We’ve posted the official forum summary of the Letter From the Producer Part XXVII with images from the broadcast!

Read on for all the juicy new information!

Patch 3.2, The Gears of Change, will arrive on February 23, 2016!

Stone, Sky, Sea

This is a battle challenge where you have three minutes to defeat a specific training dummy. At the beginning of the broadcast, we had Yoshida demonstrate the battle against the striking dummy for Alexander: Gordias, The Burden of the Father (Savage).

There are several levels of challenge. Each training dummy corresponds to the difficulty of high-level content, and players will be able to test their rotations for each job. We also have Patch 3.2 content available as well, and players can practice here before challenging the new raid. For example, by completing the Alexander: Midas (Normal), the first area for Alexander: Midas (Savage) will become available.

This content is for solo players. There aren’t any rewards, but I believe it’s worth trying. We believe players will expect healers to DPS as well, so we were worried about whether or not we should include this for healers, but we implemented this so healers can challenge it too.

Job Adjustments Part I

We will be changing the method for calculating the potency of physical attacks for tank roles in Patch 3.2. We’ll be making it so vitality affects the potency of physical attacks, and as a result the effect of strength on physical attack potency will be reduced.

From Patch 3.2 onwards, you’ll be safe using only vitality accessories as well as allocating everything to vitality as a tank. For everyone who is currently using strength accessories on their tanks, the damage will be lowered, so please prepare your vitality accessories ahead of time.

Job Adjustments Part II

In regards to tanks, we’ll be looking at each of the three jobs’ defense traits and making overall adjustments to their values. Amongst the adjustments, paladin will be receiving large adjustments. Not only in terms of their offensive-aspects, but overall adjustments as well.

There will be various adjustments for jobs, but one of the major ones will be for astrologians “Shuffle.” We’ll be making adjustments to both the name of the ability and the effect so that the same card cannot be drawn again. Additionally, we’ll be reducing aspects related to enmity.

In regards to machinist, it’s a tough job that deals fast damage; however, compared to other jobs it’s a bit behind in DPS, so we will be making adjustments. We’ll also be making adjustments to bard’s “The Warden’s Paean.”

Naturally, we will be making adjustments to other jobs as well based on everyone’s feedback, but please wait for the patch notes for more details.

We’ll also be making further adjustments to the speed in which the limit break gauge fills up.

Beast Tribe Daily Quests



Gnath daily quests will be implemented in Patch 3.2, and the level adjust system will also be implemented for these quests.

You may notice we’re riding an unfamiliar mount… This is a flying mount used by the Gnath. Gnath’s camp is located near the Vath Storyteller NPC.

Additionally, the Adamantoise mount will also take to the skies! If you’re using the first person camera, you won’t have to worry about it spinning!

The Feast Part I



This is the PvP content we have been referring to as “The Wolves’ Den 2.”

Rules: Need to be level 60. Item level syncs to 150.

Party composition 4v4: 1 tank, 1 melee DPS, 1 ranged DPS, 1 healer 8v8: 2 tanks, 2 melee DPS, 2 ranged DPS, 2 healers.



You’ll need to have both melee DPS and ranged DPS in your party.

You will not be able to queue if you have a different party composition.

There will be a concept of ratings, and there is a mode where you can be matched against people with similar skill.

The Feast Part II

8 vs 8 (Win/loss rating does not apply)

Rating does not apply for this mode. We want players to enjoy with this mode, so first please try this and have fun.

4 vs 4 (Solo, Win/loss rate applies)

Players will only be able to queue for this mode while solo. Your rating will change depending on your wins/losses.

4 vs 4 (Light party, win/loss rate applies)

Players will only be able to queue to this mode as a light party, and the win/loss rate will apply.

*There are practice modes available for both solo and static parties. Additionally, the rating for party and solo will be different.

The Feast Part III

Deciding the Victor

Different than the previous Wolves’ Den content, instead of completely wiping out the opposing team, the objective is to steal your opponent’s medals, and the team that has the most at the end of the match will win. Each team’s members will start the battle with 100 medals.When defeating an opponent, they will drop their medals. Your team can pick these up, and once you reach a certain number of medals, your team will win.If you’re worried about dragging a team down because you feel like you’re going to get killed over and over–have no fear! The amount of medals you drop will become fewer and fewer the more you are defeated, so there is no benefit to defeating the same person continuously. Depending on the amount of medals your opponent drops, there will be various effects.Also, you won’t be able to collect medals off of your teammates.

The Feast Part IV

There are several elements that will change the flow of battle.

Adrenalin Rush

Players who have experienced Frontline may be aware of this system, but this is limit break-like action which can be used by individual players..

Players who have experienced Frontline may be aware of this system, but this is limit break-like action which can be used by individual players.. Supply Box

There are supply boxes which are available from the beginning, and those that will become available at a later time. By attacking this box, it will break, and give an item called Supply Kit. Item will be given to the team that dealt the most damage to the box. Offense Kit – Increased attack Defense Kit – Increased defense Medical Kit – Heals Adrenalin Kit – Increases the Adrenalin Rush gauge

There are supply boxes which are available from the beginning, and those that will become available at a later time. By attacking this box, it will break, and give an item called Supply Kit. Item will be given to the team that dealt the most damage to the box. Culling Time

This time occurs when a player isn’t defeated for certain amount of time. If no one is defeated the debuff will continue to accumulate, but once an enemy or ally is defeated the debuff is removed. This will also affect the background and sound.

This time occurs when a player isn’t defeated for certain amount of time. If no one is defeated the debuff will continue to accumulate, but once an enemy or ally is defeated the debuff is removed. This will also affect the background and sound. Heavy Medal

Depending on amount of medals held, players will receive physical damage up debuff. If one player collects too much medals, they will receive that much more debuff, so please be careful.

The Feast Part V

Result screen

The result screen will show the number of knockouts (K), the number of times you were knocked out (D), and the number of assists (A). Assists can be earned through heals, buffs, and other actions. It’s pretty easy to get assists, so try to get a lot of them.

The Feast Part VI

Ranks

There are six tiers of ranks for both solo and pre-formed parties: no rank, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Once you reach 1000 rating points, you’ll start promotion battles. Winning 3 out of 5 promotion battles will allow you to be promoted to the next rank.

There are six tiers of ranks for both solo and pre-formed parties: no rank, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Once you reach 1000 rating points, you’ll start promotion battles. Winning 3 out of 5 promotion battles will allow you to be promoted to the next rank. Ranking

The Feast has its own specialized ranking. It will be tallied for each Data Center.There will be a ranking list for each rank, so I recommend trying your best in the rank that suits your skill level.

The Feast has its own specialized ranking. It will be tallied for each Data Center.There will be a ranking list for each rank, so I recommend trying your best in the rank that suits your skill level. Ranks and Reset

With the change of every season (3.5 months), both rank and your ranking will reset.Those at the top will be given special rewards.There will also be special rewards particular for a season only for players at the top of the diamond rank. There will be rewards for each of the ranks. The top players will also be able to receive the prizes that those below them receive.The special reward for diamond rank is equipment with a completely new design, and diamond ranked players can earn the entire set. There will also be trophy furnishings.We put a lot of effort into the prizes, so strive to be the top of a rank that fits your skill.

New Instanced Dungeons

New instanced dungeons, the Antitower and The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard) will be added.

Alexander: Midas



The next installment of Alexander is called Alexander: Midas. In 3.0, there were some time in between the release of Normal and Savage mode; however, this time we’re adding both modes simultaneously.

Similar to Alexander: Gordias, Midas will have exchangeable items. Players will be able to challenge this raid regardless if they already obtained the reward or not.

Alexander: Midas (Savage)

Savage will be released at the same time as the normal version. Progress will be saved, and the equipment can be obtained directly from treasure chests. It will also be possible to obtain tokens for each area each week. Depending on the number of players that have already completed a certain area, the number of treasure chests that appear will vary.

It’s essentially the same rules of Savage that you’ve seen up until now.

Considering that the DPS checks for the third and fourth areas of Alexander: Gordias (Savage) were too severe, we’re currently performing our final checks and adjustments, but since it’s a raid it will be a high level of difficulty.

Materia Melding

It will not be possible to use advanced materia melding for STR, DEX, VIT, INT, MND, and PIE. You will be able to meld these stats into available materia slots.

Players may think this will lower the demand for materia; however, the scope on which materia can be melded for individual equipment will increase.

The amount of Tier IV and V materia output, exchange, and method to obtain these will be adjusted, so please think that the value for this materia will change slightly. The amount produced will increase greatly, so players do not have to worry if they’ll require a lot of gil since due to increase in demand.

Orchestrion



*The live stream showed the orchestrion in action.

The orchestrion is a furnishing that all players inside of your house can use to change the background music. The music will be looped. You’ll be able to obtain sheet music for it through a variety of avenues. When you interact with the orchestrion, you’ll bring up a specialized UI. Selecting a song from here will change the music for the house. Since the music comes straight from the orchestrion, distancing yourself from it will change how it sounds. We’ll be adding an “orchestrion sheet music log” and you’ll be able to see hints for how to obtain songs.

Depending on the content, there may be cases where it’s easier to obtain rewards when you complete it with the minimum item level.

We’ll be adding more songs with each patch, and we hope you have fun expanding your music collection.

Mentor System Part I

What is the mentor system?

The mentor system is a system which will allow players to assist beginners. In order to become a mentor, players must earn specific achievements and talk to a specific NPC.

There are three requirements:

Must have one job from each role (Tank/DPS/Healer) at level 60.

It’s set up in a way so that the player can offer advice for each role.

Must have completed 1,000 or more instanced dungeons or trials.

You may feel this is a large amount of number; however, we believe a lot of players have this completed already.

Have earned over 300 commendations.

Additionally, there are requirements for those who don’t play battle-related classes/jobs.

Instead of the above requirements, players can also become mentors by completing the following:

Have at least one class from both Disciples of Hand and Land at level 60.

Have crafted over 100 collectables.

Have gathered over 300 collectables.

Mentor System Part II

Once you’re a mentor…

You’ll be able to invite beginners to special chat channel. As a countermeasure against RMT, we will be allowing mentors to invite beginners to the channel as they see fit.We’ll also be adding Duty Roulette: Mentor.Though there won’t be a ton of rewards, you’ll have priority matching for the content that has not been cleared yet by the person you are queuing with. Completing this a certain amount of times will yield achievements and rewards. Additionally, you’ll have a crown mark added next to your name, and you can turn this off and on as you like.

Containment Bay S1T7

*The stream showed off gameplay of this content.

This is the beginning of the Warring Triad series. It’s a circular battlefield, and the outer rim has a barrier. The person who created this battle also designed Titan, so let’s just say the theme of this battle is a big jump rope. I hope you’re looking forward to this. We’ve separated the quests into those for the main scenario and for Containment Bay S1T7 (Extreme), so please have fun with the one you like.

Exploratory Missions Adjustments Part I

Based on a lot of feedback, we will be making adjustments to Exploratory Missions.

Adjustments to content duration

We’re making adjustments in Patch 3.2 based on feedback that we received, but in the next patch we will be making bigger adjustments related to exploration.

We’re making adjustments in Patch 3.2 based on feedback that we received, but in the next patch we will be making bigger adjustments related to exploration. Change in content time

Hard: 90 minutes > 60 minutes

Normal: 90 minutes > 45 minutes

Easy: 90 minutes > 30 minutes

Hard: 90 minutes > 60 minutes Normal: 90 minutes > 45 minutes Easy: 90 minutes > 30 minutes Change to the re-entry time

45 minutes > 30 minutesWe looked into eliminating this; however, considering the fact that we will be adding new Allagan tomestones, we decided to keep a re-entry time in place.

Exploratory Missions Adjustments Part II

Along with the adjustments to the content duration, the required amount of aether turbulences will be changed as well.

Required amount of aether turbulences Hard: 4 to 3 Normal: 4 to 2 Easy 3 to 1



Additionaly, the amount and type of Allagan Tomestones earned by completing the tasks will also change.

Fresh Tracks

Players who spawn the Fresh Tracks will earn the rights for first attack. There’s a theory floating around that players need to take away 30% of the enemy’s HP in order to receive the reward; however, in hard mode this is much lower.

Furthermore in order to avoid mistakes that could happen when exchanging items obtained from exploratory missions, we have added a filtering feature at the exchange window. We’ll also change the amount of spoils required for exchanging for materia, so it may be a good idea to hold onto the spoils you have right now until Patch 3.2 is released.

Disciples of the Hand and Land Adjustments

In Patch 3.2 we will be adding an extremely large volume of new crafting recipes. One of the major types of recipes will be the release of new crafted equipment and accessories at the same time, which can be used to challenge raids early. They are at an item level that can be used for the raid, so I believe there will be a large demand for each job’s equipment.

We’ve also made it so that you won’t run into problems where you are not able to collect the necessary materials like has been the case in the past.

We’ll also be adding recipes for equipment that looks like Allagan and High Allagan equipment, except they can be dyed. (*The stream showed off pictures.)

It won’t be difficult to craft these items; however, you need a new item known as a “blueprint,” and how to obtain these is a secret for now.

Various cosmetic equipment will also be added, and as requested on the forum, glamour recipes will be added that can be used with all classes. We’ll be posting a comment from the development team to tease what’s coming, so keep an eye out!

Furthermore, we’ll be making adjustments to Disciple of the Hand and Land classes, and in a Hotfix on Feb. 25 we will be adding new rewards for red scrips to coincide with the weekly reset.

Other Updates Part I

Allagan tomestones of Lore will be added.

Along with addition of a new tomestone, we’ll be making adjustments to the existing tomestones.

Removal of Allagan tomestones of Soldiery.

Distribution of Allagan tomestones of Law will be halted.

The weekly limitation will be removed from Allagan tomestones of Esoterics.

Allagan tomestones of Law can be exchanged for Allagan tomestones of Esoterics.

We’ll keep Allagan Tomestones of Poetics for some time, as first tomestones players will earn when becoming level 50.

Other Updates Part II

It will be possible to being gathering when the duty party participation window appears.

Sword and shield rewards will be obtained at the same time.

It will be possible to queue for Duty Roulette as a party for the following roulettes: Duty Roulette: Expert Duty Roulette: Level 60 Dungeons Duty Roulette: Level 50 Dungeons Duty Roulette: Leveling Duty Roulette: Trials Duty Roulette: Main Scenario Duty Roulette: Guildhest



Other Updates Part III

Teleport history feature

A history tab will be added, and the recent places you’ve visited will appear.

A history tab will be added, and the recent places you’ve visited will appear. Expansion to the idling camera and group pose features

Various features will be added, so stayed tuned for details!

Various features will be added, so stayed tuned for details! Hotbar improvements Revamped recast animation display A setting will be added to the configuration for displaying the recast time in numbers. We remade this countless times. We conducted a survey with the QA team asking them about the aspects that made it difficult to tell when an action was used by looking at the hotbar, and we made improvements to make this easier to see. It’s possible to change the settings for this in the configuration, but the default is set to off.



Other Updates Part IV

A furnishing which can summon the Aesthetician will be added.

Dye preview for furnishings will be added.

A feature that allows selling items directly from retainers will be added.

There will be various adjustments. There was a lot of request to add confirmation for sort to prevent sorting by mistake, for this we’ll add an option in the config which will hide the sort.

Resuming sales for the Mac version

We apologize for keeping you waiting for an update on this. We halted sales because of performance-related issues; however, through continuous efforts to make adjustments we are now just about ready to resume sales. We’ll be announcing further details on Lodestone, so keep an eye out for them.

We’ll be covering the special lore segment with Michael-Christopher Koji Fox in a separate post!