Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXXIII Digest (2016/12/13)

[Gildrein]

Greetings, everyone!

We're pleased to present the full digest of the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXXIII! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below!

http://sqex.to/iTK

* Don't forget to select the 720p option to watch the video in HD!
* Please note that there may be portions that contain audio/video noise due to a hardware issue.

Patch 3.5 Special Part I

0:03:33

Today we'll be going over the content that will be introduced in Patch 3.5. The title of Patch 3.5 is "The Far Edge of Fate." If you recall, the title of Patch 2.5 was "Before the Fall," while this time the keyword is "Edge." Once players have played through the patch, they will find out the meaning behind this keyword.


0:04:38

New main scenario quests, Warring Triad quests, and side quests will be added. We've received lots of feedback saying that the Anima weapon story quests added in Patch 3.4 were quite easy... I wonder what the difficulty will be for the next group of quests. Please look forward to it!


0:07:37

Baelsar's Wall
You've no doubt noticed this before, but there is a giant wall in the East Shroud that can be seen as you're heading towards Little Solace. This giant wall, which separates the Garlean Empire-controlled territories and the three city-states of Eorzea, is known as Baelsar's Wall. It was built by the previous emperor of Garlemald to protect the empire against beast tribe and primal threats. The Warrior of Light will finally scale that wall!

Sohm Al (Hard)
We'll be introducing the hard mode of Sohm Al, which debuted in Heavensward. In the normal version, you climbed up the mountain; however, this time you'll be descending it. We're excited for you to find out exactly why you'll be visiting this area once more.

0:12:01

New Alliance Raid Dungeon
The next entry in the Mhach series is Dun Scaith. This was going to be the end of the series, but there may be something else in store... We'll go over more information in the next Letter from the Produce LIVE, so hang tight! The Mhach series was introduced as a 24-man raid, featuring unique environments which changed as players progressed through them—in line with this, the next dungeon and battles will take place in a different environment. We talked about this a little during the Fan Festival in Las Vegas, but the first boss fight will be on top of an airship, and the ground may be unstable. We have prepared some interesting mechanics, so please check it out.

0:15:01

New Trials
Following Sephirot and Sophia, this is the third and final Warring Triad. Various mysteries will unfold, as the Warring Triad story finally comes to a close. I'm sure some of you are curious to find out what the third and final Warring Triad member looks like, so we have a piece of artwork to share with you. Please look forward to what kind of mechanics this battle will feature. New weapon rewards will be available as well.

0:17:24

Zhloe Aliapoh
This is a new type of content for the Disciples of the Hand and Land. Players will receive gathering and crafting requests for collectable items from specific NPCs, and strive to raise their satisfaction levels. We're also planning to introduce other NPCs aside from Zhloe Aliapoh. This content will eventually be expanded to focus on glamours, and we would like to have players be judged on their glamour in future updates.


0:20:31

Updated Content: Exploratory Missions
We put a lot of thought into whether we should create a new name, but have decided to keep the current name, even though the content itself has been completely reworked. A large cataclysmic event took place making the current Diadem area a thing of the past. The map itself hasn't changed, but there will be areas which you can and cannot enter.

The previous exploratory mission's theme was to have players decide on how they wanted to enjoy the content on their own; however, this time we have set objectives for players to complete, and rewards for completion. There are some surprises as well. For example, if you're lucky, you may encounter a boss battle which involves the entire map. These battles will be difficult to complete without four parties working together as a team. The new exploratory mission is scheduled for release in the Patch 3.5x series. Players will not be able to enter the current exploratory mission post 3.5, so we ask you to please wait until this new exploratory mission is added.

Furthermore, we have completely separated the exploratory missions for Disciples of War and Magic, and Disciples of the Land. We will have more details in the Patch 3.5 Special Part II.

There are achievements which can only be obtained from the current exploratory missions, but rest assured, we'll make adjustments so these achievements can be obtained from the new exploratory missions as well.


0:25:05

Party Finder Updates
The party finder feature will be updated so that players from other Worlds on the same data center can view, recruit, and join parties. Three new tabs will be added to the top of the window: "All", "Same World", and "Private." The "All" tab will display all available recruiting parties from all the Worlds on the same data center, and "Same World" will limit the recruitment to players in your own World.

The current party finder can be used to recruit members for open world content such as the Aquapolis; however, players from other Worlds will not be able to　tackle these types of non-instanced duties together, so please keep that in mind. Content which uses the Duty and the Raid Finder are the only types of content which can be accessed with players from other Worlds. Options such as the undersized party feature can be also used. Furthermore, just like the current party finder, once players have joined a group, they will be able to chat with their party regardless of their World.

We are also planning updates to the blacklist and friend list features; however, the friend list updates won't be available at the launch of Patch 3.5. We would like to add this in a future update. The player's World will now be displayed in the chat log, so even if players with the same name are in a party, you will be able to identify who is who.

Content that is accessed via NPCs, such as the Palace of the Dead and exploratory missions, are processed differently than other instanced duties. Because of this, changes to party recruitment　will not be applied to these duties in Patch 3.5. We would like to add this in a future update.

With this update, we expect a lot of party invitations to be displayed at once, therefore, we have added filters, like the tabs we explained earlier, and the ability to filter by the type of content.

The new party finder feature will also introduce password-locked parties. This feature is in place so that players can utilize a four-digit password to recruit friends from other Worlds.

[Gildrein]

0:35:27

PvP Update - Frontline
Players will be able to utilize a new option that will allow them to be matched without being restricted by Grand Company requirements. We were concerned that matches with no Grand Company restrictions could be abused; however, we are planning to introduce a new type of large-scale PvP in Patch 4.0. This is why we decided to implement this as an experiment in patch 3.5. In addition to this, Free Company and Linkshell chat will be made available while participating in Frontline; however, we may decide to restrict the chat again depending on the outcome.


0:38:26

PvP Update - Duels
We have received large amounts of feedback requesting we apply item level sync to dueling, so we have added this feature. As most PvP content is synced to item level 150, we have made it so duels will also sync to this level. Please note that in order for this to work, both players will need to have gear higher than item level 150, so if one player’s item is level 149 or lower, the item level sync will not be applied.


0:40:28

The Feast
We will introduce a new map after the conclusion of season three and the same rules as the current system will apply. We will host a pre-season after introducing this new map, so we can collect feedback.


0:41:20

Chat will be disabled during the Feast matches and new auto-translate options will be added that include phrases necessary for communication, such as: "Get the Tank", "My Adrenalin Rush is ready/not ready," and so on. In the future, we're planning to make further improvements to this, so please be sure to give us your feedback.


0:44:03

Chocobo Companion Updates
We have received a lot of feedback regarding this, and worked hard to finally implement it after three long years. Players will now be able to use the Duty Finder while your chocobo companion is at your side! Up until now, when a companion was present, they were treated as a party member; however, they will now be treated in the same manner as a pet.

Up until now, when you joined a party with companions, a full party would consist of four players, and four companions. However, now that companions are treated as pets, players can group together as an eight-man party, and still be able to call forth their companions. No changes have been made to chocobos’ skills and behavior, so don't worry!


0:50:51

Egi Update
The feature which we previously referred to as “egi glamour” will be added. Completing the relevant quest will unlock a text command, which will allow players to change the appearance of their egi.

Please note that if you use this command on an egi that is currently summoned, you will need to re-summon them to see their new appearance. Also, the egi's appearance is saved locally, so it will retain the information even if you log out; however, you will need to use the command once again when playing on another platform.


0:54:03

The Novice Network
Players will now be asked to confirm if they wish to join a chat channel after being invited. Players are able to put invitations on hold as well.


0:55:22

Support for Returning Players
Players who have not logged in for 45 days or longer will be able to use the Novice Network, so they can learn from mentors, and also play with beginners.


0:58:27

Additional Updates
Players will be able to purchase paintings from a painter and hang them in their rooms. We're talking with the development team to see if we can expand on this feature and allow players to hang screenshots as well—although this may be too difficult to implement. The amount of paintings players can purchase will increase by completing the sightseeing log, so please try and complete this before Patch 3.5.


1:02:33

Patch 3.5
Patch 3.5 is separated into two parts, the first part is scheduled for release in mid-January, and the second part is scheduled for March. The 3.x series will conclude with Patch 3.5, and move into Patch 4.0.

*The video shows images of the new gear which can be obtained from the new alliance raid dungeon Dun Scaith.