Ask the Devs! (11/5/2010)

[Anton]

There are some interesting points shown in the latest version of 'Ask the Devs' on Lodestone, most notably the effect on attributes to synthing...

Bonus Point Allotment
Q. What are these so-called "bonus points"?
A. The term "bonus point" refers to a type of point awarded to a player when his or her physical level rises. Once acquired, these points may be freely assigned to any of a number of stats, allowing players to take a more active role in their character's development. Though the amount of bonus points awarded every level will continue to go up as a player progresses, the amount of bonus points required to raise stats will also increase as the value of the stats themselves rise. Below are two charts displaying the number of bonus points awarded at each physical level, and the amount of bonus points required to raise stats at certain values, respectively.

Physical Levels and Bonus Point Awards

Physical Level Bonus Points Awarded
2 4
3–4 5
5–9 6
10–20 8
21–23 10
24–26 12
27–29 14
30–32 16
33–35 18
36–38 20
39–41 22
42–44 24
45–47 26
48–50 28

Stat Values and Required Bonus Points
Attribute Value Bonus Points Required
≤40 1
41–80 2
81–127 3
≥128 4


Q. I am having a hard time deciding where to allocate my bonus points. What effect will raising each of the various stats have on my character?
A. The effects for each available stat are listed below:

Strength (STR)
Increases damage dealt by physical attacks
Increases damage prevented when blocking attacks with a shield

Vitality (VIT)
Reduces damage taken from physical attacks
Increases maximum HP

Dexterity (DEX)
Increases accuracy of physical attacks
Increases chances of evading physical attacks
Increases critical hit rate of physical attacks and resulting damage
Increases parry rate for certain weapons

Intelligence (INT)
Increases damage dealt by magic attacks

Mind (MND)
Reduces damage taken from magic attacks
Increases maximum MP

Piety (PIE)
Reduces chances of your magic attacks being resisted
Increases your chance of resisting magic attacks of others

Elements
Increases damage dealt by attacks of that element
Reduces damage taken from attacks of the opposing element

Hints as to which attributes are most advantageous to each class can be discovered in-game by speaking to NPCs or examining the stats of items purchased with guild marks. For those who simply wish to have the facts straightaway, however, we have provided the following lists.

Disciplines of War & Magic
Disciples of War rely most heavily upon the STR, VIT, and DEX attributes, while for Disciples of Magic the emphasis is on INT, MND, and PIE. This is useful to remember for players who wish to maximize their character's potential when allocating bonus points.

In addition, there are bonuses to the effect of magic spells that are also based on attribute values. Below is a list showing the general relationship between attributes and magic types. The conditions that result in such bonuses, however, varies between spells.

Magic Type Attribute
Offensive (attack/counter) INT
Healing, Defensive MND
Absorb, Damage over Time (DoT) PIE

Discipline of the Land
Indications as to which attributes are most important to classes within the Discipline of the Land can be found in-game by closely examining the gathering-related abilities obtained via guild marks. Again, for those not willing to invest that sort of time, we have listed the relationships below.

Class Attribute
Miner VIT, MND
Botanist STR, INT
Fisher DEX, PIE

Discipline of the Hand
The effect of attributes on synthesis is limited. When attempting to craft a high-quality item, however, the likelihood of success increases as the attribute most closely associated with the tool being used rises. As the attributes associated with the main and off hand tools of each class are different, players may wish to give careful consideration to the class on which they wish to focus. A list showing the attributes related with the main and off hand tools of each class can be found below.

Class Related Attribute
Main Hand Tool Off Hand Tool
Carpenter VIT DEX
Blacksmith STR MND
Armorer VIT STR
Goldsmith DEX INT
Leatherworker VIT INT
Weaver DEX MND
Alchemist INT PIE
Culinarian MND PIE

It is possible to reset allocated bonus points and free them up for redistribution by selecting Reassign from the Point Allotment screen. Players are encouraged to make use of this feature as needed.

Q. I pressed the Reassign button but did not get all of my bonus points back. Why?
A. Using the Reassign feature will reset only a certain number of allotted bonus points. The feature will then become available for use again after a short period of time. Players wishing to reset all of their bonus points will be required to use the Reassign feature multiple times.

Q. I allocated all of my bonus points to STR, but it did not increase my damage output nearly as much as I had hoped. Why?
A. Each attribute has an upper limit, or "cap," that rises whenever a character's class rank goes up. Therefore, even if a player allots all of his or her bonus points to a single attribute such as STR, it is not the case that this will yield overly dramatic results. Distributing bonus points across several attributes rather than concentrating on a single one will result in a much more well-balanced character.

Quests
Q. I am having difficulty with the rank 30 quest for leatherworker. The class rank needed to successfully complete the requested synthesis seems to be high. Is this going to be balanced?
A. Balancing of synthesis recipes, including the leatherworking recipe in question, will be part of the version update scheduled for late November. Adjustments will be made to both degrees of difficulty and required ranks.

[Ruinje]

i have hopes for a good update before 2011 :/ but i kinda doubt it something tells me this game will shine after it gets the first expansion

[Anton]

I'm still having fun playing 'casually'. I play for about an hour a day, do a few leves and log out. There is definitely a lack of content, but I have almost 200 points for a couple of factions. Unfortunately if leves is all you do, they get repetitive fast. I've not really leveled a craft recently, but if I do it with leves exclusively.

[Ruinje]

hmmm http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/pl/...ec5fb504d2

that seems nice lets see if its realy good