Letter from the Producer, III (02/17/2011) + Player's Poll

[Kenshiin]

The mob parties annoy me because there's no way to tell which mobs are partied and it's almost impossible to pull anything safely.

[Hyan]

The mob parties annoy me because there's no way to tell which mobs are partied and it's almost impossible to pull anything safely.

Introduction of enemy group variability, as well as enemy group highlighting to enhance combat visibility

>_>;

[Xcrunner]

Goodbye physical levels... never really understood why there were two sets of levels...

One thing that I think needs to be reworked is the targeting system. FFXI was so much easier to target mobs and party members. Anyone else have a problem with the targeting system or is it just me?

I am looking forward to all of the changes that are coming around the corner.

[Selamis]

They already redid the targeting system, it's a lot better than it used to be. Just outta curiousity what are you having problems with? Party targets have hotkeys of F2-F6 again, yourself is F1, npc/mob is F8...just like 11, and when you are fighting multiple groups they redesigned the mechanics so that it targets the closest one in the engaged group when you hit tab, instead of random mobs like it used to be. Not to mention if you actually use the mouse, you can click on things to target them.

[Hyan]

It doesn't automatically target the next mob when the first one dies.

When I want to change my target (player or mob), I need to go through every targetable entity in the surrounding area to get to it.

To name a few.

[Elrina]

If done properly equip degradation wouldn't be artificial or annoying, it would be the opposite. I'm not advocating this as the only lasting content for crafters either.

^Good idea.

Yeah, I know, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time about it. And I agree that Kuroikage's idea about crafters being able to make temporary boosts to armor/weapons as well as repair them is a good idea.

It just annoys me thinking about how the crafts are supposed to be main classes, and yet their purpose is no different than XI or any other MMO. They have access to guild leves, but so what? They have the ability to repair player gear, but again, so what? What makes them different from crafts in FFXI, or in any other game, other than their designation as a class and the fact that they gain "physical exp"?

I argued with friends over the validity of crafting as a main class before release, hoping that there would actually be a greater purpose involved at some point that wasn't simply solo grinding the craft skill, and doing the same thing with it as in any other game. We got that one little tidbit about a group working together to craft a ship, but no actual details or word even now regarding any kind of ideas they're planning for advancing synthesis beyond the same old, same old. I want to be able to craft and have purpose other than just selling shit to make money, or fixing my gear.

I, for one, am hopeful that Yoshida's next Letter is going to give us some real information regarding the future of crafting and synthesis as classes.

For those interested, in my next letter, I am hoping to talk about items and the in-game economy. The more astute observers among you may have already noticed that a few changes pertaining to these topics have already been added to the list... ^^;

If people actually went back and checked that bracket, it includes 3 New Planned Tasks. One is regarding making gear with class specific requirements. Two regard synthesis, one the interface and current balance, and the other future synthesis concepts. Since he refers to a "few changes", it sounds like he'll be talking about several things, but what I'm probably most interested in is the future of synthesis and crafting. I want to know what they're going to do with it in the future, I'm really hoping that some real synthesis content is being planned as well as stuff for the rest of the game. Otherwise I would rather the whole concept as main classes just be scrapped.

The mob parties annoy me because there's no way to tell which mobs are partied and it's almost impossible to pull anything safely.

Hyan pointed out that they plan on making it easier to tell which mobs are in groups, and more "variability". Also, I think the point is to not be pulling a "single mob safely" at all, it's to pull the group and your party fight the whole group. Hence, group vs group, etc. Whether people like the idea or not, it is what it is, and they'll probably try to tweak it to give us incentives to fight groups of mobs instead of just one mob at a time.

[XalienLevi]

It doesn't automatically target the next mob when the first one dies.

When I want to change my target (player or mob), I need to go through every targetable entity in the surrounding area to get to it.

To name a few.

its not perfect, but if you position your camera correctly /targetnpc works fine. make a macro.

[Kurokikaze]

Just read that and my mind was blown when I read "Auto-Attack" and "Collision Detection". This dude is super cereal guys.

[Xcrunner]

They already redid the targeting system, it's a lot better than it used to be. Just outta curiousity what are you having problems with? Party targets have hotkeys of F2-F6 again, yourself is F1, npc/mob is F8...just like 11, and when you are fighting multiple groups they redesigned the mechanics so that it targets the closest one in the engaged group when you hit tab, instead of random mobs like it used to be. Not to mention if you actually use the mouse, you can click on things to target them.

It doesn't target the next mob after one dies. I have to take time to target the next one and usually by tabbing or pressing F8 I get a completely different mob...

[Lucavi]

Look at all that relatively-new-age stuff they're working on putting into the game. Sounds like it'll be pretty fun when all the dust settles. That's one hell of a construction job.

[Kaylia]

The fatigue system currently in place aims to prevent excessive “grinding” of skill and experience points. Have you felt the effects of this system while playing? *

Where is the "No, I can't stand playing the game enough to feel its effect" option.

9. If the current target claiming system were done away with, would you be in favor of a system that rewards skill, experience, and loot only to the party that first deals damage to an enemy? Or would you be in favor of skill, experience, and loot being distributed amongst all parties that contributed to an enemy’s defeat? *

Squarenix is worse than the devil. They give you choice, but you know that both will backfire at you. No, don't share my loot with leech. Yes, share the loot with friend who helped. The solution is simple, don't ever penalize people for something someone outside the party did.

The whole poll was crap, I don't think they managed to single out some of the most important issue
-Ability selection and targeting system
-Shitty buff system (5min buff and ability that eat half of your stamina for a minor boost arent fun)

[Elcura]

-Shitty buff system (5min buff and ability that eat half of your stamina for a minor boost arent fun)

This is one of the things I want them to fix for the new battle system (if there is a new one). I hate that vital moves like provoke and taunt eat such great stamina, meaning you can't use them when they're needed right away, which is balls.

[Kaylia]

This is one of the things I want them to fix for the new battle system (if there is a new one). I hate that vital moves like provoke and taunt eat such great stamina, meaning you can't use them when they're needed right away, which is balls.

Combined with the retarded targeting system, provoke is really one of the most annoying move to use.

What annoy me the most however is spending 30sec before every fight to buff. I just don't see the point of this...

[Kayos]

/targetnpc does not work fine. Why am I targeting mobs halfway across the whole map when I am facing and within spitting distance of the mob my party is currently engaged to? Targeting in this game is atrocious, especially on a gamepad.

[Amastacia]

Might as well post this here for discussion.

They really made it tough for me to decide on the last question. Instancing in MMO's is some dumb shit when taken too far but so is this upcoming claiming system. I think I'll pick Skill, experience, and loot going to only the first party to deal damage to an enemy and that I don't prefer the game to be instanced.

As for comments, A) Let us use the basic attacks while moving, B) Fasten the frame-rate for as many skills as possible preferably without making them look like crap, C) make skills more flashy, D) Improve the lag.

Then get the fuck out of my game.

World-spawning was the worst part of FFXI. The content that wasn't competitive was the most fun to actually participate in, much moreso than standing around waiting for a 21-24 (or 72) hour pop.

If idiots like you would guide FFXIV towards a competitive "claim first" system and fighting for the ability to participate in content, I would prefer you ceased breathing forthwith.

I think the most destructive part of the FFXI mindset (hi Artaxerxes) was the "we're just doing this to deny other people access to it and/or sell the drops" bit. Groups who had no further need to actually claim a mob except to make sure someone else didn't, and then sell the drops. I don't care about the selling drops part, really, just the fundamental problem of the most desirable drops being on contested mobs, making monopolizing them very profitable.

I'd much rather rare gear were rare because the content a group must complete to obtain it is fuckballs hard, not because the frequency it can enter the system is metered or there were insane artificial timesinks built in.

Kings, mythic weapons, etc. are doing it wrong. Proto-Ultima (when it first came out) was doing it right. Sure, Nashira gear was mehhhh in comparison to Homam, but Temenos was tricky (until people discovered and refined tactics... which is what should happen in MMO dungeons), and Ultima was a non-trivial boss for a while. Do more that, and less Fafhogg, and have a great endgame system.


Edit: I'll be the first to admit I don't care much about the "Massive" part of MMO. Most people are idiots (one major factor why I have no interest in WoW... idiot quotient off the chart), so I'd much rather interact closely with a smaller, tight-knit group, and have the "Massive" just be in a more general sense. The economy. A larger pool of people to sell HomamXIV to. More people to buy Monarch OrbXIVs from. And so on.

And I don't give a damn about the journey, either. I'm all for lore quests, to make a richer, more expansive and involving world. That shit's cool. But I could give less of a crap whether that happens along the way to cap on my 1st job, because the world is going to slowly and continuously evolve and grow, while my butt is going to be grinding multiple jobs to get them done in the least time possible.

I'll consume the story as it becomes available, but I guarantee most of my time is going to be spent getting one or more jobs to cap, because the content I care about most is endgame.

[CasualPlayer]

Then get the fuck out of my game.

World-spawning was the worst part of FFXI. The content that wasn't competitive was the most fun to actually participate in, much moreso than standing around waiting for a 21-24 (or 72) hour pop.

If idiots like you would guide FFXIV towards a competitive "claim first" system and fighting for the ability to participate in content, I would prefer you ceased breathing forthwith.

I think the most destructive part of the FFXI mindset (hi Artaxerxes) was the "we're just doing this to deny other people access to it and/or sell the drops" bit. Groups who had no further need to actually claim a mob except to make sure someone else didn't, and then sell the drops. I don't care about the selling drops part, really, just the fundamental problem of the most desirable drops being on contested mobs, making monopolizing them very profitable.

Love the Persistence reference lol, or maybe they were called something else on your server. Anyway to your comment about worldspawns, would it really be that difficult to make a game that caters to both types of players? You don't want to camp a world spawn then go run an instance. But why take that facet out of the game entirely?

[CasualPlayer]

Where is the "No, I can't stand playing the game enough to feel its effect" option.



Squarenix is worse than the devil. They give you choice, but you know that both will backfire at you. No, don't share my loot with leech. Yes, share the loot with friend who helped. The solution is simple, don't ever penalize people for something someone outside the party did.

The whole poll was crap, I don't think they managed to single out some of the most important issue
-Ability selection and targeting system
-Shitty buff system (5min buff and ability that eat half of your stamina for a minor boost arent fun)

Hi hater.

[Siatdiat]

Hmm... pretty sure Hyan isn't defending a king type system for non instanced content. There are pretty obviously other ways to do stuff like that. It doesn't have to be a 21-24 hour spawn with HQ version only every 3+ days that has most of the best endgame gear in the game on it.

At one time, I think I would have said something like "it's safe to say they won't make that mistake again," but they have proven there is no precedent they have learned from and they are willing to do the same dumb shit that kept 11 from staying above 1 million subs.

In the end, a king type system has so much deserved negative connotations to it, that I'm pretty sure if they do try something like that again, a good deal of people who are playing 14 will quit at the drop of a hat, and those who aren't will make sure to stay the hell away from it. Then 14 can have its niche market of people who want to be the kings of the retards, spending 16 hours a day making sure they get all the king loot and keep their self esteem from dwindling too low.

[Hyan]

If idiots like you would guide FFXIV towards a competitive "claim first" system and fighting for the ability to participate in content, I would prefer you ceased breathing forthwith.

Woah, dude. I wouldn't say this if SE hadn't solved that problem in XI's system here already. Phase that shit, there's no need to compete.

All your problems are related to the fact there was no phasing system in XI.

I'll be the first to admit I don't care much about the "Massive" part of MMO.

And fuck those who do? Well, fuck you too.

Seriously though, games that you prefer are already emerging. Hubs & instance based, with good gameplay. XIV is already made with the "Massive" mindset, and it's not going to change. That's what should be embraced because that's all these games have got. The fact that they have been built to be "massive" hinders everything, from convenience to gameplay. You don't want massive? Then go play a game that is built with that in mind from the ground-up, instead of trying to change a game that isn't while screwing over those who do care.

This isn't your game. Not yet. And as far as I'm concerned, I won't let it become your game either.

but they have proven there is no precedent they have learned from

I'll just say that you have no basis for this comment, no matter how widely accepted "fact" it may have become.

[kisada]

I'd much rather rare gear were rare because the content a group must complete to obtain it is fuckballs hard, not because the frequency it can enter the system is metered or there were insane artificial timesinks built in.

i agree with a lot of what was said but i think this statement in particular is really key.


back when tiamat was kind of the king of tough monsters to fight, it was really enjoyable because very few people knew how to fight it, and the real challenge was winning a battle of attrition. however, as people started becoming more proficient at it, it became fiercely competed for and the challenge shifted from how good your shell was to how many claimers you had in the middle of the night. to be honest, many times i knew the window was up i really didn't care too much since i didn't want to face a sea of claim bots.

obviously there's other examples, but tiamat could be a poster child of how something fun can easily be warped by its spawning circumstances.