Call For Help #2 - System Specs, Creating Classes

Hi again everyone. Time for Call for Help #2, cheating miqo’te edition. Why am I cheating? Because I waited so long to answer some of these questions that the dev team went and answered them for me! So at least I know my answers are right…

For starters:

Q: Will there be airships, boats, chocobos?
A: Yes.

That was easy, well, thanks for reading everyone, good night Eorzea!



Okay, okay, you deserve more after so much time.

I’ll start with a partial softball, asked by many: “How powerful of a machine will it take to run FFXIV?”

Well, SE has published both minimum and recommended system requirements.

As for how powerful of a machine this is, I suppose for the minimum requirements it doesn't have to be terribly powerful. Most PCs bought in the past few years with gaming in mind should meet the requirements (your XI rig you bought in 2003 is a no-go, though, ha).

However... from talking to new FFXIVblog.com contributor Alecrast, a self-described "tech guy who lives and breathes PC performance" - you aren't going to want to play with the minimum requirements. He has spent some time evaluating the performance of the game, the results of which he should be detailing for you here soon (so stay tuned!). So, when asked "how low could you go?" with system specs and not want to hang yourself with your power cord (yes, I actually used that exact phrase), he recommended an Intel Core i5 and a Radeon 5850. "The game uses 4 cores so you really need 4 cores but you don't need hyperthreading" he said. And regarding the video card, he continued on with "I absolutely would refuse to play on anything less than a 5850." As I mentioned, more info on game performance is forthcoming, so if you have any questions I'd suggest you save them for that post and then ask away~

Moving right along, Dyer, a retired FFXI/future FFXIV player writes:
“I keep hearing people talk about this "create your own class" idea across FFXIV sites. How do you think it'll work, could you give a little insight into it? I used to play NIN and THF as my mains in XI so in XIV does this mean I can grab the enmity abilities from Pugilist and Marauder to try tanking on a Gladiator?”

Well, as we know by now – it seems like the answer to this may indeed be a resounding yes. But - I’m actually going to turn this question over to Roranora, one of the smartest lalafell I know. Well, soon to be lala, that is. Roranora was a taru on Fenrir during XI and I knew him to be nothing but knowledgeable and perceptive about everything game-related. Rora will likely take over this column in the future since I’m such a slackercat. He’s new to FFXIVblog.com and blogging in general so be gentle. At first. Then send him the hardest questions you can think of! ^.~ So anyhow - in response to Dyer’s question, Rora says:

While undoubtedly players will be mixing and matching various abilities from other classes he/she has leveled, it seems difficult to really foresee what sort of class/ability combinations people will prefer further down the road. (Quick interjection from Xari - Calaera and I discuss this issue in the first podcast, so if you haven't heard it yet you might want to check it out!) Also, some abilities from a given class may not be usable on other classes. Furthermore, other abilities will be nerfed to some extent when they're "subbed." (Think /NIN Utsusemi: Ni having 3 shadows while NIN main got 4 shadows.) SE has certainly crafted a unique foundation for players to create their own classes and ways to play, but we will really have to see how they balance these abilities and the extent to which the potency and power of abilities are diminished when used on other classes.


And one more question I’ll throw Rora’s way, Rozes from the FFXI Cerberus server asks, "Do you think more classes will be announced?"
Rora’s answer: Definitely. Data miners have already found some evidence of additional classes such as the Disciple of Magic Arcanist. While I know nothing is official until it's official, this indicates SE have already kicked around ideas for a number of upcoming classes. All disciples will probably get more classes as the game expands, but it certainly seems like the DoW and DoM classes have more room for growth. For example, a mere two mage classes isn't very FF-ish. On the other hand, the DoL and DoH classes already announced seem to encompass well the typical gathering/crafting possibilities.

SE has alluded to the fact they're currently working on content for the first expansion. My personal belief is that, at the very latest, people could reasonably expect new classes would be added with this first expansion, which is planned for release roughly a year after the game launches this fall. Some new classes may be released in a patch subsequent to release and prior to an expansion, perhaps around the time that FFXIV launches on the PS3, presumably this coming spring. I think it would be a good decision on their part to throw the community something at this point, but I suppose that will hinge largely on how much work SE has to focus on building a working PS3 version as opposed to being able to focus on new content.

Expect at least a handful of new classes in FFXIV's first couple of years. Growth of this extent typifies MMOs nowadays, and I highly doubt FFXIV will be the exception.

Well, that’s enough for now. Look for Roranora to post the next CFH column soon! And send more questions, please - silly or serious, complex or clear. For now send them to xariana at ffxivblog dot com. I’ll make sure he gets them.