got some other info here as well
http://www.ffxivcore.com/topic/4285-famitsu-scoop-from-issue-1110-march-25-2010/Lots of information this time around! Famitsu has a giant spread for
Final Fantasy XIV this week that featured a number of job classes,
complete with Abilities and Weapon Skills! They also found the time to
grab three developers for an interview: Atsushi Okada 岡田厚志, FFXIV Battle Planner; Sei Sato 佐藤制, FFXIV Planner; and Kenichi Iwao 岩尾賢一, FFXIV Planner.
Let's jump into the interview first, and then see what the developers
had to say about each job!
Discuss this on the
ZAM Forums!
Battles in Final Fantasy XIV- First, give us an overall image
of battles in FFXIV.Okada: Players can fight
in parties or go solo in FFXIV, but the monsters can be in parties as
well. There will be battles where it is "party vs. party." Battles
won't be fought by pulling enemies back to a set camp, but rather we are
envisioning players moving about as they fight. [
Elmer Point: think
nomad camp style]
- So the feeling is you rotate from
enemy spawn point to spawn point with some healing in-between?Okada: Yes. But, one of
the aspects of FFXIV is that you don't recover MP. Of course, that
isn't to say there is no way to do so; there will be abilities players
can learn to recover MP, Aetheryte will heal both HP and MP, among other
methods.
Iwao: Don't think of it
as individual encounters, but as managing your MP over the course of a
one, prolonged battle comprised of a number of fights.
Sato: When everyone goes
to a certain place to accomplish some goal, it is important to manage
your MP in a way that allows it to last until you achieve that final
goal. There will also be classes that serve as "MP controllers" that
can help manage the MP of the party.
- Looking at this chart, is it safe
to say each class has their own specific range from which they attack?Sato: Yes. In FFXIV,
one's position, as well as the position and orientation of the enemy,
has a large effect on battles. Following that line of reasoning, there
will be appropriate distances for classes that maximize their
effectiveness.
Iwao: We plan to have
enemy classes follow these rules as well, and also include some
techniques they can use in conjunction with each other. The idea is a
battle where you are constantly moving, trying to attain the best
position. So when it's party vs. party, this can get really exciting.
It's not about sitting in one spot and striking away at an enemy; the
player needs to consider the enemy's position and act accordingly.
Sato: It's not an action
game, but there's a little taste of action in there.
- So if players need to move around
during battle looking for the sweet spot, wouldn't this make
close-combat classes much easier to play?Iwao: Close combat
classes need to be more aware of their orientation, while ranged classes
must pay particular attention to distance.
Sato: When fighting close
combat, your orientation will have different effects. I wouldn't say
fighting close up is any easier than fighting at a distance.
Iwao: Also, there is the
important factor of "area of effect." This mostly comes into play with
magic, but there are many techniques utilized by classes outside the
Disciples of Magic that have areas of effect.
Sato: We want you to
think of the area in which you do battle as really your party's space --
a place where you work together. To that end, attacks with an area of
effect will be even more important this time around.
Iwao: There are several
aspects to areas of effect, such as spreading benefits across party
members, or blasting through a bunch of enemies from within. We hope
that this, combined with distance and orientation, will make for fun,
tactical battles that players will enjoy.
- Can you give us anymore
information on how the elements come into play in FFXIV?Okada: In the world of
FFXIV, there are 6 elements: Fire, Ice, Wind, Earth, Thunder and Water.
They will all have their characteristics as well, such as Water being
strong against Fire, but weak against Thunder.
Iwao: Both players and
enemies will be affected by their affinity with the elements. Also,
there exist forces aligned to these 6 elements called "Star Poles" and
"Spirit Poles." They are like the magnetic poles of our Earth,
attracting different energies.
[Elmer Point: The poles are called 星極 (sei-kyoku) and 霊極 (rei-kyoku). The first means Star
Pole and second means Spirit Pole. As Iwao said, "pole" refers to a
magnetic pole, such as the North and South poles of Earth. These sound
like Protocrystals, in that they serve as focus points for the energy of
a particular element. The official names will most likely be
different, though.] - What kind of effect will these
elements have on the player?Okada: Each player will
have their own strengths and weaknesses regarding each element. For
example, one person could be particularly strong against Fire.
- Is this decided upon during
Character Creation?Sato: No, this aspect of
the player will improve along with other stats, like HP, as they grow.
Depending on how you raise your character, you could be a specialist
against a certain type of element.
Okada: If you are strong
against Water, an enemy's water-based attacks won't hurt you so much.
Iwao: Two Conjuerers also
could specialize in separate elements. One could excel at Ice magic
and the other at Fire, thus serving two separate roles.
- This really heightens the
individuality of players!Iwao: One could even
decide to improve all elemental resistances equally, which would make
them somewhat effective against all elements at the expense of
specializing in none.
- It would be funny to see cliques
form between people who specialize in the same element.Sato: Like an Association
of Fire-based Players (laughs). That just might happen.
Developer Comments
剣術士
Gladiator
Iwao: This is a class
that can really excel at defense. They can equip a wide range of
defensive equipment and even large shields! They will be called upon to
protect party members by drawing the enemy attack towards themselves.
Okada: As a class that
excels with a shield, the Gladiator is like a "defender" job that is
good at absorbing damage.
Sato: Gladitor is offense
and defense rolled into one -- a class that is good at taking hits and
dishing out the damage. Because of its versatility, I see it becoming a
popular class.
Okada: One can choose
between making slicing attacks or piercing attacks and that lets them
employ some strategy towards giving their strikes the maximum effect.
Iwao: You could say this
is a class with an abundance of fighting styles.
槍術士
Lancer
Iwao: This class can use
spears and lances to attack from a longer range and in a wider variety
of styles. Besides normal attacks, Lancers can disrupt an enemy's
movements and utilize other special attacks.
Sato: Lancer attacks from
a farther range than most melee classes and has a wider sphere of
influence. They can easily adjust their position to help out back-end
members that get into trouble.
Iwao: Lancer is a class
that receives a great effect from maintaining their sweet spot. They
must always be checking their position relative to the enemy, as well as
other party members. Strategicially, this is a class that is always on
the move.
Sato: This is a class
that needs to consider many factors in a battle besides just what the
enemy is doing.
格闘士
Pugilist
Iwao: Despite their short
reach and low defense, the Pugilist is a class that can really turn the
tide of a battle with their tricky techniques. They will also employ a
number of "stances" that will prove effective based on the condition of
the enemy and the party.
Sato: Stances will have a
number of effects in battle. Offensive or Defensive -- the player has
to assess the battle situation and decide which one they should select.
Iwao: The more you
maintain a single stance, the more that stance improves, opening up new
things you can do with it. You can change your stance at whim, but if
you do so, its strength reverts to normal. The player must consider
when it is appropriate to maintain a stance and strengthen it, and when
they must give up that power and switch for the benefit of the party.
[Elmer Point: An assumption on my part,
but I don't think this refers to giving up character growth, but rather
temporary growth. As they mentioned before, they want you to consider
your overall objective over individual encounters. So it's a question
of "Can I maintain offensive stance and have it super buff for the
boss? Or should I switch to defensive here so we can survive?" The
stance improvement mentioned here sound temporary and independent from
raising one's character.]
斧術士
Marauder
Iwao: This is a class
that can really deal out massive damage. However, if there are many
enemies to deal with, they can forgo storing up that power in order to
strike more often.
Sato: Marauders use
battle axes, which give them more attack power than any other class at
the expense of some accuracy.
Okada: While their
special attacks are powerful, some require that the Marauder be
stantionary while they activate. Due to this, a Marauder must be adept
at reading an enemy's movements.
弓術士
Archer
Iwao: More than anything,
the Archer is a long-distance striker. From a range, they have to
decide where to stand and what archery techniques to employ. Their
defense is low, so if they catch the attention of the enemy, they could
be in trouble. A good Archer needs to keep watch over the entire battle
and adapt to the situation by firing off the most effective shots
possible without incurring the wrath of the enemy.
Sato: Archers have a
variety of abilities that are effective at various distances from the
enemy. Their job is to work out how they can best contribute to the
battle.
Iwao: Arrow selection is
also key. It's more than just choosing the arrow with the most damage,
an Archer can also use arrows to effect the status of the enemy or even
support their allies.
幻術士
Conjurer
Iwao: A Conjurer is a
Disciple of Magic who excels at manipulating the elements.
Okada: This is a class
that starts by assessing the condition of the party and the enemy and
using that to consider which element to utilize in battle.
Iwao: Attack magic,
defense magic, healing magic -- a Conjurer has many different lines of
spells to choose from. It's safe to say it's like an almighty
magic-user that can serve as attack or support. Conjurers can also
place magical effects on themselves that affect the area around them.
[Elmer Point: This sounds like an AoE
spell that follows the Conjurer around, as in everyone in range of the
Conjurer gets a bonus while in range. Whether that's true or not wasn't
specified.]Okada: By the way,
actions you take in battle in FFXIV all accumulate TP, magic included.
Sato: That's why there
are some strong TP abilities prepared for Conjurer as well.
呪術士
Thaumaturge
Iwao: Thaumaturgy is
filled with spells that can cause status effects on the enemy as well as
your party members. Their area of effect is fan-shaped
[cone-shaped
for you D&D'ers] and attack power high, so when compared with
Conjurers, this class needs to get relatively close to the enemy for
maximum effect.
Sato: Basically,
Thaumaturges have magic that does powerful damage. However, there also
are great risks to balance this out. This is one particular area where
we are waiting to hear feedback from the players.
Iwao: The Thaumaturge
also has several spells that can steal abilities from the enemy. The
key is reading the flow of a battle and deciding what kind of spell
would most effectively turn the tide in your favor.
[Elmer Point: I would assume the
Thaumaturge can cause *good* status effects on party member, though
after reading about the "risks" involved, I'm not so sure.]
鍛冶師
Blacksmith
採掘師 Miner
Iwao: Blacksmiths are
Disciples of the Hand who use metals to create and repair weapons and
armor. Miners are Disciples of the Land who dig up ore. These classes
will have very limited battle-related abilities, but may receive other
things to compensate. For example, a Blacksmith may get an ability that
enfeebles a gold-based enemy or one that increases the chances of
having treasure drop.
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