[Brian]

Howdy everyone and welcome to episode 27 of the CrystalCore podcast. The official podcast of awesome brought to you by FFXIVcore.com "Get some!" ;)

This week Brian and Danny cover the news topics, some of the reviews, the updates, and everything we have been doing in game since our last show.

• Lodestone Ask the Devs: Synthesis
  
• Choosing a Path companion
  
• Battle Regimens and Incapacitation
  
• Lodestone ask the devs: Character creation
  
• Final Fantasy XIV version update (October 8)
  
• Getting to the Core: Theorycrafting is Alive and Well (Mostly)

Download / Listen to CrystalCore Podcast Ep. 27: Fallout, Fun, and Updates!

Or you can always subscribe on iTunes and/or the Zune Marketplace and listen right now.

[Ralsu]

Get some!

[popkin]

Thanks for another great podcast!

Any hint about the teaser regarding incapacitation?

[Kalanai]

Yay! I will listen to it tonight. I should have some time this weekend to play...maybe even tomorrow.

ETA Listen isn't the same as watch. :P

This post has been edited by Kalanai: 13 October 2010 - 03:45 PM

[Hotcakes]

I can also confirm that the SP bug is still in full effect.

[Brian]

Hotcakes, on 13 October 2010 - 09:33 PM, said:

I can also confirm that the SP bug is still in full effect.

It seems weird and random, and at times I find myself getting a lot of it, and others none... I wonder what they'll do to fix this. :S

[Hotcakes]

Other than replace the system with a set amount of SP for each creature I wonder what they CAN do. -Maybe- a logarithmic scale for CON/THM which multiplies small SP gains by a fair amount and decreases large SP gains a little. That -could- work, maybe. *shrugs*

[Brian]

Hotcakes, on 14 October 2010 - 07:09 PM, said:

Other than replace the system with a set amount of SP for each creature I wonder what they CAN do. -Maybe- a logarithmic scale for CON/THM which multiplies small SP gains by a fair amount and decreases large SP gains a little. That -could- work, maybe. *shrugs*

I'm happy with the level of info that came out today, my biggest issue was no communication from SE regarding the issues submitted. Now I feel like we are given some kind of hope. :)

[ekat90]

Thank you for the podcast, I'm always listening to this whenever I'm free to do so. Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to listening to more podcasts on ffxiv thank you!

[Hotcakes]

Brian, on 15 October 2010 - 10:06 AM, said:

I'm happy with the level of info that came out today, my biggest issue was no communication from SE regarding the issues submitted. Now I feel like we are given some kind of hope. :)

I'm a lot more cynical :p I figure until I actually see things implemented there's still cause for concern. I don't see this as being any different to when they said all sorts of things during beta and everyone was like 'oh <insert whatever here> will be fixed in retail!'. :p

[Neoryudo]

heya Brian, i just finished listening to the podcast great episode btw and i just remembered you saying about how your wife is using the buddy pass, and in an ideal world you would not have to buy her the game just top it up with crysta well you can :), i just found this out myself so i went and brough the game and now find out i did not need to oh well i still got the box ^^ anyways il post below about how i know :)

Quote

I just tried to register my retail key to my buddy key account and it instead created a second account. I went to customer service to get it fixed, and the customer service representative told me that the buddy key is a full copy of the game and that there is nothing they can do to un-register the key that I registered. They can't even move it to another account or anything like that. I'm apparently out $50 for a useless retail copy. Here's the chat log.


Agent Nicole: Regarding the ticket, did you register the Buddy Pass to the Beta account first?
Nyali Llhyen: Yes
Agent Nicole: Okay, when the Buddy Pass is registered, it acts like a regular registration code to the game.
Agent Nicole: That's why when you entered in the registration code for Final Fantasy XIV, it made a new account.
Nyali Llhyen: So are you telling me that it wasn't necessary to purchase a retail copy of the game at all?
Nyali Llhyen: My understanding of a buddy pass is that it's a trial, and the game does need to be purchased to continue playing after the trial
Agent Nicole: The Buddy Pass is an actual registration code to the game so you are able to continue the game on the Buddy Pass as long as you pay for the account.
Agent Nicole: I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding.
Nyali Llhyen: In that case, is there any way to un-register the account key? Since I don't need it
Nyali Llhyen: It does me no good to have two SquareEnix accounts under the same account name, after all
Agent Nicole: Unfortunately once the registration code is registered to an account, there is no way to un-register the code.
Nyali Llhyen: So I'm out $50 for an account and a copy of the game that are useless to me and there's nothing you can do?


Agent Nicole: I'm sorry but since the registration code was registered to the account, according to policy we are not able to issue a refund.
Agent Nicole: I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.
Agent Nicole: Are there any other issues I can assist you with right now, Nyali?
Nyali Llhyen: The key can't even be treanferred to another account?
Agent Nicole: Once the key is on a Square Enix account, there is no way for the key to be transferred to another one.
Nyali Llhyen: I have friends who would like to try the game, if the second account key could be moved to another SquareEnix account they could play
Nyali Llhyen: Even though two keys on one account is useless?
Nyali Llhyen: It's not like I can create characters with the other key and log them in at the same time as my existing character
Agent Nicole: You are actually able to use both service accounts to play at the same time as long as you are playing on different systems.
Nyali Llhyen: How does the game even know which of my two accounts to log in to when I log in?


Agent Nicole: Since you have two XIV service accounts, you are able to put characters on both of them and log in at the same time. You just need to do it from two different systems.
Agent Nicole: The two XIV service accounts act like two different accounts.
Nyali Llhyen: But they're associated with the same login name and password. Does it give me a choice when I log in? Do the characters from both show up on the same character selection screen?
Agent Nicole: What happens is that when you log into the Square Enix account, you are able to choose from one of the XIV service accounts.
Agent Nicole: Since there are two of them, you can log into one XIV service account from one system and the other XIV service account from another system.
Nyali Llhyen: I see.
Agent Nicole: You need two systems (computers) to do this.
Agent Nicole: And you could play both characters at the same time.
Nyali Llhyen: Unfortunately, I have one computer, and don't especially like playing two characters at once, so this doesn't help me. I was hoping I could somehow create a new login and password for the other account so I could share it with a friend
Nyali Llhyen: For obvious account security reasons, I don't want to give my own login and password to a friend


Nyali Llhyen: Since there's nothing that can be done about all of this, does SquareEnix intend to inform other BuddyKey users that they have a full copy of the game and do not need to purchase one? I know I'm not the only one who thought it was only a trial key.
Nyali Llhyen: Every other game, including FFXI, that has had a buddy key made it only a trial. Since it doesn't say anywhere on the buddy key that it's a full copy of the game, I'm sure many others have bought copies of the game that they didn't need.
Agent Nicole: They should have information about the Buddy Pass on the Official Final Fantasy XIV website and on the Square Enix Support site but you should submit Feedback about this on the Support site just in case the information is not there.
Nyali Llhyen: I don't think it's there. I followed the game very closely before launch, and saw nothing of the sort. My fiance and I would only have bought one collector's edition for the two of us if we had known that it worked this way.


Nyali Llhyen: On the official site it says only that there will be no fees billed for the buddy key during the trial, nothing about not having to purchase the game
Nyali Llhyen: I understand that sales probably haven't been as high as SquareEnix would like, but being unclear that the buddy key is a full copy of the game is a rather underhanded way to sell more copies
Agent Nicole: I'm very sorry about the misinformation that was presented. The best thing to do would be to submit Feedback about it on the Support site so that the information could be presented to the company.
Agent Nicole: Do you have any other questions that I could help you with?
Nyali Llhyen: In fact, under the information about the collector's edition features, it says that the buddy key will "invite a friend to play for a limited amount of time"
Nyali Llhyen: That's all. I have to say that this makes me nervous about purchasing SquareEnix products in the future.
Agent Nicole: From as far as we have been told, the Buddy Pass works like a full game. If anything happens, please contact us again so that we can help you.

[Hotcakes]

Man, she was eager to get rid of you.

[Mablung79]

So been listening to the podcast for a few episodes and really like it. I quit XI a couple years ago. I thought most of my old linkshell would make the jump to 14 but only a couple did and they rarely play. I realized I am on the same server as you guys and was wondering if your shell was recruiting at all? Sorry if this is an awkward way to apply lol. Just really bored in game with an empty linkshell.

[Ralsu]

Hammerfist recruiting currently is closed, but it will open again soon.

[Brian]

Mablung79, on 17 October 2010 - 10:19 PM, said:

So been listening to the podcast for a few episodes and really like it. I quit XI a couple years ago. I thought most of my old linkshell would make the jump to 14 but only a couple did and they rarely play. I realized I am on the same server as you guys and was wondering if your shell was recruiting at all? Sorry if this is an awkward way to apply lol. Just really bored in game with an empty linkshell.

We have a social linkshell called Knights of the Earth and you are welcome to join just catch ether of us in game and we'll give you a pearl. :)

Character name: Brin Zalazar :)

[RisenShadow]

Wow, so I never found your podcast before they posted it on the main core page. very good! I'll be looking forward to your next one.

If you guys get the chance, I'd love to hear some details (if you have any) about the guild tokens (or whatever they're called) that are sometimes offered to you when you go to the main halls of the crafting guilds. I'm not entirely sure what they are or how you go about getting them. Is it a random drop or something that you can consistently farm for?


So in one of your podcasts I heard that you guys mentioned that elemental affinity affects both crafting and the type of crystals/shards you harvest. Deciding to give it a try, I went and reassigned points on my character. Dropped 15 points in my elemental fire affinity and upped 15 points in my water affinity (figured I'd do opposites for the greatest effect). I found that in cooking with fire shards my success rate was drastically decreased, but harvesting (fishing, mining, and cutting trees) didn't have a noticeable increase to water shard gathering. You'd have to test it, but I think the affects of your affinity have a greater affect on your crafting than your gathering drops.

I also found out that reassigning your stats doesn't actually let you reassign ALL your points, just 30. Don't know if that's something to note.

I'm sad that I'm not on your server, but Wutai isn't too bad. I'm definitely more of a casual player (I play about once every two or three days for a two to four hour stint). I'm not sure if it's good or bad that my actual level is 20 while my highest rank is 10. This game has a lot to offer to the casual player, that's for sure.

This post has been edited by RisenShadow: 19 October 2010 - 08:54 PM

[Mablung79]

Brian, on 18 October 2010 - 08:27 AM, said:

We have a social linkshell called Knights of the Earth and you are welcome to join just catch ether of us in game and we'll give you a pearl. :)

Character name: Brin Zalazar :)

Excellent, will do.

[Brian]

Neoryudo, on 16 October 2010 - 11:12 AM, said:

heya Brian, i just finished listening to the podcast great episode btw and i just remembered you saying about how your wife is using the buddy pass, and in an ideal world you would not have to buy her the game just top it up with crysta well you can :), i just found this out myself so i went and brough the game and now find out i did not need to oh well i still got the box ^^ anyways il post below about how i know :)

Thanks for this info, ya, I read that and was very happy, however I'm sorry that you bought another copy... If you're not going to use the code perhaps you can sell it to someone...

RisenShadow, on 18 October 2010 - 09:28 PM, said:

Wow, so I never found your podcast before they posted it on the main core page. very good! I'll be looking forward to your next one.

If you guys get the chance, I'd love to hear some details (if you have any) about the guild tokens (or whatever they're called) that are sometimes offered to you when you go to the main halls of the crafting guilds. I'm not entirely sure what they are or how you go about getting them. Is it a random drop or something that you can consistently farm for?

Also, if you get the chance, one of you mentioned that they played a caster. Did you find it difficult to cast spells? I tried a brief stint as a mage and it seemed to be quite bothersome to have to specify AOE or not with every single spell....there was a LOT of clicking involved. Lot more than for a fighter....do you have macros that you use for casting?

So in one of your podcasts I heard that you guys mentioned that elemental affinity affects both crafting and the type of crystals/shards you harvest. Deciding to give it a try, I went and reassigned points on my character. Dropped 15 points in my elemental fire affinity and upped 15 points in my water affinity (figured I'd do opposites for the greatest effect). I found that in cooking with fire shards my success rate was drastically decreased, but harvesting (fishing, mining, and cutting trees) didn't have a noticeable increase to water shard gathering. You'd have to test it, but I think the affects of your affinity have a greater affect on your crafting than your gathering drops.

I also found out that reassigning your stats doesn't actually let you reassign ALL your points, just 30. Don't know if that's something to note.

I'm sad that I'm not on your server, but Wutai isn't too bad. I'm definitely more of a casual player (I play about once every two or three days for a two to four hour stint). I'm not sure if it's good or bad that my actual level is 20 while my highest rank is 10. This game has a lot to offer to the casual player, that's for sure.

Thanks for listening and I'm glad you enjoyed the show. Yes, you make some excellent points, and while I am not about to claim to be an expert craftsman in the game, I'm still trying new things in that department.

Right, you are only able to reassign so many points over a period of time, and in some cases it's best to hit reassign and log out so that when you log back in, you can reassign more points as well so you get a lot of points to use. This is still a learning point and on my character I'm keeping everything balances until I get all my stats to 40, then I'll start focusing on my customization. :)

[Hotcakes]

Some ppl in my linkshell seem to be noticing a problem with stat redists, in that stats higher than 40 don't return the correct number of skill points to spend, such that he suspects he is ending up with less overall skill points the more he uses it. If anyone can help test this, or do a manual count of their stat points the next few times they redist that would be good.

RisenShadow, on 18 October 2010 - 09:28 PM, said:

If you guys get the chance, I'd love to hear some details (if you have any) about the guild tokens (or whatever they're called) that are sometimes offered to you when you go to the main halls of the crafting guilds. I'm not entirely sure what they are or how you go about getting them. Is it a random drop or something that you can consistently farm for?

Guild marks? The things you need to be able to buy guild related skill manuals from? You start getting them from rank 20 onwards.

Quote

Also, if you get the chance, one of you mentioned that they played a caster. Did you find it difficult to cast spells? I tried a brief stint as a mage and it seemed to be quite bothersome to have to specify AOE or not with every single spell....there was a LOT of clicking involved. Lot more than for a fighter....do you have macros that you use for casting?

Yes, AOE is a pain for a caster, especially if you use a controller, because there is no actual way of turning on/off aoe without using macros. This just comes down to another example of poor interface design.

At least someone using a mouse has the option to click :p

Quote

So in one of your podcasts I heard that you guys mentioned that elemental affinity affects both crafting and the type of crystals/shards you harvest. Deciding to give it a try, I went and reassigned points on my character. Dropped 15 points in my elemental fire affinity and upped 15 points in my water affinity (figured I'd do opposites for the greatest effect). I found that in cooking with fire shards my success rate was drastically decreased, but harvesting (fishing, mining, and cutting trees) didn't have a noticeable increase to water shard gathering. You'd have to test it, but I think the affects of your affinity have a greater affect on your crafting than your gathering drops.

Over time, a heightened elemental affinity definitely does raise your chances for getting shard rewards in your loot. As always, it is a random thing, so the sort of thing you need to test on many occasions to see the general effect it has.

This post has been edited by Hotcakes: 20 October 2010 - 07:35 PM

[Ralsu]

Hotcakes, on 19 October 2010 - 08:32 PM, said:

Yes, AOE is a pain for a caster, especially if you use a controller, because there is no actual way of turning on/off aoe without using macros.

Actually, you can do it with controller. Use whichever button you have assigned to the emote menu. For instance, I have my A button on the XBOX 360 controller assigned as my "click." So I direction arrow over to, say, Aero, and press A. Now that the Area of Effect switch is on-screen, I press B, the button I have assigned to the Emote menu. It will toggle the AoE switch on/off. Then I press A again to continue with the casting command.