Of course, those inquiring were also warned ahead of time that their questions should not center around Stormblood, as Yoshida would not be answering questions about the next expansion. Aside from the ones he did, anyhow.
So what was revealed in the session? Not the next expansion, but certainly quite a bit of note just the same. Especially if you want to hear about all of the things that will be revealed when the PlayStation 5 comes out at some distant point in the future. It’s only halfway to a joke, there.
Will there be a time-attack mode for dungeons?
The answer to this one is “maybe,” but work for a time-attack system has already been done. The problem isn’t that the system is unworkable but simply that the team doesn’t want to implement it if there’s a possibility of people cheating up the ranks. Until that problem can be addressed, they don’t want to implement time-attack content.
Will Dark Knights ever get scythes?
Ironically, the designer on Final Fantasy XI who worked on things like the Death Scythe is actually currently working on FFXIV. That having been said, there aren’t currently any plans to give Dark Knights a scythe for a weapon, although the designers are listening to player feedback.
Will we get a Fat Dodo mount?
The mount schedule has already been put into place for new mounts up through much of Stormblood‘s patch cycle. None of those new mounts is a fat dodo. There will be lots of cool mounts, including fat ones, but not dodos.
Will the Sleipnir mount be able to fly?
Please look forward to it; this is already planned and on the way.
Can Accuracy be removed from the game so healers don’t have to put up with missed attacks?
No, but the way Accuracy works will be revised in Stormblood, so healers will no longer have to choose between melding for Accuracy and melding for useful healing stats.
Will there be open-world PvP added to the game?
It’s unlikely that Stormblood will have any sort of open PvP areas at launch, but Yoshida himself is not opposed to open PvP. At the same time, he’s also well aware that there are a lot of players who don’t care for it, so he’s listening to player feedback and seeing if people are interested in that sort of system in the future.
Can Healers get Cleric Stance for duels?
Duels are supposed to allow you a chance to practice for standard PvP matchups. Since Cleric Stance isn’t permitted in PvP otherwise, adding it to duels would be kind of silly.
At this point, Yoshida noted with a laugh that it seems like the healers in the audience really want to fight things.
Will housing furniture allotments be increased?
The team is working on it, but there’s no certainty it will be ready in time for Stormblood‘s launch. It’s on the list of things to be done, and it will happen, definitely.
Which boss was the hardest to develop?
Cruise Chaser from Alexander – the Creator currently takes the prize, but not for the majority of the fight; it’s just a matter of how hard it was to make the event in the middle where players ride on the boss and then jump clear. There were a large number of bugs to be ironed out along the way, but the end result was worth it.
Will the Extreme Primal birds unlock an extra mount for those who have all of them, a la the Kirin mount for the 2.x Primals?
This has already been done and will be introduced in patch 3.5. What is the mount? “Not Phoenix,” he promises.
Will Alexander – the Creator gear be made dyeable?
When the team is designing gear, there’s a certain amount of time that every single piece requires before it’s ready to be added to the game. For previous portions of Alexander, there were two versions of the gear, but they were both visually identical; the Savage version was just dyeable. The Creator gear, however, added some extra flourish to the Savage versions, which meant that the time that would have gone into handling dye options instead went into adding that extra flourish.
Yoshida has promised to bring the request to the gear design team, as it may not be difficult to add dye options, but nothing is certain.
Will more hairstyles be unlocked via content, such as the long hair gated behind Palace of the Dead?
This is under consideration on a case-by-case basis, since there are many players who like just logging in and playing with new hairstyles. It’s not something that will never be done again, but not something that will be done with every style.
Will characters from older games make cameos in FFXIV?
Older game characters can be hard to render in 3D, due to the whole “being developed as 2D sprites.” It’s definitely on the list of possibilities, however, and obviously Final Fantasy XV is coming out soon…
Will ladies ever get a long, curly hairstyle?
When the PlayStation 5 comes out. Joking aside, long hairstyles can be technically challenging, especially due to clipping issues. So don’t expect that in the next patch.
Are server merges being considered?
The current plan is to allow players to form parties cross-server, permitting chat and invitations between worlds. That brings the game closer to being shardless, but the fact that free companies and housing are directly tied to specific worlds means that server merges are something the team would like to avoid if at all possible.
Can a delivery moogle be near the apartments?
Expect this to be added soon.
Will summoner egis be getting any sorts of buffs?
If egis get significant buffs at tis point, it would likely coincide with Stormblood. Whether or not that’s planned is an open question.
Will players get more robust dye options?
Again, wait for the PlayStation 5. The team hears requests for the ability to add accents to gear or dye different parts of gear, and some of those requests may be possible, but for very specific regional dyes more powerful hardware will likely be necessary.
When will we fight Doomtrain? (And will Godbert help us?)
This question briefly baffled Yoshida, as he explained that if you had Godbert fighting on your side, he would just win. It wouldn’t be interesting.
As for Doomtrain… well, that seems like something that would involve technology unique to the Garlean Empire, so perhaps players should expect that in the future. Maybe in 5.0 or so. Theoretically.
Has work on 5.0 begun?
Only the planning. Extensive planning has been done (the team already knows where players will go and who they’ll be fighting in 5.0), but right now the focus is on Stormblood.
Is there any chance of FFXIV on Nintendo’s next console?
This is neither a yes or a no; the team wants to have the game on as many platforms as possible, but nothing is certain right now. If those plans exist, they’l be announced to fans first.
What’s the status of egi glamours and/or new egis?
Egi glamours are slated to be deployed in patch 3.5, as the system has taken quite a bit of time but is almost finished. The first set will just be various Carbuncle glamours of varying colors, but once the system is in place, players can look forward to more egi glamours on a regular basis. Some of them may have certain restrictions, such as not allowing Ramuh as a tank egi, but that’s not set in stone at this point.
As for new egis… well, that’s a secret.
Will we get more monster furniture like a morbol bed?
Don’t we have enough morbols? (Everyone laughed.) Right now the housing team is focused on the fourth residential district, so new monster furniture isn’t a priority.
Will be get exercise emotes such as squats and pushups?
These may well also be already in the works or outright done. To pass the time while you wait for these emotes (NPCs already have the animations, after all), maybe try doing some actual squats and pushups.
Can we get a Godbert trial?
Of course not. You can’t beat Godbert, and if you somehow could, you’d have to face his wife. There’s no way to win.
Will the housing market ever change to allow players to regain money for houses they release?
This is not on the priority list; at this point, more pressing concerns are allowing players to move houses from one lot to another rather than allowing players to regain money for dismissing plots.
Can we get open-world level syncing?
From a technical standpoint, this is definitely doable; however, it’s an open question whether or not this would cause extensive bugs elsewhere. Implementing it might be difficult, but it’s an idea to take back to the development team.
