Dev Tracker: Findings/Posts (NO DISCUSSION)

[Slycer]

Some interesting points here:
_____

Mocchi: 1H Weapon Attribute Correction Follow-up

For hand-to-hand weapons, does the right hand count as the main weapon and the left hand as sub, or do both hands count as main weapon, based on how they fit within the equipment slots?

At present, the right hand is considered to be the main hand. However, there will be an adjustment to this in the next test server update; see below.


Since the number of attacks on weapon skills when Dual Wielding is increased by one, is the additional portion of the damage affected by the sub weapon's correction? Or is it by the main weapon, because the WS itself is dependent on the main weapon?

The additional portion of the damage is based on the sub weapon's correction.


Does the correction change also affect pets?

No, it will not.


[[Bunch of opinion posts with various details, some specific to Monk]]

Thank you for your feedback both in favor of and against the proposed changes.

In the adjustments at this time, changes were not made specifically for monk, but more for attackers in general. In the next adjustment, we will make more adjustments in order to better balance these weapons with two-handed weapons.

For hand-to-hand weapons, we want to be careful about making the adjustments to prevent the strength from suddenly jumping ahead.

Due to this, in the next test server update, we will make an adjustment to hand-to-hand weapons.

We will adjust the situation so that rather than having 75% STR correction on the right hand, there will be 62.5% STR correction on both hands (the 75% DEX correction for both hands will not change).

We will provide more info at the time of the test server update, and we appreciate your continued cooperation.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: 1H Weapon Adjustments Follow-ups 2

The change to hand-to-hand weapons is a little disappointing, with it being weakened before even being implemented.

Thank you for you feedback. We understand your feelings.

When we discuss adjustments on the forums and publish them to the test server, these are simply balance adjustments that we are making to content that has not been implemented yet. During this process, there will be adjustments in both directions, and this is to be expected for these types of tests.

Simple question - what's the difference between "62.5% STR correction on both hands" and "75% STR correction on the right hand only"?

62.5% STR correction on both hands will suppress a higher amount of weapon skill damage than 75% STR correction on the right hand only. It is not a huge difference for standard melee attacks, but the adjustment was made with the intention of slightly suppressing weapon skill damage.

Why are the adjustments not made for pets?

This adjustment is not applied to pets because, as others have reported, it would become weakened when applied to pets.

Once in a while I wish there would be an adjustment that prioritizes pet jobs....

We understand your feedback on this matter.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: Elemental Magic Adjustments (Part 2)

Following last week's test server update where we began the adjustments to elemental magic, in this week's test server update we will make adjustments the elemental -ga, -ja, and -ra spells, ancient magic, and Comet.

* The values below have no magic attack power adjustments
* INT+0 and INT+100 on the table represent the difference between the caster's and target's INT.

-ga Spells

Damage will be adjusted as follows:

I 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	56	60	123	310	cap	2.5
Water	74	80	146	315	cap	2.35
Aero 	96	100	155	320	cap	2.2
Fire 	120	120	208	325	cap	2.05
Blizz 	145	160	241	350	cap	1.9
Thunder	172	200	271	375	cap	1.75


II 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	201	250	300	600	.99	3.5
Water	232	280	331	610	.99	3.3
Aero	266	310	365	620	.99	3.1
Fire 	312	340	411	630	.99	2.9
Blizz	350	370	450	640	1	2.7
Thunder	392	400	541	650	1.49	2.5


III 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	434	500	525	950	.91	4.5
Water	480	540	630	970	1.5	4.3
Aero	527	580	676	990	1.49	4.1
Fire	589	620	738	1015	1.49	3.95
Blizz	642	660	791	1035	1.49	3.75
Thunder	697	700	846	1055	1.49	3.55

MP Cost, casting time, and recast time will be adjusted as follows:

I 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	37	24	2.5	2	11	5
Water	47	34	2.75	2	12.25	5
Aero 	57	45	3	2	13.5	5
Fire	71	57	3.5	2	15.25	5
Blizz	82	80	3.75	2	16.5	5
Thunder	95	105	4	2	17.75	5

II 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	109	93	4.25	4	19	10
Water	123	112	4.5	4	20.25	10
Aero	138	131	5	4	21.75	10
Fire	158	153	5.25	4	23.25	10
Blizz	175	175	5.5	4	24.5	10
Thunder	193	200	6	4	26	10


III 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	211	175	6.25	7	27.25	25
Water	231	202	6.5	7	28.5	25
Aero	252	232	6.75	7	29.75	25
Fire	277	263	7.25	7	31.5	25
Blizz	299	297	7.5	7	32.75	25
Thunder	322	332	7.75	7	34	25

-ja Spells

Damage will be adjusted as follows:

 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	719	750	947	1300	2.28	5.5
Water	782	800	1010	1317	2.28	5.17
Aero	844	850	1076	1335	2.32	4.85
Fire	902	900	1130	1352	2.28	4.52
Blizz	953	950	1181	1370	2.28	4.2
Thunder	1005	1000	1233	1387	2.28	3.87

MP Cost, casting time, and recast time will be adjusted as follows:

 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	299	298	7	7	45	45
Water	322	318	7.25	7	46.25	45
Aero	344	338	7.5	7	47.5	45
Fire	364	358	7.75	7	48.75	45
Blizz	380	378	8	7	50	45
Thunder	396	398	8.25	7	51.25	45

-ra Spells

Damage will be adjusted as follows:

I 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	128	150	217	400	cap	2.5
Water	153	180	250	415	cap	2.35
Aero	179	210	279	430	1	2.2
Fire	216	240	316	445	1	2.05
Blizz	247	270	347	460	1	1.9
Thunder	282	300	382	475	1	1.75


II 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	317	350	417	700	1	3.5
Water	356	390	456	720	1	3.3
Aero	396	430	496	740	1	3.1
Fire	450	470	600	760	1.5	2.9
Blizz	496	510	646	780	1.5	2.7
Thunder	544	550	694	800	1.5	2.5

MP Cost, casting time, and recast time will be adjusted as follows:

I 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	73	57	3.25	1.5	15	5
Water	85	68	3.5	1.5	16.5	5
Aero	97	80	4	1.5	18	5
Fire	115	97	4.25	1.5	19.5	5
Blizz	129	111	4.5	1.5	21	5
Thunder	144	126	5	1.5	22.5	5


II 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Stone	160	150	5.25	3	23	15
Water	177	169	5.5	3	24.5	15
Aero	195	188	6	3	26	15
Fire	218	213	6.25	3	27.5	15
Blizz	237	235	6.5	3	29	15
Thunder	258	258	7	3	30.5	15

Ancient Magic
The amount of enmity gained from casting ancient magic spells will be reduced and adjusted to a fixed value.

MP Cost, casting time, and recast time will be adjusted as follows:

I 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Quake	337	315	18.25	12	42.75	60
Flood	368	315	18.75	12	43.75	60
Tornado	322	315	18	12	42.25	60
Flare	383	315	19	12	44.5	60
Freeze	307	315	17.75	12	41.5	60
Burst	352	315	18.5	12	43.25	60

II 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Quake	287	280	10	10	90	60
Flood	287	280	10	10	90	60
Tornado	287	280	10	10	90	60
Flare	287	280	10	10	90	60
Freeze	287	280	10	10	90	60
Burst	287	280	10	10	90	60

Comet

Damage will be adjusted as follows:

 	     INT+0	    INT+100          M
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Comet	964	1000	1193	1387	2.29	3.87

MP Cost, casting time, and recast time will be adjusted as follows:

 	     MP Cost	    Cast Time	  Recast Time
	Before	After	Before	After	Before	After
Comet	367	350	11	10	60	45

[Slycer]

Good confirmation on the adjustment not applying to enemies. However, if they touch the enmity on AM because of people worried about Voidwatch procs, some tables are gonna be flipped.

------

Mocchi: Elemental Magic Follow-ups

I was hoping that the MP efficiency of these spells would improve a bit more. While earth and water spells are improved fairly considerably, I noticed that the improvement on many of these spells isn't as high as the single target spells previously discussed; is this because they are AoE spells?

I wasn't really thinking about fixed enmity on ancient magic, but that's a good change. Maybe they should consume a bit more MP to prevent them from being abused for this? I know the recast is longer, but still....

Also, the damage improvement on earth and water spells is a bit scary when it comes to monsters. Will the dedicated -ga IV and V spells for monsters also be receiving changes like this?

Thanks for your feedback.

Since this adjustment is only a part of the full scope, please hang on a bit for a response. Regarding MP efficiency and your other points, we will continue to address them.

Note that these adjustments only apply to player characters.

Thanks for the good work. Comparing ice/lightning magic with earth, the MP consumption of ice/lightning is greater than earth, but I'm concerned that the damage of earth spells will potentially fall below that of ice/lightning.

Is this the intention of the development team? Perhaps the rate at which the INT multiplier increases should be adjusted for the different elements? I feel like you're implicitly telling us that we shouldn't bother with Magian trial staves

Your concern for earth magic spells becoming the only spells casted is a valid one. The values were set with this in mind.

In the table, we showed the difference the INT makes on damage. The correction of magic attack power will add beyond this.

Depending on whether you are fighting weaker or more difficult enemies, we believe that you will have to make the decision between MP efficiency or greater damage with your spell selection.

With the extended recast time of Ancient Magic, are you considering the utility in the Voidwatch and Abyssea weakness systems? In Abyssea specifically, it's difficult to time ancient magic as it is with enemy abilities and spells, the longer recast time will make it even more of a problem.

These adjustments were not made to be content-specific; it will apply for all content. However, we do understand your point.

With the adjustment of ancient magic to a fixed value enmity, we extended the recast time to prevent repeated cast of ancient magic with no regard for enmity gain. If we return back to the original casting time, we would have to increase the enmity value somewhat, although we could leave the casting time the same.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: Blue Magic

Because of the addition of the new Delve weapons, physical blue magic has been weakened considerably when considered relatively. Can equipment be added to make up for the huge 70+ DMG increase? Perhaps something like blue magic skill +70....

For the DMG value of physical blue magic, I previously commented the following on another thread:

Regarding the DMG value of physical blue magic, there will be a response in the next patch. The new blue magic is currently in preparation taking this adjustment into account. We will provide more information when we have something to announce.

With that said, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but please hang on a bit longer for details regarding the adjustment to the DMG value of physical blue magic.

Also, regarding the new blue magic that can be learned, we will let you know as soon as the list is finalized.

[Kaisha]

Some English-side notes reiterating what we already know.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...082#post443082

• Indicolure Spells
  Casting time will be reduced from 4 seconds to 2 seconds.

• Geocolure Spells

• Casting time will be reduced from 8 seconds to 2 seconds.
• Recast time will be reduced from 24 seconds to 12 seconds.

• Traits

• The levels at which “Conserve MP” is learned will be changed from 10/30/50/70/90 to 10/25/40/55/70/85/99.
• The below job traits will be learnable by geomancers:
  The level displayed in the “Level Learned” column is the level at which the job trait is first learned. The effect will increase in stages as higher levels are reached.

--------------
Clear Mind - Lvl20
Max MP Boost - Lvl30
-------

• Spell Additions

• The below spells will be learnable by geomancers.

Sleep - 30
Sleep II - 70
*Along with the addition of Sleep and Sleep II, the enfeebling magic skill will also be added to geomancers.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...080#post443080

• The evaluation method for Lair Reives, Colonization Reives, and Wildskeeper Reives will be adjusted.

• Physical damage, magic damage, healing, and other separate evaluation aspects will be consolidated into one category.
• The stored evaluations will yield experience points and Bayld based on the amount of boss monster or obstacle HP reduced.
  With these changes, evaluations will take place separately from obstacle and boss HP reduction, changing the way in which players receive rewards.

• The strength of monsters and how often they spawn* will be adjusted for Lair Reives that occur in the following areas.
  Yahse Hunting Grounds / Ceizak Battlegrounds

• The strength of monsters and how often they spawn* will be adjusted for Colonization Reives that occur in the following areas.
  Yahse Hunting Grounds / Ceizak Battlegrounds / Sih Gates / Moh Gates

*As an adjustment for solo and low-man groups, the HP, attack power, and other parameters of monsters will be reduced, the detection range will be reduced, and spawning frequency will be reduced.

Test Server Only
Reive evaluation adjustments are currently a work in progress.

[Slycer]

Fujito: The Mog Ranch

So busy... finally time for a break!

My eyes are very tired and i think I'm getting a headache... *sigh*

However, we've finally gotten the ranch looking good today, so at least that's a relief! (^_^)

That's why while we work today, we're drinking this:


Drowning cat!

Cute, isn't it?

When I was watching Twitter the other day, I saw this info come through by chance, and I ordered it immediately. It came from a shop in Nagano. I ordered a box set of them. Since it contained two cats, I get to drown another one!


*Meow meow*

All right, all right, I'll give you a quick glance at the Mog Garden.






Whaaaa?


We just wanted to give you a little taste for now, but we'll release more information soon!



Fujito: Follow Ups (Part 1)

Should you plant the cat?

I did not want to post a photo of a decapitated head, but it is possible by design. However, I will not.

What if a Colibri comes and steals the seeds and flies away? (>_<)

Colibri would not have the stamina to make it here because it is pretty far east of the main continent.

Inspired by the drowning cat, I think you should maybe sell drowning chocobos or drowning moogles at the food court at Vana'fest.

Hmmm...drowning moogle... haha. I wonder if the cooks have placed their orders yet.

This looks even more like the Enix game Cosmo Crash (Astronoka) than I expected....

Although it may seem outrageous since I'm an employee, I've never played that game.

Fujito: Follow Ups (Part 2)

I will definitely buy the drowning moogle when you release it. Also, please make the Mandragoras scream when you pull them from the ground.

I don't think we've gotten that far in production yet...should they walk around too?

I'd like to have a whole cat in Vana'diel. Not just the severed head, but the whole thing. Maybe that would be too surreal. Anyway, on the farm, wouldn't the mandragora try to use Fatal Scream when you pull them? I mean, they aren't pink, but it's still scary....

I wonder if there's a game that lets you grow severed heads.

You've finally shown us the factory where mandragoras are produced! Is this Fujito's secret mass-production facility? You should be ashamed.

No, this isn't the Fujito Coalition [[JP: FJT Works]]

Will Umbrils show up from underground?!

That would be awful! Now I don't want to plant too much....

I'm suddenly really tempted to buy those marshmallows that you bought before... you should work together with them to make Moogle marshmallows. I would totally buy those if they sold them!

They might be expensive though! I'll get in touch with our promotions person and find out....

Fujito: Follow Ups (Part 3)

This work is very tiring!

I wanted to post a couple follow-ups on the Mog Gardens post.

Are the mandragoras are just growing out of thin air?

The pictures were to give you an idea about the monster graphics. We aren't really showing the configuration and so on, so there will be more info coming.

There isn't any battle to harvest the monsters?

No, there is not. The monsters will grow similarly to a garden because the area is a location like the Mog House, so there will be no battling. (The original production basis was to battle the monsters.)

[Ligray]

Few topics appeared on pol..

Eleventh Vana'versary Abyssea and Atma Axtravaganza! (06/10/2013)

Do you find yourself wishing you could go on some more swashbuckling adventures with Joachim? Has the urge to get swallowed up by a cavernous maw and spit out in dimensions unknown been eating away at you? Then spice up your Vana'dielian experience by experiencing all three Abyssea battle add-on scenarios—Vision of Abyssea, Scars of Abyssea, and Heroes of Abyssea—for free!

This event will be held from Sunday, August 11, 2013 to Friday, October 11, 2013.
*Dates and times are subject to change.

However, what sort of eleventh vana'versary celebration would that be if adventurers had to visit Abyssea empty-handed? That's why, in addition to all three battle scenarios, explorers taking advantage of this opportunity will receive nine types of atma, one piece of lunar abyssite, fistfuls of cruor, and a visitant aura bonus!

Start cleaning the teeth of your nearest maw, for more information on the Abyssea and Atma Axtravaganza will be made available in the following days.

Announcing the First Eleventh Vana'versary Continuous Login Campaign! (06/11/2013)

In celebration of eleven wonderful years of Vana'diel, we are proud to announce our first Eleventh Vana'versary Continuous Login Campaign!

This event will be held from Thursday, July 11, 2013, to Wednesday, July 31, 2013
*Dates and times subject to change

During this event, you will receive special points once per day when you log in to the game. These points can be exchanged for a variety of in-game items!

Further details will be available in the upcoming days.

NPC Contest

[Slycer]

One of two posts, GEO next. The names are kinda guesses based on the katakana names, but shouldn't be too far off unless they use different names in English.

Mocchi: Rune Fencer Merits

Hello!

This post is to inform you about the merits for Rune Fencer.

The current plan is to introduce the following items as "Group 1" and "Group 2" merits.

Regarding the exact values, since adjustments are ongoing, there is a possibility that they may change prior to implementation.

Additionally, as long as we do not run into any major problems, these will be implemented on the test server update which will take place on Friday, June 14.

Rune Fencer Merits

• Group 1
  
  • Rune Enchantment Effect
    Elemental resistance of rune enchantment increases by +2 per merit.
    
    
  • Vallation Effect
    Magic defense increases by +1 per rune per merit.
    
    
  • Lunge Effect
    Lunge accuracy increases by +3 per rune per merit.
    
    
  • Pflug Effect
    Resist rate increases by +1 per rune per merit.
    
    
  • Gambit Recast
    Recast is reduced by 10 seconds per merit.
  
  
• Group 2
  
  • Job Trait: Inspire
    Enhances Vallation and Valiance with casting speed reduction.
    Additional merits decrease casting speed by 10%.
    
    
  • Job Trait: Sword Sleight
    Enhances Swordplay with a Subtle Blow effect.
    Additional merits increases the Subtle Blow effect by +5.
    
    
  • Job Ability: Battuta
    Recast Time: 5 minutes, Duration: 90 seconds
    While in effect, grants a bonus to parry rate. Additionally, upon parrying, attacks will be countered with damage dependent on the enchanted runes present when the parry was activated.
    Additional merits increase the parry activation rate by 4% per merit and the counterattack damage by +4 per rune per merit.
    
    
  • Job Ability: Rake
    Recast Time: 5 minutes, Duration: 30 seconds
    Consume active runes to reduce the elemental resistance of the target.
    Additional merits extend the effect duration by 3 seconds per merit.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: Geomancer Merits

Hello!

This post is to inform you about the merits for Geomancer.

The current plan is to introduce the following items as "Group 1" and "Group 2" merits.

Regarding the exact values, since adjustments are ongoing, there is a possibility that they may change prior to implementation.

Additionally, as long as we do not run into any major problems, these will be implemented on the test server update which will take place on Friday, June 14.

Geomancer Merits

• Group 1
  
  • Full Circle Effect
    Restores up to 5% additional MP per merit.
    
    
  • Ecliptic Attrition Recast
    Recast is reduced by 10 seconds per merit.
    Also reduces the recast time of Lasting Emanation.
    
    
  • Life Cycle Recast
    Recast is reduced by 10 seconds per merit.
    
    
  • Blaze of Glory Recast
    Recast is reduced by 20 seconds per merit.
    
    
  • Dematerialize Recast
    Recast is reduced by 20 seconds per merit.
  
  
• Group 2
  
  • Job Trait: Cure Recant
    Adds an HP recovery effect to Full Circle.
    Additional merits restore up to 5% additional HP.
    
    
  • Job Trait: Prime Zeal
    Enhances Collimated Fervor with an elemental magic casting time reduction effect.
    Additional merits reduce casting time by 10%.
    
    
  • Job Ability: Mend Halation
    Recast Time: 5 minutes
    The Luopan will vanish and restore HP to party members within the area of effect.
    Additional merits increase HP recovery by 5% per merit.
    
    
  • Job Ability: Radial Arcana
    Recast Time: 5 minutes
    The Luopan will vanish and restore MP to party members within the area of effect.
    Additional merits increase MP recovery by 3% per merit.

[Slycer]

Iwagami: Monstrosity Follow-ups

Thanks for your feedback!

I'd like to post a few replies.

For the return (temporary) command, I was hoping you could add some kind of visual indication as to how much time remains. Also, in addition to the currently available options, can you add a new choice which allows you to return back to the lobby? I haven't tried the HP/MP recovery yet since I'm still a lower level, but I'll try it out later.

Regarding the return (temporary) command:
We are considering displaying the time remaining until the player is returned in the chat log.

Regarding actions available when defeated"
We are planning to add "return to the lobby" as a temporary choice upon defeat or perhaps just make it automatic.

When you change species, are the experience values reset? One time I changed species when I was about 500 into a level, it changed to 0. I would like it if the experience didn't reset when you changed species.

Also, I was wondering if magic and items will become available in the future?

I very much like being in direct ontact with those on the development team, by the way. I know these adjustments are a lot of work, but I hope you'll implement them ASAP! (not that I want you to rush or anything)

Resetting of EXP upon species change.
Since the EXP values are not kept track of individually for each monster, when you change species, the current EXP value is reset to 0. If you resume Monstrosity as the same species you were playing last time, it will not be reset. Just be aware that the EXP will reset so try not to change species if the value is much higher than 0.

Using items and magic
Sorry, but we are not planning to implement any item usage for Monstrosity. For magic, we are planning to enable monsters to cast certain magic spells as long as they have been learned by the adventurer.

I was playing on the test server today and I noticed that the recast of the provisional return command was shared with those of SP abilities. Is this intended behavior?

I think the return command should be on a three minute separate timer... sharing it with SP abilities is a bit scary (it wasn't possible to use the return command shortly after I had used an SP ability).

SP ability and Return (temporary) command timer
We plan to separate the recast timer for the return (temporary) command so that it is not shared.

In the test server update this week we will be adding a new menu as well as additional species and new sentiencies. I think everyone has a good idea of the general play atmosphere for Monstrosity, so I'd like to get some more feedback on specific content.

Thank you!

[Yugl]

Rough translations for the early players:

GEO/RUN AF: Bumped from LV105 to 109
Expect Empyrean/Relic equivalents later

Unsure about this, but someone asked whether they're the same weapons/bell we've seen at the Adoulin page and he says they're slightly different.

NM will be a pop NM and should about six members, but that's an estimate.

[Slycer]

Slightly changed values for elemental magic tier IV and tier V spells scaling up with INT and a bunch of other interesting and not-so-interesting notes below.

-----

Mocchi: Elemental Magic Follow-ups

I wanted to report a few bugs with the elemental magic update. I tested at 100 INT difference and got the following:

Fire III: 390 (table says 580)
Blizzard III: 570 (table says 590)

There are some other strange results as well, but these were clearly bugs.

Thanks for your report. We've confirmed that Fire III and Blizzard III were not properly updated, and they have been revised.

I had some items that I found that were different from the table but didn't look like bugs:

Tier IV Elemental:
Starting with Stone
The info on the forum says 850 865 880 895 910 925 (15 interval)
My test results were 850 870 890 915 935 955 (20 interval, 25 after Aero)

Tier V Elemental:
The info on the forum says 1200 1210 1220 1230 1240 1250 (15 interval)
My test results were 1200 1217 1235 1252 1270 1287 (average 17.5 interval)

The results that you stated are correct; they were reconfigured but the table was not updated to reflect this change. I apologize for any trouble this may have caused. The numbers on the test server are correct (the table has been updated).

You previously said that these adjustmenst were only applicable to players. Does that also include the single target tier 1-5 elemental magic? It may be only my imagination, but I think the casting speed of enemies has increased on the test server.

The adjustments to elemental magic does not apply to monsters in any way. That being said, there's a possibility of some strange behavior but we cannot confirm this. If you can recreate the conditions, please let us know.

Sorry if it was already talked about somewhere, but why are there no adjustments to Meteor? The specifications to Meteor really should be adjusted. The damage is great when its casted by six people, but when casted alone, it's worse than a lot of other spells. I think the damage it deals should be better than nukes from the -ja system when casted solo.

For Meteor, we have no plans to make adjustments. The damage is increased dramatically with the number of people and with magic attack power and the spell itself does not have any attribute (fire, darkness, etc.).

Regarding the elemental magic adjustments, are they reflected in spells used by avatars or automatons? Thanks!

The adjustment does not apply to summoner spells because the magic is used on the monster side. For automatons, the magic is used on the player side, so the adjustment is applied.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: GEO/RUN (and other jobs) Armor Follow-up

We plan for the monsters to be defeated in the quests to be popped NMs. We will also be adding bayld exchange equipment at item level 106. If you possess that equipment and weapons from Skirmish or better (item level 105), the difficulty of defeating these should be fine for six or fewer people.

I had previously forgot about it, but the AF quests generally start with a weapon instead of armor. Is there any plan to add weapons to these jobs? Perhaps the weapons shown on the Adoulin website?

As in the past, the quest series will begin with a weapon, not armor. For Geomancers this will be a club and for Rune Fencers it will be a great sword. The items levels for each will be the same as for the armor.

The job-specific equipment shown for rune fencer and geomancer on the Adoulin website are something else besides artifact and will be added at another time.

• Item level of GEO and RUN AF
  Previously, we stated that the item level for the artifact armor for these two jobs would be 105. To balance them appropriately with the bayld equipment to be added at the same time, we've changed these to item level 109.
  
  
• Other GEO and RUN job-specific equipment
  For equipment which corresponds to the Empyrean and Relic armor that other jobs can obtain, it is scheduled to be added at some point in the future.
  
  
• Job-specific equipment for existing jobs
  We have plans to add job-specific equipment for existing jobs in the future.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: Item Level

We know there have been a lot of connections issues with the forums, so we regret any inconvenience this has caused.

In the June 14 test server update, item level displays have been added for equipment obtained from Seekers of Adoulin areas. I will explain the item levels here:

◆What is item level?

In the past, we've talked about how we will continue the growth of player characters in the future through increasingly powerful items.

As a result of this, although there is a lot of level 99 equipment, the performance of these items differs by item, and we have added "item level" as a parameter which illustrates the relative strength.

The item level of equipment obtained in each type of content will vary in proportion to the content level.

The relationship of item level and content level is as follows:

Item Level : Content Level : Representative Content from April 2013 or before

119 : 20 : Delve boss monsters
118 : 19
117 : 18
116 : 17
115 : 16
114 : 15
113 : 14 : Delve tier 2 NMs
112 : 13
111 : 12
110 : 11 : Delve tier 1 NMs
109 : 10
108 : 9
107 : 8
106 : 7 : Wildskeeper Reives
105 : 6 : Skirmish
100-104 : 1-5 : Colonization / Lair Reives (Bayld equipment)


◆Item Level Notation

Item level will appear on the equipment help text as shown in the images below. For equipment which has had its performance increased by enchantments or augmentation, the item level will take these additional statistics into account.

◆Examining monsters to determine relative strength/EXP

Rather than taking the player's level into account, this will now be a function of the player's item level. The basic concept will be no different from as it is currently. On the basis of the highest item level of the equipment you have equipped, the message about the monster's strength will vary and the acquisition of EXP may increase or decrease.

[Slycer]

Thought this was kind of interesting.

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Mocchi: About Rune Fencer

From the list of problems with Rune Fencer playing an active part as a tank, the first thing that comes to mind is physical attacks. As of right now, its ability to counter against physical attacks is too low. Even if you eliminate this problem to some extent, many paladins have Aegis or Ochain, and because of their existence, its very difficult to expect another job to play the role of a tank in the same way. I think monk would be more qualified as a tank.

Thanks for your feedback.

1. Ability to counter against physical attacks

This will not be unique to rune fencer, but we plan to add equipment which reduces the amount of physical damage taken for all jobs.

As you have said, the ability to counter against physical attacks is best done by Paladin, and this superiority is intentional.

Rune fencers were not intended to be strong against physical attacks, so there are no plans to make additional adjustments specific to rune fencer to allow them to excel at this as much as Paladins.

2. Comparison against Paladin with Aegis/Ochain

We have previously discussed this in interviews and on the forums. If you compare on terms of magic defense alone, there is an advantage for Paladins with Aegis as it can evenly reduce the damage taken of all elements. However, rune fencer excels at reducing not only the damage taken from specific elements, but can also frequently resist abnormal status effects.

Additionally, while Aegis applies only to the Paladin itself, Rune fencer can also cut elemental damage taken by party members within the area of effect, so in this respect, the contribution to reducing overall damage taken by the party can be higher than that of an Aegis Paladin.

Also, from a more fundamental sense, it's spurious to compare an Ochain or Aegis Paladin to Rune Fencer in its current state. Once job-specific equipment corresponding to mythic and relic has been added for Rune Fencer, we can reassess whether the balance is appropriate and make any additional needed changes at that time.

3. Regarding the performance of Rune Fencer

In some respects, it is difficult actively fighting and tanking at the same time, and we do understand this.

With the addition of the merit points previously discussed as well as artifact armor, we believe that it will help improve the simultaneous fighting and tanking ability of rune fencer.

Since these will be the only adjustments at this time, we do not expect it to immediately be at its strongest level, but we will continue to make any adjustments necessary to improve the playability of Rune Fencer.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: GEO Merit Follow-ups

The Life Cycle recast is 10 minutes and the merits were stated to only reduce recast by 10 seconds. Is there any reason this isn't consistent with other merits which reduce recast time?

In the test server update on June 14, the values you stated were those that were initially implemented, but this will be changed to the correct value of 20 seconds reduction per merit.

Is there any reason that the reuse time on Life Cycle is so long? Compared to other pet HP recovery abilities:
BST: 90 seconds
DRG: 90 seconds
PUP: 180 seconds

There's been precedent with these other abilities for 90~180 seconds recast time. It would be much better if the recast timer was reduced to this range and the merit was changed to recover additional HP with each merit.

[[Other suggestions about improving Ecliptic Attrition/Lasting Emanation and Blaze of Glory.]]

Thanks for your feedback.

For the effects of Blaze of Glory and Ecliptic Attrition, you may find that you want to use them more frequently. However, similar to the effect of Marcato for Bard, these cannot be maintained at all times, and this is intentional by design, so there is no plan to adjust this at the moment. The merits will allow to use them to obtain the effects a bit more often.

Regarding the recast timer of Life Cycle, it will be updated to -20 seconds per merit so it can also be taken advantage of more often.

For the group 2 job trait Curative Recantation, I think the HP recovery amount should be evaluated. If the recovery amount is determined based on the Luopan's remaining HP, it may be an ability best used for soloing. It's possible to convert the Luopan to 25% of the Luopan's HP recovered at 5 merits.

With the recast of Full Circle being 10 seconds, Geomancers can recover their own HP without relying on cure spells.

These effects are still being adjusted and may be changed. For Curative Recantation, it does recover HP based on the Luopan's maximum HP.

[[Quote 1:]] Instead of leaving Luopans in place until their HP runs out, they can be placed to match the enemy behavior. This may help alleviate some of the MP consumption issues.

[[Quote 2:]] Even with the merit point taken into account, the MP consumption by GEO spells is still very high.

There were different opinions on the benefits of the Full Circle effect enhancement from different people. Thank you for both of your opinions.

Deciding whether to maintain or sacrifice the Luopan can be a decision made based on the circumstance. For example, when you have a lot of MP, you could try to increase the effectiveness of the Luopan, and when your MP is lower, you may prefer to use abilities to maintain the Luopan. Please consider a variety of situations.

[Slycer]

Mocchi: Follow-up Frenzy

Rune Fencer

I'm not particularly familiar with Paladin, but doesn't the effect of Iron Will together with Rampart also apply to party members?

Am I misunderstanding this?

Yeah, I'm very sorry about that. The effect of Iron Will does extend to party members.

[[I think they're talking about the Inspiration trait here, but I don't see it mentioned directly.]]

For Valiance, while the adjustment may be difficult, we would like to work out the effect so that it can be granted to party members as well.

Mocchi and everyone else, thanks for your good work over the holiday.

A while back, the development team talked about giving more meaning to defense, along with improving the defense of individual pieces of equipment to reduce damage taken further. If you're planning to continue adding equipment which directly cuts damage taken, are you still considering adjustments to the enemy attack/defense ratio and the mechanism for how defense reduces damage taken?

Eventually, we do plan to implement an adjustment which allows defense to be utilized better to cut damage taken; however, this may take a considerable amount of time to develop.

Since there are a lot of higher level monsters being added, and new content still to be implemented, while we work to balance the defense mechanism, we want to prioritize bridging the gap temporarily by adding equipment with which all jobs can cut damage taken.

Geomancer

[[Quoted post talking about Blaze of Glory and Ecliptic Attrition, and how it's easy to use both of them on one spell only to have the Luopan get destroyed immediately by an enemy attack.]]

It is not intended that you should be able to maintain the boosted state of the effect for a long time. That said, the effects will grow in power in the future. On artifact gear which will be added in the next update as well as more equipment in the future, there will be stats which increase geomancy and handbell skills.

[[Quoted post talking about how they've had Geo spell effects dispelled. Not sure if they're talking about the Indi-spell on themselves, or what.]]

Thanks for your report.

This sounds a little strange, and we will have the QA team investigate again. The effects of both Indi- and Geo- spells should be non-dispellable. Once we investigate, I'll inform you of the results.

It may already be too late, but I was really hoping for something in Group 2 merits for Geomancer which could improve the potency of Indi- spells.

As far as I know, Bolster is the only way to boost the effects of Indicolure spells, with nothing else like the abilities that enhance Geo- spells. I was wondering if you could add something like this (or maybe an AF effect?) that enhances Indi- spells.

There are no plans to strengthen the effect of Indi-spells through abilities or otherwise, as this was considered as part of the basic performance of the job.

There will be other elements, such as equipment, which increase the effect value and duration. For example, in the next update, the added artifact armor will increase geomancy and handbell skills (the magnitude of the effect of all geomancy magic is dependent on these skills).

Item Level

In the test server update the other day, the item levels were not added to the shield or accessories. Also, the item level for Manibozho Beret says 113, which I think is incorrect.

Thank you for your reports. I will relay this information about Manibozho Beret and the shield to the person in charge. For accessories, there is no plan to display the item level. This is because we do not want the item level of accessories taken into consideration for checking monsters and for determining EXP yield.

For augments added in a random fashion, how will the different item levels be applied to equipment? How much will the item level go up? I'm a bit worried about this.

The item level will be based on the highest possible performance that can be granted to the item. This will be the same whether the performance is random or set (as with Delve armor).

For example, if you have an augmentable piece of equipment with item level 113, it means that with the highest possible performance, the equipment's item level is 113.

[[Quote 1:]] The idea of item level notation seems somewhat complicated. If you're equipped with just one piece of high-level equipment, it could make an opponent seem easier than it really is.

[[Quote 2:]] If you decide to go this route, it should be based on the total of the item levels rather than on the basis of the individual highest item level.

I was not able to thoroughly express the idea above, so please let me elaborate here.

For these criteria, it is not simply based on one piece of equipment. The weapons (main, sub, ranged), and armor (head, body, hands, legs, feet) are referenced, and the final level will be determined by a mechanism.

Equipment on ears, fingers, back, waist, neck, grips, and non-throwable ammo will not have displayed item levels and will be excluded from reference to the target.

Is there any plan in the future to add some kind of content which references item level as a minimum requirement for participation?

While it is possible, for now, we do not anticipate adding any content which will use item level as a condition for participation.

Is equipment at item level 119 supposed to be indicative of the equivalent player level?

Yes, that's the implication. The item level is basically an indication of the strength the player as if they were at that level.

It's not that any one piece of equipment at level 119 would mean you're equivalent to level 119, but by equipping, for example, head, body, hands, legs, and feet at level 119, it would be as if your character was level 119.

The battles in Seekers of Adoulin are balanced with the assumption that player levels have reached their maximum value. The item levels are used as part of this balance.

Since item level 119 is the highest at the moment, if we want to introduce high level content in the future, it would be balanced for equipment with item levels up to 119. We could also increase the variety of equipment available at level 113, or fill the large gaps in item level with new additional equipment appropriate for each level.

[[Number of questions about content level/item level, and checking monsters.]]

Thank you for your comments.

Check system/item-level reference

If we leave the check system as it is currently, monsters will appear much stronger than they really are. Additionally, as players get stronger and item level rises, the available amount of EXP will increase significantly as kill speed increases, and we want to adjust this as well.

For example, if we add new areas without implementing this adjustment, you will be able to get 1,000 experience per monster, and even more with the effects of dedication or chain bonuses. We believe that this is too much, so we want to make an adjustment.

Content level/item level comparison with content difficulty

If a player's equipment is not aligned with the content level, the content may be more difficult than expected. Rather than adjusting the content difficulty, we can add more items at individual levels in a sideways fashion.

On another note, once a newer top-tier content is implemented, we will make adjustments which make it easier to clear existing content. At that time, we would be making adjustments to the difficulty of the content itself.

[[Post talking about the accelerating trend of "seasonal content" in FFXI since Abyssea, where new content constantly outdoes old content, and people can very quickly be left behind as if they miss some Adoulin updates, their equipment may be totally outdated. Same stuff many of us have been complaining about.]]

I want to reference two specific points you made:

In the future missions and quests, please allow them to be completed even at lower item levels.

Quests and missions (and their rewards) are balanced with bayld equipment considered to be the strongest necessary armor. Basically, all you'd need to do is coalition assignments, and they would be balanced for one party with this type of equipment.

The main problem I see is that people who do not quickly climb the ladder of Adoulin content after its introduction may feel so totally left behind that they will be excluded from all types of new content.

The content that has been introduced with Adoulin has not been introduced in a smooth fashion. When we added content all the way up to content level 20 (item level 119), the jump was steep, and we're sorry for any anxiety that this caused.

Based on the old post from Matsui:

• We will give priority to add new content for solo and small groups.
• We will be adding a variety of content to cover individual item levels.
• Will will enhance the spread at each content level in a lateral fashion rather than vertically.
• After releasing new top-tier content for the top players, we will continue to adjust the other high-level content for players who follow.

We will continue to work closely with everyone to make sure that the content is as player-friendly as possible.

[[Questions about new equipment base parameters with item level, etc.]]

I've already discussed previously about examining monsters and EXP yield, but I want to respond to the item performance.

First of all, I understand that the item level and its value to an individual player may not match.

For the equipment that will be added in the future, there will be certain basic parameters which are always granted. It's partially dependent on the equipment slot, but things like attack (and ranged attack), accuracy (and ranged accuracy), evasion, magic attack, magic defense, magic accuracy, STR, DEX, VIT, AGI, INT, MND, CHR, and physical damage taken will be adjusted for the equipment's level. (This may fluctuate for particular equipment, and the parameters above may not always be granted.)

I also think that the value of each piece of equipment will be different to different players. We've received a number of different opinions regarding the perforamnce of equipment in Seekers of Adoulin, and we would like to give the item level display so that players have a better way to understand.

Beastmaster Pets

Has there been any thought to new pets?

Regarding new pets, we're considering adding three with recipes (rabbit family, crab family, and chapuli family), and one more that's exchanged for Mweya Plasm. Sorry I have no image!

[Slycer]

Regarding the second/third one, I can personally verify that Dematerialize does get dispelled, so I hope they fix it.

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Mocchi: More Follow-ups

In the description for the job trait "Inspiration," you used the term "magic casting speed reduction." I don't think it was intentional to call it "speed reduction," so did you mean magic casting speed increase or magic cast time reduction?

Sorry about that! I intended to reply to this yesterday but I missed it. Thanks for your report! The descriptive text that was input at the time we added the content to the test server was confusing. We will make update the description to the traditional notation; the effect of inspiration is the same as Fast Cast.

Talking about Dispelling the Luopan, were you talking about the geomancy effect on players or effects like Dematerialize applied to the Luopan which can be removed by dispelling abilities?

I checked with the QA team, but we could not confirm the phenomena that you are reporting. If Dematerialize could be dispelled, that's essentially synonymous with saying that Dematerialize can be absorbed. If it could be absorbed then monsters would become temporarily invulnerable to damage, so it is not intended that this effect can be dispelled or absorbed.

About Dematerialize on the Luopan - the eft in Morimar Delve can remove Dematerialize with Geist Wall. I believe this is the specification as designed, but I wonder if this is even a bug? Should we submit a bug report? Effects like Lasting Emanation don't get dispelled.

Hmm....

Thank you for your report. I will relay your information to the QA team once again. We may need a bit more detailed information so thank you for your cooperation.

[Yugl]

Rough Translation (Going piece-by-piece and will say when I've become bored of this):

1. New Wildskeeper, Skirmish, and Colonization/Lair Reives

Item level order: Delve Megas > Wildskeeper 2.0 > Delve T4/5 > Skirmish 2.0 > Delve T1/2/3 > Colonization Reives 2.0 (Actually, overlaps with Wildskeeper and Skirmish) > Wildskeeper NQ > Skirmish NQ > Other crap no one does

2. Skirmish 2.0

New skirmish will grant "Important item", New Armor (Gear, not just weapons), (Daijinamono, so literally says that) and "Raw Materials"

Important item: Upgrades existing weapons (ex: Ninza => Ninza+1)
Raw materials: Use them with evolved weapons to grant Arcane Glyptics
New Armor: Upgrade via Arcane Glyptics is currently planned

3. Arcane Glyptics

Skirmish Visage will increase the number of Ghastly stones available
Cost of Ghastly Stone will become 500 Bayld

4. Wahhhhhks of Echo (Maybe? Waakusu is the word)

Question: Where my WoE adjustments?!
Answer: Wildskeeper and new content takes priority

5. O. Fragment (Idk what this is tbh; looks like Skirmish)

Question (Remember, ROUGH translation): Can we do Weapons <=> O.Fragments?
Answer: No

Edit: And bored.