Open Letter TO the Producer and Dev Team (Warning it's long ; ;)

Dear Yoshi P. and the Dev Team,

Hello, I would like to start by thanking you for getting FFXIV back on track to be the great experience and world we all know it can be after a rather shaky and uncertain start. The communication and interactivity with the players and community that you have been putting in has been fantastic. After having played FFXI from the Xbox 360 beta up until the day the servers went up for the FFXIV Collector's Edition, this level of communication you have had with us has been a breath of fresh air from the days of FFXI. It has really put my mind at rest and I am now confident that my adventures in Eorzea will continue for a very long time and I am very happy that I will be able to take part in and witness the world of Eorzea evolve into something truly special.

Anyway back to the reason I am writing this letter, over my time spent in Eorzea I have been putting together a list of annoyances and features that I would like to see and have been patiently waiting for an opportunity to voice these opinions in a form which I hoped someone from SE (hopefully Yoshi P. ^^) would actually read. This list was a lot longer believe me but so much has already been fixed that a lot has already been crossed off and I am sure many of the things I mention are probably well underway to being added and fixed. I would also like to point out that many of my opinions are based from things I really liked in FFXI that does not mean I wish that FFXIV turn into FFXI-2, it's just I think FFXI did a lot of things right and it would be great if you could implement some of these things into FFXIV and build on them to make them even better.

Physical Level

I will start with Physical level, I believe that this system while supposedly allowing flexibility and customisation in the way I shape my character it is doing the exact opposite.

With the current system there is no way I can be the best at one class without hampering my abilities in another. I really feel like this is something that must be left to be tied to classes and the stats increase as you level that class automatically. Once you hit cap (which we all know is not rank 50) hopefully then you could introduce a Merit Point style system to tweak your stats a little for each class while still maintaining balance.

Class System

One of the things I miss about FFXI is the class uniqueness, each class had something special about it. DRG had a Wyvern and could use Jump attacks to shed hate, SAM was a TP and Weaponskill machine, PLD had high DEF but lower ATK and had Holy magic, DRK was the opposite with high ATK but low DEF and had dark magic, NIN had Duel wield and could blink tank and so on. I just do not feel like there is anything special about any of the classes in FFXIV that set them apart from the rest and I know this is something you are looking into and I can't wait to see what you do.

I know you are also looking into the traditional classes and seeing if there is a way to implement them, this is also something I would love to see. I know it will be difficult to do especially with how many of the classes are mish mashes of traditional classes already but I am sure you can think of something maybe make them branch off as specialist's in current classes for example CON could branch off into either WHM or BLM at a certain rank.

Another thing I would like looking into with the class system is the fact that you seemed to be tied to a certain weapon, my MRD looks like it will be tied to a great axe forever. It would be nice if I could maybe use 1 handed axes or even a sword without my entire class changing by equipping it.

Battle System

I was also one who voted in favour of auto attack, now though I think this is something that varies depending on what class you play. When I play Archer because of the amount of moves I am constantly doing then an auto attack wouldn't really work i.e. stacking Multi Shot, Raging Strike and so on, however when I play MRD it is a very different experience and then I would like an auto attack to allow me time to focus on managing my weaponskill's and abilities. Also an auto attack would allow me time to chat a socialise with my party and friends, something which I feel is lacking in FFXIV. So if auto attack was implemented I would like it if I was able to quick toggle it on/off during battle.

When I play as a mage I feel like AOE curing is way over powered and it doesn't help the rest of the party manage enmity correctly as they all know if they stand near the tank they will get cured so they just spam everything and if they pull hate it doesn't matter. The same goes with all spells really maybe if you kept the current system but made AOE use twice as much MP and take twice as long to cast that would be a quick fix.

Another problem with every class and not just mages but I think it effects mages more and that is not being able to have access to every spell you have unlocked unless it is assigned to the battle bar. It is frustrating to get to an enemy that is weak to a certain spell only to find you have to go into the menu to find the spell, equip it to the bar before you can use it on the enemy.

This leads onto another annoyance I have, changing move sets. I have to switch classes often, especially when I do Guildleves as I will have marks for rewards on different classes and nothing is more frustrating than having to setup my move set again every time I change class, I would be very grateful if you could implement an autosave feature that would set up my moves automatically to whatever I had them set as the last time I used that class. I am sure in the beta they had this feature which is why I am confused as to why it is not in the game now.

I try to use macro's now but for example when I change to my MRD I have 12 macro's to use to change gear and assign moves for 3 different MRD setup's. Maybe you could put in a system that would allow you to take a snap shot of your current setup on that class and save it and allow maybe 5 snapshots per class. That way you can have multiple setup's for your class like I have in this case and not need to spend a few hours typing out macro's for it and could use all the extra macro space for other things.

Party play

I loved to group up with others in grind parties in FFXI and through it met a lot of great people and made many friends. This is something that I feel FFXIV is lacking. There are very few places where people can group up and grind some mobs to gain SP that are worthwhile and as such not many people do. In the few places where you can group up and grind, the mobs seem to have very long repawn times so you spend most of your time running all over Eorzea looking for more and they can be very spread out. Please look into these respawn times and locations to make grind parties more worthwhile. One of the things that I liked in FFXI was that you seemed to move around to different zones as you levelled so you where never in the same place to long and it gave you something to look forward to.

Also please, please please looking into implementing SP/EXP chains. This was something else that I liked about grinding in FFXI as well as getting a EXP bonus for keeping the chain going, it also kind of gave you a little challenge while grinding, you could think ok we got a chain of X amount then, let's try and beat that this time.

Finally Level Sync, this was a great addition to FFXI and it is something I would love in FFXIV so that I can party up with friends to do Guildleves and whatever without having to worry about us all being with a certain rank range. I know you have been very lenient with the within 5 rank bonus and within 10 ranks for entire party, but I still feel like level sync would be a better solution to everything. It would also mean that in Behest everyone could sync and be within rank range which in turn would help make it a bit more challenging as most of the time you would sync to the lowest rank.

Content

Content is something I am sure you have well underway still I thought I would throw some of my idea's into the hat.

• I think your plans with level and class specific gear are spot on, I miss that feeling of achieving a certain rank so that a can finally equip that piece of equipment or weapon. Also crafters don't really make low level gear much as people don't tend to buy it as they just use the gear they already have from their other classes when levelling new jobs, so this should help spur crafters into making more of it as demand increases.

• Continuous Behests - I would like Behests to be more frequent and more challenging, maybe every 30 mins or so. Also add a rank cap as it is very annoying when a rank 35 joins a rank 20 Behest and kill's everyone's SP. Also there are no rank 50 camps, so at rank 40 camps you have people who are ranged from rank 33 to 50. This is something level sync would solve ^^ Also add more of them by using other camps which have no use yet, so parties could go there and use them as a nice way to grind SP.

• Introduce something like Campaign from FFXI as it was great solo and even better in a party so we can fight for a nation and receive credits to spend on rewards from that nation. Behest is like a simple version of it but now we need it more in depth and perhaps you could make it rank capped so you need to be between 21 -30 to go to this camp, 31 - 40 to go to this one and so on, so that people of any level will be able to go somewhere and contribute something and get the rewards. Also maybe if we are able to overthrow the beastmen from the region allow us to teleport there for 0 Anima something like that.

• Chocobo's - While I am fully confident you have a plan for these and they will not be just transport, I hope it is something along the lines of Chocobo raising and racing as again they were implemented in FFXI but not done very well. I hope in FFXIV you can change this and make them something really exciting so we can enjoy day's at the races. Also allow us to dress them up in armour plate or any other way that would allow us to customise them to make more unique.

• Player Housing - I am fed up of living on the street's of Ul'Dah, I am not sure how much housing cost's in Eorzea but I am sure after all my adventures I should have enough gill to be able to sleep in a comfortable bed ^^

• NM's - We need more of them at every level range this was something FFXI did very well though we could perhaps do without the 24 hour respawn times ^^

• BCNM's - Again this is something I am sure you are already on top of but I thought I would mention it as I am slowly building up a stock pile of Beastmen Currency that currently has no use. This time however I have learnt my lesson from FFXI and will not be throwing it away like I did with my beastmen seals in FFXI until I realised what they were for ; ;

• Main Story Missions - Having completed the entire story line so far while I absolutely love the very last mission and cannot wait to see what happens next I think it is a little slow to get going. Also all the missions are extremely easy, I am aware that you have made it so that anyone on any class can complete these missions solo but they are still too easy and involve little more than running from point A to point B read a few lines of text, then run all the way back. I want more epic cutscene's like the final one that get me really excited about what is going to happen next.

• Fame - I have done all the quests I believe so far and I wonder if it would be possible to add a fame system like in FFXI so the citizens of Eorzea can recognise me for my good deeds. With that after system you kind of got hidden exp for your fame level for every quest you completed and as you moved up the level's you would become more and more famous with the citizens of Vana'diel and they would know who you were and offer even more quests, you also were able to buy things cheaper and sell them for more to vendors.

Misc

• Accessory slots - I would like you to get rid of the limit on accessories you can equip or at least allow the number to increase as you rank up so that I could wear the best of everything if I so choose in every slot.

• Linkshell management - Allow Linkshell leaders to be able to remove inactive players from the Linkshell and also allow us to set a message of the day type of thing so we can leave a Linkshell message for everyone when they log on or equip the linkshell.

• Allow something like /cm L1, /cm L2 to switch between Linkshell chat.

• Market Wards - I like the changes you have mode so far to the wards what I would like now it an ability to sort items I search for i.e for weapons sort by rank, or for equipment by class and so on. Also stop them crashing please as I have to reset my retainer in Ul'dah all the time ; ;

• Gathering - Fishing allows you to pretty much fish anywhere there is water and then nodes allow you to catch better fish, it would be great if Mining and Botany were the same. So you could mine anywhere to get SP and rank up but then if you went to nodes you would have a better chance at getting rare ores and stuff.

• Add a <call> feature to alert other players, or wake them up if they have fallen asleep in party ^^

• Fix the lag when you have someone on auto-follow and if you can make it so you don't lose them when you cross an invisible zone line.

• Increase the length of time buffs like Protect and Shell last, unless you do my idea with the WHM and advanced classes ^^

• Lower the level you get Raise/Resurrect as it is too high and needed much earlier than that when you are out on grind parties and exploring.

• Why does every mob in the game have a damn Ranged Attack, what is the point in abilities and spells like Bind if they can still shoot you from a long way away for the same damage as what they can hit you from close range. Please look into this.

• A SP/EXP RIng - Please, please, please put some form of SP/EXP bonus item into the game that functions like Guardians Aspect but functions outside of Guildleves for grind parties.

• Stop hiding stats - With things like food I would actually like to be able to look at my stats and see what effect the food has had, maybe this will help encourage more people to use food if they knew what it did. This goes for +1,+2 and +3 gear too as you are not really sure if it is worth paying the extra for them as you are not sure how much better it is over the normal quality version. Also if I look at an piece of gear or weapon it would be nice to have another tab that could show me the stats if the gear or weapon if I equipped it onto a class or rank that was not optimal so I could see how bad the stats of the gear was effected.

• Repairs - please add a "repair kit" that would allow me to patch up any item to 75% or something like that even if I don't have the correct class to fix it. Maybe then to encourage proper repairs you could have crafters who fix item's using the correct materials could have a chance of +1ing the repair to 125% and giving bonus stats to the item until it's condition dropped back to 100%

• Gear and Inventory Space - Please make equipped gear not use inventory space, or better yet a separate inventory just for gear. FFXIV promotes you to be able to change classes quickly and to do so I need to carry around with me a fair bit of gear at all times. I have my DoW and DoM gear, my crafting gear, my gathering gear all of my tools and repair items, it all adds up and takes up about 75% of my inventory, which doesn't leave a great deal left for drops that I find on my adventures.

• Retainers - I know you recently added the ability to summon your retainer even if it is minding your bazaar but your retainer will not return to its bazaar when you are done and this kind of defeats the purpose of being able to access it from somewhere else.

• Player search function - I know the game launched with one and it was removed after but I would still like to know what area my friends and linkshell buddies are in if possible.

• Checking Bazaar's - I would like to be able to check bazaar's while on the move, as it is now if I am running by somebody and decide to have a look at what they are selling I come to a complete stop.

• Bot's and RMT - They are running rampant and unchecked, could you please get the Special Task Force to look into these suspicious activities.

• Setting abilities and moves - Can you please allow me to move the basic attack that is glued to 1 as very often I have no use for it and would like to remove it as it is taking up valuable real estate on my action bar. Also can you make it so that when assigning abilities to the action bar I can grab one that's already in place and swap it with one that it already on the bar somewhere else or drop it in an empty spot to save having to go through all my class menu's every time I need to reorganise it.

My thoughts on Eorzea so far

I have to say while I do enjoy my time in Eorzea I do not get the same feeling of achievement that I did in Vana'diel or even things to look forward to achieving. I feel like the game has been made too easy and that everything is just handed to me on a plate, I know you want to make sure that solo players will be able to enjoy all the story missions but does that really have to include the crafting and gathering classes? I see the crafting and gathering classes as something to do on the side of your DoW and DoM classes. I may be unpopular here but can a Rank 50 Weaver really be expected to topple the Garlean Empire?

On the side of things to look forward to I feel as though there isn't much currently in the game. In FFXI when I started I looked forward to getting to R10 so I could party in Valkurm Dunes with other people (some of my best and worst memories from FFXI happened in the Dunes ^^), R18 to unlock sub job's, then R20 and my first trip to Jeuno to get my Chocobo Licence, then 24 when I rode my first Airship to Kahzam, at 30 I could do the quests to unlock my advanced classes. There were always milestones to look forward to and you never went long periods of time without feeling like you were getting close to achieving the next goal. Even with gear and weapons you were never far away from hitting that next step so you could equip that piece of gear or wield that weapon you had been waiting for.

Like I said in my opening I have high hopes for FFXIV, I know it will need a lot of work and a lot of time but I believe you can do it and make Eorzea really special and a place that I look forward to having many adventures in. Just please don't rush it and make things worse, no matter what you do you can't please everybody and there will always be those that do not like whatever path you take and they will always complain the loudest, so please take your time and make sure whatever path you decide on is right for the game and the world of Eorzea.

{Take Care} ^^

This is pretty much a compiled list of EVERYBODYS thoughts from past posts and whatnot. . LONG read. . imma go die now.

tl;dr, sorry who are these ppl that think they are the PR for the entire fanbase XD stop making threads "What I don't Like" "My open letter to the producer" all these threads are is a vent of your feelings. this is a forum and no one wants to read about your care bear emotions. title like a big person so the devs can pick out topics. make a thread for each of your views or take the time to see if your views are elsewhere. c'mon now

Good read, well thought out.

tl;dr... T_T i hate long message lol

Hell of a post, looks like you might've added to it since it was posted on FFXIVcore (?). I agree with most of it, aside from the fact that I don't like quite how much was taken from FFXI, I'd say they should try and find a few more alternate solutions considering how 'less than perfect' FFXI was.

That said, really good effort, thanks for making/posting it.

http://cambridgetab.co.uk/wp-content...0/10/tldr1.jpg

I have a totally no related question to your post: How did you get your signature to work?