Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXI Digest Thread

At the start of the broadcast, we'll be using this thread to post the Q&A from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXI!

Watch the stream live on Twitch.

As we'll be updating this thread constantly throughout the event, make sure to reload every so often! We'll be posting all questions and answers exclusively in the thread and posting reminders occasionally on Twitter. However, please keep in mind that translations won't be occurring in real-time and there may be a delay.

After we create the full Q&A summary, it will be posted in the "Letter from the Producer LIVE" forum and this thread will be removed.

See you here at 9:00 a.m. (PDT) / 12:00 p.m. (EDT) / 16:00 (GMT)!

The show kicks off in five minutes! Tune in now!

There are multiple levels to Ishgard and when players first visit the city, they will enter through the Gates of Judgement and walk into the Foundation in Ishgard where the scars of war are deeply visible. It’s an area that hasn’t really been repaired.

This area is home to a great deal of lower class citizens, but there is also a building that houses the knights that Aymeric belongs to.

Past the market district, there is an area where the nobility live. This area has been well kept and it is quite beautiful. Additionally, there is a giant tower that has been placed in the center of the area, and the great cathedral of Ishgard is located here as well.

Adventurers that arrive to Ishgard will first walk around the city, and explore using the aetheryte network while grasping the current situation of the town.

Additionally, the guilds for the three new jobs will all reside inside Ishgard, therefore you’ll first have to come to Ishgard if you would like to become one of these new jobs.

*The stream introduces gameplay of the Coerthas Western Highlands area.

This is an area that was originally accessible in FFXIV version 1.0, so those who played at that time will likely be familiar with it. This land has been affected greatly by the Calamity, but it has been gradually restored over time, and there is a camp located here known as the Falcon’s Nest.

The field areas in Heavensward are considerably large, and the distance between camps is greater than that in A Realm Reborn. With that said, you’ll have quite the adventure to reach your destination.

The first dungeon you will visit, Dusk Vigil, is also located in this area.

You’ll be able to obtain a flying mount soon after starting the main scenario. However, you won’t be able to fly immediately when you get it. In order to fly you will first have to travel around the area and locate “aether currents.”

There are currents that you will come across while doing the main scenario, but there are also those that you will have to discover on your own.

With that said, it’d be best to hunt down these currents as you go through the main scenario when you visit these new areas. Afterwards, you’ll be able to head to locations that can only be visited by flying mounts and be able to challenge various sidequests.

In A Realm Reborn, the density of the areas were thick, therefore it was difficult to add new locations or events afterwards. For this reason, we have made sure that the Heavensward areas are large so we can add locations later on.

*The video introduces gameplay of the Dravania Forelands area with flying mounts.

You will encounter enemy chocobos in this area. Those who play FFXIV may already know this, but the majority of the chocobos you see in Eorzea are from Ishgard. For this reason, there are actually villages where they hunt chocobos as part of their livelihood.

Unlike areas in A Realm Reborn, each area in Heavensward is built much larger.
When comparing one area, it is about 1.5 to 2x larger, and you can especially feel that when traveling without using a flying mount, and there are many places where you can explore.

Many new dangerous looking monsters can be seen in Heavensward areas. We have seen many comments where players felt the A Realm Reborn areas were too peaceful as the monster placement in the areas were a bit too easy; however, the monsters in Heavensward are very strong. If you encounter two or more monsters at same time, you’ll either need to fight doing your best, or be prepared to run.

If you plan on stepping in areas such as the beastmen camps, and other dangerous areas, you’ll probably want to talk with nearby players to get through them.

*The video shows more of The Pillars in Ishgard.

The Pillars area is known as the Last Vigil. Players visit various citadels such as this. For example, Stone Vigil and Dusk Vigil, but as the name implies, this is the final citadel.

In addition to Haurchefant’s House Fortemps, there is also the Holy See. As mentioned during Niconico Chokaigi 2015, the 12 founding knights are also located here.

The Pillars will be the earliest bastion you come across while progressing through the main scenario.

In Heavensward we've enhanced the contrast of shadows, so I believe you will receive quite a different impression than what you've experienced until now. It will also be possible to adjust your character lighting as you please.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of black mage actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

With Heavensward, the level cap will be increasing to level 60 for each job, and we’d like to show a sampling of the type of ways each job will change by taking a detailed look at black mage.

New ability: Ley Lines
Ley Lines is a stationary buff that you can place on the ground, and when the caster stands inside of it, they will gain a 15% haste bonus. Due to this, depending on how long you are able to stay inside of this circle, the damage capability will largely change. Though it’s still being adjusted, at the moment, when you step outside of it the circle will disappear. Because of this, it’s an ability where you will have to carefully consider the timing to use it and its placement.

New ability: Sharpcast
After using this ability, the next spell you cast will grant you a guaranteed proc. You’ll want to use this when you want to get a proc with Thunder or Fire. The timing of this ability will also be important.

New ability: Enochian
Additionally, there is one more new ability known as Enochian. When using this ability you’ll gain a 30 second buff, and only while under the effect of this buff you will be able to cast Fire IV and Blizzard IV.

In order to use Fire IV and Blizzard IV, you’ll need to have Astral Fire and Umbral Ice, respectively, in addition to the buff granted by Enochian.

Also, Fire IV and Blizzard IV do not grant stacks of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice, so after learning Enochian your skill rotation will completely change.

Furthermore, you can also lengthen the effect duration of Enochian by casting Blizzard IV. Every time you lengthen it, the effect duration will become 5 seconds shorter, but as long you continue to cast Blizzard IV you will be able to maintain the effect of Enochian. There will be a lot ways to maintain this effect with existing abilities such as casting Blizzard IV with Swiftcast.

You’ll gradually learn all of these elements as you progress from level 50 through level 59, and then at level 60 when you learn Enochian the way the job is played will largely change.

Depending on the content, the optimal skill rotation will vary, so please try out various things to find the best rotation.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of paladin actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

Until now paladin has mainly used the Rage of Halone combo; however, we will introduce new combos which derive from Savage Blade and Riot Blade.

When main tanking, you’ll first use the Rage of Halone to gain enmity, and then use combos which includes DoT (damage over time) effects. Once you can maintain enmity, it’ll be better to utilize a different combo. When playing as an off tank, you will use the new combo route more, so how you fought until now will greatly change.

There will be below actions.

New action: Divine Veil
Sets a protective barrier around the target where if the target receive cures while under the effect, other nearby members will also receive a barrier effect.

New action: ???
There are other skills which will block enemy attacks.
By using this, you’ll be able to utilize shield swipe more effectively.

As before, paladins are excellent from a defense standpoint, so we have made adjustment in a way where it makes it possible to increase the defense stats for all party members.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of warrior actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

New ability: Deliverance
This is an attacking stance that can be used to increase your DPS when you are acting as an off-tank.

Similar to the Wrath you gain while using Defiance, you will gain up to a maximum of 5 stacks of Abadon when using Deliverance. When switching between these two stances, the stacks you have generated will be maintained, and you’ll be able to switch between Wrath and Abandon. The system was designed to allow for a more systematic approach to swapping between attacking and defending stances.

Additionally, there are weapon skills that consume Abandon, as well as self-healing abilities.

New ability: Raw Intuition
This is an ability that will guarantee a parry when receiving an attack from the front. However, when you are attacked from other angles, the attacks will deal critical damage. While there is somewhat of a risk, it’s a powerful ability when used properly.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of dark knight actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

Darkside
Similar to a paladin's Sword Oath, this stance is more of an attack-based stance. 
You take on an aura-like effect known as Darkside, while this is in effect your MP will deplete gradually. While in this stance, you will not be able to receive MP healing support from party members. There are weapon skills which restores MP so it’ll be very important to make good use of those skills to manage MP.

Grit
This stance will be used when in the tank role. With this stance, it'll be easier to gain enmity.

It will become important to switch between these modes when fighting and determining when you need to gain enmity and deal damage.

Also, there are a lot of dark knight actions that start with “Dark.”

Living Dead
Similar to Holmgang, this is an all attack blocking action.

Unlike other tank jobs, dark knight has an action where you jump towards the enemy, so it’ll be possible to use this first then follow-up with an area attack to gain enmity.

Tank job recap:
Various changes have been made to the existing paladin and warrior actions up through level 50, but these adjustments were made with how they will fight at level 60 in mind. Additionally, accuracy has increased while under the effect of Shield Oath or Defiance, so the part where these jobs needed more accuracy compared to other jobs has been eased up on.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of dragoon actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

New ability: Blood of the Dragon
This is the main feature of the adjustments for dragoon. When using Blood of the Dragon, you’ll be able to use a fancy action after Full Thrust and Chaos Thrust making for a 4-stage combo.

Additionally, there is also a strong action that will consume Blood of the Dragon. With these adjustments, dragoons role as a DPS will really shine through. Furthermore, we’re also making adjustments to the animation locks for jumps.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of bard actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

New song: The Wanderer’s Minuet
This is a song that is very unique as it can be used while the effects of other songs are up and it is also an action that kind of changes your stance. While under the effect of the Wanderer’s Minuet, you’ll be able to deal high amounts of damage by charging up your bow. However, casting times will be added to your actions and you won’t be able to use auto-attacks while under the effect of Wanderer’s Minuet, meaning that you won’t be able to attack while moving anymore. Different from other songs, the Wanderer’s Minuet will not consume MP.

New ability: Sidewinder
This is a special physical attack that will increase the effect of your DoTs already applied to enemies.

(*Edited information on the Wanderer's Minuet at 4:37pm on 5/22)

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of ninja actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

We haven't made any drastic changes to ninja.

However, currently there are more times where you continuously use Huton which caused many situations where other ninjutsu wasn't being used as effectively. Therefore you'll be able to extend the effect of Huton. By combining new weapon skills in the rotation you’ll be able to maintain the Huton effect, so you can now use ninjutsu other than Huton to output much higher DPS.

Furthermore, we have added positioning to several weapon skills. Current ninja doesn’t have much positioning and was able to attack from any direction freely, so we included positioning for some.

Other than this, we added an ability which adjust another party members enmity. Ninja’s specialty is to be able to deal large damage from the start of the battle, so this skill is in place to support the tank in a situation where the enmity becomes unstable.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of monk actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

The original concept for monk was to maintain Greased Lightning III, but instead of adding actions to aid in maintaining this effect, we added technical elements where you can utilize Greased Lightning and also made adjustments to eliminate the downtime during phases or mechanics of a boss where you can’t do anything.

We’ll be adding a system known as Chakra. You’ll be able to gain up to 5 stacks of Chakra, and once reaching the maximum amount you’ll be able to execute a high damage weapon skill. Additionally, you’ll be able to use Chakra to restore TP to yourself. Furthermore, there will be an ability that will allow you to change your form and a weapon skill that consumes Greased Lightning.

With all of these new elements, you’ll be able to spend your Greased Lightning right before a boss becomes invulnerable, progress through your forms while saving up Chakra until you can attack again, and then gain Greased Lightning again. With this, there will be no downtime.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of machinist actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

Machinist's role is similar to bard. However, the play style and the awareness for the job will greatly differ.

Their major speciality is to use buff called ammunition, and by using stacks of these it’ll add various additional effects to the weapon skills.

Reload
By using this, you can reload five stacks of ammunition. Not only will you reload when you use up all the stacks of ammunition, but you can reload when not out of any ammunition to increase the damage efficiency. Additionally, there is an action called quick reload which will instantly load one ammunition for use in dire situations, so use these utilities to manage the amount of ammunition you have.

Weapon skills work a bit differently. There are weapon skill combination where you use shot 1, shot 2, and shot 3, but using shot 1 gives a 50% chance of boost to shot 2, and another 50% chance to boost shot 3. By using ammunitions you can make sure the boost procs. Furthermore, machinist has many unique actions, such as Wildfire which charges the damage and attacks at once, and turrets which will affect party members in range, so we would like for you to try it out.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of summoner actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

We’ll be making various adjustments to summoner which includes an action that simultaneously applies Bio, Bio II, and Miasma effects in exchange for Aetherflow, an attack that deals magic-based damage, and two other new actions at level 60 that will largely change your current rotations.

The ability Tri-Disaster has had its name changed to Tri-Bind since the effect didn’t make sense with the original name. In exchange, the aforementioned ability action that applies all three DoTs will be known as Tri-Disaster.

During development, we thought long and hard about this, but we will not be adding new egi at this time. Looking at the long-term, instead of adding more pets, we felt it better to give more use to the job by adding actions to summoner. However, I’m sure many are wondering if they will have to continue looking at the same egi forever, but we are planning to add a system in the future that will allow you to change the appearance of your egis, including Carbuncle, but their stats will remain the same.

New action: Dreadwyrm Trance
Considering rotations with an Aetherflow recast of 60 seconds, the first 30 seconds are spent casting DoTs, and the remaining 30 seconds is where this action comes into play.

Dreadwyrm Trance is an ability that summons the power of Bahamut. While under the effect of this ability, you’ll be able to gain stacks of Bahamut Aether, which you can then spend with an action.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of white mage actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

White mage is designed as a pure healer job, so we introduced additional healing abilities and other abilities which they are currently lacking.

There are abilities, such as Asylum, that creates a healing field, and a skill that can be used to attack and heal at the same time called Assize.

Additionally, Benediction was the only healing ability which can heal instantly, so we will introduce another single target instant healing ability with a lowered effect.

Furthermore, we will introduce Stone III and Aero III which will be the main attack spells, as well as new ranged DoT spells.

Aside from additional components, white mage was the only job that could increase magic defense by using Protect; however, with the addition of a third healer job, we made it so other jobs will also can use the fully buffed effect of Protect as part of a balance adjustment.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of scholar actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

Instead of just simply increasing a scholar's abilities, we made adjustments by adding actions that require you to really think about their use and the best time to utilize them. There are many actions which are useful during boss battles, so you may feel that it hasn’t changed much while running through instance dungeons.

New action: Indomitability
A new AoE healing action will supplement scholar’s current AoE healing strength, which may have felt a bit weak up until now.

New action: Deployment Tactics
This action will extend the effect of Adloquium and Eye for an Eye that is on the target player to other party members in range.

New action: Emergency Tactics
Instead of adding a barrier effect to Adloquium, this action will give addition healing power for the amount of the effect of the barrier.

New action: Dissipation
With this action, you dismiss your fairy in exchange for magic power.

*The stream shows off a video demonstration of astrologian actions. Please note that all action names are tentative.

There are two stances, Diurnal Sect and Nocturnal Sect, which you can switch between. One of them is simply a healing stance much like white mage, while the other uses barriers much like scholar.

Depending on which stance you are in the effects of each ability and spell will largely vary, so first it would be best to get used to one stance and then try and master the next.

Additionally, you’ll be able to use actions such as the barrier created by Y’shtola in the main scenario and you can draw cards which will give various types of buffs.

Depending on the card that you randomly draw, you can gain effects such as enhanced attack power, haste, and also damage reduction. Furthermore, you can use the ability Royal Road to return the card you draw to your deck and enhance the next one you draw. There is also an ability to set aside a good card you drew and an ability known as Shuffle to redraw a card. It’s a really fun job where you will have to consider how to use your cards depending on the situation and the card you draw.

And of course, you will be able to set additional skills for the new job as well. For example, dark knight will be able to set gladiator and marauder actions.