Several Interviews stemming from PAX

[Kage]

Check out the article

 

Earn the dragon mount! Flying Black Chocobos! Single-rider airships.

 

Also Free Company crafting

"Once you have the workshop, you decide on what you want to make," Yoshida says. "For example, if you're going to build an airship, you go part by part. You start with the engine. Your free company teammates gather the materials necessary to build the engine. The crafters within the free company form a party, and then it's a group effort to build the engine."

 

Yoshida says the free company crafting system will grow and expand throughout content patches for the expansion — what he is calling the "3.X series of updates." To create their ship, free companies will have to combine different engines, bodies and other parts. The ships will have different stats depending on the combinations made, leading to unique ships for different groups depending on their focus.

[Maril]

I see I need to tell my FC to go level their crafting some more by the sounds of it.. If we're going into a party.. That means potentially upwards of 8 people could be needed and/or useful for it. 

 

Hmm..

[Berrod Armstrong]

Damn. I have so much respect for that man. I've never seen another MMO producer/dev talk about their game like that. Hrgh. Yes.

[Steel Wolf]

What strikes me most about that interview was how ARR was about a rebirth, but Heavensward is about their evolution. They made the core game a monstrous success...now they can make the MMO what they envision it should be.

 

I'm looking forward to it.™

[Haven's Fox]

I hope we get a 2 player airship just like the eternal bond chocobo!

[Chris Ganale]

I feel like they're going to have varieties of airship ranging from solo little zippers up to full alliance-sized FC-driven beasties.

[Kage]

From a crunchyroll interview, http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2015/03/08/feature-final-fantasy-xiv-heavensward-sneak-peek-and-interview-with-naoki-yoshida

 

 

There has been some criticism for the female version of the new race, the Au Ra. Some people think that they are too pretty. Will we be able to make them more monster like?

With the Au Ra, this includes both female and male, the emphasis during character creation is on the horns. You'll be able to focus heavily on creating the horns. The face structure, for this race, is a little different than what you're currently familiar with. There is a certain direction that isn't really reptilian, but more succubus-like, or demon-like.

 

When we were considering the options, there were mentions of making female Au Ra more stocky and buff. However the data that's been complied about what race and gender are being used, indicate that Hyur Highlander females and Roegadyn females are not used by very many players. We definitely took that into consideration when finalizing the design of female Au Ra. To reiterate though, there is the option to make her more demon- or succubus-like.

 

Is there any extra info you can give us about the airships that Free Companies will be able to make?  Will they be a socialization space, or simply a means for transportation?

 

Free Company crafting will become available at the launch of Heavensward. Right away there will be two major elements that are accessible. The ability to build your own airship, as well as build your own house. Airships won't be just two parts, you'll be building each specific part.  You can pick and choose what kind of stats you want and then customize your airship. There will be separate maps specifically for when you send your Company airship. So there will be opportunities to do specific content based on how you build your ship. You'll be able to discuss with your Free Company how you want your ship to perform and then build based on that.

 

At launch of Heavensward, your Free Company airship will be used as a sort of drone for exploration. Starting with patch 3.1 and later, you'll be able to board the airship and ride it. We will hopefully be adding battleship elements in future updates as well, giving you the opportunity to add artillery so you can participate in air battles. If a player does not belong to a Free Company there will be a guest pass system available so you can invite them to ride your airship with you.  We're hoping to expand on that as well. It's going to start out as a social thing, but eventually we hope to expand airships to a more public situation.

 

 

[Dravus]

I suppose I should push myself to level a crafting profession before the expansion launches, especially now that the Ixal dailies exist. Creating something through crafting as part of a guild is something that really intrigues me and this'll be my first time doing that in an MMO.

[Kage]

Another PAX interview, this time from Gamerescape!

 

http://gamerescape.com/2015/03/09/pax-east-interview-with-naoki-yoshida/

 

Item Progression

We first asked about item progression in Heavensward, and how completed Zodiac weapons or Lucis tools would be addressed. Yoshida first confirmed that there would be new “relic” progression within the 3.x expansion. It is not yet finalized whether it will be identified as a continuation of the 2.x progression or a brand new concept, but it will continue throughout the 3.x expansion, starting at 3.1. For those who have completed Zodiac weapons, they are planning on having some advantage for those players in this new progression. Yoshida mentioned that players should understand, however, since the level cap will be increased to level 60 and with higher item levels, there will of course be new weapons with higher item levels. The new “relic” arc will start at 3.1. We also confirmed that level 51 gear will start below iLevel 135.

 

Yoshida also weighed in on the use of RNG in the Zodiac weapon progression. Having the whole thing based on a RNG system would be too much to bear, and unfortunately, even if they raise the drop percentages there will be people who are unlucky and don’t get the drop in the expected time frame. Yoshida confirmed that internally they know what the amount of time should be for a random drop, and use that to determine the length of time they want a certain phase to last. This is not unlike a grind phase (aka light farming or books), where they calculate an approximate length of time the phase will last. Using both approaches keeps the progression from being all grind or all RNG. Yoshida also mentioned that with RNG, once a player knows how long it should take to obtain a drop, there is a certain excitement when you obtain it, which is different from the satisfaction in completing a grind phase. In Heavensward, the same principles will apply for the new relic. Yoshida also mentioned that he finished his first Zodiac weapon while in Boston at PAX East, admitting that his preferred method of obtaining such high level gear is raiding.

 

For Disciples of Hand and Land in Heavensward, there will be crafter/gatherer “tokens” (name to be determined), and by doing smaller tasks on a more frequent basis you will be able to acquire these tokens and exchange them for a reward. For the people aiming for “end-game” crafting/gathering, there will of course be new gear and a continuation of the melding aspects, but the token system will be in place for players who want to progress in these roles at a more relaxed pace. Yoshida indicated that, by way of example, gatherers could utilize the tokens to obtain a permit (or talisman) that would allow you to go into new areas and obtain new materials. Also, for crafters, there will be a “Specialist” system incorporated in Heavensward to accompany the increased level cap though he was unable to go into any details about it at this time. Yoshida assured us that Heavensward will include just as big an update for crafters and gathers as for battle classes.

 

 

Content Progression

As we all know, ARR patches alternated between Coil and Crystal Tower releases, and also included “hard mode” dungeons with a new dungeon. Yoshida confirmed that the same structure will continue in Heavensward – at least as to the raid content. The details have not been announced yet, but there will be a new Crystal Tower-like raid which will alternate with the high-end raid of Alexander. Alexander will start with Patch 3.0, then the alternate raid in 3.1, and a new Alexander iteration in 3.2, and so on.

 

Another new large scale system being released with Heavensward is the new Free Company Airship system, which will continue to be updated throughout the 3.x patches. Yoshida didn’t want to call it a “raid”, but hasn’t quite landed on the new terminology yet either. As we progress through 3.x, there will be more and more things to do with your Free Company Airship. The crafting content of these airships will start at Patch 3.0. At first, a Free Company will be able to scout areas using their airship – without playable characters actually boarding. Soon after that, you will be able to board the airship and start exploring. Yoshida confirmed that small free companies will also be able to craft and make use out of an airship and the related content. Since the rewards from the missions will be distributed to those on the ship, larger free companies may even want to make multiple airships so that they can accommodate everyone. For the smaller free companies, they are also planning on implementing a way for a player to join you as a guest and help out without actually being part of the free company.

 

They are not currently planning on adding new modes (i.e. hard/extreme/savage) to existing ARR battles, although if there was sufficient demand for “Titan super hard extreme mode” he’d of course consider it. He has considered adding official speed runs on dungeons with a ranking system, so they are seeing what they can create on that aspect, which could include ARR dungeons. Yoshida is also still considering removing the class/job restrictions on existing dungeons to allow people to go in solo, or perhaps with a team of NPCs. The NPC system being considered, for example, is to be able to take members of your Grand Company and raise a team or squad that could fight with you. Unfortunately, this new system would not, however, include your Chocobo Companion. They are considering a gambit-system for the Chocobo Companion (and Magitek). This system is pretty definite, but includes a few aspects, and is perhaps a year or so away from release.

 

Yoshida confirmed that Gold Saucer will continue to receive updates throughout Heavensward, with 20 new cards to collect with 3.0. He also mentioned that there will be new Hunt targets.

 

New Jobs

On the topic of the new jobs, Yoshida indicated that they will be categorized as “Extra Jobs” and listed as such. Their actions will of course be obtained through leveling these new extra jobs. He implied that it is not really a separate system or complicated concept. Like with existing jobs, cross-class abilities will still function the same (and therefore presumably be usable on the new Extra Jobs). More specifics on which class actions can be used by the new Extra Jobs will, of course, be released as we get closer to Heavensward. We also managed to get some details about the Machinist. The basic concept for the attachments that the Machinist can use is that they will augment your DPS, and they are continuing to tweak it, but for example when you are attaching the attachment you will not be able to move. So while your DPS may increase, for example, you will be immobile. The turret accessories will be called out as a ground target and can be used to buff allies or debuff enemies depending on the situation. Another action specific to the Machinist will be a “reload” and “quick reload” action – but Yoshida assured us Machinist does not actually consume any type of ammunition in connection with this.

 

Lore

It was previously announced that Heavensward will feature two new main plot arcs – “The Dragonsong War” and “The Wyrmking versus Thordan and his Knights Twelve”. We inquired as to what would be happening to the ARR story arcs, identified as “The Mothercrystal”, “The Grand Companies versus the Garlean Empire” and the “Primals”. Yoshida confirmed that the ARR arcs will continue within Heavensward. For example the Garlean Empire will continue to have a presence in Heavensward. A lot more will be revealed in the upcoming Patch 2.55 – including, according to Yoshida, some shocking developments to the ongoing stories.

 

PvP

At launch of Heavensward, we will have a new Frontline battle, with a new map and new rules. It will continue to be Grand Company based, but while before each Grand Company would start at a select location and the map, in Heavensward we will see a randomized starting location which will impact play. Armor rewards associated with Frontlines will also be updated. After that point they will update the Wolves Den.

 

Apps and Platforms

Yoshida confirmed that Square Enix is working on releasing the Final Fantasy Portal app, currently released only in Japan, in other regions. He further assured us that until he can be sure that the app is available worldwide and the data from the app can be connected to in-game activities worldwide, they will not be adding that functionality to the Japanese version of the app. In other words, nobody will be able to use the app to play Triple Triad, and gain an advantage in game, until everyone has the same opportunity.

 

As Yoshida has mentioned before, he is an Xbox gamer and would love to have FFXIV available on the Xbox, but due to Microsoft restrictions they would not be able to have FFXIV be cross-platform in an Xbox version. Yoshida would not want Xbox only servers, since it could lead to situations where the single platform might not have enough support, or you could not play with a friend on another platform – Yoshida does not want that barrier/restriction. He did note that recently Microsoft allowed cross-platform compatibility between windows pc and Xbox, but as far as he knows there has not been any news from Microsoft about additional cross-platform accessibility. So he is still waiting on Microsoft at this point. Linux or Steam OS are not planned.

[Aduu Avagnar]

Soooooo glad they're allowing guesting for the airship crafting...

[Steel Wolf]

Well sh**, that pretty much affirms my need to get THM to 30 for some possible cross-class abilities for my Dark Knight. Gah....dammit.... I'll read the skills to see which ones might be possibly useful.

 

Blegh.

 

Also blegh to Alexander being "Coil ver. 2.0". I was sorta hoping that'd be another Crystal Tower-level raid. So considering my build, skill level and any number of player-demanded metrics, I'm locked out of that content as well. :<

 

I guess the "alternate raid" is where I'll be looking to get my pretties...and if that's nearly as fun as the CT stuff, I shall be a happy Wolfy.

 

Some good, some bad. But still excite.

[Aduu Avagnar]

Well sh**, that pretty much affirms my need to get THM to 30 for some possible cross-class abilities for my Dark Knight.  Gah....dammit....  I'll read the skills to see which ones might be possibly useful.

 

Blegh.

 

Also blegh to Alexander being "Coil ver. 2.0".  I was sorta hoping that'd be another Crystal Tower-level raid.  So considering my build, skill level and any number of player-demanded metrics, I'm locked out of that content as well.  :<

 

I guess the "alternate raid" is where I'll be looking to get my pretties...and if that's nearly as fun as the CT stuff, I shall be a happy Wolfy.

 

Some good, some bad.  But still excite.

they've already stated that Alexander will have a Hard mode (similar to how Coil is now) and a standard mode (for those that still want to see the content)

[Gegenji]

Well sh**, that pretty much affirms my need to get THM to 30 for some possible cross-class abilities for my Dark Knight.  Gah....dammit....  I'll read the skills to see which ones might be possibly useful.

 

The cross-class skills for THM are Surecast, Swiftcast, and Blizzard II though. Unless DRK has some spells that NEED to go off (if any that can be affected), then the first two are rather pointless. Blizzard II might be useful for AoE if DRK is lacking in that field. I would figure that whichever tanking class it also gets CC abilities from (if not both, I wouldn't mind seeing jobs get a third CC with the raised cap for more options) is going to be far more important to the role it plays.

[Aduu Avagnar]

Well sh**, that pretty much affirms my need to get THM to 30 for some possible cross-class abilities for my Dark Knight.  Gah....dammit....  I'll read the skills to see which ones might be possibly useful.

 

The cross-class skills for THM are Surecast, Swiftcast, and Blizzard II though. Unless DRK has some spells that NEED to go off (if any that can be affected), then the first two are rather pointless. Blizzard II might be useful for AoE if DRK is lacking in that field. I would figure that whichever tanking class it also gets CC abilities from (if not both, I wouldn't mind seeing jobs get a third CC with the raised cap for more options) is going to be far more important to the role it plays.

^

also, I could see its CC being a combo of WAR/PLD tbh. Yes it uses the power of darkness, but Ninja also uses 'magic' and doesn't have THM as a cc.

[Steel Wolf]

they've already stated that Alexander will have a Hard mode (similar to how Coil is now) and a standard mode (for those that still want to see the content)

 

Oh that's RIIGHT! I had completely forgotten about that!! Thank you!

 

The cross-class skills for THM are Surecast, Swiftcast, and Blizzard II though. Unless DRK has some spells that NEED to go off (if any that can be affected), then the first two are rather pointless. Blizzard II might be useful for AoE if DRK is lacking in that field. I would figure that whichever tanking class it also gets CC abilities from (if not both, I wouldn't mind seeing jobs get a third CC with the raised cap for more options) is going to be far more important to the role it plays.

 

....oh GOOD. I'm pretty sure I have Sure and Swiftcasts, so...BIG SQUEE! Even if those are needed.

 

Whew! Yea....dodged a boring class bullet there.

[allgivenover]

Alexander normal mode was stated to be "a little less difficult" than Final Coil, and hard mode "more difficult". They were trying to sell it as being for people who just want to see the story, but a little less than Final Coil is still pretty tough, and not something I think most people will be able to clear.

[Steel Wolf]

Ah...well, it -might- not be beyond me? I dunno...we'll have to see. If Alexander Normal is beyond my ability then I'll see what this "alternate raid" has to offer up.

[Gegenji]

Ah...well, it -might- not be beyond me?  I dunno...we'll have to see.  If Alexander Normal is beyond my ability then I'll see what this "alternate raid" has to offer up.

 

In before Kefka's Tower. :lol:

[allgivenover]

I was thinking the alternate raid was going to be Floating Continent from VI, but they already announced it without calling it the Crystal Tower equivalent, so I dunno.

[Warren Castille]

Controversial opinion time: As long as Alexander is an aside to the main story like Bahamut was, I don't mind if it isn't accessible content. I don't want to beat a toothless "raid" for the sake of pretending I accomplished something.

[Steel Wolf]

Controversial opinion time: As long as Alexander is an aside to the main story like Bahamut was, I don't mind if it isn't accessible content. I don't want to beat a toothless "raid" for the sake of pretending I accomplished something.

 

Bolded my relevant feel. I like being able to accomplish stuff and think it'd be nice to see things, but I also was sated by getting the Demon stuff outta WoD and felt accomplished without ever having seen a single second of Coil.

 

If this alt raid provides me that too, and Alex isn't absolutely vital for the full plot, then Alexander can go bugger off. :3

[Kage]

I thought that Alexander was supposed to be easier than Binding Coil not Final Coil. While it's only a small difference it's still there.

 

Then Hard Mode is more Savage Coil like. For those who want to push and challenge it.

 

Honestly, I found T10-12 much harder hurdles. T13 on the other hand has been a hurdle because we didn't think to take a hard hard look at when our WHM's heals were landing.

 

And I'm quite ready to think that Floating Continent is next CT but... IDGAF. Floating Continent is in the game no matter what.

[Dravus]

I just hope that it'll be easier to find reliable groups for future content. I've noticed that European players in particular tend to get screwed over quite a bit when it comes to finding opportunities to tackle some of the higher end content due to time zone differences, a scattered community, people being in completely different social circles and existing raid groups generally being filled up very quickly.

[Kage]

I just hope that it'll be easier to find reliable groups for future content. I've noticed that European players in particular tend to get screwed over quite a bit when it comes to finding opportunities to tackle some of the higher end content due to time zone differences, a scattered community, people being in completely different social circles and existing raid groups generally being filled up very quickly.

 

I'm not sure how big the EU raiding population is on Balmung but I will say that for most groups on Balmung, I hope that you can work with mostly -weekday- 5pm-Midnight Pacific groups. Outside of those times, you will need to find a much more dedicated group that can work weekends and most serious raiders will not want to raid towards the end of the week.

 

One of my friends from UK area was extremely upset and left the server for a few days because of something similar. His times meant he was more available for very late night weekdays and early/other weekends. For more casual-not gungho progression groups this was fine. There was major miscommunications between the members of the raid group: Some thought of it as just for fun, not very serious raid progression while he and others wanted it. They died to the same things for weeks and those who were doing it for casual fun weren't taking the advice of those logging in early on someone else's alt just to help. Those who wanted that progression were extremely discontent. When the other people who wanted that progression found it, the group fell apart rapidly. The raid times because of his location did not help at all either.

 

But it really depends on how you want your progression. Weekend groups tend to be more laxed so it's a matter of finding them and putting yourself out there, which I know may be difficult.

 

On the other hand, I have a Scot friend who has managed to clear t13 and raid regularly with NA players so I assume he's found a way to play with NA times. Hell if I didn't know he was in Scotland I'd have thought he was an NA player @_@;

[Dravus]

I just hope that it'll be easier to find reliable groups for future content. I've noticed that European players in particular tend to get screwed over quite a bit when it comes to finding opportunities to tackle some of the higher end content due to time zone differences, a scattered community, people being in completely different social circles and existing raid groups generally being filled up very quickly.

 

I'm not sure how big the EU raiding population is on Balmung but I will say that for most groups on Balmung, I hope that you can work with mostly -weekday- 5pm-Midnight Pacific groups. Outside of those times, you will need to find a much more dedicated group that can work weekends and most serious raiders will not want to raid towards the end of the week.

 

One of my friends from UK area was extremely upset and left the server for a few days because of something similar. His times meant he was more available for very late night weekdays and early/other weekends. For more casual-not gungho progression groups this was fine. There was major miscommunications between the members of the raid group: Some thought of it as just for fun, not very serious raid progression while he and others wanted it. They died to the same things for weeks and those who were doing it for casual fun weren't taking the advice of those logging in early on someone else's alt just to help. Those who wanted that progression were extremely discontent. When the other people who wanted that progression found it, the group fell apart rapidly. The raid times because of his location did not help at all either.

 

But it really depends on how you want your progression. Weekend groups tend to be more laxed so it's a matter of finding them and putting yourself out there, which I know may be difficult.

 

On the other hand, I have a Scot friend who has managed to clear t13 and raid regularly with NA players so I assume he's found a way to play with NA times. Hell if I didn't know he was in Scotland I'd have thought he was an NA player @_@;

 

I'm lucky enough to have a somewhat flexible schedule so I should be able to get some serious raiding done if the right opportunity arises. For me, it's more a matter of finding a group that is willing to be loyal and not cast away my spot just because I happen to have to cancel one or two raids every couple of months because something comes up on short notice and I can't afford to stay awake into the early hours of the morning like I usually would.

 

I did my fair share of high end raiding back in WoW so I'm not really looking for something super serious - just a group of people willing to sit back, have a laugh and give it their best whilst being enthusiastic about the content they're tackling.

 

I absolutely love the dungeons and raids in this game. They really hit all the right buttons for me in terms of music, aesthetics and game mechanics.

 

I have some fellow European friends who I could raid with over on Cerberus but as I'm a one character guy and role-play is also something I enjoy I made the decision to stick to Balmung.

 

Though if someone could point me in the direction of some active PvE chat channels then that'd be great. I've joined a few in the past but they're pretty much dead and nobody speaks in them anymore.