[Cactuar]

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.

Read on for the details!

[Cactuar]

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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

[wigglestyx]

Cactuar, on 18 February 2011 - 09:45 AM, said:

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.

I really hope they don't just raise the % more, I'll miss casting shell 1 to cap mdt.
Aegis better reflect magic, shoot lasers outa its eyes, and talk shit to mobs.

[Hyuui]

wigglestyx, on 18 February 2011 - 10:04 AM, said:

90aegis.gif
I really hope they don't just raise the % more, I'll miss casting shell 1 to cap mdt.
Aegis better reflect magic, shoot lasers outa its eyes, and talk shit to mobs.

"You gonna get through me? NUH UH FOO" /heatvision

[CerGoltana]

wigglestyx, on 18 February 2011 - 10:04 AM, said:

90aegis.gif
I really hope they don't just raise the % more, I'll miss casting shell 1 to cap mdt.
Aegis better reflect magic, shoot lasers outa its eyes, and talk shit to mobs.

Wiggle, Your avatar had me for about 5 minutes total. I was checking to see if one of the panels would miss the ball. Thanks for making my day less productive -.-!

[Banter]

They only thing they can add for Aegis is MDB on top of the MDT. If they remove the latter, then it's worth goes down significantly. However, they should really just give it a higher block rate.

[rambus]

wigglestyx, on 18 February 2011 - 10:04 AM, said:

90aegis.gif
I really hope they don't just raise the % more, I'll miss casting shell 1 to cap mdt.
Aegis better reflect magic, shoot lasers outa its eyes, and talk shit to mobs.

SE does not know about the MDT cap

[Terranova]

If we're not concerned about the fact that improving defensive capabilities aren't going to affect Paladin's hate-holding ability at all...
Absorbs Magic Damage taken isn't a bad option. Ochain blocks physical attacks and heals MP, Aegis could be the reverse and block magic attacks to heal HP. Better option would be to have the Aegis absorb magic damage and give the Paladin as much enmity as if (s)he had just cured him/herself for that same amount of HP. Then it would be at least situationally powerful. And for how much SE is into mythology, I'm surprised there isn't a Petrify effect somewhere in the Aegis plethora *cough* of effects, since the shield is made of Medusa's head, which Petrified enemies on sight. Shield Bash petrification/enmity boost much? Or give Paladins who wield the Aegis a weaponskill that temporarily gives the Paladin gaze-based Petrification. Not that that'd be overpowering or anything. I'll stop now.

...Or they could overhaul how enmity is calculated entirely to benefit Paladins and other jobs that SE wants to tank. Okay, now I'm done.

This post has been edited by Terranova: 20 February 2011 - 03:27 AM

[Banter]

Terranova, on 20 February 2011 - 03:26 AM, said:

If we're not concerned about the fact that improving defensive capabilities aren't going to affect Paladin's hate-holding ability at all...
Absorbs Magic Damage taken isn't a bad option. Ochain blocks physical attacks and heals MP, Aegis could be the reverse and block magic attacks to heal HP. Better option would be to have the Aegis absorb magic damage and give the Paladin as much enmity as if (s)he had just cured him/herself for that same amount of HP. Then it would be at least situationally powerful. And for how much SE is into mythology, I'm surprised there isn't a Petrify effect somewhere in the Aegis plethora *cough* of effects, since the shield is made of Medusa's head, which Petrified enemies on sight. Shield Bash petrification/enmity boost much? Or give Paladins who wield the Aegis a weaponskill that temporarily gives the Paladin gaze-based Petrification. Not that that'd be overpowering or anything. I'll stop now.

...Or they could overhaul how enmity is calculated entirely to benefit Paladins and other jobs that SE wants to tank. Okay, now I'm done.

First of all, reducing the amount of damage you take is never a detriment to the amount of enmity you can accumulate.

Secondly, you're an idiot.

[CerGoltana]

So why exactly is he an idiot, because he introduced a conceptual idea that may be at worse, situational? Or is it because you don't agree with his idea. I'm interested in hearing what makes his idea idiotic.

[Banter]

CerGoltana, on 20 February 2011 - 12:39 PM, said:

So why exactly is he an idiot, because he introduced a conceptual idea that may be at worse, situational? Or is it because you don't agree with his idea. I'm interested in hearing what makes his idea idiotic.

Throwing out tons of shit just to see what sticks to a wall is not a good way of coming up with original ideas.

[rambus]

Quote

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

I want to know why they didnt do more for skill ups and how skilling up a faster rate does anything to game balance, if anything the game is out of balance due to being so slow compared to the rate you exp.

you change the rate of exp then you need to change the rate how you get skill up, that's how you balance things.

before for most skills the main ones stayed cap while exping, now 75+ skills are slower rate then the lower level ones, you need more of them and i like to know how to skill up something on a mob that lives for 10 seconds.

This post has been edited by rambus: 23 February 2011 - 11:36 AM