Ask the Devs! (11/12/2010) Skill Points and Magic

[miokomioko]

http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...dc6c3c15d8fab3

The development and management teams continue to address the questions and concerns of the community in an ongoing FAQ. The topics addressed this time around are skill points and magic.

Skill Points

Q. How do I get shield skill points?

A. The vast majority of shield skill points are awarded when a player successfully blocks an enemy's attacks with a shield, or deals damage to an opponent using a shield-based attack.


A Time to Skill

Window for Execution: Enemy attack blocked
Shield Action: Guard (Rank-1), Aegis Boon (Rank-10), Outmaneuver (Rank-20), Aegis Boon II (Rank 40), Deflection (Rank-50)

Window for Execution: Damage dealt to enemy
Shield Action: Shield Bash (Rank-14), Shield Bash II (Rank-44)

Window for Execution: Always
Shield Action: War Drum (Rank-30)


Q. Will there be further balancing to ease the process of ranking up?

A. The late-November patch will bring about significant reductions in the amount of skill points needed to rank up. These changes will make the processing of attaining rank 20 considerably less time-consuming.

Magic

Q. I accidentally selected the wrong spell. How can I interrupt my cast?

A. By selecting the spell being cast from the action bar one more time while casting is still ongoing, the spell may be interrupted. Doing so will cause no depletion of a player's stamina gauge, allowing for the immediate execution of another action.

Incredibly short and extremely disappointing article.

[Riposte]

HOW DOES I GET SHIELD SKILL POINTS

[xopher]

Why did no one over here post the 11/08 ask the devs?

[ZarakiKujata]

cause it was pretty fail even by the low standards of these retarded messages.

[Nevex]

The late-November patch will bring about significant reductions in the amount of skill points needed to rank up. These changes will make the processing of attaining rank 20 considerably less time-consuming.

I love how they're specifically dodging the two most important flaws of FFXIV's grinding (random SP gaining and solo grinding in a supposedly "solo/casual-friendly" game being nigh impossible post-20).

[Toth]

What a tease >< I was hoping there was some secret to skill gains people were missing. RNG ftl

[Kurp]

"By selecting the spell being cast from the action bar one more time while casting is still ongoing, the spell may be interrupted."

Does that mean it's a random chance to interrupt the spell? Or timing/lag dependent?

[Hyan]

I don't think it's meant to come across as "may or may not be interrupted". Probably poor wording, although I haven't played a mage!

[Telliani]

If you hit the button again while the spells casting, you stop. Most of the spells take long enough that you can cancel it with ease (though I usually just let it go through and hope the AoE doesn't hit the goat that wandered into range)

[Drako]

If you hit the button again while the spells casting, you stop. Most of the spells take long enough that you can cancel it with ease (though I usually just let it go through and hope the AoE doesn't hit the goat that wandered into range)

depends on your lag and the casting spell speed, im usually never able to cancel it unless its protect/shell.


does anyone else thinks 99% of this ask the devs are useless?

[Lucavi]

If you hit the button again while the spells casting, you stop. Most of the spells take long enough that you can cancel it with ease (though I usually just let it go through and hope the AoE doesn't hit the goat that wandered into range)

I used to do that! ...It never ended very well.

[Telliani]

does anyone else thinks 99% of this ask the devs are useless?

for us, yes. But I think they're just throwing them up there for the ps3 users or something that don't go to boards.


casting time for most of my spells are usually long enough. I don't cancel sacrifice/cure, and yea, depends on lag, but... I don't really lag ever, and the only time I bother trying to stop a spell is if I'm about to aoe a bunch of crap that I know will end up killing me. Usually I don't cause I'm just only paying attention to HP bars.


edit add: I learned in Beta that goats hate being slowed. It took a few times for me to get into the habit of mashing z on and off, but now the walks from camp to > fight camp is getting stupidly long.

[Kurp]

I didn't play much on mage classes and fudged up my key binds fairly often. It made me rage when I'd accidentally hit the ten(?) minute cooldown MP recovery spell. That stupid bar would keep filling while I tried running forward, and then mashing ESC, and then reverting to other games and mashing space bar to jump. I'm sure I hit the same spell key again, but it never seemed to work.

News to me, I guess. <_<

[bruiser]

I love how they're specifically dodging the two most important flaws of FFXIV's grinding (random SP gaining and solo grinding in a supposedly "solo/casual-friendly" game being nigh impossible post-20).

Despite the fact that I agree this ATD was as useless as tits on a boar, what did you want them to say? According to the update notes the entire system is changing in less than 1 week, what's the point of them describing how it currently works?

[Hyan]

According to the update notes the entire system is changing in less than 1 week, what's the point of them describing how it currently works?

All they've said that tnl will be lowered for rank 20 and below. That may as well be everything for that update.

[SayomiSassaki]

Well the last question/answers help me a lot (I'm not a mage), i didnt know that you can cancel a spell when hitting the spell once again... it could explain why a friend have hard time curing when he was hitting the action like a retard, he was probably casting-canceling-casting-canceling all this time

[Grey Jorildyn]

Thanks for telling us nothing SE! They were on a roll til now lol

[bruiser]

All they've said that tnl will be lowered for rank 20 and below. That may as well be everything for that update.

Adjustments to how skill points are awarded

Granted they didn't explicitly say that that will happen in November, which I was wrong about because I thought it did call that one out for November. But either way, if it's not in November, it'll be like 3 weeks later which is still not a terribly long time to wait.