FFXIV staff predictions and the interview with Opone Kikuchi

3. Decide which tool to use
Tools have Elements too?

Mainai: So it's like, use Ignis pan, heat it then you can make sautees. If you use the chicken knife to cut materials, will you get sashimi?
Talu: Yeah, I think so. They must be categorized like "heating" and "cutting" stuff like that to each tool. Therefore you need certain tool for certain genres of food.
Mainai: Even if tools have same elements, different tools must have different skills. This is also interesting.
Talu: oh and equipments also influence production.
Mainai: Well, then, like.... if you wear baker's hat, you will be good at cooking sweets. Wear sushi cook's uniform then you are skillful at fish. Am I imaging too much?

4. Start Cooking!
Involving Actions!?

Mainai: I wonder if you only have to click a name of recipe then you can cook automatically. Since you don't have to pick all the materials for that, it would be way easier.
Talu: I am interested in "measuring with eyes." Imaging from the word, I think you can also decide how many items you cook.
Mainai: so if you want to make more, just put more ingredients?
Talu:Yeah. Plus, I think as you produce more, your skill gets higher. Then you don't have to repeat the process of skill up like in FFXI.
Mainai:But, it'd be difficult to adjust fire when you cook a lot I assume?
Talu: It'd be nice if some action is involved in adjusting fire.
Mainai: Like fishing in FFXI?
Talu: Yeah, simple like that'd be great!

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5. Selling Items
Selling Products at Stands…?

Mainai: Is there any merits selling non-rare items at Stands? I guess markets are way easier since you can have other people do that.
Talu: Yeah. It'd be time-consuming if you are to sell items by yourself. Maybe, this is my opinion, but, if you succeed in selling your own products, your productivity skill would get improved.
Mainai: You mean, you can skill up without using crystals or materials. Yeah, sounds like good deal.
Talu:And it'd be great for discounting. So if you want skill up, maybe you can have huge discounts like TOTO shop.
Talu: There would be some restrictions to prevent them from happening. For instance, the skill you can get is limited or some rules like that.

Special Questions
Interview with Opone

Opone Kikuchi, our reporter at August's Gamescom, answered a lot of questions from our readers.
Q: How did you feel about seeing FFXIV in motion for the first time? -Kaeru
A: Even before I touched the keyboard, my entire body was shaking with excitement!
Q: What did you feel was really impressive when you got to play? –Okka
A: Definitely the battle. There are a lot of aspects that can go into a player's battle strategy, like how to handle an enemy that tries to get a positional advantage during battle.
Q: What did you think about the scenery? –hocuto
A: It was incredibly detailed. Even so, the staff present at the time told me this wasn't even close to what the finished product will be!
Q: How was my beloved Miqo'te?! –Rhye
A: Their expressions were dangerously cute. I think the Lalafell and Miqo'te expressions were exaggerated a bit more than those of the Hyurans.
Q: Does the FFXIV layout seem easy to get used to? –suim
A: I think it will be really easy to get used to. Like other next-generation games, the screen is quite wide and there is plenty of room for everything.

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Special Questions
Interview with Opone (Part 2)

Q: The action aspect of the game seems stronger than that of FFXI. What do you think about that? –Anonymous
A: The game doesn't have an attack or evade button like most action games, so it doesn't have the same feeling. Since the battle is done by selecting icons, so it's like a command battle format.
Q: Describe the FFXIV world poetically! –inoki
A: It's like a touching a chick that's just hatched. It feels so light and fluffy.
Q: What do you think the recommended specs for the PC version will be? –Talu
A: This is just my personal hypothesis, but I think to play it without needed to lower the details, you might need a quadcore or better multicore CPU. Recent PC progress is way too fast from year to year…
Q: How is FFXIV different from FFXI? –Rin
A: There are a lot of things that seem borrowed from FFXI, but I think it's still pretty different.
Q: Is it difficult to control the characters using macros? –Dotter
A: Battle commands have been simplified to just a few commands, so the battles are much simpler to control.
Q: Was there anything about the play screen that caught your eye? –Anonymous
A: The version that I played was similar to FFXI in that the chat and battle logs were in the same window. I wondered if these will be able to be separated at a later date.
Q: Was there a monster that really impressed you? –Hage
A: From the puk and its detailed wings to the nuteaters that ran in the middle of battle, I noticed that FFXIV's monsters really know how to move.
Q: How were the authentic German sausages? –Supposed to be a genius
A: Amazing, and so big! I ate them every day.
Q: Was the beer good? –Ranma
A: There is a famous local beer called Kölsch. It's a bit fruity and easy to drink, so I drank it every day!

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Reader Answers to Connect! On Questionair

Question 1:
Q, Please detail into the following to classes (Lancer, Bower)
It is important to note the distance between the Lancer and the enemy. How would you put it, it is pretty stood out.
- Lancer is fit for mid-long range battles. They are the master for hit and out lol.
- Lancer's ability isn't limited to simply poking with lance, they can use the whole body of the lance to sweep multiple enemies also.
- Bower will attack from the shadow in stealth. With out exposing his/her position and hit the enemy before they even realize it!
- You can also you use lance as throwing weapon to hit bird type monsters
- It must feel good to be able to hit flying type monster with bow and arrow.
- Use the lance to clear out multiple monsters fast by sweeping!

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