http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/40829
http://static.finalfantasyxiv.com/to...29c9dd24cf1cc0
Hello again, all you FFXIVers out there! It’s my pleasure today to deliver to you the twenty-sixth Letter from the Producer.
Patch 1.21 has finally gone live, and the World Merge is just around the corner. Things are still hectic here on the development team, but seeing how much everyone is enjoying the new content—the jobs chief among them—we’re pressing on towards the coming patches in high spirits.
I was rather finicky when it came to the job quests, and must confess to having put all the people involved to work like a slave-driver (credit to the scenario people, lead by Yaeko Sato, and the quest implementation, cutscene, and SFX teams for rising to the occasion). What’s more, till now I’ve refrained from meddling directly with work on the floor, but this time I couldn’t resist the urge and ended up contributing in-game text. I wonder if players can tell which job quests have my hand in them.
I’m personally a big fan of the Professor Erik and Widargelt duo in the monk quests, and am also fond of Jehantel of bard quest fame. The latter includes a flashback scene which shows Jehantel the Godsbow as he was in his prime. Though he appears for only the briefest of moments, the scene was a labor of love by all those in charge, and I highly recommend you watch it again by perusing The Unending Journey found in every inn room.
On the subject of quests, the eccentric detective and his assistant deserve a mention. The people in charge of these two characters are simply ecstatic at the positive fan reception. As a matter of fact, they were in my office just now expressing their excitement. It may be some time after patch 1.22, but rest assured the investigative duo will appear again and embroil themselves in all sorts of incidents. I hope you all look forward to it!
Now then, as I mentioned earlier, work on 1.21a and 1.22 proceeds even as I write. Below is a list of updates scheduled for the latter.
- Quests
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122a.png
- New Content
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122b.png
- Guildleves
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122c.png
- Behest
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122d.png
- Company System
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122e.png
- Enemies and Non-Instanced Areas
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122f.png
- Battle System
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122g.png
- Items, Synthesis, and Gathering
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122h.png
- User Interface (UI)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122i.png
- The Lodestone
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...islaw/122j.png
Patch 1.22 will see the threat of the Seventh Umbral Era grow ever more apparent. A new primal, Garuda, will descend to offer players the fight of their lives, while swarms of monsters will fall upon hamlets with a vengeance. You’ll also want to keep an eye on the developments between adventurers and entities like the Grand Companies and the Garlean Empire.
Hamlet defense, postponed from 1.21, appears in today’s list. Replenishing supplies in order to expand and fortify hamlets will form part of the content, which can be enjoyed not only by battle classes, but crafters and gatherers as well. We believe that it will be worth the wait!
As for the all-important release date for 1.22, we’re aiming to have it go live at the end of April, ahead of the holiday period in Japan known as Golden Week. The whole team is running full tilt to meet this objective.
Now, I’d like to make an extra mention regarding the job-exclusive weapons listed among the updates. As you can see, there’s a chance that it’ll take until patch 1.22a or later. We’re in the middle of finalizing cost estimation, and so dates are still up in the air. I’ll be sure to keep you in the know on our progress in coming letters.
And that’s about it for now. See you next time and/or on the forums!