Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXII Digest Thread

At the start of the broadcast, we'll be using this thread to post the digest from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXII!

Watch the stream live on Twitch and YouTube.

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

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

See you here at 10:00 a.m. (PDT) / 1:00 p.m. (EDT) / 17:00 (GMT)!

Early Access begins on Friday, June 19 at 2:00 a.m. (PDT) / 9:00 a.m. (GMT).

Please make sure to confirm the requirements to participate in Early Access.

• Have an active account during the Early Access period.
• Have registered Heavensward pre-order registration(PC)/promotion (PS3/PS4) code.

For those of you who have downloaded the PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4 versions already, the Early Access rights have automatically been added, so you will not need to do anything but tie your entitlement to your SE account.

All of the details are on the official site (North America / Europe), so please be sure to look them over beforehand.

For those of you who wish to participate in Early Access from here on out, it is still possible. You will need to pre-order the game from brick and mortar stores that still have pre-order options, the Square Enix Online store, or pre-purchase and downloaded the PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4 versions of the game.
*Note: For EU/PAL territories, the PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4 digital versions are not yet available on the PlayStation Store. On Friday, 19th of June, the PlayStation Store will be updated to include special Heavensward Early Purchase versions. Further details can be found here: http://sqex.to/CpN

More details on Early Access

In addition to the content update for Heavensward, there will also be an update for 2.0 areas and content.

-For those with Early Access
You will be able to play all of the 3.0 content.

-For those without Early Access
You will only be able to play 2.0 content. However, you’ll still be able to party with players who are playing the new jobs, etc.

Field instances
For Worlds in which there are a lot of players, we will be preemptively implementing countermeasures to relieve congestion.

As we are expecting congestion in the beginning of Heavensward in Coerthas Central Highlands, Coerthas Western Highlands, and the Sea of Clouds we will be makin these areas into instances. Even though they will remain open field areas, we will separating them into different layers, such as Coerthas Western Highlands 1, 2, and 3. By doing so, we can disperse large amounts of players in a single area.

Using instanced dungeons as an example, similar to how there are a large amount of players undertaking the same instanced dungeon, you aren't able to see these other parties, and the same goes for the field instances; if you are in area 1 then you will not be able to see the players in area 2. You will be able to send tells, but there is a possibility you will not be able to see them.

When travelling via teleport, party members will automatically be distributed to the different areas, so even if you form a party there is a possibility that you are split up, and while this may be an inconvenience, we decided to implement this to ease congestion. When moving around areas by foot or on mounts, you’ll be able to select the layer yourself, so if you want to meet up with other players, please be sure to travel by these means.

We've already decided on which Worlds we will be applying this to, but there is a possibility that we extend this to other Worlds depending on what we see. Additionally, if congestion occurs in other areas besides the three mentioned, there is a possibility that we apply this countermeasure to those areas as well.

Company Crafting/Airship Voyages Part 1
*Explained while playing the game.

We've mentioned this during other Letter LIVEs, but this is content with tons of elements that I wouldn't have had enough time to show off.

The basement area where company crafting can be done is accessible through the same door as how you get to your private chambers.

It will cost less than 1 million gil to build this area. There will also be a new music created by Soken for this area.

The basement will have different facilities.
-Company Schematic Board
This is the place where new recipes can be developed.

-Flight Control Panel
This is the place where you can do airship voyages. You’ll be able to direct your airships and send them off to explore.

-Fabrication Station
This is the place where you can perform company crafting. It can be done via something that is similar to a crafting log for your free company. You’ll be able to craft various types of aetherial wheels, airships, and external housing items. In regards to the airships, you’ll be able to create four different parts: the hull, engine, mast, and stern. By putting these all together you will create your full airship. As you collect materials with your free company members you will progress through the crafting phases, and once you progress enough you will be able to assemble them. Since this is a huge crafting endeavor, you’ll need to form a party of four to do it. After building it and progressing to the next phase, you’ll have to collect more materials and continue the building process.

The difficulty for crafting is not very high, and you’ll be able to do it while leveling up your Disciples of the Hand classes. You’ll be able to confirm what in currently being made by the company fabrication station.

You can increase the amount of Company Crafting recipes by making schematics at the fabrication station. By gathering a set number of items needed for the schematics you can finish them. From the start, a certain number of recipes will be registered in the company crafting log, but to unlock other recipes you will need the schematics.

Recruit a Friend Campaign

We’re going to be powering up the Recruit a Friend Campaign, and increasing the bonuses for both the recruiter and the friend.

Bonuses for recruiters
You will be able to obtain Gold Chocobo Feathers based on the number of people recruited, and the subscription length for each friend. These Gold Chocobo Feathers can be used to exchange for various items.

Exchangeable Items
1 feather: Five sets of various rare dyes
8 feathers: Amber Draught Chocobo Whistle
15 feathers: Twintania Neurolink Key
* Twintania can perform her infamous divebomb action too!

Also, for each friend recruited you will receive 5 more Gold Chocobo Feathers.
When you recruit your first friend you will receive “Fist Bump “ emote. On top of this, there are also bonuses based on the accumulated subscription length of your friends.

Bonuses based on Friends’ Subscription Length
The bonuses for the first 90 days will remain the same, but when they subscribe for 150, 210, and 270 days, you will receive 5 Gold Chocobo Feathers each time.

Previously recruited friends and their subscription lengths will count towards these rewards, so with this power up, you will be able to obtain each of the bonuses.

Company Crafting/Airship Voyages Part 2

Airship voyages
*A high-rank airship was used on the stream to offer a demonstration.

First, you’ll have to prepare an airship with your free company. It will be possible to have a maximum of four different airships. This maximum will not be affected by free company house size or free company rank, so all free companies will be able to utilize the same amount.

Airships are created by four different parts, and by combining various parts the look and stats of the airships will change. If you build an airship with high speed, it will return from voyages in a shorter amount of time. However, there are various stats depending on which parts you use, so if you are focusing heavily on speed, your exploration power will decrease. You’ll have to pay close attention to how other stats will be affected when you place emphasis on another stat. Since there are different variations in stats for the parts that you combine, you can make 4 different kinds of airships or you can, of course, make four that are all the same. It will all depend on your goals.

Airships will have ranks and by continuing to send them on voyages you will earn experience points and rank up. When your airship’s rank increases, its capacity will also increase.

There are also ranks for the parts; the higher the rank, the better the stats will become. However, the higher ranking parts will take up more capacity. You will not be able to combine parts that exceed an airship’s capacity, so you’ll have to consider the airship’s capacity when you are building your ship. Next I would like to show you all what you can do by actually using this ship I created.

First, you’ll use a map and decide the route your airship will travel. With the map, the islands you discovered will be shown, and you’ll be able to indicate a couple of islands to send your airship. By giving the order to head to multiple islands, it will take a bit more time for your airship to return. Your airship will then head through the indicated path, and once its voyage is completed it will bring back items with it. The items you can obtain will differ based on the route and islands you explore, and you’ll have to consider various things to make your voyages efficient. You’ll be able to view a log that records which islands you’ve explored and what you have found from each of them. We’re hoping you all have a lot of fun exploring all the possibilities by sharing the information recorded in this log with other players over the internet and with your free company members.

If your voyage goes well and you are able to bring back a lot of items and rare items, you’ll be able to share them all with your free company members, sell them on the market boards to earn gil, or even role play with your members, so please have fun trying this all out.

While the airship voyages implemented this time will have NPCs riding on them for exploration, we will be continuing to update this system in the 3.x series. In a future update we will be making it possible to actually ride on the airships yourself and explore the islands.

Recruit a Friend Campaign 2

Bonuses for Friends

Recruited friends can acquire the following items after subscribing for 30 days:

• Friendship Circlet
• Fist Bump Emote
• 10 Silver Chocobo Feathers

These 10 Silver Chocobo Feathers can be exchanged in-game for various items. For example items that increase experience at low levels, or sets of gear around the level 15 mark. It might be a good idea to consult with the player who recruited you to figure out what you should exchange for. Those who have already received the Friendship Circlet will receive the fist bump emote.

The New Loot System

The new loot rules will not apply to the Duty Finder; they can only be set by a party leader when tackling content as part of pre-formed party.

Two new loot rules

• Greed Only

With this system, you can only select greed or pass. The item will simply go to the player who has the highest roll. This system is based on a rule followed often on the Party Finder.

• Lootmaster

All items obtained in content are pooled to the party leader. The leader then distributes these pooled items before leaving the duty. They can choose to either give items to specific party members or allow all party members to roll greed on selected items.

Alexander
Alexander will be implemented approximately two weeks after the launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward. It will be divided into levels similar to the turns found in the Coil of Bahamut, but equipment will not drop on each level. Instead, you will obtain items that will allow you to exchange for the gear of your choice.

The Alexander Loot System
Alexander (Normal) will have a similar loot system to the Crystal Tower; after clearing a level once, you will be able to try again as many times as you like, but you will only be able to obtain one item, per level, per week.

Gear will not drop when you defeat the bosses on each level, instead, you will get items to exchange for equipment.

These exchangeable items will allow you to trade for the equipment of your choice, but the number and type of items needed will vary depending on the type of equipment.

To find out which exchangeable items apply to which types of gear, you will need to wait until the patch 3.01 notes. That way, we plan to make it so you can plan what kind of gear to obtain.

The loot system we've just touched on will only apply to Alexander (Normal).
The loot system for Alexander (Savage), which is scheduled for four weeks after launch, will be different. We’ll explain about the loot rules for the savage mode in the next Letter from the Producer LIVE.

Upcoming Development Schedule
Two weeks following the start of official service on Tuesday, June 23, the Alexander raid dungeon will be unlocked. Up until that point, there won’t be any weekly lockouts, so please take your time to enjoy levelling up your character at your own pace.

Two weeks after Alexander (Normal) is unlocked, Alexander (Savage) will open.
We expect quite a lot of players to reach level 60 by this point. Also, the new Frontline map and mode will be added at around the same time.

In addition, Allagan tomestones of esoterics and Red Crafter and Gatherer Scrips will become available with a weekly cap of 450.

There won’t really be anything to gain by rushing to level 60 straight after the start of official service, so we recommend you take the time to enjoy the content!