Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LIII Update Thread

[Bayohne]

Q8:
Shadowbringers was incredible! I was amazed by how it answered some of the main mysteries, such as the Ascian's objective, the past of the Warriors of Darkness, and the Crystal Exarch. How long have you been thinking about this story?

A8:
Please note this answer has spoilers!

Thinking back to when the Warriors of Darkness first appeared (in the patch 3.x series), we didn’t have any of these plans set. When we were thinking about how to wrap up the foreshadowing for the Warriors of Darkness, we decided that it would involve Minfilia of the Source traveling to the First to become its savior, and from there we decided that the Warrior of Light would eventually travel to the First, and came up with the proceedings, including saving the First.

However even at that point, we hadn't decided when we would do this.

We wanted to mark a conclusion to the stories of Doma, Ala Mhigo, and Garlean Empire in patch 4.0, so we finally decided we would do this about two weeks after Stormblood release.

[Bayohne]

Q10:
I thought there were lots of cool things that combined the system and lore, such as how the Crystal Exarch calls forth the heroes before fighting the last boss, Feo Ul taking on the role of retainers, etc. How did these ideas come to life?

A10:
World Lore Creator/Main Scenario Writer Banri Oda will be coming to gamescom, and Main Scenario Writer Natsuko Ishikawa and Lead Artist Takeo Suzuki will be visiting PAX West. We might touch upon those types of topics at those events, so we’ll only touch upon it lightly for today.

Regarding the lore of the First, Oda and I discussed what the Warrior of Light would be able to carry with them when crossing over to the First, and decided that the WoL could bring over items that they considered personal belongings (think "carry on luggage"). This would not include retainers, and so Feo Ul was born in their place. Oda will probably talk about the finer details at gamescom.

[Bayohne]

Q12:
In the future, will we be able to to take our Trusts into 5.1 and later main scenario quest dungeons? I really liked Crystal Exarch, so I'd like to fight alongside him once again. Also, I would like to see new NPCs, such as Estinien and Hien added too!

A12:
Regarding Trusts, we had many ideas such as fighting primals together, or changing Castrum Meridianum and Praetorium into a 4-player instance and battling alongside Raubahn. However we cannot possibly implement all of them, so in patch 5.1 we made it so you can go to the new MSQ dungeons with Trusts. We also plan on making MSQ dungeons work with Trusts in future patches as well. As a side note, while progressing the MSQ in 5.1, they will come with you as part of the story mode, and so you won’t have to worry about having to level them up through the Trust leveling system.

[Bayohne]

Q14:
I loved Emet Selch! Are there any plans to further dive into his past?

A14:
I think we'll see more of the situation of what befell them. It's a story we've only seen from one perspective so far, so please think of it as a surprise for later.

[Bayohne]

Q15:
Yoshi-P, which of the main protagonists in Shadowbringers is your favorite?

A15:
I really liked Runar. The way that he cares deeply for Y'shtola really moved me, and through him, we can see another side to Y'shtola's personality. His voice actor was amazing.

I also liked Thancred’s comments when he was battling against Ran'jit. We wanted to make the nature of his emotional attachment much clearer. And we were very particular about how he collapsed after the battle. The animator first came up with something where he fell down naturally, but it looked uncool and I felt he wouldn’t fall down like that even if no one was looking at the time, so we adjusted it.

I also liked Urianger. There's a scene where he comforts another character where we get to show his gentler side, as well as touch on the burdens he's carried up until now. Remembering that scene still moves me. Again, I felt the voice acting was amazing.