Sitting here on my desk I have a geeky little notepad I use for XIV gaming notes as well as a place to jot ideas for blog entries. One page details a list of the top five things I'd like to see changed in the game, and being that I think I can write a "things to change" list without spilling Hateraid all over my keyboard I thought it was a good idea. I've been staring at this list hardcore for two weeks now trying to will myself to stop making cider vinegar long enough to sit down and write it out and today I finally managed to do so. So here we go!
1) Retainers/Wards and their general crappiness. Great idea really, but let's talk about execution-
A. The Markets have been a hot topic since the game's release, and today's maintenance was the first step in making this feature better suited to the needs of the players. With that step we saw the introduction of a one-click targeting system, making it easier to access a retainer's list of wares. We also saw a renaming of the wards combined with a reduced-tax system aimed to promote a more organized distribution of goods, therefore making it easier for players to find the items they seek.
For our next step, we plan on introducing additional features to make navigating the Markets even easier. These include the implementation of a search feature that will not only help players locate items in a Market district, but then display an icon next to the retainers who have those items, reducing the hassle of having to look through the inventories of retainers who may not have what a player seeks.
Ok ok yes I've patched the game. Next one then.
2) The slowness of synthing. I remember the long days of slowly, one item at a time, telling your crystal what to add to the recipe in Final Fantasy XI. I remember searching hopelessly through my inventory for that damned selbina milk for the fiftieth time that night. Why, so many years later, am I fumbling with the same slow system that makes it a chore to craft multiple items?
Q. What kind of changes are planned for synthesis?
A. The late-November patch will see adjustments to the required ranks and difficulty levels of various existing recipes, ensuring that players will have a better chance to successfully create items when reaching the optimal skill level.
For the mid-December update, we will be adding several new recipes, including ones for crafting new gear. In addition, we will be introducing a new feature that will allow players to select recipes from a list of recently crafted items and recipes learned through levequests, and set all of the appropriate ingredients with the touch of a single button, thus making repeated synthesis of a single item a snap!
Well played, SE, well played.
3) Inventory sort! For the love of Nophica and her cute little angry plants, why can't I sort my inventory?! So much nerd rage-
–Inventory Sort Feature
The late-November version update will include the addition of a feature that will allow players to sort their inventories.
Oh, err ... ok. Sweet then.
4) The chat window, the ways the chat window drive me insane. I want to be able to filter the spam better, I understand the initial limits of multibyte characters but I'm speaking English here can I please type more? While we're at it -
New tabs will be added to the log window
Players will be able to open multiple log windows
Controller functionality will be added to the log window
Players will be able to use Ctrl+R to send instant replies to /tells
Players will be able to change chat modes via menu options
The Home and End keys will now function in the chat log
For players typing multi-byte characters, starting a new message with "/" will automatically switch the typeset to single byte
Players will be able to adjust the font color for various chat modes
Adjustments will be made to the transparency of the log window when unfocused
God damn it!
5) Can I get to keep one please? Just one? Ok. How about targeting? I can't count the amount of rage heard on vent over the crappy targeting system. Can I please easily target my party members to, you know, heal them when they're about to die? I'm not trying to heal that Miq'ote a hundred yalms away. No, I swear I didn't mean to target that damned nanny, but she was standing in the imp I was trying to target and polearms are unwieldy things I can't be blamed for -
Adjustments will be made to target priority when using the Tab key to cycle through nearby targets
When targeting a party member, a target mark will now appear next to the target's name in the party member list
Players will be able to target party members via the party member list
....
Alright. Alright, SE, point made. Post my blog ideas in a timely manner or have them flat out ruined. I'll be going back to that pile of maiden carp that needs grilling now.
