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  1. #21
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    Apparently Famitsu did its own interview with Yoshida with a bunch of different questions. It’s kind of silly that these interviews were published after the patch since all they really talk about is stuff that you can figure out on your own by just playing the content, but I had already finished half of the translation before I realized that it was basically all stuff we knew so I just finished it up. Anyway, for what it’s worth, here’s the translation.

    -----

    On June 24, prior to the recent large-scale update, patch 2.3 "Defenders of Eorzea," we held an interview with producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Naoki Yoshida.

    An overview of patch 2.3 had already been discussed in the 14th and 15th Producer Letters LIVE. Based on this information that was already known, I tried to ask questions that the players would be interested in at this time. As a result, a number of questions were answered about the new Syrcus Tower of Crystal Tower, the Ramuh primal battle, and more.

    On the same day prior to the interview, a play experience was held for the media with the hard version of the Ramuh primal battle. Click here for more about our experience there.



    Yoshida's busy schedule continued even after E3 ended.

    Great job on all of the promotional activities at E3.

    Thank you. I thought I might finally have a break, but at the end of this week I need to fly out to China. After I'm back from China next Monday [June 30], I'll be back in Japan for one whole day before I need to head out overseas on Wednesday to the Japan Expo held in France. Because my schedule is so busy, we have a lot of the staff on stand-by so we can quickly address any problems that might occur in or out of game.

    What kind of events do you have planned for Japan Expo this year?

    Last year we made presentations on the stage, so this year, with the expanding community in France, we decided to do a battle challenge with Leviathan similar to what we did at E3.


    The irony of the title of patch 2.3

    What exactly are you referring to with the patch's title "Defenders of Eorzea?"

    It references a number of different elements. Across the population there are the Grand Companies and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, so Defenders of Eorzea exist in many forms. Despite that, or because of it, new sparks of conflict are also born, so I hope you pay attention to that. One of the themes of new FFXIV has become the activities of the different groups and organizations that wish to protect Eorzea. In keeping with this theme, the main story is now going into some of the real world problems that have arisen. The title "Defenders of Eorzea" was intended to be a bit ironic.

    The letters in the logo look like they have been attacked by swords.

    Yes, we did not want the text to look clean.

    Was the Elezen silver-haired woman who appears in the patch 2.3 trailer perhaps intended to be Shiva?

    If you play through the main story you'll find out some information which will help clear things up. With good intuition, you might even figure out the kind of beast tribe (tempered) which worship Shiva. The main story in this patch is setting up for patches 2.4 and beyond, so please enjoy it.


    Player cooperation is important in the Ramuh primal battle!

    Is Ramuh also one of the "Defenders"?

    Yes. The traditional Eorzean folklore is that his role as a primal was as a mediator to maintain balance in the world.

    Tell us about the difficulty of the hard Ramuh battle.

    It's set up so that eight players should be able to beat it in 2-3 attempts, even if it's their first time. The boss's HP isn't very high and there are only about three patterns to the gimmicks, so if you can figure them out you should be able to beat it without any difficulty. As you play through the hard one, think about how those gimmicks will be powered up in the extreme version (laughs).

    Can you talk at all about the extreme Ramuh primal battle?

    Players will need to cooperate with each other. Also, please note the water (laughs).

    There's been a rumor among players that there might be some sort of ring-out gimmick.

    There's no gimmick to fall of the stage. We planned this from the very beginning, but some people thought otherwise when we first published some images of the battlefield.

    Maybe players actually want to fall off?

    If someone said that, I'm pretty sure it was a joke. We never planned for that in this fight. Instead, lightning will fall (laughs).

    Will there be any items that can be powered up that are rewards, like a weapon?

    Since it's a so-called direct drop, there's no element to strengthen it. Like we mentioned in the 14th producer letter LIVE, the main drop of the extreme Ramuh primal battle will be accessories. By now, many players have obtained weapons from Turn 5 of the Binding Coil or from Leviathan. Those who acquired those weapons can move on to the Ramuh battle to get the next step up. That said, you'll have to do it repeatedly, and accessories are the main drop.

    Any specific accessory, or different kinds?

    I won't say, you'll find out soon (laughs).

    If you told us now, players might already begin changing around their gear in preparation (laughs). How strong will the Ramuh weapons be?

    It will be a candidate for a choice among the stronger weapons.



    Three tanks and 15 DPS in Syrcus Tower!

    Is the size of the Syrcus Tower content about the same as the Labyrinth of the Ancients?

    I think it's about the same. As far as difficulty is concerned, if you know the tactics, you should be able to clear it without much issue. That said, when the patch first goes up, you'll have to discuss with everyone and use trial and error to figure out how to work through the gimmicks.

    The equipment obtained in Syrcus Tower is inspired by the style of the bosses, but will the items drop correspond to the enemy defeated?

    No, the bosses won't drop equipment just for specific roles. As far as the lotting rules go, the restrictions will be the same as Labyrinth of the Ancients was at the time of patch 2.1.

    What about the role configuration for Syrcus Tower? Will it be the same as Labyrinth of the Ancients?

    In Syrcus Tower, we've set it up so three tanks can participate at once. The tanks are arranged one in each of the three parties, which should considerably shorten the time it takes for DPS solo members to queue up in duty finder. It might even make healer more of a role in need than tank.

    So the content is adjusted with the premise of three tanks.

    Yeah, it's been designed in such a way that you can clear with three tanks. On the other hand, each party will have five DPS, so with that higher number they will have some additional roles.

    If the Unidentified Allagan Tomestone drops, will you have to lot against 24 people?

    The Unidentified Allagan Tomestone will be available in the treasure boxes that appear for each party after defeating the boss. The drop rate isn't bad so you'll see it relatively often, but if you obtain the Tomestone, you'll lose lotting rights to other equipment for that week. It will be best if you prioritize which item you want in advance.

    With Syrcus Tower, bosses like Xande are appearing, so I get the impression that the series is ending soon. Will Crystal Tower content continue to be added in the future?

    There are a lot of other bosses besides Xande in the FFIII Crystal Tower which still haven't appeared, so of course there will be follow-ups. You should try and play FFIII so you can see some of those future bosses that might appear (laughs). For Crystal Tower, our policy has been to try to reproduce a version of the tower in FFIII, but to also intertwine it with the story of A Realm Reborn. For example, the character Nero tol Scaeva from the Garlemald imperial forces will also appear.

    In addition to Amon and Xande, it looks like Red Dragon and the Guardian will also appear, but will they be bosses?

    With Syrcus Tower we looked as much as possible to reproduce enemies from Crystal Tower in FFIII. This wasn't limited to just bosses, so even enemies that attack as reinforcements will be reminiscent of those you've seen in the past. For people who played FFIII, you'll find a deeper enjoyment.



    Frontline is developed with an emphasis on fairness for casual play.

    Do you plan to reduce the cost of changing Grand Companies in the future since the battle is divided by Grand Company?

    The non-transfer period is currently set to 30 days, but we plan to reduce this. We're also planning to eliminate the gil cost the first time you transfer. We're considering how PvP EXP will carry over and other elements of the transition, so we'll continue to consider this.

    Are you careful to consider reducing the cost associated with transferring?

    If you're allowed to move too often, your sense of being tied to a particular company will be pretty low. There's also the possibility that people will try to sabotage and general morale would drop, so we have to be cautious with that.

    Will future PvP elements continue to be restricted by grand company?

    The basis of our planning with Frontline was Grand Company units fighting each other, and we planned PvP-specific job actions fro this. However, the concept of having a fair, casual battle was also promoted, so we will continue to consider whether the content is moving forward meeting this intent.

    Will you continue to add different varieties of PvP in the future?

    In the future, we will continue to update Wolves' Den and Frontline as the two main routes. For example, right now Frontline has been deployed in the Carteneau Flats area, but as the front is expanded, new battlefields could be added in the future.

    Will you add new gimmicks in the future?

    As we grow it, we want to add types of defensible positions where you can't get inside until you break through the outer fortifications or gates. In those kind of cases, we want to have things like siege weapons that crafters can build which can be installed, etc.



    The new instanced dungeons are classified as Expert.

    How difficult are the three newly-added dungeons?

    They're adjusted to be about as difficult as the three dungeons that appeared in patch 2.2.

    Which category of Duty Roulette?

    It will be expert. The content that we added in patch 2.2 will be moved to high level Duty Roulette.

    So the number of high level will increase?

    That's right.

    Tell us again about the tragedy of Tam-Tara Deepcroft.

    The scenario there is darker than ever before. As far as the gimmicks go, the mid-bosses will have some new ones. Anyone who's already seen the Defenders of Eorzea trailer saw that Edda will be involved, so you can expect that as well.

    Will the mid-bosses be stronger than before?

    The boss is a bit unique. Once you figure it out, it's very easy to clear, but it might literally be a tragedy until you figure it out (laughs). Once you get used to the dungeon, I think the hard version of Tam-Tara Deepcroft is probably the fastest of the three new dungeons to clear.

    How about gimmicks in the hard version of Stone Vigil?

    It won't only be about defeating the monsters. It'll be a bit different from before, so you should enjoy the curve balls. Also, the attack areas of effect won't be visible sometimes, so the bosses will be a bit more random than those you've encountered before. Rather than avoiding the attack warning areas, it'll be important to figure out which skills are coming based on the boss's movements.


    Future appearance of Mandoragoras

    The Mandragoras that make an appearance in the Hildibrand quests this time, are they the same as the ones from FFXII?

    They are Mandoragoras. The way they're involved in the story is quite interesting (laughs).

    One of the Mandras that was male in FFXIII seems to have changed to female now.

    For Mandragoras, depending on player reactions, we might bring them back in the future. I'll look forward to the feedback.

    Are they added as something like a primal battle?

    That's not the case. They're built into the scenario different from how the primals are. They serve a different role in the story.

    Are there any that you have to fight?

    As far as fighting is concerned, it will be different from what you're used to. The Gilgamesh battle was different, so please consider this as part of the overall Hildibrand storyline.

    Will any other characters from the Briardien's rival group make an appearance?

    Yes, a number of new characters will be added and the story will become more lively. I laughed quite a bit during play testing this time, it was pretty absurd (laughs).



    Item desynthesis

    How long will it take to raise your item desynthesis skill?

    We're making final adjustments to table of limitations on skill gains. The basic idea is that the rise of skill will be really fast at lower levels. As the skill increases, it will rise less with each desynthesis.

    Will the numerical value of the skill gain from desynthesis be shown?

    Yes, it will be raised in decimal units of 0.01. The success rate will vary with the item level of what you're trying to desynthesize as compared with your desynthesis skill. The purpose of this content isn't just to raise your skills, of course, this higher skill will also determine the chance of obtaining new items when you desynthesize. Over time, you can increase a skill to 100. But if you keep growing the skill, you'll be able to desynthesize most items even without the skill at 100. It's possible to increase three skills up to 100.

    When you talk about this, I get the impression that it's like how skill-ups worked for item synthesis in FFXI.

    MMORPGs in general have development systems which are intended to take time to work through. As the new products which can be made only with item desynthesis circulate more and more, the motivation to level the skill will be reduced, so we will continue to adjust the limit to try to balance this trend.

    So you've developed it to be friendly for those who are just getting involved with crafting now?

    Once you reach crafter level 30, you'll be able to use the Desynthesis action. As you earn experience from creating goods, you can also desynthesize them at the same time and enhance that skill. This might be the best way to grow the skills efficiently and reduce the cost of doing so.

    Will any catalyst be required for desynthesis?

    The idea was to avoid any complicated procedures, so no catalyst is needed. Desynthesis is just one of the crafter-specific actions that you can perform.

    Specifically, what kinds of new equipment can crafters synthesize?

    Earlier I had mentioned to not discard old primal weapons because they would see new uses later on. We've added new primal weapons with cool effects, so please try to create those.

    Will this be like an upgrade system?

    Recipes for new primal-specific weapons will be added. You may imagine a few different things which might be needed as a material. The item level is higher than that of the original weapons, but I would expect the demand for Glamour Prisms to really grow. So really it probably won't be too needed to create a HQ because it's mostly there to create new visual styles. After you check them out, give us your feedback and let us know what you think.

    Will there be four star recipes added?

    The star marks for recipes will be increased when we raise the item level cap.



    Enjoy interacting with famous NPCs in a new side quest.

    Please tell us about the Carrier quests that adventurers can take part in.

    The content will start from a Moogle letter that the player has to deliver. You'll be asked to deliver various letters to NPCs and you'll get more specific experiences with those quests. For example, when you deliver a letter to Miounne in Gridania, you'll see more about her past.

    Will you go into details about Miounne's days in the Carline Canopy?

    Along with hearing about Miounne's past, you'll also hear about a certain building in Gridania. Some things which haven't been previously discussed will be introduced.

    Besides Miounne, what other NPCs will have episodes to enjoy?

    It won't only be familiar NPCs, but also some new NPCs that appear. We also plan to continue adding new elements to this past patch 2.3.

    What will the starting conditions be?

    You'll find out more about certain NPCs you met in the main scenario, so you'll have to advance to a certain extent.

    So, for example, rather than Minfilia, you might have something about Nedrick Ironheart?

    That's right. A lot of story about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn members has already been told in the main quest. Rather than focusing on the main story characters, these quests focus on peripheral characters instead. The scenario team is working on making more episodes which take place all around Eorzea, so please stay tuned.

    Personally, I want to see a scenario added for Maisenta in Gridania.

    If you have such a request, please give it to us on the forum (laughs).


    The new Chocobo Training is something you can work on little by little over time.

    Tell us what you can do with chocobo training at the new stables that you can place at residences.

    It's not a difficult procedure. Depending on how you train and what kinds of food you give, your chocobo's parameters will change. Please exchange information with other players so you can come up with the most effective combinations.

    What kinds of food can you give?

    As one example, you can feed chocobos new crops which can be harvested in gardens.

    Will it be difficult to obtain the food?

    You should be able to get them normally over time and put them in your Company Chest so others can take out and use them as needed. There's no drawbacks to feeding your chocobo, so keep feeding them as you take care of them.

    How can my chocobo become stronger?

    If you grow just one parameter, you're missing out on the different abilities that a chocobo can use. If you keep developing them over time, you'll be able to develop your chocobo's performance to meet your taste. In the stables, it's also possible to take care of the entrusted chocobos from other Free Company members, so please stop by before you log out and feed them. Also, don't forget to clean the stables (laughs).

    Will there be a limit on how many chocobos can be left in the stables?

    There's a maximum, but it shouldn't normally cause any trouble.

    Do you plan to expand the functions related to chocobo training in the future?

    Yes. We'll also be adding something so that a chocobo can molt their feathers.

    Is there a limit on the number of private rooms that can be installed in a Free Company house?

    There's an upper limit, but you'll find out the specific number when the patch becomes available (edit: in the published patch notes, it was noted that up to 512 rooms can be built regardless of the size of the house).


    The story of Patch 2.3 is about the halfway point towards the "conclusion for now."

    So, in conclusion, please tell me where we are at right now with patch 2.3 in the story of A Realm Reborn.

    Patch 2.3 is a turning point in the story towards the release of the expansion pack that we're calling 3.0. After A Realm Reborn was launched with 2.0, patch 2.1 was positioned as a new introductory chapter and patch 2.2 was a direct continuation. With the release of patch 2.3, we've just about reached the overall halfway point. At the end, you should have the feeling that the cards are all laid out on the table for the story up until 3.0. In this patch, you can get a sense of the atmosphere of what's to come in the scenario up until the conclusion for now prior to the launch of the expansion pack. In terms of the content, on the three main axes essential to MMORPGs, we have PvE, PvP, and housing content all being added. In the future, we'll continue to go even deeper with each of these as we add more and more content to A Realm Reborn.

    We're eagerly anticipating the release of the patch!

  2. #22
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    If you play through the main story you'll find out some information which will help clear things up. With good intuition, you might even figure out the kind of beast tribe (tempered) which worship Shiva. The main story in this patch is setting up for patches 2.4 and beyond, so please enjoy it.
    Hmmm... I did not see any clue about that, does anyone have a theory based on the 2.3 events?

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Taim Meich View Post
    Hmmm... I did not see any clue about that, does anyone have a theory based on the 2.3 events?
    A new dragon-like beastmen race from Ishgard?

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    Based on what Yoshi said, makes me think Elezens are Shiva's worshipers.

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    Yeah, I was gonna say I think he's referring to humans (in this case, Elezen).

  6. #26
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    Another press interview held on the same day as the other two, this time with Dengeki Online. This one actually asks some interesting questions about development team expectations of players clearing content and some future stuff, so take a read through and see what you think.

    -----


    With the first service anniversary looming, how do you feel about the current player situation?

    We feel that it's become pretty stable. The increase of new users for a flat-rate subscription MMORPG tends to be more gradual than that for free-to-play. We did see a pretty big step jump when the PS4 version released, but that doesn't tend to be the norm.

    In the trailer for patch 2.3, we mentioned that we had topped two million adventurers at the time, but we've already grown by several hundred thousand more past that. Because we have a stable base who continue to play, it's been favorable from a business perspective.

    How about the China version that's in the works?

    We're doing some final adjustments for the closed beta testing which is happening starting July 22, followed by open beta in the second half of August if things proceed well. We already have over a million applications for the beta test.


    Patch 2.3 implements content for casual players

    Patch 2.3 arrived on July 8, and it felt like it was a patch that was targeted for light players while patch 2.2 was more for heavy players. Was this a conscious decision?

    Yes, to some extent. Aside from adding the echo into some high end content, generally for patches where the item level increases, the difficulty of the content will be higher to justify the stronger reward items. The basic cycle of updates will then fill in the gap for a variety of play styles with the intermediate patches, such as what we did with patch 2.3 this time around.

    Do you have a plan for content production with implementation timing?

    We have a general structure for the patch series, but, for example, we don't have everything already set for patch 2.4 when patch 2.3 is implemented. The plan is mostly around the timing for raid updates and for item level increases. For other content and difficulty adjustments, we can plan things more freely based on player feedback.

    For example, The Hunt, which was added in this patch, was not content that was planned from the beginning. Rather, we decided to implement it based on player feedback we got after the release of patch 2.2 about what to do with various locations. We decided to add it in this patch ad lib.

    For the current high-end content, I've been able to clear the Second Coil of Bahamut since it's been implemented, but how is overall player progress relative to your expectations?

    The people who cleared it the fastest did it sooner than we expected. However, the waves of people who have cleared it since then have challenged the content repeatedly with trial and error and it's about what we expected. I think there are also some people who will wait until we add the Echo there to try it out, so people will gradually get through it.

    You had originally said you were going to keep increasing the Echo in the Binding Coil of Bahamut, but eventually you stopped. Why was that?

    We didn't want to make it too easy to obtain the item level 90-95 equipment. However, we will consider relaxing the Twintania content specifically.

    Easing content was a hot topic around E3 2014, so along those lines, do you have any plans to ease up the instant death gimmicks in the Titan primal battle?

    Yeah. Some people feel that the Titan extreme primal battle is perhaps more difficult than Twintania right now. Many people have said that it's difficult even with the Echo buff.

    Indeed, it's difficult to recover once someone falls off. As far as the Saga of the Zodiac Weapons which was continued in patch 2.28, have players been progressing as you expected?

    Although there were some people who completed it so incredibly fast that I wondered how they did it, most people are doing it more gradually, and many are satisfied with other content and haven't even touched on this, so it's pretty much as we expected.

    Compared to the original Zenith weapons, there's a lot of individual variation among those who are working on it. I was also surprised that some people have completed Novus already.

    Yeah, it's really amazing how fast some people were. I still have five books left to finish my Animus! (laughs)


    The main scenario is at a turning point in patch 2.3

    Regarding the main scenario, how far along the story of the 2.0 series are we at the end of patch 2.3?

    This will be a turning point. The earlier primals have emerged primarily as villains, but this time around you'll actually get to see some of their intentions. Since the mechanism of Aether and the primals will be described in detail during the main scenario, please pay attention to it.

    A lot of interesting story hints were shown in the patch 2.3 trailer. In the teaser scene at the end, was Ishgard shown?

    Yes. You should be able to clearly see the path forward to the north after the stories of the three cities. The title, "Defenders of Eorzea," isn't referencing any one person, but it's referring to all of the people in different places who are doing what they think is best to protect Eorzea.

    However, there's a bit of irony built in as well. Although we say "Defenders," there's still the three-way battle taking place on the Carteneau Flats (the battlefield where the Garlemald forces and the grand companies clashed during the Seventh Umbral Era) (laughs).


    Hard and Extreme Ramuh battle pointers

    We got a chance to play the hard Ramuh primal battle and even though we won, there were several mysteries which we still hadn't figured out. It's quite a bit different from the past primals.

    The hard battle is designed to be completed by players with no experience with the fight after about 2-3 tries.

    I got the impression that we'll need to communicate more in the extreme Ramuh primal battle than in any fight before.

    Yeah, with Ramuh there are gimmicks in place like that. When I tested it with the development team, we were able to clear it with improvisation without calling out too much. When players are gathering up with party finder, though, I wonder if they'll have to come up with more fixed strategies.

    Since the battlefield is on a hill, I first had to check if we could fall off (laughs).

    It was planned from the beginning that you couldn't fall off, but a lot of people around the internet thought it might be possible because of the battlefield. Only thunder will be falling (laughs).

    For those who want to take on Ramuh, can you give us any hints for clearing the fight?

    For Thunderstorm, it's important that players be careful not to overlap with each other because the field will be limited. Since there will be water around the battlefield in the extreme battle, if mistakes are made with positioning, the results will be bad.

    Also, people will need to figure out how to remove the Terror state.

    That's right. It will be important for people to help each other, but since not everyone can help every time, it's not possible to fix that role. It might feel more difficult compared to other extreme primal battles because of this randomness, but on the flipside, for a party which is cooperating well it might actually feel a bit easier. Since Ramuh is the primal of judgment, we designed the battle with judgment as a central characteristic.

    The Ramuh primal battle has a woman's voice, was that Soken's idea?

    Yeah. Since the Sylph tribe is generally depicted as female, we chose a female vocal. In fact, some of the lyrics are actually sung in the ancient language of the Sylphs.


    The Syrcus Tower of Crystal Tower is a prelude for the final dungeon?

    One of the highlights in 2.3 is the Syrcus Tower of Crystal Tower. I got the impression that you tried to reproduce this in the image of the original in FFIII. Are there any part in particular?

    Yeah. We haven't made it very hard but we've tried to stick to the elements in FFIII.

    The art group did a lot of review of FFIII when they came up with specifications and content proposals for Crystal Tower, so we've tried to reproduce the monsters that appear and the overall experience and feel as much as possible. The scenario will focus both on FFIII and characters from A Realm Reborn.

    I was surprised that Xande appeared as a boss this early. I thought he would be at the end (laughs).

    Because this is kind of a prelude to the last dungeon, we decided to have Xande here.

    Will the difficulty be about the same as Labyrinth of the Ancients?

    Yeah, that won't change.

    For the drops, you're planning for Unidentified Allagan Tomestones and item level 100 armor to drop, but will the lotting restrictions be the same?

    Yes. When you defeat the boss, it may drop the Unidentified Allagan Tomestone to each individual party in addition to the normal treasure. So be assured that there won't be 24 people "Needing" it. Only at the final boss there's a second possible chest with items that you have to lot against 24 people, but this won't affect lotting rights.

    The item level is the same as the armor you can exchange for Soldiery tomestones (Gerolt's Masterworks). Is the intent to collect these in parallel?

    The weekly restriction on obtaining Soldiery will still remain, so we assume that players will be collecting the equipment from Syrcus Tower for jobs other than their main job or for Glamour equipment. Since there's no way to increase the item level like with Gerolt's Masterworks, we would expect the majority to be used for other jobs.

    In previous producer letters you mentioned you'd be able to get Sands of Time and Oils of Time here, when are you planning for that to be possible?

    I think they'll be added along the patch 2.3 series. That said, we'll watch the current clear situation and average item level for everyone when we decide when to make the adjustment. That said, it will be before patch 2.4.


    New elements incorporated in three new instanced dungeons

    With the one new and two hard mode dungeons added, what are the main attractions and ideas behind these dungeons?

    We've prepared elaborate gimmicks for all three dungeons so that you can get some enjoyment with a different flow from some of the other dungeons you're used to. I got a lot of feedback from players asking for more randomness at bosses rather than just pattern memorization, so we've tried to incorporate a bit of that.

    Each of them is a bit different, yet they'll be on the same level as the expert dungeons that were added in patch 2.2. By developing the content in a few different directions, we hope to get helpful feedback from the players and create future content with that feedback in mind.

    Will the amount of Soldiery or Mythology tomestones available be more than the current expert dungeons?

    It will go up. In particular since there's been a spending spree of Mythology in a few places (laughs).

    By the way, do you have any plan to increase the upper limit on obtaining mythology tomestones?

    We're leaving it at 2000 for now.


    The main idea of The Hunt is to find Elite monsters

    For monster hunts, should players get the idea that the daily hunts are the main focus?

    No, those are just a bonus intended for people who play each day and want to be able to collect Allied Notes steadily. The basic premise is that you'll exchange information with other players to find elite monsters while exploring field areas.

    The elite monsters can attack nearby players, is that intentional?

    Yeah. That said, since some of these appear even in low level areas, we've considerably reduced the aggro range. You might be a scared Lalafell in starter equipment when you see a bunch of high level adventurers rush past to defeat a monster only to be wiped out (laughs).

    You think that elite monsters could defeat a group of well-geared adventurers?

    The S-rank monsters are quite strong, so please try to gather people up from shouting.

    With Allied Notes, you can obtain Sand of Time and Oil of Time to strengthen Gerolt's Masterworks by a different means than the Second Coil.

    As the item level rises, the content difficulty will also rise along with it. However, the basic flow of updates with A Realm Reborn is that there will be other means to get to the highest level as the patches progress.


    Frontline is designed to be enjoyable as long as your item level is 50 or higher

    Next, I have a few questions about Frontline. Do you have any advice to players who are just starting PvP with this?

    Please don't forget to set "Purify" regardless of your job. Once you figure out how to use Purify properly, you should never end up in a situation where you can't do anything. It'll take some time to figure out what works for you so don't worry about winning every time.

    It's scary to move around solo, so try to move around in groups of 4-5 people until you feel more comfortable. That said, there's a risk that you can all be slept in one shot when you're moving as a group (laughs).

    The timing of utilizing Purify in Wolves' Den was very important, but in Frontline it's probably good enough to use it as soon as you receive a debuff.

    Since there are many allies and enemies, it's fine to aim to beat your opponent in general rather than focusing on just one person. As you get used to it little by little, it should get to be a lot of fun participating in the big fights.

    Will the amount of PvP EXP and Wolf Marks be higher than what you get in Wolves' Den?

    The amount will be higher in Frontline. We've also made some adjustments to the value for winning in Wolves' Den. You'll also get a fixed amount of mythology and soldiery tomestones just for joining, so you should feel like you're getting a lot of benefit even if you lose.

    So Wolves' Den is designed to compensate players for winning, while the Allagan tomestones in Frontline are to reward players just for participating.

    I'm hoping more people get the opportunity to discover the fun and thrill of PvP. When I playtested with the development team, we were going in with level 90 or higher average item levels, but we've adjusted it so that even level 50 characters in the public worlds could do fine when participating.

    A lot of the staff has said many times that Frontline is a lot of fun while we were doing playtesting (laughs).

    So while Frontline is casually enjoyable, what changes do you have in store for Wolves' Den in the future?

    Since the matching format doesn't reflect morale like in Wolves' Den, I think you'll see serious competition there. At the same time, we've made adjustments to almost all PvP actions, so we expect tactics to change considerably. People who are really serious about it might respec their action points every time depending on whether they're playing Wolves' Den or Frontline.


    Item desynthesis is a simple mechanism for the 2.0 patch series

    Item desynthesis has been added as a highlight for crafters, but are there any future plans for items that will require two or more crafter skills to desynthesize?

    I wouldn't expect that, at least not during the 2.0 patch series. Item desynthesis is just one aspect of crafters which they can use to their advantage to desynthesize items they create, then use them to craft again to reduce their deficit. There are also new materials that you can only obtain from desynthesis which are used to create new items. Therefore, we decided to keep the desynthesis system simple.

    Will you get the same items every time you desynthesize?

    The item selected will be a material that the base item is synthesized from, so it's not completely random, but there could be a different component each time. I think players will take a look at the different items and come up with which items are the most efficient to desynthesize.

    I heard rumors about the Savage version of the Second Coil of Bahamut, but do you expect any party to clear this before patch 2.4?

    I think it will happen (laughs). Although there isn't much change to the patterns until the fourth turn, I think there will be a competition to clearing the last turn again.


    Crystal Tower and the Bahamut Dungeons are scheduled for completion before patch 3.0

    I'd like to ask about a few elements after patch 2.3 which you discussed at E3. The reveal of ninja and rogue were the biggest story, how was the reception?

    I'm glad because it was pretty huge. A lot of people were surprised that a new class was going to be added before the expansion pack and the development team told me that many people are looking forward to Ninja once I got back home (laughs).

    Is it possible that another new class might be added before the expansion pack in the future?

    We don't have any long-term plans for releasing classes, but please don't expect it. You may have to wait for release of the expansion pack, but... (laughs).

    By the way, do you plan to have the Crystal Tower and Bahamut's Dungeons scenarios completed prior to the expansion pack?

    That's the plan for now. The completion of the Bahamut's Dungeons will be the conclusion of the Meteor scenario continuing from the original FFXIV, so we're considering a variety of tricks with which we might surprise you.

    Crystal Tower has been mostly following with FFIII, so after this dungeon I'm hoping there are two more? What are you thinking?

    Since the Forbidden Land Eureka is more of a treasure vault than a dungeon, there's a high likelihood that we may use it in a different way. The presence of the Cloud of Darkness and the World of Darkness will become clear at the end of Syrcus Tower, and Doga and Unei will appear and may come into play in the storyline.

    Regarding the beast tribe quests, when do you plan to implement the story of the Ixal tribe?

    Implementation is planned for patch 2.35. The finale event for all of the beast tribe quests will only be available to those who have cleared all of the beast tribe quests, including those of the Ixal group, so please try them all out.

    There are other beast tribes like the Qiqirn, Goblins, and Mamool Ja around Eorzea, but will dedicated quests be added for them?

    One episode focusing on the Mamool Ja will be added in patch 2.3. For the other races, it's a secret for now (laughs).

    For housing, although you're still planning to implement individual housing in the future, it seems like when players have their own house they won't be hanging out at their Free Company houses anymore. What are you planning for this?

    Since players should be able to do what they want, I don't want to put any specific limitations on the function of individual houses. Instead, we're planning to have certain systems which can be used by free companies within their houses.

    Will you continue to add more and more Free Company-specific elements to housing?

    Yeah. Other than those elements that are specific to Free Company houses, there won't be any difference in the furnishings or gardens you can place.

    The next producer letter LIVE is scheduled for the Full Active Time Event in Sendai on July 21. Are there any particular topics you're planning on focusing on?

    I think it'll be like some of the usual producer letters where we focus on Q&A from players about the current situation in Eorzea. We'll also have Kawamoto's corner (Nobuaki Kawamoto, lead planner) which I think will be the main attraction (laughs).

    Later on in October you'll be holding a few consecutive Fan Festival events in the different regions. Do you have any plans for the scale of participation in these events?

    The teaser site is already running, but the tickets will be advance purchase. We're planning the events on a scale for thousands of people, and we're looking into our presentation and stage events. We also have special play content planned for the event to look forward to.

    There's a free log-in campaign planned after patch 2.3, but what are you doing to generate appeal in past players of A Realm Reborn who are taking a break from the game?

    Well, we're adding a lot of play elements. For people who took a break, it depends on when they stopped playing. For example, people who took a break before the glamour system was added might be surprised by player appearances now. Since we've added some casual parts, it's easy to get back to the forefront. As we add more and more content and make mythology easier to collect, it should be easy to get to item level 90 on any job.

    Since there are already people at the top level of equipment, coming back now I think you could more quickly close the gap with a lot of different methods.


    As you move towards the second year of service soon, do you have any message to current players about Eorzea and things to come?

    From my perspective, I think we've finally got a good grip on the development pace and management for A Realm Reborn, so we'd like to continue efficiently adding as much new content as possible at a good pace.

    Additionally, as a FF game, there should be some surprises in store. You'll start to see more about the identity of the expansion pack early in the second year of service. We hope to always continue delivering the latest that the FF series has to offer in the future, so please enjoy your time in Eorzea and thanks for playing A Realm Reborn!

  7. #27
    BG Content
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    So World of Darkness seems like the fairly obvious next part of the Crystal Tower series, I suppose? Should be pretty awesome, if so.

  8. #28
    Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slycer View Post
    So World of Darkness seems like the fairly obvious next part of the Crystal Tower series, I suppose? Should be pretty awesome, if so.
    Slycer you should see if you can make these article translations BG Blog posts. I love reading them but it can be hard to find them sometimes especially if I want to quote a part of the interview/article to someone.

  9. #29
    the whitest knight u' know
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    Quote Originally Posted by Taim Meich View Post
    Hmmm... I did not see any clue about that, does anyone have a theory based on the 2.3 events?
    I went on a stupid spiel about it in the lore thread, but I think it's very likely that the ones responsible for Shiva are Ishgardian rebels who are aware of the Ascian corruption pulling the strings of the Holy See and plan on striking back. The corrupted leadership is using the fear of Dragon/heretics to keep everyone on their side and suspicious of anyone who might oppose Ishgard in any way... even though they might be the good guys. These rebels specifically hijacked a shipment headed to Revenant's Toll just to get your attention while Ishgard immediately shrugs it off as heretic bandits.

  10. #30
    YOU BLACK, MIDNIGHT, EVIL MOTHERFUCKERS!!! BLACK MAGIC, DARKNESS!!! YOU RAW, DARKNESS!!! YOU, FUCKING, DELIRIOUS MOTHERFUCKER!
    You were cold as ice.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Burningthought View Post
    Slycer you should see if you can make these article translations BG Blog posts. I love reading them but it can be hard to find them sometimes especially if I want to quote a part of the interview/article to someone.
    http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/122...ted-Interviews

    Just saying. Compiled links to all of his translations since he started for FFXIV ARR.

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