Degeki Interview 17 5 25

[radar]

Interviewer: The 2024 FFXI Adventurer Survey was conducted, gathering significant player feedback. Could you share more about your approach based on these results?

Fujito: The survey highlighted how current players engage with FFXI. Most players prefer solo play or small, fixed groups, wanting to play what they want, when they want. While FFXI was designed for group play, requiring cooperation in many scenarios, its subscription-based MMORPG structure—often called "Time to Win" (T2W)—has long posed challenges for solo players, who find it time-consuming or inaccessible. The survey reinforced that addressing solo play is our top priority.

Interviewer: The results showed 53.4% of Japanese players and 45% of overseas players primarily play solo.

Fujito: Modern live-service games cater to solo players for quick, casual play. To coexist with such games, we’re focusing on enhancing solo play in FFXI. The Trust system (AI companions) exists for this, but it’s showing limitations. We plan to strengthen Trusts to make them more effective for solo play, which is a key goal.

Interviewer: There were many requests to ease content participation requirements, especially for multiplayer content.

Fujito: Some content requires parties of three or more, making it inaccessible or too difficult for solo players. We’re exploring ways to make these accessible and feel like fresh experiences. For example, many want to play Dynamis – Divergence solo, but enemies are too strong without high-end gear. Simply weakening enemies isn’t enough, as large layered areas like Divergence can’t support too many instances without causing long wait times, like in Ambuscade (over two hours). We’re working on solutions but need more time.


Interviewer: Japanese players focused on job balance and tweaks to existing content, while overseas players emphasized new content and growth systems. Your thoughts?

Fujito: I believe both groups ultimately want the same thing: new challenges. Whether through existing or new content, we aim to provide fresh opportunities annually. This year, we introduced the new Limbus content as part of that commitment.

Interviewer: Please tell us about your plans moving forward.

Fujito: First, regarding the new Limbus, we plan to implement the first part in June.We’ll start by implementing the basic parts in order. After that, I think we’ll introduce things like “the one that switches between bipedal and quadrupedal movement” or “the one that floats and fires something like a massive buster cannon” (laughs).For Besieged, we plan to implement Content Levels (CL) 114 and 119 in the future. It’s possible that CL114 and CL119 might be implemented simultaneously. Up until now, the Content Levels have been increasing steadily, but it feels like the beastman armies are about to get serious.Also, the loot from the stronger base bosses, as it stands, won’t feel rewarding enough, so we’re discussing the idea of creating a new loot table specifically for when the campaign level is high.


Interviewer: You briefly mentioned earlier about enhancing Trusts (フェイス). Could you elaborate on that?

Fujito: This is still in the idea phase, so it’s not a finalized specification, but we’re not just thinking about simply boosting the Trusts’ parameters.For example, we’re considering something like equippable items tailored to specific Trust types, such as tank types or mage types.It’s somewhat similar to the attachments for Automatons. For tank-type Trusts, you might be able to equip something that makes them more resistant to physical attacks or magical attacks, allowing for a degree of customization in their role.However, since this is still just a concept, if it starts to feel too complex, we’ll reconsider. Actual implementation would likely begin next year.

Interviewer: You previously mentioned considering the implementation of Ambuscade Armor +3. Any updates on that?

Fujito: Regarding Ambuscade equipment, I do think we need to make some adjustments.However, we are currently working on creating a tier above Artifact and Relic gear. If that gear becomes more easily obtainable, further enhancing Ambuscade armor might lose its significance.Therefore, if Ambuscade points become easier to earn in the future, we might adjust the Ambuscade armor to serve as a stepping stone to Artifact or Relic gear, balancing it within the overall gear progression.


Interviewer: "There’s a lot of player demand for features like saving Blue Magic sets or saving Puppeteer attachment sets. What’s the status on these?"

Fujito: "We’re aware of the strong demand for these features, but it’s difficult to start working on them immediately. Right now, our engineers are prioritizing the resolution of some critical, high-priority issues that are preventing progress. We plan to address these features when there’s an opportunity to fit them into the schedule."

Interviewer: 23 years have passed since the service began. Could you tell us again why you decided to allow race changes now?

Fujito: The race change feature was particularly in high demand from overseas players.In FFXI, a character’s appearance and name together form the player’s identity, so we initially made them unchangeable to solidify the image of the player’s avatar.However, as the service continued, some players expressed a desire to change their character’s appearance, such as their look or gender.Additionally, as other games increasingly allowed such changes, and considering various modern circumstances, we felt it was a good opportunity and decided to implement the race change service.

Interviewer: The times have changed, haven’t they?

Fujito: This game was originally designed with the premise that a character’s appearance would remain consistent, and changing it could cause various system-related issues. However, we decided to move forward with this feature while asking players to accept some limitations.For example, if a player changes from a Galka to a Tarutaru, they will no longer be able to equip Galka-specific clothing. The same applies to gender-specific equipment, with a few exceptions like the Dancer’s exclusive attire. Since many of these items can be purchased at specific shops, we generally won’t offer exchanges for them.Moreover, when considering appearance as part of a player’s identity, we didn’t want players to change their race or gender too casually. To create a psychological barrier, we made the service paid. We hope players will understand this and make use of the service accordingly.

Interviewer: Could you give us an overview of what the new Limbus content will entail?

Fujito: The new Limbus will be implemented as a non-instanced, large-scale battle content that allows multiple players to participate simultaneously.It’s designed to be something you can jump into and play whenever you want, even solo, and we’re developing it without setting specific time restrictions for staying in the area.While we already have repeatable content like Ambuscade, the new Limbus is designed to meet players’ desires to “play together with others” and “cooperate in battle.” The more people participate, the more fun it becomes.Additionally, we’re lowering the requirements for upgrading Artifact and Relic gear, making it easier to craft enhancements up to the current maximum (+3). Beyond that, we’re introducing a new tier of gear upgrades available through the new Limbus. These adjustments are intended to help beginners and returning players catch up more quickly to the gear levels of veteran adventurers.Right now, with the crossover content “Echoes of Vana’diel” implemented in FFXIV, we’re seeing a surge of interest in FFXI. Many players who haven’t played in a while are returning, so we want to ensure that gear enhancement, which used to be quite tedious, can be completed as quickly as possible for these players.

Interviewer: You mentioned that the new Limbus will be a non-instanced area. What kind of interactions will players have with each other?

Fujito: If it were an instanced area, it would likely lead to forming fixed groups for tackling content, which can be limiting. On the other hand, something like Domain Invasion, where many players fight a single enemy, can also feel restrictive.So, we’re designing it so players can adjust the difficulty of enemies to some extent, allowing them to join others already fighting without interfering or needing to hold back out of courtesy. You can participate solo, form a party on-site with others already fighting, or join as a pre-formed party—there’s flexibility to suit different playstyles.

https://dengekionline.com/article/202505/42194

[Zenion]

Interviewer: You briefly mentioned earlier about enhancing Trusts (フェイス). Could you elaborate on that?

Fujito: This is still in the idea phase, so it’s not a finalized specification, but we’re not just thinking about simply boosting the Trusts’ parameters.For example, we’re considering something like equippable items tailored to specific Trust types, such as tank types or mage types.It’s somewhat similar to the attachments for Automatons. For tank-type Trusts, you might be able to equip something that makes them more resistant to physical attacks or magical attacks, allowing for a degree of customization in their role.However, since this is still just a concept, if it starts to feel too complex, we’ll reconsider. Actual implementation would likely begin next year.

That would be really nice if it meant being able to, say, give song+ and a third song slot to bards, and damage reduction to trusts in any role (it's helpful to have tanks that can survive a bit longer, but if one area attack is all it takes to leave you without a healer then that tank isn't going to save you.) Still hoping someday we get a way to modify trust AI by turning simple behaviors like standing apart from the group, using weaponskills, or casting flurry on and off.

[Gwydion]

That would be really nice if it meant being able to, say, give song+ and a third song slot to bards, and damage reduction to trusts in any role (it's helpful to have tanks that can survive a bit longer, but if one area attack is all it takes to leave you without a healer then that tank isn't going to save you.) Still hoping someday we get a way to modify trust AI by turning simple behaviors like standing apart from the group, using weaponskills, or casting flurry on and off.

I think the game is too dependant on BRD/COR/GEO out of 22 possible jobs for buffs. I think BLU/BST/DNC should be able to replace or at least comparable to the support provided by BRD/COR/GEO.

[Westyle]

I only see the Trust equipment working if it gets it's own menu. If it requires our own armor slots then no one is going to use it unless it's super OP. (Or if you only need to wear it when you first summon them)

[Dragoy]

Adventuring Fellows have had a system for equipment to some extent since ages past... but I'm sure they'll build something from scratch instead, as per the usual. ^^;

(Not that they appear to have made use of the Adventuring Fellow system in any case, unfortunately, so it wouldn't make sense to try and use those bits either probably...)

[Beastorizer]

That would be really nice if it meant being able to, say, give song+ and a third song slot to bards, and damage reduction to trusts in any role (it's helpful to have tanks that can survive a bit longer, but if one area attack is all it takes to leave you without a healer then that tank isn't going to save you.) Still hoping someday we get a way to modify trust AI by turning simple behaviors like standing apart from the group, using weaponskills, or casting flurry on and off.

Please don't lock the items behind Odyssey, Vagary, Sortie or other BS I don't play lol.......I digress......

[Zenion]

Be kind of neat to see it as a continuation of the quest line that unlocks the ark angel trusts and gives you a bonus to trust levels. Maybe have RoE objectives to earn exemplar points, as a parallel to the ones where you had to earn capacity points (though hopefully with much lower requirements, 1.5 million exemplar points is a lot to ask for.)

[Alhanelem]

I think the game is too dependant on BRD/COR/GEO out of 22 possible jobs for buffs. I think BLU/BST/DNC should be able to replace or at least comparable to the support provided by BRD/COR/GEO.

I mean there's only two/three jobs that were designed from the beginning to tank (PLD/RUN/WAR. If anything, healing has the most jobs (and job combinations) that can contribute to it.

BST on the other hand, I don't think anyone sees it as a support or would expect it to be, as a matter of design philosophy. I see it as a DPS (DD in XI parlance) more than anything else.