Q1: Will Hildibrand make an appearance in ARR?
A1: Of course! He will most likely face brand-new challenges. Please look forward to it in ARR!
Q2: Will we be able to change our character name at the start of ARR?
A2: We'll continue to look at the possibilities until the very end, but it looks like we will be able to provide this option.
Q4: Will we be able to use Magitek armor in battle? Also, would it be possible to provide us with additional info on the other mounts you’re planning to implement?
A4: Unfortunately, we currently do not have plans for the Magitek armor to be usable in battle. However, we may treat this particular mount in a special way. Also, we’re currently planning to implement a coeurl mount. We’re currently in the process of testing out the animations. (Demonstration video shown)
Q5: In the current version of the game for primal battles, a lot of pressure is put on tanks and healers. For A Realm Reborn will there be any rebalancing of each role's responsibility?
A5: Not only for ARR, but for MMORPGs in general, the tank's role is extremely important as they have to hold hate, and the healers role is equally important, however, if attackers are not able to deal damage the fight will go on and on, so it’s not the case where other classes are not as important or busy. We’d like to have everyone try out the Beta Test to see how everything is balanced.
Q6: How's the development team planning to proceed with the content finder system?
A6: With the content finder, players will have the option to chose from multiple types of content. While the current players may have a different level of motivation compared with the new players when it comes to participating in content, players from different Worlds will be able to play together and have the option to choose the content of their choice.
Q7: Will there be any changes to 8-person parties in A Realm Reborn? Are there any plans for solo or low-man content?
A7: For raids the focus will be on 8-person parties. For instanced dungeons there will also be 4-person party ones. In regards to high-level content, we are planning to make it fundamentally focused on full parties, however there will be casual content as well. For example, one plan we have is for content called "FULL ACTIVE TIME EVENT." This is content that contains various elements such as fighting against a bunch of monsters that spawn and hamlet defense-like elements. For the time being, think of it as there will be a lot of different content in a variety of places.
Q8: You mentioned that the concept of the monk job was going be changed. Would it be possible to provide a little bit more information? (Such as if STR/INT will continue to be their main attribute, what kind of abilities they will have, etc.)
A8: The main attribute for all classes and jobs will be completely different. Since the whole battle system will be revamped, we will make the necessary changes to accommodate these changes.
Q9: Will there be anything new added for crafters and gatherers in ARR?
A9: We currently do not have anything planned that is specific for gatherers and crafters that could be considered as a “main focus”. However, they will play an important part for things like housing (such as changing roofs, etc.) for example.
Q10: Please tell us more about the new market system.
A10: The retainer system has been revamped from the ground up. We are planning to implement new functions such as the auction house system, which was requested by a ton of players. Additionally, you will be able to display the retainer of your liking while in the wards. It’s quite difficult to explain so please see for yourself in the Beta Test!
Q11: How will the materia system change in ARR?
A11: Basically, there won’t be too many changes. In the current version, there are fluctuations in values for materia I and materia IV values, but in ARR these fluctuations will be removed. The rate for multiple melding will be higher than it is currently, and the materia system as a whole will be made more casual.
Q12: I found some artwork related to the housing system. Can you tell us more about it?
A12: Here's the artwork for a large size house. As you can see, large houses will come with balconies. If you plan to purchase a house of this caliber, it will require a very large amount of gil.
You will be able to set entry restrictions for your house. With this function, you will be able to specify which players will have access to your house. With the larger houses, we plan to release it as a headquarters for the free companies initially, and then release it as a personal house later on. Additionally, you will be able to place parks and towers within your houses and these objects will provide special bonuses such as experience bonus, HQ rate bonus for crafting, etc.
Furthermore, we have plans to turn a portion of a room to an instance that the players will be able to live in.
Q13: How much will housing, including the interior and furniture, cost?
A13: We will be lowering the value of gil in ARR, so this is quite difficult to say, but a couple of level 50 players that save up their gil can get an S-sized house.
Q14: Will we be able to form free companies even if we are from different grand companies? Tell us more about free companies!
A14: Regardless of your grand company, you will be able to join a free company. Who you build your free company with is up to you and we leave the role playing up to you. There will be a value system for grand companies, “reputation,” so you’ll be able to contribute to a grand company of your liking.
Q15: Will you be selling that sweet poster of the primals?
A15: We're planning to make it into a poster, but this one behind us is just for promotional use. We also have a lot of other plans!
Q16: How are you planning to attach the Legacy bonuses (i.e. chocobo, etc.)?
A16: The Legacy bonuses will be tied to the Square Enix accounts. As long as your account is flagged as a Legacy account, existing characters and new characters will be able to receive the associated bonuses.
Q17: When will the PC benchmark be released?
A17: We're planning to release the first one around the time of the Beta Test. The first one will be to check your system in order to play the Beta and the other benchmark will be released around the timing of the launch of ARR. We are planning to have character creation in the second benchmark.
Q18: Will we be able to switch the language of the subtitles and the voices? If so, will we able to switch it in-game?
A18: While we plan to increase the languages that are supported, we currently do not have plans for players to be able to switch the language of the subtitle. The voices can be switched while in the game, but you will not be able to switch during a cut scene.
Q19: Tell us if there will be any physical evidence on our characters that they survived the Seventh Umbral Era!
A19: Sorry, but we cannot tell you right now! We will let you know once the time comes!
Q20: Please tell us more about the Crystal Tower and the Great Labyrinth of Bahamut!
A20: The Crystal Tower will be an alliance-specific raid and an alliance party consists of three parties. Both the Crystal Tower and the Great Labyrinth of Bahamut will be expanded in multiple stages.
Also, as far as the Great Labyrinth of Bahamut goes, you probably figured out the Dalamud was used to imprison Bahamut. Players will find out why Bahamut was trapped, why the key-like object fell to the ground, what role the key plays in the dungeon, etc. Sorry, this is much as I can say for now!
Q21: How many new hairstyles will there be? Will it be possible to change them in ARR?
A21: *Yoshi-P shows off new images of male Miqo'te and female Roegadyn*
Q22: When will we be able to use the new hairstyles and other features that are added?
A22: We are trying our best so that you can use them during testing, but there is a chance that they will be implemented into the Beta without all of the animations finalized.
Q23: In the 3rd player survey, there was a question about new races/clans, but when and what race will be implemented? Will there be Viera or beastmen/lizardmen?
A23: Viera are extremely popular amongst our players overseas, so we are lost in thought on this one. We haven’t decided anything as of yet and are still looking into this. In the event that we do add them, it will be in the future in an expansion.
Q24: Once the PvP content is implemented, will we be able to fight Yoshi-P?
A: There are multiple people from the development team who put a lot of thought into the PvP system and we currently do have plans to implement a system where players will be able to fight against the development team. As an additional note, we have plans for players to be able to fight Wada for an event!
Q25: Depending on the area, will maps change based on the season? For example, flowers blossoming, leaves changing color or falling off trees, etc.
A25: Areas will have certain elements, so you will be able to feel the seasons. However, Eorzea's time and real world time are slightly different, and there are different times around the world as well, but we will be matching it to Japan since it is a game originating in Japan. As we showed you before, there are snowy mountains, so we hope you’ll be able to experience the varying seasons.
Q26: Are there any plans to expand inventory size? Also, are there any plans for us to be able to send an item to our secondary character easily?
A26: Unfortunately, we do not have plans to increase the player's inventory size (maybe a little). However, we do have plans to expand a player's storage. We also have plans for players to be able to increase the number of gear sets they can have through quests. As far as sending an item to a secondary character goes, in ARR, you will only be able to send letters and items to your friends. As long as you know a character’s info, you will be able to send them a letter/item.
Furthermore, we are planning out the delivery system so that player's won't be able to abuse the system (anti-RMT measures).
Q27: When can overseas players join the Alpha Test?
A27: The first phase of the Alpha Test has been completed, and we have managed to solve almost all of the issues when player numbers increase. We've made it possible to safely run the game with 800 people in a single area, but once it the area exceeds 800 people we've seen some heavy lag. Next week will not have an Alpha Test and we'll be focusing on fixing this. The week after if we are able to hold five days of tests with no issues, we will open Alpha globally on 11/26.
Q28: Will it be possible to get married? Will same-sex marriage be possible?
A28: There will be a cathedral in ARR, and this was created so that marriage can be performed. We will release information on this once marriage is possible. Same-sex marriage is an extremely fragile topic, so for now we would like to only have opposite-sex marriage to start.
Q29: What's the counter that's appearing on the right side of the Alpha Test screen?
A29: That is the number of party invites and friend invites I have received.
