Square Enix posted a new video on the Final Fantasy XIV Youtube channel this morning. It’s available in Japanese, English (below), French, and German. Make sure to check it out!

Better late than never I suppose, here is the character creation video we shot during our time at E3 this year.

E3 is now behind us.  FFXIV Producer Tanaka Hiromichi is back in Japan, working on the latest version update for FFXI and the FFXIV beta.  However, that doesn’t mean we are through looking at all the exciting information to come out of the event!

Expect a number of articles to pop up on Eorzeapedia this week and next as we go through the Japanese media interviews and some of the interesting reporting they’ve been doing after the event.

For starters, we have a very lengthy interview from Dengeki.  I have to wonder how many times Tanaka answered variants of the “where are the male Miqo’tes?” question.  Who knows.  Maybe it’s not too late for them to go back and add them for us?  We can hope right?  Most of the interview covers things we’ve already seen in other interviews so it makes a nice review for people who haven’t been following every little piece of news to hit the site.  However, there are a couple things that might be interesting for even the most up-to-date fans out there.

As always, you can read our translated version below or check out the original interview with pictures on Dengeki’s website.

At E3 2010, Square Enix showed the world for the first time a new build of their highly anticipated MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.  The build is almost identical to the beta build that will be released later to testers.  We were able to play the game for ourselves and follow it up with an interview with FFXIV Producer Hiromichi Tanaka.  We asked for more details regarding the beta and also future development.

–First, would it be alright to consider the demonstration build at this year’s E3 as the beta version?

Tanaka: I think it would be more accurate to call it a build that is very close to the beta.

–Please tell us what the biggest changes are between the alpha and beta builds.

Tanaka: The biggest changes are in the way graphics are displayed and the battle system, which was completely changed.  For the graphics, the biggest difference is in the shadows.  We’ve also changed the character creation system to something that is very close to how it will be in the final release.

–Do you plan on having the available races and clans nearly identical to what we are seeing now?

Tanaka: What will be in the beta is what we expect to include for the starting races when the game is released.

–Is there a particular reason for having only male Highlanders within the game setting?

Tanaka: In the beginning planning stages, female Highlanders were also on the table to be included but for a number of various reasons, we ended up not including them as a possible choice for character creation.  Male Miqo’tes will probably make an appearance as NPCs but sadly, they have also been excluded from the choices people will have at character creation.

–Is there any chance of additional races being added to the game in the future?

Tanaka: I can’t make any promises but it’d be nice if we could.

–Let’s talk about the new trailer.  There are a lot of NPCs that appear in the trailer.  What kind of creature is the white avatar-esque being?

Tanaka: That’s not an avatar.  It’s an elemental.  This time elements are a factor in a lot of things and are very important to the game.  Those elements are related to the elementals.  Unlike FFXI, the cycles of the moon and weather won’t have an effect on things.  Instead, the 6 elements will affect a number of things.

–Next, can you tell us more about the brand new battle system?

Tanaka: The tempo has changed the most.  With the prior system, your action gauge would fill up, and then after that, you would wait for your effect gauge to fill up in order to increase the strength or accuracy of your attack.  However, that time spent filling up would translate into just empty waiting time for the players.  So the first thing we decided to do was get rid of the effect gauge.  Then we made the action gauge longer and made it fill naturally over time.  Players could carry out any of the various actions available to them by using up a portion of that gauge.  If you fill the gauge completely before attacking, you can pull off around 3 or 4 actions in a row.  Even as you carry out those actions, your gauge will start filling again.  In the end, we have a battle system that makes for a much quicker battle tempo.

–So the 2 gauges that accumulate are the TP bar and the new action gauge?

Tanaka: In total you have 3 things that you use to carry out commands: the action gauge, the TP bar, and for some moves, MP.

–So we can expect that the reuse/recast time for a command will be different depending on the action you used?

Tanaka: Yes.  That is particularly true of moves that use up TP.  The recast timer on them is long enough that even if your bar has completely filled again, you still might not be able to use it.

–I imagine you had a lot of requests made regarding the user interface.  Have there been any major changes there?

Tanaka: The main menu has changed quite a bit.  We’ve also added in chat filters and made changes to the log.  We are also looking into making it possible for players to create multiple windows.  (Translation note: This is probably referring to multiple log windows so that you could separate your battle log and your general chat logs.)

–Will there be other communication systems put in place besides just chat?

Tanaka: We are planning on including a macro pallet system.  It could be used to trigger a command and a message at the same time to make it easier to communicate what you are doing to your party members.  Also, we are working on a system where when you are in a party, it is easy to tell which enemy your party leader is attacking.

–Will that be a visual cue?  For example, maybe the monster’s name would blink or there would be a number above the head of the monster.

Tanaka: You’ll have to look forward to how it works. (smiles)  Right now we are trying a number of different things.  The goal is for players to have some kind of communication tool so people don’t go off attacking different enemies.

–Let’s get back to the battle system.  Is there anything you plan on adding to it even after the beta version is released?

Tanaka: A basic version of it is included in the alpha version already but there is a system we are working on called “Battle Regiments”.  We are planning on making various situations in the game where you’ll have to use battle regiments when in a party along with the communication tools we already talked about.

–Will there often be “many versus many” battles in FFXIV?

Tanaka: Right now most of the monsters that are roaming around are just solo mobs.  However, we also plan on including monster groups, like maybe where there is one male and his harem of females.  In particular, the majority of the monsters you’ll fight while doing a guildleve will be in parties.

–Are there any systems that will be new to the beta version?

Tanaka: We’ve said before that items, weapons, etc, would degenerate.  That system will go live in the beta.  It doesn’t mean that your weapons will disappear.   However, they will get worn down to the point of being useless and require repair.  That should lead to an increase in the number of people who choose a class from Disciples of the Land or Disciples of the Hand.

We also plan on adding “Retainers” which are NPCs for hire.  In FFXI, you couldn’t run a bazaar if you were logged out.  However, for FFXIV, it will be possible to leave your items with a retainer and have them stay in the marketplace and sell your stuff for you.

I’m not sure what the timing will be but at some point linkshells will also be introduced to the game.  I think it will have a big effect on the community.

–Are the linkshells going to work the same as FFXI’s linkshells?

Tanaka: Yes.  However, there is going to be a broader level of community building as well and a lot of different things will be built into that system.

–Do you mean something like a power struggle between city-states? (Translation note: He is getting at the Conquest system in FFXI.)

Tanaka: Rather than having to do with the city-states, it’s like a company and the linkshells would fit in below it.

–So it’s more of a group that the players put together themselves versus something set  system-side.

Tanaka: Yes.  It is going to be reminiscent of guilds or clans.

–Will more areas be added to the game when the beta test starts?

Tanaka: We don’t know exactly how big the download will be for the beta version yet.  When you think about adding new areas… well, we’ll be looking into it but it might not be possible.

–So players can expect to be in the same areas around Limsa Lominsa that the alpha testers have been playing in?

Tanaka: It will probably be necessary to test other areas as well.  However, for the time being, we plan on limiting the beta to the area around Limsa Lominsa.

–How big will the final release be?

Tanaka: We are still making a lot of adjustments so it’s not set yet.

–Can you give us an idea of what kind of specs will be required for the PC version?

Tanaka: Once the beta test begins, we will release the required specs for the beta version.  Right now, graphic cards are probably a bigger bottleneck than CPUs so we want to work on optimizing that.

–Speaking of the Windows version, I was really surprised to see a 3D version on display here at E3.

Tanaka: Right now Nvidia is putting a lot of energy into their 3D Surround Technology that allows you to use 3 monitors so we agreed to cooperate with them to make the display.

–Any plans to include this technology in the final release?

Tanaka: We haven’t made any decisions about that yet.  Right now it’s just a demo of the technology.

–What can you tell us about the beta version for PS3?

Tanaka: We are still hard at work on it.  Director Komoto couldn’t come to E3 actually because this is crunch time for development on the beta and PS3 versions.  Right now back in Japan the entire staff is working hard.

–The PS3 can handle 3D images.  Any chance FFXIV might support 3D?

Tanaka: That is another thing we are considering, however, I think it would be very difficult to implement.

–Can you tell us when the beta test will start?

Tanaka: We want to start in July at the latest.  We’ll also announce the PS3 beta at some point in the future as well.

–We’ve also heard before that you are planning on moving to cross-regional service at some point during the beta.  Do you have any idea as to when that will take place?

Tanaka: Right now everyone is actually on the same servers.  They are just divided up into different login windows.  Once things are stable enough, we’d like to switch to something close to 24/7 testing so it might even be soon after beta testing begins.

–Do you plan on adding more testers?

Tanaka: Currently there are 10 servers for the alpha test and the number of testers is already in the 10s of thousands.  First, we’ll start with those testers for the beta.  After watching how things go and making sure everything is running smoothly, we plan on adding more testers.  I’d like to let the alpha testers know that we’ve listened to their feedback and made improvements for the beta version.  So please check out the beta and we’ll work on making it even better.  Of course we’ll continue to make adjustments even after the game is officially released.  Please keep sending in feedback!

Like many media outlets, Famitsu had their interview with Final Fantasy XIV Producer Tanaka Hiromichi (left) and North American Producer/Senior Manager of NA Operations Kurosawa Yasu (right) today.  Topics included the upcoming start of beta testing, possible 3D effects, and community reactions about the ongoing alpha build testing.

You can find a copy of the original interview in Japanese on Famitsu’s website or our translated version below the break.

–Is the version people are trying out at E3 this week the actual beta build?

Tanaka: It’s very close to it.  You could say it’s one step prior to the beta build.  We are still working on balance issues and haven’t finished our final round of debugging.

–Why put out the beta now?

Tanaka: Awhile back we knew we had to start beta testing around this time of year.  However, I do have to say that alpha build testing has taken more time than we originally thought it would.

–Has the character creation process changed a lot with this new version?

Tanaka: It’s close to how it will be in the final release.  There are a few things planned that aren’t included though, like the ability to change the color of a Miqo’te’s tail or change the shape of an Elezen’s ears.  Those things will be added in by the final release.

–There were also changes made to the battle system like how you got rid of “effect” gauges.
(Translation note:  The interviewer referred to them as effect gauges.)

Tanaka: Even before alpha testing began, the developers already felt that the battle tempo was poor and had decided to start working on something new.  However, just to make sure, we decided to ask players for their opinions on the system which is why we started alpha testing with that particular system in place.  As expected, there were a lot of complaints from the alpha testers as well that the battle tempo should be quicker so we continued development on the new system with a faster battle pace.

The action gauge was also part of the problem.  If you have to wait for the gauge to fill before you can attack, that ruins the tempo, so we switched to a system where you have an action gauge that is completely full when you start and it depletes while you attack.  The developers really worked to the last minute to get us this in time to show off at E3 and they are still working on further debugging and balance issues back in Japan.

–Are there any other big changes?

Tanaka: We’ve increased the number of abilities you can set on your action bar to 30 from 20.  We’ve made it so that players will have an even easier time placing their actions on the bar in the way they want.  There are other changes as well.  HP and MP will now grow as part of the system itself, elemental bonuses will be put into play, and the physical bonuses will be separate from that.  I think it will be a much simpler system than what players saw in the alpha build.

–You have a 3D version on display at E3 as well.

Tanaka: We are still looking into using 3D.  For E3, we cooperated with nVidia to make the demo display using their 3D Vision Surround Technology.

–The graphics have also greatly improved with the beta build.  Will this have an effect on the required specs for the PC version?

Tanaka: You do need a bit more processing power to use ambient occlusion or see the shadings on the backgrounds, so we’ve made them optional.  However, a lot of things now require less processing power than they did in the alpha version.  We also used projection shadowing for the alpha build but have now switched to something called depth buffer shadows which creates a much more distinct shadowing effect.

–So is it safe to say that players will be able to start customizing the graphic settings to some extent when the beta is released?

Tanaka: That’s correct.  There are settings you will be able to access and adjust from the main menu.  For people on the PC version, there will also be a way to adjust your settings before you load the game.  Players will be able to judge how their computer will be able to handle FFXIV by using the benchmark software that we recently released.

–At E3, you’ve been showing off the PC version.  Any comments on the PlayStation 3 version?

Tanaka: We are still hard at work on it, continuing development in cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE).  Also, while it’s true that individual users can’t make adjustments to their PS3s, we do plan on adding a lot of setting options within the game for players to adjust to their liking.  As an example, you can see what we did with the PlayStation 2 version of FFXI.  Players can expect something similar for the PlayStation 3 version of FFXIV.

–When will beta testing actually begin?

Tanaka: We’ve finished putting in almost all the necessary systems into the version here at E3 so it will probably take place soon.  Right now we are still working on debugging and things.  We’re going to stop the alpha test after this week.  Once we return to Japan, we’ll immediately get to work on preparing for the start of beta testing.  There will probably be a bit of a break before we start up testing again but I don’t think people will be waiting a whole month before beta testing will start.

–Mr. Kurosawa, you’re the North American Operations Manager and Producer.  What have North American player reactions been like?

Kurosawa: We received quite a lot of feedback from players and we’ve been gathering up all the comments to send back to the Japanese developers on a regular basis.  After they get it, they give us additional feedback to pass on to the players.  Then we get more feedback from players and it just continues in a big circle.  That has allowed us to improve game play.

Tanaka: Every week a report is made based on feedback from the three regions: Japan, North America, and Europe.  We continue development while watching what kind of feedback is coming in.

–Do North American players give a lot more feedback than the Japanese ones?

Kurosawa: Well, the feedback just keeps rolling in and that really helps us out.

Tanaka: I’d say that the number of comments from North America and Europe is about 10 times that of Japan.

– What kind of community features are you planning for Japan, North America, and Europe?

Kurosawa: Following in the footsteps of FFXI, we will be using global servers so we’ll be building community tools that can be used by players all over the world.

Tanaka: At some point during beta testing we will start introducing some community tools that players can take advantage of.  One of these is something you could call player sites.  Each player will be able to have their own website.  We also plan on adding a bulletin board function and other tools that any player can use.

–What other communication tools do you plan on adding?

Tanaka: We want to add a simple translate function like we have in FFXI.  We will also have something like the linkshells in FFXI, but on an even larger scale, we are introducing an organizational concept called “Companies”.  That system is currently still in development so we’ll give out more details at a later date.

–Do you plan on adding voice chat?

Tanaka: That’s not something we are looking at right now.  It is difficult to create something that works for both PC and PlayStation 3 players.  It would also be incredibly difficult to add in something that would interpret for players in real time when playing with people from other countries.  When you consider that, it is much easier to work with a text based system.

–Finally, can we get any parting comments for the players?

Tanaka: We’ll be starting the beta test soon so please look forward to it.  I’d like to pass those sentiments on on behalf of the Development Team and director Komoto who wasn’t able to make it to E3 since he’s hard at work.

Kurosawa: We are passing all kinds of opinions on to the developers to make this game a fun one for players all over the world.  Please look forward to it!

Earlier we had a look at the new Beta user interface. Now we can check out some screen shots of the character customization that will be available in the beta client. It looks like there will be several options that players can choose from to create their character.

So day one (for us) of E3 is behind us – and given that the demo and interview are scheduled for tomorrow, today was something of a bonus day for us.  For those following our E3 tweets some, or most, of this might be repetitive, but here’s what we learned.

Character Creation

We didn’t get a chance to do a hands-on test of this today (we will tomorrow), but the system is robust to say the least.  While watching someone create a Miqo’te, the options were seemingly endless.  Each element we saw had between 5 and 32 options.  So, for example, while height had 5 different options (“tallest” to “shortest”, skin tone had 16 and hair highlights (that was after the hair color option) had 32 different options!  Nose, eyes, pupils (yes pupil size had options), eye brows, hair style, hair color, and mouth each had options.  Then were the “characteristic” options.  Scars, moles, tatoos, etc.  Since we see the availability of Miqo’te with scars, one would assume that these options are universal and that any race would have the same vast array of options – although we can imagine that Roegadyn might have more scar options and less highlight options, but we’ll verify one way or the other tomorrow.  Names were limited to between 3 and 8 (I think) characters each for first and last.  Obviously clan, deity, birthday, and starting city were also within the system as well.

Battle System

This is totally revamped from what has been shown as the alpha system.  What we’re looking at on the right is a bad screen capture of the video uploaded to youtube by SE earlier today – again, we’ll have better images tomorrow, but this helps explain the new system.  Tanaka is using the action “Rousing Provoke” against his target – an island crab.  The top bar is his “Stamina Gauge.”  This bar fills automatically, constantly, and pretty rapidly.  I’d estimate that the full bar fills in maybe 30 seconds, but since it is constantly filling you’re never waiting nearly that long.  You start a fight with full stamina, and every time you use an action it decreases by a preset (but undisclosed) amount.  The box around the left portion of the stamina bar shows the minimum amount of stamina to activate the action.  Note that this is not the amount that the action “costs” in stamina.  So if Tanaka uses “Rousing Provoke” right when the small box is full, the stamina gauge doesn’t necessarily drop to empty.  Since it starts full, you can spam your basic attacks quite a few times in a row very rapidly before you approach the box.  Also, for the standard attacks, the box is smaller, meaning that less stamina is needed to activate the action.  This leads to a very fluid system in which you are balancing spamming basic attacks, building TP from those attacks and then conserving stamina so that you can launch a more advanced attack requiring TP and more of a base stamina level.  The more advanced attacks still had cool-down timers, but I could bounce back and forth between two advanced attacks without running into the cool-down timers.  Also, each of the icons in the action bar shows the amount of TP or MP it requires (curiously not shown in the Tanaka video) – so there is a very fast requirements reference.  This value changes to a cool-down timer once used.

FFXIV 3D + Lighting Effects

Square Enix was showing off, as a tech demo, FFXIV in 3D.  As a tech demo, SE is basically showing off that they can do this, not necessarily that they will do this.  It requires 3D graphics cards and 3D glasses – both of which will likely be costly.  But the effect was stunning.  There was a real feeling that you were surrounded by NPCs while wondering through guilds filled with NPCs.  Names and menu items really seemed to hover in front of the screen – but not to the point where it was annoying or distracting.  What was more distracting was the overall look of Limsa Lominsa in 3D – you could (and I did) easily enjoy just standing on one of the overpasses looking out over the boats, bridges and skyline.  Part (perhaps most) of these stunning visuals was a function of the lighting improvements that beta will feature as compared to alpha.  It is hard to do it justice – but it was just amazing to look at.  Visually it rivaled anything else I saw at E3.  Things just seemed to glow in a very natural way.  This was true outside of Limsa Lominsa as well.  Everything was vibrant.  Players will be treated to an absolutely stunning world when this game gets released.  Plus, it can only get better for release.  The jump in the visuals from alpha (which still looked pretty good) to beta is huge.

Those are the major take-aways from our first day at E3.  We’ll have another chance to demo the beta tomorrow, plus our interview with the development team.  Hope you are all enjoying our E3 coverage.  Don’t forget to follow our E3 twitter for real-time updates.

A new video has appeared on the Final Fantasy XIV Youtube page.

The official Japanese FFXIV site was updated recently and most notably we have some new information about the various clans of Eorzea.  As we have previously been told, each race will have two distinct clans which can be selected at the character creation stage.  Up until now we only had a limited amount of information as to certain of these clans, and very limited information about the visual differences between clans of the same race.  But no more – Square Enix has now provided information on all clans – complete with images.  Let’s take a look.

Race: Elezen
Clans: Forester & Shader

Forester		Shader

We see a number of differences right off the bat.  The skin tones is of course the most notable, with the Forester clan showing signs of typical pigmentation while the Shader clan displaying shades of gray.  The clothing in the bottom images suggests that the Forester clan is more “modern” than the Shader clan, but the top images show similar clothing (albeit in different colors) so the actual lifestyles of the two clans is still unknown.

Race: Hyur
Clans: Midlander & Highlander

Midlander		Highlander

So of course the most obvious thing here is what’s not here – a female highlander.  So we can see that the clans make gender distinctions as well as merely skin tone/physical distinctions.  The highlanders appear to be significantly more physical in their appearance.  We also see again a very distinct difference in the clothing of the two clans – with the midlanders being, again, more “modern” in appearance and the highlanders displaying a more rugged, outdoor look.

Race: Lalafell
Clans: Plainsfolk & Dunesfolk

Plainsfolk		Dunesfolk

Again we see some skin tone differences bewteen the two clans – although it is hard to tell whether that is just differences with the models chosen.  The real difference seems to lie in the clothing, with the plainsfolk appearing western in appearance and the dunesfolk appearing more middle eastern.  The dunesfolk in the top image show a gem on their forehead, which could indicate a more mystical (and/or magical) background – but that is pure speculation.

Race: Roegadyn
Clans: Seewolf & Lohengarde

Seewolf		Lohengarde

Well this one is again pretty clear on it’s face (pun intended) – red skin coloring vs. gray skin coloring.  Physically both Roegadyn clans appear similar in size, and while the armor is somewhat different there is nothing to suggest (from these images anyway) that the background for each clan is materially different.

Race: Miqo’te
Clans: Seekers of the Sun & Keepers of the Moon

Seekers of the Sun		Keepers of the Moon

Similar to the Elezen clans, we see very distinct skin tone differences – with a pigmented clan vs. a less-pigmented/gray clan.  As was noted on our forums, you can also see that each Miqo’te appear to have a different left-eye color than right-eye color.  Note that the Lalafell Dunesfolk also showed this “ability.” 

That’s all for today’s update.  Let us know what you think of these new images and clans!

Elmer over at ZAM has just translated an article from Dengeki Games. A few highlights (with interspersed comments) are below:

Ｑ：How much of the game will players be able to experience in the beta?
Ａ：We started at about 10% of the final product with the playable Alpha version and are ultimately trying to perfect the underlying game system. The bulk of the game won’t be made public until the retail version is out.

This is nice to hear. It’s a balance for SE for sure, but nice to know that for both those who are able to beta test, and those that are not, that there will be a lot left unseen.

Ｑ：What can you tell us about the transition from the Beta to the final version or about world transfers in general?
Ａ：Once service starts, we want to make it so you can move along with the friends you make during the Beta to the same world. As for world transfers, that may be a possibility in the future, with some limitations probably.

Square Enix really messed up server selection the first time around with XI. You simply have to be able to play (from the very start) with existing friends. Frankly, this is even more critical this time around where players will almost certainly be moving en masse from XI. I expect this to be addressed from the very beginning, and not to limited to only those who beta test, as this suggests.

Ｑ：Does the main story concern the Eorzeans and Garleans battling over the continent of Aldenard?
Ａ：At first, the story will open in Eorzea, that is, the continent of Aldenard and its surrounding islands. However, the Garlean Empire is based on another, larger continent.

SE has stated that the released area for XIV will be approximately the same as that of Vana’diel when XI was released. The “expansion by area” concept has worked well for SE and other developers, and I’d expect the same expansion style here. They’ve set up the lore already to easily allow for it, and I would be surprised if they don’t already know where the first few expansions will be directed.

Ｑ：Give us the highlights on character creation.
Ａ：We’ve focused on really allowing the player the freedom to make any kind of character they would like, and designed them to be a much more natural fit with the game world. Depending on your class, even your starting equipment will be different.

I like it when they say things as if they are new – i.e. “even your starting equipment will be different”. If was different in XI too – and was meaningful for all of 10 minutes. Anyway I think the “freedom” comment here is more important. One of the distinguishing features of XI was the ability to create one character and test everything – jobs, hobbies, nations, etc. I expect this to carry over to XIV – and here’s hoping that references to “freedom to make any kind of character” means more than hairstyle or color.

Ｑ：How is the magic system?
Ａ：Magic is classified by levels and by the school the spell is from. For example, spells that serve the same function (e.g. heal HP) might have a different level of potency, an area of effect, longer casting time or higher MP cost depending on the school of magic the spell is from.

**Translator’s note: The answer used very general terminology, but it appears to reference how a healing spell can be classified as Cure I, Cure II, Cure III under White Magic, or at the same time, Pollen under Blue Magic. So there are different levels and different schools that refer to the same function.

We have so little information about the Disciples of Magic, but I think Elmer is on to something here – and it’s been widely discussed. XI introduced blue magic, which allowed the player to select certain spells, and not only did those selections give you access to the selected spells, but it determined your other abilities as well. Also, recall that Scholar was out there, and depending on what strategem you selected, your spell costs, durations, timings, etc. varied. I think these are a good baseline of what we will see in XIV, where your class and spell selection will provide the variety in the mage classes.

Ｑ：Can classes other than Disciples of Magic use magic? Also, can Disciples of Magic use swords or other weapons?
Ａ：Classes are somewhat pre-defined, but that isn’t to say there won’t be the possibility as you continue to level and grow your character.

I hope they don’t go overboard with this. I didn’t really like it when in FF1 my Warrior can all of a sudden learn white magic. It needs to be worked into the class if they want a hybrid class. We haven’t seen a hybrid class defined as part of the Disciples of War, but perhaps we will get one out of the Disciples of Magic when that information is released. I’d certainly expect that the second part of the question is true – that a mage can use a weapon of some sort – be it dagger, staff, club, hammer, etc.

Ｑ：Will monsters behave similarly to FFXI, with Active and Passive types, different ways to sense players, linking, and all that?
Ａ：Of course, there will be many monsters romping around in field zones. The behavior elements from FFXI will be used again, but there will also be other unique elements the can determine a monster’s behavior, like herd mentality or environmental factors.

Again this was something that XI excelled at. Monsters could be passive or aggressive – and could be spooked by all sorts of variables (sound, sight, magic, skills, etc.). With the advances in monster AI, I expect only improvements in this area. SE has already hinted strongly at the herd mentality, and the relationship between the environment and the monsters could also be a nice addition (unless they are referring to elementals – and then it’s not news).

Ｑ：Are there monsters that will fight each other?
Ａ：In the beginning, we came up with something like a food chain system, and it may end up in the game in some form or another.

They had an ecosystem in XI also, but the implementation was lacking. I think it would add a lot to see monsters interact out in the wild – but admittedly it’s another thing to balance. You don’t want players heading out to a zone only to find that the xp mobs are all dead because another monster happened through. I think the interaction can be done in a very limited way, so that you can see the lion attack the sheep every once in a while, but not to the point of it becoming a regular occurrence.

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Those are my thoughts. Chime in with your own!

The official Final Fantasy XIV website has just been updated with details about character creation as well as the official story that has recently been released. Many new images have also been added to the Media section of the website including what appear to be shots relating to city-states as well as our first glimpse of a map of Eorzea.

Character Creation

One of the first things mentioned is that Final Fantasy XIV will feature a simple and comprehensive character creation system. It also tells us that players will be able to choose a clan along with their race confirming earlier ideas that players selecting a Roegadyn could also be part of the Hellsguard or a Miqo’te could be  one of the Seekers of the Sun.

A variety of face types and hair styles are available. Once those are chosen, detailed adjustments can be made to the hair, skin, mouth, nose, eye color and eye shape. Scars and tattoos will also be an option for those creating their characters.

A Realm Divided

We are now told that those beastmen seen earlier are known as beast tribes. Our large ifrit like dragon friend is one of the primals, creatures summoned forth by the beast tribes who gave them power. It is ten years after this when the Garlean Empire destroys the city-state of Ala Mhigo. Now, a power known as the Echo, causes the souls of those touched by it to resonate with others. This gives a person the ability to relive their past experiences and to feel and see them as one’s own.

Head over to the official Final Fantasy XIV website to check out all the new information!