Eorzeapedia wasn’t the only website attending this year’s E3 with an eye on the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV.

Several other media sites were there, and they also got some hands on time with the latest build of the game as well as a chance to sit down with FFXIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka. Now that everyone has posted their information we’ve thrown it all together in an easy to read list. Below we have videos, interview summaries and links to hands on experiences.

If you haven’t already, make sure to also check out our exclusive interview.

Additionally, you can also see all of our E3 2010 posts here.

Source 1, Source 2
Source
Aware of slow battle system before the alpha stage so they were working on the beta system at the same time Jumping is not something they feel is necessary. “Even if you jump around nothing is going to happen” Looking to allow users to have add-ons for the User Interface
Source
After you learn or acquire an ability, you can change weapons (classes) and still have access to them to create a unique character.
Source
Alpha period over within the next week or so Beta to begin in about one month if all goes well Ambient Occlusion (new shading method) will be optional for users as it requires more processor power Beta will have options for players to customize graphic settings PS3 UI customization somewhat limited compared to PC. FFXI-like settings to allow for customization Not looking into voice chat
Source, Translation
Plans to include a macro palette to combine messages with actions weapon and armor degradation will be in the beta Retainer NPCs to bazaar your goods while offline in beta Cross-regional 24 hour servers around the start of beta Currently running 10 alpha servers
Source, Translation
Square Enix is considering a discount for those who wish to play FFXI and FFXIV at the same time
Source
Planning to introduce other uses for Chocobos at a later time A max of 30 abilities can be attached to the action bar Cut Scenes will be “more involved” than in Final Fantasy XI Hands on experience (see link below)
Source (Interview), Hands On
Auto Translate system will be in Final Fantasy XIV Still investigating possibilities of 3D Aiming PC requirements at more powerful machines for long term enjoyment
Source
High end, class specific armor Higher level Linkshell system called a “Company” No real currency for in game currency exchanges
Source
Updates will be released about every 3 months Companies can “level up” Companies will have real-estate to call their own No porting work being done for Xbox 360. They are “still investigating” the possibility of bringing FFXIV to the Xbox 360
Source
Female Highlanders were originally going to be playable Chat filters will be in beta Battle Regiments can affect multiple enemies
Source, Translation
FFXIV will be making the most of PSN functionality including trophies Interested in possible PlayStation Move use for FFXIV, however no current plans
Source
Chating is hard while in combat, macros will be used for communication Beta takes less processing power than the alpha build
Source, Translation
Final Fantasy XIV will support multiple displays on PC PS3 version locked at 720p. PC can run up to 1080p
Interview, Hands On
20% of world in beta (like 5 kilometers) 30 day subscription model, pricing unknown
Source
Hands on experience (see link below)
Hands On
Hands on impressions (see link below)
Hands On
3D impressions (see link below)
Hands On

As always, I have a lot of appreciation for the people at 4Gamer.  Their articles feel more informative and gamer-friendly compared to the magazine powerhouses of Famitsu and Dengeki.  The interaction between their staff and FFXIV producer Hiromichi Tanaka also seems much more relaxed.  What follows is our translation of 4Gamer’s E3 interview.

I highly suggest that you also check out the original article in Japanese on their website to see all of the interesting photos and screenshots.

–Thanks for letting us interview you today.  Is the build we are seeing at E3 the same as the beta build?

Tanaka:  It is pretty close to the beta build.  We haven’t finished all of our final debugging that will take place prior to releasing the beta yet.  There are also some balance issues that need to be worked on.  However, I think it is safe to say that it is a lot different from the alpha.

–How have reactions been from the people that have played the E3 pre-beta build?

Kurosawa:  According to the staff, the reactions have been very positive.

–Can you tell us why you decided to show off this pre-beta build at E3?

Tanaka:  We knew from the beginning that we’d have to get the beta started around this time of year.  Despite that, I have to say that the alpha took up more time than I had expected.  It took awhile to deal with the server load issues.

–There have been a lot of changes made for this build like the graphics, character creation screens, the battle system, etc.  The most striking change is the adjustments made to the battle tempo.  Is this the speed you originally planned on for FFXIV?

Tanaka:  Even before alpha testing started, we already knew we would probably be changing the battle system.  However, we still went ahead with the alpha test, knowing that the system in place was poor, because we wanted to get feedback directly from the players.  A lot of testers wrote in to say that the battle tempo was slow which pretty much confirmed what we already felt.  We started to think about how to improve the battle tempo and that led to getting away from the system we had before where people would store up their power and after some point, release it into their attack.  Now, we have a system where your gauge regenerates over time and your attacks will use up a portion of that bar.

–It’s great that the battle tempo has improved but it seems to me that it is too quick for people to be able to chat during battles.  How do you plan on dealing with that?

Tanaka:  I agree that it is a bit difficult to chat with the battle tempo for the beta.  One thing we plan on adding to the beta that isn’t present in the E3 build is a macro pallet system.  You can use it to link a personalized message for your party with a particular command.  We hope people take advantage of that capability.  We are also looking at including visual cues of some sort that would allow your party members to know what enemy you are attacking.

–What about support for voice chat?

Tanaka:  People playing the PC version can use Skype or other programs like that.  However, the same can’t be said for people on the PS3 version.  It is hard to find a system that would work for people playing on both platforms.  In other words, we can’t support it.  It is also impossible to create a basic auto-translate function, like that in FFXI, for voice chat.

By the way, did you try out the regular version today?  We have a tech demo display as well using 3 monitors and 3D Vision Surround.

–We were on the regular version but we also got to spend a little bit of time checking out the 3D Vision Surround version as well.  The characters seem to naturally pop out of the screen.  You are still deciding whether or not to take advantage of this new technology for FFXIV, correct?

Tanaka:  We decided to try our hand at making the tech demo with the cooperation of Nvidia but we are still debating whether we will use the technology in the actual game.

–The graphics in the E3 build got quite an upgrade as well.  I saw for myself that the new lighting effects aren’t just for the building interiors but also affect things on the field.  Will this new system have an effect on the required specs for the PC build?

Tanaka:  The things that need a lot of processing power, like increasing the depth of field and ambient occlusion, will be optional settings.  Outside of that, it actually takes less processing power than the alpha.

–So if you keep the graphics the same, the beta will require less processing power than the alpha?

Tanaka:  That’s correct.  One of the biggest changes we made was moving from projection shadowing to depth buffer shadowing.  It really makes the shadows pop and actually requires less processing power.

–Will we be able to adjust the graphic quality settings in the beta version?

Tanaka:  Yes.  There will be a configuration menu under the main menu and there will also be a way to customize the settings before you launch the game software.  We’ve also just released the official benchmark program so people should use it to see if their own systems will be able to handle the game.

–It seems like the environment will be really stable and things will run smoothly for PC testers. What can you tell us about testing for the PS3 version?

Tanaka:  The PS3 build is still under development.  Komoto was supposed to come with me to E3, but due to the PS3 version development and last minute work on the beta version, you only get me today from the Japan side.

–Since the hardware for the PS3 is pretty much the same for everyone, I imagine you have a different set of obstacles to overcome when working on options and settings.

Tanaka:  For FFXI, we were able to provide players with a number of options and settings to choose from.  We plan on doing something like that for FFXIV as well.

–When you get right down to it, the background drawing distance and the number of characters you can have on the screen at the same time are going to be less than a high spec PC, right?

Tanaka:  Yeah.  But we are making it so that you really won’t notice a difference when you look at it.  It doesn’t affect game play in any way.

–When do you think the beta test will begin?

Tanaka:  Well, you saw the E3 build for yourself.  System wise it is almost ready to go.  We’ll do a bit of touch up work, fix some bugs, and after that, if it seems like there are no major problems, we’ll release it right away.

–So at the earliest, it could be within a month?

Tanaka:  I think so.  The alpha test will come to an end this week and once I return to Japan, we’ll start working on preparation for the beta test right away.  Once we have a better idea of the timing, we’ll let people know.

–More testers will be added once the beta starts right?

Tanaka:  Yes.  Right now for the alpha we have 10 worlds and the number of testers is in the tens of thousands.  That will go up even more.

–I heard that you received a lot of feedback on the alpha from players outside of Japan.

Kurosawa:  Every so often the feedback is summarized and sent to the development team.  The testers have sent in their opinions on all sorts of things and tell us frankly how they feel.  They are really spirited about their feedback and I mean that in a good way.

Tanaka:  Every week we get a report about the feedback sent in from each region.  The developers can use that to find out what issues are important to the community and what they are talking about the most.  The adjustments we make are affected by that feedback.

–I would imagine that players from outside of Japan are more proactive in giving feedback.

Kurosawa:  It’s true.  They don’t hold back which actually helps us quite a bit.

Tanaka:  I’d say they send in about 10 times the comments that we get from Japanese players.

–What kind of things are you planning on including that will allow players from all regions to build a community together?

Kurosawa:  FFXI also has cross-regional servers so we’ll be building on what we did for that game and keep adding different things to make it possible for players from all regions to enjoy the game.

Tanaka:  I’m not sure about the timing yet but at some point we’ll be adding different community tools.  One of the things we have planned is something we are calling “player sites” that have a bulletin board function.  Every player will be able to create one.

–What about an auto-translate function?

Tanaka:  We plan on including something similar to what is in FFXI.  Back to talking about community tools, we plan on adding something like the linkshells from FFXI as well.  However, there will be a way to create even larger groups by using “Companies”.  We’ll release more details about that system later.

–For the meantime, would it be ok to think of companies in the same way guilds are used in other games?

Tanaka:  Well, yes, they are close to guilds but at the same time, they are also much broader in scope.  For example… oh wait, I can’t tell you yet! (laughs)

–Is it fair to say that development is coming along smoothly?  After all, you still plan on releasing the game this year, beta testing will start in the near future, and even PS3 testing won’t be too far behind that.

Tanaka:  We don’t really know how things will go until after we start beta testing and read the feedback sent in from the testers.  However, the general game play mechanics are pretty well set so we hope people look forward to the game.  We want to put as many things as possible into the beta build.  Once things are more stable, we can transition into the official release.

–We’ve already talked about the battle system, the change in tempo, the lighting, etc as being some of the biggest changes in the beta build.  Is there anything else you’d like players to know about?

Tanaka: Game play has changed quite a bit but basically, it’s the same game.  We have the armoury system, a game that has more action than an auto-battle system would, the guildleve system, etc.  The game has also become a lot more stable and as we add more players, it will become a much more richer experience.

Kurosawa:  The character creation screens have been updated and it will be possible choose from all of the races when creating a character.  I hope people find they can make something they like.

Tanaka:  There are a few options that haven’t been included yet, like the ability to change the color of a Miqo’te’s tail.  However, all of the playable races will be in the beta.  The other small details and options will get added in time for final release.

–Still no male Miqo’te though, huh?

Tanaka:  Not at the moment.  They will probably appear in the game as NPCs.  We actually had plans to include even more clans but as development progressed we had to trim things back.  So what you see now is what we will have for the meantime.

There have been changes made to the physical bonus system as well.  HP and MP will now level up on their own and the elemental bonus will be easier to understand.  There were a lot of players in the alpha that said they didn’t know how they should build up their character’s stats so I think the new system will be easier for them.

–Can we get some parting comments for our readers?

Tanaka:  The beta will be starting soon so please look forward to it!  I’ve got the developers and Komoto hard at work back in Japan.

Kurosawa:  We plan on making a game where people from all over the world can enjoy themselves so I hope you enjoy it as well.

–Thanks for taking time to talk with us today.

Sales have started in Japan for HP’s newest summer line of desktop PCs.  In particular, today started sales for a special version of the HP Pavilion Desktop PC HPE 290jp/CT.  This bad boy is also being touted as a “Final Fantasy XIV Adventure Ready PC” despite the fact that the game isn’t even out yet.  What makes this PC so ready for FFXIV?  Well, the first 1000 of these special units sold through Japan’s HP Directplus program will also come with passes to the FFXIV beta test.  No word on if a similar promotion will be made available in the future in North America or Europe.

Original article in Japanese with more information about the computer’s specs can be found at 4Gamer.net.

Alpha testing continues for Final Fantasy XIV at the rate of one to three testing windows per region per week.  This week, we have 4Gamer’s take on how the alpha is progressing.

The report starts with a general warning to visitors of the site.  Things in the alpha build have vastly improved from how they started.  People had trouble just being able to log into the servers.  Even if they got in, some had troubles doing anything due to lag.  Then recently, video of in-game play was uploaded to the Internet by players breaking their NDAs.  The reporter says that people need to keep in mind that FFXIV is just at the alpha stage and still not the quality we should expect from the final product.

The bulk of the report is about the Guildleve system.  First, a review of what the Guildleve system is all about.  4Gamer summarizes it as a user friendly growth system.  To begin a Guildleve, first, players must obtain something that looks similar to a tarot card.  Then, they head out to an Aetheryte crystal to begin the quest related to that card.  There is a wide range of Guildleves for players to choose from.  Some are designed for people that wish to spend their time soloing.  Some are designed for parties of different sizes.  This system allows people to complete quests with a relatively light amount of preparation and time.

Area Map

It is safe to say that the Guildleve system is the main system for game play in FFXIV.  As proof, the 4Gamer reporter looks to what SE is doing with the alpha testing.  First, they worked on the login problems and server stability.  As soon as those issues were overcome, next up on their list was to start collecting feedback from the players as they completed Guildleves and began to test the system.

After a quick review, the reporter goes on to talk about his impression of the system after trying out a Guildleve himself.  Guildleves are divided into two categories.  Regional leves generally require a player to fight something or collect something.  Local leves generally require a player to create something.  The reporter settled on a Regional leve that starts from Camp Bearded Rock.  In fact, all of the starter Regional leves for Limsa Lominsa start at that Aetheryte crystal.  It is the closest camp to the city and only takes about 3 minutes for players to run there from the city’s gates.

Choose Your Adventure?

Alpha testers are only allowed to play in the areas around Limsa Lominsa, so if you are looking to try out the Guildleve system, head to the Adventurers’ Guild located in “The Drowning Wench“.  (The name of this fine establishment is different depending on the version of the game you are playing.  Japanese players, like the reporter, know the place as “The Drowning Dolphin”.)  The NPC in the Adventurers’ Guild will offer you a choice from 3 Guildleves that are suitable for your level.  You can hold up to 8 cards at one time.

After obtaining your card, it’s time to visit the Aetheryte.  From there, you can activate the quest or do a number of other things.  Players can touch the crystal to restore their HP and MP.  It is also possible to teleport to and from the crystals.  Seeing how important the Aetheryte will become to players, the reporter believes it will become the place for players to gather the members needed for their quests as well as a busy market area for players who wish to peddle their wares.

Once you’ve started your quest, your progress will be shown in a separate window along with the amount of time you have remaining.  Most quests have a 30 minute time limit.  People familiar with other MMORPGs should have no trouble figuring out what to do after reading the quest information.  However, should you need it, an arrow will appear on your mini map to guide you.

4Gamer Reporter vs Plague Rats

Worried that there won’t be enough monsters to complete your quest if everyone is doing the same thing?  Fear not!  The reporter says only you and your party members can see the monsters you need to defeat so no need to worry about other people coming in and stealing your prey.  Once you complete the requirements for your quest, a warp point will appear to take you back to the Aetheryte crystal.

While the overall system may not seem terribly special, it will seem fresh to veterans of FFXI and be an easy system for people new to online gaming to get into.  It’s the “service” built into the system (arrows on the map, free warp back, etc) that make it so appealing.  The reporter also makes comparisons to the “Fields of Valor” system in Final Fantasy XI.  People curious about that system can learn more about it by visiting our sister site, FFXIclopedia.

The 4Gamer reporter only tried a basic Guildleve for his report but he goes on to describe other possibilities born from the system.  For example, while a single player is only allowed to carry 8 cards at one time, it is possible for people in a party to mix-and-match their cards to create a new type of quest.  You can also set the difficulty level for the quest on a 5 point scale.

Test Your Strength on a 5 Point Scale

With such a high level of customization available, it’s easy to see how this is the main contents of a game that the FFXIV teams says will be friendly to the casual player but challenging enough for MMO veterans.

More pictures from the alpha build and the original Japanese text that served as the basis for this report can be found on 4Gamer’s website.

For the Lalafell lovers out there, 4Gamer has posted a host of new images for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Over the past few days Famitsu and 4Gamer released new looks at the alpha build – and since both are still there, we’ll take a look at what they discussed.  Together the articles looked at the user interface, menu items, emotes,  trading and the leveling system.  Since they overlap in a of areas we’ll look at them together.  So let’s dive right in…

User Interface

What is described is the absolute freedom that you have in configuring your user interface.  If something is in your way, or not where you want it, just grab and slide it around.  This allows for complete customization for each player, or for each battle for that matter.

Compare the location of the UI elements

Main Menu

The main menu has a number of options.  They are pretty self-explanatory – so we’ll just take a quick look interspersed with images.

• Status & Gear: This is where you can check on your status (physical, weapon and elemental stats) and change equipment.  The twelve  equipment slots are: Primary/Secondary Arm, Large/Small Pouch, Head, Body, Hands, Waist, Legs, Feet, Undershirt/Undergarment.

• Actions: This area allows you to place the class abilities into your action bar.  According to Famitsu, the status (i.e. growth) is split into two parts – “rank” and “physical level.”  Rank is associated with the weapon used – so as you gain more experience with a particular weapon, your “rank” with that weapon class increases.  As that rank increases, you will learn additional abilities.  Notably, once learned, these abilities remain with the character.  In other words, skills learned while a Pugilist, may be used while you are a Conjurer.  There will be certain restrictions on this, however, and not all abilities will be usable by any class, and there are penalties (strength of the effect and/or time limits) when using an “out-of-class” ability.  This leads to a very customizable character development.

• Attribute Points: This is the second “leveling” aspect.  Physical level is not tied to your rank – so that level increases independently and remains static irrespective of your class.  As you gain experience, you are awarded points which you can allocate to various stats (HP, MP, TP, Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Agility, Intelligence, Mind, Charisma, Luck, Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Water).  So again we see, from the beginning, that customization is king in FFXIV.

• Item List: Where you view your items.  The section is organized into three sections:  items, crystals and key items.

• Journal: Where you track your Guildleves and  other quests or missions.

• Map: Shows the ares map (also identifies camps and Aetheryte locations).

• Teleport: Teleports you and your party to a previously-visited Aetheryte.

• Return: Return you (only) to your most recently-visited Aetheryte.

• Logout: Logs you out of FFXIV.

Emotes

Currently, there are 43 emotes that can activated via a menu on the UI, or via typed commands.  Some examples are: angry, applaud, beckon, blush, bored, bow, bye, cheer, clap, comfort, complain, console, cry, dance, deny, frustrated, joke, kneel, laugh, nod, panic, point, poke, praise, salute, shrug, shy, smile, stretch, sulk, surprised, think, upset, wave, wonder.

Trading and Bazaar

The system here is a lot like FFXI for those familiar with that system.  Trading involves opening up a window with another player and trading items or gil, with confirmations to ensure that the trade is as expected.  A bazaar allows a player to place things up for sale via their character, and another player can browse the wares and purchase.  Currently there is a 5% tax for these sales (paid by the seller).

———————————–

So there we have it.  A boatload more information to digest, discuss, or ignore since it is all from an alpha build – take your pick.  There were some additional images from 4Gamer – so we’ll include those here as well.

The day of the FFXIV Beta Test Site opening is upon us.  Many people are anxiously awaiting a chance to play the alpha build and test out game play.  What better time than today for Square Enix to give us more detailed information about some of the classes people will be playing around with!  Both Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation have big spreads on FFXIV this week.  Jumping the gun though was Famitsu posting the information on their website just after Japanese midnight last night.  People on the forums and in our IRC chat room were excitedly trying to decipher the text while I…. I went to sleep.  But I’m awake now and as we don’t have an official NA update yet, it’s time to dig into the article!  Keep in mind that all of this is translated from the Japanese and does not contain official English terms for certain abilities and so forth.  Also, the class descriptions are mostly ones we’ve seen before so I’ll leave those out for now.   This article will cover the abilities, weapon skills, and comments from the developers on the fighting classes plus a little information about a couple other classes as well.  Detailed weapon information can will come later if we don’t need an official update soon.

On to the info!

Gladiator

Gladiator Abilities:
Roaring Sword- Waving the tip of your blade to get the enemy’s attention
Cover – Protect the party members behind you by taking damage instead of them
Rampart – Using your sword to increase your defense (raises physical and magical defenses)
Precision – Lowers evasion and increases accuracy
Aegis Boon – When guarding with your shield, any damage taken heals your HP instead

Weapon Skills:
Phalanx – Anger the enemy by attacking after guarding with a shield
Red Lotus – A swinging fire elemental attack on the enemy
Shield Bash – Hit the enemy with a shield and prevent them from casting a spell
Spinning Stroke – Attack the enemy.  Damage increases if the enemy is not attacking you.
Circle Slash – AoE weapon skill

Comments from the Developers:

Planner Iwao – They can wear many different kinds of armor, use large shields, and are blessed defensively.  I think lots of people will use them to draw the enemies attention and serve to protect the other members of their party.

Battle Director Okuda – As this class is very good at using shields, people might think of them as a defender but they can do a lot of damage as well.

Planner Sato – Both an attacker and a defender, they can do just about anything perfectly so I think this will become a very popular class.

Okuda – When it comes to attacking, you can choose between two styles:  swinging attacks and thrusting attacks.  Each has their advantages and disadvantages so you will have to take that into consideration when fighting.

Iwao- I think it’s safe to say that this class is a very versatile fighter.

Lancer

Lancer Abilities:
Inspire: Party members receive TP for attacking their target
Ferocity: You lose HP but your next attack will give greater damage
Fighting Spirit: You lose HP but you gain TP
Collusion: Attack the enemy from behind another party member while the enemy is focused on that party member
Spirit Surge: Decrease enemy evasion while sucking away their HP

Weapon Skills:
Overrun: If you attack while the enemy isn’t aware of you, you can land a series of high speed successive attacks and increase your TP.
Feint: If you use right after an enemy has evaded your attack, your next attack will surely hit.
Leg Sweeper: AoE attack where you target the legs of your enemies and prevent them from moving.  Cannot be used on aerial targets.
Moonrise: Attack the enemy and suppress their ability to gain TP
Skewer: Attack all enemies between you and your target.  Movement for land-based enemies will become slower.

Developer Comments:

Iwao – This class uses the long range of their polearms to attack from a relatively safe distance.  They also have a number of special attacks that can confuse an enemy or bind them.

Sato – Since they are back farther than other front line party members, they have a wider view of what’s going on around them.  If the back line is in a jam, they are probably the class that is best able to quickly get over to help them.

Iwao – Lancers are really affected by the distance between them and their target.  They will have to make adjustments to where they stand and constantly think about the location of their target, their party members, and themselves.  This class requires somebody who moves tactically.

Sato – This person has to think about many things, not just about what they know about the enemy.

Pugilist

Pugilist Abilities:
Whistle: Gain the attention of the enemy
Blind Side: Increased damage when you attack from behind the enemy
Chakra: Use TP to regain HP
Steal: Steal things from the enemy
Feather Step: Increase evasion by a large amount for one shot

Weapon Skills:
Jarring Strike: If used after a missed enemy attack, your next attack will hit and bind the enemy but also anger them
Piercing Fists: Piercing attack.  If done in succession, the chances of a critical hit increases.
Haymaker: If used after a missed enemy attack, you can do heavy damage to the enemy
Tackle: A rapid succession of attacks
Earth Render: An earth elemental based distance attack.  Doesn’t work on enemies in the air.

Developer Comments:

Iwao – They have a very short attack range and their defense isn’t very high.  However, they are tricky fighters who can tease the enemy with their wide range of abilities.  They also can change between different stances which means they can change their fighting style in accordance to the enemy or party makeup.

Sato – Stance will make a huge difference.  Players will have to think on their feet, taking the flow of the battle into account when choosing whether to go offensive or defensive.

Iwao – If you continue to use the same stance, the number of things you can do while in that stance will increase.  While you can change your stance at any time, changing the stance means you go back to a previous level of ability.  Your split time decisions on whether it is best to make adjustments or stick with the same stance to get the extra benefits could decide whether you are the victor or the vanquished.

Marauder

Marauder Abilities:
Blood Bath: The damage you give the enemy turns into HP for you
Power Attack: Increases the chance of critical hits
Defender: Use your Axe to increase your physical defense in exchange for not being able to attack
Disorient: Lower the enemy’s evasion
Unyielding March: Can move,  albeit slowly, even when hit with binding magic

Weapon Skills:
Skull Thunder: Lasting damage on the enemy or gather your power to create a wider AoE attack.
Log Splitter: Very affective attack against plant-type enemies.
Fracture: If used after parrying an enemy attack, you can seal the enemy’s ability to use weapon skills while damaging them.
Brandish: AoE attack
Iron Tempest: A donut-shaped AoE wind elemental attack

Developer Comments:
Iwao – This class can do a lot of damage with their axe, enough to change the outcome of a battle with one swing.  However, depending on the number of enemies and how they are scattered about, they might not be able to gather all of their strength and have trouble during battle.

Sato – They have more attack power than other classes but their accuracy is a bit lower.

Okuda – In order to use some of the Marauder’s special abilities, you’ll have to be standing still.  So it takes foresight to play this class effectively.

Archer

Archer Abilities
Replenish: Fire off multiple arrows at one time (the description says all of your arrows)
Chameleon: Erase your presence to avoid detection
Stride: Be able to move quickly for a short period of time
Retrieval: Gather up arrows in exchange for some HP
Hawkeye: Increase the accuracy of your next attack

Weapon Skills
Shadow Stitch: Bind the enemy
Wide Volley: Attack your target and other enemies around it
Quick Knock: Use multiple arrows in rapid succession to attack enemies in a fan like AoE attack
Snakebite Arrow: Attack and remove enhancing magic from the enemy
Shrieker: Attack the enemy and cause it to retreat

Developer Comments

Iwao – More than anything, their role is to attack enemies from a distance.  After that, it all depends on the technical abilities of the archer.  If they attract too much attention from the enemy, they could get in trouble as they don’t have a high defense.  So you have to think about where you are going to stand and the best way to attack the enemy without capturing their interest.  This class has to look at the big picture.

Sato – Archers also have a lot of abilities they can use to put some distance between them and their enemies.  I hope people use those in their battle strategies.

Iwao – The type of arrow you pick is also important.  There are arrows for doing direct damage but you can also use arrows to affect the status of your enemy and thereby help out your party members.

Conjurer

Conjurer Abilities
Profound: Casting time increases but so does the spell power
Trance Chant: No matter what, your spell casting will not be interrupted
Spirit Bind: You bind yourself in exchange for decreasing MP costs per spell
Roaming Soul: You can cast while walking
Purge: You can balance off the elemental status of you and the enemy (translation note: I really don’t know what they mean by that)

Weapon Skills
Fire: an AoE fire attack
Cure: an AoE cure spell
Protect: an AoE spell that increases the physical defense of your party members
Shock Spikes: A thunder elemental spell that surrounds you and will attack and paralyze the enemy if you are attacked
Frost: a DoT AoE ice spell

Developer Comments

Iwao – This is a sorcerer with elemental magic.

Okuda – This class has to look at the situation a party is in and adapt to a changing environment.  They also have to have a good understanding of the elements in play.

Iwao – They have attack magic, defensive magic, recovery magic, etc.  They can cast a wide range of spells so they can be an attacker for a party or in a support role.  I think we can call them an active almighty class you can look forward to.  I think one special feature of this class is the AoE magic they can cast.  The area is a circle of effect drawn around the player.

Okuda – By the way, all of the actions you do in battle go towards building your TP. That includes spell casting.

Sato – That means we have power TP moves for Conjurers as well.

Thaumaturge

Thaumaturge Abilities
Blood Pact: You lose HP but your spells become more powerful
Thorn: Damages the enemy that gave you damage
Dark Seal: Increase magical accuracy
Initiation: Spread a magical status you have to your party members
Paradigm Shift: Decreased attacking distance in exchange for a wider area of effect

Weapon Skills
Drain: AoE HP sucking attack
Gravity: AoE attack that slows the movement speed of enemies
Sacrifice: Give up your HP in exchange for the HP recovery of one of your party members
Siphon: Suck MP from enemies you have defeated
Absorb-Acc: Suck an enemy’s accuracy and increase your own

Developer Comments

Iwao- The Thaumaturge has a lot of status changing spells at their disposal.  Their AoE is also fan shaped and they have many strong attacks.  Compared to the Conjurer, they are more effective when they get closer to the enemy.

Sato – Basically, the Thaumaturge has been given strong damaging attack spells.  However, there is also a risk to using them so you have to look for the right balance.  We’ll listen to players’ feedback about this class and make adjustments in the future.

Iwao- The Thaumaturge can take and absorb different things from the enemy.  They can also stack many spells.  They will have to read the flow of battle and decide when is the best time to cast things.

For the Blacksmith and Miner, we don’t have abilities or weapon skills but you can get an idea of what they do.

Blacksmith

Blacksmith Handiworks
Iron Ingot (made from Iron Ore)
Sword Guard (made from Iron Ingot)
Spatha (made from Spatha blade, sword grip, sword guard, and a Pommel)
Pick (made from Pick head, Pick ball, and a grip strap)
Spiked Labrys (made from a Labrys and Bronze Ingot)

Miner

Things Miners Collect
Bronze ore
Gold ore
Saltpeter
Silica Sand
Little Worms

Developer Comments

Iwao – The Blacksmith is a crafting class that makes weapons, tools, or metal products.  It can also repair these things.  The Miner is a gathering class that mines up minerals.  You can’t expect much fighting power out of either of these classes.  However, we plan on adding abilities to make them useful in battle.  For example, we are thinking of giving the Blacksmith an ability to discover the weaknesses of metalic enemies as well as find battle spoils afterwards.  Depending on how you customize your abilities,  a fighting Blacksmith might not just be dream.

There will be more information to come over the next few days!  Keep checking back so you don’t miss a thing.

A couple weeks ago at VanaFest, attendees were lucky enough to get a showing of the latest CG video that was teased in screen shots with the last Final Fantasy XIV site update. 4Gamer has posted several images from the trailer on their website.

We also have our first look at what appears to be the latest build for Final Fantasy XIV complete with a newly modified UI.

• In the image we can see that the player is using a surname “Destiny Katayama”.
• In the top right corner we can see her position on the map as well as the location of nearby targets.
• We can also see that another Final Fantasy XI monster, the Peiste will be making an appearance in Eorzea.

We’re sure to see an update to the official FFXIV site in the next day or so with the new information coming out of magazines such as Famitsu and Dengeki. We’ll have more information about the findings from those sources soon so keep an eye out for them!

Going between two languages, it is easy for things to get lost in translation.  Not only that, but for Final Fantasy XIV, the sites for each region are also presented in entirely different ways.  That means sometimes there can be pictures or text in one that doesn’t show up in the either.

At the moment, we have extensive text on the NA site about some of the monster families like Aldgoats and Antelopes.  However, the Japanese site does not contain any additional text, just the pictures that were released to the Japanese media.  For those in Japan, they have to get their information from the magazines released this weekend or one of the several gaming news websites like GAME Watch or 4Gamer.

Let’s check out what was in the magazines that isn’t on the NA site as well as what things may have been lost along the way.

WEEKLY FAMITSU
FFXIV is down in the Weekly Famitsu ratings, from 12 to 21.  It seems to follow a pattern though.  The week or two after new info it rises, but after a lull it falls back down.  That’s to be expected at this stage in the game.

In this issue, there are seven pages dedicated to the new information released by SE as well as some short Q&As as well.  Let’s start with the Q&As first.  For the most part, I will only cover things that haven’t already been discussed in other articles.

World Overview
There will be a tavern-like places in the game similar to what we saw in the Tokyo Game Show trailer.  These places will be an important part of the game.  Also in previous trailers as well as the TGS trailer, there have been scenes of a group of adventurers taking on a large number of enemies.  SE says that this kind of giant battle will not be the norm but this will happen on occasion and is one of the new game play features for FFXIV.  The GAME Watch interview also confirmed this but the music in the second half of the trailer is one of the many battle themes as well.

Weapons and Tools
Each weapon will vary in what the best attacking range for it will be.  Some may be closer than others, or farther than others.  One example is the polearm mentioned in the official text for Lancer.  Confirmed in the Q&A as well, polearms allow you to attack outside of the melee attacking range of your opponent.  They also confirm that Lancers will be able to use both the two-handed polearms and the throwing javelins.  The javelins will be treated as throwing weapons rather than as the main weapon you walk around with.  This was how throwing weapons worked in FFXI as well.  They would like to add other throwing weapons to other classes as well.

The Q&A talks about the weapon degradation as well.  As your weapon wears down, its functional ability will decrease, requiring you to get it repaired.  Tools will also need to be repaired from time to time too.

There are some interesting responses to the Q&A about crafting.  The interviewer asks if the ability to use a particular tool or use particular materials could be limited to a set race.  The nameless respondent from SE replies this could happen.  However, they will strive for balance so that no race is dominant over the others.  They also ask what will be needed to craft things.  You will need the proper tool or tools.  Preparing good tools and proper armor will be key.  You will also need the proper materials and a crystal.  Many times you will need to choose the right equipment as well.  We can see one example of that in the Lifestyle report on the Culinarian talking about how she could use the equipment at the Culinarian’s Guild.  To craft some things, you might also need to meet certain additional requirements as well.  They mention the possibility of needing assistance or having to wait for a particular type of weather or other natural phenomena.

Finally, eating food will have an effect on player’s stats.  They don’t want your party to be affected too much by what you eat.  Instead, they want to make it so that people are free to eat what they want and have the ability to eat lots of different things.  It sounds like they are still in the planning stages for how food will work in game.

After you have crafted a lot of things, it’s only natural to sell them.  In previous interviews, they said they were working on a new system different from the Auction House used in FFXI.  SE has now given us a name for this new system, the Market.  However, I’ll talk more about what we know about the Market later.

Famitsu Ideas
As part of the Japanese media kit, sites were given a story to go with the pictures that describe the crafting process from the point of view of a Culinarian.  You can see examples on GAME Watch or Gpara.  Weekly Famitsu decided to write their own speculation based on the story instead of running the original text.  Here’s what they came away with:

• The tool you use will have a large effect on your results.  For example, the same ingredients prepared with the skillet or with the kitchen knife could result in different dishes.  The amount could change as well.
• Guilds will have equipment available to assist your crafting efforts.  Sometimes it will be necessary to use them.
• You need a crystal to craft.
• After making a recipe once, it will appear in a personal recipe book.
• There is a chance that the amount will increase.  (This is similar to HQ’ing in FFXI for some recipes.)
• There will be a way for crafters to set prices for something they want to sell.

DENGEKI PLAYSTATION
This week FFXIV comes in at 5th in Dengeki PlayStation’s Anticipated Titles poll.  Last issue it made it all the way up to 3rd.

Dengeki PlayStation also ran the newly released information and pictures, however, they kept it to a short 4 pages.  1/3 of one of those pages was dedicated to their own speculations:

• There will be multiple markets.  Each market will have a different name.
• They feel the stands will be player-run as well as named by players.
• Food will spoil over time.  Because of this, you will be able to check on the status of an item when you look at it.  Another option would be to have a skill or ability that lets you check the status of items/armor/food/etc.
• It will be fairly costly to use equipment at the various guilds.
• The various aetheryte points will be named Camp ________.  This is actually the second time we’ve seen “Camp _______” used at the aetheryte points.
• The Miqo’te Kabobs will increase attack power.
• Gil is the currency of Eorzea.

DIFFERENCES
The speculations we make are completely based on what we can read.  In general, the Japanese versions are very straight-forward.  The English versions are much more colorful.  It makes for great reading in English but harder to tell what is important.

For starters, the picture of the kabobs.  In the English version of the site, they are only referred to as “crispy kabobs”.  However, they have an actual name in the Japanese version.  ミコッテ風山の幸串焼　Literally translates as “Miqo’te style Mountain Foods Grilled on Sticks”.  This is nearly identical to what is used in FFXI for Meat Mithkabobs, swapping Mithra for Miqo’te.

How about the names of places?  In the English version, the market is named Glutton’s Alley and the stand is called The Scratching Post.  In Japanese, they have がつがつ横丁 which can easily turn into Glutton’s Alley.  However, the name of the stand is completely different.  The Japanese “Totoya” doesn’t turn into anything specifically outside of “Fish Store”.  In fact, there are some seafood restaurants named Totoya.  However, the people at Dengeki PlayStation took it to mean that maybe the stand was run by a person named Toto (with the ya part meaning store).  Thus, from their point of view, the stands could be named after the player or perhaps even freely named.  In the English version, with “The Scratching Post”, it is clearly not a player’s name.  However, it fits the player, a Miqo’te, that was selling their goods.  The speculations we can make are very dependent on the version we are reading.  The words “Market” and “Stand” are also highlighted in the Japanese version to make it clear these are important keywords to be remembered.  The English version is much more casual about how they are used and requires people to read into things a bit more.

Finally, there are a few pictures not used on the NA site.  These food items don’t have names yet but their shapes are very familiar to foods used in FFXI.  Perhaps we will be seeing a lot of old favorites?  Only time will tell.

That’s it for this week.  See ya later!

Let's Play!

This is Part 2 of our coverage of 4Gamer’s interview with Hiromichi Tanaka and Sage Sundi. In it, we learn about the battle system in FFXIV and get some more hints relating to character creation. (You can find part 1 here.)

How to play FFXIV
People attending gamescom had the chance to try out a playable alpha build and test the guildleve system. Sundi would like people to understand that this was just to show off the system and it doesn’t encompass the whole of what FFXIV will be like. Prior interviews also hinted that various game elements were left out of the build because the focus was on the guildleve system.

However, they do give us some hints as to how things will work in FFXIV. Once you have a target, you can use commands from your Action Menu. What commands you have available to you depends on the abilities you have. You gain abilities by gaining skill in the weapon you choose to play with. Before you battle, you have to set the abilities you want to be able to use.  These appear in the Action Menu. It will also be possible to create macros that allow you to use different abilities in order. For example, after I do attack1, it then uses attack2, just by using a macro.

Because the commands in the Action Menu are dependent on the weapon you are using, changing your weapon changes your Action Menu. Tanaka mentions again that if you were to switch to using a wand, magic would appear in your Action Menu. Commands do not go off as soon as you select them. Instead, it will go off as soon as the Action Gauge for that command is full. Players should also keep in mind that there is a Power Gauge which affects power and accuracy as well.

game play example from gamescom

The interviewer points out that people are likely to use the same commands that either work well or give them an advantage. He wonders if there will be anything to prevent players from using the same move multiple times in a row. Tanaka responds with a very interesting answer. He says if you only keep using the same attack, the enemy can see right through you and you won’t be able to hit them anymore. They’ve made it so you will have to combine different commands to be effective. People who have been watching videos of game play from gamescom have probably noticed other things related to monster AI as well. There was an example of when a nearby monster ran after somebody targeted another one. It sounds like the AI for our enemies will be much higher than in FFXI.

Being able to change your abilities just by changing your weapon is a big departure from FFXI. You cannot change your weapon during battle in XIV, but they point out that being able to change it afterward is still a big difference from FFXI where you’d have to go back to your Mog House (or talk to a Nomad Moogle) to change your job.

Party mechanics are also different from FFXI. In FFXI, you generally needed a full party of 6 people to work together to earn decent EXP. This has changed greatly in recent years though with smaller parties becoming more frequent. The developers have often talked about people playing in small parties or solo often in FFXIV. The number of people you can have in one party has not been decided yet for the new game. However, they know from listening to the player base that people want to be able to play more freely, so the limit will probably be on the high side. They want people to be able to play solo or in large groups.

When asked what kind of play style Tanaka would have for FFXIV, he says that he’d probably use a lot of different weapons. When you play solo, you will want a lot of different skills, so you will have to use a lot of weapons to gain those skills. Then again, if you always play with the same people, you might just continue using the same weapon and divide up roles in the party clearly. Working with other people will inevitably lead to faster growth because the number of skills you might need is less than somebody who solos. However, both styles of play will be possible.

The Guildleve System

handy warp after clearing a leve

The development team is hard at work creating a lot of different types of leves considering that the guildleve system is the foundation for play in FFXIV. They will also add new ones with version updates. The leves you can take on will be different from person to person. There will also be a limit to the number of leves you can have at one time so if you want to play a lot, you’ll need to help people out with their leves too. Some might take 30 minutes to complete while others might have to be completed over several days. So it’s not that FFXIV is a completely casual game compared to FFXI, just that FFXIV has more casual components. There will be things to satisfy core gamers as well. A lot of details about combining leves and other particulars are still being kept a secret at this time.

Your Character
When asked if we will see more than the five playable races already announced, Tanaka laughs and says “hmmm, what should we do?” avoiding answering directly. Instead, he focuses on the amount of customization you’ll be able to make on the ones that have been announced, saying that even within the same race there are different clans. It sounds like each race will have different clans (for example the Highlanders and Midlanders for Hyurs) which is something people have speculated but hasn’t been 100% confirmed yet. Skin, eyes, hair style, and face are once again mentioned as some of the things you’ll be able to customize with great detail.

The interviewer asks if being a member of a different clan affects the story in some way. He says right now it’s just part of the setting but perhaps there will be something relating to being one or the other in the future.

You will be able to freely choose your starting point. It is not dependent on race. In FFXI, there was a slight bonus if you matched up your starting point with the race of your character. For example, you’d receive a ring if you were a Hume starting in Bastok. However, for FFXIV, he doesn’t think there will be anything like that. Everyone will start off equal so people can freely choose the character they want and where to start. The interviewer brings up having differences between the races and Tanaka tries to say this will not have a large effect on the skills or classes available to you. The difference will be there just to add a little color to each race.

Having equal races makes something like PvP easier too which is the next question the interviewer had. The base of FFXIV will be PvE. If they add PvP, it will probably be the sports competition-like style we see in FFXI. However, they are busy working on other things, so PvP will probably not be in the game at the start.

In this interview, Tanaka mentions 3 possible camera angles. 3rd person, 1st person, and one camera angle coming from behind your shoulder much like a shooter game. However, everything is still being worked on so if the shoulder view has bad reviews, they might scrap it. The idea for the shoulder view came from people who said that when you are running, it’s hard to see what direction you are going. He emphasizes that they are still in the alpha stage and that a lot of things might change. They want to involve other people, like us players, as soon as possible to get feedback. The development team is working hard to create that opportunity for us.

Overall, this was a really fascinating interview and has a lot of answers for things people have been asking about! Good job 4Gamer! You can read the original interview in Japanese on their site.