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Final Fantasy XIV : Battle Theme Revealed; More New Info
Posted Mar 12, 2010 by Michael Bitton
Yesterday, we reported on FFXIVCore's bonanza of FFXIV information revealed in this month's issue of Famitsu. That post has since been updated with info on several more classes as well as the game's battle theme. FFXIVCore has also posted a translation of a lengthy interview from Japanese magazine Dengeki on FFXIV.
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Image Credit: FFXIVCore
The interview discusses a number of general game mechanics, with one notable highlight being the strong emphasis on distance, range, and direction in battle:
Q: About how many people make up your average party? Do alliances exist?
A: The average party will probably be between six and eight people, but there are many flexible ways to adventure where you can go out with more or less people than that, and even play solo. Of course, we also have something like alliances in the works. Battles are planned to be party-versus-party oriented. Battles are not so much focused on dealing direct damage as they are on finding the right position to attack from for the best attacks. First, you’ll have to find the best distance and method of attack, and then the trick will be to keep that positioning. This is important not just for damage and accuracy, but also for certain attack effects (like the pole arms ability to stop an enemy’s movement) and other things in battle. Also, and this is true especially for the magic classes, but there are many skill and spells that have special types of effect areas (like the conjurers’ circle and the thaumaturges’ cone). Not only that, but the position of the focus of the effect, be it yourself or another target, also becomes important. Furthermore, direction is also a factor. Hitting the enemy’s blind spot, calling an enemy’s attention to a certain direction, and other things will all have an effect on the battle. “Distance,” “range,” and “direction” are the most important themes in battle in FFXIV, and intermediate to advanced players will always want to have these things in mind.
Information on the alpha and beta test was also revealed, and many of the classes were the subject of several smaller Q&A's.
Check out the information overload over at FFXIVCore.
I'd consider trying this if they ditch PlayOnline or fix it so that it isn't like putting my head in a blender.
Sounds like they're fleshing combat out decently. I still wish they'd try some innovations in the online turn based department.
They ditched playonline... A new login program will be in place.
That is fantastic news. I think I'll start checking more of the news stories on this one then. :)
I don't really like the battle theme that much. It sounds good, but it seems a little busy for battle music. After reading up on the game, I'm actually a lot more interested in it than I was before. I was going to get it anyway because at least four of my real life friends are going to get it, but with the way the combat system is being described I think it might actually be fun to play, since I've been looking for an actiony MMO, but I suck at actual twitch combat. The way the battle system is described reminds me of Final Fantasy Tactics and the Grandia series.
i love the inf they gave! its been a while since ive been so excited for a game to come out.
one thing with square you can depend on them to try diffrent things and not follow the wow formula
That monster in the middle reminds me of the bug alien at the end of Men in Black.
I never really thought POL was all that bad, but I guess I'm one of the few.. Oh man awesome battle music can't wait to kick some ass in a party.
I dont like the Battle Theme at all. FFXIII has a much better Theme.
Actually I was just thinking how AWESOME the FFXIII music is!!! ESPECIALLY the battle theme! I am expecting nothing but the best, however...So here's to FFXIV music being BETTER!
I've heard ff13's theme, and while it's good, it's not one of the best battle musics out there. I think this one's better, kinda has overtones of Megaman in it.
Compare to MMO's, not single player games. I think it' pretty obvious that the soundtrack doesn't match up to those of single player games... but on MMO level, it's pretty darn good imo. Especially the middle part.
XIII had a nice battle theme but it was more sci fi with more synth and electric guitars. XIV's music sounds much more fantastical similar to other high fantasy MMOs.
reminds me abit off Breath of fire 3 music, that game and breath of fire 4 had some awesome music
Afther listening to it again its not that bad.
Yeah The Battle Theme sound sliek a chase scene from the1970's ...
Now where did I put my Hi Karate and lava lamp?
Yeah, the heavy overdriven bass guitar and snare drum kit screams fantasy to me. :P
Both come from the same school of music ("traditional" console music) and it definitely shows. That's one thing I always miss when playing MMOs and PC games in general. Glad we have some classical Uematsu to listen to while playing.
Am i the only one that thought of the Mission Impossible theme almost immediately?
lol omg yea it does!!
i haven't been doing my homework nor could i read all of these, but I notices 9 classes, 2 of which are crafting related and ONLY related to Metals? Miner and Smith?
are there more coming? wood, alchemy, etc etc, etc?
Also, will crafting actually involve player interaction (a la EQ2)? or do i just gather the parts, push the button and go make dinner while it batches out items?
9 Classes were given more information in this update, like skills and role in a group, but there's still other classes not yet revealed or there's not much info about them.
Gladiator, Pugilist, Marauder, Archer, Lancer, Thaumaturge, Conjurer, Miner, Botanist, Smither, Alchemist, Weaver, Tanner and Culinarist are the classes revealed so far. The last 5 being the crafting classes, and Botanist & Miner exploring the world to collect items.
We don't know how exactly crafting will shape up, but crafting classes are just as important as combat classes and not inferior to them like in some other MMOs where crafting is just a minigame within a game at best. The developers have said that you can "beat" the game just by using a crafting class if you wish. That doesn't tell us how interactive crafting will be, but it will most likely be more involving than usually, based on the info so far and SE's emphasis to the crafters being classes as well.
Hmm after listening to the FF XIV battle theme I have to say I like it. It sounds like a remix of the FF VIII battle theme to me (aka Don't Be Afraid). I think that the game as a whole is shaping up to be leaps and bounds better then FF XI. The first thing they did right was ditching Playonline. Now as long as the PC version actually plays like a PC game instead of a PS2 game on a PC then I think we have a winner!