The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

[Mhurron]

The FINAL FANTASY XI community is ever abuzz with discussion on in-game content. Today, the development and operations teams return to address some of our fans' most pressing questions and concerns in FAQ format.

Q: The recent update supposedly made it easier to increase skills, but I'm not noticing much of a difference. What exactly has changed?

A: The minimum enemy rating for raising skills to their caps has been lowered from "even match" to "decent challenge," providing more frequent opportunities for skill increase and greater values accompanying each increase. However, as the calculations are adjusted based upon your current skill level and your target's strength, the difference will be more noticeable at lower skill levels. We intend to monitor game balance with the new settings for the time being, but will consider future adjustments for skills such as parry and guard that are triggered less frequently.

Q: I've got enough Kindred and High Kindred crests to wallpaper my Mog House three times over. Will I be able to do anything else with them in the future?

A: We certainly wouldn't want to put a damper on your interior remodeling plans, but you might be interested in knowing that the next major version update will make these items NPC-storable, as well as introduce new high-level battlefields accessible with crests. Needless to say, suitable equipment rewards are also in the works, so stay tuned!

Q: Can we expect any changes to be made to the Walk of Echoes?

A: Yes. We have received considerable feedback concerning the Walk of Echoes, and are planning a large-scale overhaul of this feature to make it more enjoyable and rewarding for players. The time frame and further details will be announced as soon as they become available, so we ask for your patience for the time being.

Q: I can't help but feel like my Aegis shield pales in comparison to the recently added Ochain. Will anything be done about this?

A: Yes. The concepts behind Aegis and Ochain were to focus on magic and physical attack defense, respectively. As it stands now, however, Ochain's extremely high block rate makes it appear significantly more effective. We intend to balance things out in the next major update by giving a boost to Aegis's magic defense capabilities.

Q: I've always found it inconvenient that the compass/radar and other vital information are hidden when engaged in combat. Can we expect any interface tweaks?

A: Yes. With the next major version update, we intend to make the compass visible in combat. Players have also expressed wishes for a fix to keep the macro palette from covering the casting gauge and status icons, and we will be looking to address this in the future.

[cidbahamut]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Q: I can't help but feel like my Aegis shield pales in comparison to the recently added Ochain. Will anything be done about this?

A: Yes. The concepts behind Aegis and Ochain were to focus on magic and physical attack defense, respectively. As it stands now, however, Ochain's extremely high block rate makes it appear significantly more effective. We intend to balance things out in the next major update by giving a boost to Aegis's magic defense capabilities.

Let's just hope they don't intend to simply add more MDT to it.

[Balfree]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

A: Yes. With the next major version update, we intend to make the compass visible in combat. Players have also expressed wishes for a fix to keep the macro palette from covering the casting gauge and status icons, and we will be looking to address this in the future.

o yay!

[Raydeus]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Q: The recent update supposedly made it easier to increase skills, but I'm not noticing much of a difference. What exactly has changed?

A: The minimum enemy rating for raising skills to their caps has been lowered from "even match" to "decent challenge," providing more frequent opportunities for skill increase and greater values accompanying each increase. However, as the calculations are adjusted based upon your current skill level and your target's strength, the difference will be more noticeable at lower skill levels. We intend to monitor game balance with the new settings for the time being, but will consider future adjustments for skills such as parry and guard that are triggered less frequently.

Oh, f*ck that. I skilled up on T and VT to cap sword and got less than a level per freaking hour.




Yep, any desire to go back right now has dissapeared. Back to the original plan of waiting until lvl99 it is.

[Aksannyi]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

That sounds like hardly a fix at all, really. They made it sound better than it is.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

They made it sound better than it is.

You sound surprised...

[Karinya]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Q: I can't help but feel like my Aegis shield pales in comparison to the recently added Ochain. Will anything be done about this?

A: Yes. The concepts behind Aegis and Ochain were to focus on magic and physical attack defense, respectively. As it stands now, however, Ochain's extremely high block rate makes it appear significantly more effective. We intend to balance things out in the next major update by giving a boost to Aegis's magic defense capabilities.

Aegis and Ochain are great and all, but do they have any ideas for people who don't have hundreds (or maybe more realistically thousands) of player-hours to throw at each individual piece of gear? If they're balancing a job around relic/empyrean equipment, it's no wonder it's pathetically weak with normally attainable equipment.

Please do something for people who can't afford 20,000 dynamis currency, or don't have the time to farm 200+ HNM drops, or both.

And considering Aegis was *already* (in)famous for its extremely high block rate before they came out with a new shield with even *higher* block rate, I think they may have broken Ochain to the point that there's no realistic alternative to nerfing it. But if they really intend to fix the problem by buffing Aegis even further, then some reasonably attainable (i.e. dropped or non-NM-spam trials) Lv90+ shields are going to have to be _at least_ the performance of Lv75 Aegis to come within reasonable distance and allow content to be something close to balanced for the haves and the have-nots at the same time.

[Aksannyi]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Relics are one of the prime reasons why raising the level cap was a stupid idea. How do you give someone their ultimate weapon and then raise the level cap and obsolete it? Without precedent? After the level cap had been the same for about seven years? People felt comfortable pursuing their relics because they didn't think this game would ever turn into WoW and make them completely useless after a time. And the magian trials were kind of a band-aid fix for that, if you ask me. Not that I know how the stats have made the relics compare to the rest of the gear out there but dude ...

Bleh. If I get started, I won't stop. (And I started to type a whole other paragraph which I then deleted and referred myself back to the previous sentence.)

[cidbahamut]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Meh, it's a legitimate complaint. The astronomical cost was justified because there would never be anything better. Now there is and it's a dumb design choice.

[Elwynn]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Q: I've always found it inconvenient that the compass/radar and other vital information are hidden when engaged in combat. Can we expect any interface tweaks?

A: Yes. With the next major version update, we intend to make the compass visible in combat. Players have also expressed wishes for a fix to keep the macro palette from covering the casting gauge and status icons, and we will be looking to address this in the future.

Wow, actual basic UI changes? Without "PS2 Limitations" getting in the way?

That's a good one. Now you're going to tell me they'll let you re-quest Bibiki Seashell.

I'll know they really care when A Gustaberg Tour's level requirement goes to 10 so that people can Level Sync it.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Please do something for people who can't afford 20,000 dynamis currency, or don't have the time to farm 200+ HNM drops, or both.

Technically, Ochain (Lv.90) requires exactly 200 items, not 200+, and many fights can result in two instead of one trophy.

The Iron Giants needed can't really be consider HNM class critters,either.

Meh, it's a legitimate complaint. The astronomical cost was justified because there would never be anything better. Now there is and it's a dumb design choice.

Fully upgraded relic weapons still have the best DMG to delay ratio (plus the highest DMG ratings), don't they? Not that they don't need a boost, but outside of Abyssea I don't think they fall that behind compared to Empyrean weapons.

To be fair, though, at one point SE probably really did think Lv.75 was the final cap. Furthermore, the players--that would be us--have been pestering SE for level cap increases for ages, so some ways the situation is partially our fault. While SE should have done better with the stat balancing, in some ways a massive level cap increases (as the players wanted) made it hard to avoid problems.

[Aksannyi]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Furthermore, the players--that would be us--have been pestering SE for level cap increases for ages

Speak for yourself. There were a lot of people who never wanted to see the cap increase. While some embraced it and kept playing, it did cause some people to quit. I'm sure there were people who wanted it to increase and bugged SE for it, but I'd be willing to bet it's about even on that one.

In my honest opinion, I think they always thought 75 would be it. They probably thought people would get tired long before they ran out of stuff to do with the game - right around the beginning of Wings when salvage gear was the best of the best gear-wise and the mythic weapons were totally amazing. Then people kept playing and kept asking for more content and I think they maybe thought that meant more levels. I don't know. People also wanted them to change their archaic shit like kings and how they popped. And Dynamis, by making it instanced. Stuff like that. I think SE heard the complaints and didn't know how to fix it so they said, "Screw it, we'll scrap it all and raise the cap," and then were like oshi- when they realized they'd made ultimate weapons and other armor people worked - sometimes several years - for and they were about to obsolete it. That's why I think magian was a band-aid fix.

I flat out know that I never wanted to see a level cap increase, and I am not the only person. There were a lot of people upset by that change. Those that weren't kept playing and I'm glad they're having fun. But I don't think it was some majority that wanted the cap increased. Maybe half, like I said, but not the bulk of the playerbase.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

There were a lot of people who never wanted to see the cap increase. While some embraced it and kept playing, it did cause some people to quit. I'm sure there were people who wanted it to increase and bugged SE for it, but I'd be willing to bet it's about even on that one.

I wouldn't know the percentages who were for or against level cap increases, but I'm reasonable sure SE was asked about that all the time. (If I have to guess, I'd say the majority of the players didn't have a strong opinion one way or another--it's always the extremes of the spectrum who formed the vocal minorities.)

As for people who quit over level cap increase, I do not know even one from in-game. The vast majority of people who quit did so so for one of two reasons: 1. Real life, 2. FF14.

Most of the people I know who left for FF14 came back to FF11, too.

Sure, I've heard some grumbling about some old gear becoming obsolete, but to say the level cap increases caused a large number of people to quit seems like a wild exaggeration.

* * *

And, for the record, I wasn't one of those who asked for level cap increase--all I meant was SE raised the cap (at least in part) due to players' requests. In hindsight, though, I do think SE did well in reversing the decision on the level cap.

* * *

In my honest opinion, I think they always thought 75 would be it. They probably thought people would get tired long before they ran out of stuff to do with the game - right around the beginning of Wings when salvage gear was the best of the best gear-wise and the mythic weapons were totally amazing.

Some Salvage gear were the best, but the majority of the Mythic weapons weren't terribly amazing for the effort even back in Lv.75.

Incidentally, that may have driven the devs' decision regarding Empyrean weapons; there were long and bitter complaints about how much effort it took to make Mythic weapons and yet they weren't stronger than Relic weapons, so now we have Empyrean weapons which are both easier and more powerful.

People also wanted them to change their archaic shit like kings and how they popped. And Dynamis, by making it instanced. Stuff like that. I think SE heard the complaints and didn't know how to fix it so they said, "Screw it, we'll scrap it all and raise the cap," and then were like oshi- when they realized they'd made ultimate weapons and other armor people worked - sometimes several years - for and they were about to obsolete it. That's why I think magian was a band-aid fix.

lol. Well, I don't think the kings are entirely fixable; the concept itself--timed spawn with long interval and possibly great reward upon defeating--made it irresistible to botters, and the architecture of FF11 made it impossible to prevent cheating. To really 'fix' it is to discard the concept entirely, IMO, which is pretty hard for game designers and developers, I think; you never really want fewer modes of play within the game.*

As for instancing Dynamis, they know how to do it in principle, but the devs just don't want to spend the time. And, it would be a lot of time--it's a bunch of code which no one has dived into deeply in ages. Probably a nightmare to both extend and to test. There are/were also issue of rate of Dynamis currency getting into the system--remember, SE was very pleased at the (slow) rate which people were obtaining fully upgraded relic weapons--those things were never meant to be popular.

* I think devs in general like to add new modes of play rather than take away existing ones. So, they are happy to add new content with twists on old ideas, but very reluctant to get rid of older systems. They are also very mindful of adding more of "exactly the same", which would explain why Kindred Crest didn't come with new battlefields like Beastmen's Seals.

But, bowing to user demands, now SE has plans to add those... Ultimately, SE is trying do what it can (within budget) to please the players.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Sure, I've heard some grumbling about some old gear becoming obsolete, but to say the level cap increases caused a large number of people to quit seems like a wild exaggeration.

When some of the old gear was so tremendously difficult to get and its power proportionate to that difficultly, its pretty sad Aegis would be obsoleted.

SE is so focused on appeasing the core players that they're missing important details like this. If they're starting to overlook why they made Relic and Mythic weapons the way they did, there are some other serious problems just waiting happen.

lol. Well, I don't think the kings are entirely fixable; the concept itself--timed spawn with long interval and possibly great reward upon defeating--made it irresistible to botters, and the architecture of FF11 made it impossible to prevent cheating. To really 'fix' it is to discard the concept entirely, IMO, which is pretty hard for game designers and developers, I think; you never really want fewer modes of play within the game.*

Pop NMs. Make them pop NMs. Make a repeatable ENM-style quest to earn a key item. Turn the ??? into BCNM entrance, when the leader triggers, the alliance is pulled into a BCNM version of the same zone.

No more camping, no worries about RMT claim-botting, and there's nothing radically different about the gameplay systems involved.

Hard to implement? Probably not. Just make the quest repeatable every 5 days. Hell, we kinda have them as BCNM fights already, just a different variation on the NMs with different rewards (though BB and craft items are still there) so I don't see why this would be so difficult. They could have implemented this years ago and I'm probably not the only one to suggest this particular solution.

As for instancing Dynamis, they know how to do it in principle, but the devs just don't want to spend the time. And, it would be a lot of time--it's a bunch of code which no one has dived into deeply in ages. Probably a nightmare to both extend and to test. There are/were also issue of rate of Dynamis currency getting into the system--remember, SE was very pleased at the (slow) rate which people were obtaining fully upgraded relic weapons--those things were never meant to be popular.

You can still place time restrictions on Dynamis with instancing.

The reason people want instancing is because they want to avoid the problem scheduling around other linkshells.

That's it, nothing more than that. I'm sure there's a handful of sickos out there that would love to spam it endlessly for currency, but I doubt most people would want to spam Dynamis just for the sheer amount of time involved to clear a zone once.

[Malacite]

Re: The Final Fantasy XI Team Answers Your Questions! (02/18/2011)

Fully upgraded relic weapons still have the best DMG to delay ratio (plus the highest DMG ratings), don't they? Not that they don't need a boost, but outside of Abyssea I don't think they fall that behind compared to Empyrean weapons.

Yes they do for the most part. IIRC I think Amano is the only one that managed to keep pace with it's Empyrean counterpart, largely due to Fudo and Kaiten functioning very similarly (and the lv 90 WS buff they added - before that it wasn't even a contest).

Relics only slightly out damage Empyreans (by like a couple of points of base DMG at best) but the Empyrean WS themselves are so ludicrously strong for the most part (a few of them really suck, like DRG's) and when you factor in the 30/40/50% ODD aftermath there's just no keeping up.

The Aftermath is actually what's keeping Masamune ahead of Amano right now though, because Fudo suffers vs high def targets (it's multipliers are insane though ...). Some of the Relics still have decent utility, like Metatron Torment's PDT or Catastrophe's Haste, but even then Empyrean > Relic.


Who really gives a shit anyway if Empyreans are better? Dynamis & Relics were some of the worst game design in XI, and were implemented far too early. It's not like Empyreans are super easy to finish either, but they're still far more accessible (some more than others) than Relics ever were and that's how it should be. I feel like Empyreans are a fair challenge rather than an overpriced cockblock. Relic owners should be happy that SE is at least trying to buff them to keep them on relatively the same level, but it's still for any equipment that came out 7 years ago to still be dominant.