Greetings, everyone!
We're pleased to present the full digest from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIV! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below!
To start things off I’d like to answer some of the bigger questions from the forums lately.
Job-related
A: We’ve received a lot of feedback on astrologian, and the development team has been making adjustments while they have been actually using it in content. Essentially we will be increasing their healing power and enhancing nearly all of their healing spells.0:01:43
Q: Can you tell us how astrologian is going to be adjusted?
Furthermore, we’ll also be adding new effects to certain actions such as Collective Unconsciousness. For example, while under the effect of a certain action, we will be adding a 20% boost to healing. In regards to the effects of cards as well, we will be doubling the effect duration for certain cards and performing other adjustments, so it will be feel much stronger. The astrologian adjustments will be taking place in Patch 3.07, so please be sure to try it out.
A: I touched on this a bit during Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIII, but I understand that there have been a lot of requests for a way to immediately generate 5 stacks of Chakra. We were thinking to do this by limiting it so it can’t be used if the monk has enmity from a monster; however, with the current system, it would be too powerful to allow for this since it can be used in between monsters while in dungeons. As we have yet to find a good way to solve this issue, we will instead be reducing the recast time of Meditation and also giving a slight boost to Greased Lightning’s effect and effect duration so that actions and be strung together more easily. Additionally, we’ll also be making adjustments to the recast time of Tornado Kick. With these changes, monk’s overall damage output will be increased.0:03:22
Q: Can you tell us how monk is going to be adjusted?
In addition to astrologian and monk, other jobs will also receive adjustments in Patch 3.07. We’ll be adjusting the issue for dark knight where their TP quickly runs out while using Blood Weapon when they are not the main tank. We’ll also be making adjustments to the recast time for machinist’s Reload so that it can be used in-between actions better. All of the details will be released in the patch notes for Patch 3.07, so be sure to read them over.
Moving forward we will continue to look into job adjustments, so please keep the feedback coming based on your play experience.
Other
A: I had the development team list out the type of training that would be needed for each job, and we’ve just finished fleshing this all out. It won’t be implemented in Patch 3.1, but we’re working on this with our sights set on the subsequent patch. You can think of this as a training mode. We’re creating each one separately, so we’ll need a bit of time to finish it up.0:05:29Q: In a previous Letter LIVE, you mentioned a Beginner Hall where players can practice their skill rotations and such. How is the progress on this coming along?
A: In Patch 3.07 we will be tripling the effect duration of Favors. With this adjustment it will be possible to earn red gatherers’ scrips in a shorter amount of time.0:06:09
Q: Do you have any plans of making adjustments so that red gatherers’ scrips can be earned in a similar way to Allagan tomestones of esoterics?
0:07:08
Next I’d like to introduce some of the other elements that will be implemented in Patch 3.07.
We’ve been receiving a lot of requests for this since A Realm Reborn, and I apologize to have kept you waiting. At long last we made it possible to display TP gauges on the party list. As I mentioned in a previous Letter LIVE, the TP values will not be shown, but it will be much easier to tell how much TP your party members have left.
The display for the bonuses you receive when forming a party will be moved to a different window. We were working towards implementing the TP display in Patch 3.1, but it was finished early so we will be implementing it in Patch 3.07.
A: We’re aware of all the feedback on this topic including the requests to remove Grand Company restrictions. However, it’s not for lore reasons that we haven’t removed these limitations; it’s because we are concerned about PvP being abused in ways such as creating fixed matches resulting in moral degeneration. However, as an attempt to reduce matching times we’re exploring whether we can make a system that places you in content without waiting for 72 players and then fills in the other members as they queue. Naturally, we have not completely ruled out removing the Grand Company restrictions; however, we would like to have some restrictions in place for PvP.0:09:20
Q: Can you reduce the matching time for Frontline?
A: I mentioned this before, but we’d first like to get rid of the houses that are no longer being used by players and we’re currently working towards freeing up land in this way. We’re planning to add this feature in Patch 3.1, so we’d like players to build their houses on the newly freed up land. As a next step, we’ll be making a feature that allows you to move locations, and we’re looking into either increasing the amount of land or creating a housing area in Ishgard around the same time this feature is ready.0:10:54
Q: Are you planning to expand housing in the future? I’d really like to enjoy the content geared towards players with houses such as company crafting and expeditionary voyages.
A: We’ve prepared a PowerPoint for this topic.0:12:09
Q: Can you tell us the progress on the European data center?
The European data center will being operating in mid-October. I received a lot of questions from both players and media in regards to this during gamescom, and I told them that the data center would open within 2015; however, we’ve made significant progress and will be opening it in mid-October. However, we will need to move the Worlds that have been recommended as European-specific servers over to the European data center as well as all of the character data, and this will require a maintenance that lasts 3-5 days or possibly up to a maximum of one week. We’ll be releasing an announcement on topics in the near future with details on what Worlds will be affected and what you need to do to prepare.
A: The effects of the stats for specialists are a bit difficult to feel, so we would like to strengthen them. The recipes for specialists are part of our future plan, so please hang in there for a future update.0:14:16
Q: Do you have any plans of increasing the stats of the actions for specialists and the specialized recipes?
A: It seems like there are a lot of people who are concerned with the effects of other players. However, it’s not as simple as having an on and off setting for only this effect. There are a ton of characters in FFXIV, and effects are displayed for job actions instantly with the system having information as to which job everyone is playing as. Monk’s Meditation and dark knight’s Darkside aura are grouped into the same category, so if we added a setting to turn this on and off, Meditation and other effects will no longer be seen either, so we would have to separate everything. This would in turn increase the amount of effect categories, which would result in a less comfortable environment for players. Due to this, we cannot implement a feature to toggle this on and off. This is not a memory issue; it’s an element in place so that players can enjoy the game more comfortably, so separating the effect categories is difficult. I talk to Assistant Director Takai about this some more.0:14:50
Q: Can you add a feature that allows us to turn dark knight’s Darkside effect on and off for other players while in town?
A: This effect was not being displayed properly while riding a mount or flying, and it was interfering a bit too much with mounts, so we changed the effect to what it is currently. While there was no issue with the situation shown in the job introduction video, after testing it out in various situations, we determined that it would be too difficult to implement. However, this was a cool effect, so we would like to look into adding it back when we increase the level cap again or add new actions.0:17:26
Q: The effect around the dark knight’s feet in the job introduction video released before 3.0 was really cool. Can you add this back?
A: It might be a bit early to talk about this, but we’ve already begun talking about 4.0 and preparing various aspects. This is one of the points we have been discussing—making it so you will not need to clear the 3.0 series of main scenario quests in order to go to 4.0 areas. However, this will only grant access, so while a level 1 character will be able to go to these places, there won’t be anything for them to do. In regards to new jobs as well, we’ll be making it so they are not connected to the main scenario. Though, we have been discussing the necessity of creating a digest that tells what has happened in the story thus far. For the Heavensward story, however, I believe it was more enjoyable for players after having seen what unfolded in 2.0 both in terms of the lore and character background. I feel there were both pros and cons for the restricting access to Ishgard if you haven’t completed the main scenario quests up to 2.55, but overall I believe it was a good thing. When it comes to the next expansion, there will be new players coming into the game, and I feel that the barrier for completing all of the main scenario quests up until that point is a bit too high. We would also likely receive requests to play old main scenario quests after watching a digest, and while I can’t make any promises that we can do it, we’d like to try out a “new game plus” system that’s reminiscent of the past FINAL FANTASY games.0:18:51
Q: At the moment, if you don’t complete the main scenario up to Patch 2.55 you aren’t able to go to Ishgard, but for the next expansion will you have to finish the 3.0 series of main scenario quests first to access content?
Now then, I would like to get into the content for Patch 3.1.
0:21:58
Quest-related
We’ll be adding new main scenario quests. The story after the Dragonsong War will begin. I can’t really talk about it too much because it involves spoilers for the main scenario.
I believe there already some players who know of the scholasticate (tentative name), but within Ishgard there is a school. A side story will take place with this as the stage. There are stories from other FINAL FANTASY games that take place at school, but this is a completely new side story, so please look forward to it.
We’ll also be adding in new beast tribe quests, starting with the Vanu Vanu. We previously mentioned that we were creating a Vanu Vanu dance emote, so you imagine that it might just be connected to these quests in some way.
0:23:40
Battle-related
New dungeons are on the way as well.
We’ll be adding a dungeon that looks like this. It’s a dungeon that takes place in an arboretum.
I’m thinking that there are many players that can generally imagine where this is.
We’ll also be adding Pharos Sirius (Hard). The original Pharos Sirius was quite tough. Battle Director Gondai recalls not having unlocked it even though it was implemented.
We hope you enjoy the new story surrounding it.
Moving forward, instead of adding three dungeons each patch, we would like to prioritize the resources for adding two. Furthermore, we will be making it so you can earn experience points needed for leveling in the level 50 dungeons.
0:25:53
We’ll be adding the next three party, 24-man raid dungeon to follow the Crystal Tower content.
Many of you have already taken notice of this flying around, but players will be going inside of it.
Here is some art of the inside. On the right-side of the PowerPoint there are monsters, but you’ll have to wait and see how they related to the story.
As I mentioned, this is the new 24-man raid dungeon. The party composition for the roles will be as follows: 1 tank, 5 DPS, and 2 healers. The atmosphere will be completely different than the Crystal Tower, and we’re creating some elaborate scenes, so I hope you are looking forward to experiencing it.
0:27:43
We’ll also be implementing a new primal battle, but we’re keeping it a secret for now. We’re thinking to announce it during the Rising event. As you play through the event, someone might just spill the beans, so try and find out.
0:28:38
This is a new type of content.
I believe you’ll understand by looking at the PPT, but this is a new type of field-like area. You’ll be exploring this area.
I believe players are crafting their airships with their free companies right now, but players will finally be able to explore other islands themselves using these airships. This content can be played with several parties simultaneously. There are several locations where players can land their airships on the island, so please shout out to find other nearby groups and group together to explore. Players won’t be fighting bosses on these islands, but will fight against a horde of level 80 and 90 monsters. Some of these islands will have stronger foes in the center of the island, so first you would want to gather all the parties together and then plan out a strategy. We’re also planning to have several difficulties available for these islands. Players not enlisted in a free company can also participate in this content through the airship landing located in Ishgard. However, free companies will have some advantages, such as being able to select the island they want to explore, while explorations from the airship landing will be selected randomly. We would like players to decide which method they would like to take depending on their goals.
Additionally, things like gathering nodes exist on these islands, so for example, players can use the party finder to invite guest members outside of their free company to enjoy the content, or go in with a battle class first to eliminate the enemies, and then collect the items by switching to a gatherer class. This content is unlike any of the previous FFXIV content. We would like to further expand on this content by adding additional islands to explore in future. This content has been created envisioning an older MMO type of feel.
Players will explore areas like the one shown here. You will be able to ride on your flying mounts in these areas, so please look forward to this. We’re also introducing new aetherial items at the same time. We’ll share more details on what type of items and equipment players will be able to obtain from these areas as we get closer to the patch release.
0:32:52
We noticed players doing speed runs, so we’ll officially add a display with the completion time. We believe this can be used for various events in the future as well.
We will be introducing new weapon upgrade content. Right now we’re looking into either starting this new content in Patch 3.1 or 3.15. We are currently still working on final checks, and haven’t decided which patch to start this content in.
0:33:15
As you can see, here is some art of the new weapons. We won’t go into the details just yet. Here you can see weapons for 3 jobs, but don’t worry, we have weapons available for all jobs. This content will once again require players to use their weapons over a long period of time to upgrade, and the designs are very unique. I’m sure a lot of monks are looking forward to their weapons, so I would like to announce that sometime in the near future.
0:35:23
Gold Saucer
We’re going to have an overall update to Gold Saucer in Patch 3.1. First, we’re planning to introduce a new type of large scale content.
We’ll be adding new content known as “Lord of Verminion.” We previously introduced this as an April Fools’ Day joke in the Developers’ Blog, but we went ahead and actually made it.
This content utilizes a real time strategy (RTS) like system, and you will be able to compete with others. The content involves two teams with a huge amount of minions in the field. Players will give commands to their minions to move to a specific location, or assign a target to attack, and watch their minions move or attack their opponents. Minagawa has created a new selection system for the gamepad specifically for this game. We checked with the Lord of Vermillion team about using the name “Lord of Verminion” and instantly received approval.
Since this game uses minions, I would suggest obtaining minions you haven’t obtained yet. However, this doesn’t mean that rare minions are stronger. We’ll go over further details in a future Letter LIVE and through other sources. Again, this doesn’t mean you’ll need rare minions to win. We have been creating this as PvP content from the beginning; however, we also added in a rating system and a new matching system that will match players based on their win/loss rating. We’re planning to apply this same system to Wolves’ Den 2 which is planned for the future.
0:40:29
We will be introducing new Triple Triad cards, as well as new NPCs you can challenge. Also, the amount of Manderville Gold Saucer Points (MGP) that can be earned currently is quite low; therefore, we’ll be making an adjustment not only for Triple Triad, but overall adjustments on how much MGP can be earned.
We have made further adjustments to Chocobo Racing as well so that it’s easier to play more.
For Gold Saucer content, we’re thinking to make major updates every two patches. More details and prizes will be coming, but for now, please look forward to Lord of Verminion!
0:41:42
Free Company
We have been receiving many requests for a feature to share housing privileges with another member, especially from those who have been eternally bonded. Players will be able to share their housing privileges with not only their eternal bond partners, but up to 5 players of their choosing. It’s similar to sharing one house with roommates. We’ll first implement it in this manner, and we’ll look into whether we should increase the amount of players who can be assigned for this privileges as we check feedback.
We have received many requests regarding controls for the brightness of the lights inside of their homes, and we will be introducing a new housing furnishing which will allow this.
Many players have also requested to make it possible to change their free company name, so we’ll make this possible. However, please note that there will be a restriction where the name cannot be changed for a month once it has been changed.
I have answered this earlier, but we’re going to introduce a system which will relinquish unused housing. I’ll go over the details and criteria for this at another time. Additionally, we’ve been receiving comments where players would like to change the BGM of their house, and we’re currently working on a system called “Orchestrion.” However, there has been a delay for this, so please wait just a bit longer.
0:44:12
Upcoming Features
We’ll be adding a new weekly based Gold Saucer category in the challenge log. This was added so that players will be able to plan out how they will earn MGP each week.
New crafting recipes will be introduced.
We’re also currently in the process of making existing ground mounts into flying mounts.
These aren’t the only mounts that will become available. We’re in process of making other ground mounts capable of flying. We are only showcasing these two today as they have been changed and are now capable of flying.
0:46:41
System
Currently when you try on a gear, you can only try them on one piece at a time. This new feature will allow you to try on multiple pieces of gear at the same time.
Players will also be able to glamour equipment that takes up multiple slots, such as cowls which combine the head and body slots. By glamouring the slot where this gear is equipped, you’ll be able to see the piece of equipment you glamoured. So using the cowl as an example again, by glamouring the body your glamour will be reflected.
Players will be able to use key binds and text commands to switch between gear sets with a click of a button.
Hunts will be added to the main category of the Party Finder. Right now you can do this by allowing anyone to join, but we made it clearer so you can tell the party is for Hunts right away.
That’s not all for system related updates, and we’ll be sure to go over the other new features once we’re ready to share.
This was the first Patch 3.1 special, but we’ll have another chance to go over more at Tokyo Game Show and other events, so I would like to go into even more detail about what we talked about today by exploring rewards and other aspects. The official patch title should be ready soon, and I hope you are looking forward to it!
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11-06-2015 03:23 PM #1
Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIV Digest (11/06/2015)
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