Time to get serious: A BlueGartr interview with Naoki Yoshida Coming Soon

[Sonomaa]

in a short time I will be sitting down with Naoki Yoshida and giving him a BG interview. I say BG interview because were not sitting down and being all cuddly and making him feel good about his game. Were going for the throat with the hard questions about the survival of the game that, in SEs own words, damaged the final fantasy brand.

So I ask you BG, what questions do you need to know, what questions are the most important for the survival of this MMO after all of the tragedy that has befallen it.

You have 5 days to get me your questions, posted in this thread, as many as you can think of and related to the deep issues still going on within final fantasy 14.

Any trolls of people wasting my time will be outright and simply banned, I do not have time for your fucking around. Get serious or get fucked.

[Celeras]

-Animation lock to the ground when using abilities, what are the plans for removing it and do they realize how vital it is to do with the caliber of encounters such as Ifrit? Yes it can be overcome, but it shouldn't have to be. You did it with active/passive, now do it with everything else. Nobody would mind a ground-slide while you hammer it out.
-When will you fix this? Latency is obviously acceptable, that kind of corner cutting is not.
-Why is it required to trade an item to have Materia melded, and will it be added to the bazaar like repairs? When will we be able to meld rare/ex items and why can't we now?

If I think of more I'll edit.

[Kaiyoko]

-When are large scale / end game battles coming? Dungeons / Primal battles are nice for now, but are short / small in scale to what many games have for end game content.

-A while back you said Ishgard would be out by the end of summer, it's now October, where is it?

-Is there still plans for an auction house or are we forever doomed to have to run around in retainers?

-How will the Artifact armor or Class specific armor shown off during the latest Famitsu and Live Producer Event be obtained? Will it be quested or will it be similar to WoW's tier gear from end game raids?

-What are the plans for Culinary and Alchemist DoH? They got left behind in the recent update and some of their synths have lost their materials, making it more difficult to level

-Are there going to be relics / legendary type weapons? If there are will they require items that can be bought for money to obtain, gather a non trade able item, or just drops very rarely

-Will there be higher tiers of rarity added to the game, end game gear a higher tier then dungeons I mean? Purple items lol?

-Estimate on PS3 date and/or beta?

- Can we get an NPC to change hair styles and new hair styles, in particular the hair cut 2A for hume F on miqote

- V2.0 STUFF -
~ When the 2.0 overhaul happens, new servers are created, will players level, gil, and items all be carried over? Will any type of progression be lost by current players?

Edit when I get more.

[Corrderio]

1. Why did you feel the need to have dyed equipment have different stats instead of just being visual?

2. Currently the class balance feels like one of the bigger issues in the game. What exactly are your plans to for classes and how will this affect class balance?

3. What are your plans to have FFXIV stand out from other MMOs?

4. Early in XIV's life someone datamined a list of many classes that weren't added (Flayer, Mystic, Samurai, Herder, etc.) will these classes make it into the game?

For reference on number 4, I'm talking about this list: http://i52.tinypic.com/2jb2zya.png

[Archangelgab]

Any news on PS3 release or if it's coming at all ? ( for ppl not wanting to spend more money on a pc build )

[Buttons]

1) What are the plans for player housing and when will it be implemented.

2) Will Artifact armour for jobs be able to hold materia? If not, will it be balanced in such a way that it is actually worth using? Will the armour be obtained in a unique quest line for each job.

3) When will Moogles play a larger role in Eorzea? They are only found in the beginner Gridania quest, the Lancer storyline and are shortly seen inside Totorak. As such an integral Eorzean race, will they finally receive a place in the main storyline or become companions/pets or something similar for us players?

4) Can you update us on the introduction of a proper and simplified party search system, as well as the progress on linkshell administration/rehaul of the linkshell system.

5) Can you finally tell us whether Conjurer will become Black Mage or White Mage? There is still a lot of speculation and most assume Conjurer is now going to become the White Mage, but we are wondering how it will tie into the story, since Conjurers use elemental magic according to the lore. So then it would not make sense for Thaumaturges to suddenly become Black Mages.

6) Will the old main storyline quests be changed/adjusted? With the new quests you battle Ifrit at lv25. Yet the old quest where you are take captive and Ifrit is summoned is only at lv37 (or is it 34 now, not sure). Does not really make sense for you to fight Ifrit, him run away and then you meet him again later with no real tie in to what happened before.

7) Most MMORPGs have "Fashion Slots" nowadays. Equipment that can be worn over your armour in order to retain a look of your choosing. Now this topic was debated heatedly on the official forums. But would Square Enix consider adding an option for only specific gear to be used as fashion items? For example Artifact armour. It would be a shame to obtain AF armour only to have to wear something else because of better stats. Or maybe the official Grand Company outfit could also be used as a fashion slot item.

8 ) What about the Mamets in Uldah. These interesting little robots are not explained at all. Are there any plans for them for the future? Maybe as FFXIV's "Mog House Moogle"?

9) Are there any plans to redo the loot distribution system? The current system is not optimal and many of the new events such as Ifrit and stronghold chest items go directly into a random person's inventory. Please introduce a better loot system or at least have these items drop into a player's loot list and not their inventory. This way they could still pass an item they are not able to use.

10) What is their current timeframe on jobs? We know they should come in 1.21 but the time between patches has been slower than expected and we are anxiously awaiting the job system.

11) What is the timeframe on the map rehaul. Which areas will be rehauled and when can we expect this? Will cities be changed as well? Will this tie into the storyline, with the Umbral era or the Garlean Empire destroying large parts of the land. Maybe a time skip?

12) Player appearance changing NPC. This was promised a long time ago but seems to have been forgotten. A pretty basic option in every NPC. A simple feature that keeps players entertained. More players like to change their hairstyle and colour every now and then than you think. Also the ability of different coloured tattoos, markings etc. One of the game's major strong points is the beautiful character models. Might as well make the most out of it by adding more options, as well as those unreleased hairstyles!

[Kurokikaze]

What is the status on the following systems? The currently incarnations of these systems are cumbersome and greatly lower people's enjoyment of new content (especially raids/dungeons).
- Party recruitment system
- Loot distribution system.
- LS management system.

Will it ever be possible to adjust graphics settings within the game? Currently you need to log out to make the simplest change which makes it difficult for players to fine-tune their settings.

What is the status on graphics optimization for FFXIV?

Will anything ever be done to help alleviate the stuttering caused by loading massive amounts of DAT files from the hard drive? This stuttering is most noticeable while running through town.

I'll have more later. Out to dinner.

[Dein]

1) The current plans of the upcoming job system focus on one path for a class in terms of tanking, damage dealing, and healing. Are there going to be any plans in the future for multiple jobs per class that will let players focus on different paths than the initial planned jobs? (i.e. A second job for Gladiator that focuses on damage dealing, etc.)

2) While the battle system adjustments have only recently started, combat still feels rather dull and slow when compared to most current MMOs on the market. Will there be more major changes in the future to move combat away from auto-attacking and waiting for TP to use skills (and/or spamming spells while you still have MP as a mage) to a more dynamic and involved system? Perhaps class unique resource systems that center around some key attacks/abilities?

Nothing else good comes to mind yet for me so I'll post again if anything does.

[Patriarch]

1.)Can we look forward to any relic/mythic type weapons/armor?

2.) If, and when new jobs are ready, how many can we expect to have readily upon release?

3.) Will we be seeing the introduction of any ground HNM? Atleast any notorious monsters with an expansive time frame between repops, that is not for quests?

4.) In the sense of PvP, what will we be seeing in Final Fantasy XIV, and how soon can we expect it?

[Nama]

~ Will main storyline be adjusted in anyway? Lowering level prerequisites, changing when/why things happen(Ifirit an example) or perhaps just adding new storyline quests.
~ Any plans for increasing uses of guild marks. Will class guilds be used more or become more important?
~ Plans on linkshell management additions/remake
~ Timeline/plans for Ishgard
~ More info on Map rehauls. How will it be explained in game story wise and how will it affect quests, fights and general running around.
~ Ideas or plans for player housing or Linkshell shared halls/housing
~ Auction house? or retainers forever......
~ Plans for extras minigames eventually like opening coliseum to players to compete in, Platinum mirage games, or more npcs to parley with?
~ News on Musketeer and Arcanist when/if they will be released.

[Gath]

-Yoshi, you said that the new classes (Arcanist and MSK) were coming out with jobs, so, apparently that is when things will be "balanced". Why would you fail to implement the jobs with the new classes? Apparently, from what you said, jobs will be the main growth of a character, so why would you hold back the job implementation of MSK and Arcanist?

-Server lags, and hardware wear is relevant when playing this game, do you plan to fix these issues soon? If you don't, do you plan to make people buy new equipment when it gets damaged due to the mass amount of unnecessary resources that the game swallows?

-The claiming system post patch 1.19 leads to an ability to leash mobs onto another party, this is especially true in strongholds where people will leash a bunch of mobs onto a party fighting key holders, and in return, people are taking enmity from the key holder and leashing him until he resets so they can claim it themselves. Do you plan on making it a command to where you can stop other players from helping, much like the command that stopped outside parties from healing you in FFXI? As a follow up, do you plan to release any type of HNM where players can have long mob spawn times, with competition to claim the mob for special items?

-As stated in the previous question, if you decide not to have HNM, which seems like a bad idea to a majority of players, what type of competition, or what type of open world experience will you allow to adventurers in replacement for the fun struggles that is HNM?

-You introduced the names of the jobs that will be implemented in 1.21, but you failed to mention the jobs for the two current classes that are not even in the game yet, could you tell us what they are? I would guess Geomancer (Or the like) from the Famitsu interview, and the other guess would be Corsair. Are these the jobs for these classes, if not, then what is?

-You stated that PUG is going to be MNK, in all logical sense by abilities and lore, PUG is more like THF than it is like MNK. Why would you go to that measure when the clear choice SHOULD be THF by all logic?

[ClashBlades]

Just one question from me:

Currently while performing actions we are locked into animations which affect our ability to react to hazardous environments. Are there plans to allow for movement while in the middle of actions?

[miokomioko]

What do you plan to do to alleviate the existing "lock-out" of other cities'/companies' storyline missions, quests, and company-seal equipment after players choose a starting city and a company? Will we ever be able to have access in the future to buying something like an Ul'dahn Bow after we chose to become a member of Twin Adders or the Maelstrom? Will we ever be able to experience or be brought to light on the beginning missions of other cities without resorting to watching it on YouTube?

While the game's systems heavily revolve around every player being able to level every class on a single character, do you plan on creating more of these seemingly permanent decisions that players can never back out of without creating a new character from scratch?

[Psion]

- Regarding player housing: In FFXI we had cramped, tiny rooms that we could barely fit any furnishings at all. In FFXIV, might we get expanded housing that actually feels like a house? Perhaps even options to design our own houses, with walls and rooms you can set yourself, your own types of house styles and furnishings, and more? It could be a boon to the economy if players crafted these house parts as well, and might even be a way to introduce multicrafter synths.

-Along with an NPC to change hairstyles, can we get more styles to choose from? Personally I'd love a Sabin from FF6 style haircut!

[Jeryhn]

Regarding PS3 release, give us an estimated date of release. Not "when we determine that the game is finished", an actual month or something to look forward to.

[Carraway]

-Animation lock to the ground when using abilities, what are the plans for removing it and do they realize how vital it is to do with the caliber of encounters such as Ifrit? Yes it can be overcome, but it shouldn't have to be. You did it with active/passive, now do it with everything else. Nobody would mind a ground-slide while you hammer it out.
-When will you fix this? Latency is obviously acceptable, that kind of corner cutting is not.
-Why is it required to trade an item to have Materia melded, and will it be added to the bazaar like repairs? When will we be able to meld rare/ex items and why can't we now?

If I think of more I'll edit.

Fuck yeah what's up with this shit.

[Lucavi]

I second Celeras. Don't let them get away without giving hard answers to the animation lock and lazy latency questions. This game will not take off compared to its "rivals" as long as these issues remain.

[Nexxus]

- Is the "mog post" almost there ? Could it be possible to share the same servant with character of the same account ?
- Any plan about extend the linkshell's function ? Like linkshell storage, linkshell housing, linkshell bonus (seal/exp/etc... reward)
- Was a day, you talked about Drag & Drop interface, are we going to see it coming ?

[Eragon]

Are there plans to speed up the crafting animations so a synth can be completed faster, similar to what was done with gathering?

[Neoscrilla]

What actions are being taken to shore up the economy in the game? Drawing and keeping new players will be difficult with many standing players hoarding 100s of millions of gil. Will it be handled in the way of free server transfers when PS3 goes live? What other ideas do you have to keep the prices on harder to obtain gear from being sold for multi millions so that the newer player dont feel that these things are not worth the effort to farm money for?