Suggestion: FFXII style bestiary / FFXIII style DataLogs

[Loony_BoB]

In FFXII, you unlock a tiny bit of lore about an enemy if you kill enough of it's kind.

Example:


FFXIII did similar with DataLogs, although this was more focused on the characters and world than it was the beasts.

I'd love for something similar to the above to be added to FFXIV. We already know that Encylopedia Eorzea gives this information (got them both and love them), but I'd adore a gameplay aspect to it. It'd really give more reason to actually go around killing the various monsters in the game, encouraging more participation in duties, FATEs, the lot. Given that the Encyclopedia means such information already exists, this would mean that the only thing that would be needed to add to the game is the gameplay element of unlocking them.

I'm not against the idea of having less information than is in the Encyclopedias either, just to ensure that they still hold their prestige, but we all know that they are finite in stock and often aren't available for years. It'd be really nice to have this as an in-game feature to add a simple yet lengthy exercise of 'crafting' the Encylopedia in the game for an NPC who writes it, or something, and we keep the information in a Log for our own perusal should we wish. It would also give in-game lore to Encylopedia Eorzea's creation!

[ReynTime]

I've been wishing for something like this in a long, long time. But I'm sure the only reason they only do this for specific content (Nier raid or Bozja) so that you buy their soon-to-be 3 issues of "Encyclopedia Eorzea" for organized lore information...

[BaconBits]

Imagine if they did that not just with bestiaries, but locales and notable NPCs as well.

[Lunalepsy]

In FFXII, you unlock a tiny bit of lore about an enemy if you kill enough of it's kind.

Example:


FFXIII did similar with DataLogs, although this was more focused on the characters and world than it was the beasts.

I'd love for something similar to the above to be added to FFXIV. We already know that Encylopedia Eorzea gives this information (got them both and love them), but I'd adore a gameplay aspect to it. It'd really give more reason to actually go around killing the various monsters in the game, encouraging more participation in duties, FATEs, the lot. Given that the Encyclopedia means such information already exists, this would mean that the only thing that would be needed to add to the game is the gameplay element of unlocking them.

I'm not against the idea of having less information than is in the Encyclopedias either, just to ensure that they still hold their prestige, but we all know that they are finite in stock and often aren't available for years. It'd be really nice to have this as an in-game feature to add a simple yet lengthy exercise of 'crafting' the Encylopedia in the game for an NPC who writes it, or something, and we keep the information in a Log for our own perusal should we wish. It would also give in-game lore to Encylopedia Eorzea's creation!

Sounds fun!

[ReynTime]

Imagine if they did that not just with bestiaries, but locales and notable NPCs as well.

This would go a LONG way to make the overworld more than a glorified lobby room.
Imagine that. You talk to a named NPC, log book updates with that NPC. You finish a quest for the NPC, his entry updates to reflect info gotten from finishing the quest.
Talk to another NPC, they mention something about Lake Silvertear. Boom. Your Lake Silvertear entry is updated with that info.

[BaconBits]

They could even attach a couple of earnable titles to it, something along the lines of <The Well Traveled> for an ARR section or <Otherworldly Explorer> for ShB.

[Jettinson]

I love XII bestiary because not only it talks about monsters but also the human/races so in XIV you also pretty much beat up all kinds of enemies and can use bits of encyclopedia or such to have an idea.

Would love it to be added

[Enkidoh]

I think they've touched on this in the past and that is simply would be just too much of an undertaking to include, not to mention the problem with a MMO is it is always changing in patches and even it's lore is in a constant state of flux, additions and new content added in patches often contradicting earlier info or even outright retconning it - enemies are being constantly added or removed, or having their models altered or renamed, and to ensure such a bestiary stayed canon and consistant, would take a lot of time from the writing and lore teams' already stretched schedule.

One such example of an enemy having their name changed over time (even between languages) is Acheron Phlegethon in the Crystal Tower raids.

That's not to say I wouldn't love such a thing - I'm a huge lore junkie and love reading the very small snippets that are included in the game. I just don't see a bestiary being a realistic proposition inside the game sadly.

[Loony_BoB]

I think they've touched on this in the past and that is simply would be just too much of an undertaking to include, not to mention the problem with a MMO is it is always changing in patches and even it's lore is in a constant state of flux, additions and new content added in patches often contradicting earlier info or even outright retconning it - enemies are being constantly added or removed, or having their models altered or renamed, and to ensure such a bestiary stayed canon and consistant, would take a lot of time from the writing and lore teams' already stretched schedule.

One such example of an enemy having their name changed over time (even between languages) is Acheron Phlegethon in the Crystal Tower raids.

That's not to say I wouldn't love such a thing - I'm a huge lore junkie and love reading the very small snippets that are included in the game. I just don't see a bestiary being a realistic proposition inside the game sadly.

I'm completely fine with them adding/removing/adjusting it all as required. As for name change, well, they can't exactly change the name in Encyclopedia Eorzea so I'm not sure how it's really that important. It's far easier to change the name in-game than it is IRL.

It really depends on how they generate it. If they tie the names to a reference to the mob itself then they just have to have a lookup for the enemy's ID. I imagine they already have tables with IDs for every mob as it is, this is just looking up the name field, so it'd automatically adjust.

I am confident that this is something that CAN be done, but it absolutely would be an undertaking. Not an unachievable one though - think of Triple Triad, you add the system, it's there forever, and then you add the cards (in this case entries)

[Wasselin]

This would be really cool, especially if it also gave you some idea on what loot the item might drop and where you might find it. I always like those games that have a useful ingame database included in the game somehow.

Of course it would be most useful just accessing it from the UI. On the other hand it would be cool to have some kind of housing item that you could use to access this information. It would be fun to drop by the FC library to research mobs.

To people saying it's too hard, I think they could make the lore shorter than what's included in a something like a single player game. They could be more like "fun facts," that wouldn't contradict future story telling.