Development Q&A - March 2020

[Zhexos]

Greetings, everyone!

While it was unfortunate that we were not able to hold the Fan Gathering event at PAX East this time due to unforeseen circumstances, the Development team still wanted to answer some of the questions we received for the event on our forums (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/56412). Today, we are pleased to present to you the answers from Producer Matsui Akihiko and Director Yoji Fujito for some of the questions we received.

As some answers request for additional feedback from you all, please read over the answers, post your response in this thread, and we'll relay that information over to the team!

To keep the thread as clean as possible, please refrain from asking additional questions not mentioned in this specific thread and only to respond back only for those answers that require additional feedback from you. You can of course ask other questions in a separate thread and we'll share with the Development team as usual!


When will we be getting upgraded empyrean gear?

Matsui: While we cannot say when we'll be implementing this, we do have plan to make Empyrean armor upgradeable.


Could it be considered to allow for automation oil to stack up to 99?

Matsui: While we do not have any plans for this currently, we could do this. We'll look into it.


Have there been any considerations to let Bard songs affect pets?

Matsui: We have considered this before.


Monstrosity Question: When will the species, quests, & areas to this system be updated?

Fujito: It would require a lot of development resources in order to update Monstrosity; therefore, we do not have any plans to make further updates for this content.



1.) Will you consider removing the level cap from our pets to match our Item-Level? Our hope is to enjoy increased variety with pet selection. (The current pet selection is very limiting for Su5 Beastmasters and the pet offering in November has zero value when compared to previously released pets). If you would add a unique pet to REM weapons for Beastmaster, similar to COR/RNG bullet pouches that would help us considerably. If those pets offered a unique buff to the Beastmaster, I would be ecstatic.

Matsui: We could remove the level cap for the beastmaster pets, but think we can add new jugs as well. By doing that we can add more features as well. So if you have any specific jugs you'd like to see, please let us know. You could also suggest higher-tier version of existing pets as well.


2.) There are currently only 2 items in the game that offer Reward Recast Reduction and they reach the cap of -25% reduction very quickly (25/34 seconds). Please increase this cap from equipment so that we may get rid of Group 1 Reward merits and choose a more offensive stance, such as Killer Instinct as you have instructed us to do. Similarly, please consider adding Reward Recast Reduction armor to Domain Invasion or to Dark Matter augmented provided by Oseem.

Matsui: We have no plans to increase the cap of the recast reduction.


SE has said that they want BST to play along side pet. Any plans to introduce gear that boosts or defends both master and pet simultaneously?

Matsui: We'll look into this! It may be included as part of Empyrean gear upgrade, but would you be fine with this? (By having it a job-specific gear, it'll allow us adding features more freely.)


What ever happen to Indi- Geo- Regain? Considering Adloquium and Tactician's Roll exists for Scholar and Corsair respectfully, its a little unfair.

Matsui: We have no plans for this.


Will SE consider removing the animation lockout during the BST one hour - unleash, so that pet ready commands rapid fire in a similar fashion to SMN?

Matsui: Due to the wait time on the animation, this would be difficult to do.


Beastmasters have frequently expressed problems with activating job abilities for pets. Could we get clarification as to why Beastmaster requires extreme penalties to follow vision and why it was not required for other jobs? Examples being Ninja tanking or White Mage changes to increase Afflatus Misery usage. Thank you.

*The Development team has previously responded regarding activation of job abilities for pets here (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/56341-January-2020-FINAL-FANTASY-XI-Digest?p=623551&viewfull=1#post623551).

Matsui: If you mean by adding various characteristics to the pet, such as making your pets take a role of tanks or attacker, then it won't go against the characteristic of the beastmasters' job, so we could consider this. If you feel beastmasters are lacking in this aspect, we'd like you to share your feedback regarding this.

However, please note that we consider the performance of the master and the pet as one, so having it take multiple roles will never outperform other jobs who's specifically made for that specific role.


Will we see additional locations utilized for Apex enemies? More variety of Apex enemy types introduced? Any adjustments to alleviate congestion at locations where Apex enemies currently exist?

Matsui: We currently have no plans to utilize additional locations or add more variety of enemies for Apex. Would you like us to add a bit more?


There aren't any food options that give both melee stats such as stp and acc while also giving mage stats such as magic attack or magic acc. Could you add some in the form of a churro? That would be pretty sweet.

Matsui: While we cannot imagine how this will be used, our general policy is to not add any food that'll allow achieving everything. Food items are aimed to allow players to customize their battle style rather than it being a simple power up item. If we'd introduce item as you suggested, we would need to lower the stats below other food items, so we feel it may become something that may not be used by everyone.


Will we ever get different colored chocobo costumes?

Matsui: What color would you like to see added?


How feasiable it would be to increase delivery box/ action house itens placement sizes?

Fujito: We have no plans for this. This is something we cannot due to the system.


Is there anything that could be done to improve getting into Einherjar tier 3? Specifically on Asura seems to be often congested.

Fujito: While Einherjar looks as if it's a layered area, it's a standard area, similar to Dynamis. In order to address the congestion issue, we would need to make it a layered area; however, due to amount of resources required, this is being pushed back.


Would you ever be willing to let a Dev explain at some point how -Exactly- treasure hunter works (As in how it affects drops)? It's something the playerbase has wanted to understand for a LONG time and it's quite difficult to try to figure out from data.

Matsui: We've prepared detailed data and graph on Treasure Hunter. Check it out!

12644
*Click to view full image
*Rarity terms used below are terms used internally within the development team.

<table><thead><tr><th width="80px">TH Level</th><th width="80px">Very Common</th><th width="80px">Common</th><th width="80px">UnCommon</th><th width="80px">Rare</th><th width="80px">Very Rare</th><th width="80px">Super Rare</th><th width="80px">Ultra Rare</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>24.00%</td><td>15.00%</td><td>10.00%</td><td>5.00%</td><td>1.00%</td><td>0.50%</td><td>0.10%</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>48.00%</td><td>30.00%</td><td>12.00%</td><td>6.00%</td><td>1.50%</td><td>0.75%</td><td>0.20%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>56.00%</td><td>40.00%</td><td>15.00%</td><td>7.00%</td><td>2.00%</td><td>1.00%</td><td>0.30%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>60.00%</td><td>42.50%</td><td>16.50%</td><td>7.50%</td><td>2.25%</td><td>1.20%</td><td>0.35%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>64.00%</td><td>45.00%</td><td>18.00%</td><td>8.00%</td><td>2.50%</td><td>1.40%</td><td>0.40%</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>66.66%</td><td>47.50%</td><td>19.00%</td><td>8.50%</td><td>3.00%</td><td>1.60%</td><td>0.45%</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>68.00%</td><td>50.00%</td><td>20.00%</td><td>9.00%</td><td>3.50%</td><td>1.80%</td><td>0.50%</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>69.00%</td><td>52.50%</td><td>21.00%</td><td>9.50%</td><td>4.00%</td><td>2.00%</td><td>0.60%</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>70.50%</td><td>55.00%</td><td>22.50%</td><td>10.50%</td><td>4.75%</td><td>2.30%</td><td>0.70%</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>72.00%</td><td>57.50%</td><td>24.00%</td><td>11.50%</td><td>5.50%</td><td>2.60%</td><td>0.80%</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>73.50%</td><td>60.00%</td><td>26.50%</td><td>12.50%</td><td>6.50%</td><td>3.00%</td><td>0.90%</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>74.00%</td><td>62.50%</td><td>28.00%</td><td>13.50%</td><td>7.50%</td><td>3.50%</td><td>1.00%</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>76.00%</td><td>65.00%</td><td>29.50%</td><td>15.50%</td><td>8.25%</td><td>4.00%</td><td>1.15%</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>78.00%</td><td>67.50%</td><td>31.00%</td><td>17.50%</td><td>9.00%</td><td>4.50%</td><td>1.30%</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>80.00%</td><td>70.00%</td><td>32.50%</td><td>20.00%</td><td>10.00%</td><td>5.00%</td><td>1.50%</td></tr></tbody></table>


Will we get new storage options (Wardrobe 5 & 6), or the possibility to equip gear stored in mog case, sack, or satchel?

Fujito: Systematically, this is possible to add additional Mog Wardrobes. However, doing this will require additional data communication to occur; therefore it would be impossible to do. We're currently looking into ways to expand the amount of storage; however, we cannot answer when this would be possible at the moment.

[Beastorizer]

Came back to participate in this Q&A, got my answer, thus moving on. Not the answer I wanted to hear, but now I don't have to play other mmo thinking about "I wonder if they updated MON yet?" They never will, it is done. Time to move on.

[Typral]

Sad you wont update Monstrosity, it had so much potential :/

[DerianX]

Fujito: Systematically, this is possible to add additional Mog Wardrobes. However, doing this will require additional data communication to occur; therefore it would be impossible to do. We're currently looking into ways to expand the amount of storage; however, we cannot answer when this would be possible at the moment.

Would it be possible to implement a job-linked storage option where the contents of that storage category change when the player changes jobs?

ie: Put Chango, Warrior's Beads, Agoge gear, etc. to "Mog Lazy Susan™ - WAR". Put Death Penalty, Rostam, Lanun gear, etc. in "Mog Lazy Susan™ - COR", and so on. Then only have that equipment accessible (and therefore only loaded) while the player is on the associated job.

If implementation is feasable it could add a great deal of additional storage without adding load times.

[TullemoreAsuraFFXI]

{ Quote Originally Posted by TullemoreAsuraFFXI View Post
Will we see additional locations utilized for Apex enemies? More variety of Apex enemy types introduced? Any adjustments to alleviate congestion at locations where Apex enemies currently exist?
Matsui: We currently have no plans to utilize additional locations or add more variety of enemies for Apex. Would you like us to add a bit more? }

YES ! This would dramatically help with the obstruction and congestion issues that are occurring in the accommodating (party friendly) locations. Allowing for more options in locations and additional enemy types would be of great help to all seeking job point progression.

Some recommendations: Coeurl, Dhalmel, Rabbit, Hill Lizard, Beetle, Spider, Colibri, Lesser Bird, Puk, Gigas, Goblin, Orc, Quadav, Sahagin, Yagudo, Bat (Locations additional to Outer Ra'Kaznar).

[Bedavere]

More Apex Mobs Please! I agree - Maybe put them in Aht Urghan Areas? This would be huge!

More Storage would be great! Please Please Plleeease this so much!

And the x99 Stacking of Automaton Oil would be good as well, ty!

[Shinsonja]

non suicidal trusts that keep out of melee range, also more trusts that open skillchains like Ayame
drop rate on pulse weapons improved in voidwatch especially
ability to store the mog garden set
fix Fort Karugo-Narugo campaign battle ( mobs arrive 1 at a time with spaces of about 5 mins, waiting times on mobs to arrive is criminal)

[Lucor]

Matsui: We could remove the level cap for the beastmaster pets, but think we can add new jugs as well. By doing that we can add more features as well. So if you have any specific jugs you'd like to see, please let us know. You could also suggest higher-tier version of existing pets as well.

Why not both? The old jugs will have use again, and the new hug pets you create could focus on filling roles, like you suggested elsewhere. A few examples for new jugs with roles:

Behemoth cub - tank that could use howl as a provoke and cover on the master. (would help with master survival)

3 Malboro (Shining Bless trio) - they have support abilities that help the party. Each could have their own song (BRD song buff), dance (samba), and step (attack that inflicts daze like a DNC's step.)

Hecteye - magic focused with BLM Ancient magic for it's abilities

A leech (with a WHM hood) - a somewhat healer pet. It could have an AoE heal like the rabbit pet, but also an ability like the sacrifice spell, transfers a debuff from a party members to itself. (a reference to the olden days when doctors used leeches)

[Smokenttp]

Matsui: We'll look into this! It may be included as part of Empyrean gear upgrade, but would you be fine with this? (By having it a job-specific gear, it'll allow us adding features more freely.)

Are you asking for the possibility of a new set being added for that?, if so i would rather have 2 sets then one as long as they are both meningfull and creative, if no other sets are in planned with those status in mind then it would be a good starting point.

Matsui: If you mean by adding various characteristics to the pet, such as making your pets take a role of tanks or attacker, then it won't go against the characteristic of the beastmasters' job, so we could consider this. If you feel beastmasters are lacking in this aspect, we'd like you to share your feedback regarding this.

However, please note that we consider the performance of the master and the pet as one, so having it take multiple roles will never outperform other jobs who's specifically made for that specific role.

i feel that this already kinda happens with the job due to innate pet traits , like tufflaire damage reduction or job abilities like killer instinct and snarl however the way those abilities work right now is not enough to make full use of then by being situational abilities only (killer effects needs to have the right pet even if the said pet is not a great damage dealer, snarl needs to have enmity on master, while i love snarl the way it is i still feel that if we need to tank on pet we need an extra ability to acomodate for party enmity as well, maybe something along the lines of thf Accomplice, that way we can provide for party as well, also something like a beastmaster version of bloodpact damage equipment might be an easier way out of the damage limbo the job has been in, however those could shift the damage entirely to the pet so i do not think this goes along with the team vision of master and pet working along with each other, so maybe we need an ability less situational then killer instinct to account for that, or even something different like increases pet skill chain/magic burst damage if they are opened by the master, or a "stance" job ability that allows the pet and the master to get strong by being together).

Matsui: We currently have no plans to utilize additional locations or add more variety of enemies for Apex. Would you like us to add a bit more?

Yes please,if possible consider it even outside of audolin , i have seen alot of people missing that aspect of the game of exploring new experience camps locations so having more options for those will be welcome, even if it is in old zones for nostalgia sake.

Fujito: Systematically, this is possible to add additional Mog Wardrobes. However, doing this will require additional data communication to occur; therefore it would be impossible to do. We're currently looking into ways to expand the amount of storage; however, we cannot answer when this would be possible at the moment.[/QUOTE]

this is a very welcome addition for people who levels multiple jobs specially those jobs who needs to acomodate for a variety of roles like rdm , bst, pup , sch.

I know we should try to keep the questions clean but i kinda have to ask those anyway, if a question was not answered would you guys still pick then up in a futre thread? like should i make then again in a future post or something?

[Selindrile]

Thanks so much for the information about treasure hunter!

[Ethalio]

Matsui: We currently have no plans to utilize additional locations or add more variety of enemies for Apex. Would you like us to add a bit more?


I'm currently working on WotG missions and thought it'd be nice to have Apex mobs in remote locations in the past areas, e.g. the area in front of movalpolos in North Gustaberg (S).

[Catmato]

Behemoth cub - tank that could use howl as a provoke and cover on the master. (would help with master survival)

I like the idea, but I feel being behind the pet could put you out of range.

[Sirmarki]

The age old question....

Server merge?

Merge the remaining servers down to 2:1? (Asura is a different ball game).
I think that creates a fair balance of players on each server then by not making them over-crowded, but possibly more active.

[Frodnon]

Matsui: What color would you like to see added?


Personally? I want blue. But just having more colors would be great. I want a bunch of taru running around in them. Blue, red, green, purple, white...

[Ozaii]

Are there plans to add armor similar in quality to the malignance set from the lilith htbf for other jobs. With high meva and dt as well as fantastic offensive power with its hight stp and high physical damage limit + it would rock if we had gear like this for other jobs.

[Smokenttp]

Since i canot edit my previous post i would like to dive a bit deeper on the empyreal armor around bst question. Right now in a "macro scenario" i feel that jobs gravitate towards 6 major types of equipments, even mage ones:

Full defense (focused entirely on damage reduction + evasions + hp).
Hybrid ACC/utility + Defense ( focused on trying to survive while having enough acc to still hit monsters).
Full ACC (focused entire on acc to deal with high evasion monsters).
Ideal TP set (x-hit builds, wich focus entirely on getting high amounts of tp as soon as possible).
Full damage (focused on things like weapon skill damage/ magic attack bonus).
Hybrid ACC+Damage (an hibrid between damage pieces and acc in order to hit evasive targets).

While the game acomodate for more statuses like attack bonus, those are often delt by suport jobs in party situations. The game does present you with different scenarios so either you have enough acc/ damage to use your ideal/strongest sets or the game forces you to enter an hybrid set , if even in a hybrid set you are having a hard time you are pretty much forced into a full defense/full acc set, wich comes with a couple of issues. If you are in a full acc set you are in high risk of dying and if you are in a full defense set you are most likely just surviving without hitting anything.

The issue i see with pet equipment and why bst is not able right now to perform well according to the developers vision of fighting alongside the pets is that they are lacking equipment that fullfills some of those categories for both pet and master at the same time, so while malignance set (wich is a great exemple of hybrid defensive + acc gear) is on beastmaster it does not affect pets, therfore it creates the following scenario where either i change to a defensive armor for pet and die as the master or let my pet die and enter a 5 minutes cooldown timer this is not exactly an uncommun scenario either, take neak as an exemple and a chainspell meteor can easily spell death for either pet/master or both.

Lets say i am trying to solo neak, by the first chain spell all trusts are dead and if the pet dies as well this means pretty much a game over (wich is completely fine in neaks case as it is suposed not a soloable monster despite some well equipped jobs and great players already proved the contrary). However in a party scenario i cant justify my loss of dps/tanking pet and ask the party to wait 5 minutes untill i get a new pet , sure we have super revitalizer and bestial loality wich does work for short fights or fights where we can wait/ delay it, however in situations like dynamis divergence this spells an high period of time where the master will be without pets, and in a timed event this could spell pretty much a failure. So what bst lacks in terms of equipment is full defensive and/or a strong hybrid acc+defense sets that works for both pet and master at the same time, this would allow us at least to keep the pets for longer without becoming a dead weight for our party.

As for ways to make bst want to play close to pets i did mention the skillchain thing before but now i realized why, this is mostly for the time i spent playing pup , speedloader helped alot automatons when their damage was low mainly because the skillchain bonus on it was so high that making skillchains with the pet was actually worth it, despite the horrible damage output from the automatons at the time, so that may be a way of geting players to work together with the pets (in pup scenario since attachments can cover for pet defense you are free to have an defenseive gear to focus on master only thous it suffer way less from the problem ai mentioned earlier then bst), however other things could be interresting solutions as well, like the most recent job ability added for drg could be pretty usefull on bst with some adjustments (making damage taken to master transfer to pet), so there are a couple of things that could be done in that regard (and please consider my sugestion of an accoplice like ability for bst while at it so the pet can steal 50% of the enmity from a party member, this could also create an interresting niche for bst to fill in as well).

[Boxta]

Firstly Thank You for the hard work the team have continued to put into the game, I've played since launch and don't plan to stop any time soon. See my comments below on your Q&A.

New Apex Mobs and Apex Mob Areas:
- This would hugely enhance game play experience by allowing players to face new mob types, experience difference zone areas for combat again and experience zone music that they haven't had in a long time. I imagine this might help with server loads by spreading people out as well.
- This is great to help with camp congestion
- I'm not sure from memory if Ionis works with Apex mobs but I believe it does, by putting mobs in other areas you could use Signet, Sigil and Sanction to get crystals and relative points for conquest etc. which is a nice bonus
- In my opinion you should try to match any mobs types to the area that you use, in that vein, some zone suggestions: 1. Movalpolos 2. Castle Zvahl Baileys 3. Pso'Xja 4. Alzadaal Undersea Ruins 5. Mamook 6. Mount Zhayolm 7. La Vaule (S) 8. Grauberg (S) 9. Vunkerl Inlet (S)

[Urmom]

And bst still the red headed step child.

[Niooo]

I think this is my most sought after issue I would like resolved. Space! I would even consider a trade off- Make the wardrobes interchangeable. Example:
If we could disable waredrobe 4, and enable mog safe 1 . I would take something like that! Of course, dream scenario is wardrobe 5/6.

[Enochroot]

Very sad indeed about Monstrosity. After years of on-and-off play, I'm still only at 5595 levels out of a possible 6336 levels with the available species. Such great content - no need to worry about gear, next to impossible to die, just cruise along and wipe out some mobs, collect some crystals, knock out some daily RoE's. Relaxing.

[Enochroot]

Very sad indeed about Monstrosity. After years of on-and-off play, I'm still only at 5595 levels out of a possible 6336 levels with the available species. Such great content - no need to worry about gear, next to impossible to die, just cruise along and wipe out some mobs, collect some crystals, knock out some daily RoE's. Relaxing.

Had to go back and check... the last time I posted about Monstrosity? 5 years ago... http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/36535-Monstrosity-Feedback?p=567678#post567678 - i guess there isn't a chance after all. :(

[Darkway]

Would it possible to make us store Ambuscade Caps Via Porter Moogle ?

[Xilk]

Bard Songs on pets would be AMAZING. this alone would probably bridge the gap for beast master playing on front lines.

In order of preference for new pets:

1. Sabotender
2. Hippogryph
3. Flytrap
4. Adamantoise
5. Leech
6. Lynx
7. Matamata
8. Gnole
9. Clot
10. Bee
11. Gnat (Pandemic Nip!!)
12. Scorpion
13. Sea Monk
14. Hecteyes


Pet buff abilities for pet and master:

1. Photosynthesis.
2. Nature's Meditation
3. Call of the Moon!
4. Cimicine Discharge
5. Heat barrier
6. Exuviation
7. Carthasis
8. Amplification (flan)
9. Regeneration (leech)
10. Sharp Strike

[Alhanelem]

Re: Monstrosity.

I tottally get how it would be a pretty big weight on the dev team. But I think a lot of people want to see this content updated. The fun value for this content is up there enough to the point where it somewhat outweighs the limited rewards. I certainly don't know anyone who *didn't* like monstrosity. So I would hope if more people show their support for this content that you would consider at least basic improvements (such as supporting more areas, and adjusting XP gain and the cost for the xp boosts for example).

Aside from that, I'm glad you guys actually took and answered some of the tough questions, rather than just picking off the easy ones that wouldn't tell us much, so thank you for that.

[Alhanelem]

In regards to "Chocobo costumes."

I'm not entirely sure what was meant by this, if they just want more chocobo color options or actual outfits like FFXIV or what. But personally the only thing I want is the armored chocobo look from the chocobos of the Wings of the Goddess shadowreign areas- which I believe at one time was actually promised to be a thing but I'm pretty sure was never added.

[Lucor]

For adding new apex enemies to old zones, maybe you could add them in a layered way like you have for enemies in Domain Invasion or Gaes Fete. A NPC at the entrence of the zone could give players a buff to access the Apex enemies. This would allow you to scatter Apex enemies anywhere in any zone without it harming lower level players.

Alternatively you could add them to old content like Moblin Maze Mongers. Adding a new marble that sets enemies to apex level probably wouldn't be to hard, and it would revitalize some old content.

[NickB303]

When will Warrior receive adjustments? What was the reasoning behind giving WAR such a low amount of Damage limit +?

Will Cloudsplitter ever receive any type of adjustment?

[Zuidar]

Firstly Thank You for the hard work the team have continued to put into the game, I've played since launch and don't plan to stop any time soon. See my comments below on your Q&A.

New Apex Mobs and Apex Mob Areas:
- This would hugely enhance game play experience by allowing players to face new mob types, experience difference zone areas for combat again and experience zone music that they haven't had in a long time. I imagine this might help with server loads by spreading people out as well.
- This is great to help with camp congestion
- I'm not sure from memory if Ionis works with Apex mobs but I believe it does, by putting mobs in other areas you could use Signet, Sigil and Sanction to get crystals and relative points for conquest etc. which is a nice bonus
- In my opinion you should try to match any mobs types to the area that you use, in that vein, some zone suggestions: 1. Movalpolos 2. Castle Zvahl Baileys 3. Pso'Xja 4. Alzadaal Undersea Ruins 5. Mamook 6. Mount Zhayolm 7. La Vaule (S) 8. Grauberg (S) 9. Vunkerl Inlet (S)


I'm currently working on WotG missions and thought it'd be nice to have Apex mobs in remote locations in the past areas, e.g. the area in front of movalpolos in North Gustaberg (S).


For adding new apex enemies to old zones, maybe you could add them in a layered way like you have for enemies in Domain Invasion or Gaes Fete. A NPC at the entrence of the zone could give players a buff to access the Apex enemies. This would allow you to scatter Apex enemies anywhere in any zone without it harming lower level players.

Alternatively you could add them to old content like Moblin Maze Mongers. Adding a new marble that sets enemies to apex level probably wouldn't be to hard, and it would revitalize some old content.


Apex mobs, definitely yes. Like they said, could use more variety of mobs, but also would of been nicer for easier access to Apex Giant Bat camps ( :p ). But as for older zones, I don't think it's possible for them to add Apex Mobs in pre-adoulin zones due to level correction and older hate mechanics, and even then they'd also would have to place them in dungeons like they did in Adoulin Gates zones and Ra'kaznar.

Matsui: While we cannot imagine how this will be used, our general policy is to not add any food that'll allow achieving everything. Food items are aimed to allow players to customize their battle style rather than it being a simple power up item. If we'd introduce item as you suggested, we would need to lower the stats below other food items, so we feel it may become something that may not be used by everyone.


I kinda understand this, but at the same time I'm kinda lost with this. I mean, if you were to introduce new food with rarer ingredients then it's not a problem to create such amazing stat quality food but with this statement, I have no thoughts at the moment on what to say. Other crafts get it off with making various SU3-SU5 gear, where is Cooking suppose to stand??

[Auriga]

I wanted to post this here, as I missed my chance to add any of them this time around. If the devs are listening.. have a go at this please.


1: Help update the graphics to HD standards maybe? If not why? If denied how can I help make this happen?

2: White Chocobo = when? if not why? You teased us years ago about this.

3: Kraken Club v2? upgradable? augmented? something?

4: What will it take to upgrade the AH items "count" so we can sell more things? (incase you've already said no to this).

5: Will Ninja ever get Ni versions of elements/enfeebling?

6: Bring back items from ages ago in login campaign? Ex: Moogle Rod, not just the Nomad version. Naturally I mean for more than just that one item, hats an other rare items we can't get no matter what we do or how much gil/money we spend. If you won't do this then release more merchandise items that come with new codes for them?

7: Mog House music sheets = more please.

8: Can we get an offical list confirming what Gobbie Mystery Box/Special Dial can give? Alternatively can we get more things added to this list, if so how? We don't get many chances to ask things like this.

==

Trolls are not welcome, be respectful.

I will reply to devs if I get a response.

[Xilk]

Doesn't Altana's Repaste (+1/2) already exist?

its just ridiculous expensive/hard to make.

[Rwolf]

*The Development team has previously responded regarding activation of job abilities for pets here (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/56341-January-2020-FINAL-FANTASY-XI-Digest?p=623551&viewfull=1#post623551).

Matsui: If you mean by adding various characteristics to the pet, such as making your pets take a role of tanks or attacker, then it won't go against the characteristic of the beastmasters' job, so we could consider this. If you feel beastmasters are lacking in this aspect, we'd like you to share your feedback regarding this.

However, please note that we consider the performance of the master and the pet as one, so having it take multiple roles will never outperform other jobs who's specifically made for that specific role.

Thank you for choosing my question. The meaning has been misinterpreted, so I will rephrase into two questions that hopefully are clearer.

1. What lead the development team to change the vision of Beastmaster from a pet-focused job with some melee prowess to a completely melee-focused job with pet status enhancements to master similar to Dragoon?

2. Why is the player vision of playing Beastmaster wrong and not considered for change?
For example: We were told Ninja was not envisioned to tank with Utsusemi, but enmity gear and Yonin was added to support that playstyle. White Mage's Esuna/Sacrifice was changed back even though the vision for using them was different. I feel us saying Beastmaster is not fun this way should be given the same consideration.

Almost all of the job abilities for Beastmaster are focused on the pet. Beastmaster's special abilities Familiar and Unleash are focused completely on the pet damage. It is very similar to Summoner. So I'm trying to understand why the distance changes are necessary for game balance.

Beastmaster does very weak pet damage now compared to Puppetmaster and Summoner. Puppetmaster in particular can also melee with their pet and are actually built better to do so. Puppetmaster is allowed to be at a distance and this does not hurt anyone.

I don't feel we are trying to exploit the game by wanting more distance to execute pet abilities. We simply want to return to having fun with a job that we love. Commanding our pets with a wider distance makes battle flow better and makes it easier.

I don't think there should be zero risk but I feel if it's acceptable for Summoner and Puppetmaster, then it should be for Beastmaster as well.

[Beastorizer]

Bard Songs on pets would be AMAZING. this alone would probably bridge the gap for beast master playing on front lines.

In order of preference for new pets:

1. Sabotender
2. Hippogryph (With a 1 charge Hoof Volley?)
3. Flytrap
4. Adamantoise (Ferromantoise with Testudo Tremor?)
5. Leech
6. Lynx (With Frenzied Rage, Pounce, & Preternatural Gleam?)
7. Matamata
8. Gnole
9. Clot
10. Bee
11. Gnat (Pandemic Nip!!)
12. Scorpion (With Death Scissors?)
13. Sea Monk
14. Hecteyes


Pet buff abilities for pet and master:

1. Photosynthesis.
2. Nature's Meditation
3. Call of the Moon!
4. Cimicine Discharge
5. Heat barrier
6. Exuviation
7. Carthasis
8. Amplification (flan)
9. Regeneration (leech)
10. Sharp Strike

I like your list, but whomever is in charge of BST is doing an awful job; talk about a day off. That seems like what BST adjustments are.

I would like to know if these pets will have the things that makes them special. Like a SAM without its' best WS, or a WHM without Cure spells.....Can't take away the stuff which makes these creatures special.

[TullemoreAsuraFFXI]

~ ~ ~ @ Auriga (Waterdust of Carbuncle).

https://www.bg-wiki.com/bg/Category:Ninjutsu (Concering your #5)

Also view my posts about overhauling the interface of the player based economy for FFXI (Concerning your #4){Currently each sub'd character slot is allowed 7, 16 eligible character slots per account}

[Beastorizer]

& I agree with the others about Monstrosity. Resources in the dev world usually means time (I learned that from some small team dev pals hehe). They don't want to; because time was what put it on the back burner from the Gamerscape interview they did years back due to SoA; but that has come & pass thus the game is in maintenance mod with no real updates.

It is what it is; would have liked to be Darrcuiln or some of the blanked out families. Anyway, got an answer. Not happy, but an answer it an answer.

What I really took away from this was how long is Odyssey going to last? They have a history of releasing content & dumping it fairly quickly. I have not played it yet. Wonder how it is btw? Maybe I should look into FFXI AH topics or vids about it. From the shouts, it seems end-game-ish because people were yelling for specific members. I am kind of in chill mode this time around in XI. Not willing to take on any endgame stress lol.

[Beastorizer]

Oh, and I am still going to play it to get all the creatures to 99.

I think someone has done that before....? Not sure, but I am certain I seen some crazy guy/gal on FFXI AH talking about it. Not that difficult to do, just time consuming. However, it is a chill activity.

[Typral]

Imagine if they let you play them inside battlefields :( I think it would be fun

[saevel]

Well they don't need to add more monsters to Monstrosity, honestly just add some sort of reward or reason to have a species capped. Like how we get a KI for monster raising and can only have one cheer active at once. Make each species grant a special Monstrosity Bonus if you have all the monsters at level 99 within a species, something like +10 MAB +10 Macc for amorphs, +10 STR +10 DEX for beats and so forth. Not huge but good enough considering the investment, and would get people doing that content again.

Monstrosity is actually fun, you can go back and revisit old camps and zones while having a good time. I also really wish they would let us party up, no reason why three players can't join into a single monstrosity party with the same XP system that regular players have.

[Enochroot]

There are a lot of little, easy things they could do to make Monstrosity more attractive to folks. Key item rewards, monster parties, different zones and battlefields, sure. But how about...

They could turn on normal drop rules - it wouldn't have much of an impact on the economy because you can already cruise through zones on BLU or BLM and safely aoe everything. They could've tied Monstrosity to Monster Rearing, getting level 99 on a species could've unlocked new monsters for your garden. They could've added a second bazaar so you could set a loot pool for yourself to make it more attractive for gladiators to try to take you out - they could've made that be the way to transfer r/e gear off-POL-ID. They could've made the the currency (infamy & prestige) actually useful for something other than unlocking new species or getting exp bonus. They could add statues for your MH for each species you 99. They could've tied Monstrosity to jobs that rely on mobs, like BLU and BST - give a boost to learning BLU spells from mobs based on your monstrosity lvl of the species, or make your BST pets stronger or charm success rate higher.

So. Much. Potential. Just need a little imagination, flexibility, time and budget. Oh...

[Shinsonja]

oh and more than 3 fully meritable weapon skills please

[Eckamus]

1. I know adding Mog Wardrobe 5 and 6 isn't on the table at this time. However adding furthering the Mog House Moogle questline to allow for 90 and then 99 items in all storage bags should be easily feasible as it is not adding anything new. Just expanding what is already there, which has been done before.

2. Change all High-Tier Mission Battlefields to accessed and entered by the leader, like the new ones located in Selbina. I never got the reason why it wasn't like it from the start. Once a person enter, it doesn't matter what another person chooses, it results in the same outcome. So having only the leader enter any Key Item High-Tier BCNM makes sense.

-Thanks

[Eckamus]

Also add another way to store gear, weapons, event items, etc... and remove the Storage Slip system. As it stands you need a storage slip to store the storage slips, lol. I'm not sure this would be accomplished, but perhaps a KI system. That divides everything regardless of level into all Artifact items, all Relic items, all Empyrean items and so on. Then simply select the KI similar to how it is done now in the storage slips to retrieve an item. Thus freeing up 20+ inventory spots, increasing the limited space we already have.

[Beastorizer]

Thank you for choosing my question. The meaning has been misinterpreted, so I will rephrase into two questions that hopefully are clearer.

1. What lead the development team to change the vision of Beastmaster from a pet-focused job with some melee prowess to a completely melee-focused job with pet status enhancements to master similar to Dragoon?

2. Why is the player vision of playing Beastmaster wrong and not considered for change?
For example: We were told Ninja was not envisioned to tank with Utsusemi, but enmity gear and Yonin was added to support that playstyle. White Mage's Esuna/Sacrifice was changed back even though the vision for using them was different. I feel us saying Beastmaster is not fun this way should be given the same consideration.

Almost all of the job abilities for Beastmaster are focused on the pet. Beastmaster's special abilities Familiar and Unleash are focused completely on the pet damage. It is very similar to Summoner. So I'm trying to understand why the distance changes are necessary for game balance.

Beastmaster does very weak pet damage now compared to Puppetmaster and Summoner. Puppetmaster in particular can also melee with their pet and are actually built better to do so. Puppetmaster is allowed to be at a distance and this does not hurt anyone.

I don't feel we are trying to exploit the game by wanting more distance to execute pet abilities. We simply want to return to having fun with a job that we love. Commanding our pets with a wider distance makes battle flow better and makes it easier.

I don't think there should be zero risk but I feel if it's acceptable for Summoner and Puppetmaster, then it should be for Beastmaster as well.

TRUTH

The inconsistency is mind boggling. None of the reasons make any sense, because it contradicts their previous actions. They once said (Paraphrasing) the reason we cannot get SoA pets like the Mantid of Craklaw, was due to them being outside of SoA, but added Mantids outside of SoA years later......Whaaaaa?


Well they don't need to add more monsters to Monstrosity, honestly just add some sort of reward or reason to have a species capped. Like how we get a KI for monster raising and can only have one cheer active at once. Make each species grant a special Monstrosity Bonus if you have all the monsters at level 99 within a species, something like +10 MAB +10 Macc for amorphs, +10 STR +10 DEX for beats and so forth. Not huge but good enough considering the investment, and would get people doing that content again.

Monstrosity is actually fun, you can go back and revisit old camps and zones while having a good time. I also really wish they would let us party up, no reason why three players can't join into a single monstrosity party with the same XP system that regular players have.

The only reason I mentioned adding more creatures was due to the Species menu in the game. If you........

Go into the feretory
Open the menu
Click Customization
Click Faculties
Click a blank slot not occupied by a instinct
Click type.....

....You will see a entire list of families such Elementals & even Beastmen. Everyone probably already knew this, but it is simply another trophy on their head wall of unfinished business. I do agree that giving a reward for leveling or battlefields/more areas would not take much work; or "Resources" other than some time. I was born, but not yesterday.

I do wish they answer that question about BST however. Why are the people playing the job doing it wrong? So BST have been doing it wrong for a decade? Why change it now?

That is like never picking up a basketball but trying to tell Kyrie Irving how to dribble......I am curious as to how would they know the best way to play BST? Because the people playing it & those telling the people how to play it does not seem to add up.....Somebody is clearly wrong here.....With all due respect....

I am a close range BST; always have been. While dding with my pet I still could not use a Ready move...Guess I am not close enough.......Maybe release an update were you wield the pet or something....idk.....

[Frodnon]

In regards to "Chocobo costumes."

I'm not entirely sure what was meant by this, if they just want more chocobo color options or actual outfits like FFXIV or what. But personally the only thing I want is the armored chocobo look from the chocobos of the Wings of the Goddess shadowreign areas- which I believe at one time was actually promised to be a thing but I'm pretty sure was never added.




Literally the player chocobo costume outfit. there's only yellow and black.

[Beastorizer]

I do think it is great that they answered question even tough they did not give out "Yes" to everything.

I also think it is great that they are taking pet suggestions though, because I feel like BST would be in an overall better place as a DD if they released stronger pets with their best moves. Imo, BST would move up in the dd ranks if they had a mantid or scorpion with everything but their one-shot or hp critical moves........Yeah...I feel like jug selection is that important, & can make a world of difference.

[Teraniku]

I personally would like to see some Merit Bonus points (5+) added to Tier 2 merits for Job Master Status. I mean Logically it makes sense that as you've mastered the job, you should be able to access more abilities due to your increased status and dedication to the job.

[Zuidar]

Doesn't Altana's Repaste (+1/2) already exist?

its just ridiculous expensive/hard to make.

Yeah it really is and it's only 1 recipe for final stage 4 cooking shield KI Aurum Tome and for Marine Stewpot is Stage 3 KI argentum tome.

Anyways I reread Matsui's post over and the user's post about both melee and mage stats. I understand that completely and apologize for jumping to conclusions on that :p. As much as I do like something like this, I think it's better for them to branch out foods based on roles and stuff so they won't have any need to put strict limits on stats.

[VoiceMemo]

So has SE's stance on allowing player pets/avatars to receive the effect of bard songs changed?

Zenoxio's Avatar
Quote Originally Posted by Zenoxio View Post
Have there been any considerations to let Bard songs affect pets?
Matsui: We have considered this before.

back in 2015 this was posted

There are no plans for adjustments to be made that would allow pets to receive buffs players ordinarily receive.

[TooTallTaru]

So has SE's stance on allowing player pets/avatars to receive the effect of bard songs changed?

Zenoxio's Avatar
Quote Originally Posted by Zenoxio View Post
Have there been any considerations to let Bard songs affect pets?
Matsui: We have considered this before.

back in 2015 this was posted

https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdYJK1wAdPWVk88/giphy.gif





so there is a chance we will get increased auction house and delivery slots. chance for a monstrosity update. A chance Geos will get Geo - Regain. WHOOOOOHOOOO

Players really need more slots. This right here. This is my number one request ever. I would scream like a school girl if we got this update. It has been too long since we were stuck with 7. If we had double that it would be gravy and makes total sense. 7 doubled is 14, its MaThS. It is insane that after all this time many years later players are still stuck with 7 auction house slots. Inventory was increased, so I see no reason why auction house are stuck at 7 and delivery slots are stuck at 8. It seems off when there are more bid sections.
Was Indi and Geo Regain promised years back. I think it was but never came to see the light of day. How simple would this be to create? It takes nothing.
Whoever made monstrosities system needed a raise. It is a development dream of prolonging resources for what is notably a grind, but a fun one regardless. The beauty of the content from a developer's point of view is that the resources used were already in the product. This was a shinning example of utilizing resources in such an resourceful way. Meaning the difficult stuff was already done, outta the way. They were not motivated to complete it which is why you see the blanked slots with missing monsters that were intended to be in the game. While a total update is unlikely due to their likely tight budget finishing the roster is a possibility and comes down to motivation. We all just want to play as Moo Ouzi the Swiftblade anyway to spam sweep.

really reconsider giving us more auction and delivery slots. I don't want to pay a $1 for more slots. that is the point I suppose.
https://media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnqUxyWbsAXq7Ju/giphy.gif

My mules will thank you

[Pellerian]

Thank you both for all the great content and updates every month! We really appreciate it!!

I just have to questions/requests:

1.) Is it possible if the development team could work on and make possible to turn the Campaign Weaponskills "Uriel Blade", "Glory Slash" and "Tartarus Torpor" into permanent obtainable Weaponskills? I would be willing to complete a lengthy quest line to obtain them.

2.) Could you bring back the "Wanted Unity Special Dial" Campaign again? I know there are better campaigns but I personally enjoyed that one.

Thank you again for all you do and please stay safe and healthy in the coming months!!

[Gwydion]

Matsui: We could remove the level cap for the beastmaster pets, but think we can add new jugs as well. By doing that we can add more features as well. So if you have any specific jugs you'd like to see, please let us know. You could also suggest higher-tier version of existing pets as well.

Yes! Please consider the following pets. Please update Beast Affinity to increase our new jug pet's level to 125 (For Su5 Beastmasters, if possible, please consider making special pets available via REMA weapons, similar to how Fomalhaut used to dispense bullets).

ilevel 125 FaithfulFalcor (hyppogryph) with Fantod for Master!
level 125 CrudeRaphie (adamantoise) with a tanking abilities (and ability to hold hate or a better version of Tortoise Song)
ilevel 125 Scorpion with Sharpstrike, Earthshaker (for Master)
ilevel 125 Rabbit with Wild Ginseng
ilevel 125 Hecteyes with a funny hat (and the ability to cast tier 4-5 magic.
ilevel 125 Lynx with Chaotic Eye, Blaster and Charged Whisker
ilevel 125 Lucani with Amnesia
ilevel 125 Ruszor



Matsui: We have no plans to increase the cap of the recast reduction.

This is saddening and unfortunate.



Matsui: We'll look into this! It may be included as part of Empyrean gear upgrade, but would you be fine with this? (By having it a job-specific gear, it'll allow us adding features more freely.)

I would be OK with waiting for Empyrean upgrades, but please make it good. It has been 3 years since you introduced the Beastmaster distance restriction without modifying job abilities or job traits to compensate with your sudden change in Beastmaster playstyle. If you're asking that we continue to pay our subscription fees for even longer, please complete your vision with the updated pets mentioned above (including REMA weapons) as well as job traits, abilities and adjusted Group 1 and Group 2 merits. Please commit to your vision and let Empyrean upgrades supplement that vision. Show us you care about Beastmaster!



Matsui: If you mean by adding various characteristics to the pet, such as making your pets take a role of tanks or attacker, then it won't go against the characteristic of the beastmasters' job, so we could consider this. If you feel beastmasters are lacking in this aspect, we'd like you to share your feedback regarding this.

However, please note that we consider the performance of the master and the pet as one, so having it take multiple roles will never outperform other jobs who's specifically made for that specific role.

Yes, pet's with tanking abilities and sufficient enmity generation (just below that of RUN or PLD would be greatly appreciated).



Matsui: We currently have no plans to utilize additional locations or add more variety of enemies for Apex. Would you like us to add a bit more?

Yes, more apex mobs and charmable monsters in general are welcome.



Matsui: While we cannot imagine how this will be used, our general policy is to not add any food that'll allow achieving everything. Food items are aimed to allow players to customize their battle style rather than it being a simple power up item. If we'd introduce item as you suggested, we would need to lower the stats below other food items, so we feel it may become something that may not be used by everyone.


Thank you for this past month's update to Grape Daifuku!

[TullemoreAsuraFFXI]

I made this proposal during the summer of 2019 on a self-initiated topic. Would it be possible to have a response from the FFXI team concerning S.Astrals ( S. Astral Detritus ).

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/55722-Omen-and-the-S.Astral-debacle-I-need-people-on-board-with-this-%21

In a nutshell this idea is to remove S.Astrals from the direct treasure pool and attach their inception as personal rewards from a Records of Eminence interface.

[Gwydion]

Apologies for the necro-post. But I do want to thank SE for hosting this Q&A in March 2020 because the one in December 2020 (and answered in Feb. 2021, was quite lackluster in comparison). Your answers here and your help with Treasure Hunter helped make many aspects of the game more enjoyable as a result. I wanted to re-visit this thread in the hope that your answers could be re-evaluated. Could you please consider re-evaluating the answers to some of these questions?

In particular:
1.) You said you could remove level caps from all jug pets. This would enable you to remove Beast Affinity as Merit Point Category and instead give Beast Master a more front-line capable Merit Point category. Similarly Beast Healer could be tripled or replaced as well. (Regardless, even just ~2-3 new jug pets per year would be a welcome addition).
2.) Would you re-consider letting Bard songs effect pets? This would agree with your position that Beast Master and the Pet are one entity (but are clearly left out with regards to buffs and most foods).
3.) Would you re-consider allowing Automaton Oil and Pet Food Theta (all versions) stack to 99 to save inventory space?
4.) Have you re-considered adding Apex mobs (such as Beasts) in new areas?

Thank you for your time!

[Alhanelem]

Not sure how knowing stats on treasure hunter makes the game more enjoyable. It always did what it was doing, whether we knew how it worked or not. And that knowledge can't really be exploited.