INTERVIEW !!!!!!!!!! MAKE IT STICKY OR BURN :P

[Arashi]

It's just sad that the playerbase has actually resorted to using pictures to communicate with the game makers .... crayola ftw!

Clearly SE should send translators along for these events. A small group of designers was on-hand at last year's SIGGRAPH to show FF12 as a WIP - giving a very small talk on how they went about creating the game. Afterwards there was a small Q&A session ... however, with the exception of one SE staff member, none could speak more than a few words of English. The end result was getting to see alot of pretty animations and render tests, yet having no clear way to ask questions. Much as the way this interview seems to have gone.

I do doubt that the PR team knows much, if anything, about the game itself. Their job is to promote, not necessarily to answer questions. It did strke me as odd that a great number of SE's answers were of the mind-set that "we don't want to make the game easier". How is sitting in a zone for 4-6hrs waiting for a pop window hard exactly? SE's implimentation of its time-sink game mechanics doesn't increase the games difficulty in the slightest. It does however, ensure that they can be somewhat light on the amount of content they release. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking its a little more than strange for an MMORPG to release an expansion that's nowhere near complete.

Camping mobs with low drop rates bores me to tears ... as I'm sure it does many people. Thus, we must look elsewhere for entertainment value in the game - which can be a very trying and unfulfilling experience. I had hoped the latest expansion would offer new missions with an exciting storyline - yet sadly 4 months after release the series of missions available can be completed in several hours requiring little to no skill whatsoever. SE's response to this - wait a few months, maybe we'll add more, but I don't know.

For those who enjoy camping (H)NM's, it must be exceptionally frustrating that after three-four years you are still camping the exact same mobs in the exact same zones hoping for the exact same drops. Would the game truly be destroyed if a sword better than Ridill was released? or pants better than Byakko's? If so, then SE has failed miserably in its design of the game.

It was also quite disappointing to read that essentially the main reason for not implimenting instanced zones was simply that SE's servers can't handle it. This also helps to explain the extreme lag caused in both Dynamis and Besiged - adding zones with numerous players and mobs on ancient servers that can barely handle mini-instanced Assault zones (I've had several occasions where Assault was full requiring my group to wait for another group to exit) isn't good. The game is old, and showing its age more and more as the days and months go on - it would be reassuring to know that SE was actually looking at upgrading its own infrastructure rather than simply trying to find minor tweaks they can perform on aged equipment to gain a few more sales of an expansion.

Should every player in the game have every item, no - that would make the pursuit less rewarding. Should every player in the game have a chance at every item, yes - we all pay the same monthly fee and are entitled to the same content. (H)NM's with 12-72hr+ pop times are a little more than ridiculous - perhaps if there were (H)NM's that had a superior loot pool in CoP/ToAU zones this wouldn't be a big deal, people would camp the old for items, then move on to the new for items - freeing up the old for newer shells coming up. Although I'm sure that would somehow make the game "easier" and thus be wrong in the eyes of SE.

Personally, I'd like to see a series of "access" like quests that a player/shell would have to complete to be entitled to fight an HNM - sure that would get boring and repeatitive over time too, but at the completion of the quest you would be able to fight the HNM at least. It'd be nice if the access quest was more than "kill a billion of these mobs and hope to get a rare item to pop the one you really want to fight". That's simply farming, which is also boring, the quest idea adds a bit of backstory, giving a reason for players to want to fight the mob, as opposed to the current - kill it because it has a 0.0001% chance to drop the item I want. The drop rate wouldn't need to be altered necessarily, and it would be something to do rather than sitting in a zone for hours and hours hoping that your claim macro is faster than the other shell's bot. Doing something is more fun than sitting in a zone with your fingers on your claim macro -.-.

[Kashi]

we all pay the same monthly fee and are entitled to the same content.

This is what I believe, and why I feel Dynamis is just as flawed as the three kings.

Assume you have incredible luck and average 400 currency per run. This means it's going to take five and a half months per player to upgrade a relic weapon. It's going to take you a little over 30 years to upgrate a relic for all 64 people in the LS.

Why exactly does all this crap have to be so rare? I've always felt that equipment upgrades were more like rites of passage. Having an item should be proof of your skill, not shiny things that you hope will make you the most beautiful butterfly in the game.

[BRP]

we all pay the same monthly fee and are entitled to the same content.

This is what I believe, and why I feel Dynamis is just as flawed as the three kings.

Assume you have incredible luck and average 400 currency per run. This means it's going to take five and a half months per player to upgrade a relic weapon. It's going to take you a little over 30 years to upgrate a relic for all 64 people in the LS.

Why exactly does all this crap have to be so rare? I've always felt that equipment upgrades were more like rites of passage. Having an item should be proof of your skill, not shiny things that you hope will make you the most beautiful butterfly in the game.

Relics are meant to be rare. This is a stupid thing to say.

[Kashi]

we all pay the same monthly fee and are entitled to the same content.

This is what I believe, and why I feel Dynamis is just as flawed as the three kings.

Assume you have incredible luck and average 400 currency per run. This means it's going to take five and a half months per player to upgrade a relic weapon. It's going to take you a little over 30 years to upgrate a relic for all 64 people in the LS.

Why exactly does all this crap have to be so rare? I've always felt that equipment upgrades were more like rites of passage. Having an item should be proof of your skill, not shiny things that you hope will make you the most beautiful butterfly in the game.

Relics are meant to be rare. This is a stupid thing to say.

And it's fine that they're rare, but I think they're rare for the wrong reasons, and it's the most extreme example of S-E's policy of not making things in the game hard in the standard video game sense, but instead making them take forever.

[aurik]

More than just currency drops in Dynamis, you know.

[BRP]

If you had to compete with bots to get currency, then you would have a point. The relic weapon system is fine, however the relic weapons should be a lot stronger in my opinion.

[Fhqwghads]

Maybe since SE can't comprehend anything without pictures to assist, we should help them out.


http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5...seller2pd0.jpg

[Veli]

and HNM drops are overrated, Shine.

NLegs- are terrible.
Ebody- is best body piece for the jobs that can use.
MBody- good but very overrated, AF2 just as good and easy to get.
Dalmatica- only really useful for BRD and RDM, and even for those jobs its situational.

If those drops were overated then people wouldn't spend months to years trying to get them.

SE exploded with items on Rise of the Zilart and they could have done so much more with CoP. Shortening the respawn times could even help but at the current time camping anything for up to three hours everyday sucks.

Also, I wouldn't want cursed gear to be as common as the Walahra turban. I don't like watching a pixilated monster destroy friendships and an end game community.

MPKing, talking shit in /say /tell /shout, botting, lagging out another shell, stealing HNMs is not the way this game was meant to be played.

they are all overrated, people are just idiots.

the only items that are hands-down, the best items for their slot are:

D-Ring
Ridill
Black Belt
E-Body

Situational Items:

MBody
Hecatomb Head/Legs
Dalmatica

tell me another item you think is good, that drops off zilart kings and i'll show you something better.

I agree.

[Serif]

and HNM drops are overrated, Shine.

NLegs- are terrible.
Ebody- is best body piece for the jobs that can use.
MBody- good but very overrated, AF2 just as good and easy to get.
Dalmatica- only really useful for BRD and RDM, and even for those jobs its situational.

If those drops were overated then people wouldn't spend months to years trying to get them.

SE exploded with items on Rise of the Zilart and they could have done so much more with CoP. Shortening the respawn times could even help but at the current time camping anything for up to three hours everyday sucks.

Also, I wouldn't want cursed gear to be as common as the Walahra turban. I don't like watching a pixilated monster destroy friendships and an end game community.

MPKing, talking shit in /say /tell /shout, botting, lagging out another shell, stealing HNMs is not the way this game was meant to be played.

they are all overrated, people are just idiots.

the only items that are hands-down, the best items for their slot are:

D-Ring
Ridill
Black Belt
E-Body

Situational Items:

MBody
Hecatomb Head/Legs
Dalmatica

tell me another item you think is good, that drops off zilart kings and i'll show you something better.

I agree.

Post count +1 and even I am doing it!

[Weltall]

"Saori : It could be the possible design, that not everyone should be able to get those Items, and we don’t want to change that so that everyone would be able to get those Items. It would be difficult to give chance to everyone. "

Yayyy, I'm happy. Ty for the interview.

[*Shinzon*]

Thats just one-sided, If its not designed that way then why allow everyone to even be able to claim the occcasional Fafnir from out of the blue? The system is designed to keep the rare items concentrated in a small portion of the end game community, which is fine, but not one LS should be the main concentration of that gear.

Like I said if the expierence is different and the system is designed that way, I want my money for playing less of the game than other people do.

[Weltall]

Do more work, get more rewards. Go camp the items, stop posting on BG. Stay up late a night or two, or set the alarm clock early a morning or two.

They aren't going to fall out of the sky, and if they did, I would still be there to take them from you.

[Jawas]

They want items to be rare, and really if everyone had a ridill, Dring, MBody, EBody and ABody, people would have moved on to other games cause they won.

Really, not everyone plays the game for endgame, and they seem to be worried about the causal player, than the hardcore player. From a business sense, the people who camp Fafhogg, are less likely to cancel the content ID, than the person who is level 43, and does chocobo digging all day.

The part of the interview I liked, was they said well we introduced more HNMs. Yeah more HNMs that people dont want to kill. I think they forget, yeah we like to kill Fafnir, but if fafnir didnt drop a ridill, it wouldnt more than Bune. Reassign the loot tables and a lot of issues will be fixed.

[phirien]

Thats just one-sided, If its not designed that way then why allow everyone to even be able to claim the occcasional Fafnir from out of the blue? The system is designed to keep the rare items concentrated in a small portion of the end game community, which is fine, but not one LS should be the main concentration of that gear.

Like I said if the expierence is different and the system is designed that way, I want my money for playing less of the game than other people do.

i still feel the gear would continue to remain in the same Linkshells (claimed, ICBM, SSD), even if it was put in a BC.

i'll go back to my bahamut example. no NA LS on Alexander will obtain items from this BC, either because they are too lazy to get sea etc., or because they lack the skill needed to win, which is what SE wants.

[*Shinzon*]

Its hard to camp stuff later or earlier in the day when. People in the shell work from 4am to 5pm on average or when they have real life engagements to attend to. Spending time to work on items is fine. But why does it have to be that the time spent can't be chosen? people pay the same amount of money for the game but can't be allowed the same expierences when time doesnt provide it.

Edit after Phi's post:

You're very well right it probably would, but my point still remains that why can't the time thats spent in the game to gain rewards be the same? Like I myself dont have problems staying up late on some nights to camp, but people who have to get up at 4am do have a problem staying up and getting nothing

[Jawas]

Its hard to camp stuff later or earlier in the day when. People in the shell work from 4am to 5pm on average or when they have real life engagements to attend to. Spending time to work on items is fine. But why does it have to be that the time spent can't be chosen? people pay the same amount of money for the game but can't be allowed the same expierences when time doesnt provide it.

Cause its how the game works? Really if you hate the structure of the game, than maybe it isnt the game for you?

[phirien]

Not-so-hardcore players deserve not-so-hardcore gear.

the people who will set their alarms for 5am will have E and M bodies.

the people who play casually will wear purple and haubergeons.


you don't need the "best" gear to do anything in this game. it helps, but its not the difference between winning and losing.

[*Shinzon*]

You're missing my point. Why is it everyone pays the same amount of the game is structured to never allow anyone outside the 2-3 LS' that are able to camp at all times of days? My point is not every shell can be at every pop time of Fafnir for instance, however can spend more or the same time trying to and never succeed, thats my point, rather never even get a shot.

Yeah I agree, you dont need ANYTHING to kill anything. but it does help, I'd rather have the expierence then never be able to expierence it.

[phirien]

You're missing my point. Why is it everyone pays the same amount of the game is structured to never allow anyone outside the 2-3 LS' that are able to camp at all times of days? My point is not every shell can spend the exact same time to kill however they can spend the same amount trying to and never succeed.

that's like saying:

I pay 15$ for the gym and you pay 15$ for the gym

you're all jacked and in shape mr. olympia because you're there working your ass off 24/7.

i'm skinny and puny and cant lift a dumbell because i don't bother to push myself.

and i complain to the gym because we pay the same fee?


you said yourself, you can stay up, but your linkshell can't. then maybe you need to find another LS that better suits your playing style.

[Jawas]

There is nothing stopping your LS from camping anything, but if your not in a LS that will camp somethign 24/7, you really cant complain. You have the same ability. Its like the crazy JPNs that camp during 7pm EST, and the crazy NA's up at 3am EST.

The thing is with the 21-24 pop, the HNM will circle the clock and pop in different time periods, as long as one LS isnt holding it, cause no one else is camping during a period of time.

There is plenty of instances in this game.