Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LII (06/21/2019)

We are pleased to present the full digest of the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LII that was delivered from E3 in Los Angeles! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below!

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https://youtu.be/0Sa6xe4XAOI
* Don't forget to select 720p option to watch the video in HD!

Dungeon Walkthrough
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We showed footage of the new dungeons that will be added in Shadowbringers. All new dungeons will be introduced through the main scenario, excluding dungeons that will be available after reaching level 80.

Additional Details Regarding Charged Actions
(00:03:39)
After our previous Letter from the Producer LIVE, we were asked whether players would have to wait for charged actions to be fully charged after recovering from a wipe. Not to worry, charged actions will automatically regain their maximum number of uses when restarting.

New Trial - The Dancing Plague
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(00:05:01)
We showed live gameplay footage of the trial, which will be added in Patch 5.0. As the ruler of the pixies, Titania commands various enemies to do their bidding in battle. You’ll be able to participate in the trial once you reach level 73, so please look forward to it!

We also showed the Amaro, a rideable beast that can be found in the First.

Trust System
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(00:13:59)
We introduced the Trust System, which will allow players to challenge dungeons alongside allied NPCs. You can participate as any role you’d like, as there are enough NPCs of each role to fulfill the party composition of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 2 DPS. The allied NPCs are capable to fight on their own, and won’t require the player to command them. You’ll also be able enjoy the interactions the NPCs will have with each other.

Incapacitated Trusts will be revived as soon as possible. However, the party will be sent back to the beginning of the dungeon if the player becomes incapacitated, so be careful!

(00:19:34)
You can form a party by speaking to the NPCs near the dungeon entrance when entering a dungeon for the first time. If you’ve completed the dungeon before, you can form a party with NPCs by selecting “Trust” from the main menu. As you may have noticed, some of your allies have a unique job name, such as Minfilia’s “Oracle of Light.”

The drop rate of item and equipment rewards in dungeons will be reduced when participating with Trusts, compared to when participating with four players. We’ve balanced the drop rate to be 1/4th, as you’d normally be competing against three other players.

(00:26:09)
Check out the live gameplay footage for a preview of what it’s like to challenge a dungeon with Trusts.

Gatherer and Crafter Adjustments
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(00:43:25)
Many adjustments have been made to gatherers and crafters, including new actions and quality of life changes. The adjustments to gatherers may provide relief to previous shortcomings.

You may be wondering whether the First will be using Norvrandt time instead of Eorzea time.
The Source and the First’s clocks are aligned by some miraculous coincidence, so there will be no need for time conversions!

Crafters will be receiving new actions, as well as a number of changes to pre-existing actions. For example, we've made Steady Hand II and Byregot’s Blessing available on any crafting class, as they’re almost a necessity even while leveling up. With the recent increase in new players, we wanted to allow players to begin with any crafting role of their choice. We’ve also made the crafting system more intuitive by removing recipe affinities and redesigning the crafting menu.

Although we know that some of you would like to know whether there will be a new grade of materia, we decided not to announce details regarding that at this time.

New Crafter and Gatherer Gear Sets
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(00:59:19)
Above are a few slides showing the new crafter and gatherer gear sets. You can also view images of the new equipment on the official Shadowbringers site.

System Updates
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(01:15:36)
We went over various system-related changes.

(01:20:04)
The live gameplay footage introduced a frog-like robot, as well as the reward mount for the gunbreaker tanking achievement.

(01:24:14)
We also demonstrated the new furnishing preview system. You can sort through the categories to find your desired furnishing and put down a placeholder of it in your house. You can also preview furnishing colors.

(01:32:32)
We showed images of some of the new furnishings, equipment, and minions. The frog suit is a particularly popular item amongst the members of the development team.

(01:37:50)
Messages will now indicate the general direction of B Rank hunt targets, and will notify you when an S Rank hunt target appears. We hope this will make hunting a little bit easier.

As a side note, we added a little surprise for the new S Rank hunt targets, so please look forward to it!

Changes to Mentor Certification
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(01:44:09)
We went over the new requirements to become a mentor. Although pre-existing mentors will retain their status in Patch 5.0, all players will need to fulfill the new requirements to be considered a mentor after Patch 5.1.

We recommend players who would like to remain mentors to fulfill the new requirements during Patch 5.0.

Eden
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(01:48:27)
We touched upon a few details regarding Eden, the new 8-player raid series. Eden’s storyline will involve restoring elements to the First, which had been stripped by the overabundance of light.

■ Key Characters
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(01:54:58)
We introduced the key characters of 5.0.

Thancred, who has changed into the gunbreaker job, now has a different hairstyle and no longer wears a bandana over his eye. These changes are explained in the main scenario, and we’ll be taking a closer look at Thancred’s character and inner conflict.

Y’shtola’s was referred to as “Matoya” in the trailer, and her job has changed to Sorceress. This will also be explained in the main scenario as we are introduced to new aspects of her personality.

Urianger appears to have much on his mind after sending Minfilia to the First during the events of Patch 3.4. He will be a key character as the scenario unfolds.

Alphinaud had many humbling experiences thus far, but continues to grow as FFXIV’s “other protagonist.” We hope that you cheer him on as he continues to apply what he's learned from his past experiences.

Alisaie continues to be her courageous self, and there’s no doubt her straightforwardness will help in the events ahead. When she joins you as a Trust, however, rumor has it that she tends to charge into enemy attacks and become incapacitated...

The young girl named Minfilila has an air of familiarity, but is shrouded in mystery. We’ll be learning more about her as we discover her connection with the Minfilia of the Source.

The Warrior of Light was brought to the First by the calls of the Crystal Exarch, the leader of the Crystarium. He and Solus zos Galvus are crucial characters in Shadowbringers, as can be seen in the trailer.

As a side note, when you accept a quest, you can talk to nearby NPCs for various hints before you head to your next destination. You’ll be able to progress through the story without speaking to them, but you may want to take a look should you be interested in learning more about the First.

Vauthry and Ran’jit also appeared in the launch trailer, and are connected to the nation of Eulmore. While they both seem rather villainous, it’s unclear whether they are friend or foe...

Lyna is the commander of the Crystarium, and the fairy is named Feo Ul. Both are also introduced in the main scenario. We’ve put in quite a lot of effort into creating the fairy language, as we previously did with the dragon language. Please look forward to it!

And finally, the heroes who arrived in the Source, and ultimately returned to the First.
Their story will be revealed through the new role quests, which will feature special instanced battles.

Upcoming Schedule
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(02:18:58)
We went over the scheduled events that will be taking place after early access.

There is an extremely large number of players currently playing FFXIV, and we’re expecting quite a lot of server congestion. We recommend using the World Visit feature to play on Worlds that may not be as congested.

In 4.0, we had a period of high congestion due to a large number of players attempting to enter the instanced battle at the start of the main scenario. Since then, we’ve made some adjustments to the system and the timing of instanced battles in the storyline. Should any issues arise, we’ll be releasing news through the Lodestone, the official forums, and Twitter.

The new treasure dungeon, The Dungeons of Lyhe Ghiah, will be added in Patch 5.05. There were many topics to cover during the live stream, and we only had time to go over a few details. We mentioned that it would be content that can be enjoyed casually, and would be shorter than the previous instances at 5 rooms total.

New Worlds
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(02:26:40)
The European data center is reaching its population limit, and so we’ll be adding two new Worlds on June 18, 2019. While we understand that many players are waiting for the addition of new housing plots, we’d like to wait to consider that until after Patch 5.0 has settled.