Adjustments to Embrava and Perfect Defense

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Originally Posted by Dekar

The thing that really scares me is the fact they admit to not having explained their entire reasoning behind it. Shouldn't they have done that first?

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Given that's how they've operated for the entire 10 years this game has been live, at least have the decency to ack. that this is a very welcome change of tack and hope that it's an indication of things to come.

I'm just glad they decided to hold off until the new SP abilities and adjustment to a one-hour timer are implemented, since that's the reason they told us PD and embrava had to adjusted to begin with (while I suspect there's something more to it than this).

Man, there's pretty much no excuse whatsoever for not having Nyzul gear after this. Floor 80 is extremely easy to reach with the current system.

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Originally Posted by Rezeak

...[A]s for the reasoning, Embrava and PD are overpowered is the reason they need a nerf....

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I can't stand when this statement is repeated. Embrava and PD are overpowered only in comparison to other, less useful SPs. Embrava and PD are in no way overpowered in comparison to the borked end-game.

Yes, they are abused. I have been in many a Provenance shout group that relies on Embrava during the Cat fights because the DDs are garbage. But the problem with Embrava and PD is not how powerful it is. The problem with these abilities is how even with these supposedly "overpowered", game-breaking abilities, the end-game scene still relies on a strike of luck against "fack you" monster abilities with no other significant form of mitigation.

If FFXI should be engineered for the elitists of the world, then make the leet gear purchasable with real money. Let the game content be fun, not stupid, and anyone who takes personal status over in-game enjoyment can line SE's coffers without being a scapegoat for the stupidity of the FFXI development program.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

I can't stand when this statement is repeated.

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Ok, I can appreciate that... its the rest of your post that I take issue with... so let me begin.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

Embrava and PD are overpowered only in comparison to other, less useful SPs.

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Opinion: Noted. You apparently appear to be saying that other SPs are less useful; that is ok... your opinion, as stated, is noted.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

Embrava and PD are in no way overpowered in comparison to the borked end-game.

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I have not idea what you are referring to here... what "borked" end-game... what are you talking about?

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

Yes, they are abused.

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By what standard is this "abuse" occurring, is this based on an known evidence you can provide to support this statement. Have the developers stated that Embrava and PD are abused by the player base? Please provide such statements or comments if they were made by the development team.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

I have been in many a Provenance shout group that relies on Embrava during the Cat fights because the DDs are garbage.

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**Ahhh, a breath of fresh air in this post---something based on your actual gameplay experience... I only wish more of this post was so enlightened.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

But the problem with Embrava and PD is not how powerful it is. The problem with these abilities is how even with these supposedly "overpowered", game-breaking abilities, the end-game scene still relies on a strike of luck against "fack you" monster abilities with no other significant form of mitigation.

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Hmm, what are you trying to say here? You mention that there's a "problem" with the abilities Embrava and PD, but you fail to state what the actual problem is...

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

If FFXI should be engineered for the elitists of the world

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Is this an opinion? I cannot help but "assume" it is... please provide at least one post, from the developers that state FFXI was engineered for the elitists of the world... since you stated "If FFXI should be engineered for elitists..." I'm assuming you have some evidence to support this statement, so that I can make some sense of the rest of it.

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

then make the leet gear purchasable with real money.

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Your comment referencing purchasing "leet gear" with real money--isn't that in the Terms of Service of the game as a violation worth being banned over? If so, why would you state the developer should deviate from their policy and authorize such actions?

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Originally Posted by Llana_Virren

Let the game content be fun, not stupid, and anyone who takes personal status over in-game enjoyment can line SE's coffers without being a scapegoat for the stupidity of the FFXI development program.

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Ok this just seems outright offensive... I'm not sure where your comment is going or its purpose but calling game content stupid and referring to the FFXI development program as stupid... wouldn't it just be easier, as a subscriber, to cancel your subscription instead of going to these lengths to communicate or make a point that appears to be borderline degrading?

Just sayin'...

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Originally Posted by xiozen

Ok, I can appreciate that... its the rest of your post that I take issue with... so let me begin.



Opinion: Noted. You apparently appear to be saying that other SPs are less useful; that is ok... your opinion, as stated, is noted.



I have not idea what you are referring to here... what "borked" end-game... what are you talking about?

By what standard is this "abuse" occurring, is this based on an known evidence you can provide to support this statement. Have the developers stated that Embrava and PD are abused by the player base? Please provide such statements or comments if they were made by the development team.

**Ahhh, a breath of fresh air in this post---something based on your actual gameplay experience... I only wish more of this post was so enlightened.

Hmm, what are you trying to say here? You mention that there's a "problem" with the abilities Embrava and PD, but you fail to state what the actual problem is...

Is this an opinion? I cannot help but "assume" it is... please provide at least one post, from the developers that state FFXI was engineered for the elitists of the world... since you stated "If FFXI should be engineered for elitists..." I'm assuming you have some evidence to support this statement, so that I can make some sense of the rest of it.

Your comment referencing purchasing "leet gear" with real money--isn't that in the Terms of Service of the game as a violation worth being banned over? If so, why would you state the developer should deviate from their policy and authorize such actions?

Ok this just seems outright offensive... I'm not sure where your comment is going or its purpose but calling game content stupid and referring to the FFXI development program as stupid... wouldn't it just be easier, as a subscriber, to cancel your subscription instead of going to these lengths to communicate or make a point that appears to be borderline degrading?

Just sayin'...

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I'm not sure if you are intentionally being obtuse or you just don't get it, but she/he was right on every count.

A JP post made this morning says that there won't be any more buff locking.

Primary Source: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...753#post383753

Secondary (translated) Source: http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/112...=1#post5501269

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Originally Posted by Byrth

A JP post made this morning says that there won't be any more buff locking.

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Excellent.

Merry Christmas!

As was mentioned yesterday, here is a full explanation from Producer Akihiko Matsui about the adjustments to Perfect Defense and Embrava.

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Originally Posted by Akihiko_Matsui

Greetings everyone, Matsui here.

I’d like to explain the background as well as the future plans involving the adjustments to Perfect Defense and Embrava.

There may be some areas that are lacking in detail, but I’d appreciate it if you could read through the entire post.

Pros and Cons of Adjustment and Timing
In the midst of my efforts to catch up on the two years that I’d missed, this was the first thing I took notice of. I was apprehensive that this would become a situation following in the footsteps of Utsusemi, so I spoke to the development and operations team and made a quick decision to make these adjustments knowing that there was little time.

While the development and operation team members understood this and agreed with me, we were unable to properly convey our thoughts on the forum, and since this work was taking place in the middle of our already limited time, I would like to apologize to all of you for causing concern.

This is linked to the canceling out of any other battle strategy decisions, and also looking ahead to the development work for the jobs and content that are to be implemented in Seekers of Adoulin, I believe that these adjustments are necessary. (Especially for Embrava.)

Can’t you just strengthen the other special abilities without weakening Perfect Defense and Embrava?
When comparing these to other special abilities, they have such extensive effects that I do not think it would be realistic to adjust all of the special abilities to match them.

Also, in the case that we were to create content and monsters with the current Perfect Defense and Embrava in existence, it would result in brute-force behavior that nullifies or erases these abilities, so scholar and summoner’s position in the battlefield would not remain the same as it is.

There is a difference between only having content and enemies that can be enjoyed by dealing huge amounts of damage with continuous weapon skills, versus having this type of content and enemies as well as other content and enemies.

Are you getting rid of all battle strategies that are advantageous for players?
Regardless of whether it is advantageous or disadvantageous, as long as we feel there is a balance-related problem we will make adjustments. The big issue I see is that we are weakening these abilities despite the fact that it has been around for such a long time untouched.

I really understand everyone’s feelings, and that you hate this since you all did your best and endured hardships leveling up and gathering equipment. Not everything we do is perfect, so when we make a mistake we would like to rectify it and we promise to make the adjustments and fixes right away.

What about the content adjustments? Are you not going to do anything?
In addition to the reasons above, I understand that many feel that if the current adjustment plans are implemented, then they will no longer be able to clear content, so they do not want it implemented.

This is related to the intrinsic problem that the necessary content is not reaching the necessary people. However, since a complete short-term solution is difficult, whether it is the addition of new content or the adjusting of existing content, we will implement them in phases.

Why the delay?
There are three reasons.

1. Lack of communication
2. By implementing these adjustments, the content that can be enjoyed by players coming in after the fact will be lost
3. The impact from other adjustments would be large

In regards to the first reason, I feel we need to continue to improve this and time to do so is necessary.

In regards to the second reason, while I feel that providing new content and in-depth adjustments is the ideal route to go, this would be at minimum the next version update (the one after the December version update), so we decided to implement only the content adjustments ahead of time.

However, for the new salvage only, we will be addressing it slightly irregularly by making it so that the effect of Embrava becomes what was planned for adjustment. While the new salvage was not balanced on the basis of Embrava, if it can be used as-is, then battle strategies will be formulated based on its use. There were quite a few posts that were concerned about how the adjustments would affect the new salvage, and many were commenting that the implementation should be pushed back. However, since pushing back implementation would reduce the amount of content that could be played we decided to adopt this method of adjustment.

In regards to the third reason, this is the first time mentioning this, but we will be fixing the bug where ability effect duration timers can be stopped when talking to NPCs since QA testing has concluded as of yesterday and implementation is now possible.

This was originally a counter-measure to prevent being killed while in a cutscene, but it was utilized in a different way and by allowing this it would completely eliminate the meaning behind abilities with strong effects in exchange for short effect durations. Additionally, similar to the adjustments to Perfect Defense and Embrava, with development work continuing on Seekers of Adoulin, we decided it was necessary at this point in time to fix this.

In closing
I’m sorry that we’ve been so wary about posting on the forum until now.

Also, since yesterday’s post, I started seeing comments to hurry up and make the adjustments, and I once again feel that adjustments that everyone agrees on are difficult.

In addition to the development and operations team and I increasing our efforts to understand both individual players and everyone as a whole, we will be making adjustments as necessary and appearing on the forums more. Thank you all very much.

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