Will the combat-class changes go live pre-expansion?

[Greven]

The early access days are okay to do everything is asked but on a side note they are probably trying hard to stick to their deadlines so I don't really see they opening up the servers before the very last tweaks

[Malzian]

So... how will this updated combat system work for those who don't buy the expansion on launch day? it's part of the expansion, right? Guess that means the system will be locked behind a paywall.

in that same vein, what about those peeps that don't even have HW bought?

How do you introduce such a system as an expansion feature when your game supports players without expansions? you can gate content, but how do you gate systems?


I for one think this change should probably be implemented beforehand

The changes are global and will affect everyone including those who do not have the expansion. Whenever they do content patches and change things they always denote which versions (aka expansion) it will impact be it 2.x, 3.x and on. Typically changes like this are denoted as 2.x changes because they effect everything from the base game on.

[Gumbercules]

I could see the changes maybe coming in before the xpac, but it is hard to tell. In wow i tended to dislike the changes at times namely cuz the pvp bitching led to tweaks for a system that was balanced around the upcoming lvl cap, but I doubt that would be an issue for ff 14. Still, if as some have pointed out, it might not happen because they are focused on meeting deadlines, and unlike wow that tends to toss their current system up in the air every other xpac, I do not think the ff 14 one will be as invasive as the WoW ones tend to be.

[KusoWat]

But not before 4.0.

Coil was nerfed into the ground with 20% echo weeks before 3.0 hit. It's not absurd to think it may be the same for Alexander going towards 4.0

[Tyrn]

Coil was nerfed into the ground with 20% echo weeks before 3.0 hit. It's not absurd to think it may be the same for Alexander going towards 4.0

Wasn't the full echo buff activated by sometime around April 20th (or 2 weeks after 2.55/2.5 part 2) or was that just the lockout removal? I remember something happening in the middle of April but my memory of 2.x stuff is getting fuzzier.

[Averax]

pre-ordering grants you early access, which is the closest we get to having expansion level changes before an expansion

[Masekase_Hurricane]

We should have gotten the test server by now. But hey ho another feature from early 2.0 with the reply "working in progress" "please look forward to it".

[Tsunenori]

We don't know what changes to gameplay we're going to see with the expansion because for some reason they've decided to mention the phrases "combat system overhaul" and "please look forward to it" with no details inbetween, however if there ARE going to be large scale changes to the core gameplay then putting those out ahead of the expansion is the smartest move to make. Developer foresight isn't flawless, and even in World of Warcraft with all its players and test servers you still see changes going out daily the week a major patch releases because there simply aren't enough players to properly test things outside of a live environment.

Trying to fix the core fundamentals of your game on top of whatever weird expansion-specific bugs surface during launch day/week sounds like a nightmare. Of course, maybe the changes aren't that big. We don't know. We probably should, but we still don't, and until they tell us all we can do is guess.

Edit: Removed unnecessary opening line. I will say, however, they've done a remarkable job with their testing so far. A few things slip through here and there but whatever they're doing internally generally does seem to work. For something as potentially big as a "combat overhaul" though it's probably not a bad idea to get that up and running ahead of the big event, depending on what's actually being done.

[Celef]

If they don't release some information before the next fanfest this forum is gonna implode. This much hype and hopes for the expansion cannot be contained for 23 more days.

I also hope there is a good reason for keeping all the infos, so much hype can end pretty bad for SE if expectations are not met :/

[RaijinSupreme]

But since there will be abilities that you won't get until you reach level 70, What would be the point in having to relearn my job before the expac comes out, just for me to have to relearn AGAIN after it comes?

Why couldn't I just relearn my job during my progression from 60-70?