Letter from the Producer LIVE XXVI

Kage · December 2, 2015

Any news, announcements, and etc that I find will be posted in this thread from this point forward. This includes the eventual re-posts etc.

Only news right now is that the next Letter will be

Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at 2:30 a.m. (PST)

CHECK OUT THE Live LETTER THREAD ON THE OFFICIAL FORUMS HERE

Kage · December 11, 2015

Letter from the Producer LIVE Party XXVI Update!

It will be streamed at:

http://www.twitch.tv/finalfantasyxiv

Themes * Updated on Friday, December 11, 2015

Q&A Session

Yoshi-P will give a response to the hot topics that are being discussed globally on the official forum.

Patch 3.2 Preview Part 1

Take a sneak peek at what's to come in patch 3.2.

Special Guest

A special guest comes to visit Yoshi-P.

Miscellaneous Announcements

As this is the final LIVE letter of 2015, we would like to hear about all of your most memorable moments this year.

Best Moments of 2015

Send a message to the address below, and we'll do our best to share as many memorable moments as possible during the Letter from the Producer LIVE.

[email protected]

Title: [FFXIV] Best Moment of 2015 (NA)

Please include the following with your e-mail:

Your memorable moment (Up to 500 characters)

Nickname (Required)

World (Optional)

Deadline: Thursday, December 17, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. (PST)

CHECK OUT THE Live LETTER THREAD ON THE OFFICIAL FORUMS HERE

Kage · December 23, 2015

Yoshida began the stream with a discussion on the state of the game, covering three main points (Alexander (Savage) difficulty/rewards, the Diadem, and Anima weapons).

We've posted a message from Yoshida on these topics as well that you can read here.

Hello everyone, director and producer Yoshida here.

Thank you for the large amount of feedback on the content released between the launch of Heavensward and Patch 3.15.

We’ve been reading over all of your feedback as well as playing the game alongside you, and we understand that there are various issues with game balance and content balance at the moment.

We plan on correcting the game balance in Patch 3.2, the next major update; however, I would like to take a moment to discuss the development teams understanding of the current problems that have developed from 3.0 to 3.15 and the thought process on how we plan on addressing them in Patch 3.2.

I’ll be covering many different points, so I apologize for the long read.

The Difficulty and Rewards for Alexander: Gordias (Savage)

One of the major pillars of FFXIV’s game design is based on the item level of weapons and armor. Furthermore, the latest raid, Alexander: Gordias (Savage) is content where you are able to obtain items with the highest stats as a dropped item.

The difficulty and the item level of the items that can be obtained in this raid were set to be the highest in terms of game balance, so I would like to start off by talking about this point.

Jumping straight to the conclusion, I feel that the difficulty level of Alexander: Gordias (Savage) is too high. I’ve met many players from all over the world and have been hearing requests for even harder content, and it was to answer these requests that we set the raid to its current difficulty. However, this caused the following as a result.

The difficulty was high to the point that players were transferring to different Worlds in search of groups to beat it.

The difficulty was high to the point that players were unable to clear the content, and the time in which they were unable to obtain items grew too long.

Due to the severity of DPS checks, it’s not possible to supplement with item levels only.

Players who were seeking difficult content welcomed this, but for those who are unable to beat this content, it’s the same as if Savage never existed, and we are reflecting back on this now.

Based on this, we are currently making balance adjustments to Alexander: Midas (Savage), which is scheduled for release in Patch 3.2, so that the difficulty is somewhere between The Second Coil of Bahamut and the Final Coil of Bahamut.

With these balance adjustments, I believe the number of people who are able to clear this content will increase, and it will be possible to find parties to challenge this content on your own World.

Furthermore, we also understand that obtaining an item level 210 weapon for clearing the fourth area of the extremely difficult Alexander: Gordias (Savage) is an issue due to the fact that this is the same item level as that of the upgraded Esoterics weapon. Had Savage offered an item level 215 weapon, it would have given a clearer identity to those who cleared this content. It would also have made it possible to implement the Esoteric weapon upgrade and Anima weapons earlier, and in turn made those easier to obtain.

In summary, the development team feels that the difficulty level of Alexander: Gordias (Savage) and the item level of the rewards for this content were poorly set, and as a result it largely affected the content that came afterwards.

Based on the feedback that we have been receiving, we will be lowering the difficulty of Alexander: Midas (Savage) that will be implemented in Patch 3.2, while simultaneously setting the item level of the Savage weapon and the item level of the new Allagan tomestone weapon to be different. We would like to revamp the overall balance moving forward with these changes.

Exploratory Missions

Exploratory missions were implemented as a new type of content based on the idea that items can be randomly obtained through farming and players could create their own rules and approaches. Up until recently, there were many limiting rules and a focus on set content in FFXIV.

However, since this deviated greatly from the content we’ve had up until now, there has been challenges involving the friction between players who want to gather and those who wish to battle, as well as the length of time spent playing this content.

Additionally, due to the fact that this was new content, we felt the need to include reward items which were attractive, which is why we decided to add item level 210 items to Diadem. This had both pros and cons. With the item level of the rewards for Alexander: Gordias (Savage) set to 210, we had to restrict the amount of item level 210 gear in circulation in order to maintain the minimum amount of motivation for players challenging Savage.

Just as mentioned in the feedback we have been receiving, had the item level been 205, I believe we could have kept it as it was for farming and not had to make adjustments. This equipment could then have been used to challenge Savage, and we feel that this was an issue as well.

In accordance with feedback, we will be aiming to make exploratory mission content more rule based, such as the following.

More chances for exploration.

Make a system for matching routes with different objectives such as battle and gathering focused.

Add variation to the exploration objectives, and make it more fun to explore as an individual party.

Create set rewards and make it so that farming is not the only objective.

Reduce the content time, and turn it into content that does not rely greatly on player skill.

We'll be introducing changes via maintenance in order to reduce the content time of exploratory missions and to make adjustments to the balance of item circulation, while making it into a place for collecting items and spirit bonding. We’re also planning a large scale expansion to this content in the next exploratory mission update. We’ll be utilizing everyone’s feedback as much as possible for this.

Anima Weapons

The successor to the Zodiac weapons, Anima weapons, have been implemented; however, their balance is directly linked to the item levels of the rewards for Alexander: Gordias (Savage).

Since it is currently only possible to obtain an item level 210 weapon from Alexander: Gordias (Savage), the time and effort required to create an Anima weapon was set to be roughly the same level with this as a benchmark.

Similar to Zodiac weapons, Anima weapons are based on the following concepts.

Will not be the strongest weapon at the same time as the rewards for clearing the hardest difficulty content.

Clearing the hardest difficulty content will not require you to obtain Zodiac/Anima weapons.

Creating these weapons will require you to put in effort over a longer period of time.

Just as mentioned in the patch notes, a long period of time will be required to complete Zodiac and Anima weapons, and they have been designed based on the idea that you will progress through the series at your own pace. Additionally, this content is strongly geared towards the element of time for players who are not into raids or other difficult content, or for those who wish to play solo.

An exception to this concept was the necessity to beat the hard versions of Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan for the relics released at 2.0; however, looking at the percentage of players who possessed relics at that time, we determined that this was a wall for players who were not into difficult content.

The development team will no longer be using difficult content such as this, but in the event that they utilize content completion as a requirement it would be on the level of storyline primal battles or Alexander normal, and such. By doing so, even players who are not into clearing difficult content will have a goal and be able to earn powerful weapons if they put in the time, though they will be slower to reach this point than the top tier of players.

However, due to the fact that the item level for Alexander: Gordias (Savage) is 210, we were unable to make the current Anima weapons any higher than this, which resulted in concerns being raised about Esoteric weapons and the lifetime of weapons that are to be implemented in Patch 3.2. Furthermore, with the difficulty of Savage being very high, Anima weapons have become the sole option for obtaining item level 210 weapons for some, and we understand there is an issue with there being no other options.

With these weapons starting at item level 170, players who have joined the game later can quickly reach item level 200 without having to rely on the weekly limited Esoterics. Additionally, in regards to collecting crystals through FATEs, using feedback from the 2.X period, we eliminated the job restrictions, removed level restrictions, and prepared multiple avenues for obtaining items, so players are able to collect items how they want.

With all that said though, we will be revamping the item level hierarchy in Patch 3.2 and making adjustments so the flow afterwards is more fitting. The next phases for enhancing Anima weapons will take place in Patch 3.25 and Patch 3.3.

While we've been receiving requests to make Anima weapons involve more challenging content and to not tie it to randomness or crafted items, just as I mentioned above, this is content that is focused on creating weapons by spending time, so I’d appreciate everyone’s understanding that this is an option for players who are not into challenging difficult content.

To repeat what I said earlier, we made mistakes with the setting of the difficulty for Alexander: Gordias (Savage) and the item level of the rewards, which affected the content that came afterwards leading up to Patch 3.15. We are reflecting on this problem, and based on everyone’s feedback we will be revamping the balance of the game from Patch 3.2 onwards.

As always, thank you very much for your feedback and support!

Kage · December 23, 2015

3.1 Revamps; look forward to them in 3.2

We've been receiving a lot of feedback, and we understand that the game balance has been disturbed as of Patch 3.15. Due to this, we will be revamping the overall balance in Patch 3.2

Regarding Alexander: Gordias (Savage)

This raid is currently the hardest content in FFXIV, and it is the top of the item hierarchy. Since this is relevant to the future, I’ll start off by talking about this first.

We implemented the more difficult Savage mode in addition to normal mode to answer the requests we received globally for more difficulty content.

However, we received comments stating that it was too difficult, and we've been reflecting on this--especially the aspect where the DPS check was too severe. It has been difficult to find members that have the motivation to clear this content on the same World, and players have even took to transferring Worlds in order to beat it, which makes me feel that we overdid it. Additionally, for the people that feel it’s too difficult to even attempt to challenge Savage, it’s essentially the same as if this content never existed.

Alexander: Midas will debut in Patch 3.2, but compared to the current Alexander: Gordias, we have eased the difficulty in the Savage mode. As an image the difficulty is something in between Second Coil of Bahamut and Final Coil of Bahamut.

There are three paths for obtaining equipment in FFXIV:

Obtaining items via difficult raids.

Obtaining equipment by earning tokens over time.

Spending a long period of time (such as Anima weapons)

Regardless of the path you choose, you will be able to reach the top of the item level hierarchy.

However, due to the fact the reward for completing The Burden of the Father (Savage) was low, and in order to maintain it’s value, it affected item levels of other equipment which can be obtained from other content.

In Alexander: Midas, we're thinking of setting the value higher for the items earned when completing it, especially compared to that which can be obtained from other content. Also, by lowering the difficulty of the more difficult version, that doesn’t mean it’ll be much easier. Normal mode’s difficulty will remain as is.

We believe those trying to clear the content at the earliest possible moment will try different methods, and we would like to set the difficulty to where players can enjoy the challenge overall.

We think it'd be best to have the difficulty set to a point where players can say "that wasn't too bad" after completing the content.

Regarding the Diadem

While most of the content in FFXIV has various rules, we didn't set any hard rules for exploratory missions, and designed this content around the concept of players creating their own rules. However, we've been receiving feedback asking for such things as a system that makes it so gatherers and battle classes are not mixed together.

I feel that the largest issue with this is the fact that system-wise the rules are lacking. We're not done with exploratory missions, and we’ll be adding the next phase of content based on the feedback that we have been receiving globally. We’d like to thoroughly establish rules and objectives. Additionally, we’d like to create a system that allows for players with the similar objectives to group up--such as players who wish to gather.

Due to the fact that there are changes in the materia system in Patch 3.2, we know that there will be more of a demand for materia, and although there hasn’t been any issue with the amount distributed from item exchange, we were watching the amount of item level 210 gear being distributed. If it remained as is, it'd have further lessen the drive to complete raids so we had to introduce limitations.

As everyone’s feedback mentioned, we believe the optimal item level for gear obtained from exploratory missions should have been 205.

For the next exploratory missions, we would like to not only include balance adjustments, but feature more of the "exploration" aspect.

However, in Patch 3.2 there will be a greater demand for materia from exploratory missions, so we would like to change the content time to around 45-60 minutes, and make adjustments to amount of aether currents to accompany this.

Regarding Anima Weapons

This content is focused on creating weapons over a long period of time, and we understand that there are pros and cons to this.

We’ve been receiving feedback asking for more challenging elements; however, just as I explained earlier, there are three paths for obtaining equipment in FFXIV

Obtaining items via difficult raids.

Obtaining equipment by earning tokens over time.

Spending a long period of time (such as Anima weapons)

The third path on this list is for Zodiac and Anima weapons.

For players who are confident in their skills, they can make their rounds of the extreme primals. However, for players who are not confident, it is possible to earn a powerful weapon by spending their time working towards it.

With that said, we don’t plan on associating extreme primals without the Echo for this content.

We understand that there have been requests for content with a difficulty similar to the Hydra trial or hard mode Garuda and Titan, but after looking over player data, the number of players who obtained weapons during that time period was quite low. Due to this, they were unable to challenge the subsequent content. Currently, other content has has been affected due to the difficulty of Savage, and since there has not been any easing for upgrading Esoteric weapons, Anima weapons have become the sole option for increasing everyone’s weapon item level. We will be thoroughly revamping this in Patch 3.2.

In order to explain about the above, I started off by first explaining the state of Alexander: Gordias (Savage). We’ll be balancing these aspects in Patch 3.2.

Next I would like to talk about the lifespan of the Anima weapon.

There are comments saying if it was this, it could have started from Patch 3.1, but the reason behind why we have set the item level to 170, 200, and 210, is because we wanted new starting players to be able to focus on obtaining Allagan tomestone of Estoreric gear as a priority which has weekly restrictions. As for the phase where players need to obtain items from FATEs, we made adjustments based on feedback so that players can choose their path while upgrading from item level 200 to 210, or obtain the various items while leveling other jobs.

For example, if Alexander (Savage) weapons were item level 215, then we could have shortened the amount of time it takes to reach item level 210. As for the lifespan of Anima weapons that everyone is concerned about, we will make adjustments to their overall lifespan. We will make updates on Anima weapon in Patch 3.25 and Patch 3.3.

However, Patch 3.25 will likely focus more on adjustments, while the large update to this quest will occur in Patch 3.3.

Kage · December 23, 2015

Q1 : Daily beast tribe quests are involved in obtaining the required items for “Coming into Its Own,” but when the quest involves completing a certain FATE it often takes a lot of time. Could you please increase the frequency that these FATEs occur?

A1 : We're currently in the midst of making adjustments to increase their frequency.

Q2: There are instances where you accept the wrong quest when progressing through the Anima quest line with multiple jobs. Would it be possible to make it so that you cannot retake the quest with the same job?

A2: We’re currently addressing this.

Q3: There are a lot of items needed to proceed through the Anima weapon quest, and since they are regular items I feel like I am going to accidentally sell it. Could you make these (Unidentifiable XXX) items key items?

A3: We won’t be making these into key items; however, we would like to address this so they cannot be sold.

Q4: We have the auto reclamation this month, but can you please let us know about future addition of land?

A4: We have confirmed that we will be increasing the amount of land for existing housing areas in Patch 3.3. After this we’re planning to introduce mansion type housing, and housing in the Ishgard area. These two are being developed in parallel, but in order to meet everyone’s demand, we will implement the mansion-type housing as a first priority. Currently it’s being planned that one mansion will be able to hold 512 residences. As for gardening, we think this will be difficult, but we’re currently developing new pots that will allow gardening, so please look forward to this.

As for furnishings with high demand, we have a goal now to increase the amount of items which can be placed, so please wait a bit longer.

Q5: Recently, other than for glamouring, the need for crafted equipment has fallen. In the future, do you have plans to implement equipment with stats high enough that can be used for raids?

A5: The new crafted equipment we will be implementing in Patch 3.2 is strong. You’ll be able to use this new gear at the same time as the new accessories, and since you can also advanced materia meld this equipment, I think there will be a demand from those who are striving to complete the raid quickly.

Kage · December 23, 2015

Quest-related

Addition of new main scenario quests

We'll finally be heading towards the climax of the Dragonsong War.

Addition of new side quests

Addition of Gnath beast tribe quests

There was a wide variety of interesting text for the Vanu Vanu quests, and the lead writer for those quests is also the lead for these quests as well.

Dungeons

The Antitower

This is part of the main scenario. You will understand the reasoning for this name once you go there. Players will be able to go here at an early point of the main scenario.

The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard)

Players will be able to find out what happened after Diablos, the boss of the normal mode, fled the area.

Trials

At long last we will be starting a new series of primal battles, the Warring Triad.

The first installment will be Containment Bay S1T7, and we’ll be simultaneously implementing the extreme version as well.

Unlike we’ve been doing up until now, we’ve decided to make it easier to understand by eliminating the “hard” mode naming, since it’s confusing that you are all of a sudden fighting against a hard mode version straight away. The difficulty will be on par with the “Hard” we’ve seen until now.

The battle is extremely flashy, and there just might be a mechanic where you can fall.

In case you were wondering, the lead for this battle is the person who was in charge of both Titan and Thordan’s Reign.

Update to the Wolves’ Den

The second installment of the Wolves' Den is called “The Feast.”

I’ll be going into more detail about this content during the next Letter LIVE.

While the current Wolves’ Den is essentially a death match, The Feast features something similar to a point system as we would like to make it easier for players to get into this content and enjoy it like a sport. By defeating your opponents you can steal their points, and you are competing for the total amount of points.

8vs8 (Win/loss rate does not apply)

This is the easiest to get into. There are a lot of people in this mode, so everyone shares the responsibility. The win/loss rate does not apply, so your rating will not increase or decrease. You’ll only be able to queue up to this mode solo or with one other player.

4vs4 (Win/loss rate applies)

You will only be able to queue up to this mode solo, and the win/loss rate will apply.

4vs4 (Win/loss rate does not apply)

You will only be able to queue up to this mode solo. The win/loss rate does not apply here, so you can use this to practice.

4vs4 (Light party, win/loss rate applies)

You will only be able to queue up to this as a light party, and the win/loss rate applies.

4vs4 (Light party, win/loss rate does not apply)

You will only be able to queue up to this mode as a light party. The win/loss rate does not apply here, so you can use this to practice.

Furthermore, static party and solo ranking will have separate ratings.

This time we’re going with “Seasons” system. The first season will be in Patch 3.25. The duration of the first season will be about three and a half months long until Patch 3.35. Ratings will be updated on daily basis, and we are preparing exclusive rewards for top players in the season.

Additionally, there are ranks. By accumulating a specific amount of rating, there will be matches to increase in ranks where players will need to win 3 out of 5 matches in order to move onto the next rank. There are rewards for each rank, so players will be able to fight against the position which matches their level.

Ranking will stop once the season is over. And when the next season begins, all the ratings will be reset.

The Feast will be implemented from Patch 3.2, but there is a pre-season match from Patch 3.2 to Patch 3.25. During this time we’ll make job, and rating adjustments for PvP, and we will begin the first season in Patch 3.25.

Orchestrion

We’ve kept you all waiting for quite some time now, but this is the jukebox that I’ve been talking about for a while.

You’ll be able to place this in the inn, house, and private chamber, and it will play music if you have the music sheets for it. These music sheets can be obtained through various content and we will also be selling them in-game as well.

There will also be an individual log of what sheets you’ve acquired, so I think it will be fun as a collectable element. Of the sheets you can acquire, there will also be those that can be created by Disciples of the Hand. Additionally, you’ll be able to obtain a song as an achievement for collecting 10. Orchestrion music sheets are scattered throughout various content such as Gold Saucer and battle-related content. They can also be traded. We’ll be implementing 47 songs in Patch 3.2, and we plan on releasing around 20-30 songs in updates afterwards.

The Hall of the Novice

Players will be able to train in two ways; training which doesn’t involve roles, and training for each role. Training which doesn’t involve roles will be available right before entering Sastasha which involved dodging area of effect attacks. After this players will be able to start training for each roles which has about seven tasks each. There is also something like a graduation, and players will be rewarded with gear when completing it. There will be a specific building for this. There will be explanation for terms such as “DoTs”.

The Mentor System (Tentative)

This system will allow veteran players to be called “Mentors” for Disciple of War/Magic and also Disciples of the Land and Hand. Once players become a “Mentor” they will be able to use a system which will help new adventurers. This is basically a system where people can help out. Players will be able to use features such as a roulette called the “Mentor Roulette.”

Striking dummy training mode

This is an opportunity to test your skills by seeing if you can defeat a test dummy in a certain amount of time. I realize that skill rotations will differ depending on the content, but we’re hoping that practicing to defeat this striking dummy will serve as a nice benchmark.

Materia system changes

As mentioned earlier, the materia system will be changed. From Patch 3.2 equipment purchased with tomestones will include materia slots.

New Allagan tomestone

We’ll be implementing a new type of Allagan tomestone.

Directly selling items from retainers

We’ll be adding a new feature that will allow you to sell items directly from your retainers.

Minimap elevation information

We’ll be making it possible to tell whether your party members are above you with a new minimap feature that indicates elevation differences.

4K resolution support

We’ve been receiving comments from players who have high-spec PCs and 4K displays mentioning that the UI is too small. We will be addressing this over multiple patches.

The next real life FATE - Kagoshima

We'll introduce further details for content that will be implemented in Patch 3.2, and various information which includes information such as other existing ground mounts which will be able fly, and dyeable Allagan/High Allagan gear. Stay tuned for more info!

During the Letter from the Producer LIVE, Yoshida and Foxclon read comments from players who sent in their favorite memory from 2015! The dev. team also joined in on the fun, and we're pleased to present their comments below!

I was able to showcase the VR version of the Navel at Tokyo Game Show! We had planned to showcase this at E3, but due to complications we weren't able to do it. We were about to give up, but SCEJA helped make this happen! I would love to do this again somewhere!

- FFXIV Project Manager "M"

I developed Cloud's bike [for FFXIV], and Yoshi-P kept telling me "Even if we can't implement it, we'll still show it!" The fact that this still hasn't been shown off is my biggest memory of 2015.

- FFXIV Character Team "A"

My best moment of 2015 is when I was able to join the FFXIV development team starting in August. Until then, I was merely an FFXIV fan, and I had no knowledge of game development, but my colleagues have helped me very kindly, sometimes strictly, and I am grateful to them. Recently I was put in charge of the Starlight Celebration quest implementation, and I was very happy to see how popular it was. I would like to continue to strive harder even after the release of Patch 3.2.

- FFXIV Event Team "Y"

The best moment of the year was switching from being purely a player to being part of the XIV development team. From a designer-standpoint, it's natural that we think up user interfaces that are easy to use, but I really love the world of XIV, and I feel we really made a nice UI that is meant for adventuring. It may look simple, but aids the adventurers through in various ways.

PS: I love reading the "What's in your Warrior of Light's bag?" hashtag on Twitter.

- FFXIV UI Team "H"

I joined the company at the worst time when sound editing was at its final stage for 3.0. I was a newbie who got lost inside this large company. My superior came to my desk and made a folder called "Lady of the Night" which contained 5 WAV files of the daytime field music. It normally requires about 2-3 weeks, but my superior said "I'm really sorry to do this, but can you make the night version for these 5 tracks in a week?" I was shocked with such a sudden request thinking everything was nuts. It was a crazy experience. Thanks to that experience, I'm able to work happily every day. We thank you for your support!

- FFXIV Sound Team "T"

I'm mainly in charge of things like controls and system-type aspects.

My most memorable moment for 2015 in 3.0 is the implementation of flying mounts. With a second type of transportation for moving around it was difficult making everything consistent, but since release I've seen comments from players in-game and through social media that are happy about it, so it really made me feel that the hard work paid off. Please look forward to more features that can be used regularly such as idle camera and group pose features!

- FFXIV UI Team "O"

The second boss in the Aery, Gyascutus, has reinforcement bombs. These bombs suck up the poisonous gas, but if a player with the "Disease" debuff from the boss stands within the range of the bomb, it can actually remove this debuff. There is a small story behind this. The current boss uses disease, but originally this debuff was something much worse than disease, and the original plan was to have the players remove this debuff by standing in range of the bombs using this action to fight this boss. However, this was too harsh to a point where no one was able to reach Nidhogg. Therefore, this debuff was changed to disease, which can be removed with Esuna or once the debuff timer expires. Personally, I really wanted to stick with the original plan, so I secretly left in the mechanic where the bomb can remove the debuff. If you’re still going after the Lesser Panda minion, or going to challenge the Aery for the first time, please try and remove the debuff with the bomb, so I can secretly be happy.

- FFXIV Monster Team "I"

Running around trying to catch all of the core members during their super busy times to collect text for the members appearing in the "18th floor" area was very memorable. (Also, the first person that sent me the text was Suzuki Takeo, and the last person that sent me their text was the person who's busiest of them all...)

- FFXIV Event Team "H"

One of the best memories I have for 2015 is being able to complete Savage together with the players. The release of Heavensward was also very memorable to me, but being able to overcome Savage together with people I play with was amazing. Since I know who’s in charge of the content, when mechanics are really painful, I imagine that person’s face and secretly scream their name. I would like to thank everyone for everything, no matter how big or small.

- FFXIV Effect Team "Y"

This year we released two really large game elements: Chocobo Racing and Lord of Verminion. Outside of this, we were able to make popular improvements such as the target marker display in the enmity list as well as the TP display in the party list. This might be a small spoiler, but in Patch 3.2 we're planning to make improvements to the map markers so that if your party members are above or below you in a different elevation, you will be able to tell where they are located. We thank you for your support of FFXIV.

- FFXIV UI programmer "A"

Kage · December 23, 2015

We’re pleased to announce that Fan Festival, the largest live event for FINAL FANTASY XIV fans the world over, is making its glorious return starting in 2016! The events kick off in October 2016 in Las Vegas with the North American Fan Festival, we end the year with a bang with the Japanese Fan Festival in Tokyo in December 2016, and ignite 2017 with the European Fan Festival in Germany in February!

Celebrate all things FFXIV with your fellow adventurers in three different locations across the globe and create memories that will last a lifetime!

FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in North America

Early Registration: Thursday, October 13, 2016

Show Dates: Friday, October 14, 2016 to Saturday, October 15, 2016

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue: Paris Las Vegas

* Details regarding discounted hotel rates and show hours will be announced in the future.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in Japan

Date: Saturday, December 24, 2016 to Sunday, December 25, 2016

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Venue: Tokyo Big Sight West Hall 3 & 4

FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in Europe

Date: February 2017 (2-day event)

Location: Frankfurt, Germany*

Venue: Details to be announced at a later date

* Note: The European Fan Festival will be an international event and as such, all activities will be run in English.

Virella · December 23, 2015

I had hoped to see a 2016 fanfest for Europe so I could meet up with my old EU FC, but nope, gotta wait longer then I've expected but on the upside, maybe around that time we will have the next expansion rolling in soon tm? We will see I guess!

Kage · December 23, 2015

I had hoped to see a 2016 fanfest for Europe so I could meet up with my old EU FC, but nope, gotta wait longer then I've expected but on the upside, maybe around that time we will have the next expansion rolling in soon tm? We will see I guess!

I remember them saying that there was no 2015 FanFest because the expectation of announcements might mean an expansion SOOOOOOOOOOO....

I think we will have 4.0 news at these. So.... 2017 4.0?

Warren Castille · December 23, 2015

I don't know how to feel about the Live Letter. Why does SE hate people doing relic? Why is additional housing being pushed to 3.3? It's hard to read this and take away anything other than "Casual get the bare minimum, please remain subbed for 8 more months."

Parth Makeo · December 23, 2015

I don't know how to feel about the Live Letter. Why does SE hate people doing relic? Why is additional housing being pushed to 3.3? It's hard to read this and take away anything other than "Casual get the bare minimum, please remain subbed for 8 more months."

Maybe they work on the philosophy that casuals 'will ruin their game' and they want them to suffer for not putting in a lot of hours.

Warren Castille · December 23, 2015

AND ANOTHER THING.

Stop reminding us you wasted time and resources developing a motorcycle you won't implement because it just makes the recycled and reused Esoterics skins in the relic quest stand out even more.

I'm salty. I'm salt mountain right now. My name is Salty McSalt and I am a master of sodiumancy.

Shoshopu · December 23, 2015

What the heckie are "mansions"?? That sounds cool but also

When did they actually confirm housing for 3.2? I missed this. Even if it's being pushed back, at least knowing there's a confirmed time frame at all (3.3) makes me happy.

Also The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard)?! Yes! I can't wait for this dungeon!

And, finally, the mentoring system sounds pretty cool. In FFXI it was just a little flag next to your name (a globe with a red M on it) that basically said to people "if you have a question I will answer it." To become one you had to be a certain level and then buy it.

Caspar · December 23, 2015

I suspect it is apartment style housing, maybe. Mansion has a different meaning over there.

Aldotsk · December 23, 2015

In regards to the mansion type personal housing that people are expecting:

A one-room mansion (wan rūmu manshon ワンルームマンション) is a Japanese apartment style in which there is only one small room (10 m² or 3.0 tsubo or 110 sq ft in many cases) and usually a compact bathroom. It is the functional equivalent of the Western-style studio apartment. These units are most often rented by single individuals due to their extremely small size; it is hard for more than one person to reside in them. Most of Japan's city apartment blocks have rooms such as these although family units (around 60 to 90 m² or 18 to 27 tsubo or 650 to 970 sq ft in size) are more common, especially in the suburbs.

Japan sees it differently.

Kellach Woods · December 23, 2015

After reading through all of that, I as someone who does a ton of crafting want to flip off the dev team for absolutely ignoring crafting in both 3.2 and what's planned for 3.3.

"Oh btw we are planning on making crafting equipment strong" k that's great but some of us don't have billions of gil to spend on crafting. Oh yeah I forgot the mentality of the dev team for that - Go fuck yourselves until 3.5 MAYBE.

So essentially - if you're not running savage, if you're not a rich crafter, there's nothing on the horizon for you.

That is absolutely fucking amazing. I wish there was a place where I could accurately communicate the level of contempt I have for them right now. The official forums being the official forums, I don't think I'd get through the second paragraph before being banned for profanity.

They also didn't address how specialization serves absolutely no purpose other than to craft Relic items (which are limited to specialized folks - which bites anyone who didn't specialize in the 4 items in the ass SEVERELY) because the skills they give you are so random that it's been determined it's better to just omnicraft to get the 50 skills and ignore specialization altogether.

Dat Oni · December 23, 2015

Could've sworn I've been talking about this shit for a long time, now...

Shoshopu · December 24, 2015

So essentially - if you're not running savage, if you're not a rich crafter, there's nothing on the horizon for you.

You can always gather the materials and have a crafter make the stuff for you? My FC has lots of high level crafters, but even if you have to search for a crafter in PF, tipping isn't nearly as expensive as the gear itself or leveling the craft yourself. It's not so hard to get nice crafted gear for dungeoning or glamours if you know crafters or aren't afraid to reach out.

Kellach Woods · December 24, 2015

Any time I speak of crafting it's to craft. I mean, it's nice for non-crafters if they know folks but it's just giving more shit to crafters who already have a ton of cash to do (and thus could reach that level a lot easier) than those who don't.

It also doesn't address that specialization is a complete dud except for the 4 required for the relic.

Also doesn't change that if you're not raiding at a high level/crafting at a high level, the updates aren't for you. 2 more dungeons is cool, but that's still only 6 dungeons... 2 patches in.

Kage · December 31, 2015

From the JP PR blog... here's a sneak preview of one of the Triad.

FIEND

Kage · January 12, 2016

Digest is up.

ggcaliJKE9w

Reflection on the Current State of the Game Spanning Patch 3.0 to 3.15

With the release of FFXIV’s first expansion, Heavensward, and the subsequent patches leading up to the latest Patch 3.15, we’ve added various new content and received a lot of feedback from across the globe.

The development team is aware of balance issues that have arisen in recent patches, and we're planning to make adjustments in Patch 3.2, so I'd like to explain how we plan to accomplish this.

0:05:56

State of the Game: Alexander: Gordias (Savage)

Alexander: Gordias was the first of a new series of raid dungeons following the Binding Coil of Bahamut. At present, the Savage version of this encounter is the greatest challenge available in FFXIV, with rewards meant to be top of the current item level hierarchy. I'd to start by discussing the Savage difficulty and its place in that hierarchy.

Every time I spoke with players at public events around the world who challenged the Binding Coil of Bahamut, I would hear requests for us to make something more difficult or that they wanted to challenge something even harder. Instead of simply releasing only a hard raid, we released a normal version of Alexander: Gordias alongside the Savage version, so that it could be seen as an especially difficult challenge in comparison. However, the level of difficultly was too high, with DPS checks that are much too strict. Especially for those players who are challenging the final two areas, there are many who are unable to clear them due to the severity of the DPS check despite understanding the mechanics, even after increasing their item level. This is a major point we are reflecting on.

We intended this raid to be the answer for those players who desired even harder content. However, we've found that in many cases that, while players want to attempt clearing Savage, they have trouble finding likeminded players to form parties with. Some players have gone so far as to change Worlds in hopes of finding a group. Taking all this into consideration, we feel the difficulty of Savage is too high.

For players who are unable to clear, it’s nearly the same as if we didn’t add the more challenging encounter they asked for. Under normal circumstances, players would be able to hone their skills, clear the raid, and obtain equipment with a higher item level. This is currently not the case, and it has also put a strain on other content in the game.

We’ve considered various solutions to this problem. For instance, we thought about keeping Savage the same difficulty and creating a Raid Finder system which would allow you to find parties without having to World transfer. However, this feature wouldn’t necessarily affect the number of players that are able to clear Savage. We also considered adding a third difficulty level, but there were concerns that there isn't enough time to properly balance three levels of difficulty for each patch. With that said, Alexander: Midas (Savage) coming in Patch 3.2 will not be as difficult as Alexander: Gordias (Savage). Our goal is to create an encounter whose difficulty is somewhere between the Second Coil of Bahamut and the Final Coil of Bahamut. Hearing this may make you think that it's simply going to be easy, but this is still going to be the hard mode of the raid. Think of it more as us fine tuning the hard mode difficulty.

There are three different ways to obtain equipment in FFXIV.

Obtaining items via difficult raids

Obtaining items through tokens that have weekly limitations

Obtaining items by spending a long period of time

We’ve structured this so that by undertaking any of the above three paths it will result in the same item level; however, we feel that the item level of the rewards for Alexander: Gordias (Savage) was too low for the extreme difficulty. Had the item level of the equipment obtained in The Burden of the Father (Savage) been 215, I think it would have been possible to upgrade tomestone weapons to 210 with the token item from Void Ark and make the Anima weapons 210 right away.

As a result of the difficulty being set to too high, the number of players who possess a weapon from The Burden of the Father was far lower than we expected, and in order to maintain the value of these items for players that were able to beat this difficult raid, the content that came afterwards suffered.

In conclusion, we would like to increase the value of the rewards for clearing Alexander in its entirety when implemented in future patches.

Naturally, we will still have a normal difficulty mode for Alexander: Midas. As we made adjustments in the future, we'll focus on reducing the severity of the DPS checks. The raiders who aim to clear content as quickly as possible will still go through a trial and error process moving forward and adopt various strategies, but by lowering the DPS checks, once strategic information is shared it will be possible for others to take on the challenge. We’re striving to make it possible to clear this content while having fun, and we’d like to set the difficulty just right so once you are finally able to beat it you can say it was a piece of cake.

0:14:06

State of the Game: Exploratory Missions

In Patch 3.1 we implemented exploratory missions, which was a type of content that did not exist in FFXIV. Up until now there has been a lot of content with set rules, but the idea behind exploratory missions was to create a space where players could create their own rules. Since its implementation we’ve received a lot of feedback, particularly requests for a system allowing Disciples of the Land and Disciples of War and Magic to queue separately. We originally set the timer for exploratory missions to 90 minutes, hoping that players would discuss how to segment the time. In the end, however, 90 minutes was a bit too long, and it's rather difficult to leave in the middle of a mission.

Looking at all the feedback we've received, we feel the biggest problem here is an overall lack of system-based rules. At the very least, we'd like players to enter and take part in activities with rules and objectives that change every time, but don't necessarily require a lot of communication to complete and receive rewards. Otherwise it will devolve into simple item farming which isn't very fun.

In regards to this, when making adjustments to the excessof item level 210 items, we received a lot of feedback such as requests for missions to explore the many caverns in the area, and based on this feedback we would like to establish clear rules and objectives as well as create a system that allows you to group up with players with similar objectives inthe next portion of exploratory mission content.

I previously mentioned that there would be changes to the materia system in Patch 3.2; however, since it will be possible to meld materia into rewards obtained through raids, we anticipated that there would be an increase in demand for each type of materia, so we thought it would be a good idea to have an influx of items that could be converted into materia. However, the number of item level 210 items in circulation was extremely high, and due to concerns that the motivation of players who completed Alexander: Gordias (Savage) would taper off, we decided to limit the number of item level 210 items becoming available.

The development team had been having deep discussions about the item level of rewards for exploratory missions, and they ultimately set it to 210 so players would have fun; however, just as everyone has mentioned in feedback, item level 205 would have been more appropriate. Had it been item level 205, I think we could have created a flow where you could procure equipment from Diadem in order to gear up for the raid. Using this lesson we will be striving to feature more of the exploration element for future exploratory mission content including proper balancing.

With Patch 3.2, the demand for materia will increase without a doubt, so we’ll be adjusting the content length from 45 minutes to 60 minutes, and to coincide with this change we will be making further adjustments to the amount of items in circulation as well as reducing the number of currents that need to be unlocked.

0:20:53

State of the Game: Anima Weapons

As the quest for Anima weapons is content that takes a long period of time to complete, I understand that there are pros and cons. However, there have been requests asking for challenging elements and new content specifically for Anima weapons, so I would like to reiterate the concept behind these weapons once more.

Just as I mentioned previously, there are three ways to obtain equipment in FFXIV.

Obtaining items via difficult raids

Obtaining items through tokens that have weekly limitations

Obtaining items by spending a long period of time

Anima weapons fall into the third path above.

In order to create an Anima weapon there is no need to get involved with high difficulty content that does not have an Echo bonus. While players with confidence in their skills would be able to get through this quickly, players who are unable to clear this content would not be able to create their weapons.

In regards to the feedback asking for challenging content similar to the Dhorme Chimera and Hydra battles for the relics of 2.0, I still feel that there would be those that are unable to clear such content. When creating the system for Zodiac weapons and Anima weapons, we were verifying data such as how many people possessed relics and found that there were many players who weren’t able to obtain a relic in order to move on to subsequent content.

Currently, due to the difficulty of Savage, other content was affected and the upgrade item for Esoteric weapons is still difficult to obtain. This created a situation where obtaining an item level 210 weapon could only be done through the Anima weapon path for some, which made people feel that they had to do it. We will be fixing this issue in patch 3.2.

While there have been comments mentioning that it would have been better to start these quests in Patch 3.1, the reason the item levels of the Anima weapons were set to 170/200/210 was so that players just starting would be able to prioritize their use of Allagan tomestones of Esoterics for armor.

Additionally, we had been receiving a lot of feedback when everyone was creating Zodiac weapons, so this time around for the phase where you collect items through FATEs, we made it so you could acquire the items on jobs that you were leveling, and made adjustments so the process for increasing your item level from 200 to 210 could fit your play style. Had we made the item level of the weapons from The Burden of the Father (Savage) 215, we could have possibly reduced the time it takes make an item level 210 Anima weapon.

In regards to everyone’s concerns about the lifespan of Anima weapons, we will be making adjustments in Patch 3.2, and there will be updates to Anima weapons in Patch 3.25 and Patch 3.3.

Q&A

Q: Items required for the Anima weapon quest “Coming Into Its Own” can be obtained from allied beast tribe quests. However, it takes a lot of time to complete if the quest requires certain FATEs. Could you please increase the frequency in which these FATEs occur?

A: We would need to readjust the settings to when we first introduced the Zodiac weapon quest “Trials Of The Braves,” and address the issue where FATEs didn’t occur. Additionally, there are allied beast tribe quests which involve two FATEs. When it was first implemented, when two FATEs occurred simultaneously, an issue arose where you could only complete one of them. To address this issue, we made it so that the second FATE will occur by completing the first one. We’re currently making adjustments to increase the frequency of the FATEs.