Greetings, everyone!
We're pleased to present the full Q&A digest from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XX! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below! Please note that there will not be subtitles added to the LIVE letter.
Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XX Q&A
0:03:38To start off, let's take a look at the updated title screen. As you can see, this screen will be changed to a Heavensward themed one when you install the expansion.
Main Scenario
A:0:04:09
Q: How long will the main scenario be?Starting with Patch 3.0, the main scenario will focus on the Dragonsong War, and it will have roughly the same volume as A Realm Reborn at Patch 2.0. If you don’t skip the cutscenes, and factor in the amount of time you'll spend leveling up, it'll be about 50 hours of gameplay. Similar to A Realm Reborn, the main scenario will have a finale, but the story will be updated continuously in Patch 3.1 and beyond.
A: While there is no specific mention of how much time has passed in-game, it’s about a few days to a few weeks after the events that took place during Patch 2.55. You can think of this time as the time that passed while Haurchefant was speaking with the people of House Fortemps, and the expansion begins when the Warrior of Light’s entry to Ishgard has been approved, so it’s not like months have passed.0:05:06
Q: Story-wise how much time has passed since the end of Patch 2.55 and the beginning of Heavensward?
A: No, there will not. Once you register Heavensward, the level cap will be increased and you can start to earn experience points. You won't have to complete any special quests.0:05:47
Q: Will there be any special quests or requirements in order to level up beyond 50?
0:06:20
Q: Could you give us details about the naming conventions for the Au Ra? Will the naming be Japanese-based like Yugiri?A: We've already announced that players will be able to select Au Ra as their character’s race, but we haven't talked about the two clans, the Raen and the Xaela. The Raen have been closely related to the people of Doma for a long time, and they use naming conventions based on Japanese. On the other hand, the Xaela are a nomadic clan, and their naming conventions are unique. We’ll be releasing the rules for making names in the future to give our hardcore lore fans the opportunity to pick suitable names.
Sidequests
0:07:31We'll be adding new job quests. For the new jobs, we'll implement job quests from level ?? to level 60, and for our existing jobs we’ll have quests from level 50 to level 60. Please look forward to seeing what’s become of the characters you met in previous job quests and what kind of story these new quests will unravel. Disciples of the Land and Hand classes will also have quests added for level 50 to 60. Please don’t forget to accept these quests while you're leveling.
Field Elements
0:08:35The new field areas that will be introduced in Heavensward are roughly 50-100% larger than the areas you've experienced up until now. Including Ishgard and the mysterious floating continent, there will be 9 new areas added, so you can imagine how much larger the world is going to be. Some of you have been wondering if the floating continent would be an instanced dungeon, but it is in fact a field area, so please be sure to check it out.We’ll also be adding new high level FATEs to each of these new areas. New mounts will also be added.
Flying Mounts
0:09:56We’ll be introducing flying mounts, and it will be possible to freely take off and land. You’ll also be able to fully control them on x, y, and z axes. However, you’ll need to "attune" to areas first, so you won't be able to fly around as soon as you obtain a flying mount. Think of as you needing to explore each area beforehand. It will be possible to fly in every area except Ishgard.
It will not be possible to fly in A Realm Reborn areas, as the maps were not originally designed to allow for flying. We might address this one day, but for now we would like to focus our efforts on adding new areas.
A: *The video shows gameplay footage of a flying mount in use.0:11:56
Q: Please show us a flying mount and how to control it.
You’ll have full control over your mount on the x, y, and z axes, and by continuously holding the jump button, you’ll be able to ascend. However, there is a limit to how high you can fly. By pointing the camera downwards you’ll descend, and once you reach the ground you will land. All of the flying mounts have the same controls, and I think you’ll be able to get used to them quite quickly. Also, while you're mounted, if you fall from a cliff or high spot, you'll automatically begin to fly.
What I’m showing you right now is the beginning area you'll visit in Heavensward.
A: Internally, the development team uses a special measurement for speed. Including all pre-existing mounts, movement when on the ground has a speed value of 0.9. When flying, mounts will have a speed value of 2.0, so it’s about twice as fast as on the ground. I still feel there is room to increase this value further, and I’m thinking about implementing something to possibly increase flight speed.0:15:16
Q: How fast are flying mounts?
A: Yes, we have plans to do this. There will be a special quest, and by clearing it your chocobo companion will be able to fly.0:15:58
Q: Do you plan on making it so our chocobo companions can become flying mounts?
A: While it won’t be at the launch of Heavensward, we do plan on addressing this. We’ll need to create the takeoff and landing animations for each one. It will be a gradual process, but you’ll be able to fly with them eventually.0:16:26
Q: Do you have plans to make the ahriman, bomb palanquin, and other existing mounts into flying mounts?
A: Let’s imagine you are getting close to a monster out in the open world. Naturally, the monster will aggro you, and when you start to fly, the enemy can attack you during your takeoff. However, if you keep flying you can get away. Essentially, monsters have not been placed in the sky, and the enmity rules are the same as on the ground.0:17:00
Q: Will it be possible for enemies to attack you while you are flying?
Battle System Updates
0:19:27We’ll be adding three new jobs: dark knight, astrologian, and machinist, and they’ll start from level 30. The job quests for each of these three new jobs will be located in Ishgard. If you want to start leveling these jobs as soon as you enter Ishgard, you’ll be able to do so without progressing through the new main scenario story. You’ll have to be at least level 50 for the new main scenario. By accepting the first job quest, you’ll be able to level up along with the story.
0:20:33The level cap will be increased to level 60 for all jobs, and we'll be adding multiple new actions. Disciples of War and Magic jobs will learn new actions from their job quests. You’ll be able to level up without completing these job quests, but that means you won't acquire any new actions, so please be sure to accept job quests as they become available.
Additionally, we've had a lot of requests to create unique level 3 limit breaks, and we'll be doing this for each job. However, the existing level 3 limit breaks will be allocated to certain jobs. You’ll be able to catch a glimpse of dragoon’s limit break when we show the Heavensward benchmark off at Niconico Chokaigi 2015.
0:22:14We’ll be introducing new job-specific equipment as well as other new equipment. We've prepared a lot, so get ready to use your glamour prisms.
We’ll also be introducing two new kinds of Allagan tomestones: Allagan tomestones of Law and Allagan tomestones of Esoterics.
*Artworks for some of the new gear being introduced in Heavensward can be found in this blog post.
Disciples of the Hand Updates
0:24:43The level cap will be increased to level 60 for Disciples of the Hand classes as well, and we'll be adding new actions for each class. This will differ a bit from the new job actions. There will be three types of actions you can acquire: those learned by leveling up, those learned from class quests, and those learned by completing quests specific to certain actions.*
We’ll also be implementing many new recipes.
Additionally, we’re in the final stages of planning for the implementation of Materia V. We're making fine adjustments to the stats and the rate at which they can be generated to preserve balance. Everything seems to be okay at the moment, and as long as there is nothing that affects balance dramatically we plan on implementing them.
*During the broadcast, we mentioned that new actions can be acquired by leveling, class quests, and the "specialist" system; however they will be acquired via leveling, class quests, and by completing quests specific to certain actions.
A:0:26:10
Q: What exactly is the specialist system? Can you tell us more?From level 55 you’ll be able to undertake a quest to become a specialist, and you can do this for three classes of your choosing. It will be possible to change your specialist classes by using a new item known as "scrips." There will be certain actions that you can only use while you are a specialist, but even if you do not become a specialist, you’ll still be able to take all of the Disciples of the Hand classes to level 60.
While I said that the concept for crafting up until now was such that it’d be fine to just level up any one class, the development team is aware that actions like Byregot's Blessing are a necessity, and that leveling all classes is required to use higher difficulty recipes, making crafting quite difficult. The specialist system is something that balances this out, and allows players to enjoy crafting with more choices.
Disciples of the Land Updates
0:28:50The level cap will be increased to level 60 for Disciples of the Land classes as well, and new actions will be added for each class. Additionally, we’ll be adding Treasure Hunts, gathering points, and fishing holes to the new areas.
0:29:25We've also prepared a new system for Disciples of the Land. While Disciples of the Hand classes will have the specialist system, Disciples of the Land classes will have the “favor system.” By using “divine favors” you’ll receive a special buff that will allow you to discover hidden gathering points while the favor is active. The favors will only remain active for a certain amount of time, and you’ll have to figure out when to use certain favors. Favors can be obtained using scrips for Disciples of the Land.
Additionally, we’ll be implementing regional folklore, which are high-level items for those who have reached the new level cap. Think of these as the Disciples of the Land equivalent of master recipe books.
Disciples of the Land and Hand Updates
0:31:46You’ll receive a request from Rowena at Rowena’s House of Splendors to create items with a certain value, and you can make items that match that value and turn them in. For those without a lot of time who don't plan to play heavily in the crafting market, this new system gives you the option to craft at your own pace, creating items with a clearly defined goal each day. You’ll be able to earn experience points by doing this, so please be sure to use it when leveling up from level 55. You’ll also be able to earn scrips through this system.
0:33:32The intention behind implementing the scrips system was that advanced materia melding was the only method by which players could increase their stats for Disciples of the Land and Hand classes, and we reached a point where a large amount of items was required to increase stats by even a small amount. For players who wish to race to the top as quickly as possible, they will be able to use materia as they have until now, but we’ll also have an alternative route for players to gear up by gradually saving up scrips. All players will need to use scrips at some point, so there will be a difference in speed for players who spend large amounts of gil on materia, but we're implementing this system with the goal of providing a new route for leveling Disciples of the Land and Hand classes.