Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood Shows Off Its Big Changes To The MMO’s Battle System

Yesterday, during the latest Live Letter from the Producer, Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida revealed the various changes that will be made to the game’s battle system and class system in the upcoming expansion, Stormblood.

 

You can check out a look at the various skills of every Job in the following video, which was played during the Live Letter.

 

Firstly, the issues with the current system were addressed, which were mainly over complexity of job rotations, overemphasis on status icon management, and too many actions taking up space on hotbars. Additionally, the disparity between the core and casual player base was also mentioned, as well as the lack of synergy between different jobs. With the release of Stormblood, certain unused/underused actions will be removed and replaced with Role Actions.

 

Cleric Stance will no longer be used to stance dance for Healer roles to do extra damage. Instead, damage done by healers will be based on the MND stat instead of INT, and Cleric Stance will instead be a temporary buff to increase damage. In addition, upgraded spells will automatically replace their lower level counterparts and will collectively all use one action slot. As an example, Stone will automatically upgrade to Stone II, then Stone III, and so on. This was implemented in order to lessen the stress that many gamepad users were beginning to feel due to the increasing amount of job actions.

 

As seen in the video above, it was revealed that each Job would be receiving a special gauge to help better track the timing of buffs and abilities. For example, the Monk gauge helps better display the player’s current Chakras and Greased Lightning stacks. Here’s a look at all of the different gauges.

 

Other changes worth mentioning include the removal of the Parry stat. It will be replaced by the Tank Job-exclusive Tenacity, which will raise the damage dealt by users while simultaneously lessening the damage received. Accuracy will also be removed in Stormblood, and replaced by “Direct Hit” rate. It is also worth noting that the Bard and Machinist Jobs will no longer have casting times with their actions. Casting times for these were introduced in Heavensward to balance the increased damage the two Jobs performed in their stances, Wanderer’s Minuet and Gauss Barrel.

 

Additionally, ground mounts will move at a higher speed and the action of Sprinting will no longer consume TP.

 

Stormblood will also see a batch of new changes made to the MMO’s PvP features. For instance, the level restriction will be changed, letting any job over level 30 able to participate. Attributes in PvP will only be determined by role, and gear will affect only the character’s appearance. In addition, all PvP Actions will now be specific only to PvP.

 

It was also revealed that the release of Stormblood will also bring the addition of jump potions to the game. These will come in two versions: Scenario jump potions and Job jump potions. The reasoning behind these jump potions was to alleviate the playtime disparity between new and veteran players, as well as less the time required to reach end-game content. The implementation of these potions will also allow newer players to play the same content as family and friends. Here’s a look at all of the details regarding the potions, which will be available on Mog Station starting June 16th.

 

Scenario:

• Tales of Adventure: A Realm Reborn $18
  • Completes all MSQ up to Patch 2.55’s Before the Dawn
• Tales of Adventure: Heavensward (includes ARR) $25
  • Completes all MSQ quests up to patch 3.56’s The Far Edge of Fate

 

Features

• No Job level restrictions
• Chocobos earned during ARR’s MSQ will be automatically given a name.
• Grand Company will be set to the players starting city-state
• Completion of Main Scenario Quests
• Completion of select Sidequests
  • First time Dungeon bonuses will still occur
• All cutscenes will be viewable in The Unending Journey

 

Jobs:

• Will boost one job to level 60 $25
  (different Tales of Adventure for each job)

 

Features

• A full set of level 60 gear (including weapon)
• All Job Quests completed
• All Actions learned
• Hall of the Novice Access Granted
• Only one can be used per account until Patch 4.1
• No job potions available for RDM or SAM

 

Lastly, here’s a look at all of the Artifact gear for every job that will be obtainable at level 70.

 

Paladin and Warrior:

 

Dark Knight and Dragoon:

 

Samurai and Red Mage:

 

Bard and Machinist:

 

Monk and Ninja:

 

Summoner and Scholar:

 

White Mage and Astrologian:

 

 

Black Mage:

 

Final Fantasy XIV is available for PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. The Stormblood expansion will release on June 20th, with early access starting on June 16th. With the release of Stormblood, the game will no longer be available on PlayStation 3.

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