Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXV Digest (11/06/2015)

Greetings, everyone!

We're pleased to present the full digest from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXV! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8mYwrpYttOI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://sqex.to/zu3

*Don’t forget to select the 720p option to watch the video in HD!

0:11:20
Quest-related

Attachment 2150

We’ll be adding new main scenario quests and they’ll feature Krile, the character you saw wearing the hood. I’m really surprised there were people that figured who she was just by looking at the picture we released earlier. I’m sure there are those of you who are curious about the naming convention since she is a Lalafell, but you’ll have to play through the main scenario quests to find out.

In Patch 3.1 we’ll be introducing the first beast tribe quests of the 3.0 series. This time around, we will be implementing a level adjustment feature for beast tribe daily quests. Up until now, the level in which you could accept beast tribe daily quests were set; however, we changed the system so that the enemies’ levels are automatically adjusted to match the job/class with which you accepted the quest. There are no level caps on these quests, so I think it will make it easy to use for leveling. However, you will not be able to finish the quests on jobs or classes other than what you accepted the quest on.

0:14:07
Attachment 2151

Originally, in order to challenge the extreme primal battles, you had to have cleared the extreme primal quest from the previous patch or you wouldn’t be able to do the most recent one. We wanted to eliminate this in 3.0, but it didn’t make it in time for launch, but we are implementing this in Patch 3.1. With this change, you will be able to tackle The Limitless Blue (Extreme) and Thok Ast Thok (Extreme) independently of one another. The same will apply to future extreme primal quests.

While many players have already unlocked all of the aether currents, there are a number of them that can only be acquired after progressing through several side story quests. We will be making it so that these can be obtained through side quests that follow the main scenario so you can acquire them as soon as possible. We’ll also be making it possible to check which quests give aether currents from the side quest rewards screen. These adjustments are geared towards new players coming into the game.

If you’ve ever received a notification that your retainer returned from their venture or your shards finally sold in Limsa during a really important cutscene, we’ll be making it so this doesn’t happen anymore. These two kind of notifications were being displayed quite frequently during cutscenes, so we’ll be displaying them similar to the login message.

0:16:42
Attachment 2152

The next line of weapon creation content following the footsteps of Zodiac weapons will be coming at the end of the year in Patch 3.15, and they are known as Anima weapons. For those of you who are currently working on Zodiac weapons, I recommend finishing them in anticipation of the Anima weapons. Many may be curious what kind of advantage having a completed Zeta weapon will give towards Anima weapons, but it will allow you to skip the first part of the Anima weapon creation quest. We’ve already decided on all the content for the Anima weapon quests, so we don’t have any plans to ease up on any aspects; however, if you have yet to start any Zodiac weapons, it will be more time efficient to just start from the first quest for the Anima weapon. Furthermore, since there are no Zodiac weapons for the new jobs added in Heavensward, as long as you have one Zeta weapon, you will be able to choose an Anima weapon of your choice. I’m sure there are many players who changed their jobs from the start of Heavensward, so please use this to your advantage. Having multiple Zeta weapons will allow you to choose multiple Anima weapons, so I hope you are looking forward to the content.

0:20:36
Exploratory Missions

* An explanation was given while using live gameplay during the stream.

Quote:

0:22:20
Q: What kind of advantages are there for using a free company airship in exploratory missions compared to entering using the Duty Finder?

A: Before I get into the advantages, I’d like to give a rundown of the system. There are two entrances for Exploratory Missions. The first is the airship created by your free company, and the other is the House Haillenarte airship in front of the Ishgard landing in the Pillars. House Haillenarte is borrowing the power of adventurers to explore islands to get rich quick. The idea is that these adventurers are freelancers. This doesn’t mean that Exploratory Missions will be available in the Duty Finder. You will have to talk to the NPC at House Haillenarte in order to participate in this content. System-wise it’s the same as the Duty Finder, but it’s a slightly different system that was re-made for Exploratory Missions.

Now then, back to the question about advantages when participating as a free company. While the maps for Exploratory Missions will be the same, there are three different difficulties: easy, normal, and hard. The rank of the monsters that spawn will also be different. Monsters will not have any level indicators, but instead they will be ranked 1-6, and depending on the rank, the difficulty and drop rate of treasure chests will differ.

It will only be possible to select the hard difficulty when departing on Exploratory Missions from a free company airship. House Haillenarte doesn’t have that much money, and their airships don’t have very high stats, so you’ll only be able to select easy and normal when leaving from there.

For players without a free company, it will be possible to participate by using the Party Finder, and we wanted players to proactively recruit members, so we’d like Exploratory Missions to act as a catalyst for joining free companies and other communication.

While I’m sure that there are many who feel that free company airships only being able to select hard is a considerable advantage, the monsters that spawn in hard are extremely powerful, so the speed in which you defeat them will be slower making the total number of treasure chests you acquire lower. We’d like everyone to play the content and decide on the best difficulty for the highest efficiency.

It possible to possess three airships as a free company, so you’ll be able to go to the same Exploratory Mission’s area with up to 24 people. This is also a large advantage.

Quote:

0:26:40
Q: What is the minimum number of members needed to participate as a free company and how many people can ride on an airship at once?

A: A maximum of 8 people will be able to ride on an airship. As long as there is one person from the free company operating the flight control panel, you’ll be able to enter the content, so you won’t need to have all 8 members be part of the same free company. Of course, if you are participating in Exploratory Missions with another free company, you will not have to change your free company.

The minimum number of participants to enter is two, and this is to avoid someone from your free company doing what they want and entering alone. Eight players will be able to ride on a single airship, and up to three ships will be able to enter at the same time, so it will be possible to enter with a maximum of three full parties.

Quote:

0:28:08
Q: Will it be possible to meet up with free company members who are already out on an Exploratory Mission?

A: It won’t be possible to indicate the same instance, but there may be times that you randomly bump into your friends and free company members. If you’d like to go to the same instance, you’ll have to take off together as I mentioned before.

Quote:

0:29:09
Q: Will we still be able to use airships for Exploratory Missions that are out on Exploratory Voyages?

A: No, it will not be possible. If you’ve given the airship directives to go on an exploratory voyage to gather items, you won’t be able to go on an exploratory mission with this airship until it returns. However, airships that go off on exploratory missions will return in 20 minutes, so you’ll be able to use them right after they are back. We’d like free companies to communicate and form schedules for exploratory voyages and missions.

Quote:

0:30:37
Q: Are they are daily or weekly restrictions on entry or rewards?

A: We’d like players to defeat a lot of monsters and obtain a lot of items through exploratory missions, so there are no daily or weekly restrictions. The map is quite large, so think of it as a field area. However, while this is instanced content, there is no concept of “clearing it.” We’d like you to discuss and decide how long you spend exploring. Once you press the “Quit” button, you’ll leave the instance immediately, but after 90 minutes have passed you will automatically leave the instance. Upon leaving, you’ll see a result screen that shows the number of monsters you defeated and the number of treasure chests that you found. However, you need to wait 120 minutes before you enter an Exploratory Mission again. That means that if you spend the full 90 minutes exploring, you’ll have a 30 minute break before you can go back in. This is not a restriction, but an element that has been implemented to prevent instances where it’s difficult for members to leave and join the party. Players who wish to continue going can replenish their ranks during the 30 minute downtime and then re-enter. However, we’d like everyone to try it out and give their feedback, and we may consider removing this 30 minute downtime.

Quote:

0:33:50
Q: You mentioned that we would be in instances with other parties, but does that mean there will be struggles to claim monsters or treasure chests?

A: I’ll explain using gameplay.
While not an answer to the question, we made adjustments to the party list UI so that party members that are not nearby have their names greyed out. When they get closer, their names will appear as normal in the party list. Additionally, information will be displayed in the mini-map regarding which direction your party members are.

As you can see, the map is very large, and up to nine parties will be able to enter the instance. Think of it as a field area that fits nine parties. You’ll be able to communicate with others as well through shouts and such. During a test play session with the developers, we saw various shouts asking for help, and we would go over to their location and give a hand.

In regards to reward distribution, since there are nine parties, while there may be situations where you are uniting with them to fight, the fundamental design is that of a field area, so the concepts are the same. In field areas, the first to attack a monster will secure drops, and those who attack afterwards will be entitled to rewards after dealing a certain amount of damage to the monster’s HP. This same rule will be applied to Exploratory Missions, so we’d like players to team up with other parties and defeat a large number of monsters. However, unlike the FATE system, there is no system in place for earning rewards through generating enmity. If we had this kind of system in place, it would like to situations where players just continuously use Flash to get rewards.

Quote:

0:36:20
Q: What are the lotting rules for item drops?

A: There are multiple rules, but if you depart from House Haillenarte, everyone in the party will be restricted to greed only. When leaving for an exploratory mission as a free company, the party leader will be able to select the lotting rule. Naturally, you’ll be able to form a party beforehand when leaving from House Haillenarte, but there are no penalties for changing your job or class while on an exploratory mission. It’s the same as changing jobs at your base during Frontline, and this system is reflected in all areas of the map. For instance, if another party wipes, all members of your party could switch to white mage and raise them all. Or if a monster is really strong, you can have someone switch to a tank. Due to this system, we set the greed only rule so that you could still lot on items that are the job you are on. For example, if your main job is a dragoon, but you need to switch to a tank job to help out the party, we want to make it so you can still lot on dragoon gear.

Quote:

0:38:41
Q: Are there any restrictions or rank requirements for the airships we use for Exploratory Missions?

A: Your airship will need to be rank 10 to access easy mode, and there will also be required ranks for normal and hard, but they are ranks that can be reached naturally by doing exploratory voyages. In regards to hard mode, you’ll have to first discover the island through exploratory voyages, and once you discover the island, you’ll be able to challenge hard mode anytime.

Quote:

0:39:41
Q: Roughly how long is a single play session on an island? Will people with not a lot of time be able to easily participate?

A: As I mentioned earlier, it’s 90 minutes.

Quote:

0:40:03
Q: You mentioned we’d be able to exchange unwanted equipment for points, but what can we use these points on?

A: House Haillenarte will give you points for the equipment. You’ll be able to exchange them for new flying mounts, new materials for crafted equipment, red scrips materials, shards, and materia. There will also be an NPC that will exchange for these items within the exploratory mission area, along with a weather and repair NPC. You can also just desynth equipment to level up your desynthesis skill.

Quote:

0:42:01
Q: It’d be convenient to earn esoterics while exploring, but will this be possible?

A: Upon entering an instance, each party will have different starting points. Each of these starting locations will have an “aetheric turbulence,” and by discovering four of these you will be able to fly around the islands. You will have to do this every time you enter; however, it will only take approximately 15 minutes to do this and the map will display where the aetheric turbulences are located. Exploratory missions are different than the content we’ve had up until now, and there is no concept of “clearing it,” so the first objective upon entry will be to collect the aetheric turbulences. In regards to esoterics, there will be an objective list, which also includes the collection of the aetheric turbulences, and by completing three or more of these you will earn a reward. However, there is no requirement to finish any of these objectives, so you can feel free to just fish or defeat whatever monsters you find. Since the content is 90 minutes long, we decided to set the amount of esoterics that you can earn to be on the higher side. There is an objective for discovering a bronze treasure chest, as you can see displayed in the game demo, but this can be completed naturally by defeating monsters.

Quote:

0:46:24
Q: I want to use both my battle classes and gathering classes during exploratory missions. Will it be possible to change jobs/classes?

A: Yes, this will be possible.

Quote:

0:46:56
Q: You mentioned that we would be able to use gathering classes on islands, but will we be gathering existing items or new, special items?

A: The items you gather will mainly be new ones. However, you will also be able to directly obtain items for exchange, and we haven’t set the gathering requirements to be very high, so as long as you have around level 57 equipment, you will be able to gather. Just keep in mind to communicate with your party so you aren’t off gathering while you party members begin a battle.

Let’s take a look at some gameplay for a bit and try to fight a monster.
(A monster is defeated and the treasure chest it drops is opened.)

The main stats on the equipment depend on the item level and the role, but the other substats are random. There are different types of treasure chests: gold, silver, and bronze, so be excited when a monster drops a gold chest.

0:51:11
Company-related

Attachment 2134

0:51:40
Exploratory voyages

Attachment 2135

0:52:09
Housing-related

Attachment 2136

We’ll be implementing a feature that will allow you to adjust the lighting of the interior of your house. Also, we introduced house sharing during Tokyo Game Show, but we gave some incorrect information which I would like to correct. I mentioned that you could share between five others, but it’s three others – meaning yourself and two others.

0:54:17
Attachment 2137

Simply entering your house will reset the counter for automatic reclamation, and we will be sending notification emails out while you are taking a break, so you can reset the counter by logging in when you receive the email and entering your house. The period of 45 days for automatic reclamation to take place is the result of careful investigation into everyone’s data.

0:56:33
Other Content

Attachment 2138 Attachment 2139

* An explanation was given while demonstrating gameplay.

The Idling Camera behaves like a screensaver in that the camera automatically targets objects in your vicinity, showing the changing scenery at various nice angles. Of course it doesn’t just target objects, but players as well. This means you can do things like check out other players’ glamours more easily than before, where with the normal eye you would probably have fewer chances. You might discover something new by using the Idling Camera in a variety of places!

0:59:06
However, please keep in mind that the camera may sometimes face out from behind an object, so you might only see the back of an NPC’s head. When in an area with monsters and the camera targets one, the camera will not follow it if it moves.

It’s difficult to explain the Group Camera, but when I think that when players take pictures of their free company and such, it’s difficult to line up everyone’s emotes, or players’ network connections might throw others off. In these cases using the Group Camera will synchronize everyone, and you can even use subcommands to do things like make everyone face the same direction.

Please use this feature when making original FFXIV videos or making blog entries with everyone!

1:04:25
Battle

Attachment 2140 Attachment 2141

The final check for Saint Mocianne’s Aboretum was pretty difficult.

Sorry for the wait, but in addition to allowing experience points to be earned from level 50 dungeons, we have also adjusted the experience points earned from level 51+ dungeons.
As for adjusting the difficulty of certain dungeons, I believe that when Patch 3.0 went live, everyone was using the Duty Roulette: Leveling, especially those who had reached the level cap. Although I’m sure players may have been matched with those with the New Adventurer mark, but there are also players who struggled with some of the more difficult mechanics in older dungeons that they haven’t been to in a long time. These are the dungeons that are being adjusted. Even playing The Howling Eye now was a bit difficult, so please think of these as adjustments tailored toward newer players.

1:07:41
Attachment 2142

We completely changed and remade the algorithms, but there are still connection-related aspects to using them so I don’t think it will be as if no lag is experienced at all. I didn’t articulate that very well, but it’s better than it was until now so please give it a try.

We’ll not be adding a setting that only hides the effect of Darkside, but we made it so that when hiding existing battle effects that you will no longer see it.

Eventually, I’d like to make some sort of ranking system that uses the displayed time it takes to complete a dungeon, but first I’d like to have everyone compete with each other by displaying the completion time.

In addition to this, there are other detailed adjustments being added. For example, it’s been said that TP consumption for ninja and paladin is too severe, there are adjustments being made to make the bard easier to use, and adjustments are being made to astrologian.

1:10:18
Attachment 2143

The next 24-person raid to follow the Crystal Tower series is the Void Ark. Instead of exploring gradually making a climb to the top like in Crystal Tower, you’ll be exploring through the interior of the Void Ark. You’ve noticed that Diabolos, who made an appearance in the Lost City of Amdapor, is back pulling the strings, so look forward to the unraveling the story.

1:11:54
Attachment 2144

Similar to Crystal Tower, defeating bosses within the Void Ark will drop treasure coffers for the alliance, and you’ll be able to obtain Void Ark gear. As usual, there will be weekly restrictions on these, and you’ll be able to obtain one per week. Furthermore, by clearing the content, each person will receive a “Mhachi farthing,” which can be exchanged for accessory or armor upgrade materials. This too can only be obtained once per week. Previously we released upgrade materials starting with accessories, then armor, and finally weapons, but this time around we will be giving the option for either accessories or armor. Weapons are still a bit off in the future.

1:14:09
Attachment 2145

We’ve been receiving questions about this, but unlike the Minstrel's Ballad: Ultima's Bane, the Minstrel’s Ballad: Thordan’s Reign will be closer to an extreme difficulty. It will be harder in difficulty than Thok Ast Thok (Extreme), and while it won’t be as hard as the latter areas of Alexander Gordias (Savage), the difficulty will be somewhere in between Alexander Gordias and the early areas of Alexander Gordias (Savage). While the total DPS needed to clear this content has not been set very high, there will be 10 phases that are exciting and fun. Originally we were planning to make 13 phases since it’s Knights of the Round, but this seemed a bit overboard, so we cut it down to 10. Also, we originally recorded voices for the battle that we were going to put in for the 3.0 fight, but we had to lower the difficulty for the scenario, and we’ll be adding these into the new battle in Patch 3.1 where the knight’s other than Thordan will play a larger role. Reward-wise there will be weapons you can obtain that will help with Alexander (Savage), but I can’t tell you the item level just yet.

1:17:59
Other adjustments

Attachment 2146

In regards to the recast times for medicinal items, they have been carefully adjusted for balance, so we will not be changing them; however, we will be enhancing items whose effects are not strong enough.

There have been a lot of requests from players who want to punch things with their bare hands, and we’ll be making this possible through an item for sale from the vendor that sells the Emperor series items.

1:18:57
Attachment 2147

We’ve received feedback that acquiring red scrips as a gatherer is difficult, so we’ve made adjustments to the items that you can exchange for red scrips from Rowena’s House of Splendors. We’ll also be making overall adjustments to crafters in Patch 3.1, and the difficulty for acquiring Master Recipe Books from pre-3.0 will be eased for newer players coming into the game.

With the enormous amount of items that have been added to the game, we implemented a search feature for the crafting and gathering log, and you’ll be able to immediately search for the items and recipes you need.

1:20:09
Attachment 2148

It will be possible to glamour items that took up multiple equipment slots, so you can glamour your favorite equipment. Furthermore, instead of having to try on equipment one piece at a time, you’ll be able to try on multiple pieces at the same time in Patch 3.1, making it easier to coordinate your outfit.

1:21:00
Attachment 2149

Skill increases when desynthesizing items with a high item level was on the low-side, so we made overall adjustments to item desynthesis.

Gold Saucer-related

1:22:04
Attachment 2153

We’ll be sharing more details about Lord of Verminion during the latter half of the show.

1:22:32
Attachment 2154

The mini-games we are introducing may be familiar to those of you who played FFXIV 1.0. They are the mini-games associated with gathering that were available in FFXIV 1.0.

There was a debate internally amongst the developers about whether the chicken hat should be a crafting recipe for culinarian or not, but someone brought up the question of who would be doing the repairs, so we decided to make it a prize for the Gold Saucer. There are a lot more rewards besides the images shown here.

1:23:12
Attachment 2155

As far as the odds of obtaining rare cards for Triple Triad goes, it’s not that we want to decrease the rarity of rare cards. When content is popular, many users participate often and the number of times users attempt to obtain rare cards is high, so that makes it easier for them to be obtained. But for players who start later, the content isn’t as popular as it used to be, and that makes rare cards turn up with even less frequency. That’s why we’re making adjustments to accommodate this.

Furthermore, with this patch, Gold Saucer objectives are being added to the Challenge Log, so players will be able to earn MGP on a weekly basis and can plan out how they are going to collect MGP.

Guest: Item Team Lead, Yousuke Hayashi
Titles worked on: FINAL FANTASY XI/FINAL FANTASY XIV

Quote:

1:38:50
Q: Tell us what exactly it is that the item team is in charge of.

A: Hayashi: We’re a department that creates the data that is related to every item that’s found in the item inventory such as gear, food, medicine, etc. There are about 500 to 800 items that are added with every normal patch, and around 500 items are being added with Patch 3.1. Patch 3.0 was a large scale update, so around 2,000 items were added with that one. With gear for example, we create data for everything from the picture used as the icon, the color of the icon, to the stats and name of the gear. Additionally, we create a drop table to determine whether that item will be dropped by monsters or found in dungeons, etc.

Yoshida: We agonize over the drop tables every time.

Hayashi: We use all sorts of methods every time, but we just can’t seem to find the right answer. The items team’s job also deals with tradable gear for Allagan tomestones, rewards for quests, and everything else that is related to items.

Quote:

1:41:03
Q: If you have one, what is your favorite minion, and what minion did you have a hard time creating?

A: Hayashi: During last year’s “The Rising”, the designer prepared an illustration, and it included an illustration of some Scion members gathered for a party that was also used on the special website. On the right end of the illustration was a picture of wind-up Louisoix and wind-up Bahamut fighting with each other, and a certain producer/director looked at it and said, “Can’t we make it so that they’re like that in the game?” It was the day before the data was finalized for the version update. As a member of the item team, the day before the deadline is a time when we don’t want to make any adjustments, but we’re always creating things the way we like to in the “Minion Alliance”, so we couldn’t say no and it was decided that we would make the adjustments. Incidentally, it was an order from the producer/director, so we asked the effects team for help too, and made it so that wind-up Bahamut breathes fire when it gets into a fight.

Yoshida: That’s how my reputation gets worse and worse amongst the development team.

Quote:

1:43:57
Q: Could you tell us about any hidden features of minions that players still might not be aware of?

A: Hayashi: When the heavy hatchling that you can get in exchange for MGP is waiting, it performs a sniffing motion, but if a culinarian cooks nearby, it will perform the sniffing motion more frequently. I suspected that players might not notice this.

Quote:

1:45:25
Q: Are there plans to added minions for each if the primals?

A: Hayashi: There are.

* Showed an illustration of primal minions in the video.

This is the Ifrit minion and it will be added in 3.1. Additionally, this won’t added in 3.1, but this is the Garuda minion. We also have plans to add Titan’s minion. If possible, I’d like to add a primal minion with each patch and ultimately have all of the primal added to the game.

Quote:

1:47:18
Q: Are there plans to make adjustments to items that users don’t use very often such as medicine like phoenix down, elemental materia, and potions?

A: Hayashi: FFXIV is a numbered title and part of the main series of FINAL FANTASY so traditional items like phoenix down were included, but even so, this is a MMORPG, so when we have to create a strict battle balance for things like raids, we can’t allow for a situation where the battle balance is ruined by items like phoenix down, which has a raise effect. I’m terribly sorry, but such items are difficult to use at the moment.

Yoshida: In other words, it’s just there to give it that FINAL FANTASY feeling.

Hayashi: Yeah. Not just phoenix down, but we get feedback from everyone about another good use for elemental materia. If a good idea comes up when the development team discusses the issue, we’d like to make adjustments. Please give us a little time.

Quote:

1:48:57
Q: Are there any plans to add a feature where any item you obtain once is recorded in some sort of a directory, and even if you get rid of that equipment, you can use a glamour prism on anything in the directory? With a feature like this, users could create a lot more room in their inventories.

A: Yoshida: If that were possible, it would be easier to just increase inventory space. Every player would have to acquire item obtainment information data, which would be very difficult.

Quote:

1:49:44
Q: In a previous interview with Yoshida, it was said that, “Gear for each race might be made dyeable.” How has progress been for that since then? Also, is it possible to make Allagan and High Allagan gear dyeable for glamor purposes?

A: Hayashi: There are plans for that. I’m thinking that it might be nice to add it to the Disciples of the Hand recipes with Patch 3.2. It’s currently being considered.

Yoshida: You’re going to implement it?

Hayashi: …We are.

Quote:

1:50:48
Q: Hayashi, you’re in charge of community items as well. Are there any new items?

A: Haysahi: On the stage at Fan Festival last year, I promised that we would make head gear, so that’s what we did.

* Showed an illustration of new gear in the video.

Paissa is pretty popular lately, but gaelikitten is cute too, so we made this new head gear. Also, it will be made so that the gaelikitten minion rides on top of a player’s head, so I’d like players to use the minion and the head gear together. As someone in charge of items and minions, I’m proud to say that we were able to make a very nice combination.

Quote:

1:52:56
Q: Are there plans to add a bonus wherein the amount obtained when gathering shards increases in proportion the level of the Disciplines of the Land.

A: Hayashi: The amount obtained will not increase as level increases, but a trait called “Nymeia's Ward” was added to miner and botanist in patch 3.0; it is a trait that increases the amount gathered for items that don’t have HQ versions, namely, shards and crystals. It might be different from what was requested, but it has been implemented.

Yoshida: Wouldn’t the fact that players are making this request mean that the effects aren’t that great?

Hayashi: The chance of it activating is around 10%. With regards to the odds of it activating, we’ll consider what it should be if we receive further feedback.

Quote:

1:54:09
Q: There have been hardly any new one-handed conjurer's or thaumaturge's arms for a while. What’s the reason for this?

A: Hayashi: Throughout the 2.X series, there was gear that was originally intended to be added during version 1.0, and since they were added without any changes made, there are one-handed versions of some weapons. In general, with the exception of paladin, each job has one weapon associated with it, and we’d like to continue implementing weapons in this way.

With one-handed weapons, we set parameters based on when shield and weapon are equipped together; so individually, the performance values per single unit are lower in comparison with other weapons. Also, there's the added issue, when weapons are added to content rewards for example, of having to obtain both pieces in order for the item level to go up. For these reasons, we decided on only two-handed weapons for conjurer and thaumaturge.

Regarding the “Malevolent Mogwand”, which is one of the popular weapons that players would like to glamour but are unable to because the weapon is one-handed, a two-handed version with the same design has been created and we plan to introduce this in 3.2. Please provide us with opinions and feedback on any current one-handed weapon which you would like to see as two-handed.

Quote:

1:56:51
Q: When can we expect to see the furnishings that can play your favorite in-game music?

A: Hayashi: We had plans to introduce this since the start of A Realm Reborn and it all depends on the dev. team’s availability, but we have been prioritizing other content and the implementation has been pushed back. We still need to work on adjustments with the programmers in each department so we’re not 100% sure if we can implement this by Patch 3.2, but we are hoping to so please wait a while longer.

Quote:

1:58:27
Q: Are there any plans on implementing Ysayle’s hairstyle? Or Y’shtola’s from Patch 3.0 for the players?

A: Hayashi: It won’t be for Y’shtola and Ysayle but we are planning to sell this as an optional item.

* An image of a Minfilia outfit and hairstyle was shown on the video.

We plan to sell the Minfilia set which comes with both the hairstyle and equipment.
Minfilia’s equipment and hairstyle will be specifically for female characters, but if we receive more requests, we’d like to add in more sets.

Quote:

2:00:31
Q: There was a mention that the “bent ear” version of the bunny crown from the Gold Saucer would be introduced, but is there any progress on this?

A: Hayashi: Thank you for your patience!

* An image of the “bent ear” version of the bunny crown was shown in the video.

I stayed late night at work to take this screenshot. We first tried with a Miqo’te, but the hipline didn’t appear good due to the tail for the screenshot.

Quote:

2:01:44
Q: Yoshida/Hayashi, please tell us your favorite minion.

A: Yoshida: Baby Opo-opo. I was able to obtain this minion quite quickly, and I really took a liking to it since it climbs up on your head.

A: Hayashi: I like the Tiny Tapir you can obtain from the retainer venture. When I play FFXIV privately, I don’t play with my co-workers but with players I met in Eorzea, and one of the players I know gave me the Tiny Tapir as a gift. The drop rate configuration isn’t too high since I did this myself but since I received this as a gift, it’s still in my memory.

Yoshida: It makes me happy that it’s possible to speak openly with players you meet in-game.

Quote:

2:04:20
Q: By the way, what kind of position do you hold as part of the Minion Alliance?

A: Hayashi: Having spoken on the stage about minions during Fan Festival and making appearances on the Letter LIVE, many may think that I am the leader of the Minion Alliance; however, that’s not true. I’m just simply a member that does various things such as setup and lead the meetings, and diffuse situations when the passionate Minion Alliance members begin heated debates.

Lord of Verminion

Quote:

2:05:49
Q: Are you planning on implementing a feature where a player can watch other players battle like an “Observation Mode”?

A: Yoshida: We’ve received requests for an “Observation Mode” in PvP as well, and for Patch 3.2, we were thinking about adding this feature for Wolves’ Den 2, which may not make it in 3.2, but this is absolutely necessary so we will try to implement this in one of the future 3.X patches.

Quote:

2:06:28
Q: Are the minions obtained as a bonus from special packages and online purchased items stronger than other minions? I’m worried that there would be a huge disadvantage between players who do or do not have them.

A: Hayashi: There are minions that could be obtained as bonuses from special packages and some minions that are unobtainable now, but we will not make these minions overly powerful. Also, in a game of Lord of Verminion, it’s more important to think about all the aspects of a minion such as the type of the minion, stats, what type of type they’re strong against, and the cost. Each minion will have its own unique stats and it will be up to you to decide which ones to use.

Yoshida: You really don’t need to worry too much about it. We prepared minions with similar stats from the minions no longer available, so all you need to do is obtain those. It seems that the players think the rare minions are stronger, and if you don’t have them, you may lose but that is a misunderstanding and as Hayashi has explained, it also depends on your minion vs. your opponent minion’s compatibility.

* The video shows off gameplay of Lord of Verminion

2:08:40
In regards to Lord of Verminion:

Yoshida: There is a new area within the Gold Saucer, where you will find a new device for Lord of Verminion. Interacting with this device, a window will appear where players will have the option to choose from modes such as Verminion Challenge and Play Guide, where they will be able to learn about the game. We’ll go over the tutorial within the Verminion Challenge mode to explain the basics of Lord of Verminion.

Players will not be able to play this game while in a party. Additionally, you will not be able to choose your opponent.

First, you have 20 seconds to set up your minions. This is where you select the first minion to dispatch. Players are given 60 points in the beginning, and will need to decide which minion to call forth with these points.

Arcana Stones are placed across the map. Players will win the match by destroying all of the opponent’s Arcana Stones. Additionally, there is a 10 minute time limit per match, if the players run out of time, the player with higher Arcana Stone stamina will win the match.

Players will prepare for the match at the beginning setup phase. You will be able to select minions to call out from the hotbar. Selecting a minion will register them to be called forth when the match starts. Once the match starts the amount of points players can spend will also increase to 240. You can choose any minion you would like to call forth to battle with using these points during the match.

In this example we have called forth the minion from the gate in center, gate B, but you’ll be able to call them at other gates as well. Players will call their minions at the gate closest to the opponent’s Arcana Stone. Players are able to register multiple minions at once to call forth; however, there is a recast time, so the minions will spawn in order, instead of spawning all at once.

Next, let’s go over minion movement. In order to move your minions, you will select them and select where you want them to head towards. The controls for Lord of Verminion are simple, you select a minion, and tell them where to go. Players will also be able to select multiple minions at once to have them all move together as well.

Battle is initiated automatically once minions come close each other. Since they’re minions the battle animations are fairly simple. When opponent’s minions come near your Archana Stone, they will start attacking it. If you don’t act, your Arcana Stone will be destroyed, so you’ll need to select minions nearby and have them move close to the opponent’s minion to start fighting. Plush cushion will attack as well.

Moving onto the types of minions, Baby Behemoth is a monster type, Wayward Hatchling is an animal type. Monster types are strong against animal types; however, if you have four animal types against 2 monster types, you’ll have a high chance of winning against the monster type.

Also, these minions come with a special skill. Players will be able to execute these special skills by selecting the glowing minion and pressing the special skill execution button. You’ll need at least four of the same minion to use these skills. And, these skills do not execute automatically, so players will need to manually control them.

Minions will vanish when their HP hits 0. You can restore minion HP by moving the minions back to your gate. While your minions are inside the gate, they will not take any damage from the opponent; however, your minions cannot attack the opponents either. Additionally, you’ll be able to transfer minions from one gate to another. For example, if the opponent starts engaging, you can return your minions to your gate, then dispatch them to the nearest gate in which the opponent is in.

Your minions will start attacking an opponent’s Arcana Stone automatically when they’re near it. Additionally, minions have special effects towards facilities. For example, Mammet #001 can deal great damage against opponents Arcana Stone, so you’ll be able to take away their Arcana Stone’s HP really quick. On top of this, there are facilities known as Shields. Players will be able to lowerthe opponents Arcana Stone’s defense by destroying these Shields.

And that is it for the tutorial. It would be best to learn from actually playing the game, so first try out the tutorial. Please note that the tutorial was done in turns; however, in the actual gameplay you will see both you and your opponent’s minions spread across the field moving simultaneously. If you pay too much attention to one section of the field, you may be getting attacked in another part of the field. It’ll be more important to watch over the entire field rather than individual minions stats.

Quote:

2:19:32
Q: Are there any penalty towards those that may disconnect right before losing the match?

A: Yoshida: When disconnected, that disconnected user will lose the match. The system isn’t able to tell if the user purposely disconnected or disconnected due to some type of error. Therefore, if the connection is lost, it will be decided as loss, and that alone will be the penalty.

Quote:

2:20:15
Q: I believe there will be new minions in Patch 3.1, but would we be able to enjoy this content with existing minions?

A: Yes. There isn’t any situation where you’ll need to have minions added in Patch 3.1 to win the match.

Quote:

2:20:33
Q: When using minions that have multiple designs, such as Wind-up Leader, or Minion of Light, will only one design appear or all of them?

A: Hayashi: You register the minions you want to call forth onto your hotbar, but for Wind-up Leader minion will be the character associated with your Grand Company. If you’re enlisted in the Twin Adders, Kan-E Senna, if you’re enlisted in Maelstrom, Merlwyb will be called forth. If you are not part of a Grand Company, you won’t be able to put it on your minion hotbar.

As for Minion of Light, while the name will be Minion of Light, it will display three types of minions, warrior, black mage, and white mage on the minion hotbar. You will be able to register them separately.

Yoshida: The minion hotbar is a special hotbar specific to Lord of Verminion. You’ll be able to register your favorite minions and call those minions during a match. Editing the minion hotbar after completing the tutorial will allow you to call them from the next match forward. While editing your minion hotbar, you’ll be able to see specific details for each minion, such as their special skills, and special effects against facilities to see how much they will affect them. You can bring up the minion hotbar editor from character, under minion guide.

Quote:

2:24:40
Q: Do Tank/DPS/Healer roles exist for minions as well?

A: No. There are only minion types.

Quote:

2:24:53
Q: Are there any growth type of feature which increases the player’s or minion’s level by battling repeatedly?

A: Yoshida: We would like players to collect various minions to play, so there isn’t any growth type of feature. However, when new minions are introduced, combination from that minions effect may affect others.

Quote:

2:25:25
Q: Would it be possible to obtain existing minions as a prize from Lord of Verminion?

A: Yoshida: No. We would like players to collect minions from various places in the game. Lord of Verminion is a game where you get to use those minions.

Quote:

2:25:51
Q: Are there any minions which can be obtained only through tournaments, similar to Triple Triad?

A: Yoshida: There are minions which can be obtained through tournament achievements.

We have implemented a rate matching feature in Lord of Verminion tournament which will increase depending on player’s win-loss ratio. Players with close rate will be matched. There are special tournaments rules, such as chocobo minions only matches.

Quote:

2:26:42
Q: Will there be any achievements added for Lord of Verminion?

A: Yoshida: As I mentioned earlier, new achievements will be added.

Quote:

2:26:55
Q: In order to win a match, which is more important: rarity of your minions or the number of minions you possess?

A: Yoshida: When comparing those two choices, it’ll probably be the number of minions you possess. By possessing more minions, you probably have several minions of each type, as well as minions with various facility effects. Therefore, it will be more important to have many types of minions and understanding their specialties rather than having a rare minion. There isn’t a case where you won’t be able to win because you don’t possess a particular rare minion.

2:31:55
Changes to Materia Melding in patch 3.2

Attachment 2156

We’ve been receiving a lot of questions from players and I’ve spoken to a lot of people at events, but we’re aware of the situation where those who are clearing raids early are using advanced materia melding for accessories. The development team recognizes that there are two problems regarding this. The first is that while it’s not forced, it’s become a kind of standard for tanks to advanced materia meld VIT and STR materia to boost their HP and DPS, and this is becoming a burden. The second issue is using advance materia melded accessories and then finally getting your hands on the raid accessories to find that they are not as strong as what you already have. We feel that this needs to be addressed, and as a result of discussions, we have decided to resolve these issues in Patch 3.2.

Despite the fact that weapons and armor have already reached the maximum main stats, it will no longer be possible to advance materia meld armor and accessories made by crafters with STR, DEX, VIT, INT, MND, and PIE materia. However, this doesn’t mean that advanced materia melding will no longer be possible. It will still be possible to meld materia into the slots that are available on equipment. Moving forward, our plan is to make it so advanced materia melding is used to boost sub-stats.

Additionally, to coincide with this, we’ll be increasing the stats on the higher-tier equipment that can be made by crafters, which will be implemented in Patch 3.2. Up until now this equipment has been balanced based on the fact that it would become extremely powerful when materia is placed on it through advanced materia melding. However, due to the fact that advanced materia melding of main stat materia will no longer be possible in Patch 3.2, we’ll be increasing the stats of this equipment, and they will be useable for challenging raids early.

Furthermore, due to the fact that advance materia melding high-tier accessories made by crafters make them extremely powerful, we’ve been staggering their implementation with the raid implementation by a patch, but with the aforementioned changes, we will be implementing all of the high-tier equipment in a single patch.

I’m sure there are many of you concerned about what will happen to the prices of materia, but from Patch 3.2 onwards, we will be adding materia slots to raid rewards and equipment that can be purchased with Allagan tomestones. While it won’t be possible to advance materia meld them, you will be able to increase the stats with the materia that you like.

The reason why I am bringing up system changed for Patch 3.2 ahead of time like this is because I am sure there are many of you who are looking forward to the addition of new accessories in Patch 3.1, but due to the materia-related changes in Patch 3.2, we will holding off on implementing these accessories in Patch 3.1.

Materia-wise that is all we will be doing; however, we will also be adjusting the damage calculations for tank roles in Patch 3.2. The details have not been finalized just yet, so I’m not able to discuss the adjustments in detail right now, but I believe those of you who are tanks and raiding at the moment can roughly imagine what we will be doing. We’ll be bringing tank’s damage calculations up to a more appropriate state, and this includes the issues with enmity.

Overall, our idea is to have everyone enjoy raiding, and we would like to use this opportunity to resolve issues such as the large burden of being coerced into raiding on a specific job, raid rewards being weaker than the equipment you are challenging the raid with, and the other larger requests we’ve been receiving from players.

Please also note that we will not be removing the armor and accessories that have already been implemented into the game. We determined that existing equipment will not be a problem once we implement the changes in Patch 3.2.