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Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida had a lot to share on the MMORPG, with info on its upcoming roguelike-style dungeon, and a bunch of other topics and features during the E3 edition Letter from the Producer.
Here are notes on what was said during the event:
- Due to plots selling out right away in populated servers such as Balmung after the launch of 3.3, Yoshi-P says that there’s been a lot of feedback asking for housing to be prioritized for Free Companies instead of solo players; however, since there are many players that enjoy playing solo, their main goal is to be fair to all kinds of players without being biased to one category.
- In Patch 3.4, Square Enix will implement a new apartment-like housing system, which should about cover 100% of the population with some kind of housing.
- Reselling homes is prohibited, Square Enix reiterates that those who do so will be punished, and ask for players to report them to keep it a cleaner market.
- Housing item count will increase in the future. They are currently making efforts to see how they can increase it by bolstering servers.
- Armory Chest and inventory space is expected to get a huge increase by the time for the next expansion.
- Many feel that 2,000 Mentor roulettes for getting the 2-seater Astrope mount is a bit too much. This was added as a way to encourage players to do Mentor roulettes and there are no plans to lower this number, but Square Enix says that making it easier to obtain would result in having more players just wanting to speed-run instead of helping new players. They hope players will see it more as a reward for taking it more seriously.
- Many players are happy with The Weeping City of Mhach’s difficulty level. Yoshi-P says that they looked back at stats from the Crystal Tower series when thinking about the difficulty level of Mhach. Typically, the clear rates are pretty low at first, but this time they made it tougher since Void Ark’s clear rate was too high. Square Enix considers that their miss, and something they’ve learned from. There are currently no plans to raise the difficulty of Mhach, but they will continue monitoring the players and their performance before making any adjustments.
- When asked about whether they could possibly do a Savage version of a 24-man raid, Yoshi-P said that if they ever get some time and wiggle room, they may consider it in the future.
- The tempo for story and quests won’t change for the upcoming patches, as they feel that it is well-balanced for now. However, for the expansions, they’ll have more quests so that solo players can have an easier time leveling up. At the same time, they don’t want to make it in a way where players must complete more quests in order to continue with the story.
- Now that Dragonskin Treasure Maps are used for the Aquapolis, players have been asking if we’ll ever get to stack the maps. Yoshi-P says he understands the desire for that, but it’s a little difficult, as it was originally intended to have one every 18 hours, so they’d have to make various adjustments. He’ll give it some consideration with the development team.
- There’s been a lot of demand for Raid Roulettes. Yoshi-P says that they’d like to do it, but he can’t promise when at the moment.
- A stage feature for Free Companies will be in the works, so FCs can have something to make their own events in an easier fashion.
- When asked about a set weekly bonus for specific Gold Saucer activities, Yoshi-P expressed that it’s a good idea and something they can do with a simple switch after working on the recent event, so they will strongly consider it.
- A /changepose while sleeping has been in demand since 2014. The animation team has been working on it and has come up with three poses for the emote. It’ll be implemented in Patch 3.35.
- Players will have an easier time reporting RMTs starting Patch 3.4. A new system will let you directly report other players, which will send the offenders to jail after accumulating enough reports. This system originated from Dragon Quest X, which has seen good results on banning offenses as a result.
- The schedule for flying mounts is a bit packed right now, but if enough demand is there, they may consider making Sleipnir into a flying mount.
- The only requirement needed for unlocking the Deep Dungeon is to have a character at level 17 or above. They made it lower so new players can enjoy. The unlock quest will be by the Quarrymill area.
- Story-wise, Yoshi-P recommends players to complete up to Patch 2.4’s main quests and complete Tamtara (Hard) in order to get the most of it. You can still do Deep Dungeon first, as it won’t be a requirement.
- The “Gear” part in the above screen will be important, as it determines your strength that goes into the Deep Dungeon, and your regular ilevel won’t have anything to do with it. The two gear level can only be powered up in Deep Dungeon.
- In Palace of the Dead you’ll be able to have two “save slots.” For example, you can use one slot for solo matchmaking, and the other for when you play with your friends in a party of four.
- The glowing weapons shown above are the Deep Dungeon weapons that were marked under Gear in the previous screenshot. The interface shown in the above screen is exclusive to this mode as well. Your Gear level will sync according to the floor you’re on.
- The item slots on the left part of the screen are for items that are exclusive to the Deep Dungeon. Players will share all the items that can be used in here.
- The top-right map will show its randomly generated maps.
- When entering the dungeon, everyone starts at level 1; however, you’ll increase levels in here at a much quicker pace compared to the outside realm.
- You don’t need to worry about your role/class in here, and you can even go in with four DPSes.
- Characters level up by defeating monsters, but opening treasure chests will get you items and can also power up your weapons. However, you’ll occasionally come across traps or Mimics in chests. There are some items that reveal the entire map, including traps that are normally hidden.
- Every 10 floors you’ll have a boss fight. Defeating the boss will allow you to save your progress. That said, if you wipe before defeating the boss, you’ll need to start back from your last save spot.
- There are disadvantages for the players throughout the floors. For example, some won’t let you sprint, some won’t let you use items, and so on.
- The object above is used for raising allies. You can also use Raise or Phoenix Downs to do the same.
- You can transform into monsters and use their abilities in battle. For example, the Manticore can one-shot punch enemies, while playing as a Succubus will allow you to use abilities such as Voidfire.
- As of Patch 3.35, 50 floors will be implemented. It’ll be balanced so that it won’t be super difficult with mechanics, so it shouldn’t be too tough to repeatedly try out.
- There won’t be any lockouts or daily limits for Deep Dungeon, so players will get to do it as much as they want.
- You can save and exit after every 10 floors with the option to leave. Leaving won’t penalize you, so feel free to play as you will.
- One session of 10 floors is about as long as a dungeon, and they might get a little longer later when enemies become stronger.
- As for the rewards, you’ll get to use the extra glowy Deep Dungeon weapons in the outside world by speaking to the NPC in Quarrymill after having the weapon at a certain level. You won’t need to clear the content with that specific class to get the weapon for it, since it’ll allow you to pick a weapon of choice.
- Currently, Square Enix has plans to make it go up to 200 floors. However, getting all the way there will be pretty tough, so Yoshi-P says to think of it as long challenge or stretch goal rather than something to do in a sitting. Rankings will also be added.
- Levels are tied to your class in Deep Dungeon, so if you go in at level 17, you can level up your character up to 60 as that class. The abilities that you normally need to learn via quests will be easily available without having to worry about that in Deep Dungeon.
- It’s been balanced so that you’ll reach level 60 by the time you hit floor 40, and everything after that will allow you to play your jobs the way you normally would.
- Setting up orders of additional actions will be something worth considering.
- The Gear power applies to both save slots. You can take your powered up weapons that you powered up with a full party and try taking on the Deep Dungeon as a solo challenge after.
- Matching with other friends will require a party of 4. Going solo will pit you with other players. Matchmaking will always be done through the Quarrymill NPC for both solo and fixed paries.
- The matching rule is “role free,” so you’ll get to go in as any class; however, you’ll always be matched in terms of progress.
- The Cait Sith Doll Plushie will be available globally at the start of Gamescom 2016. The Cait Sith ears will be available as a bonus for purchasing the item. Pre-orders are now available.
- The above is a look at the schedule for the upcoming Fan Festivals.
- Next is a look at the in-game item rewards for those who attend the Fan Festivals or purchase one of the streaming options. North America’s FanFes will get a Rikku Minion, Japan’s will get a Lulu Minion, while Europe’s will get a Yuna Minion. Players can get all three by purchasing the streams.
- “Top Secret” Glamour Outfits will also be given to players for attending the Fan Festival. While it can’t be showed now, players will get the option to choose between an outfit for male or female. Those who want both will need to attend or view the streams of two festivals.
- Yoshi-P said that it says “Top Secret” but to please not get your expectations too high, as the only reason they can’t show it is because it’s still in development. Square Enix will share more on it once it’s available, prior to the Fan Festival.
- Pre-sales for the Las Vegas Fan Festival will begin next week. Each person can purchase up to four tickets. This limit is done to prevent the servers from crashing as it did in the past, and also as a way to mitigate scalpers.
- Square Enix is working on merchandizing the Moogle Slippers that were added in Patch 3.3.
- Yoshi-P was told not to say when Patch 3.35 will release, but he revealed that it’ll release sometime in mid-July. Please look forward to it.
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Published: Jun 15, 2016 06:30 pm