Nobody seemed to like the Dynamis Q&A, but that’s okay. The real meat is in this interview, which covers large-scale events throughout the Treasures of Aht Urghan expansion.

Developers present:

FFXI Planner – Mizuki Ito 伊藤 泉貴
Involved in a wide variety of content, including Salvage design and battle logic.

FFXI Planner – Yuichiro Kawanishi 河西 雄一郎
Worked on systems for Assault, Salvage, etc. In charge of Bhaflau Remnants.

FFXI Planner – Mitsutoshi Gondai 権代 光俊
In charge of Merit Points and battle/design for new jobs.

FFXI Planner – Daisuke Sase 佐瀬 太亮
Worked as a battle planner, among other roles. In charge of Silver Seas Remnants.

FFXI Planner – Kenzou Takeda 武田 謙三
Involved in monster data and more. In charge of Arrapago Remnants.

FFXI Planner – Yousuke Hayashi 林 洋介
Involved in work related to items. In charge of Zhaylom Remnants.

Does a Thief’s Treasure Hunter affect the drop rate of Alexandrite? Also, would then the effects of Assassin Armlets or Thief’s Knife also come into play?

Hayashi: They do have an effect. Treasure Hunter + items have an effect as well.

In Remnants with multiple routes, does taking one or the other affect the drop rate of items? For instance, if there are multiple routes and there is a NM waiting up ahead, it would make no sense to choose the more difficult path because the drop rate is unaffected.

Itou: It has no bearing on drop rates. However, different Imbued Items drop along different routes, so there is still a point to choosing the more difficult one.

Do drop rates changed based on how you defeat an NM or what you do before you encounter them? For example, does defeating it quickly make its treasure drop easier or something like that…

Hayashi: It does not affect the drop rate.

With 25 different pieces available, there is a variety of gear that the Boss can drop, but it feels like they always drop two of the same piece. Is it truly, completely random? Does it have anything to do with battle time or perhaps time inside the area?

Hayashi: It’s completely random.

Among NMs that drop multiple Level 35 pieces, I’ve noticed that some seem to drop with ease while others rarely appear. For example, the Archaic Chariot on the 5th floor of Arrapago drops Hikazu Hakama (Usu. Legs) and Enhil’s Kolluks (Mrdk. Hands) quite often, but seems to drop Freya’s Ledelsen’s (Skad. Feet) more rarely.

Does each item have its own drop rate? Is this really just the result of randomness?

Hayashi: In both Arrapago and Zhaylom, the three items each have their own chance of dropping and the probability is exactly the same for all of them.

When comparing peak hours (Japan nighttime) with, say, Japan noontime, when not a lot of people are playing, is it just me, or are the drop rates different?

Sase: It’s just you.

It feels like the drop rates for equipment in Salvage are really low. How low would you suppose the drop rates actually are? I’d be thrilled if you could provide us with a concrete figure.

Developers: We cannot provide any specific figures regrading drop rates or conditions.

Does the aggro range of Archaic-type monsters (Gears, Chariots, Ramparts, etc.) change based on Salvage area or weather or anything…?

Kawanishi: In any Remnant, the range expands during Wind or Earth weather.

For the Gear ability “Restoral,” what is the HP amount that is healed based on?

Itou: It is based on the max HP of the Gear using it. High level Gears with a higher max HP will heal for greater amounts.

In some areas, you can’t get by unless you make a sac pull. Is there any hidden trick we can use to avoid this? If we try to get by the proper way by pulling monsters one-by-one, it takes up almost all our time…

Itou: Situations like that depend on the route, enemies involved and what abilities you have unlocked, so it’s hard to make an overall recommendation… Really, it comes down to the abilities you have to work with, like Flee, magic spells or having a pet handy…

When fighting a trio of Gears, what exactly causes their numbers to decrease.

Itou: They decrease based on the amount of remaining HP. However, using Restoral can bring back a fallen gear, so from that point it’s difficult to say when they will decrease in number again.

Will the storage NPC for Salvage ever be able to hold gear for more than one set of armor?

Hayashi: There are no plans for that as of now.

Currently, Scholar and Dancer are unable to equip any Salvage gear. Will they be able to equip any Savlage gear in the future?

Gondai: We’re looking into this, but have not come to a decision yet.

Do you plan to alleviate the high difficulty of obtaining Imperial Wootz Ingots or Khroma Ore?

Hayashi: I can’t tell you anything specific, but we will be adding more ways to obtain these items, like as a reward from upcoming content.

The 2nd floor of Zhaylom seems to have relatively few drops for Ranged or Ring cells, and there will be times when people cannot get fully unlocked. Is this done intentionally for balance?

Hayashi: This isn’t limited specifically to Ranged cells, but the idea is that every time you enter Salvage you have different goals. You may head for the top floor or perhaps opt to farm the NMs and each time you have a different set of cells at your disposal. It was designed so you would have to tailor your battle strategy to the conditions you face each time you enter.

Is there any secret to the treasure chests found in Silver Sea Remnants? After taking the contents they can reappear, but is there some penalty that depends on the amount of items you take?

Sase: The routes with treasure chests serve as a measure to balance against the low drop rate of cells. There is no penalty involved with the chests themselves.

Please tell us what exactly is required to make the Mad Bomber pop in Bhaflau Remnants.

Kawanishi: Right now, it is completely random, but there is a possibility we may change this.

It doesn’t appear that there is a set chance for the NM that drops level 35 pieces to pop from the Archaic Rampart in Bhaflau Remnants. Please let us know if there is some way to increase the chance of it appearing.

Kawanishi: There is a pattern under which the NM will not pop at all. If you fight it to a certain point and still nothing has popped, nothing is going to pop and it would be wiser to simply give up and move on. Beyond that, the pop conditions are a secret.

Archaic Ramparts in Bhaflau Remnants are somewhat hit-and-miss wouldn’t you say? There are patterns where many NMs will pop, and patterns where none will pop. Is the amount of NMs that will pop just random? Or are there certain conditions that affect this?

Kawanishi: There are no conditions, it is simply random.

Previously, you announced that item drop rates for certain NMs in Bhaflau and Silver Sea Remnants would be adjusted. Have these changes already been implemented?

Itou: We are still considered how to adjust them, so the changes have not been made yet. We have not yet set a date for their implementation.

In Arrapago Remnants, how come only the Morigan’s Body NM (Qiqirn Treasure Hunter) has such a high chance of spawning?

Takeda: The high amount of Qiqirn is just a special characteristic of Arrapago Remnants.

Nyzul Isle consists of randomly created dungeons, but how is the size of each floor decided? There very rarely are any wide, expansive floors, so is there a set minimum and maximum value for size? Also, I’d be interested to know if there are minimum and maximum values for the amount of enemies distributed on each floor.

Kawanishi: The amount of enemies for a floor depends on that floor’s clear conditions, with the minimum being around 5, and the maximum a little over 10 (not including special floors with no enemies). I cannot answer you regarding how floor size is determined.

Do the chances of having a larger floor and higher enemy count increase depending on the amount of floors you have completed?

Kawanishi: There is no correlation between completed floors and these settings.

Are there conditions that cause the creation of easy to complete floors? (or ones with lots of treasure!)

Kawanishi: The conditions regarding floor design are secret.

When you defeat an NM in Nyzul, are the chances of the ??? item becoming rare equipment different for each equipment type? (For example, Bounding Boots being more rare than Trotter Boots, etc.)

Kawanishi: These percentages are a secret, but I can tell you that the chances of getting either of the two pieces you mentioned are equal.

Looking at the congestion that sometimes plagues the entrance to Nyzul, I wonder if there isn’t some way to make it easier to get in. Also, please let me know if you are working on some way to prevent the issue wherein players get locked in the black loading screen upon exiting Nyzul Isle.

Itou: It is under investigation. We want to fix this as soon as we can.

In Nyzul Isle Assault, are the drop rates for every job’s Mythic weapon the same? Do they change based on the makeup of the party that enters?

Kawanishi: The chance of a particular weapon dropping is the same across all jobs. However, on the 100th floor, the weapon that matches your party leader’s job will always drop.

For Nyzul Isle Investigation, it’s a snap getting people together to challenge an HNM floor for gear, but almost impossible to find people to help progress your disc. This makes working your way up the floors very difficult. Is there anyway you could fix this issue?

Itou: We want to implement something to help gather people for non-HNM sections of Nyzul, but first we would like to focus on solving the congestion issues.

Will the storage NPC ever be able to hold on to Askar, Denali and Goliard sets?

Hayashi: There are no plans for that at this time.

The Aftermath effects on Relic Weapons seem to pale in comparison to those now found on Mythic Weapons. Are there any hidden effects that aren’t found in the item descriptions?

Developers: We cannot provide any answers regarding the abilities and intricacies of such rare items.

Can you tell us about previously stated plans to add more Nyzul-related equipment?

Itou: That is still under discussion.

Will there be more ways to spend Tokens? (trade for weapons, armor, etc.)

Itou: It’s possible, but still under discussion.

Do you plan to add any brand, new gear besides the job-specific weapons and Askar, Denali and Goliard sets?

Itou: There is a possibility we made add new gear. It is currently being considered.

Out of all the monsters that appear in Einherjar, those Legi bomb-type ones are impossible to Sleep. Will anything be done about this?

Sase: We are looking to do something about this.

Is there a chance that more than 2 Imperial Wootz Ingots can drop at once? Previously, there was a screenshot on the official site that showed 3 Imperial Wootz Ingots dropping in Einherjar. Can this actually happen?

Sase: It is possible. However, the chance for this is extremely low.

Do you plan to add anymore items for trade with Ampoules?

Itou: We may add some new items, but it’s still under discussion.

Wing 3 seems extra difficult when compared with other Wings (even Valgrind). Do you plan to adjust the difficulty of not just Wing 3, but any of the areas in Einherjar?

Sase: We do not have any such plans at this time.

As it stands, if you don’t enter with close to the maximum 36 people allowed, you’ll have a hard time winning. Are there any plans to make adjustments, such as halving the enemy count for groups under 18 people, or perhaps scaling enemy count to reflect the number of adventurers that enter, thus allowing more casual play?

Sase: There are no such plans at this time.

Looking at ZNMs, it feels like the strength gap of Tier 5’s Pandemonium Warden is far and away much wider than between Tiers 1-4. How many people did you expect would be needed to subdue this monster? Also, could you provide some kind of hint towards accomplishing this feat?

Sase: I would assume that a group of 18 people could take on Pandemonium Warden, but with more people you will have a better chance of defeating him. I cannot give you any specific strategies for defeating him, but I can promise you I did not design this monster to be unbeatable.

After the inception of Moblin Maze Mongers (MMM for short), it became exceedingly difficult to enter the Ashu Talif quest. Even if there are no other parties in sight, it can take up to 30 minutes just to get in to do Ashu Talif. What can be done about this?

Itou: I don’t have a solid answer for you, but generally, that is an issue of excessive load caused by the instancing system. After implementing MMM, this kind of situation starting appearing more frequently, and we want to work to alleviate this kind of congestion as soon as possible.

In Closing

Please give us some words for the adventurers who spend their days enjoying these large-scale events.

Itou: I’m am truly, deeply pleased to know that so many people have been enjoying this content for these past years. As we go forward, we will continue to provide both serious challenges and light-hearted romps, which I sincerely hope will enhance everyone’s experience.