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From an interview with Famitsu at the recent PAX-East. This is an answer to a question about crafting in the expansion:
It's probably terrible balance-wise to have dungeon drops always be the strongest so we're trying to change that.
This is why FFXIV just keeps getting better. He identifies problems with traditional themepark design and changes it. Looking at some of the things slated for the 3.x, this game starts to look more like an open ended mmorpg (not gonna call it sandbox). But it is definitely veering away from the standard model.
Im excited to see all the new systems that will be added. The changes to crafting and gathering look really good as well. Combat getting faster at level 60. Zones getting bigger and bigger. There was a small hint at snowboarding added to golden saucer haha but its probably just a rumor. Still, I wouldn't be surprised.
Comments
If not dungeons, then what? Crafting so that no lifers with the most money yet not necessarily any skill can be the strongest too? Open world zerg contents?
I don't see what Yoshida can really do to pull this off properly. Dungeons or bust.
I think he's concerned about someone being able to just buy the crafted item from someone without even doing anything because they have the money. I honestly don't see anything wrong with it but I'm sure that's a concern of alot of people.
The problem with making the best items NOT dungeon-based is that, in a game with no item decay, it can quickly devolve to "Why bother doing dungeons?" That's what happened with Wildstar for a while, there, actually, and IMHO is an unsung unappreciated reason why the game bombed so badly. I saw TONS of forum posts about Wildstar with people complaining they have no reason to do dungeons because the reward wasn't as good as that crafted gear they brought on the cheap (or the chances of a reward better than that were so low and generally not worth the effort and from raids that required tons of set up, etc)
....good luck, Yoshida!
are you implying that a random noob being carried around in PUGS and LFR wont get the same badass epic gear of doom as the most dedicated hardcore player ever?
Crafting for the best gear makes more sense than magically droping for a mob that was not even wearing it.
I would rather get a recipe for an epic weapon or armor dropped from a boss than a piece of random gear, but thats my personal preference.
Cause fantasy based games are all about what makes sense right ?
yes, having gameplay mechanics that make sense is what makes good games, it is not the same as real life if thats what you are trying to pull off. Nice try tho
Oh anyone with a creative mind can think of lots of ways to do items and mats without needing a dungeon.
I will simply point to one idea alone that should put it to rest.
Remember in FFXI how many secrets were behind growing?Remember how it was a tight kept secret how to make Elemental ORES?Pretty hard to stumble onto an idea that takes near 30 days of growing to achieve.
The only thing that ALWAYS ruins it for gaming is the cheats,who data mine to find out exact answers.Otherwise there could be lots of cool ideas to keep valuable stuff rare and only to those willing to experiment.
There really is a zillion ideas,you can even have a few npc's randomly appear in each zone that you need to figure out riddles and trade them something before they disappear and have to figure out a new riddle.If you figure it out,they reward you with a rare needed for crafting.
How about make some really good quests that have randomization so that no wiki can serve up answers,you have to actually figure these quests out.You can simply create a farming idea,get certain rare drops that can be traded for upgrades.
Who really knows what he is thinking,maybe a MOG GARDEN like in FFXI?You have a chance at random items plus the ability to upgrade.
It can go on and on there is no limit to ideas.Weather Yoshi figures out a good one or simply goes easy mode we will have to wait and see.
Personally i have not liked his direction because it really appears he is doing a lot of copying fro mother games.Matter of fact that was his first order as new director,he sent employees to play other games to get feedback on what works.I prefer th old Square Enix,the design creators,unique designs that you won't see in other games.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Well they have two systems in place which encourage people to go through gear, Spirit Bonding and Desynthesis. They will probably iterate on those. They work fairly well for the economy so far.
You can do so much, just need to think outside the box. I would think these items won't be a cake walk to get, randoms who are not ready to put in hours upon hours into crafting won't see these items which i'm fine with, as long as effort is put in. Who knows what you need to do to get the mats for the items, you may need to clear a dungeon, you may need to kill a rare creature that requires a group. The way Yoshida is handling the game right now, i can probably guarantee he won't fuck it up.
First each gear must be the best for whatever way was used most to get it.
Raid gear should give best large party bonuses.
PvP gear should give best PvP stats.
Solo gear should give best soloing gear, etc.
That isn't broken, that is the way it should be. I don't think each piece should be all inclusive or one and done.
The raid gear should give the brunt of the stats but be made up of different pieces which a certain crafter can add.
One disciple could add special materia, other crafter could add special plating, other crafter could add special insulation, etc, etc.
Then have master proficiency so one person can be a master of one instead of master of everything.
Well you can RP your way into rationalizing this kind of dumb design direction, but as far as I'm concerned people don't deserve stuff for simply having more time than others. Getting carried around is a problem that should be worked on too, its existence doesn't mean there should be even more ways to no life your way to victory.
Not saying YoshiP cant pull it off but at this point fixing this problem is the real world equivalent of finding a functional alternative approach to capitalism and socialism. YoshiP has experience of taking something that is already there and making it his own, but they have not exactly proven their worth in making up something completely new.
Yea I can see this and Dungeon and Crafted gear be on the same level where players can grab gear either way. Just adding another way of getting gear which is not an issue as long as it does not become the only way to get the best gear is by buying crafter gear.
Crafted gear has been considered as good if not better than raid gear for the past few patches. Simply because while crafted gear has slightly lower stats, the materia flexibility allows for greater customization of stats.
And although this has been the case for the past 7 months, raid and craft gear have coexisted quite well. Raids are still as popular as ever and the market is as robust as ever. I see this only getting better in 3.0 and beyond.
This has already been answered in part, although how much weight it has behind it I don't know. But from live letters I get the impression that they wish to move towards a token based system. Where, multiple activities reward you with tokens which are exchanged for gear.
This way people progress their characters through experiencing the things they like rather than being shoe-horned into activities they might not enjoy. I imagine though that a strong insentive would be placed for activities to keep the community churning through but will help develop more and more people.
If that's why he deserves your money.
Go ahead and try Archeage, I am told the craft system creates weapons MAGNITUDES better then the best dungeon drop. So there you go. Nothing new...
Yeah Ive seen the RNG nightmare excuse for crafting in AA. No thanks.
If you are just doing dungeons to get gear so you can do more dungeons....what is the point? If the content is not fun enough to want to do why bother at all?
I still think the way FFXI handled crafting was perfect.
Bosses dropped tokens for gear but you needed an item crafted to be able to unlock it.
I dunno. I think it would be smarter for crafted gear to be on par with dungeon gear, but have different effects. That vest from the dungeon increases defense by 5, this vest from crafting increases magic defense by 5.
But, I'm a total newb at MMOs so I probably sound like an idiot...