Make FFXIV more like FFXI and less like WoW!

[Khalithar]

With a note on weight not hampering movement or counters by much, I want to see less global robotic mechanics from enemy AI and have more, I don't even know the right word? AI changing on circumstances?

I wouldn't mind enemies being a little bit more active. An example would be the two legged add in Final Steps of Faith and the last boss in Stone Vigil (HM) or the cat in the first "boss" of Hullbreaker (HM), enemies that ignore threat tables and go on a rampage attacking your party at random or (in the case of the cat) fixate on a party member. I think that makes the enemies more interesting, it also shows whose paying attention when the big add does it's wind ups for it's aoe/cleave attack that has no telegraph. It forces you to pay attention.

[Morningstar1337]

I've always thought that having class-specific tome lockouts (albeit probably lowered, so like 200 Tomes per class each lockout) would make more sense. One of XIV's selling factors is the versatile class swapping system junk. Having recently gotten almost all my battle classes to 60, I'm feeling this hardcore.

The problem is more for both progression and (non-)raiding purposes. Getting gear from both the raid and the tomestones would be much easier and faster than saving one or the other for multiple jobs (at least until you got it on farm, but even then there might still be lockouts until the next raid tier is introduced and the cycle begins anew), plus the absolute BiS builds mix and match from both sets, while the ability to effectively buy one time piece per week makes it rather impossible to get all the jobs or even 4 jobs geared unless you have the raids on farm, which would allow you 5 pieces a week given some luck (best case scenario bar the drops being uncapped, and even then 7 other people have to get gear too).

Put simply there is a clear difference between Maining and Playing, Gear. And some people might be put off by that Since it might seem rather pointless, and SE might not help because a cap increase would also allow players to gear their main faster, rather than focusing on alts.

[Shurrikhan]

@Shurrikhan
Here is a talk from another forum and some of the ideas they were tossing around about AI were pretty cool to me.
http://ffxiv.zam.com/forum.html?foru...98&h=50&p=1#30

I've seen a few discussions of that sort on these official forums as well. Most have long since been buried though. Far and few between at any concrete level.

To me, the basics for enmity manipulation start with something like... (spit-balling here, don't judge me too hard, yah?)

• Nature – the basic initial formulas for how Enmity is assigned by the mob type (e.g. per point of enmity healing, mitigation, damage dealt, or even damage taken; this also includes scalars for "focus" and 'thwarting', and the use of "drive"). These also determine how much of a personal resource the mob is willing to spend on what, and under what conditions. Nature may have several variations or augmentations in the form of Motive (below).
  
  
• Motive / Instinct / Theme – various different scripts triggered according to the sums and balance of enmity according to nature, that may then adjust that nature in turn over the course of the motive or its consequent "tactic" (below). It is the basic, imagistic want at the time, a theme of action that may bind a mob's decisions. These break down to relatively simple, spontaneous, or primal notions, but can be mechanically complex and vary in ambiguity of appropriate tactics, such as Defiance, Survival, Disabling, Dismantling, Intimidation, Slaughter, etc.
  
  
• Tactic – a plan devised according to mob nature to suit present motive, or any point within said plan that can be considered to progress or regress. All decisions (tactics) come from a point of initial motive, and motives may change mid-tactic. Opposing actions that directly negate attempts to achieve that plan or a point of its execution can be considered "thwarting" and works under a separate enmity scalar type.
  
  
• Drive – a measure based on how a given tactic is progressing or regressing, and may build differently from either direction of success or failure, based on mob nature (including adjustments by motive). It determines how affixed the mob will become to a given tactic. Its a combination of confidence and stubbornness, so speak.
  
  
• Focus – A sort of Enmity in itself, it further scales incoming Enmity, usually enhancing the changes to nature according to motive script. The bonus enmity generated may or may not carry over, at any percent, between motive scripts. It is the idea that the enemy has his "eye" on you. Confusingly, Focus (or being "in focus") also describes whether or not you have gained enough enmity on the mob to be calculated in his enmity decisions, OR calculated as your own enmity source.
  
  
• Intelligence – A floating value stat that determines how precisely or accurately a mob can sort sources of enmity based on Focus. For instance, if a healer was not already at enmity level enough to be tracked, the healing he does to a tank might be mistaken for the tank's own output and increase enmity against the tank instead, based on Intelligence. Intelligence tends to be tied to Drive and Motive script atop the base given by Nature.

That's all I can presently imagine as being needed to fake variable levels of reactive intelligence; for the whole package I'd need a determiner also for measuring opportunity to tie into Focus, Intelligence, and Tactics, adjusted by Nature, and similarly triggering Motive scripts. I can't even imagine that off the top of my head.

For as much as I have written, though, I imagine the real trick will probably be in designing more "human-like" ways of determining enmity sources, as for when mob Intelligence (above) is low. The largest portion of work, however, will likely reside in forming the motive sets (or instincts)... which more Intelligent, low Drive-scalar enemies aren't going to noticeably follow anyways. To get the full flavor out of the enemy, you might also want to attach actual power scalars, not just enmity or scalars, to certain Instincts. Resource usage modifiers may be enough though, and keeping it to just that would be more realistic.

[Caitlyn]

Make FFXIV hard again! FFXIV 2.X FTW! (but i still keep my Au Ra Machinist, just to make sure)...

[TheGrimace]

Make ketchup more like mayonnaise! Those people who like ketchup? Forget them, mayonnaise is king now!

"But I didn't like mayonnaise. It's gross. That's why I stopped eating it years back."

You're out of luck, ketchup lover! Mayonnaise everywhere! This is the world now!

[Istaru]

Put simply there is a clear difference between Maining and Playing, Gear. And some people might be put off by that Since it might seem rather pointless, and SE might not help because a cap increase would also allow players to gear their main faster, rather than focusing on alts.

Not if the cap was by role. You can get the following:

Tomestone of Lore (Tank): 0/450
Tomestone of Lore (Healer): 450/450
Tomestone of Lore (Melee): 75/450
Tomestone of Lore (Ranged): 225/450

You get awarded Tomestones based on the role you used when gaining them. Could be done at the job level too. Purchasing items would require the corresponding Tomestones. Tank ones get you the fending set but not the healing set etc.

[Skivvy]

Make ketchup more like mayonnaise! Those people who like ketchup? Forget them, mayonnaise is king now!

"But I didn't like mayonnaise. It's gross. That's why I stopped eating it years back."

You're out of luck, ketchup lover! Mayonnaise everywhere! This is the world now!

Do you know what is also awesome? Thousand island! Gotta mix that mayo and ketchup along with some other special flavors to get that delicious sauce.

[Lambadelta]

Not if the cap was by role. You can get the following:

Tomestone of Lore (Tank): 0/450
Tomestone of Lore (Healer): 450/450
Tomestone of Lore (Melee): 75/450
Tomestone of Lore (Ranged): 225/450

You get awarded Tomestones based on the role you used when gaining them. Could be done at the job level too. Purchasing items would require the corresponding Tomestones. Tank ones get you the fending set but not the healing set etc.

What about crafting mats that are bought with tomestones.

How would you balance it so people who can play more don't get an advantage in that department.

[Khalithar]

What about crafting mats that are bought with tomestones.

How would you balance it so people who can play more don't get an advantage in that department.

1. They can do what they're doing now by having mats on the old tomestone that don't have a weekly limit.

2. I don't see an issue with someone playing more having an advantage over someone that doesn't.

[Zojha]

What about crafting mats that are bought with tomestones.

How would you balance it so people who can play more don't get an advantage in that department.

As far as I'm aware, these mats are bought with "uncapped" tomestones - esoteric right now. So nothing would really change, would it?