recipes for accessories</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Accessory attribute adjustments</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Adjustments to accessory attributes based on change from slot cost to number equippable.</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>New accessories</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of new accessories in line with accessory reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Food effect reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Reform of food effects in accordance with new class abilities</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Additional food items</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of food items in conformance with food effect reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Food recipe adjustments</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Adjustments to food recipes in conformance with food effect reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Food item obtainability</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Adjustments to the obtainability of food-related items (vendors and drops)</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Medicine recipe reforms</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Review of synthesis recipes for medicine</font></td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of new medicine items</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Revisions to medicine effects in line with new class abilities</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of new medicine recipes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Revisions to medicine item recipes in line with changes to medicine effects</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Adjustments to obtainability of medicine items</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Adjustments to dropped and vendor items related to medicine</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Review of gear attributes</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Adjustment of attributes for existing gear</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr></table>User Interface (UI)
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3">UI changes accompanying introduction of jobs</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Additional slot to gear interface for job change items<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Display of unlocked jobs added to attribute interface<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Display of acquired job actions to the actions and traits interface</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">Multiple UI changes to accommodate job system</font></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Config adjustments and additions</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of "/textclear" to GUI config (feature that automatically hides the log)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Expansion of the "face target" feature</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Expansion of a feature that stops your character if moving and faces the target as part of changes to casting specs</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>On/Off toggle for sub-targeting</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> Release of an On/Off toggle for sub-targeting feature for mouse and keyboard users<br>(Effects occur as soon as an action is execute on a target, eliminating the need to retarget)</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">* This is an improvement to mouse and keyboard controls. Toggling sub-targeting off while using a gamepad will reduce usability.</font color></td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br> UI updates to accommodate changes to accessories</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>UI changes in line with revisions made to how accessories are equipped</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Food/Medicine effect recast times</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>UI display of recast times for the reuse of food and medicine</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Food/Medicine effect help text</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Display of help text for food and medicine effects</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Event replay feature UI</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>UI display for the event replay function available in the player residences</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>EXP bonus UI</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>UI display when playing with an active EXP bonus earned while logged out</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Player search updates</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of search conditions to narrows searches to those players who have unlocked jobs<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Ability to conduct player search via text command</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.21</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Achievement system updates</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of information regarding NPCs who unlock achievements<br><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Addition of detailed progress trackers for achievements</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td02"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Pop-up help text</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3"><font color="red">-NEW-</font><br>Changes to the when and where pop-up help text is displayed</td><td bgcolor="#fffaf3" align="center">-</td></tr></table>The Lodestone
<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" align="center" class="ta01"><tr valign="middle" align="center" class="th01"><td width="12%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Patch</td><td width="25%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Planned</td><td width="32%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Current Tasks</td><td width="31%" bgcolor="#f5cca2">Notes</td></tr><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.20<br>-1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Linkshell page</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Addition of search function<br>Addition of member recruitment function<br>Reworking of main linkshell page</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">1.20<br>-1.21</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Display language switch</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Ability to switch between Lodestone display languages</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td><tr valign="middle" align="left" class="td01"><td bgcolor="#f8dfc5" align="center">Ongoing</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">My Page</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5">Improvement of My Page features</td><td bgcolor="#f6efe5" align="center">-</td></tr></table>
Patch 1.21 is going to be the biggest patch yet since the launch of FFXIV service.
The addition of seven classic jobs, their related abilities and artifact gear, two new instanced raids, private player residences, a cutscene replay feature, chocobo armor, a reworking of crowd control, adjustments to classes, revisions to how spell-casting works, changes to food and medicine effects and recipes, and so on and so forth. (The addition of the On/Off toggle for sub-targeting is another addition I’m looking forward to, being a mouse-and-keyboard man myself.)
For the long-awaited changes to food and medicine, we’ve gone back to the drawing board at a conceptual level, and will be making distinct changes to each item. We’ll be keeping you informed of the new concepts and such on the forums and in Topics posts, so please hang on a bit longer for more details.
There is something I have to apologize for. We were shooting to have the new “hamlet defense” content ready in time for 1.21, but despite the progress we’ve made, I’m afraid the scale is just too large for that to be possible. I’m truly sorry about this. But, it’s going to be fresh new content that can allow all classes to play an integral role (not just combat classes!), so I hope it’s something you can all look forward to. Again, I’m sorry for the delay, and ask for your patience and understanding.
I’d also like to share some info on the release schedule for 1.21. We’d originally aimed for the patch to go live in the second week of February, but after looking over the amount of content and all the accompanying UI changes, localization, balancing, QA’ing, and such, we’re currently looking at a delay of about two weeks. We’re pushing really hard for an end-of-February release, but ask that you wait a bit and keep an eye on the announcements we’ll be making on the forums and in Topics regarding details. (Don’t worry, none of this will have any effect on the version 2.0 schedule!)
Last of all, I’d like to talk about the merging of servers I’ve mentioned on the forums. This is something we’ll be doing to ensure that everyone has a chance to meet as many other players as possible and encourage embarking on adventures together. We’re currently looking into how to make this particularly effective for the European players distributed across all Worlds, as they are fewer in number than players from other regions.
The server merge is a temporary measure intended to help FFXIV progress. We’ll be reintroducing Worlds when the number of players demands it, and with relaunch of version 2.0.
We’re planning to allow for an adequate amount of time between when we release the information regarding the server merging and when we actually carry it out. But for now I’ll have to ask you to wait a little while for the details. Patch 1.21 is a much higher priority, so the merging won’t happen until sometime after it goes live.
Since we’re in the final phase of patch work, this letter kind of just zipped through things, but I also wanted to mention that in addition to the 1.21 environment, we’re also running 2.0 clients on the shop floor now. One of the things we’ve done so far is make sure that more character customization options will be going in the relaunch version. We’ll be releasing more info in the future, so keep an eye out for that as well!
Well, I’m gonna get back to it. See you in the next letter, or on the forums. See you soon! :)