Ask the Devs 22/10/10

[Dooom]

Party-Based Combat

Q. What is all this hubbub about a so-called “party bonus”?
A. The party bonus is a feature that increases the amount of skill points awarded to players from combat while in a party. This feature will be in effect so long as the difference in class ranks between all party members is between the range of ±5. In addition, the bonus will be greater the more party members there are.

Q. Why did the version update that went live on October 15, 2010 alter the party bonus to be based upon class rank rather than the number of party members?
A. Under the previous settings, since party bonuses were calculated solely on the number of party members, even players who were too low-level to effectively participate in combat were being awarded extra skill points simply by being present in the party. The alterations to the system were made to prevent exploitation of this in the form of “power leveling.”

Q. If I am in a party with someone beyond the ±5 class rank range, will I be getting less skill points than I would be if I were playing solo?
A. No. Rather, the amount of skill points awarded in these two instances would be the same, regardless of whether the player is solo or in a party. If a party bonus is not in effect, the amount of skill points capable of being obtained will be the same.

Q. Is it possible the class rank range for party bonuses will be adjusted in the future?
A. We initially set the difference to 5 to combat the issue mentioned above. We will continue to monitor community feedback and look at how parties are formed - depending on these results we may tweak these values in the future.


Guildleves

Q. What can you tell me about exchanging regional leves?
A. The exchange of regional leves may be carried out under any of the following circumstances:
The maximum of eight plates has been reached for the regional leve in your possession
You wish to abandon the duty of the regional leve in your possession
Supplementation of a completion bonus to the regional leve you wish to undertake

When exchanging regional leves, you may select up to four to exchange for the one you wish to receive. Should a regional leve in your possession be displayed in a white font, regardless of whether its status is completed, failed, or not yet undertaken, it may be selected for exchange. In the event that you select a leve already in your possession, your current leve will automatically be exchanged for the newer of the two.

Q. What should I do if I want to place a completion bonus on a regional leve?
A. When exchanging regional leves, a completion bonus will be attached should the number of ☆ marks be more than one. The bonus will be greater the larger the number of ☆ marks, up to a maximum of eight.

A regional leve with no completion bonus applied.


A regional leve with a completion bonus applied.

* When a completion bonus is applied, the reward in the leve completion window will be displayed in an orange font.

Q. How do I increase the number of ☆ marks?
A. Either of the following two methods may be used to increase the number of ☆ marks.
Exchange for a regional leve with a different issuing authority (☆ +1)
Exchange for a regional leve with a different motif (☆ +1)

Increasing the number of ☆ marks related to a leve’s reward in no way influences its degree of difficulty, nor impacts it in any other adverse way.

Q. What type of specific effects does increasing a regional leve’s degree of difficulty have?
A. Increasing the degree of difficulty will result in more powerful enemies, larger amounts of experience and skill points, and greater rewards. At present, the degree of difficulty may not be changed once a regional leve is underway, but the version update scheduled for late November will introduce a feature which allows players the option do so.

* Lowering the degree of difficulty will also cause the reward to be scaled down accordingly.

Q. I saw a treasure chest while I was out doing a regional levequest! Is there always a treasure chest somewhere on a levequest!?
A. While on a regional levequest, treasure chests may appear based on the levequest location, but there is no guarantee. The chances of a treasure chest appearing, however, may be increased through leve linking.* Upon opening these chests,** players will be rewarded with gil and, in rare instances, items. Should a chest be opened by a player in a party, gil will be automatically split and distributed to party members on the levequest, while items will be placed in a random member’s loot list.

* A leve link is created when a party member initiates a regional leve of which other party members are also in possession. Party members not in possession of the guildleve will not be part of the link, but instead will be leve sharing.
** Select the Examine command which appears in the Interactions menu when in proximity to a chest to open it.

Q. Why are there no rank 20 regional leves for miners outside of Limsa Lominsa?
A. Beyond rank 20, regional leves for Disciple of the Land classes are issued only from certain authorities. Below is a table displaying which nations issue leves for which classes.

Class Issuing Authority
Rank 20 Rank 30 Rank 40
Miner Limsa Lominsa Ul’dah Gridania
Botanist Ul’dah Gridania Limsa Lominsa
Fisher Gridania Limsa Lominsa Ul’dah

* After the November version update, all nations will issue regional leves for all classes, regardless of rank.


Quests

Q. Why can I no longer undertake the rank 20 armorer quest after accepting the rank 20 blacksmith quest?
A. The blacksmith and armorer class quests have been grouped together. Though players are free to choose either of the classes they wish, they will only be able to complete the quest for one of the two. For example, if a player has undertaken the rank 20 blacksmith quest, the rank 20 armorer quest will become unavailable. The player will, however, again become free to choose either blacksmith or armorer for the rank 30 quest. Quest content and rewards will be adjusted to fit the class chosen for the each quest.

* Quest progress for both classes can be viewed by opening main menu >> Journal >> Blacksmith & Armorer Quests.

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...b1ec6c2f1e02cb

no mention I can see of Battle Regimes or the RNG nature of SP.

[Nama]

So does doing blacksmith quests mean you can never unlock certain Armorer abilities or are they both tied together and unlocked as a pair?

[Ratatapa]

That means that if you do the lv 20 Blacksmith yo ucannot do the lv 20 Armorer, but When you are lv 30 you can choose to do Blacksmith OR Armorer, so if you do the mission on BSM the only way to get marks on ARM is from Leaves

[Lucavi]

FFXIV: Playing the way WE want you to play. Even the illusion of freedom is overrated.

[Hyan]

Yeah I know lol, but it could be worse too. I remember in some other game (can't remember which atm) you couldn't do a good portion of the quests because the devs said so. Some lore/faction BS excuse was used iirc.

[Dooom]

You mean a larger scale of how if you start in Grid, you can't do the quests for Uldah and Limsa? It's nothing new.

[Lucavi]

Yeah I know lol, but it could be worse too. I remember in some other game (can't remember which atm) you couldn't do a good portion of the quests because the devs said so. Some lore/faction BS excuse was used iirc.

Well it doesn't hurt as much in games where you can (and may be expected to) re-roll a new character. In an all-encompassing character game like XIV, these kinds of limitations really shouldn't exist.

FFXI did a fantastic job of letting your one character experience just about everything out there. You could switch nations and get all the quests. You could switch jobs and get all the quests. I don't think we're (obviously) seeing that here, and though we may down the road, its definitely a bitter pill to swallow, at least right now.

FF fans look down on games that have alts or re-rolling, then complain that they can't do and see everything on a single character here. Apparently they can't have it both ways anymore. Not now, at least.

[Hyan]

Well it doesn't hurt as much in games where you can (and may be expected to) re-roll a new character. In an all-encompassing character game like XIV, these kinds of limitations really shouldn't exist.

Just because the limitations are even worse in other games doesn't make it any less acceptable. How does that even make any sense? Is being expected to re-roll a character in game a proper "alternative" for an all-encompassing character game?

Criticizing this game for not having even an "illusion of freedom" when other games' developers are even more restrictive about this shit is silly at best. Stop it.

[Dooom]

Just because something is worse in other games doesn't stop it being bad in this one.

[Hyan]

But talking about it in a tone like no other game or developer does this in even larger scale is fucking retarded. Which is my point.

[Karbuncle]

But talking about it in a tone like no other game or developer does this in even larger scale is fucking retarded. Which is my point.

I've been told about your rampant white-knigting for FFXIV, you sir do not disappoint.

I have a grave feeling if SE installed a code that forced the CD to shoot out of the CD drive and shatter on a nearby wall every hour cause it felt you were playing the game too long, you'd praise them for breaking the disc and forcing you to buy another one as an ingenious marketing technique.

And then call everyone else morons for hating on it.

Oh, and just because "Other people are doing it" doesn't make it any less retarded, they should have simply broken the pattern instead of cookie-cutting it for added "realism"

[Dooom]

But talking about it in a tone like no other game or developer does this in even larger scale is fucking retarded. Which is my point.

I didn't get that tone from it at all actually, just that in the context of one of FF14's biggest (only?) selling points - a flexible job class system with no real restrictions - this goes very much against that spirit, thus shattering the illusion of freedom. I'm not black knighting, grey knighting, or whatever, it's simply a valid observation.

[Hyan]

I've been told about your rampant white-knigting for FFXIV, you sir do not disappoint.

I have a grave feeling if SE installed a code that forced the CD to shoot out of the CD drive and shatter on a nearby wall every hour cause it felt you were playing the game too long, you'd praise them for breaking the disc and forcing you to buy another one as an ingenious marketing technique.

And then call everyone else morons for hating on it.

Oh, and just because "Other people are doing it" doesn't make it any less retarded, they should have simply broken the pattern instead of cookie-cutting it for added "realism"

http://static.funnyjunk.com/gifs/adce4f71_5523_9388.gif

I didn't get that tone from it at all actually, just that in the context of one of FF14's biggest (only?) selling points - a flexible job class system with no real restrictions - this goes very much against that spirit, thus shattering the illusion of freedom. I'm not black knighting, grey knighting, or whatever, it's simply a valid observation.

I'm talking about the first line, moreso than the second. Every developer and game does this, but XIV does less than others- and gets criticized for it!

You might as well say MMORPG's: Playing the way WE want you to play. Or even Games: Playing the way WE want you to play.

That's a better way of saying it. And shows how meaningless of a comment it is.

But yeah, part of why I commented is because it's Lucavi talking- you others can gtfo.

[Rocl]

FFXI did a fantastic job of letting your one character experience just about everything out there. You could switch nations and get all the quests. You could switch jobs and get all the quests. I don't think we're (obviously) seeing that here, and though we may down the road, its definitely a bitter pill to swallow, at least right now.

Enh, I'm assuming right now we cannot even complete one nation's a story, or if we can--it'll be 50, and perhaps expanded later a la Zilart Rank Missions from XI. Either way, I can't see it being permanent. I mean there's gotta be some Lalafell conjurer w/ mind-sealing abilities here, right?

[Kaylia]

Yeah I know lol, but it could be worse too. I remember in some other game (can't remember which atm) you couldn't do a good portion of the quests because the devs said so. Some lore/faction BS excuse was used iirc.

Actually, you are free to do it. You are free to do it 80 times at no additional cost.


Right now in FFXIV, it costs you 3$, and involving going through something any sane human wouldnt want to go through twice.

[Lucavi]

Just because the limitations are even worse in other games doesn't make it any less acceptable. How does that even make any sense? Is being expected to re-roll a character in game a proper "alternative" for an all-encompassing character game?

Criticizing this game for not having even an "illusion of freedom" when other games' developers are even more restrictive about this shit is silly at best. Stop it.

I don't really consider it a "limitation" in another game, because limitation implies a flaw, and I don't consider the one-character-one-class system a flawed one. It is simply a system.

In Diablo 2, I cannot receive necromancer-specific text if I am not a necromancer.
In WoW, I cannot receive a mage-specific quest if I am not a mage. It works exactly the same.
In FFXI, I cannot receive a white mage-specific quest if I am not a white mage, but I have the ability to change to a white mage and thus, receive the quest.
In FFXIV, I cannot receive a specific armorer quest if I am not an armor, and I cannot receive a specific armorer quest if I have a blacksmith higher than the level that I would receive the armorer quest on, provided I did the blacksmith one. If I switch to armorer, I still cannot perform the quest.

Only one of the four above is flawed by this depiction, and it isn't any of the first three. No one was spouting off about any illusion of freedom in the first two, and the second is touted as having freedom, which it proves by allowing a single character to access just about every quest in the game.

The fourth example promotes true freedom, yet restricts choices tied to a single character while allowing the character to switch to and from any class. Think about it.

The first and second examples never mislead you by claiming that you have absolute freedom to direct your character's advancement. You are a single class - your growth is limited to that class, and that includes any and all quests associated with that class. Therefore, you calling it a "limitation" cannot be held at the same level as XIV, because in no way did the first two examples ever claim that you were ever "free" to experience everything with a single character.

@Rocl: I agree with you. The option will come eventually; it wasn't always in place for FFXI. However, there's no point in talking about what could or will be in the future, especially when we are currently, and always will be, in the present. I'm not going to lavish praise for a system that has yet to be implemented. FFXIV can receive all the praise it wants for being "truly free" when it actually is.

[Hyan]

I don't really consider it a "limitation" in another game, because limitation implies a flaw, and I don't consider the one-character-one-class system a flawed one. It is simply a system.

A system that limits you to a one class per character. The limitation doesn't cease to exist just because you ignore it.

But if we choose whether something is a flaw or not based on our subjective opinion you have no basis for your argument in the first place. I consider such system flawed because it has been proven that it does not have to function that way and there are better alternatives.

The same way we could say that XIV's UI is not flawed. It is simply a system. Yet there are other games that have a much better UI, but according to you that doesn't mean XIV's UI is flawed? We both know that's not true.

At the same time, SE never said that their UI would be on-par with other MMO's. "Therefore, it is not flawed." Think about it. Whatever someone says or claims about something has no relevance to whether said system or feature is flawed or not.

[Tomino]

I have a feeling the current storyline limitation will drop once the game proceeds.
Actually, it feels nice (at start) to only be able to experience one plot; makes you part of your starting city and gives the choice a role. This said, I pretend SE to one day will let me unveil the other 2 storylines I missed at start, otherwise it would be such a terrible design choice it should be bashed night and day. FFXI had you save all three cities, so I hope this will be FF14 case too, someday.

As for the Armorer/Smither debate, I wouldnt extend that design mistake to the overall game. To me, it's clearly a limitation to that specific couple because of how easy the 2 crafts interact with each other, so they are kinda "nerfing" them somehow.

[Lucavi]

A system that limits you to a one class per character. The limitation doesn't cease to exist just because you ignore it.

But if we choose whether something is a flaw or not based on our subjective opinion you have no basis for your argument in the first place. I consider such system flawed because it has been proven that it does not have to function that way and there are better alternatives.

The same way we could say that XIV's UI is not flawed. It is simply a system. Yet there are other games that have a much better UI, but according to you that doesn't mean XIV's UI is flawed? We both know that's not true.

At the same time, SE never said that their UI would be on-par with other MMO's. "Therefore, it is not flawed." Think about it. Whatever someone says or claims about something has no relevance to whether said system or feature is flawed or not.

Very well, Hyan. One "flawed" system performs well and doesn't try to be anything it isn't, while the latter "flawed" system performs like shit and has people annoyed and up and arms. Happy now?

[Achitophel]

I always hated how I couldn't skipper a submarine in the GTA games. Freedom? Yeah, right.