There has been a lot of FFXIV news this week discussing the upcoming changes in the November and December updates. We can look forward to the November patch on the 24th, which is less than a week away! This will bring about many changes that players have been requesting. Square Enix feel that players should be allowed to try out the new features before deciding whether or not to subscribe to the game so they are extending the free trial for a further 30 days. This is open for anyone who registers their FFXIV account before November 19th 23:59 GMT.
New Items and Balances to Synthesis
“The large-scale version updates planned for late November and mid-December will see a number of additions and adjustments to both items and synthesis recipes. This Topics post will detail the nature of these changes, and introduce a new feature designed to aid in the synthesis process.
Additional Items: November, December
The majority of items will be added in the December version update. We also will be introducing gear with all-new graphics for each class in order to provide something for all players.
Below are some of the items scheduled for release in the December patch.
Additions and Adjustments to Synthesis Recipes
Released Recipes: November, December
The following adjustments will be made in the November version update in order to balance the degree of difficulty for synthesis.
Reduction of rank requirement for several recipes
Changes to materials required for several recipes
Introduction of alternate recipes for several items
Adjustments to the effect of each synthesis action on durability and quality
Reduction in the number of crystals required for synthesis
Increase in the number of crystals obtained as rewards for local leves
These changes will be ongoing in the December version update as well, as we continue to focus on improving and balancing synthesis.
New Recipes: November, December
In addition to the balancing changes planned for existing recipes, we will also be introducing a number of new synthesis recipes.
Auto-Selection of Materials: December
To improve convenience while crafting, we will be adding a feature that allows players to select an item to synthesize from a list of previously used recipes. Doing so will automatically place the required materials into the appropriate slots.
As of the December update, these two synthesis histories, one for general synthesis and one for local leve synthesis, will each retain the eight most recent recipes made. The version update scheduled for this coming March will expand this feature to retain a player’s entire synthesis history.
In addition to all of the above changes, the November version update will also see changes that allow for the stacking of certain items, as well as the removal of a Wear value for smallclothes.”
Source: The Lodestone
New Features and User Interface Improvements
“The large-scale version update tentatively scheduled for November 25 will bring about a number of changes to the user interface (UI). Among these will be improvements to controls on various menus and screens, an item-sorting feature, and further improvements to targeting and chat systems. In addition to reworking numerous facets of the UI, we will also be implementing a number of new features. This Topics post will introduce and detail a portion of these planned.
Menus
Under the main menu, the Attributes & Gear option will be split into two options, Attributes and Gear. There will also be a Loot option that will be displayed under the Interactions menu whenever an item occupies a player’s loot list. Improvements to menu navigation when using a gamepad or keyboard will be made. And finally, the experience and skill point bars currently displayed in the upper left portion while the main menu is open will now be visible on the screen at all times in the same manner as the HP bar.
Attributes
The general layout of the Attributes window is being redesigned.
Character information will be organized into General Attributes, Skills, and Key Items tabs.
Gear
Selecting a slot will restrict the items displayed in the gear list to only those that may be equipped in that slot.
Mousing over an item will display that item’s icon, statistics, and other information.
Inventory
The number of items players and retainers may have in their inventory will be increased by twenty.
Currency and Loot tabs will be added.
The upper portion of the Inventory window will display a list of items in a player’s possession. Highlighting an item will display its icon, statistics, and other information below.
* The Wear value for items can currently be viewed at the bottom of the Items tab by clicking on the arrow icon in the lower right, pressing left or right on the directional pad of a gamepad, or by pressing the left or right arrow keys on a keyboard. To eliminate this additional step, an item’s Wear value will be incorporated into its details window in the December version update.
A sort feature will be added to player inventories.
* Enabling the sort feature will organize an inventory by item type. While disabled, items will be listed in the order in which they entered the inventory.
* Future version updates will bring additional sort options, both automated and manual.
Selecting an item will open a menu containing the Sell Item, Purchase Item, Seek Repairs, Repair, Discard, and Toggle Sort options.
Sale prices will be displayed next to items in player and retainer bazaars.
Icons representing Unit Price, Set Price, Purchase Item, and Seek Repairs will be added to player and retainer bazaars.
Journal
Area names will be displayed on the journal map screen.
A player’s current location will be displayed on the journal map screen.
A history of completed quests will be added.
Retainers
Simply selecting an item will move that item to a retainer’s inventory.
It will become possible to easily exchange gil with retainers from the new Currency tab.
Map
Zoom-in and zoom-out functionality will be added to the map screen.
Scrolling on the map screen will be possible by dragging the mouse.
The log will remain visible while the map screen is open.
A map menu will be added in the upper right of the map screen.
The location of party members will be displayed on the map screen in real-time.
Configuration
A Chat-specific Keyboard setting will be added for players using gamepads. When enabled, this setting allows text to be entered directly without first pressing the spacebar to open the chat prompt.
* Key mapping will not be possible while the Chat-specific Keyboard setting is enabled.
It will be possible to create new chat log tabs with unique filter settings from the Chat Filters screen. Tab display will be locked regardless of whether the log is active or inactive.
Chat filter options will be added for synthesis- and gathering-related messages.
Font colors for different chat modes will become selectable.
Other
Chat Feature
The input bar of the chat log will be displayed continuously.
Pressing Ctrl+R will open a /tell prompt addressed to the last player from whom a /tell was received.
Pressing Ctrl+S, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+H, Ctrl+P, and Ctrl+L will open /say, /tell, /shout, /party, and /linkshell chat prompts, respectively.
The text commands /s, /t (/t ), /p, and /l will be usable to set the chat mode to /say, /tell, /party, and /linkshell modes, respectively.
Text Commands
The command will be usable to display coordinates on the map.
The /equip and /item commands will accommodate high-quality items (i.e., items with names containing a +1, +2, etc.).
Simultaneously equipping multiple items of the same name to multiple slots with the /equip command will become possible.
Targeting
While engaging multiple enemies, a player’s cursor will automatically move to the next target when the current target is defeated.
Players with no target who are attacked by an enemy will automatically target that enemy.
It will be possible to open treasure chests by targeting and selecting them, rather than via the Interactions menu.
Source: The Lodestone
Where the Wild Things Spawn
“As part of the November 24 and mid-December version updates, adjustments will be made to the distribution of enemies in all areas.
In the first version update, scheduled for release on Wednesday, November 24, the processing of in-game areas will be spread out across multiple servers in order to mitigate latency issues. Together with this structural change, we have rethought the distribution of enemies, both old and new, while giving considerable consideration to players engaged in gathering activities or simply passing through.
Balancing adjustments to enemy distribution will continue in the December version, which will also usher in the the first of many waves of new enemies to Eorzea, including several Notorious Monsters (NMs). Among their number are those so freakish and vile that even the legendary taxonomist Frandelont Raimdelle could scarcely find the words to describe them. Still others may prove more than a tad familiar to the eyes of adventuring veterans of Vana’diel. All in all, a myriad menagerie of malicious monstrosities will be making its way to Eorzea in the coming months. Precise profiles and daunting details of these new additions to the Eorzean bestiary, as well as the epic loot that can be pilfered from their fresh corpses, will be treated in future Topics posts.
Continuing in this vein, the version updates of 2011 will bring about further improvements and balancing to enemy distribution, as well as the addition of numerous new NMs and NM-related content. More information will be announced here as it becomes available, so be sure to check back regularly!”
Source: The Lodestone
