GE: What can you tell us about changes to the crafting system in 2.0?
Yoshida: In looking at the screenshot of the carpenter, you probably noticed that there is now “CP” – that stands for crafting points (tentative name). Like how the disciples of magic and war have TP, there will be a point system for the disciples of the hand, and also the disciples of the land classes as well. The new crafting system will use these points in order to utilize different actions (shown on the action bar). When crafting in the current version, the player is basically using the same skills repeatedly. With 2.0 the goal is to have a system where the players has to make more decisions as to which skill to use depending on the difficulty of the recipe and type of item. So, for example, depending on what you craft, and whether you are looking for quality or quantity, you will have to decide which skill or action will be most beneficial, and consider the CP cost of that action.
Another common complaint from the disciple of the hand players is that there is no visual representation of the available recipes. With 2.0 there will be a recipe book, which will tell you not only what is required for each recipe, but what ingredients you are missing. From there, you can click and enter the crafting interface. The goal is for a “streamlined” and “stress free” system.
We also understands that some players don’t get deep into crafting, so we also want to have a system in place where, if the item is easy enough to make, there is a one-button click to craft an item.
GE: We noticed that the action bar on the Carpenter is different from what we see currently (i.e. Throw Rock, etc.) Is this part of that new system?
Yoshida: Definitely. There will be more actions to pick and choose from for different situations.
GE: We know that there is some game content that will no longer be available with the launch of 2.0. Will any of the current achievements likewise be unavailable after 2.0?
Yoshida: Yes, there will be some that can only be obtained now. For example, since the maps will be completely changed in 2.0, aetheryte will be in different places. So there will be new achievements that players will be able to obtain based on the new locations. Another example are achievements based on participating in the current events that lead up to the Seventh Umbral Era.
GE: Could the community get a list of which current achievements will not be available in 2.0?
Yoshida: That’s a great idea! We will try to get it out with the release of 1.23. We don’t want to upset the fans.
GE: Similar to crafting, what changes can we expect to see to the battle system in 2.0? Are battle regimens going to make a comeback?
Yoshida: We are completely revamping the battle regime system. It will be graphically stunning and big.
GE: what about new jobs or classes, or other changes to battle system.
Yoshida: [Zips his lips shut] We will definitely be adding more actions and abilities for the current jobs, especially because of the addition of the new PvP gameplay. That will require all new types of crowd-control,buffing and debuffing actions. We will tell you more about this system around when beta comes out.
GE: Speaking of Beta, will there be downtime between current game and 2.0?
Yoshida: What’s going to happen is that after the current version is finished and storyline over, the servers will go down and the 2.0 beta will start up. We want to make sure we don’t make the same mistake as before, and want to be sure we have enough time not only for the beta test but also to get feedback from the players and leave enough time to implement that feedback. Also, keep in mind that transferring the characters to the new servers and systems could take up to a month. So that process will be running while the beta test is in place. There can’t be a launch immediately after the current servers are shut down.
GE: So the beta test and current game will not be operating simultaneously?
Yoshida: No. Because we need the time to convert the data from the current version to the new version, we can’t have people keep playing because they will keep updating their data. That doesn’t mean we are not going to work hard to make sure the servers aren’t down for a long time. We know that the community is there and want to maintain that community.
GE: How much downtime do you expect between the end of the beta test and the launch 2.0?
Yoshida: It won’t be anything like the next day, but we hope to have it be as short as possible. We need enough time to make sure everything is right and start it smoothly.
GE: Do you have any ideas yet on how will people get into beta?
Yoshida: We decided not to tie it directly to the legacy campaign, but we want to prioritize getting the current players that are playing now into beta.
GE: What is the one aspect of new content you are most excited for people to see.
Yoshida: The new summon system.
GE: Ummm… what can you tell us about the new summon system?
Yoshida: [Laughs] As you know there are primals – powerful demigods- in FFXIV. Summons are a staple to any Final Fantasy game, but to me, in recent games the summons have been cheapened because they are so easy to access. The current Ifrit and Garuda battles are hard, but I don’t want a world where everyone has summoned, and is walking around with, their own personal Ifrit. It cheapens how hard it was to get access to that primal. In 2.0 there will only be one of each primal per world. So one Ifrit, maybe one Shiva maybe one Ramuh, per world. These primals will be somewhere in the open world, roaming,and players will need to find them and then get together to defeat the primals. If they win and are the first to defeat it, the primal will come under their (temporary) control. For a 2-week period, the free company or linkshell who defeated the primal will have time to raise up the primals’ “gauge”. If they get it sufficiently raised, they will get to choose when and where to summon the primal for help. It could be used in any battle, and once they use it, the weather in the whole world will change so everyone in the world will know that the group used the primal. Once they summon the primal, it will of course return to the open world.
GE: Will there be a way to know the status of each primal?
Yoshida: No. Currently, we don’t want to show that. We want players to talk among themselves about the primals and their status.
GE: How does the primal gauge get raised?
Yoshida: Other than “raising its gauge” we can’t say any more right now. But what we can tell you is that it will be very community related. The capturing group is going to have to do certain things to raise the gauge.
GE: We take that that if you don’t raise the gauge within that two weeks the primal is released?
Yoshida: Exactly. Also, its not necessarily two weeks. That’s what we have now, but it could change. It will be a set period of time.
GE: We know chocobo raising is coming with 2.0, any more details you can share?
Yoshida: With chocobo raising you will be raising your chocobo not only to ride, but as a partner in battle. You can raise a chocobo in four directions – to become a tank, a healer, an attacker or a caster. This is chosen through a skill tree. Also, there will be chocobo specific barding/armor that will effect the chocobo’s skills – so it will not just be for looks.
GE: Is that a system that you would do once, or is chocobo raising more of a cycle where you would raise multiple chocobos?
Yoshida: It is still further down road map, but with the new estate/housing system, within your house there will be a personal stable where you can have multiple chocobos. This is down the road, but raising will be available at 2.0 launch.
GE: We’ve been told that with 2.0 you will be able to change genders, but can you change names? Also, will players be able to change servers at 2.0 launch?
Yoshida: As for changing names, we are working on whether it is technically possible to do that. We understand that this is a name you will be with for a long time, and want a name that fits, so we are going to do everything possible to try to do this. As for moving world servers, at launch we will be opening new servers, including more recommended servers, so we hope to be able to allow for such transfers at launch.
GE: How about server transfers after launch? Any plans?
Yoshida: That’s definitely something we are going to want to implement after launch.
GE: So are there any other new systems we can expect to see at at launch 2.0 that we don’t have now?
Yoshida: One thing that will be implemented at 2.0 launch will be new instanced raids that will require alliances of 24 players. In addition, for these, and other instanced raids, we will be adding difficulty selections. So players can play on normal difficulty and get certain items, but then try again on a hard setting in order to obtain better items.
GE: Is this in combination with the dungeon, or content, finder?
Yoshida: Yes. We’re calling it a content finder because it is not only for dungeons, but for pretty much anything including quests, behests, instanced content, etc.
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