Hello again, all fans of FINAL FANTASY XIV! There’s been a long blank period between this letter and the last, and I’d like to apologize.

My twentieth missive went out on October 13, the day before our announcement of Version 2.0. A flurry of interviews followed, first in Japan, then overseas during my two-week media tour, which included meetings with the staff of our regional offices. I endeavored to stay on top of patch 1.20’s progress while on the road, and upon returning to Japan busied myself with the second installment of Letter from the Producer LIVE.

Right now I’m managing and directing work on Version 2.0, all the while keeping a close eye on balance and specs for various areas of patch 1.20 ahead of release. This past month has been a veritable maelstrom for me, and as a result I didn’t have a single letter to show for it (I devoured steak for seven consecutive days while overseas, though, which did wonders for my stamina ).


But the dust has now settled both for me and the team, and I’m back with a new Letter from the Producer! This time I’ll be reporting on our progress on patch 1.20.

First up, some bad news. We had planned to have patch 1.20 out by late-November, but now we’re looking at a delay of roughly ten days to deliver features such as the Dark Moogle battle (name tentative), class reforms, achievements, PC search, and market tweaks.

The last two items, in particular, are proving to be quite demanding on resources, as they’re closely tied to the server. Our programmers are giving it all they’ve got, but with some work still undefined, there’s a chance the schedule will be affected. For the time being I thought it’d be best to report on the current situation.

I’m terribly sorry to make you all wait. I’ll be sure to inform you of the release date for 1.20 as soon as it’s confirmed. Just to add, none of this will affect work on patch 1.21 and beyond, Version 2.0 included. But in the off chance that it does, you can rest assured we won’t keep you in the dark.

Some of you are probably wondering, when exactly will billing commence? There’s no need to worry here, as the extended free trial period won’t end until 1.20 has been out for a while. We’ll have the details of billing, including the fee, ready to announce by early December, so please sit tight for just a while longer.



But without further ado, let’s dive into the updated list of changes.


Quests
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
OngoingSeventh Umbral Era questsPlanning and implementation of quests-
OngoingStorylines and world questsDevelopment and release of supplemental storylines and world quests-
1.20-NEW--
Quest reward revisions		-NEW-
Revisions to remaining quest rewards		-
1.20-NEW-
Tutorial adjustments		-NEW-
Adjustments based on action reforms, addition of guidance for retainers and vendors		-
1.20-NEW-
New seasonal events		-NEW-
Implementation and hosting of new seasonal events		-
1.21Job-specific questsCreation of quests to unlock jobs and their abilities-
New Content
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20-NEW-
Dark Moogle Battle (name tentative)		-NEW-
Implementation of Dark Moogle quest		-
-NEW-
Implementation of Dark Moogle cutscenes		-
-NEW-
Implementation of Dark Moogle battle		-
1.21New instanced raidsThird release of instanced raids-
Fourth release of instanced raids-
1.20-NEW-
PC Search		-NEW-
Implementation of mechanics and UI for PC Search		-
1.20AchievementsSetting and release of achievement systemAchievement rewards to be implemented simultaneously.
1.20-NEW-
Primal battle reward spec changes		-NEW-
Implementation of system that rewards repeat challengers with rare drops		-
OngoingCaravan securityRelease of high-level caravan security duties-
1.21Hamlet defenseRelease of hamlet defense duties-
Guildleves
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
OngoingGrand Company levesAddition of a new leve type issued by Grand Companies-
1.20-NEW-
Grand Company leve reward adjustments		-NEW-
Adjustments to rewards for completing Grand Company leves		-
OngoingBalancing of guildlevesAdjustments to leve difficulty and rewards-
Behest
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
OngoingBalancing of behestsAdjustments to behest difficulty and rewards-
Company System
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
OngoingGrand CompaniesAddition of Grand Company ranks and items-
1.21-NEW-
Grand Company promotion exams		-NEW-
Implementation of concept for Grand Company promotions		-
1.20-NEW-
Item delivery UI update		-NEW-
Ability to select multiple items via inventory		-
1.20-NEW-
Addition of delivery items		-NEW-
Expansion of item list for supply and provisioning missions		-
1.20-NEW-
Supply/provisioning reward review		-NEW-
Review of rewards for supply and provisioning missions		-
Enemies and Non-Instanced Areas
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20-NEW-
New rental chocobo location		-NEW-
Addition of rental chocobos to the ferry docks in western Thanalan		-
1.20-NEW-
Chocobo shortcut		-NEW-
Ability to mount personal chocobo and leave the city via GC stablemaster		-
OngoingBalancing of enemy attributes
Adjustments to enemy parameters and reexamination of drops-
OngoingAdjustments to environment collision detection--
1.20-NEW-
Balancing of distribution for enemies levels 20-30		-NEW-
Adjustments to distribution of enemies in several areas		-
OngoingDesign and release of additional NMsContinued release of NMs-
Battle System
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20Redistribution of crowd control actionsReexamination of distribution of crowd control actions across classes-
1.20-NEW-
Revival of action queuing		-NEW-
Action queuing to be revived and toggled on/off via text command		-
1.20-NEW-
Scaling of action potency		-NEW-
Action potency to increase proportionally to level		-
1.20-NEW-
Battle reform adjustments		-NEW-
Minor balance adjustments based on reforms introduced in 1.19		-
1.21Reworking of crowd controlImplementation of rules for overlapping crowd control actions* Implementation changed from patch 1.20 to 1.21.
Armoury System
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20Reworking of rules for setting actionsAutomatic setting of current class's actions
Addition of rules and conditions for setting actions of other classes		-
1.20Disciple of War & Magic actionsBalancing and release of actions for all Disciple of War & Magic classes-
1.20-NEW-
Revival of bonus attributes		-NEW-
Class-by-class reimplementation of attribute bonuses acquired upon gaining in level		-
1.21Groundwork for job systemCompletion of groundwork during 1.20, release in 1.21-
1.21Job-specific gear and abilitiesRelease of job-specific gear and abilities together with job system-
Items, Synthesis, and Gathering
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20-NEW-
Addition of gear dyeing recipes		-NEW-
Addition of dyeing recipes that do not affect gear attributes
-NEW-
Overall adjustments to item names based on color changes		-
1.20-NEW-
Implementation of lower level gear		-NEW-
Implementation of gear rewards for lower level quests		-
1.20-NEW-
Quest recipe adjustments		-NEW-
Adjustments to items required for quests based on new recipes		-
1.20-NEW-
Spiritbond accumulation adjustments		-NEW-
Balance adjustments to the algorithm for spiritbond accumulation		-
1.20-NEW-
Accessory repair changes		-NEW-
NPCs to be able to repair accessories		-
1.20-NEW-
Shortening of repair motion		-NEW-
Revamping of player motion during repairs to alleviate stress		-
1.20-NEW-
EXP bonus based on synthesis quality		-NEW-
Adjustment of EXP bonus based on target synthesis quality
-NEW-
EXP bonus amount to be displayed via the log		-
1.20-NEW-
Merging of HQ tiers		-NEW-
Abolishment of the three HQ tiers
-NEW-
Adjustment and unification of attributes for HQ1, 2, and 3 items already made		-
1.21-NEW-
Enhancement of HQ item attributes		-NEW-
Increase of bonuses offered by HQ items based on class reforms and job implementation		-
1.21-NEW-
Changes to synthesis with all HQ ingredients		-NEW-
Adjustment of base value when using HQ ingredients exclusively so players can aim for HQ from an earlier stage		-
1.21-NEW-
Display of HQ yield rate during synthesis		-NEW-
Examination of ways to display rate of yield for HQ items during synthesis		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
HQ yield rate adjustments for drops and gathering		-NEW-
Adjustment of yield rate for HQ materials when gathering
-NEW-
Adjustment of monster drop rate for HQ materials
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Abolition of slot cost		-NEW-
Abolition of slot cost for accessories and reorganization of equipping conditions		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Food effect reforms		-NEW-
Reform of food effects in accordance with new class abilities		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Medicine effect reforms		-NEW-
Reform of medicine effects in accordance with new class abilities		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Accessory recipe reforms		-NEW-
Review of synthesis recipes for accessories		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Food recipe reforms		-NEW-
Review of synthesis recipes for food		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Medicine recipe reforms		-NEW-
Review of synthesis recipes for medicine		-
OngoingReview of gear affinityPromoting class motivation through the implementation of class-exclusive gear-
OngoingAddition of new recipesContinued addition of recipes in line with new synthesis concepts-
OngoingReview of gear attributesAdjustment of attributes for existing gear-
User Interface (UI)
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
1.20Achievements and TitlesDesign and implementation of a UI window for achievements
Implementation of graphic notification and fanfare for achievements
Design and implementation of a UI window containing titles earned from achievements		* Achievement window, achievement system UI, and title window from the previous updated schedule have been consolidated under one item.
1.20-NEW-
Micro menu reforms		-NEW-
Addition of pop-up notification for party/linkshell invitations
-NEW-
Integration of interaction and micro menus, giving direct access to each function		-
1.20-NEW-
Action & Traits display reform		-NEW-
Changes to Action & Traits display based on class reforms
-NEW-
Separation of action setting and bar placement for improved usability		-
1.20-NEW-
New text commands		-NEW-
Addition of /assist targeting command
-NEW-
Addition of /random command to generate a random number (defaut 0-100, up to 1000)		-
1.20-NEW-
Purchase/sales history		-NEW-
A feature to browse purchase/sales history of items at markets		-
1.20-NEW-
Buying via Item Search		-NEW-
Enabling direct purchase of items via Item Search		-
1.20-NEW-
Hearing position adjustments		-NEW-
Addition of config option to adjust hearing position		-
1.20-NEW-
New emotes		-NEW-
Implementation of three new emotes		-
1.20-NEW-
PC Search		-NEW-
Implementation of display for PC Search		-
1.20-NEW-
Shutdown function		-NEW-
Implementation of one-step game shutdown
-NEW-
Can be executed via /shutdown text command		-
1.20-NEW-
Target lock camera adjustments		-NEW-
Addition of config option to adjust camera movement range during target lock
-NEW-
Adjustments to prevent camera from circling behind character as in standard third-person view		-
1.20
-1.21		Pop-up helpImplementation of pop-up help windows* 1.20 will prioritize areas lacking explanation such as attributes, with implementation to continue beyond 1.21.
1.21-NEW-
UI changes accompanying introduction of jobs		-NEW-
Examination and implementation of job change UI
-NEW-
Implementation of action setting for jobs under Actions & Traits		-
The Lodestone
PatchPlannedCurrent TasksNotes
-1.20-NEW-
Materia assimilation info		-NEW-
Release of materia conversion chart in the play guide		-
1.20
-1.21		-NEW-
Linkshell page		-NEW-
Addition of search function
-NEW-
Addition of member recruitment function
-NEW-
Reworking of main linkshell page		-
1.20-NEW-
Recipe page		-NEW-
Examination and implementation of additional item information		-
1.20Character Page-NEW-
Revisions to History accompanying the release of achievements		Character History will be redesigned to coincide with the release of in-game achievements.
1.21My Page-NEW-
Expansion of My Page features		-
1.21Grand Companies-NEW-
Expansion of Grand Company awards		New award categories to recognize contribution in specific fields.
As you can see, we’ve added a lot of new tasks under items, synthesis, and gathering. Major reforms are in the pipes for HQ synthesis and gathering items, to take place in patches 1.20 and 1.21. To ensure that these changes come to you in a refined state, we will focus mainly on groundwork in 1.20.

At the same time, work is underway to revise the effects of accessories, food, and medicines, as well as to overhaul recipes. However, we need to ensure that all these changes are in agreement with the class reforms currently in progress. And so the team will concentrate on balance tweaks in 1.20, with an eye for full implementation by 1.21. The last thing we want is to mess up balance, and we ask for your patience and understanding.

We received a great many fan requests after 1.19 went live, one being the separation of color and attributes in the dyeing process. I’m happy to say that this revision is on track for a 1.20 release, and has been added to the task list. Adventurers will soon be able to enjoy color-coordinating their wardrobes!


And that’s where we stand right now, with patch 1.20 heading into crunch time for all teams. Oh, a slight tangent, but I wanted to share with you that the goobbue mount is now functional. Work on 1.21 is already underway, and we’ll continue pushing forward at full tilt on all fronts, from smaller tasks like checks and tweaks to grander ones like the implementation of Version 2.0 itself!

The seasons are going through a transition right now, and it’s easy to fall ill. Please make sure to look after your health!

See you next time and/or on the forums!


P.S. Below is a link to something I posted regarding Disciples of the Land. It’s a little long, so please read it when you can spare the time.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post439683