[Dev] Repair system problems

[Reinheart]

I posted this on the JP side but what about repair search feature?

It works bit like retainer search, it searches the near by areas for players with repair request. You can search by your crafting class, and rank. Search result will display the players name, repair item, reward they are offering. You can accept by person or by group requesting same item or something in that line.

Once you select the player to look and repair, it will display on the map player current location. If you are near the player, again just like retainer it will have an icon on top of their name to make it easier to locate.

Rest is just like regular repair

Also since devs working on achievement system adding a system where if you repair someone X amount of times you get an achievement or if you requested for repair X amount of times you get an achievement. This type of feature will encourage some players (who don't cheat) to try and repair as much as they can, while people requesting for repair will ask for crafters to help so they can also achieve that achievement.

Also might be good for some group of people to come up with mini game to see who can repair the most in X minutes or something weird like that lol

[StateAlchemist]

My biggest complaint is 9 times out of 10 I will spend more gil repairing an item over the time I own it then I do buying it. So by the time I sell it I don't even make my money back. Hence why I wear the best possible gear I can even if I am only Rank 1, and never buy low-mid level gear. What's the point? In fact I will go out of my way to try and get an item that is for All Classes or encompasses multiple Disciplines to try and at least keep the gear at least Optimal as far as Class goes.

[Bayohne]

Yoshida made another of his signature "huuuuge posts!" (tm) This one focuses heavily on the upcoming changes to the repair system.

Hello everyone, Producer/Director Yoshida here.

I appreciate the lively discussion that’s been taking place here.
Before I start, I’d like to apologize that my post is late as we were struggling through a dizzyingly busy week. While I was busy running around, you were busy creating a range of topics that even touched on the in-game economy! But today, I’ll be going back to basics. Let me start with our plans for the item repair system in 1.19 and from 1.20 onwards! (As for the in-game economy, we cannot really get into this subject at the moment until every single element of the system becomes “normal.” Otherwise there are too many aspects to talk about and it’ll end up too confusing to discuss)

Premise
Over the next few days I can promise you more posts after this one, and in the next producer’s letter I will let you know more of my thoughts about the fundamental direction where FFXIV and current generation MMORPGs should be heading. I hope you are looking forward to my new letter which will be out soon. However, due to our current situation and progress, the letter will be posted just before 1.19 is released. So in the meantime let me explain what 1.19 has to offer through videos which you have been requesting!

General policy about the repair system
When I consider the death penalty and FFXIV as a current generation MMORPG, which entails striking a balance between risk and reward and taking your lifestyle and work into account, the common link seems to be the “concept of equipment durability”. I mentioned it before and it’s still on my mind. Equipment worn in battles will lose their durability over time; this could be seen as a small milestone in your long journey. It will motivate you to get new equipment, crafters can demonstrate their repairing skills, and players can feel the reality of seeing their equipment age over time. So I believe we should keep degrading armor and repair systems as they are. (Some have pointed out that it’s not really a death penalty for crafters as they can fix their gear, though I don’t see any problem with that. Players can raise their crafting level with some serious grinding, so I think this balances out the death penalty)

Yet we have a massive problem with the current repair system
I know it has been a huge issue that we ask you to devote a tremendous amount of effort to repairs. As I mentioned above, the concept of equipment durability and degradation has an impact on various systems, player motivation, settings and the death penalty, for only minor rewards. Therefore, I understand there is a big problem with the imbalance between the amount of work needed and the stat increases that can be gained. In short, I concluded that repairs should become a lot easier, if I take balance into consideration (Although I wouldn’t be able to respond if you were to say it’s a long time coming)

There are two ways to repair items
We already implemented two different ways to repair items in the game: paying NPCs or disciples of the hand. However, both methods have their respective problems and the solutions are also different. Therefore, I’d like you to understand the tweaks and changes below which address each method. We will evaluate the system comprehensively when it comes to actually implementing changes. However I wanted to be clear about the features, as the discussion may go off track on the forum.

Adjustments in Patch 1.19 (Focusing on NPC Repair Adjustments)
Currently the goals we’ve set for ourselves for 1.19 are pretty extensive, and it won’t be possible to implement most of the new features in a single patch. Therefore it looks like there will be several stages of implementation over patch 1.19 and 1.20 to improve the repair system.
The updates in patch 1.19 will mainly focus on NPC repairs.
(In a way, I suppose the adjustments will involve crafter repairs)

1. There will be a “Repair NPC” and a “Merchant NPC” stationed at every Aetheryte/Settlement.
2. When an NPC repairs an item, the level of durability will be restored to 99% of the item’s condition.
3. Only crafters are able to restore an item’s durability to 100% (As per the design)
4. The price for NPC repairs will be greatly lowered.
(The price per item will be fixed at 100G/500G/1000G/2100G/5000G according to the level of the equipment)
5. The cost of Dark Matter will be lowered.
(G1/G2/G3/G4/G5 = 50G/300G/700G/1500G/3500G)
6. The decrease in condition based on equipment deterioration changes are as follows:
No decrease in status/attributes for durability levels between 100 and 1
If durability reaches 0, it will have a “Damaged” status, and the equipment attributes will be treated as 0
When durability is 10 or below, a yellow icon will appear which will indicate that it is nearing the durability limit
When durability is 0, a red icon will appear which will indicate a damaged item is equipped

So that’s the plan for repair adjustments for patch 1.19. I’ll be sure to keep you updated. To cut it short, equipment deterioration during normal use of items is:

• The line for equipment's stat deterioration will be clear and there will be no more need for partial repairs (the icon won’t be annoying)
• The pricing for NPC repairs will be reasonable, and it will be possible to have affordable repairs which will restore to durability 99%
• When second-hand items go up on the market, repairs carried out by a crafter will be needed
• The price of Dark Matter will be lowered, and it will not demand a large amount of gil

These things mean you won’t feel forced to level a crafting class in order to repair your own equipment.

Adjustments for Patch 1.20 Onwards (Focusing on Disciples of the Hand Repair Adjustments)
I’ve finalized the plans for changes to the crafter repair procedure for 1.20.
If there is a chance to speed up the process then we will. In any case, the huge amount of trouble repairers have to go through is a real problem, and I have thought about adopting this basic flow.
1. Perform a command every time when you repair, to cut out the animation which plays each time
2. If Dark Matter can be offered by the one who is getting their equipment repaired this will make work a lot easier for the crafter
3. Add Dark Matter G6 (Level 50+ exclusive equipment) and readjust the specifications and price of G5

Apart from this, making the repair request icon more visible and simplifying the ability to collectively repair equipment is in the works. Furthermore, I was thinking it would be ok if all Disciples of the Hand classes, aside from Alchemist/Culinarian, would be able to repair any equipment.

It doesn’t mean that each disciple of the hand class will be knowingly gathering up all the equipment that they are able to repair, and even if there is a repair request, the parts that can be repaired will differ depending on the crafter. So in the end there are huge losses at stake for both the repairer and the one seeking repairs.
(I have a different plan for Alchemists and Culinarians doing repairs. However, it might be over simplified…? There will be something like a repair kit which crafters can use. (It might be an idea to have something like a repair kit which only crafters can use)
As I really want to get feedback from all of the current crafters out there, I plan to launch a third survey after the release of patch 1.19. ^^

So, my time’s up and as always I have written a lot, however that is it for the repair improvements plans! Looking back on things again I feel I should have done something about this sooner…

From now on, when you are in an emergency let me hear what you have to say and we will work hard to release new contents and make adjustments. So please keep on telling us your opinions/feedback!

[Bayohne]

He also posted a follow-up regarding repairing accessories!

Hello, this is Yoshida, the Producer/Director.

I'm sorry, I forgot to post information regarding accessories.

Repairing accessories (Post patch 1.19)
Plan A: Stop loss of durability of accessories.
Plan B: Allow NPCs to repair accessories.

If we choose Plan B, we will look into implementation as soon as possible after patch 1.19.
We are still in the process of carefully reviewing Plan A.
We are also looking into a system that would charge abilities with recast timers in conjunction with accessories, so I'd like to take a bit more time to think about the balance for this. (I think it would be nice to get rid of durability and implement a recharge cost)

Due to the adjustments necessary, Plan A would require more time than Plan B.

Classification of gear that can be repaired by Disciples of the Hand
I mentioned this in my previous post, but we have not fully decided to allow repairs of all gear by all crafting classes (other than alchemy and cooking).

Of course we are taking into account issues of story and crafter identity, but we don’t think that this should cause any stress. We believe that at this level, players will have their preferences, which is why we are conducting a survey in order to factor in the players’ opinions in our final decision.

[Sav]

Plan A sounds pretty interesting

[Fated]

FINALLY we get a repair NPC at Aetheryte camps! I'm liking that they can fix up to 99% so you still need a crafter to fix the item when you want to sell it.

[Naylia]

I would vote against any crafting class being able to repair any gear - I know it's a video game, but I liked that there was a correlation between crafter class and the goods they make & repair and the mats they use. I do not like the idea of whipping out my saw to repair your plate armor (although I guess I have an off hand hammer I could bang on dents with).

I think Plan B is sufficient. If NPCs can repair jewelry, and they are at all the camps and cities that is leaps and bounds beyond what we have now for repairing jewelry. But moving all the way to Plan A would essentially eliminate the need for GSM repairs which would make GSMs sad. I don't understand why accessories should be treated differently from other armor types. However, I think it would be nice to have more accessories that can be made by other classes and balance out the single repair class reliance on all those slots.

EDIT: I also like the idea of repair kits that adventurer's could buy to use in the field (ie...standing around outside Darkhold trying to get gear fixed, or for when doing extended exploring away from camps.)

[Delmontyb]

I vote for option B... If NPCs could repair my accessories to 99% for all equipped items, then I'd be set.

[OmegaNovaios]

I like Plan A, I level all battle classes and my accessories vary much more than all other equipment so I have about 20 accessories total and it is just a pain to get repairs for all of them.

[Nexxus]

I vote for Plan A !

Repairing accessories (Post patch 1.19)
Plan A: Stop loss of durability of accessories.
Plan B: Allow NPCs to repair accessories.