Hi, there!

To coincide with the March version update, Producer Akihiko Matsui held another Freshly Picked Vana'diel to go over some of the new content and discuss other topics pertinent to adventuring. The following is a digest of what was discussed.

Quote Originally Posted by Akihiko_Matsui View Post
Hello, everyone. Matsui here.

Thank you for tuning into Freshly Picked Vana'diel 32. This month, we held our broadcast once again the day before the version update, so we could focus on the March version update and other information.

For those of you who were not able to catch the broadcast live, or just simply want a recap on all the information the archived video is available below and I've organized this digest.



Table of Contents

  • Version Update
    (0:01:44)
    This segment of the show focused on the major aspects of the March version update.

    • Battle Content: Omen
      (0:02:39)
      The video showed live gameplay of the new notorious monsters added. In this version update, we also made it possible to participate as an alliance. The difficulty of the boss is set based on a six-person party. The monster's HP will not scale based on the number of participants, so please use this to freely play with your linkshell friends. Furthermore, players are now able to hold up to two mystical canteens which are needed to enter this content.

      (0:14:18)
      The video introduced some gear rewards which can be obtained from notorious monsters. The Regal Cpt. Gloves has a new attribute where the number of attacks will increase when your accuracy is lower. This will take effect when a player’s accuracy is lower than 60% of the enemy. The Regal ring has a set bonus which increases accuracy, ranged accuracy, and magic accuracy, and also has a similar set bonus effect as the +2 and +3 artifact armors added in this version update, so you’ll be able to retain individual bonuses when mixing artifact armor and other equipment.

    • Battle Content: Ambuscade
      (0:17:49)
      The video showed director Fujito challenging this content solo. This time we added Ahriman and Shadows type enemies equipped with weapons similar to those of item level 119 relic weapons. Similar to players, the Shadow type enemies will gain an Aftermath effect after using their specific weapon skill (they will not gain Afterglow effect). While we haven’t introduced any new gear rewards, we have introduced new tokens, which may be exchanged for specific equipment.

    • Escutcheons
      (0:27:13)
      New quests have been added. As part of requirement, players will need to complete a specific Records of Eminence objective.

    • Geas Fete Adjustments
      (0:27:42)
      We have made adjustments to the notorious monsters Warder of Courage and Zerde. When we decreased the effects of Geomancy in February’s version update, the difficulty for these two monsters increased; therefore we made adjustments. For Warder of Courage, we reduced the amount of elemental damage needed to overcome this monster's mechanic, so players are able to handle this easier using elemental III magic. As for Zerde, we have reduced its resistance to stun and darkness. It is easier to use the black magic spell Frazzle against it now, so we believe players have a wider range of strategy to tackle the battle. However, we have set a cumulative resistance to the black magic spell Death.

    • Login Campaign
      (0:31:26)
      We're thinking of bringing back items from previous campaigns in future Login Campaigns. During the show, we asked the viewers to see what kind of items they would like to be able to reobtain. Based on the comments we receive, we'll consider the options moving forward.

    • Intense Ambuscade in April
      (0:39:08)
      To prepare for the 15 year anniversary, we're considering bringing back monsters which players faced until now in the Intense Ambuscade. During the show, we asked the viewers which monster they would like to face off against. The survey showed lots of votes for Gigas type monsters, so we’ll bring them in April.

  • The More You Know – Vana’diel
    (0:44:25)
    In this segment, we had viewers guess the word which should replace the “???” area and then revealed some hidden Vana’diel lore. If you haven't watched the stream, try to guess the answer! The answer will be displayed within the spoiler box below.
    • The sabotender NM in Abyssea, Cuijatender, is ??? while they’re not using their "??? Needles" ability.
      The sabotender NM in Abyssea, Cuijatender, is growing needles while not using their "??? Needles" ability. Cuijatender's ability "??? Needles" is actually not random. The longer it takes to use this ability, the more damage the players will take. This is because they are growing needles on their bodies. So talking about mechanics, it'd be wise to make this NM use their "??? Needles" quicker to take less damage!
    • When service for FINAL FANTASY XI started in Japan, players were able to fish up ??? in a certain area.
      When service for FINAL FANTASY XI started in Japan, players were able to fish up Excalibur in a certain area. At the time, we hadn't introduced anything like relic weapons, so they added Excalibur as one of the rarest weapons you can catch. The rate was something close to 1 in 20,000 to fish up this weapon. Looking at the data, we found out that no one was able to catch an Excalibur from fishing. The team in charge of fishing probably added this thinking even if players were able to get it, they wouldn't be able to equip it, since the level of the weapon was set to level 70 when the level cap was still at level 50. This surprised us when we found this out later. If a player was able to successfully catch Excalibur from fishing, we would've never seen Excalibur created as a relic weapon! Also just to note, the item ID for this weapon is different from the relic weapon version, so the stats on this weapon were much lower than the current Excalibur and were probably closer to Ridill's stats.

  • Fujito’s /shout
    (0:57:42)
    Fujito made announcements about current campaigns and events.
    • Doll Festival
      This seasonal event has ended already, but we hope you all were able to enjoy it!
    • Early Spring Battle Content Campaign
      We have the Microcosmic Orb Campaign where players are able to obtain job cards, so be sure to give it a try!
    • March Login Campaign
      In a previous Freshly Picked, our community team member Mocchi asked for a Warmachine mount, and so we finally introduced this in-game.

The next Freshly Picked Vana'diel is scheduled for May. We’ll do our best to bring fresh information, so stay tuned!