Patch 3.1 Previews!

[Leggerless]

Oh hey, Ninja fixes with TP and ninjutsu. Guess it'll be the flavor of the week again.

 

*laughs as he updates the ninja guide during a work-heavy week*

[Kage]

Famitsu interview translation up on BG's forums by Slycer

 

I'm translating the Famitsu interview first. Some interesting details here (nothing mind-blowing, but some interesting discussion points anyway). Full translation is complete and I'll look at the other sites to see if any other significant information is present that isn't here.

 

Source: http://www.famitsu.com/news/201511/05092257.html

 

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FFXIV Pre-Patch 3.1 Interview with Naoki Yoshida! Patches 3.15 and 3.2 also Discussed

 

The first large patch for Heavensward will be implemented on November 10, 2015 and bring new growth to Final Fantasy XIV. With the development work in its final stage, we sat down with Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV, to discuss the highlights and his current impressions.

 

 

New information about patches 3.15 and beyond!

 

About four months have passed since the launch of Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion, Heavensward, in which many players enjoyed a variety of new elements in the new areas. In the 25th live producer letter which was held on October 25, the announcement was made that patch 3.1 would be released on November 10, 2015. The content to be added includes exploration content in which a large number of people can visit a vast area of floating islands, a 24 person raid dungeon which will follow up the Crystal Tower series, and a number of other new play elements.

 

We spoke with producer and director Naoki Yoshida about the highlights of the new content debuting in patch 3.1 as well as the future of Heavensward. In addition, the content and release timing for patch 3.15 was revealed, as well as some discussion about the contents of patch 3.2, so please read on for the details.

 

Many of the topics discussed in this interview will overlap with the content from the live producer letter on October 25, but reviewing the details of both will lead to a better understanding of patch 3.1 content.

 

(Interview held on October 21, 2015)

 

 

Determining the direction of updates with an eye on 4.0

 

Have you set a specific release date for the patch?

 

Yoshida: We'll be formally announcing this at the live producer letter on October 25, but it will be on November 10. Compared to the normal pacing of patches, we've spent about three or four extra weeks on this one.

 

Although the patches up until now have been published about every three months, you spent about four months on this one. Did this lead to any changes with the development?

 

Yoshida: As far as whether patch 3.1 will seem larger than previous patches, it probably won't be a huge difference. In addition to the new content, a lot of the modifications will be convenience and system changes where we focused on addressing many items which needed attention. Since we had about four months, we were able to make many of these system changes in addition to adding the new content.

 

Did you do anything special before or after the 20th, like having the day off?

 

Yoshida: After Heavensward was released, we gave the team about a week of holiday. I think everyone needed a week off to take a mental break. That said, for some of the core team, including myself, it was business as usual

 

(Laughs). No rest for you.

 

Yoshida: We were working on setting up the content and story for the whole patch 3.X series and determining the direction of the next expansion 4.0. Heavensward continued on from the 2.X series and we had it crammed with content. Looking back on that, we decided to adjust the scale for the future releases.

 

What will the effects of this be?

 

Yoshida: As we progress through the 3.X series in the future, the advance preparation will become more clear. We have some larger content which will deliberately span multiple patches rather than one patch. With that, we've worked to allocate the staff ahead of schedule as much as possible so that we can smooth out the peaks in the development pace and avoid fatigue. With that, we hope to improve the quality of the patches so that all of the players will keep coming back.

 

 

Patch note reading will be held the day before release.

 

Can you talk more specifically about any of the system renovations which you touched on earlier?

 

Yoshida: As one example, right now when party members are scattered across a wide area, you can't accurately get their position from the mini-map so you need to open the larger map. To refine this, we'll be adding directional indicators for other party members on the mini-map.

 

That should be helpful.

 

Yoshida: There are a lot of features like that we'll be adding this time. Another one is that we'll be adding experience to level 50 instanced dungeons, and we'll also be adding a clear timer so you can do something like a Time Attack. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to implement rankings, but it will make doing Time Attacks more convenient.

 

I've heard that it can be very difficult to go into extreme primals with the setting for item levels at their minimum requirement.

 

Yoshida: That's another system similar to something like a Time Attack. I know some players were looking forward to having something like an official timer.

 

Will you be discussing all of these system enhancements in the patch notes?

 

Yoshida: They'll all be written out. The patch notes will be extremely long so the reading might take a while... (laughs).

 

When will you be holding the reading and publication for the patch notes?

 

Yoshida: The reading will be held on November 9. We're planning to be able to publish the preliminary patch notes as early as November 6.

 

 

Three main meanings were included in the title

 

What direction did you give the staff for developing the logo of patch 3.1?

 

Yoshida: The 2.X series logos were made similar to rock albums or action movie titles. This time, I asked for a more mysterious or suspenseful tone with a calmer design.

 

Will future 3.X series patches follow with this style?

 

Yoshida: I'm not sure (laughs). In the patch 2.X series, for example, we knew we wanted to squeeze the word "maelstrom" into patch 2.2, and that's what I told the staff to give them an image. Now, we've only had a short time to think abotu the image so we'll be working on it (laughs). However, since we've finished the plot for the whole 3.X series, we can start working on the future graphics develop the titles and logos.

 

With the title "As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness" it seems there are a number of different meanings - can you talk about any in particular?

 

Yoshida: It has three meanings. In the main story of Heavensward at release, the true history about how the Dragonsong War began between dragons and humans was revealed. Although a milestone was celebrated at the end of the storyline, there is still a grudge held between dragons and humans, but now the boundary isn't as clearly defined. The future of this will be told as part of the main story, and this is the first meaning.

 

The second?

 

Yoshida: On the topic of airships, there's a contrast with two of the new piece of content. The magic vessel "Void Ark" is a vehicle of darkness, while your explorations in the Diadem portion of Sea of Clouds will be much brighter.

 

And the third is?

 

Yoshida: Clearly we've had a discussion about "light and darkness" before with the Warrior of Light and Warrior of Darkness mentioned. There are some other meanings you might infer as well, but these are the three that are most easily understood right now.

 

 

Krile will play an active role in one of the storylines.

 

What will become of the new character Krile who just recently appeared?

 

Yoshida: Of course, they will be an important character in the story. Looking back on the 2.X series, we believe that there was too much focus on the main characters, so based on that, we've divided the story of the 3.X series into several storylines and the content and main story will develop in parallel paths. Krile is a key player in one of the storylines and will play an important role.

 

So you've learned from past mistakes.

 

Yoshida: In the 2.X series, there were the problems with the three nations, the primals, and the Crystal Braves which were all incorporated into the main storyline. As a result, while players did look forward to the storyline content, if they wanted to unlock the playable content quickly, they would skip through the scenario to unlock the content. In the 3.X series, rather than having a single main storyline which also unlocks the content, we've decided to have multiple parallel paths so that players can start wherever they like. For example, you start the primal quest and unlock it right away without being forced to skip through the main scenario.

 

If that storyline is split, are you saying that Krile won't be part of the main scenario?

 

Yoshida: Since it will be their first appearance, they will be introduced in the main scenario of patch 3.1. The role of Krile will become more clear starting from patch 3.2.

 

Will any news about other members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn besides Y'shtola become clear in the main scenario?

 

Yoshida: Whether they'll come back or not... you might have heard someone's voice in the trailer video (laughs).

 

I was expecting them to return one by one in each patch throughout this expansion.

 

Yoshida: I can see why you would think that, and that may be what happens (laughs). Please play through it to actually confirm, but we've already decided all of their fates.

 

 

The Sixth Calamity is key in the Void Ark story

 

In the magic vessel Void Ark, it seems that Cait Sith will be a character who meets up with the adventurers.

 

Yoshida: There will be many mysteries which emerge in this patch, but the story will be developed to a point where players should be able to imagine what the future will hold. Cait Sith won't necessarily be there right from the start of the Void Ark related quests. Things will become more intriguing as the scenario develops.

 

Is the Hyuran man who appeared in the trailer the captain of the ship?

 

Yoshida: From the adventurer's perspective he's an ally to humans, but further details are secret. Like NOAH with Crystal Tower, there will be a new group who appears related to Void Ark and he is the leader of that group.

 

Will we find out any more in the Void Ark story about how the Fifth Astral Era ended with the Sixth Calamity (the flood)?

 

Yoshida: The history and end of that era will be one of the main parts of the story. Why the Sixth Calamity occurred and its outcome will be one of the themes. By the way, Crystal Tower was created to be a single building with primarily interior areas. This time we are also trying to use outdoor areas, and the raid dungeon will change throughout the series, so you won't necessarily be fighting inside the Void Ark throughout.

 

So the Void Ark will set the stage this first time, but it may not for the second?

 

Yoshida: Although that was the original plan, I thought to myself, after retreating once, why would you go back to ride it again? (laughs) Since it would be hard to change the appearance, we decided not to go with that idea.

 

Perhaps it won't only be the vessel itself, but also the surrounding areas which become the stage?

 

Yoshida: It's still a bit early to talk about it, but the next part of the series we publish won't be named for the Void Ark ship. For example, it may be better to think of this as Chapter 1 of the "Sixth Calamity" series instead of "Void Ark." That would better represent the content to come.

 

In the lower left corner of the Void Ark artwork that was published with the 24th producer letter, there was a castle illustrated - will that be part of the stage for adventurers?

 

Yoshida: That's a common thought... it's still a secret for now (laughs).

 

 

Esoterics upgrade materials to be choices among the rewards!

 

What will the item level of equipment you can obtain on Void Ark be?

 

Yoshida: As usual, it will be a secret until the patch notes are pubslihed (laughs). That said, since you can only obtain Esoterics gear for a limited number of jobs, we know it's difficult to obtain equipment for alternate jobs, so we've made the item level high enough to be practical.

 

How will you be able to obtain the items to upgrade Esoterics equipment?

 

Yoshida: First off, the Void Ark equipment will drop directly from treasure chests after bosses are defeated. Instead of the upgrade items also being in treasure chests, players will individually obtain items called "Ancient Coins." Ancient Coins will be exchangeable for items equipment upgrade materials. The coins will be obtained after clearing Void Ark once a week. You'll be able to exchange these for the items needed to strengthen either Esoterics accessories or Esoterics equipment.

 

So you can only pick one each week.

 

Yoshida: Since the Ancient Coins will go directly to individual players, you're guaranteed to get one without lotting, and you can choose which material to receive when you go to exchange it.

 

Will any materials used in crafting be available as drops?

 

Yoshida: As far as that goes, please look back to Crystal Tower to get an idea (laughs).

 

Will the availability of upgrade items for Esoterics gear increase over time like with the Crystal Tower series?

 

Yoshida: Yeah, you guessed it. The item needed to upgrade weapons will not be available for exchange at the time of patch 3.1. This will be added in one of the future updates. However, strong weapons will drop from the extreme Knights of the Round primal battle, so those who are currently struggling with the third and fourth areas of savage Alexander should start there.

 

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"Extreme Knights" will be like Nael from the fourth turn of Second Coil!

 

How difficult do you expect the extreme Knights of the Round primal battle to be?

 

Yoshida: We have the battle positioned as an extreme primal battle, but it may be more difficult than the past extreme primal battles.

 

So its likely to require a lot of skill?

 

Yoshida: To some extent. In patch 3.1, we have content like the field exploration in the Sea of Clouds area and Void Ark which you can do fairly casually with 24 people. This content will be positioned more like a step lower than the challenge of the third and fourth area of savage Alexander. People who have already cleared the first and second area of savage Alexander shouldn't have much problem clearing this. However, if you're able to clear the extreme Ravana battle, you should be OK to attempt this.

 

That's a little comforting (laughs).

 

Yoshida: We wanted to make something that was slightly easier than the raid content. The initial idea behind it was to create something for players stuck on the third area of savage Alexander.

 

Since Good King Moggle Mog XII there have been many extreme primals.

 

Yoshida: Good King Moggle Mog XII has just three phases if you count the end - extreme Knights of the Round has 10 phases. We initially wanted to do 13 phases, but we decided that was too much so we settled on 10. The DPS check is not extremely high, but it will be difficult without proper coordination. For comparison, I think it's along the lines of the Nael van Darnus fight in the fourth turn of Second Coil.

 

When you mention the fourth turn of Second Coil I immediately think about the mechanics with the dragons.

 

Yoshida: There will be a number of mechanics returning from primal battles in the 2.X series. You'll get a feeling that the gimmicks from before are back, but remixed. It might initially be a struggle, but I think it will turn out to be a fun fight.

 

I'm getting the idea of something along the lines of the hard Ultima Weapon battle.

 

Yoshida: Yeah (laughs). For those who have just been collecting Esoterics gear, you will be able to try out the extreme Bismarck and Ravana battles in Duty Finder starting in patch 3.1. If you haven't already cleared the normal version of Alexander Gordias or the two extreme primals, please do so. The Knights of the Round extreme battle is designed to be a step up from those in terms of item level balance, so if you play through the content step-by-step, it will be more efficient.

 

 

High-performance equipment will be available from the Diadem

 

How strong will you need to be to try the exploration content in the Diadem? At a minimum, you'll need level 60?

 

Yoshida: It won't be set too high. You can perform gathering activities in a fairly carefree manner. You should be successful with gathering from around level 57. You'll be able to obtain special items in addition to normal materials, and those items can be delivered to House Haillenarte in Ishgard to exchange for items of your choosing. The goal was to expand and make gathering more enjoyable.

 

So you'll be able to gather items without any issues even if you don't have the so-called red scrip gear?

 

Yoshida: You'll be okay without it. The equipment you're wearing when you turn level 60 should be enough, so it should be casually enjoyable for everyone.

 

So it won't be like you're obtaining items in this field to directly make money?

 

Yoshida: Right, it won't be like that, but it will be possible to sell the items you exchange for after you deliver them.

 

Will there be unspoiled or ephemeral nodes that gatherers will find more difficult to gather from?

 

Yoshida: The nodes will all be common nodes across the general field area. There won't be any timed or restricted nodes so please feel free to gather at any point.

 

How frequently will item level 210 gear drop?

 

Yoshida: It will depend on luck, but you should see several over the course of a full 90 minute hunt.

 

Will players need to repeatedly collect equipment to get the best configuration of parameters?

 

Yoshida: Based on the item level, a certain minimum strength will be guaranteed. For example, you won't get a piece of item level 210 gear which has an actual strength lower than a piece of level 180 gear. To prevent this from happening, the main parameters are guaranteed for the item level. The rest of the stats and secondary parameters are random, so they will vary each time an item drops.

 

So what might happen if you're not lucky?

 

Yoshida: You may obtain a piece of spell speed gear for monk (laughs).

 

How is the Aetherial equipment distributed?

 

Yoshida: It will be a lotting system. If you participate solo from the airship landing in Ishgard at House Haillenarte, only the "Greed" and "Pass" options will be available. Alternatively, if you take part in the content with eight person parties from a Free Company, the normal distribution system, as well as the lootmaster option, will be available for selection.

 

Why can't you select "need" when participating solo?

 

Yoshida: It's possible to change jobs freely in the Diadem. For example, you may be after caster gear but decide to change to a tank to help out your party's organization which would cause trouble when caster gear drops. Based on that, we decided to implement the "greed only" rule.

 

How do we apply to participate at House Haillenarte?

 

Yoshida: You'll need to talk to a NPC there to register, but the system function will be the same as with the normal Duty Finder.

 

 

Additional benefits to repeatedly challenging the lower difficulties

 

Will you be able to exchange unnecessary Aetherial gear for company credits?

 

Yoshida: No. When you deliver items that you've obtained from the exploration content back to House Haillenarte, you'll obtain a new type of points which can then be exchanged for your choice among a list of available items.

 

What can you get?

 

Yoshida: There will be a new flying mount, various kinds of materia... to see the rest, please take a look for yourself (laughs).

 

Can you arbitrarily select the difficulty for the exploration?

 

Yoshida: You can choose from three levels - easy, normal, and hard. However, you can only participate in hard with a Free Company. If you don't belong to a Free Company but still want to participate in hard, you should be able to find groups through Party Finder. Additionally, in order to challenge on hard, you need to discover the island through airship voyages in advance.

 

Do the rewards vary with the difficulty?

 

Yoshida: If you mean will better stats be available on Aetherial gear at the higher difficulty, it won't be like that. It will simply be a change in the drop rate of the golden treasure boxes. Since the only difference will be the strength and the drop rate from monsters, there are still plenty of reasons to try the lower difficulty exploration.

 

Can you give a specific example?

 

Yoshida: The easy monsters are weak, so although the rate of obtaining chests is lower, you'll be able to defeat more monsters in the time you have. On hard, there are a lot of strong monsters, and the probability of getting the better treasure boxes is increased. However, since the monsters are strong, if your party isn't well-equipped to put out the needed damage, you won't be able to defeat as many monsters in the available time. Since the treasure box drop rate is just a chance, you may still get a lower tier treasure box after a battle that you struggle through. You should look at the strength and skill of your party and decide what will be the most efficient.

 

Will you be changing or adding anything to the existing airship voyages?

 

Yoshida: We'll be making it so that everyone in the workshop sees the cutscene when an airship is deployed, and various other adjustments to improve convenience. Also, we'll be increasing the number of islands that you can dispatch to. Since this time we're focused on the exploration content, there haven't been an extremely high amount of changes to the voyage content. That said, the available items will continue to grow.

 

Tell us about your future plans for Sea of Clouds exploration and the Diadem.

 

Yoshida: We're already done with planning and I've looked into the needed resources to get it done, but we want to make final decisions based on the reception to the content, so we've halted work on it for the moment.

 

So the player interest in certain parts of the content will determine the path forward?

 

Yoshida: That will be the policy defining the basis of teh future content. We already have the main ideas set, but haven't started the work yet. The next update to it is planned for patch 3.3, while patch 3.2 will mainly contain adjustments to it. Please try it out and give us your feedback.

 

 

Pharos Sirius (Hard) will progress differently from before.

 

Will either of the two new instanced dungeons have anything to do with progression through the main scenario?

 

Yoshida: You will need to have completed the main scenario of 3.0, but it won't be involved with the latest main quests. However, this doesn't mean this will be the same for dungeons added in the future, it just happens to be the case for these. We may still decide to use instanced dungeons as a way to liven up the main scenario in the future.

 

Unlike with the normal version of Pharos Sirius, it looks like you'll be descending from the top floor of the tower this time.

 

Yoshida: It might appear that the goal is to get to the first floor, but it isn't. The lighthouse part will be disconnected compared to the previous battle.

 

You'll be rushing in from the lighthouse portion?

 

Yoshida: That's how the first half will be handled.

 

So tell us a bit about the gardens of St. Mocianne's Arboretum.

 

Yoshida: When we were doing the adjustments the other day it felt like it might have been as difficult as a raid. We toned it down from what felt like a four person raid to something more manageable. There will be new elements with the mechanics of the bosses along the way, so I hope you enjoy it.

 

What were the contents like before you made those changes?

 

Yoshida: There were too many mechanics incorporated that made it tough. We sorted through it all and left only what was necessary.

 

Personally, I think you should release the raid version of St. Mocianne's Arboretum as a "savage" mode.

 

Yoshida: It might be fun to play, but that we might have a difficult problem with the rewards. Either way, it was four person content.

 

That would be fun. As far as duration goes, will these be about as long as usual?

 

Yoshida: It'll be the same, but they'll have some variety compared to others.

 

 

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Adding a level adjust function to the new beast tribe quests

 

Will there be anything unique for the Vanu Vanu beast tribe quests which will be added?

 

Yoshida: We'll be applying a new mechanism to beast tribe daily quests which will allow you to adjust the level. Previously, the quests issued from beast tribes had been at fixed levels which would increase with the reputation. This time, the level will vary automatically depending on the level of the player. This will be useful to leveling up a second job, and will make it easier to come back and do the beast tribe quests every day.

 

How many levels will this span?

 

Yoshida: You'll be able to use it as early as level 50. There will also be a story with several characters appearing and a pretty neat ending, so please check it out.

 

Will you need to have cleared past beast tribe quests to try these?

 

Yoshida: No, as long as you can visit the new Heavensward areas, there won't be any other restrictions.

 

 

Experience in instanced dungeons will depend on the required time

 

With experience being added to level 50 instanced dungeons, will the amount of experience obtained be determined based on the player's average item level?

 

Yoshida: We adjusted it so that the instanced dungeons that take longer to clear yield higher amounts of experience. We decided to allocate the experience based on clear time with item level synced to 115. To maintain some balance, we did not have experience points available in these dungeons before. We could have included a small experience value from the beginning, but that could have created other challenges.

 

Yeah.

 

Yoshida: Rather than forcing it in at the time, we decided that it would be better for players to check out the new instanced dungeons in Heavensward as a fresh experience - it wasn't that we just procrastinated on adding EXP until patch 3.1.

 

Are there any plans to increase the armoury bonus for leveling up a second and additional jobs?

 

Yoshida: Since we're just now adding experience values to level 50 dungeons, I think it's too early to consider that. Certainly once you get to around level 57 you need to repeat certain content to level up. But by doing Duty Roulette for experience and repeating each instanced dungeon about once, you should still be able to reach level 60 in about 10 days. In fact, I leveled up five different jobs like that. With the daily quests from the Vanu Vanu, you should be able to do it even faster, so as of now, there are no plans to strengthen the Armoury Bonus. Since the Armoury Bonus has a wide range of influence, we'd have to carefully consider any changes to it.

 

 

The new weapon development content will be called "Anima Weapons"

 

What kind of content will the Endalim Scholasticate have?

 

Yoshida: This is a new set of side quests separate from the Hildibrand story. It will be a completely new story, but that doesn't mean familiar characters won't appear.

 

Since the school is the stage, I wonder if this has any correspondence to the Beginner's Hall?

 

Yoshida: No, this is a side story, a school story, but not so much comedy. We'll have something else which will take the comedy role.... (laughs). The Beginner's Hall is something separate that we're aiming at having ready for patch 3.2.

 

Will the Scholasticate quests be published in patch 3.1?

 

Yoshida: It will be included in patch 3.15.

 

When will patch 3.15 be released?

 

Yoshida: It will be in December (laughs). You'll be able to enjoy it before the end of the year.

 

I think the new Zodiac Weapon story was also planned for patch 3.15?

 

Yoshida: This will also start in patch 3.15. The official name for the series is "Anima Weapon." Additionally, players who have already completed a Zodiac Weapon Zeta will be able to pass the first stage of Anima Weapon creation.

 

Oh, that's nice.

 

Yoshida: Also, if you have a Zodiac Weapon Zeta, you can choose one type of anima weapon you want to make and pass the first stage. For example, a black mage who previously completed Lilith Rod Zeta and has since changed to dark knight will be able to pass the first stage of the dark knight challenge utilizing the Lilith Rod Zeta. That said, we are balancing it so that with the amount of work it takes to complete a Zodiac Weapon Zeta, if you are starting fresh, you'd be better off just focusing on the Anima Weapon.

 

So it's a pretty large scale from the start.

 

Yoshida: There will be large scale with individual differences (laughs).

 

 

Materia can be attached to future Allagan Tomestone equipment

 

How are you changing the advanced melding rules for crafter-fabricated accessories?

 

Yoshida: There will be no new accessories added in patch 3.1. The reason for this is that the specifications for forbidden materia melding will be changed in patch 3.2.

 

What kind of change?

 

Yoshida: You will not be able to attach STR / VIT / DEX / INT / MND / PIE materia in forbidden slots. It will be possible to attach other materia as in the past, but main parameters will not be attachable in those slots.

 

What happens in the case of the first slot?

 

Yoshida: For equipment with one open slot, you'll be able to attach the first materia as a main parameter as before, but you won't be able to attach any additional materia with main parameters. We won't be changing things which have been melded with main parameter forbidden materia in the past, but it will no longer be possible with new accessories starting in patch 3.2.

 

So the accessory situation will change considerably.

 

Yoshida: Instead, we'll be changing the performance of equipment added in patches 3.2 and later to be higher than before. Additionally, in patch 3.2, we're also planning to add materia slots to armor which you exchange for Allagan Tomestones. In the future, many things will be able to be equipped with materia and we're also playing around with new formulas for forbidden melding.

 

So the future won't be as it is now where only certain roles need to have forbidden materia melded.

 

Yoshida: The intent of these specification changes is to address feedback from those who work on completing raids earlier. The main feedback is that for tanks in particular, the cost to obtain and need for forbidden melded accessories was high. Additionally, after going to great lengths to obtain that accessory, it would quickly become inferior to new accessories obtained from the content. We decided that it would be better to even the playing field for everyone in this regard.

 

So it will be something all players can think about rather than just individual roles.

 

Yoshida: As a result of this, we'll also be able to increase the strength of armor created by crafters for which we previously needed to suppress the performance. Withese these changes in patch 3.2, the demand for materia should increase, and to that end you'll be able to take advantage of exploration in the Diadem.

 

 

The current "Savage" situation

 

Do you have any plans to make adjustments to savage Alexander Gordias with patch 3.1? There should be a growing interest as players take advantage of the Diadem.

 

Yoshida: Because it is still the most difficult challenge, at least at the time of patch 3.1 we won't be making any adjustments. We'll be considering whether to make any changes starting from patch 3.15. Since you'll be able to obtain upgrade materials by completing Void Ark, we'll take a look at the number of people clearing savage at that time. If it's steadily increasing, we may not make any changes during the patch 3.1 series.

 

So right now you're just observing the situation.

 

Yoshida: With the new content in Knights of the Round extreme, The Diadem exploration, and Void Ark filling in the gap between normal and savage Alexander, we decided not to make any adjustments at this time.

 

How do you feel about the current clear methods and progress for savage Alexander Gordias?

 

Yoshida: Since normal Alexander helps you get into Savage, let's talk about both. First, for normal, the number of players clearing is far more than we expected, which is really good. As of late October, at least about 50% of players who are actively playing battle classes have completed all four parts of normal Alexander Gordias. It was also satisfying to watch players make adjustments to compensate for the shortfall in obtained Esoterics tomestones. We also paid a lot of attention to the world's first fights in Alexander savage and we were surprised by how quickly some groups got through it.

 

So you were able to satisfy those who asked for a more difficult battle.

 

Yoshida: On the other hand, unlike with the coils of Bahamut, we know there are many people who are stuck without having cleared the third area of Savage. Unlike normal, it's difficult to get a group of people who can clear the savage version of the third area. It really takes eight skilled players to overcome the difficulty.

 

So you're thinking of a difficulty between the normal and savage versions.

 

Yoshida: As of now, it's difficult to clear the savage version if the players don't all have good command of their jobs. Previously with the coils of Bahamut if you had six highly skilled players in a full party, even if the other two made mistakes or had item levels that were too low, it was possible to overcome that elsewhere. However, even at the maximum item level right now, a small mistake in battle or mechanics can be difficult to overcome in the third and fourth areas of savage. We know that it can be a really difficult problem to recruit a group of highly skilled players only within one world.

 

How many people have cleared?

 

Yoshida: The number of people who have cleared savage is about what we expected. As esoterics gear became more available, we expected more players to break through the third section little by little, but it looks like many run into a bad stretch there. We're looking to see whether groups stop trying there or whether less groups are trying in general.

 

It will be helpful to understand the current situation so you can take advantage of that knowledge in the next update.

 

Yoshida: The next update for Alexander will be in patch 3.2. Right now, we're working on the savage version and trying to decide whether to make it satisfying for the top players or whether to adjust it for a wider range of people. Given the cost of development, I'd lean towards a lower difficulty savage, but then some players may come back and say it isn't difficult enough...

 

By the way, will you be making job adjustments in patch 3.1?

 

Yoshida: There will be some, but nothing on a large scale. The biggest adjustment will be to rebuild the underlying mechanism behind ninjutsu to reduce the effect of lag and better connect mudra. We've also adjusted TP for Paladin and Ninja. We hear the player feedback about wanting to raise the DPS of Paladin, but we need to consider the offensive and defensive characteristics together, so it would be difficult to just raise the DPS with their current defensive ability.

 

A lot of those voices are probably from players in savage Alexander where there is a high reliance on tank DPS.

 

Yoshida: We'll be making effort to eliminate that as much as possible. Within the content, there are strong and weak points to each job. For example, in the second area of savage, a paladin main tank should have higher stability than a dark knight. Depending on the player and their skill level, each party will see different results, but we'd like to reduce the difference. We can't just make adjustments to jobs based on whether they are strong or weak in particular content as that would break the jobs, so we'll work to eliminate disadvantages to certain jobs as much as possible in the content. That doesn't mean we won't be making any adjustments to jobs in the future, but we'd like to also hear feedback after playing through the different content in patch 3.1.

 

 

Patch 3.1 will "scratch the itches" within reach.

 

What do you find most enjoyable in the new content?

 

Yoshida: Players who are looking for a challenge between normal and savage Alexander will find it with the extreme Knights of the Round. Those who have found it too difficult to try savage due to a lack of equipment can participate in Void Ark once a week to increase their equipment performance. And for those who want to play around with a lot of people or are perhaps aiming for fortunes, they can explore The Diadem.

 

The exploration in the Sea of Clouds is a totally new style of play.

 

Yoshida: In a sense, the exploration content in Sea of Clouds is not like content you'll find in other modern MMORPGs, but it's one direction in which we'd like to evolve play in FFXIV in the future. As it's possible to change from non-combat to combat classes, we'll be eliminating the recast time penalty except for strong abilities. Since there's a lot of freedom in the content, some problems may arise, which we'll try to remedy immediately with hot fixes. In particular, we'd like people to group up with other members, try it out, and give us your feedback.

 

Feedback is important.

 

Yoshida: Players enjoyed the story and leveling in 3.0, and patch 3.1 will aim to cover up many of the holes which became apparent. The main scenario will also begin to proceed towards 4.0, so please stay tuned.

 

Thank you very much!

[Caspar]

I am hoping the sea of clouds exploration is able to galvanize the playerbase and bring in some returnees who weren't happy with the repetition in HW.

 

I can understand the idea of keeping the old roulette and new roulette separate if they are worth the same amount. That way you do a new one and an old one every day. It is more time consuming, but if they really want to keep the new dungeons separate from the old ones, then I think it's the only good option.

 

I am super excited for Void Ark. Not just because it's the next big raid, or because I want to learn about this new plot thread, but because...

 

 

No matter what I just can't stop thinking about that vampire thread. I absolutely must find an answer to that sagely question, that zenith of intellectual might upon the forum. Few threads have ever come near the pinnacle of debate that was Plausibility of Vampire RP.

 

Of course I jest. Clearly

This is hiding inside each coffin.

 

The dungeon looks fun, and honestly, the NPC looked super evil to me in the cut scene preview, so I'm surprised he is on your side. I wonder if he's trustworthy. I also think the possibility for lore expansion in this update is good. I feel the developers are moving in a direction of multiple concurrent plot threads from the interview. That gives me hope that in the future, rather than one raid which can get a bit samey after months and months, we have multiple raids with different gear for a greater level of horizontal progression. If there are multiple plot threads, it would only be natural to add endgame content unique to each plot thread that is more involved than just EX Primals or Ballads, but actual real dungeons and raiding content that are competitive with one another. It's an assumption but I feel like it gives me a bit of hope.

 

They indeed have a lot of issues with manpower and funding, (Why I have no idea, Square just likes strangling the golden goose.) but even so I feel like they're moving some elements of the game in the right direction. Just maybe not as fast as some players would like. I love this game and I think it could be improved from good to great by adding a bit more "vastness" and less linearity to its structure. HW managed to do a bit of the former, and not enough of the latter, so I am hoping this interview indicates they've keyed into that problem.

[Dat Oni]

This is hiding inside each coffin.

 

NO MOT NO! NOT AGAIN!

[Kage]

Slycer on BG forums posted the first part of the Gamewatch interview.

 

This link will take you to his interview, he is currently editing.

Part One

 

This is my translation of the first half of the Game Watch interview. You'll see there is a ton of overlap with the Famitsu one, but I'll still finish this up as there are some details which were further discussed here or not at all in the other interview.

 

As it's not complete and/or may be heavily edited over the next few hours, please link back if you're copying in part or whole.

 

Source: http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/interview/20151105_727560.html

 

------

 

 

As previously reported, "As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness" Patch 3.1, the latest update for Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, will be implemented on November 10. With the longer than usual four month wait since the expansion's release on June 23, the update has become quite packed with content enhancements. When this article is released, expectations should be at a high as the update will finally be only a few days away.

 

We conducted this interview about patch 3.1 implementation with Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of FFXIV, from Hiroshima before the live producer letter was held. As we had not yet seen the producer letter and were not sure about the direction of the patch, we asked a number of questions of interest to core players about content direction such as for savage Alexander and Seal Rock.

 

We also discussed a large amount of information about patch 3.1 that was also released after the live producer letter was broadcast. It's all summarized in this article, so please read on.

 

 

The FFXIV Development Team takes their first long vacation, but what does the future hold?

 

Producer and director Naoki Yoshida discusses the first update since the expansion's release, patch 3.1 "As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness," to be implemented on November 10.

 

 

"As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness" patch 3.1 will finally be implemented on November 10.

 

Yoshida: If we were able to release 3.1 this week (October 19) or last Tuesday (October 13), it would probably feel like about the normal pace, but we've deviated by about 3-4 weeks from that pace, although I think players feel that it's been much longer. We've really kept you waiting. This patch will extend the 3.X series and begin the gradual path to 4.0. Starting with 3.2, we'll be returning to the usual three and a half month period between patches.

 

You had been saying that you wanted to increase the amount of breaks for the team - did the development team get a rest?

 

Yoshida: Outside of the summer vacation which was already set by the company, we gave the team about a week off. There was a considerable amount of planning work that still needed to be done, but there was so much tension after 2.55 getting to the release of 3.0 that we wanted to avoid anyone getting burnt out and we thought a bit of time off would be better for the future.

 

Did you get a break?

 

Yoshida: I was devoted to making plans for the 3.X series and 4.0, but I did rest for about four days. I was glad to get a chance to play a lot of FFXIV (laughs).

 

This break was there for the development team to take after 3.0's release, but do you plan to have any policy changes for this in the future?

 

Yoshida: We decided earlier that we would add one more stage to the workflow so we aren't going crazy at the last minute. As FFXIV is a very story-driven MMORPG, the main scenario drives a lot of our focus. For example, increasing the story requires more cutscene and VFX work, additional post-recording, and new sounds which all have to get in just before the patch release. By doing a study of our workflow, we were able to set the scenario firmly earlier on, which allows us to produce more scenes and quite significantly change things from the way they were before.

 

We've completed the plot for the patch 3.X series already and we finish up the text for the scenario way ahead of time. After that, we spent a lot of time reviewing player feedback to decide on system adjustments to incorporate in patch 3.1. For example, previously it could be difficult to get a good idea of where all of your party members were on a map. So starting in 3.1, we'll be displaying the direction in which each of the party members is located at the border of the navigation map, and there are a lot of fine adjustments like this. There will be a lot of convenience updates. The patch notes reading might be tough compared to usual because there are so many system changes.

 

Are you already planning for the future?

 

Yoshida: Yeah. The roadmap is pretty much complete and I've already started working on the specifications for 3.2. I'm still getting 3.1 and 3.2 specs mixed up in my head right now (laughs).

 

Last time we spoke, you mentioned that you would be meeting with Visual Works by August to start working on 4.0. Has that happened yet?

 

Yoshida: Yeah. Actually we also had another meeting to start planning character content. We started breaking things down at that meeting and we've already began art production. We'll start working on animation soon, and we'll probably be ready for motion capture not long after that.

 

So parts of 4.0 production are already underway.

 

Yoshida: The cutting edge work has already started (laughs).

 

 

Considering new mechanisms for Alexander different from 3.0. How will it evolve?

 

First question about savage Alexander Gordias - will you be adjusting the difficulty?

 

Yoshida: We won't be changing anything in particular at patch 3.1 release.

 

Due to the high DPS requirements in savage, it takes a good balance of party members and requires high player skill - how do you feel about the balance right now?

 

Yoshida: As players earned more Esoterics equipment, we expected more players to get through the third area of savage. Although the number is certainly going up, it's not quite where we imagined it would be. Previously in the coils of Bahamut, you could have a good team of six and even if the other two people made some mistakes, you could still clear. However, because of the degree of difficulty with savage Alexander, every one of the eight players needs to be on point or you won't be able to clear, and I think that's really the challenge. Another part is that even if you're able to deal with the mechanics, you also need to be able to maintain your damage rotation at the same time, so there are cases where DPS drops too low to keep up.

 

In 2.X we got a lot of feedback from players asking for more difficult content, and so we made this content to meet those requests. This is difficult content where a fully equipped party is needed. However, since we also had the "normal" difficulty, there was a huge response.

 

Already people who never tried the raids before have cleared, and as of mid-October, more than half of all players have cleared it, so that's really good. Of course, we've heard all the feedback saying that while savage is too difficult, you want something in the middle. We've been discussing all of this in great detail among the development team as we work toward patch 3.2.

 

So you'll be implementing a medium difficulty in the future?

 

Yoshida: It's a tricky problem. We don't have the staff to make so many different levels of raid. We've been discussing whether it would be good to drop the difficulty of the savage version instead of making a medium difficulty. We also talked about perhaps having a six area structure instead of four, where the first two areas are relatively easy, the third and fourth are tougher, and the fifth and sixth are really difficult. However, with the current development period and the number of people on the raid development staff, I'm not sure if we can make that a reality.

 

Since the next Alexander will be added in 3.2, I also want to hear from players about it. We'll look at the feedback and of course we'll also look at the clear rate. There are many voices on the other side saying that they are happy with the difficulty and asking to leave it as is. It took a while for the world's first to clear this time, and there was a lot of excitement around when it happened. Once we determine the policy, we'll let you know, but I don't think it will remain the same as it is now.

 

So it will continue in a different direction from now.

 

Yoshida: That's right. If our resource allocation remains as it is now, we may do something like instead of lowering the difficulty of savage in general, make it so that just the fourth section is extremely tough and make it somewhat easier to get through the third part. That's not to say we've made any final decisions yet, but it's something that we thought would be good.

 

It seems like players have actually transferred to other worlds from some worlds where fewer players try to clear it.

 

Yoshida: I don't think it's good to have a situation where players feel they need to transfer worlds to find a party. It's great that people really want to clear it and are so passionate about the raid that they're willing to transfer worlds, but it's regretful that it has to come to that. I wonder whether or not we could have something like a "Raid Finder," it's not totally unlikely.

 

Would that be like a Duty Finder for raids that matches players across worlds?

 

Yoshida: Because of the way the Party Finder system is designed to recruit players across an entire world, it took about a year of development to implement. By having a "Raid Finder" separate from Party Finder, we'd have to set fine participation conditions, and it would be something that pulls people from within the same data center to participate in raids. It's really just something in my head at the moment, so I'm struggling with the details.

 

But basically it would be something that makes it easier to form a raid party.

 

Yoshida: Looking at something like savage, the first hurdle is getting a group of eight skilled players together. In that regard, I think that Party Finder recruitment would be more prevalent if the difficulty was lower. Even if we add something like a "Raid Finder," when difficulty drops, Party Finder recruitment would go up and the matching rates would go down, so we need to make decisions looking at the big picture. We're thinking about a variety of options and trying to figure out which way to go. And we've already started work on production of the raid in parallel. To make something like this, it will take about six months.

 

Can you comment on the next bosses for Alexander yet?

 

Yoshida: That's not going to happen (laughs).

 

Regarding job balance in savage, it's been said that Dark Knight and Warrior are the most advantageous. Are you planning any Paladin adjustments for the third tank job?

 

Yoshida: We'll be making some fine-tuning adjustments to certain Paladin actions, but it won't be in the direction of strengthening their DPS.

 

So what kind of direction will it be moving in?

 

Yoshida: Things such as TP depletion, etc. The best characteristics about Paladin where it excels compared to the other tanks are its defensive ability and easiness to handle. If we also allow it to put out higher DPS, the job performance would be too high and we feel that it would break the balance to make any significant strength changes. As we've said, the advantages or disadvantages are relative to the content, so we carefully considered adjustments but we don't want to make them focusing exclusively on savage Alexander.

 

Have you been looking into the less effective new skills like Clemency?

 

Yoshida: Yes, with Divine Veil as well we feel that they aren't quite as effective, so please stay tuned with future content.

 

Can you comment about the inability to add more VIT to accessories for PLD?

 

Yoshida: We'll be changing the materia specifications for crafted accessories in 3.2. While non-accessories on the left side are already at max stats, it required melds on accessories to reach the maximum since accessories only have one main parameter. We plan to make changes to this.

 

Instead of being able to do forbidden melds with the main parameters STR / VIT / DEX / INT / MND / PIE, we'll be raising the base performance of crafted equipment higher than before. The secondary parameters will stay as usual, so the forbidden melds can be used to increase the amount of secondary parameters.

 

With the current progression, crafted accessories in subsequent patches with forbidden melds are incorrectly becoming the strongest pieces. This caused a number of problems. Players would go through great pains to clear a difficult raid and obtain equipment which has weaker performance than items they already had. Tanks would specifically feel the need to perform forbidden melds more than any other job, which also created situations where their performance was relatively higher than other jobs. When we change the specifications simultaneously with adding the new raid, we'll continue to add new accessories. The performance of these will be higher than before with their main parameters, and you'll be able to work on progressing through the raid early by adding secondary parameters.

 

So the accessories that drop from the raid will be the strongest ones.

 

Yoshida: It will be like that. With this change in specifications, the value of materia will change. Since raid drop and Allagan tomestone equipment will also have materia slots in 3.2, we're working on some major adjustments to the stats. We're thinking about increasing the value of materia right now. Since we'll be changing this so much in 3.2, there will not be any new accessories implemented in 3.1. If we added them now, they would be the strongest at the start of 3.2, so we want to avoid that and have time to discuss this and come to a conclusion.

 

 

Seal Rock will remain as is. Balance adjustments coming with "Wolves' Den II"

 

Let's talk a bit about Frontline in Seal Rock. Right now summoner is very strong and the number of participants has increased, how do you feel about the current balance?

 

Yoshida: I'm a bit concerned about this, but like with the raid, there won't really be any changed made in patch 3.1. We have had a lot of reports come in from people doing Seal Rock. Their burst damage certainly is large and easier to perform than on other jobs, so we're looking at the situation.

 

So it will remain as is for patch 3.1?

 

Yoshida: Yeah. We could do something like change recast timers, but our intent is to avoid any large discrepancies between PvE and PvP rules. Even if we did extend the recast time during PvP, it wouldn't change much, just things that you could do once every 30 seconds would only be once every 60 seconds, for example, and it wouldn't really fix the problem.

 

Since casters have the ability to use Sprint, could you make Sprint MP-dependent to even the playing field?

 

Yoshida: Certainly it's very handy on summoner. However, an equally skilled melee player can also be quite strong. This is something else we discussed. Since summoner burst damage has become a habit, there are also a lot of people who will run in to bait it. Willingness and ease of playing Seal Rock is a major factor in players participating, so if we start depriving certain things, there will be less players participating. We decided to leave the current situation as is until it gets to the point where we feel it's totally necessary to suppress it.

 

As a melee, if I see that I'm matched against a bunch of summoners, I think to myself "great!" (laughs)

 

Yoshida: Good melee DPS are really strong, so there's peace of mind in that (laughs).

 

Indeed, there are many melee DPS who will have at least 10 kills.

 

Yoshida: Yeah, and as you kill more opponents, including with the LB, melee just get stronger and stronger and a skillful person can be pretty extraordinary. So if we just weaken summoners in PvP they would feel too much change in PvE. Perhaps eventually...

 

So there won't be any adjustments to Frontline in 3.1.

 

Yoshida: Right now we're working on Wolves' Den II and we'll be making balance adjustments there. We've been talking about this for three weeks so far, but since there's a high likelihood that we'll be changing up the current situation with Wolves' Den II, we decided to leave things as is for now. There's been a lot of talk about the risk to pets, so you might see things in that direction in the future with Wolves' Den II.

 

---(End part 1 of 2)---

[Kage]

I can't remember where the Letter from the Producer LIVE threads were... lol but the digest threads are now up!

 

Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXIV Digest

_V0Kb_Urnhs

 

Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXV Digest

8mYwrpYttOI

 

XXV

1:49:44

Q: In a previous interview with Yoshida, it was said that, “Gear for each race might be made dyeable.” How has progress been for that since then? Also, is it possible to make Allagan and High Allagan gear dyeable for glamor purposes?

 

A: Hayashi: There are plans for that. I’m thinking that it might be nice to add it to the Disciples of the Hand recipes with Patch 3.2. It’s currently being considered.

 

Yoshida: You’re going to implement it?

 

Hayashi: …We are.

 

Regarding the “Malevolent Mogwand”, which is one of the popular weapons that players would like to glamour but are unable to because the weapon is one-handed, a two-handed version with the same design has been created and we plan to introduce this in 3.2. Please provide us with opinions and feedback on any current one-handed weapon which you would like to see as two-handed.

[V'aleera]

Sorry if I missed it somewhere in this thread, but according to community rep Zhexos here, we will be getting all Scions of the Seventh Dawn glamours in the Mog Station.

[Kage]

Part 2 of the Gamewatch Interview with Yoshida, translated by Slycer of the Bluegartr forums

 

The Knights of the Round primal battle will be challenging but fun

 

Next, I'd like to ask about some of the content to be implemented in 3.1. First, there will be the new Void Ark raid content set on a ghost ship with what looks like a lot of sea creature type monsters that we saw in the trailer. What's the basis of the setting for this?

 

Yoshida: It's basically set in the Sea of Clouds area in the skies of 3.0. So on the exterior of the ship you'll battle enemies that you might see around the Sea of Clouds. Once you land on the deck of the Void Ark, you'll begin to be attacked by monsters which swim in the Sea of Clouds.

 

For the basis of the scenario, the ship was built during the Fifth Astral Era to protect the people from the Calamity, but there is something wrong with its power. It will start with taking to the skies to claim the treasure from this wandering ship of the Fifth Astral Era, but the story will quickly become more serious.

 

Will it be three parts once again?

 

Yoshida: That's the current plan. With Crystal Tower, there was the Labyrinth of the Ancients, Syrcus Tower, and World of Darkness as you gradually went to the top. For the so-called Void Ark series, we're just calling it that for now, but we'll be defining a different name fot the series. The exploration of the Void Ark will end, and the next scenario will begin with a new incident that occurs after the Void Ark was cleared and take place in a different region.

 

Might you be going to the location that you can see floating in the distance in The Churning Mists?

 

Yoshida: You might guess that (laughs). This time, the mysteries will be in the Void Ark, and the next raid will follow on from that mystery.

 

Cait Sith appeared in the trailer - what will their role be?

 

Yoshida: He won't be there from the beginning but you should watch for his appearance. He is the character who knows the real truth behind the Void Ark, so please pay attention to his words and actions.

 

From watching the trailer, it seemed like there would be a number of new difficult mechanics to deal with, so how difficult will it be?

 

Yoshida: It won't be much different from the World of Darkness. World of Darkness was a finale, but we also wanted to increase the level of difficulty a bit in response to player feedback that it would be better to have a bit more tension and be afrait of wiping. We think that's just the right level of challenge. You might wipe at first before you know what to do, but it should be relatively easy once you understand the battles. That assumption for the difficulty is the same this this time around.

 

What item level will be required to enter?

 

Yoshida: It won't be that high. You'll be fine if you're geared with Law equipment (~IL170).

 

What item level equipment can you earn there?

 

Yoshida: Please wait until the patch notes are published to find out. That said, I think they will be very useful items for alternate jobs that are leveled up.

 

Will you only be able to receive the item to strengthen Esoterics accessories at first?

 

Yoshida: The accessory and equipment upgrade items can be obtained by exchanging Ancient Coins. Upon clearing Void Ark, you'll obtain Ancient Coins directly, not from the treasure box, and those can then be exchanged for the upgrade materials.

 

Next, let's talk about exploration in The Diadem. Will there be a different starting point for those who have spent time on airship voyages adn those who have not?

 

Yoshida: First of all, you can participate in the content either with Free Company airships or those from House Haillenarte in Ishgard, only the available difficulties will be different. You can only choose the "hard" difficulty when you go with a FC. For those who don't belong to a FC but still want to try "hard," you can use Party Finder to look for a group. I think FCs will be using Party Finder to fill in gaps that they are missing when they decide to go, and I'd be happy to see people teaming up to do the content and make new friends along the way, possibly those who want to join the FC.

 

When you travel to The Diadem from a FC, eight people per ship can travel on up to three ships with 24 people total to explore the same island at the same time. However, on hard difficulty, you cannot set a destination to an island that you haven't previously charted with airship voyages. Even if you only work on raising your airship rank and doing airship voyages after 3.1's release, you should be able to explore islands on hard relatively soon. As you discover more, you'll be able to go to them at any time.

 

So if you want to do hard with your FC, you'll first need to develop your airship with voyages?

 

Yoshida: It will be like that. It will be easier to get good treasure boxes on hard. But on the other hand, the enemies will be strong, so if your party is not very strong and takes too much time to kill monsters or wipes along the way, your efficiency will go down. In that case, it would be better to try the normal or easy modes and kill more monsters consecutively, so it will be important to think about that.

 

Is the huge dinosaur from the trailer one of the hard monsters?

 

Yoshida: He only appears under certain conditions, so...

 

It's a rare monster?

 

Yoshida: The opportunity to fight it won't be all that low, but categorically it would be considered rare. Instead of dropping unique powerful items, it will have a higher than normal probability to drop a good treasure box. This isn't the kind of thing that people will be hunting and waiting for pops.

 

With the addition of item level 210 equipment here, will the need to really work hard on beating savage Alexander be eliminated?

 

Yoshida: I think that depends on your perspective. If you're OK with the probability and luck elements involved with lotting and randomness, it might seem very good to you. For those of you who don't have time for that and just want to get the items quickly, maybe savage is more your style.

 

Will it be hard to get drops?

 

Yoshida: Whether you get item level 210 gear or not is up to luck. Since it's just probability, you might leave empty handed on your first visit. However, since it will be Greed lotting, you may win things that don't suit your main job. In addition, even if you get item level 210 gear, you may have a poor selection of secondary parameters. You might be a melee DPS that gets stuck with spell speed. However, a minimum performance is guaranteed, for example, for melee DPS, the STR and VIT values are guaranteed. Beyond that, it will be random each time.

 

So you might feel quite lucky to get something.

 

Yoshida: Well, no, you'll see items fairly often. Since it would feel pointless if there weren't a good amount of drops, we're working on adjusting that until the last minute.

 

How is the difficulty of the new instanced dungeons? At the time of the 2.0 series, Pharos Sirius was a big jump in difficulty from the original Wanderer's Palace and Amdapor Keep dungeons.

 

Yoshida: It won't be like that, but they will be a little more difficult than Fractal Continuum or Neverreap. The assumption is that players have gotten their item levels up, so if your item level is high you'll still be able to get through them quickly. The role for instanced dungeons that we have in mind is that you can reliably get a reward from doing them once a day and then you can do whatever other content you prefer.

 

Will you be adding experience points to the existing level 50 instanced dungeons?

 

Yoshida: We will be. We'll also be increasing the experience value of dungeons on the Heavensward side to make leveling up easier. For players with less playtime, I think leveling has become more painful, so we've done some overall adjustments.

 

How is the difficulty of the extreme Knights of the Round primal battle?

 

Yoshida: It's quite tough.

 

What about compared to the hard Ultima Weapon fight?

 

Yoshida: It's tough to compare, but Knights of the Round is more difficult. At the beginning, we decide to position it somewhere between savage and normal. We didn't want to make it any more difficult than the third area of savage Alexander as we wanted players to stay motived to clear it and that would have been too difficult. There are many players who are fine with the first part of savage right now but find the third area to be too difficult. For these players, you'll get good weapons from extreme Knights of the Round which may help you get through the third and fourth parts of savage Alexander.

 

So it's tougher than extreme Ravana?

 

Yoshida: It is. Since there are 10 phases, I think players will need to work on clearing it one phase at a time.

 

That's likely to get a lot of response.

 

Yoshida: I think it'll prove to be really entertaining. Like the original Knights of the Round, this is kind of a culmination of all of the mechanics from the 2.0 series raids and extreme primals where players can enjoy learning and dealing with the mechanics in a lower pressure situation with DPS checks that aren't as strict.

 

 

The Anima Weapon and Endalim Scholasticate quests will be added in 3.15

 

You haven't talked much about the new Zodiac weapons so far, is there anything new you can tell us?

 

Yoshida: They'll be called "Anima Weapons" and the start of them will be in 3.15.

 

So it'll be the next patch. Will there be an advantage to players who have completed Zeta before?

 

Yoshida: If you have a Zeta, you can exchange the Zeta to skip the entire first stage. Since the new jobs don't have original Zodiac Weapons and many players switched jobs in 3.0, you'll be able to exchange any Zeta to skip the first stage on your favorite job. And for someone who has seven Zetas, they can skip the first step on their seven favorite jobs (laughs).

 

Is the first step very ?

 

Yoshida: It's pretty tough. It will be good to be able to bypass it. That said, even though we'll be making it easier to create a Zodiac Weapon in 3.1, it will still be more work to make a Zodiac Weapon Zeta than to start an Anima Weapon from scratch. However, for those who are already close to completing a Zeta, it will be good to finish it off when 3.1 hits.

 

Will Gerolt be involved?

 

Yoshida: Even though he's just a commoner, Gerolt is a master craftsman of arms, and he developed into a good character. He's not involved in cutscenes like Hildibrand, but he's one that people have come to like. We've talked about bringing him forward, so you can look forward to that in the future. Similarly, Rowena will continue to be involved in updates as she exchanges items for tomestones.

 

Will you have something like atma collection for the Anima weapons?

 

Yoshida: Hmm, I wonder... We want this to be long-lasting content, but we paid attention to make sure it wouldn't burn people out.

 

Can you talk about the Endalim Scholasticate quests?

 

Yoshida: This will be a new series of side quests beginning in 3.15. It's not a Hildibrand series. School stories are involved with a lot of the FF games, so you can expect that kind of drama.

 

Will the Warriors of Light enroll to become students like in Dragon Quest X?

 

Yoshida: It won't be like that. The students will play a role in the story.

 

Will there be a wide variety of school students for humor?

 

Yoshida: No, it's not intended to be a gag.

 

It's not a gag?

 

Yoshida: We have that handled separately (laughs).

 

Where's that guy in charge of gags now?

 

Yoshida: Well, he's probably stuck somewhere in a floating island...

 

So what kind of story will the Endalim Scholasticate be?

 

Yoshida: It will be more of a growth and maturation story.

 

Do you expect the story to be refreshing?

 

Yoshida: Please check it out when you play it.

 

Will there be any new quests for the Doman Adventurers' Guild?

 

Yoshida: They're taking some time off.

 

Will they be back in 3.2?

 

Yoshida: The person in charge of those quests is actually not on the scenario team. The lead staff for the quest team said they will get working on it as soon as they have time available but thank you for your encouragement (laughs).

 

Will the Mi'qote children in Idyllshire be involved in anything in the future?

 

Yoshida: The development team is planning something that they are involved with. The specifications for it were sloppy though, so I was a bit frustrated.

 

Will it be added later on?

 

Yoshida: If the specifications look fun... it will be after Idyllshire has evolved.

 

Will it be changing in 3.1?

 

Yoshida: It will.

 

 

[[There's some more about Playstation VR and whatnot but I don't have time to translate the rest and it doesn't have anything to do with 3.1 or even FFXIV in general as the VR thing was just a demo.]]

[Melkire]

Interviewer: So what might happen if you're not lucky?

 

Yoshida: You may obtain a piece of spell speed gear for monk (laughs).

 

YOSHIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

You adorable bastard. I love you. Quit giving me heart attacks.

[mongi291]

On a side note: If secondary stats on exploration gear are randomized, you may get accuracy on healer gear.

REJOICE, DPS HEALERS!

[-no longer matters-]

Thanks for posting all of this Kage! Man I can't wait for this new content to go live!

[Kage]

THE THAVNARIAN DANCE AND GOLDDANCE ARE 80K MGP EACH.

 

PASS IT ON.

 

/kagesuavesoutofhere

 

Thank baby jesus I saved up my MGP

 

WRONG THREAD OH WELL

[Blue]

 

I really hope the passenger for ceremony/draught/amber chocobo doesn't have to have all aetheric currents attuned in order to sit, because this would open up to a great Taxi business!

 

Just imagine all the un-attuned clients seeking a chocobo ride to see blocked zones and reach their currents faster! I'd totally roll a choco-taxi.

This would "break" the game and they don't want people who can't fly being able to fly. I imagine they will not allow it.

 

 

Welp, I had called it. People didn't believe it. 8-)

Here I am, without Aetheric Currents, on the pillon of Kara's chocobo, who has the aetheric currents. She was my uber rider and escorted me around the Sea of Clouds to unlock the currents I couldn't reach!

 

Taxi-bo is now a thing!!