Yoshi P wrote:
Yoshi-P here.
I'd like to address the subject of attributes and resistances, and how they will work in FFXIV: ARR.
Premise
I believe one of the most enjoyable aspects of an MMO is party play. The feeling you get after defeating a mighty foe together with friends and receive rich rewards such as powerful gear and rare items is priceless, and no MMO can do without it.
In order to give players that sense of achievement without any undue stress, we have to carefully balance the roles of every class and job, as well as the inherent attributes of enemies. Put simply, it's important that we avoid situations where certain enemies possess attributes that render certain classes or jobs ineffective against them.
For example, we don't want players saying "well, black mage is the only DPS job that works for this boss," so we have to strike the right balance between classes, jobs, and enemies. Now let's get to the heart of the matter.
I'd like to address the subject of attributes and resistances, and how they will work in FFXIV: ARR.
Premise
I believe one of the most enjoyable aspects of an MMO is party play. The feeling you get after defeating a mighty foe together with friends and receive rich rewards such as powerful gear and rare items is priceless, and no MMO can do without it.
In order to give players that sense of achievement without any undue stress, we have to carefully balance the roles of every class and job, as well as the inherent attributes of enemies. Put simply, it's important that we avoid situations where certain enemies possess attributes that render certain classes or jobs ineffective against them.
For example, we don't want players saying "well, black mage is the only DPS job that works for this boss," so we have to strike the right balance between classes, jobs, and enemies. Now let's get to the heart of the matter.
While this is nothing new or groundbreaking... I feel as though there is still a lot of uneasiness about how this game is going to eventually play out. I can also safely say many, many of us are XI players and easily one of the most important parts of the game to us is the community.
I just hope this little sentiment here from Yoshi can go a long way to alleviate the fears that there won't be enough community play. We all already know there is plenty of solo play to be had for casuals, but I truly believe this confirms that the game is going to have a major element of group play in future developments to the game (we already know of dungeons, primals, etc.)
Anyways, just thought I'd share my thoughts on the matter. Enjoy!
P.s. If you were wondering how elementals work still... here is the rest of the post.
Yoshi P wrote:
What happens when raising resistances?
First and foremost, by raising resistances, players can reduce damage taken from any given damage type.
Example: Raising fire resistance reduces the amount of damage taken from the Fire spell.
However, this reduces damage taken only; raising your fire resistance rating will not enhance your ability to deal fire elemental damage.
In short, elemental resistances can be used to the advantage of players when fighting against powerful enemies with elemental attacks.
A great example of this would be increasing fire resistance to reduce damage taken from Ifrit. You won't take any damage if you manage to avoid his Eruption attack, but if you have trouble getting out of the way, raising your fire resistance may give you the edge you need to emerge triumphant.
Why doesn't elemental damage increase with our attributes?
Allowing players to strengthen their elemental attacks via raising elemental attributes would render it extremely difficult to preserve battle balance. In order to preserve this balance, we would need to ensure that:
Players can equally participate in all content regardless of class/job.
Players experience an appreciable increase in damage when elemental attributes are raised.
This leaves us with two options:
A. Balance content based on enhanced attack values.
B. Balance content based on base attack values.
By going with A, it's more than likely content will not be balanced to let every class participate. Classes that can exploit the enemy's weakness will be in higher demand. With B, players who enhance their attributes will breeze through fights unless we curb the effectiveness of their stats. At the same time, if players don't feel powerful from enhancing their stats, it defeats the purpose of designing the game in this manner, creating a contradiction in design.
We want to create content that's challenging, requiring several attempts to form successful strategies. However, there are very dedicated players out there who put efficiency before all else. If there's anything to take advantage of, they will find it. This is simply the way it works in an MMO.
Thinking in the long run, and taking into account the future addition of new classes and jobs, we have decided to adopt the spec whereby elemental attributes affect damage taken.
Do classes and elemental magic have an identity?
You're all probably thinking "Wouldn’t that make it pointless to choose between Fire and Blizzard, as they’d only be different in graphics?" We're working to make sure that's not the case.
I know you all have only had conjurer to play with so far in the beta test, but please keep in mind this class was meant to be primarily support. The value of its spells lie in the effects they offer, not necessarily their element.
Thaumaturge and Black Mage, on the other hand, will have their own unique system based on the elements, and their effectiveness will depend on player skill. I know many of you are going through every aspect of the beta with a fine-toothed comb, but please keep in mind that lots of changes are planned for phase 3. You may want to wait till then before forming a conclusion.
Skills and actions will be defined not only by their strength but also their effects. And when classes and jobs use them efficiently, the differences between them will become much more apparent. As I've mentioned, there's lots of stuff coming in phase 3. You can look forward to more details as testing time draws near.
First and foremost, by raising resistances, players can reduce damage taken from any given damage type.
Example: Raising fire resistance reduces the amount of damage taken from the Fire spell.
However, this reduces damage taken only; raising your fire resistance rating will not enhance your ability to deal fire elemental damage.
In short, elemental resistances can be used to the advantage of players when fighting against powerful enemies with elemental attacks.
A great example of this would be increasing fire resistance to reduce damage taken from Ifrit. You won't take any damage if you manage to avoid his Eruption attack, but if you have trouble getting out of the way, raising your fire resistance may give you the edge you need to emerge triumphant.
Why doesn't elemental damage increase with our attributes?
Allowing players to strengthen their elemental attacks via raising elemental attributes would render it extremely difficult to preserve battle balance. In order to preserve this balance, we would need to ensure that:
Players can equally participate in all content regardless of class/job.
Players experience an appreciable increase in damage when elemental attributes are raised.
This leaves us with two options:
A. Balance content based on enhanced attack values.
B. Balance content based on base attack values.
By going with A, it's more than likely content will not be balanced to let every class participate. Classes that can exploit the enemy's weakness will be in higher demand. With B, players who enhance their attributes will breeze through fights unless we curb the effectiveness of their stats. At the same time, if players don't feel powerful from enhancing their stats, it defeats the purpose of designing the game in this manner, creating a contradiction in design.
We want to create content that's challenging, requiring several attempts to form successful strategies. However, there are very dedicated players out there who put efficiency before all else. If there's anything to take advantage of, they will find it. This is simply the way it works in an MMO.
Thinking in the long run, and taking into account the future addition of new classes and jobs, we have decided to adopt the spec whereby elemental attributes affect damage taken.
Do classes and elemental magic have an identity?
You're all probably thinking "Wouldn’t that make it pointless to choose between Fire and Blizzard, as they’d only be different in graphics?" We're working to make sure that's not the case.
I know you all have only had conjurer to play with so far in the beta test, but please keep in mind this class was meant to be primarily support. The value of its spells lie in the effects they offer, not necessarily their element.
Thaumaturge and Black Mage, on the other hand, will have their own unique system based on the elements, and their effectiveness will depend on player skill. I know many of you are going through every aspect of the beta with a fine-toothed comb, but please keep in mind that lots of changes are planned for phase 3. You may want to wait till then before forming a conclusion.
Skills and actions will be defined not only by their strength but also their effects. And when classes and jobs use them efficiently, the differences between them will become much more apparent. As I've mentioned, there's lots of stuff coming in phase 3. You can look forward to more details as testing time draws near.
