Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXXIX Update Thread

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

Watch the stream live on Twitch and YouTube.

As we'll be updating this thread throughout the show, make sure to reload every so often! We'll be posting the event summary exclusively in the thread and posting reminders occasionally on Twitter. However, please keep in mind that updates 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.
* Please note that all summary information, including terminology, is subject to change.

See you here at 4:00 a.m. (PDT) / 7:00 a.m. (EDT) / 11:00 (GMT) / 12:00 (BST)!

Patch 4.1—The Legend Returns arrives on October 10!

Adventurer Squadron Dungeon Exploration

• Dungeon Exploration will be available once the squadron reaches rank 2.
• The party composition will be a tank, a healer, and two DPS.
  Players will be able to enter the dungeons with a light party comprised of the player and three squadron members.
• In Patch 4.1 there will be a total of five dungeons available.

Mission Instructions

• Players will be able to assign the type of AI.
• By gaining experience they will receive a buff.
• At the beginning, you will be restricted to the “Free” style.

Squadron Glamour

• Players will be able to change the squadron member outfits.

(During the show, we showed live gameplay of the dungeon exploration.)

There are commands to give orders to the squadron members. Players are able to order to attack, fall back, and use Limit Break.

(During the show, we also demonstrated squat, push up, and sit up emotes which are part of the reward.)

Job Adjustments - Updated October 2, 2017, 11:45 a.m.
Here are a sample of the job adjustments planned for Patch 4.1 mentioned by Yoshida during the broadcast.
Please note that these are subject to change. Please wait for the final patch notes to be released for the full details and list of adjustments.

• Warrior
  • Steel Cyclone – In 4.05 we added an effect where it will absorb a portion of the damage dealt as HP, but we felt it was not enough, so the amount absorbed has been increased.
  • Fell Cleave / Decimate / Inner Release – Until now players were able to assign these to the hot bar; however, depending on the stance they were in, these actions became unavailable. Therefore, we made it so they cannot be assigned to the hotbar, but replaces the corresponding skill on the hotbar.
  • Shake it Off – When compared to other tank jobs, warriors were lacking in party defensive skills. In order to make improvements to this point, we changed the effect of Shake it Off. A barrier will now be applied to self and nearby party members. In addition to this, if the warrior has self buffs like Thrill of Battle, Inner Beast, Vengeance, and Raw Intuition applied, these will be removed but apply an additional 4% buff to the barrier for each buff removed.
• Dragoon
  • Heavy Thrust - When players miss their rotation, they may end up missing the buff from Heavy Thrust decreasing the overall damage output. We have decreased the effect of Heavy Thrust, but increased the potency of almost every other action. With this adjustment, we made it so that the damage output is less likely to decrease in the event if Heavy Thrust buff was missed.
  • Gaze of the first Brood - Dragoons were having a hard time getting back to their maximum damage output in some situations, such as during boss phase changes. Therefore, we changed the maximum number of gaze of the first brood units to three. With this players should be able to output more damage.
• Ninja
  • Doton - There was an issue where a buff from Dripping Blades and Dripping Blades II was applied to Doton, so we addressed this issue. However, we increased the potency of Doton as well so that there isn't much difference in the overall damage output.
  • Shukuchi – The time it takes for the execution to conclude has been reduced. The movement speed is on almost on par with monk’s Shoulder Tackle.
• Machinist
  • Rook Autoturret / Bishop Autoturret - Hypercharge Effect has been increased.
• Arcanist
  • Summon / Summon II / Summon III – MP cost has been reduced, and the time required to cast has been reduced from 6 to 3 seconds. With this players should be able to recover quicker when the player or pet is KO’d and they need to re-summon their pets.
• Summoner
  • Tri-bind - Right now while under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance, Deathflare was the only area of effect attack; therefore, as an area of effect attack, we have changed Tri-bind. While under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance enemies will no longer be bound; however, the potency will be increased to 100, and the cast time will be reduced as well.
  • Ruin Mastery – Ruin spells will be seeing some adjustments, so in accordance to this Ruin Mastery has been changed so that instead of Ruin and Ruin III being upgraded to Ruin IV, Ruin will be upgraded to Ruin III.
  • A new trait which will upgrade Ruin II to Ruin IV will be added.
  • Ruin III – While under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance, Ruin III can now be cast instantly.
  • Ruin IV – Ruin IV currently replaces Ruin and Ruin III while under the effect of Further Ruin. With adjustments made to Ruin Mastery, Ruin IV will now replace Ruin II.
  • Aetherpact – This was bit difficult to use; therefore, we changed it to a party buff to players nearby the pet.
  • And regarding the size of Bahamut, we previously mentioned that we’ll make it so that the caster can adjust the size of the Bahamut. However, we didn’t want to create a situation where players are being forced to change Bahamut's size by other players, so we changed this so all players are now able to do this through the settings. This was done so that the person playing the summoner can continue to enjoy seeing Bahamut in the size they want, while other players can now see it in other sizes.
• Scholar
  • Adloquium – MP cost reduced.
  • Succor – MP cost reduced. The barrier effect is currently equal to the amount of HP restored, but this will be increased to 150%.
• Caster Role
  • Addle / Mana Shift / Apocatastasis - The recast times have been reduced.
  • Surecast - Currently this action allows players to case the next spell without interruption, and has an additional effect to nullify knockback and draw-in effects will be adjusted so that players are able to cast without interruption for 5 seconds, keeping the additional effect. This should help casters dodging mechanics some more.
• Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar
  • Sustain - Sustain is returning for arcanist, summoner, and scholar. We had a lot of requests for this, so we’ll be bringing it back in Patch 4.1.

We’ll be looking at both the players feedback and the play data, so we’ll continue to make adjustments as necessary.

The Minstrel's Ballad: Shinryu's Domain
(During the show, we showed a brief look at the battle and battlefield.)

• When compared to Susano and Lakshmi extreme, the difficulty is much harder.
• We aimed for a difficulty in between Omega: Deltascape (Savage) v2.0 and v3.0.
• There’s a different DPS check, and a new healing check.
• Would appreciate if you could please enjoy the overall battle itself as well.
• Players will receive a weapon as a reward. For players struggling with the giant in Omega: Deltascape (Savage) v3.0, we would like you to try and obtain the weapon from this battle first.

Perform

The bard-specific action Peform will be implemented in Patch 4.15

The musical notes played go through the server before reaching other players, therefore even if you’re performing it correctly, depending on the other player's connection there may be instances where lag occurs.

In order to improve this, we will add a process where it will send a specific amount of packets at once to alleviate the lag. For this reason, the implementation will be pushed back from what we originally planned.

We would like to add more features to the group pose feature as well. For example, we’re thinking of adding more animations and types of musical instruments, and a mode where you can perform with everyone in the party. Please note, you cannot use this with a macro. Instead of everyone being able to perform the same thing, we want everyone to practice and perform their best!

HUD Update

A major update will be made to the buff and debuff information.
Until now the setting for buffs and debuffs were inside the Character Configuration > User Interface settings; however, we will be moving this to the HUD layout.

Buff/Debuff Status Information
Under the HUD layout there will be an individual HUD settings on the right side of the buff/debuff status HUD.

Players will be able to:

• Prioritize displaying the buffs added by you.
• Display buffs added by others.
• Adjust the size of the display.
• Adjust settings so that the window won’t be focused when using a gamepad.
• Choose how buffs are displayed.

With these settings, players are able to customize the buff information as they wish.

Target Information
By checking off an option to separate the details of the target information under the individual HUD settings, players will be able to separate the displayed information. You can separate the enemies HP, cast, and buffs and debuffs.

Job Gauge
Players will now be select a simplified version of the job gauge.
Bards and machinists requested to display the time for Straight Shot and such, so we have added these into the job gauge.

Lost Canals of Uznair

Players will be able to discover new maps leading to deeper, submerged chambers in the canals. Players will need to go underwater to explore, and the portal is guaranteed to open. There are three doors, and they will feature various monsters with mechanics as well. When opening the chest, there is a chance to double up, with a maximum of five steps. Enemies are quite strong, so we recommend challenging it with 8 players.

Relocation Service
(We showed gameplay of the relocation feature, Shirogane, and the other three city-state housing areas.)

Steps for Relocating

1. Access the sign board for the plot you would like to relocate to.
2. Even if you already own a plot, select the option to purchase the plot.
3. Select the option to relocate.
4. The cost for relocation, which is the destination plot price minus 30% of the old plot price, will be displayed.
5. Once you make the purchase, the relocation is complete.

Misc.

• Chocobo stables and miniature aetherytes cannot be moved to the storage, so it will be moved to the new outdoor area automatically.
• A new storeroom option will be added to the furnishing list. Players will be able to place indoor/outdoor furnishing directly from the storeroom.
• Large estates will be able to store up to 400 furnishings.
• We're gradually making it so furnishings are no longer destroyed upon removal. We would like for players to move furnishings, such as the seasonal furnishings, into the storeroom.
• We added quite a lot of Asian-themed furnishings.
• Storerooms will be available for all housing types, including personal chambers and apartments.

Rival Wings

Scheduled for release in Patch 4.15. Frontlines featured battles between three teams; however, this time players will be separated into two teams. The objective is not to defeat as many opponents as possible, but to destroy the opposing team’s core.

Machina
Players will be able to ride powerful machina by collecting certain items to recharge them. There is an energy gauge for each light party and players will use this to ride the machina. The main machina are based on the bosses which appeared in Alexander. When you ride these machina, their corresponding music will play. There is a limit to the number of machina that can be called forth per team.

Cruise Chaser
Curse Chasers are effective against enemy combatants, including machina. However, their defense is low, so players will need to watch out to make sure they don’t get attacked.

Oppressor
Oppressors uses missiles to destroy towers and cores. It has very strong offensive powers; however, it will do little damage against enemy combatants, so these are mainly for destroying towers and cores. The movement speed is somewhat slower.

Brute Justice
Brute Justice can be called forth when two of your own team’s towers are destroyed. These are very powerful.

Mammets
Players cannot ride mammets, they are NPCs which move on their own. They will attack the opposing team’s towers, so it may be good to defend them while fighting.

The Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate)

• The new weapon’s item level and sub attributes will be the same as the Genji weapons and contain three materia slots.
• You will need to be item level 340 and have completed Omega: Deltascape (Savage) v4.0 to challenge the battle.
• Upon completion, all players will receive a token which can be exchanged for a weapon of their choice. These are individual loot and can be obtained once a week. This doesn’t mean that the number of chest will decrease even if you go again after completing to help others.
• We would like to receive feedback on the fight, including feedback on the difficulty.
• The Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate) is tentatively scheduled to be implemented in Patch 4.11. We’re aiming to launch it two weeks after the release of Patch 4.1.

Return to Ivalice
(We showed gameplay of the alliance raid dungeon during the broadcast.)

We're developing this with guest creators Yasumi Matsuno for the scenario and Keita Amemiya for boss designs.

We would like players to try it out themselves and enjoy the experience, so we won't be going into any details. There are various new mechanics, so please look forward to them! We put in a lot of effort into details like the color of the sky and feel of the dungeon, so please enjoy the fine details.

(During the show, we also showed the boss design graphics and the actual in-game model.)

Other Updates

Materia Retrieval
Players will be able to retrieve materia attached to their equipment one by one. Any player that has unlocked Spiritbonding can do this. Materia removed from the equipment will be placed in the player’s inventory.

Desynthesis
The skill level required to desynth an item will now be displayed.

Beast Tribe Quests: Kojin
The new beast tribe quests will unlock at level 63 when players are able to use underwater actions. The level adjustment system is in place as well, so please utilize these quests to level battle-related classes. There are mounts and outfits to look like the beast tribe.

Sidestory Quests: Hildibrand
This is a introduction episode, so please think of this as a preview.

Custom Deliveries
The weekly reset for custom deliveries will be changed from Thursday to Tuesday.

Updated the job adjustment post with details that Yoshida mentioned during the stream.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Job Adjustments - Updated October 2, 2017, 11:45 a.m.
Here are a sample of the job adjustments planned for Patch 4.1 mentioned by Yoshida during the broadcast.
Please note that these are subject to change. Please wait for the final patch notes to be released for the full details and list of adjustments.

• Warrior
  • Steel Cyclone – In 4.05 we added an effect where it will absorb a portion of the damage dealt as HP, but we felt it was not enough, so the amount absorbed has been increased.
  • Fell Cleave / Decimate / Inner Release – Until now players were able to assign these to the hot bar; however, depending on the stance they were in, these actions became unavailable. Therefore, we made it so they cannot be assigned to the hotbar, but replaces the corresponding skill on the hotbar.
  • Shake it Off – When compared to other tank jobs, warriors were lacking in party defensive skills. In order to make improvements to this point, we changed the effect of Shake it Off. A barrier will now be applied to self and nearby party members. In addition to this, if the warrior has self buffs like Thrill of Battle, Inner Beast, Vengeance, and Raw Intuition applied, these will be removed but apply an additional 4% buff to the barrier for each buff removed.
• Dragoon
  • Heavy Thrust - When players miss their rotation, they may end up missing the buff from Heavy Thrust decreasing the overall damage output. We have decreased the effect of Heavy Thrust, but increased the potency of almost every other action. With this adjustment, we made it so that the damage output is less likely to decrease in the event if Heavy Thrust buff was missed.
  • Gaze of the first Brood - Dragoons were having a hard time getting back to their maximum damage output in some situations, such as during boss phase changes. Therefore, we changed the maximum number of gaze of the first brood units to three. With this players should be able to output more damage.
• Ninja
  • Doton - There was an issue where a buff from Dripping Blades and Dripping Blades II was applied to Doton, so we addressed this issue. However, we increased the potency of Doton as well so that there isn't much difference in the overall damage output.
  • Shukuchi – The time it takes for the execution to conclude has been reduced. The movement speed is on almost on par with monk’s Shoulder Tackle.
• Machinist
  • Rook Autoturret / Bishop Autoturret - Hypercharge Effect has been increased.
• Arcanist
  • Summon / Summon II / Summon III – MP cost has been reduced, and the time required to cast has been reduced from 6 to 3 seconds. With this players should be able to recover quicker when the player or pet is KO’d and they need to re-summon their pets.
• Summoner
  • Tri-bind - Right now while under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance, Deathflare was the only area of effect attack; therefore, as an area of effect attack, we have changed Tri-bind. While under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance enemies will no longer be bound; however, the potency will be increased to 100, and the cast time will be reduced as well.
  • Ruin Mastery – Ruin spells will be seeing some adjustments, so in accordance to this Ruin Mastery has been changed so that instead of Ruin and Ruin III being upgraded to Ruin IV, Ruin will be upgraded to Ruin III.
  • A new trait which will upgrade Ruin II to Ruin IV will be added.
  • Ruin III – While under the effect of Dreadwyrm Trance, Ruin III can now be cast instantly.
  • Ruin IV – Ruin IV currently replaces Ruin and Ruin III while under the effect of Further Ruin. With adjustments made to Ruin Mastery, Ruin IV will now replace Ruin II.
  • Aetherpact – This was bit difficult to use; therefore, we changed it to a party buff to players nearby the pet.
  • And regarding the size of Bahamut, we previously mentioned that we’ll make it so that the caster can adjust the size of the Bahamut. However, we didn’t want to create a situation where players are being forced to change Bahamut's size by other players, so we changed this so all players are now able to do this through the settings. This was done so that the person playing the summoner can continue to enjoy seeing Bahamut in the size they want, while other players can now see it in other sizes.
• Scholar
  • Adloquium – MP cost reduced.
  • Succor – MP cost reduced. The barrier effect is currently equal to the amount of HP restored, but this will be increased to 150%.
• Caster Role
  • Addle / Mana Shift / Apocatastasis - The recast times have been reduced.
  • Surecast - Currently this action allows players to case the next spell without interruption, and has an additional effect to nullify knockback and draw-in effects will be adjusted so that players are able to cast without interruption for 5 seconds, keeping the additional effect. This should help casters dodging mechanics some more.
• Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar
  • Sustain - Sustain is returning for arcanist, summoner, and scholar. We had a lot of requests for this, so we’ll be bringing it back in Patch 4.1.

We’ll be looking at both the players feedback and the play data, so we’ll continue to make adjustments as necessary.

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