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[dev1152] Item Levels / Equipment Help Text
Leviathan.Kincard
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1442
By Leviathan.Kincard 2013-06-18 09:50:51
Given the design of many pieces of gear in the past, if they don't know we swap gear a lot it would mean the dev team is made up of a bunch of goldfishes. Which...
...well, I guess that would explain a lot.
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By Kalila 2013-06-20 14:33:41
06-20-2013 10:32 AM | Slycer | BG Translator | |
| | Mocchi: Item Level Follow-Ups
I tried checking a Chapuli in Ceizak on the test server with a level 113 dagger equipped and it still gave the "Tough" message - is the new system for checking not implemented yet? Also, is it only the EXP that changes, or does it change the level correction value as well?
Thanks for your feedback from the test server. Here are responses to your two points:
Test Server Checking
I can confirm that on the test server right now we've only added the item levels. Increasing or decreasing the EXP values and changes to the messages received are still in development and were not implemented on the test server yet.
Level Difference Correction
Level difference correction will not be applied due to item levels of equipped items. Furthermore, there is no level correction applied in Adoulin areas.
Can you comment on enemy abilities which strip equipment? As the item level of equipment rises, these strip abilities will effectively level down players and they will be overly powerful. Additionally, will pets be affected by item level in the same way as players?
Thanks for your contributions. I'll respond to your two points:
Enemy Techniques
We will continue to avoid implementing techniques which strip equipment and prevent re-equipping as much as possible. There may be a select few cases where abilities like this can still be used, but we will devise a way to make them avoidable.
Pet Strengthening
Matsui has previously responded to this, but we are planning to strengthen pets in ways which correspond to each job. If you haven't previously seen the post, please check it out.
Are all items obtained from one content level implemented with the same item level regardless of the equipment slot, etc.?
For Rare/Ex equipment that cannot be passed on to other players, the item level will always match the content level. For equipment that can be passed on, such as synthesized equipment, the item level will be slightly lower.
If you change armor during combat, will the experience value be corrected for the maximum item level during battle? For example, if you have item level 119 at some point during battle, but item level 110 at the time the enemy is defeated, will you get the experience for level 119?
Yes, that's right, it would be similar to a level 1 and level 20 player partied together with the experience based on the level 20 player. Also, when the EXP goes up and down by item level, it will not be based on just one equipment slot. It will be a combination of weapon (main, sub, ranged) and armor (head, body, hands, legs, and feet), calculated my a mechanism which references all of the item levels and determines a final level. Ears, fingers, back, waist, neck, grip, and non-throwable ammo (treated as accessories) will not have the item level displayed and will be excluded from this reference.
Equipment with Item Levels
For equipment tailored to higher item levels, uniform stat increases based on that item level will be granted (for example, item level 10 may grant STR+10, etc.). The stats will also differ by equipment slot (for example, it might be STR+10 for head but STR+5 on hands).
The parameters associated with item level will always be displayed on the equipment as normal statistics. This will increase the amount of statistics being displayed, so we will look into adjusting the display.
Regarding EXP Obtained from Lower Level Enemies
We are concerned with Trial of the Magians being affected by this, so we will make an adjustment to prevent this from happening. The EXP obtained from monsters at level 99 or below will remain intact; the item level adjustments will only affect EXP obtained from monsters at level 100 or higher.
Translated by: Slycer | |
Ragnarok.Alahra
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 296
By Ragnarok.Alahra 2013-06-20 14:47:40
...so, this is only going to matter for Adoulin, and XP is a pretty small concern once you hit 99, since merit parties in Adoulin are probably never going to happen.
Why are they even putting this XP-adjustment thing in?
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By Quiznor 2013-06-20 14:49:27
Ears, fingers, back, waist, neck, grip, and non-throwable ammo (treated as accessories) will not have the item level displayed and will be excluded from this reference.
Lol'd because everyone's gear would be level 100+ and a level 30 rajas ring
Or would they have the balls to give rajas a "level 110" item level lol
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By Tsol 2013-06-20 14:54:46
Say you have gear that makes you "level" 119, and you're fighting a mob that is level 110. That would put you 9 levels "above" what you're fighting whereas if they use your job level, that would put you 11 levels below what you're fighting. The exp would not be proportionate to what you actually are.
Ragnarok.Alahra
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 296
By Ragnarok.Alahra 2013-06-20 14:59:05
Say you have gear that makes you "level" 119, and you're fighting a mob that is level 110. That would put you 9 levels "above" what you're fighting whereas if they use your job level, that would put you 11 levels below what you're fighting. The exp would not be proportionate to what you actually are.
I understand *what* this does. I don't understand *why* they're doing it. No one kills Adoulin monsters for XP, and they aren't likely to start doing so. Given that there's still the cap on normal XP from monster kills as far as I'm aware, there's already some method to control increased XP gain.
And even *without* this, Abyssea parties are still going to be faster XP than any imaginary Adoulin merit parties.
By Luvbunny1 2013-06-20 15:05:18
No one kills Adoulin monsters for XP, and they aren't likely to start doing so. And even *without* this, Abyssea parties are still going to be faster XP than any imaginary Adoulin merit parties.
Yeah I don't understand where the game is going for the future - are we now just killing things for gears? Pretty much just "leveling up" our gears instead of doing everything else pre-SoA ? It's nice to see that Abyssea is still not dead yet, if ever... lol.
By Tsol 2013-06-20 15:08:03
Just because people are exping there there now, doesn't mean that they wouldn't stop and they have to plan for that. I mean, they could take iLvl up a LOT higher. You can't assume that people would stay in Abyssea forever to exp if the adoulin mobs are providing 600 p/k right off the bat.
By Tsol 2013-06-20 15:10:00
Not to mention you can use exp ring outside of Abyssea, so that 600 could become 1200 really quick.
Ragnarok.Alahra
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 296
By Ragnarok.Alahra 2013-06-20 15:24:03
Just because people are exping there there now, doesn't mean that they wouldn't stop and they have to plan for that. I mean, they could take iLvl up a LOT higher. You can't assume that people would stay in Abyssea forever to exp if the adoulin mobs are providing 600 p/k right off the bat.
Except you can't level from 30-99 in Adoulin, which is the only span of character progression where XP truly matters. You're also forgetting that Abyssea parties also grant XP from boxes and cruor (which will likely become relevant after the REM update again).
Adoulin would only matter for merit parties, perhaps, and given how quickly we can cap merits already, I don't know why they're suddenly viewing the rate of XP gain as a problem. Gaining it a little faster isn't going to change the game at all at this point.
When Matsui was already complaining about not having the manpower to get stuff done, it's baffling that he'd waste the manpower he *does* have on something so utterly pointless.
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Lakshmi.Rooks
Administrator
サーバ: Lakshmi
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1566
By Lakshmi.Rooks 2013-06-20 15:55:38
When Matsui was already complaining about not having the manpower to get stuff done, it's baffling that he'd waste the manpower he *does* have on something so utterly pointless.
It says something that this isn't even the most confusing move he's made so far.
Ragnarok.Alahra
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 296
By Ragnarok.Alahra 2013-06-20 16:02:14
When Matsui was already complaining about not having the manpower to get stuff done, it's baffling that he'd waste the manpower he *does* have on something so utterly pointless.
It says something that this isn't even the most confusing move he's made so far.
I've probably missed others since I was gone for a few years. I'm not sure if I'm happy about that or not. I mean, on some level, all this stuff really does make me laugh while I'm facepalming.
By Luvbunny1 2013-06-20 16:09:29
LOL he should have implemented the gear check system like WoW, if your gears are not meeting the overall number, you cannot do the events. That would force people to actually go back and farm the previous content gears to be eligible for newer contents. Though to be honest his method is more democratic that every one can attend and just come, which is great but at the same time, negating all the previous contents.
It would have been so much better if you can combine your current AF3+2 (or any previous contents gears) and mix it with the SoA plasm to add more stats. This will give reasons for all players to keep the gears they like (wether nostalgia or cosmetic reasons) and keep upgrading that said gears appropriately. Gives better reasons to do every contents before SoA and get the gears you like the best and focus on upgrading it via SoA path.
If he lets you do the same to Magian Trials weapon, it would revitalize that activities as well. It makes it relevant to do older content or to do the newer content to make your previous weapons better. I think that is what R/M/E also asked him for - but then he should have make upgrading to lvl 99 much easier and not 1500 BS crap.
Valefor.Sehachan
サーバ: Valefor
Game: FFXI
Posts: 24219
By Valefor.Sehachan 2013-06-20 16:32:21
LOL he should have implemented the gear check system like WoW, if your gears are not meeting the overall number, you cannot do the events. That would force people to actually go back and farm the previous content gears to be eligible for newer contents. Though to be honest his method is more democratic that every one can attend and just come, which is great but at the same time, negating all the previous contents. You have no idea how this game works, do you?
Cerberus.Pleebo
サーバ: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2013-06-20 16:39:53
LOL he should have implemented the gear check system like WoW, if your gears are not meeting the overall number, you cannot do the events. That would force people to actually go back and farm the previous content gears to be eligible for newer contents. Though to be honest his method is more democratic that every one can attend and just come, which is great but at the same time, negating all the previous contents. You have no idea how this game works, do you? It's been confirmed in other threads that he/she really doesn't.
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Ragnarok.Sekundes
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4189
By Ragnarok.Sekundes 2013-06-20 16:43:09
So let me get this straight... They won't let us see acc, haste R att or anything like that because it requires displaying extra data and that would cause more network lag... but then they go add a 100% completely pointless iLevel system that displays extra data.
I'm slightly annoyed.
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By Luvbunny1 2013-06-20 16:46:09
You have no idea how this game works, do you?
I know exactly how this game works, do you? Obviously Matsui throw options out of the window with SoA, now it's all about getting your delve weapons or bust. Or that's not very clear for you either?
Valefor.Sehachan
サーバ: Valefor
Game: FFXI
Posts: 24219
By Valefor.Sehachan 2013-06-20 16:49:51
No you don't, otherwise you wouldn't suggest that system you mentioned above. You're completely clueless.
By Luvbunny1 2013-06-20 16:59:16
No you don't, otherwise you wouldn't suggest that system you mentioned above. You're completely clueless. I am completely aware that my suggestion will not work for FFXI - lack of manpower is one thing, PS2 spaghetti code is another. I think Matsui's intention is good, and he mentioned that he hopes FFXI players will help each other aka get all the newbies their base delve weapons so they can in turn help you farm plasm. However does not quite works smoothly in implementation. Please go check official forum as well to see the "suggestions" and "comments" on the state of this game. There are other players who are not in the 10% hardcore groups which made the majority of paying customers of FFXI.
It's all good though, I think this is their intention all along, to move the majority out of FFXI and get them to try FF14 (and hopefully stay there since it is more tailored to the casual and semi hardcore groups). This way they can focus to make FFXI for the die hard hardcore and become even more niche. They should just release FFXI: Dark Soul prepare to die edition lol. Apparently FF13: Lightning Returns is going down this route.
Valefor.Sehachan
サーバ: Valefor
Game: FFXI
Posts: 24219
By Valefor.Sehachan 2013-06-20 17:02:12
I am completely aware that my suggestion will not work for FFXI - lack of manpower is one thing, PS2 spaghetti code is another. That's not the reason. Think deeply, remember we gear swap here? Yeah, good times.
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Valefor.Sehachan
サーバ: Valefor
Game: FFXI
Posts: 24219
By Valefor.Sehachan 2013-06-20 17:02:43
I think this is their intention all along, to move the majority out of FFXI And this is so idiotic I don't even know how you might think it makes any sense at all.
[+]
Cerberus.Pleebo
サーバ: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 9720
By Cerberus.Pleebo 2013-06-20 17:07:05
Do you get compensated for being a FFXIV shill in near every thread you post in?
Phoenix.Urteil
By Phoenix.Urteil 2013-06-20 17:22:07
All this ***, I don't even.
[+]
サーバ: Fenrir
Game: FFXI
Posts: 3351
By Fenrir.Terminus 2013-06-20 17:27:30
Not to mention you can use exp ring outside of Abyssea, so that 600 could become 1200 really quick.
Yeah... but for like, 4 minutes.
By Kalila 2013-06-21 14:37:52
06-21-2013 11:58 AM | Slycer | BG Translator | |
| | Mocchi: Item Level, Weapon Skills, and More
For item display, how will it show up? For example, will the item level represent the strength of the stat enhancements (say, +20), without individually being listed on the item?
| | | We plan to display all stats. The display may become a little lengthy, so please forgive that! | | | If player level is changed when equipping these items, how will it affect other level-related things? For example, how will Lv 5 Petrify be treated?
| | | To refer to your specific example, a level 99 player with item level 105 will still not be affected by Lv 5 Petrify. Additionally, any specific equipment triggered by level will reference the player's level, not the player's item level. | | | Upon calling a pet, will it be based on the player's level or the item level?
| | | As we stated previously, the levels of pets will not change, and we will carry out any pet enhancements with new or updated equipment. | | | What happens for jobs that don't have a ranged weapon, jobs that single wield vs. dual wield, etc.?
| | | Because this description is a bit complicated, if there's a specific point that's difficult to understand, please let us know.
For weapons to be added in the future, weapon skills will be adjusted for the increased level.
On existing weapons, although the main weapon's DMG value is independent from the sub weapon's DMG value, for future weapons, the weapon skill's value will also be calculated independently.
Here's our reasoning for this. Let's assume that you are equipped with Dual Wielded weapons with high accuracy and attack values. When you have one equipped alone or with a shield, even though you only have a main weapon, we still want to maintain the same attack power and hit rate.
So, for weapon skills and additional effects, the hit rate element will be calculated as a function of the weapon skill, with the hit rate raised to the corresponding level.
Additionally, I wanted to touch on hand-to-hand weapons separately from the above concern. Unlike other weapon skills, with hand-to-hand skill, as hand-to-hand skill rises, the DMG value rises. For hand-to-hand weapons that we add in the future, we will add weapon skills like with other weapons, and we will continue to update the DMG value by taking this relation to skill into consideration. | | | Although there will be equipment implemented in the future, will any of this be added to the existing Delve?
| | | We plan to continue to add top-tier gear (= equipment from boss monsters) as part of Delve. | | | For the rising parameters on gear, how will it work? Will it be just by level, or also correspond to armor type/jobs, individual equipment, etc.?
| | | The numerical values will not be the same for all equipment, but we do plan to have a pattern to some extent. | | | Can you give us a rough approximation on the stats that will be added per level?
| | | I'm sorry I can't really respond to this, but please reference the existing equipment and the equipment to be added. | | | Are you suggesting that HP and MP will not be rising with the future "levels"? HP and MP are parameters that typically increase with level.
| | | We are moving in a direction to reduce damage taken by adding more magic defense bonus and physical damage taken reduction.
In the future, as monsters become more powerful and the DMG value of those monsters rises, we will continue to increase HP present on gear. On the other hand, since the MP consumption of spells won't change, we won't be increasing MP to the same extent (though that doesn't mean we won't be adding any MP gear). | | | Right now there's an existing cap of 50% reduction on physical damage taken which can already relatively easily be hit with Earth Staff and some other accessories. Do you plan to increase this parameter with the "level" rise?
| | | There will be no change to the 50% cap. We will add different amounts of physical damage taken between the front-line and back-line jobs. | | | As usual, jobs like WHM, BRD, COR, and GEO don't really benefit from any of these step changes in equipment. Are they supposed to just skip over the middle level ranges and go right for level 119 equipment?
| | | If you don't require all of the intermediate equipment, you can go ahead and try to challenge whatever you think you're capable of. That being said, we would like to increase the attractiveness of equipment for all jobs. | | | Depending on the job, there is certain equipment which cannot be removed. For example, Treasure Hunter+ gear on THF. For equipment which can't be removed during combat, are you planning on doing anything to update it?
| | | I'd say Treasure Hunter equipment is in trouble. [[I think this is what he's saying anyway, his response confused me here, but seems to indicate they're either adding new/better TH gear.]] | | | I think an adjustment needs to be made to enemy moves which strip and encumber. Now, it's likely that these moves will have an additional effect of reducing a player's level to 99. Are you planning anything?
| | | We will try to avoid implementing techniques which strip and encumber as much as possible. Although they might be used rarely, in those cases we will have methods to avoid them. | | |
Translated by: Slycer | |
By Alkaseltzer 2013-06-23 13:06:48
Say you have gear that makes you "level" 119, and you're fighting a mob that is level 110. That would put you 9 levels "above" what you're fighting whereas if they use your job level, that would put you 11 levels below what you're fighting. The exp would not be proportionate to what you actually are.
I understand *what* this does. I don't understand *why* they're doing it. No one kills Adoulin monsters for XP, and they aren't likely to start doing so. Given that there's still the cap on normal XP from monster kills as far as I'm aware, there's already some method to control increased XP gain.
And even *without* this, Abyssea parties are still going to be faster XP than any imaginary Adoulin merit parties.
It's so as you get stronger you can do a /check on mobs and know how your strength compares based on gear levels. EXP really just seems like a side effect.
Ragnarok.Alahra
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 296
By Ragnarok.Alahra 2013-06-23 13:53:52
Say you have gear that makes you "level" 119, and you're fighting a mob that is level 110. That would put you 9 levels "above" what you're fighting whereas if they use your job level, that would put you 11 levels below what you're fighting. The exp would not be proportionate to what you actually are.
I understand *what* this does. I don't understand *why* they're doing it. No one kills Adoulin monsters for XP, and they aren't likely to start doing so. Given that there's still the cap on normal XP from monster kills as far as I'm aware, there's already some method to control increased XP gain.
And even *without* this, Abyssea parties are still going to be faster XP than any imaginary Adoulin merit parties.
It's so as you get stronger you can do a /check on mobs and know how your strength compares based on gear levels. EXP really just seems like a side effect.
Yeah, that's what they said in the post. But that's almost entirely irrelevant to gameplay and they're short on manpower, so I can't understand why they'd prioritize something so trivial over other things.
By Kalila 2013-06-26 14:46:17
06-25-2013 01:28 PM | Slycer | BG Translator | |
| | Matsui: Content Level and Item Level
Hello, it's Matsui.
Thank you for all of your feedback on item levels (= content level).
In the past, I told you that I would have more information about content levels and item levels as we approached the update, so I would like to talk about that now.
◆About Content Level
In Adoulin, players will become stronger and align their equipment with more and more challenging content that becomes available over time. The play cycle is designed so that players can start from the base, and improve their equipment from there. For Adoulin content, as an indicator of the difficulty of completing a content's objectives, we have established Content Levels.
The content levels so far are as follows:
[[Same table you've probably seen 10 times already with the content level of individual Adoulin content]].
◆Why not just raise the player level cap?
To be completely honest, raising the level cap was simply not an option. Therefore, we considered two proposals.
1. Increase the variety of gear available.
In the traditional style, add a variety of coexisting top tier equipment, maintaining the pre-established hierarchy with Relic, Mythic, and Empyrean weapons remaining at the top. Gear would be selected appropriately based on the situation and the player level would remain 99.
2. Extend the variation of equipment vertically.
This is the path we chose. Here, the player level still remains 99; however, the player will continue to grow through newly added equipment.
We received many opinions at the time, such as those which said that the performance of the items did not match the difficulty of the content. We also received comments that many different pieces of equipment have similar performance in many situations.
We also had to consider that if we continue to only add a spread of equipment with little to no vertical growth, we would also be limited in increasing the strength of monsters. If this was the case, it would be difficult to create a new progression of content, so we did not think that the results of simply adding new similar gear would be desirable.
As a result, after many studies in which we considered the current status of the game and the future prospects that we had, we decided to stretch the variety of equipment vertically.
By the way, there are a couple of reasons that we did not have the option to raise the level cap. As you know, the level of the support job is currently restricted to 49. By allowing you to increase past this, we would have to put partial restrictions on job traits and job abilities. We would also have new balance issues and would have to work through further increasing the levels of job traits.
Additionally, the current FFXI UI is not designed to be able to display higher than level 99. In order to display parameters above level 99, we would have to recreate various components of the UI.
◆Item Level (Part 1)
By choosing growth via equipment as our design basis, there was a major difference from the past. In the past, parameters increased with new equipment available, as well as with the player's level itself. Now, the approach is to grow the player through equipment alone. As a result, the performance jumps on the equipment are larger than before, but the basic concept remains the same.
In the past, gaining the experience to defeat stronger monsters was accomplished by increasing the player's level and collecting powerful equipment. In Adoulin, to take on more challenging content and monsters, you will grow by just collecting more powerful equipment.
To put it succinctly,
For these reasons, the strength of equipment does not depend on equipment level, but on the challenge level of the content involved in obtaining the equipment.
◆Item Level (Part 2)
I want to discuss in a bit more detail how the strength of equipment is dependent on content level rather than equipment level.
The strength of monsters which appear in Adoulin content is designed to match the corresponding content level. (In order to have a hierarchy between the content, the designed strength between the content levels varies significantly.)'
Next, by calculating the parameters which are required for players to be able to compete with these monsters, the parameters of the Adoulin equipment were set, using "Item Level" as an indicator of the strength of the equipment.
◆Meaning of Item Level and Content Level
Essentially, we want you to use item level and content level as indicators for you to determine when you are ready to take on new content.
However, in addition to this, with the way varying strategies evolve, and unique properties that can be gained from other equipment, we do not want you to think that you have no chance in the new content if you do not have equipment of a certain item level.
It intended only to be interpreted as a guide to some extent.
Some of the equipment added earlier in Adoulin exceeds item level 100; however, at present it is somewhat difficult to judge. Once we add labeled item levels and new, higher level equipment, it will be easier to understand.
For equipment which has been granted augmented statistics, we originally intended for the item level to be determined by the values of the augments. However, this is difficult given the current mechanism, so for equipment that can be augmented, the item level displayed assumes that the equipment has been granted the highest possible augment values. I apologize for any incovenience this might cause.
Also, item levels and content levels were established so that everyone has an index and can more objectively understand the strength of monsters and the performance of equipment when new content and equipment are implemented.
In part, this will help us determine content level and items based on the difficulty when new content is added. It is also important that we establish item level so that we have a reference for establishing new items or content at the same content levels.
As an example, with these defined values, it will be easier to determine whether the performance of items truly does match the difficulty of the content from which they are determined. It will also be easier for us to see when we need to add to the variety of equipment available for a certain level, or to decide when and whether we need to adjust the difficulty of particular content.
◆Summary
Up to this point, I've discussed the reasoning and concepts. We've seen that there have been two main criticisms regarding item level and content level.
1. The concept of content level is not functioning well.
As part of this, I will quote a post I made last month.
[[Self-quoted post about the large gap in content level to delve bosses and the need to fill that gap in, as well as add content for solo and small groups.]]
Also, please review the overview of reive adjustments. We will continue to review and adjust existing content like this. (Please allow me to explain in more detail in a future post.)
2. We cannot play this content in small groups.
When choosing to play in small groups, there are not many options available for obtaining new equipment, and I believe this situation needs to be addressed. We will continue to work on the development of adjusting and introducing new content for solo or small groups with high priority.
In the next version update, we will allow for small group support in Reives, along with the addition of newly available Bayld equipment. Some items have not been fully completed at this point, but will become available later, so I'd like to apologize for that.
We have also received a lot of feedback that players who do not have top tier gear find it difficult to participate in the highest content level content, and are having difficulty in obtaining the new equipment.
We do not plan to make any adjustments so that the same equipment is available with different, easier methods, but we plan to add new equipment which closes the gap as time passes. Then, later on in the future, we will adjust the difficulty of the content for everyone in order to make the content easier to complete for varying play styles.
Please continue to share with us your ideas about content level and item level; I will be happy to continue to answer your questions.
Translated by: Slycer | |
06-25-2013 9:02 PM | Akihiko Matsui | Community Rep | |
| | Matsui here.
Thanks so much for all the feedback about item levels and content levels.
I've been answering questions on this topic and have discussed this in the past, but I'd like to take this opportunity to talk more about it.
Content Levels
For Adoulin, we've set a basic repeating play cycle which entails procuring stronger equipment to challenge harder content, which will yield even stronger equipment.
In order to indicate difficulty for Adoulin content in a way that is displayed in an objective fashion, we have established content levels.
The below is a chart representation of this:
20 | | Delve (Boss monsters) | | | 19 | | | | | 18 | | | | | 17 | | | | New Wildskeeper Reives | 16 | | | | | 15 | | | | | 14 | | Delve (NM group 2) | | | 13 | | | | New Skirmish | 12 | | | | | 11 | | Delve (NM group 1) | | | 10 | | | | | 9 | | | | New Colonization/Lair Reives | 8 | | | | 7 | | Wildskeeper Reives | | 6 | | Skirmish | | 5 | | Colonization/Lair Reives | | | 4 | | | | 3 | | | | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | Content Level | | Up to April 2013 | | Upcoming version updates (July and August) |
Why not increase the level cap?
To be extremely frank, increasing the level cap was never an option.
So then what were our options?
Below are the two plans:
Expand equipment variation laterally
This would be preserving the original style of the game up until now.
Keeping relics, mythics, and empyreans at the top, add gear that can be used depending on the situation without creating higher tiers of equipment. No changes to the level 99 cap.
Boost equipment variation vertically
This is the current plan.
Add equipment that surpasses relics, mythics, and empyrean. Player level cap of 99 remains unchanged, but growth takes place via equipment.
I believe that there were quite a few who recall that there was a lot of feedback in the past about content difficulty and item stats not matching up, and a lot of equipment having similar stats.
We had come to see the limits of continuing to expand equipment variation laterally, and due to the fact that it wouldn't be possible to change monster strength without character growth as well as the fact that it would be difficult to make a variety of exciting content, the result would turn into only expanding areas, which we did not think was desirable.
As a result based on thorough discussions, while considering the current state of the game as well as the future, we decided to boost the variation of equipment vertically.
There were also a number of other reasons why increasing the level cap was not added as an option.
As I am sure you are all aware, increasing the level cap would cause a number of balance related issues to arise, such as whether the support jobs would remain at 49 or if they could be allowed to go higher, limitations on job abilities and job traits, and also how high the staged increases of job traits would go.
Also, the current UI system used in FINAL FANTASY XI was not created for levels to go above 99, so in order to display parameters for levels over 99 it would be necessary to completely reconstruct portions of the UI.
Items Levels I
With a growth system that takes place via equipment, there is one large aspect that differs from what we have seen in the game up until now.
The aspect is moving from two growth patterns: parameters that grow by leveling and parameters that grow from equipment, to just one: parameters that grow from equipment. As a result, equipment stats have come to look much larger; however, the fundamental thought process up until now will not be changed.
Just like up until now where you would gain experience points by defeating strong monsters that you were able to challenge, level up, and continue to grow by procuring strong equipment, in Adoulin as well you'll be challenging strong monsters and content, and progressing growth by gathering powerful equipment.
Put simply, due to the below reasons we've made it so the strength of equipment does not rely on the level you can equip them, but instead relies on the content level you can obtain them.
Items Levels II
I'd like to go into more detail about the strength of equipment does not relying on the level you can equip them, but instead relying on the content level you can obtain them.
The strength of monsters that appear in Adoulin content will be decided on the content level. (Since we will be building a solid hierarchy between content, we’re making it so just 1 level difference in content level will be extremely noticeable.)
We've also calculated the necessary parameters you will need to combat these monsters and decided the stats for Adoulin equipment, which is why we've established item levels to make them references for equipment strength.
The meaning behind content levels and items levels
Basically, we would like you to use content levels and items levels as a reference when challenging content.
Though it's a reference, we understand there are aspects that can be covered by certain strategies and ways of playing as well as equipment that is used/collected for their special stats and properties, so this is NOT something that is saying "you definitely cannot do this content without this item level."
We'd just like this to act as a gauge where you can consider what kind of equipment you should gather and what kind of content you can go do.
Amongst the equipment available before Adoulin, there were items that exceeded item level 100, and while there are aspects that make it difficult to determine, it will become easier to understand as more and more items with item levels are introduced.
In regards to equipment that have augments added to them, we had originally wanted to have individual item levels depending on the specific value of the augments, but with the current system it was determined that it would be difficult, and we will be making it so the item level displayed is for the highest augment value possible. We apologize for this and appreciate your understanding.
Also, similar to how we would like you to use content levels and items levels as reference, it also makes it possible for the person implementing equipment and content to grasp the strength of equipment stats and monster strength more objectively.
In the event that the person implementing these things were to change, it’s extremely important for them to prepare the proper content and item stats following the content level difficulty and stat curve.
As an example, as a response to feedback that mentioned content difficulty and item stats did not match, it will now become possible to accurately *** this, and it will also be possible to judge more accurately what kind of content is being implemented for a certain level, whether more variations are necessary, and what content's difficulty needs adjusting.
Wrap-up
Until now I have been talking about the concept and purpose for content levels and item levels.
I'm aware that the negative feedback in regards to content levels and item levels is largely split into two categories.
The concept of content levels does not work properly
This is something that I discussed in a post I made last month.
With the release of the end of April version update, we've implemented Delve and have completed the battle content that was planned for the launch of Seekers of Adoulin.
I feel that the flow of content that we planned where players would take on higher tiers of content (content level) by progressing in stages is not going as smoothly as we'd like.
Specifically, I would like to adjust the fact that it's difficult to do colonization reives and lair reives in small numbers, as well as the fact that it is difficult to start Skirmish.
For the time being, Delve (the boss battle) has been set as the highest content level.
With this current state, I feel priorities should be placed on implementing and adjusting content for low-man or soloing more than adding further higher tier content, and I would like to work hard while heading in this direction so that a larger amount of players can enjoy the game. |
After this I also made a post about Reive adjustments, but besides only reives we will continue to make adjustments as needed to coalition assignments and other existing content. (I will make a separate post to explain about this.)
It's not possible to play with a small amount of people
I understand the need for the option of being able to play with a small amount of people as well as the need for ways to obtain new equipment with a small amount of people, and we are putting a very high priority to implement and adjust content so that it be done with a small group of players or solo over time.
In the upcoming version update we will be adding support for low-manning reives and adding new equipment that can be exchanged for Bayld, as well as other ways to address this, but I would like to apologize for not being able to have these ready yet.
We've also seen feedback posted which mentions that top players are clearing the high level content and seeing players obtain brand-new gear is upsetting because it's not possible to play all the time and it won't be possible to obtain that equipment.
We will not be making adjustments so that equipment can be obtained at the same time and pace as the top players, but we will be adding elements where you can obtain equipment close to it by spending a bit of time, and also once some time passes we will be adjusting the content difficulty, making it easier to clear. We would like to make an environment where it's possible to play with a variety of styles.
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Phoenix.Urteil
By Phoenix.Urteil 2013-06-26 14:55:13
Dear Matsui,
So just post a chart of "content levels" on the main site that nobody checks, next to the "useful" in-game-terms for translation that nobody checks.
In this way the end-goal of nobody caring or worrying about item level would still be achieved. I don't care if your item level is over 9000 if you are TP'ing in 19% haste insisting that the double attack on your [insert piece here] is making up for your complete fail.
Then resources wouldn't be wasted adding arbitrary (pretty much) numbers next to gear. I would like to inform you, the "developer", this game works on item sets comprised of valuable stats for specific combat stages, rather than one set of gear being progressively better than the last.
"That guy has an item level of over 200! Let's invite him without assessing the value of the stats he has equipped in his sets!" - Says nobody who will want to win at this game ever.
You could re-texture the floor models and it would be more productive.
Sincerely Yours,
Anyone who has been playing this game for more than a week.
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