2.0 QUESTION thread

[Rydin]

Since my 2.0 EXCITEMENT thread was such a big success....
Thought I'd try another
42 questions that have been burning in my mind regarding 2.0
I've used the 2.0 PDFs as a guide to my questions, so you may follow along.
The 4 PDFs can be viewed or downloaded from this SE page (At the bottom)

Without Further Ado....
42 Questions regarding 2.0

1. All of the information you release about the future of this game is subject to change. That is absolutely understandable. With that being said, Is there anything in the four 2.0 PDFs that has since been changed? Dates, content or features?


Outline PDF

2. With the redesign of the maps, will we see many new regular MOBs across the zones? Will the look of the current MOBs change?
MOBs changed by the disaster would be awesome... It would be a great lead-in to unique or named MOBs. Your party is camping some Cactuar and a buffed up Cactuar NM (With a crystal on top of his head as opposed to a flower) pops amongst the regular ones.

3. It says something about unlocking the mysteries of the landmarks. Does that mean more quests that involve the landmarks, more lore about the areas and more reasons to go out and adventure to strange places?
If so, that is awesome because currently, this is lacking. Players flock to the 1 or 2 places with new content every patch because there is no reason to go anywhere else. I am glad Yoshi recognizes this!

4. Will there be places that are hard to reach due to tough MOBs or even some environmental obstacles (Like the aurum vale poison but adapted to open world areas)?
People complain about high level MOBs (70+) stopping them from reaching places to explore, however, many people love the added challenge. Obviously a 99 peiste shouldn't stop you from gaining access to a level 20 camp. But with the new maps needing to be filled in, a high level (high Danger) zone would be pretty cool.

5. In regards to the server, I know you're working on a new networking API (the middleware that allows the physical SE game server to communicate with each client over the internet), will the physical servers be upgraded or replaced as well?
I seem to recall them being upgraded or replaced once. I don't want to be negative, but the server was one of the games biggest disappointments. Generally, you either get "slow and stable" or "Fast but unstable." So to get "Slow AND Unstable" really detracts from the game. It makes it hard for the battle designer and the content designer to really flex their muscle. I am very glad SE sees this as a top priority.

6. Any inside info you can give us about the E3 presentation? Will it be gameplay? Cutscenes? New environments? a battle perhaps?
I know, I know, E3 is a big deal and it's generally a good idea to keep that stuff under wraps. It's just... While the New Networking API has me RELIEVED, the new 3D engine has me EXCITED. I understand if you can't reveal anything... But it was worth trying, right?

7. Will the new graphics engine support DX10?
In a BG interview, they asked about DX10/11 being a part of the new graphics engine... and you replied that adding DX11 was considered, but would have delayed the release of 2.0, so DX11 was a main priority after 2.0. SE specifically ONLY commented on DX11 after 2.0. Does this mean DX10 is a part of 2.0?

8. Will the new engine help create more ambiance in game?
Right now the lighting is pretty even. Most structures don't have shadows, caves with no visible light source seem very well lit, night time is still relatively bright and during a sandstorm visibility is not hindered in the slightest. I understand the practical reasoning behind all of this. You want to be able to see, however, a little atmosphere would go a long way. Mist you can barely see through, Dark caves and spooky cellars, Light only emanating from visible light sources, dark dangerous nights.

9. Can you promise us that the world isn't shrinking?
Thanalan, for instance, wont be seamless. Instead it will be broken up into several zones (with loading between them) so that there can be a lot less copy/pasted assets and more variety. Also, each zone within a region will be themed slightly (Or drastically, who knows) different than the others, and (From what I've read), focus on a different level range. Say thanalan becomes 4 separate areas... Will those 4 areas added together be as big as Thanalan is now?

10. Are we still looking forward to a separate UI for K+M and controller users?

11. How customizable will the UI be?
Some people love a ton of widgets all over their UI. Others (like me), love the minimalist less-is-more type UI that puts as little between me and the world as possible. Will the new UI satisfy both camps?

12. Has most of the UI overhaul already happened? or is there a ton of changes we still have yet to see?
The UI has been changing and improving for a while now. When 2.0 comes, I wonder if enough changes will happen all at once that we'll have to relearn how to play? If the new UI is extremely intuitive and functional, i don't mind at all

13. Will there be any new content that unites the entire server?
Recently, many servers have gotten enough people together to defeat one of the epic "Guardian's of the Grove." It would be cool if there was an area that was off limits until a certain super NM was killed. An NM bigger and stronger than the turning leaf trees (Requiring 100+ players to defeat it). So the entire server could get together and kill it, then everyone could reap the benefits of the unlocked area. The Super NM could respawn (And relock the area) every 10 days and need to be killed again!!!!

Specs PDF

14. Can we get some more concept art?
How much money do I have to pay to see more concept art? Akihiko Yoshida, Can you set up a little Paypal donation thing in exchange for a little inside info.. hehe. Seriously though, i understand you guys are busy... it doesn't have to be anything major though... I just LOVE the game artwork. Prelimary sketches of player housing... Those pictures of the zone layouts that Reinhart translated, a serene lake in The Black Shroud... Some early concept art of a city inside the empire? Bozja citadel ruins? (wink) You don't even have to tell us what we're looking at... just some random, non-labeled artwork...

Systems and Content PDF

15. Will the enemy link feature be revised?
When you first implemented enemy link, you said at the time that changes would be made so enemies wouldn't be able to link with just any nearby. You planned to make it so enemy links made a little more sense, i.e. a wolf is not going to call for help from a marmot. Is that still in the works? in the PDF, it actually says that the link system would be fine tuned in patch 1.20, but I didn't see anything about it in the patch notes and haven't noticed any changes to linking

16. Will we see a more in depth MOB ecosystem (i.e. MOBs interacting with each other)?
It's been brought up before, but if MOBs can link with each other... why can't they fight each other? Or a Burble randomly buffing a nearby qiqrn?

17. Will Incapacitation really play a more serious role in big battles at 2.0?
In the PDF, it actually says "Incapacitation of body parts for boss fights, encouraging party members to focus on single targets for more engaging battles"
If you're being serious... that is EXCITING

18. Will we see any enemies that are able to put up magic palings or barriers (And maybe the barrier has an HP bar) that we have to take down before we can damage them?

19. Will there be any ability restricted areas?
Classic offline FF titles sometimes have fights in areas where a certain effect is present. For example, there are areas that suppress magic or areas that prevent the use of items during a certain fight. The Aurum Vale is a great first step in that direction. If that was a test to see players reaction to it, my vote would be YES. I think it could possibly add a lot of depth to battle environments.

20. When you say "Legacy Items" are you referring to Relic Weapons?
The text says "Legacy Items will have unique graphics and stats"
Sounds awesome

21. Can you tell us more about treasure Maps?
Discoverable by DoL, I am guessing you can come across treasure maps while gathering. Will we be able to see the map or will they mark your in game map with locations? Will the treasure chest be popped using the map?

22. Will the claiming system be changed again in the future?
The community definitely wanted to be able to claim more than 1 MOB. It seemed silly in leves that you wouldn't get XP and loot for killing multiple MOBs. But the idea that anyone can attack anything claimed by anyone else kind of surprised us all. I'm interested to hear the reasoning behind it.

23. Any chance we can get a Coliseum sneak peek? (or at least more info?)

24. Will the crafting location requirements be like crafting support was (Where you get support and it lasts an hour so you can go craft where ever you like) or will we have to craft the items at those special locations (Like Kobold Stronghold)?
Either way, i think this is a very cool addition to crafting

25. Look's like there are some big plans for Materia. I know you like your secrets, but are there any specific future materia plans you can share?
Things like U/U matera or catalyst (Now that materia can be done in bazaar) coupled with Materia that would take up all 5 materia slots with 1 epic materia ("one and done" materia). The text says materia to mitigate requirements to equip gear, so like materia that would let a monk where plate armor? What are additional materia slot items?

26. Do all 4 members of a free company have to belong to the same Grand Company?

27. Free companies are a minimun of 4 people, is there a max number?

28. Will there be free company content for all disciplines (Magic, War, Hand and Land)?

29. Will free companies have crests, like linkshells?"

30. Will the Ishgard Dragon Horde defense be like hamlet defense is now?

General Questions?

31. Will we see any Open world instanced content outside of guidleves?
It would be nice to see more instanced MOBs that happen in the open world

32. Will the in-game literature be expanded upon?
Things like the Necrologos, Raimdelle Codex and the Divine Chronicles. It would be nice to have stuff to read on our own time.

33. How will the Brotherhood of the Broken Blades, Azeyma's Shields and the Horn and Hand factions exist alongside the Grand and free companies?
Are they becoming Obsolete? I will miss you War Wolf, old friend...

34. Will it be possible to battle Ifrit, garuda and Good King Moogle after 2.0?

35. Will powerleveling be changed in 2.0?

36 Will the leveling speed in general be adjusted in 2.0?
I guess its a separate question for Battle, Hand and land classes

37. Will we get to venture to the rest of Aldenard (the continent we are on)?
Right now, Ishgard is closed for reasons explained in game... It is also Obvious why we are locked out of Ala Mhigo. If we aren't allowed to travel to snowy Xelphatol and Dravania (and it's city Sharlayan), I would just want to know why. That's all, just give an in game reason why those places would be off limits (Other than invisible wall technology)

38. Will we get to see more of the beast tribes?
For Instance, the Amalj'aa have a city very close to thanalan. Will we get to go there?

39. Is our path companion being phased out of the story?
there is no mention of him/her in any GC or sidequests

40. When can we expect to see Battle Regimen again?
There is no mention of it in any of the PDFs. Combos and battle regimen being needed for extremely useful incaps (That have obvious benefits and visual cues) working in conjunction with action oriented elements like dodging attacks, coupled with environmental hazards like poison air or some magitek field that makes all players "Heavy"
Now that is some shit I want to play!!!!

41. Other than UI changes and adding BR back, are there any other major changes to the battle system or is what we have pretty much 2.0 ready?
The battle system has been evolving since 1.17, It seems like its fully fleshed out for the most part.

42. How much content will be in 2.0?
Let's be real... we want to know... Will it be more than all of the content that is in game now?
Honestly, if players can level to cap and beat every piece of new content in the game (even if just once) in under 30 days, then the game could see many people leave after the free month and not sub up. I don't know if players will be willing to take the extra time to repeat content to get the gear if they've already beaten everything. We do it because we have the expectation of 2.0 to look forward to... But the anticipation of 2.0 is the one thing we have that players at 2.0 wont.

Community Questions

Will all the nodes and camps still exist, or will the exploration achievements be impossible (or Adjusted) after 2.0?

I would like to know what is happening with Lodestone, will features be improved, will we see new features such as Gear Display?
And the bugs need fixing.

Will MOB abilities be updated to include cool unique abilities?
Like when you fought crabs in FFXI, you know their def boost ability would make the killing so damn slow, so someone would need to cast dia on it and such. I'm tired of burning through 100's of mobs, each one taking 5 seconds to kill.

As an addendum to Zahak's question:
Will beast tribes ever have classes/jobs unique to their race?
It is kind of weird that every beast man is just a copy of us (And even the same weapons). I'd like to see some innovative beast jobs. I would rather not see Sahagin Conjurers, Archers and Lancers. Or the big frost giants in Xelphatol shouldn't just be pugilists and Gladiators.

Moving forward, are you in favor of shorter fights or longer fights for XP parties?

Can we still group up with our free company crafters and build company-owned ships?

We will have a coherent monsters distribution depend on its habitat or 'lifestyle', so not to see a crab in the desert or a goat underground in a cave again? :P

A ton of good questions from Fiosha_Maureiba

How will loot with roaming primals be handled?
Will it be based on the party that claims him first? If this is alliance-based content, how will loot be handled for all participants?

Will we be able to change the interface font for pop-up text such as HP, MP or damage?

There is a mention of a summoning or taming ability available to certain jobs and classes?

The Disciples of Land may find treasure maps. Will these items be high quality resources, an abundance of resources, rare resources or gear that can only be found with treasure maps?

Unrelated to 2.0 docs.

Will there be job-specific traits?

Will there be materia that bestow traits such as Enhance Esuna or Swift Godsbane?

Will we be able to wear undergarments from other races?

Will there be multiple jobs for one class? Such as a Gladiator being able to become a Paladin and/or Red Mage. A Marauder becoming a Warrior and/or a Dark Knight?

Will there be a raise in level cap? If yes, how high?

How many new classes are planned for 2.0?

Will existing gear receive armor set bonuses? Such gear sets may include the Onion Doublet, Onion Gaskins, Onion Pattens, Onion Helm. Sipahi. Sentinel. Sorceror. Or artifact gear?

Questions courtesy of Zahak

1) Will buffing animations be possible while moving (As opposed to the stop and squat)?

2) Is there a chance we will see non-fightable creatures in 2.0? Creatures that are just there to add life to the lifeless world? Ex: Turtles crawling out of the ocean on the beach to lay eggs? lol

3) Are there going to be real time events planned that all players could join participate in?
Example from GW, Dragon flies out from ocean,landing on a tower, crushing it, and proceeds to fly down on level ground where anyone around can start beating up on it, lots of dynamic phases begin depending on how many people are there.

4) Any chance XI Campaign-like events will be implemented?

5) Will content finder work for primals, and all instanced dungeons?

6) Will Dragoon be getting a more jump/teleport abilities like elusive jump?! xD please~

7) Is there going to be more amazing vistas to gaze at, better scenic views?

8) Will there be areas we have to quest for to unlock (Ex: Aht Urghan)

9) How many forms of PVP are you planning on implementing other than GC vs GC (Frontier) and coliseum?

10) Will there be free for all pvp events/matches? Ex: Dragoon only, whitemage only events!

11) how is the new world coming along? Teasers yet?!

12) Will new voices be added to the current character creation voice list?

13) Will we ever see an in-game Beastiary? (pokedex!)

14) Will housing be as customizable as Ultima Online housing? I know Yoshi played this!

15) will there be more paths to traverse, optional paths to get to different places in the new maps?

16) Do you feel like you have created a breathtaking, living world, where adventurers like myself could spend the rest of their life in, discovering new places and seeing countless wonders across the globe?

17) I remember (or dreamed) mention of either Yoshi or Tanaka talking about being able to own linkshell ships, and use them to sail the seas to pvp isles and such. Is this still in the works or was that old Tanaka vision. This wasn't the ship/cake building video btw.

18) Will we be able to search for specific materia numbers in the wards? Ex: I want to find only matera with 50 crit attk power instead of only seeing 45's taking over the list.

19) will mob AI be making a come back? It gave life and personality to the creatures. Maybe make the following goats stop following after so long? Mobs need more diversity

20) Will Leaping Lizzy, or even the model for lizards from XI make a return? They were so cool

Question from friend:
How exactly is the world changing going to fit into the lore? Dalamud crushing everything?

Will players be able to change their nations allegiance, even once?

Like if you would also like to see these questions answered... If we have enough likes when they come back from Golden Week... we have a great chance of getting responses

And to the GMs, Reps and Devs, thank you in advance for taking our questions into consideration!

[Rydin]

It's a lot of questions resulting in a long read... take your time...

[Squiggles]

out of curiosity... why make another if you already have a thread like this that is sucessful? this seems redundant...

[Rydin]

out of curiosity... why make another if you already have a thread like this that is sucessful? this seems redundant...

no... the other thread is the 2.0 "EXCITEMENT" thread
This is the 2.0 "QUESTIONS" thread....

Other than that, I don't really know how to answer your question

[Zahak]

I think all players would appreciate answers to these

[Rydin]

I think all players would appreciate answers to these

People may think it's not possible... but 1 year ago this thread got the devs attention enough to lead to This Thread

So miracles tend to happen around Golden Week!!!!

[Urthdigger]

Will all the nodes and camps still exist, or will the exploration achievements be impossible after 2.0?

[Rydin]

Will all the nodes and camps still exist, or will the exploration achievements be impossible after 2.0?

I like this... I am adding it to the OP....

[NefarioCall]

no... the other thread is the 2.0 "EXCITEMENT" thread
This is the 2.0 "QUESTIONS" thread....

Other than that, I don't really know how to answer your question

Well that is as good an answer as exists!
THIS THREAD IS AWESOME.

[viion]

I would like to know what is happening with Lodestone, will features be improved, will we see new features such as Gear Display?

And the bugs need fixing. XD