An interview with the director of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn‘s potential development was conducted earlier this morning. If you missed the live feed on Youtube and Twitch the detailed summary of the question and answer session can be seen on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn‘s official forums. Here, we will go into detail of each respective answer and what it’ll mean for the future of Eorzea’s collection of heroes.
First and foremost; the battle with the next primal is official. The self-imposed guardian of the forest and entity of the sylphs is going to be released in an accessible Hard Mode and Extreme Mode during patch 2.3’s launch phase. As for the plotline that follows Ramuh’s summoning as well as the mechanics of this battle has yet to be revealed, there was conclusive talk about ‘randomized’ encounters. Think back to when you’re first defeating a primal in Hard Mode; there is more or less a set pattern that the AI followed which can be memorized and learned to optimize the battle’s success. Yoshi-P responded to the inquiry of a more ‘random’ mechanic by stating that some bosses will experiment with, “In one of the dungeons we are adding in patch 2.3 there will be a bit more of a random element than you’ve seen up until now, so please let us know your feedback.” There are still various dungeons that play with this mechanic, but not to an extent that it engulfs the entire battle.
“However, we do not have any plans to make the random elements stronger and our direction is to fundamentally make it so as long as you do the content properly you’ll be able to clear it without leaving it up to luck,” concluded the producer when asked for his personal thoughts on creating more ‘randomized’ game mechanics. “The reason being that if we were to make these random elements stronger, during really close end-game battles there would be a lot more stress placed on everyone.”
Following some of the conversation on iconic Final Fantasy appearances; since Gilgamesh’s introduction in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, fans have been eager to see one of their favorite characters in the game. The producer was elusive in his answer, but the overall gist of his inkling will make multiple old-time Final Fantasy fans giddy with anticipation. “A familiar krakken monster will appear that you Final Fantasy fans may recognize. I wonder what kind of battle it will be,” inquired the producer during the interview session, leading multiple sources to point towards Ultros. Infamous for his role in Final Fantasy VI for being an exceptional reoccurring nuisance.
Now, onto some of the additional quirks that’ll be made available in patch 2.3. conclusive talk of “The Hunt” system was dropped in 2.2 and more details have been made clear on what it will entice from players. Technically, it is a more extensive feature of the Hunting Log we all know. A “mark” is given to the player and upon defeat there will be a reward of seals. This is alluded to play a particular role in developing the next stage of the Zodiac Weapon questline. We originally assumed that there would be some ‘tweaks’ to the system that made achieving Atma and Animus easier; however, Yoshi-P stated that there are only plans to raise Mythology Tomes in dungeons to acquire each ‘book’ faster. The drop rate for Atma and the F.A.T.E respawn rates will remain the same, much to the disappointment of many Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn subscribers.
The newest addition to the Zodiac questline will be the weapon Novus. There will be a brand new animation and appearance for the relic weapon, and the item level will be 110 once the quest to complete it is wrapped up.
Another new indication will be the desynthesize tool that’ll be relative to the Disciples of Hand class and their respective level. Building frustration to either farm or purchase materials led the development team to creating this feature that’ll also be accessible upon patch 2.3’s launch. More or less, the desynthesize tool is an option that’ll appear once you’ve gotten a respective Disciple of Hand class to level 30 and can take items to deconstruct them into available materials. Overall, the feature is meant to give players a sense of alternation to gather materials for their respective class.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn‘s last inquiries were on drop rates that could effect a player’s end-game experience. Drops for Sand/Oil of Time will not be heightened, but instead will be placed in different parts of the end-game raids. More specifically, the newest section of the Crystal Tower that’ll go live once patch 2.3 is prepared for its official launch sequence. There will also be high-level drops and unique items for Ramuh’s primal battle and the newest dungeons that’ll be ‘opened’ during this time.
As for the date of patch 2.3’s arrival, that has yet to be stated by the translation team as well as the producers of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. However, if we go on schedule with the question and answer session of patch 2.2 earlier this year, than the release is closer than you might be expecting. We’ll keep updating on the respective information as well as a release date once it gets an official mark from Square Enix or the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn development team.