Stormblood (4.0) General discussion

[Kipling]

As per request, the point of this thread is to discuss information and topics relating to Stormblood over this long 6-8 month wait. We will be getting a lot of information over the following months and rather than have multiple threads pop up for each topic, it is better to conglomerate it into one thread here.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/stormblood/





Things we know are going to be added/changed in Stormblood according to NA fanfest:

• Expansion taking place in Ala Mhigo, with the goal of reclaiming the territory from the Garlean Empire: "Can Ala Mhigo break free from two decades of Garlean oppression?"
• Zenos Yae Galvus is the main antagonist, the 12th legion Legatus and the de facto ruler of Ala Mhigo. Meanwhile, the player's Warrior of Light will team up with the Ala Mhigan Resistance.
• More missions will involve traveling with companions, like the previous expansion Heavensward.
• Monk will be the featured job class for 4.0, though the expansion will also include new jobs as well. How many jobs is unclear.
• Along with new the jobs will come a new level cap of 70 (up from a mere 60), and new combat actions for all jobs.
• Stormblood will include a revamped battle system that regroups and categorizes abilities shared by roles (DPS, Tank, Healer, etc.) rather than sharing them by jobs as in the current system.
• Further changes include: Getting rid of unused and ineffective actions to help casual players manage the tons of abilities, and a revamp of the UI for more visible cooldown timers.
• The expansion with contain "sprawling new areas" that will be at least equal in size and number to those of Heavensward — "A full, stand-alone game's worth of content," according to Yoshida.
• All new Primal boss fights, "challenging" new dungeons, and new high-end raids designed based on player feedback.
• While the new jobs have not been revealed, Yoshida was wearing a "Scarlet Witch" shirt on stage, meaning that Red Mage is likely one of the new jobs for Stormblood.
• Perhaps the biggest news, based on audience response: The player's item inventory will be expanded. It's going to be an "extreme" expansion which will require a lot of work on the server infrastructure to expand player's inventories. The item expansion will be rolled out over time to make sure the servers can handle the strain.
• There will be a fourth residential area.
• All expansion areas will be accessible by flying mounts and will affect the main storyline.
• Yoshida says the company hopes to move away from 32-bit PCs, meaning Stormblood may be exclusive to 64-bit Windows systems.
• PlayStation 3 support will be phased out. "We really want you to upgrade," he says.
• They are considering adding hard raid content in odd numbered patches, similar to Second Coil Savage for raiders who want a challenge.

Source with my own edits/additions based on my attendance of NA fanfest.

[The Stig]

Lets get some fuel going then.

My predictions if anyone wants to play:



I really hope most of them are wrong.
Added my twitter handle in case it goes viral

[Hafa Nana]

I generally try to have a look at all announcements from developers’/business point of view, where things may look not so shiny for fans as they are PRed. It feels to me like there is too much hype created around the announced features, while not enough actual information is revealed about them, so a look from this perspective also has a right to exist. There many things that I’d like to discuss, but want to start with new jobs and new cross-class skills system.

I personally expect them to add two new jobs in Stormblood: a support and a caster – simply because all roles have three jobs, except for these two.

As far as these quotations are concerned:
– Additional Skill System to be overhauled, with skills shared by roles instead of jobs, and can choose from shared role ability options (Reddit);
– “We’re regrouping and recategorizing skills so they’re categorized as roles rather than jobs,” Yoshida said. “From those shared roll skills and actions, you’ll choose which you need.” (Digital Trends);
– Stormblood will include a revamped battle system that regroups and categorizes abilities shared by roles (DPS, Tank, Healer, etc.) rather than sharing them by jobs as in the current system (US Gamer) –
I’m sure that they all are talking about cross-class skills, because all classes/jobs will certainly have unique skills (that will define their playstyle), and the concept of shared skills is already known in FFXIV as cross-class skills. The main difference, that has been announce for Stormblood, is that this time skills will be shared only among jobs that belong to the same role.

Generally there are 5 distinctive roles in FFXIV, that are recognized both by players and the developers: Tank, Healer, Melee, Caster and Support. While not all of them have always been distinguished by Duty Finder, Raid Finder distinguishes all the roles. And harder fights as a rule are designed so that it’s optimal to have at least one character in each role in the party. Cross-class skills are traditionally taken by each job/class from two other battle classes (my guess that this is done to encourage players to take their time to level up other battle classes). Adding another caster and another support would for the first time create the situation when each role has three jobs, and it becomes possible not to borrow cross-class skills from other roles. So the announcement of the fact that skills will be shared by roles just increases my conviction that new jobs are going to be a caster and a support.

As to the consequences of having the cross-class system in Stormblood, if it is going to be introduced, I’m afraid that it could become more grindy that in A Realm Reborn / Heavensward:
– Firstly, while some of the cross-class skills could be acquired at lower levels, I’m pretty sure that each class/job will have something useful that will be unlocked above levels 50 and 60. So while in ARR/Heavensward you don’t need to level up a job above level 42 to get its cross-crass skills (and in most cases the ceiling is at level 34), I expect it to be necessary in Stormblood.
– Secondly, I’m sure that each class will provide some cross-class skill to other classes. So there are going to be at least 15 base classes/jobs (that provide cross-class skills), while in ARR/Heavensward there are only 8 such classes. While it doesn’t matter in case if you want to level up a single job as your main (since you would need to level up two other classes for cross-class skills anyways), but if you want to level up multiple jobs then in ARR/Heavensward there are bigger chances that you won’t need to level up an extra class for cross-class skills because it has already been leveled up to provide cross-class skills for another job.

While it’s certainly possible to find ways to make it so that the new cross-class system won’t require more grind that the existing one, I’m afraid that this is not the direction in which the game has been developing so far. So I would rather expect them to put more pressure on players in terms of grinding cross-class skills and at the same time provide an alternate way in the form of jumping potions, that will allow to skip the work of leveling up a class if you buy them from SE for real money. This looks like a promising decision (business-wise) to me.

Generally, with the new cross-class system, if you want to play a job efficiently in Stormblood, you are going to need to level up (to some point) the other two jobs that belong to the same role. While leveling up 1-60 will likely be made easier in Stormblood, if you want to have a quick start it could make sense to level up the jobs that you are going to need now or get prepared to buy jumping potions.

[BaneTheBrawler]

Red Mage = Caster

Samurai = Support

Samurai banners and/or real skillchains gogogogo

Red Mage will probably play like a ranged monk or something. rapid spellcasting combos.

[Spider-Dan]

Does Raid Finder recognize the support role or does it just recognize physical ranged DPS? Those two are not necessarily the same thing.

In the vein of streamlining, I'd like to see SE make Quick Reload a stance for MCH. It should simply add ammo+TP every 30 seconds unless you are already at 5, in which case it activates the moment you drop down to 4. This would work just fine for the overwhelming majority of situations for MCH, and in the few where it doesn't, you could just turn it off temporarily.

[Kaiyoko]

Lets get some fuel going then.

My predictions if anyone wants to play:

Spoiler: show

I really hope most of them are wrong.
Added my twitter handle in case it goes viral

Updated your idea to a real 5x5 Bingo sheet ( put your twitter on it)


Here is a template:

[Kipling]

I also think RDM should be a caster simply because we have only 2 right now. We sorely need another. I am wondering if there is anything to this "omg she looked like a dancer" shit everyone is thinking from the trailer or if we all just got baited.

Either way, I think it will be Samura (tank) and RDM (caster).

Right now DRK and PLD both fight for the MT spot, with DRK usually being picked in magical fights. However, WAR has no parity. Nobody touches WAR or can even replace it well. This tier being so easy meant you can actually do WHM + AST and be fine on every fight. However, you still ALWAYS want a WAR. That's why I think SAM will be the WAR parity, so that way they can make it so SAM could also be brought to a fight instead of a WAR, thus dethroning WAR from being the diva you can't bench.

[The Stig]

Updated your idea to a real 5x5 Bingo sheet ( put your twitter on it)

I'll bow out, yours is very nice =D>! Also, double the effect because it's scruffy, makes it more funny, the images are well used too, especially doomtrain! You can take out my twitter if you want, I wasn't expecting anyone to update it lol.

Good call on doomtrain and blitzball, totally forgot about them.

[Spider-Dan]

I don't think the (lack of) tattoos disqualifies it from being Yda.

Presuming that's supposed to be Ala Mhigo, it seems to me that is a flashback sequence (because the Garleans control it presently). I'm also not convinced that's the Warrior of Light; setting aside the fact that all white people look alike so no one can really know, the Warrior of Darkness looked the same too. SE is just lazy when it comes to the whites. Sad!

[Fiye]

But the CS takes place over the hamlet where we'll be headed.

[Spider-Dan]

The general feel I got from that CS was that it was in preparation for the Garlean invasion.

I didn't see any signs of Imperial destruction or occupation.

[echo]

I wouldn't say SCH is OP, noct AST is pretty good now.

WAR and NIN are the untouchable jobs right now imo.

Hoping for three new jobs even though it'll probably two :/

[Hafa Nana]

Does Raid Finder recognize the support role or does it just recognize physical ranged DPS? Those two are not necessarily the same thing.

I think that currently “ranged magical DPS” and “ranged physical DPS” can be used as synonyms for Caster and Support roles in FFXIV. Officially they are usually referred to as “ranged magical DPS” and “ranged physical DPS” in the game’s patch notes on multiple occasions, however gamers usually call them Caster and Support, so I just used the latter. Although I did notice Caster role mentioned on one occasion in the English version of the patch notes (don’t know about other versions).

I certainly don’t exclude the possibility that this situation will not necessarily be true in Stormblood and SE will come up with an original implementation of new jobs, for example making a melee Caster and/or Support . Although I’m more inclined to think that new jobs will fill the traditional niche (for the game) of ranged magical and physical DPS. Especially knowing how SE likes to play it safe with FFXIV’s game design, prefers to release tried types of content in predictable cycles and closely balance the jobs.

As to the characters in the game’s trailer, I don’t think that any of them represent new jobs. I assume that we were shown two monks doing a spectacular fight, just because they are the featured job for Stormblood.

[Fiye]

Not to mention the design objective of the jobs were to have 2 tank slots, 2 healing slots, and 4 dps (Though right now the DPS are nominally spread between 2 melee, 1 ranged, 1 caster) with all current jobs being interchangeable in one way or another.

While expansions are a good time to upend these kinds of systems, I really doubt they'd do it with a skill system re-balance in the works.

[Kipling]

I wouldn't say SCH is OP, noct AST is pretty good now.

WAR and NIN are the untouchable jobs right now imo.

Hoping for three new jobs even though it'll probably two :/

Even in Midas, you didn't NEED Trick Attack/hate tools. You still needed path for progression.

I suppose WAR isn't mandatory, but it sure is much more helpful to have path than NIN or SCH.

[Fondue]

where does the open world pvp keep coming from

[The Stig]

A recurring question at fanfest (and prior) about people wanting open world pvp and yoshi might (read: probably never) open a server dedicated for it.

[Fiye]

I'd rather see a dedicated Frontline zone in the world map (Rather than an instanced area) before a server dedicated to free form PvP. But the latter would be way easier to implement.

[Kipling]

I'd only go to an open world pvp server if I could grief people while leveling like in TERA because I'm a shit person who enjoys causing others pain.

[Spider-Dan]

I think that currently “ranged magical DPS” and “ranged physical DPS” can be used as synonyms for Caster and Support roles in FFXIV.

Well, yes, because there are no melee support (e.g. DNC) or caster support (e.g. RDM) jobs in the game now. But a physical ranged job like RNG wouldn't necessarily have to be support.

"Support" is not defined by how you deal your damage; it's defined by how you support the party.

Although I did notice Caster role mentioned on one occasion in the English version of the patch notes (don’t know about other versions).

Yes, caster is "ranged magical DPS."

I certainly don’t exclude the possibility that this situation will not necessarily be true in Stormblood and SE will come up with an original implementation of new jobs, for example making a melee Caster and/or Support .

"melee caster" is an oxymoron. You are describing a close-range physical long-range magical DPS.