[Illuen]

The December Version Update Cometh! (12/09/2008)



The December version update, with more new content and adjustments than you can wave a stick at, is now ready for download! The following and much, much more awaits you!

- New missions for the Wings of the Goddess expansion.
- The new in-game system, "Fields of Valor."
-The addition of the Group 2 merit point category for dancers and scholars.
- More rewarding adventuring with Treasure Caskets.
- Additions and adjustments to Campaign.
- Further tweaks to the Level Sync system.

The juicy details are available for your perusal here.

≪Dec. 9, 2008 (JST) Update Details≫
*Japan Standard Time


Event-related

New missions have been added for the Wings of the Goddess expansion.



New quests have been added.

Introduction of "Fields of Valor.

"Fields of Valor" is a new system in which players can take on voluntary training regimes to slay a number of specified enemies in an assigned period of time. One training regime may be undertaken per Vana'dielian day. If successful, players will receive experience points, gil, and Fields of Valor points redeemable for other benefits.
*Monsters must yield experience in order to constitute confirmed kills.



Players can undertake training regimes by examining the "Field Manual" in any of the areas listed below, then selecting "Individual Training" and choosing their desired objective from the subsequent menu.

West Ronfaure / Valkurm Dunes / Jugner Forest / North Gustaberg / Pashhow Marshlands /
Beaucedine Glacier / Xarcabard / West Sarutabaruta / Buburimu Peninsula / Meriphataud Mountains / Qufim Island

On rare occasions, defeating enemies in the following areas will yield a Treasure Casket:
West Ronfaure / East Ronfaure / La Theine Plateau / Valkurm Dunes / Jugner Forest / Batallia Downs / North Gustaberg / South Gustaberg / Konschtat Highlands / Pashhow Marshlands / Rolanberry Fields / Xarcabard / Beaucedine Glacier / West Sarutabaruta / East Sarutabaruta / Tahrongi Canyon / Buburimu Peninsula / Meriphataud Mountains / Sauromugue Champaign / Qufim Island / Behemoth's Dominion

There are two varieties of Treasure Caskets, locked and unlocked. Unlocked caskets will contain temporary items that can only be used in the area in which they were acquired, while locked caskets will contain non-temporary items and equipment.



- Players can now warp to Aht Urhgan Whitegate from Jeuno by talking to the Salaheem's Sentinels representative deployed there.
*In order to use this service, you must be a mercenary of Salaheem's Sentinels and have completed the quest offered by the NPC in question.

- The locations of outpost warp NPCs in San d'Oria, Windurst, and Bastok have been changed as follows:

Northern San d'Oria (D-9) -> Northern San d'Oria (K-9)
Bastok Metalworks (F-8) -> Bastok Mines (K-8)
Port Windurst (D-5) -> Port Windurst (L-4)

- The respawn time for Treasure Coffers and Treasure Chests has been shortened, and the chances of obtaining artifacts, maps, and key items from them have been increased. Furthermore, after obtaining items or gil from a coffer or chest, players will temporarily become unable to receive items or gil from other coffers or chests.

- Passageways in the following areas will now open and close automatically for players mounted on chocobos:
Jugner Forest [s] / Batallia Downs [s] / Rolanberry Fields [s] / Fort Karugo-Narugo [s] / Sauromugue Champaign [s]

- In Fort Karugo-Narugo, the target names of the affected doors have been changed as follows:
Granite Gate -> Cavalry Gate
Painted Wooden Door -> Cavalry Door

- In Jugner Forest, passing through portals of the following variety now requires a key item:
Wooden Gate

- Furthermore, with the above changes, certain doors that prior to this version update had been constantly open will now remain closed until activated.


Battle-related

The following additions and alterations have been made to Campaign:

• New Campaign Ops have been added.
• NPCs have been added which will distribute temporary items to players when participating in a Campaign battle in an area under the control of the Beastman Confederate.The characteristics of these distribution NPCs are as follows:
  - Upon the depletion of their stock, NPCs will temporarily return to headquarters in order to replenish their stores.
  - NPCs will take defensive action against aggressors, but during that time will be unable to dispense items. Should they become incapacitated in the course of battle, a replacement will be dispatched after a certain amount of time has elapsed.
  - Item availability and quantity is directly influenced by each nation's skill and production levels.
  
• In Campaign battles, the strategic resource capacity of a stronghold will now decrease depending on the presence of destructive entities such as besieging enemy Siege Turrets.
• At the time of a Campaign tally, should influence over an area change hands from the Beastman Confederate to the Allied Forces of Altana, or vice versa, the stronghold fortifications and resources will now be replenished to half. However, no such replenishment will take place in the case of headquarters trading hands.

- The time delay before starting up Besieged after completion of server maintenance has been increased.

- Members of a Level Sync party will no longer lose beneficial status effects such as Protect should the synchronization designee level up. Accumulated TP, and the effect of the Charm ability on monsters, will also no longer be lost.

- The following equipment attributes have been added to the list of those which will remain in effect, and be adjusted accordingly, during Level Sync:
Evasion / Enmity / Healing HP / Healing MP

- While under the effect of Level Sync or any other form of level restriction, attack delays for crossbows can no longer be faster than 216.

- The Reraise effect granted by certain spells and items will no longer be removed by magic and abilities such as Dispel and Voidsong.

- While the query selection boxes associated with the white magic spell Raise and the black magic spell Tractor are being displayed, the same spells will no longer be able to be cast on that player.

- When the experience points gained by a dragoon result in their wyvern receiving a status boost, the wyvern's HP will now be fully restored.

- The following Group 2 merit point abilities have been added for the dancer and scholar jobs.

Dancer
Saber Dance
Fan Dance
No Foot Rise
Closed Position

Scholar
Altruism
Focalization
Tranquility
Equanimity
Enlightenment
Stormsurge


Item-related

- The enchantments on the following items can now be recharged in Al Zahbi, Aht Urhgan Whitegate, Nashmau, Southern San d'Oria [s], Bastok Markets [s], and Windurst Waters [s]:
Chariot Band / Empress Band / Emperor Band

- The fee for recharging these items will be consistent regardless of whether payment is required in Conquest points, Allied Notes, or Imperial Standing points.



- The tax levied on bazaar purchases has been abolished in the following areas:
Ru'Lude Gardens / Upper Jeuno / Lower Jeuno / Port Jeuno

- Many new pieces of equipment have been added.

- Several new pieces of furniture have been added.



- Several new synthesis recipes have been added.

- The elemental strength of the following piece of furniture has been reduced:
Miniature Airship

- Chocobo Whistles will now be usable during Level Sync given that the player meets the level requirement after synchronization has taken effect.

- The artifact and relic armor sets for the dancer and scholar jobs can now be enhanced by the NPC Sagheera, found in Port Jeuno.



- Dancer and scholar-specific items have been added to the treasures obtainable in the Dynamis and Limbus areas.

- The fees incurred for storing all item sets and furnishings have been halved.

- The following items and furnishings will now be storable by speaking to specific NPCs:
Aldebaran Horn / Tidal Talisman / Eerie Cloak / Eerie Cloak +1 / Town Moogle Shield / Nomad Moogle Shield

- The equipment storage NPC will now accept the following equipment sets:
Etoile Attire / Argute Attire / Argent Attire

- The sale prices for the following items have been changed:
Black Ink / Bugard Skin / H. Q. Bugard Skin / Orc Piercer / Yagudo Freezer / Shellbuster / Leech Saliva / Bird Blood / Beast Blood

- The following item has been relocated to the "Materials: Alchemy" category of the Auction House:

Dyer's Woad


System-related

The following entries have been added to the auto-translate dictionary:

Category Term

Job Ability - Saber Dance
Job Ability - Fan Dance
Job Ability - No Foot Rise
Job Ability - Closed Position
Job Ability - Focalization
Job Ability - Tranquility
Job Ability - Equanimity
Job Ability - Enlightenment
Job Traits - Closed Position
Job Traits - Stormsurge
Game Terms 2 Maze
Game Terms 2 Maze Monger
Game Terms 2 Moblin Marbles
Game Terms 2 Magna Cache

- The amount of fishing fatigue incurred has been increased for characters below level 20, and for characters for whom less than two weeks have elapsed since their first login. In addition, the quest-related items, "Ripped Cap," and "Fat Greedie," will be easier to catch for players meeting certain conditions.

- Macros to target party members (<stpt>), and alliance members (<stal>), have been added.
With these macros, it is possible to target any party or alliance member, including those not currently on screen. When used, a target icon will appear in the window displaying that party member's status. The icon will not appear when the macro is used to target characters on screen.



- The Campaign Ops-issuing NPCs found in the following areas will now reappear 15 minutes after completion of server maintenance:
Southern San d'Oria [s] / Bastok Markets [s] / Windurst Waters [s]


Resolved Issues

- The following terms have been restored to the auto-translate dictionary:
Weapon Skill / Detonator

- The potency of the dragoon's wyvern ability Healing Breath will now be adjusted accordingly when level restriction has taken effect.


Known Issues

- In Fields of Valor, canceling a training regime by way of a job change will result in players having to wait one Vana'dielian day before being able to undertake another.
*This issue can be bypassed by canceling your current training regime through the Field Manual.

- Players who attempt to trade with another who is already doing so will be shown an unnatural system message.

- The rare item icon is not displayed for the Hero's Combat battlefield entry item, "Cordial Invite."
*Only one of these items can be in the possession of a player at any given time.

- When talking to a map marker NPC, the marked locations for outpost warp NPCs do not reflect their new positions.


English Version Only

- The name of the following item as it appears in player inventory has been changed:
Acantha Shaver -> Acantha Shavers

- In the help text for the scholar's new Group 2 merit point ability "Enlightenment," the reduction in recast time is incorrectly displayed as 1 minute 30 seconds. The correct figure is 1 minute 15 seconds.

- The introduction of the new "Moblin Maze Mongers" system originally scheduled for this version update has been delayed due to extension of the QA period. The specific release schedule will be announced on Topics as soon as it is decided.

[eticket109]

lol I took the time to clean up the Cat 2 merits and you beat me >.>

[ruffrydasean]

The locations of outpost warp NPCs in San d'Oria, Windurst, and Bastok have been changed as follows:

Port Windurst (D-5) -> Port Windurst (L-4)

Finally! Rottata was a long walk somewhat from anything. I used to either leave my HP at the crystal in port or HP at the Moghouse in Woods and walk to Walls and use the tele npc to port.

Sucks that the MMM was delayed, but at least we have Treasure Caskets and Fields of Valor to play with ^^

[Illuen]

I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was a race. I fixed the merits just for you, though =).

[Durahansolo]

Yep, I think I am drooling now. Looks like there will be less low level bot fishers now with the fishing fatigue upgrade, as well as people farming blood to NPC. No more using CP to recharge bands {YES PLEASE!}, GOGO ALLIED NOTES!. I hope they added some new alchemy recipes, and i wonder what gear they added . With the adjustment to level sync Evasion, I guess we can look for scorpion harness sales to go up again.

[ruffrydasean]

I dont hang around whitegate anywho.. so using CP never bothered me. Only reason I ever even went to whitegate was for Sanction when I solo'd in Aydeewa

[eticket109]

Originally Posted by Illuen

I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was a race. I fixed the merits just for you, though =).

The columns SE uses never seem to copy well unfortunately.

[Armando]

The locations of outpost warp NPCs in San d'Oria, Windurst, and Bastok have been changed as follows:
Northern San d'Oria (D-9) -> Northern San d'Oria (K-9)
Bastok Metalworks (F-8) -> Bastok Mines (K-8)
Port Windurst (D-5) -> Port Windurst (L-4)

Fuck what anyone else says, this is the highlight of the update.

[Mhurron]

Originally Posted by Illuen

While the query selection boxes associated with the white magic spell Raise and the black magic spell Tractor are being displayed, the same spells will no longer be able to be cast on that player.

Neat.

[nanatsu]

The sale prices for the following items have been changed:
Black Ink / Bugard Skin / H. Q. Bugard Skin / Orc Piercer / Yagudo Freezer / Shellbuster / Leech Saliva / Bird Blood / Beast Blood

Uh, looks like they don't want us having gil anymore. Yay.

[Durahansolo]

Originally Posted by Armando

Fuck what anyone else says, this is the highlight of the update.

I can't wait for somebody to go to the old location and go "OMG THE BEASTMEN KIDNAPPED THE WARP NPC WTF!"

[Callisto]

Touching on the stuff I actually care about...

Originally Posted by Illuen

The locations of outpost warp NPCs in San d'Oria, Windurst, and Bastok have been changed as follows:
Northern San d'Oria (D-9) -> Northern San d'Oria (K-9)
Bastok Metalworks (F-8) -> Bastok Mines (K-8)
Port Windurst (D-5) -> Port Windurst (L-4)

I don't understand this one...most of this update appears to be about convenience rather than major content additions, and they make a needless change to make it slightly more annoying to leave Sandy now that the outpost guy isn't next to the Signet guy anymore.

Members of a Level Sync party will no longer lose beneficial status effects such as Protect should the synchronization designee level up. Accumulated TP, and the effect of the Charm ability on monsters, will also no longer be lost.

The following equipment attributes have been added to the list of those which will remain in effect, and be adjusted accordingly, during Level Sync:
Evasion / Enmity / Healing HP / Healing MP

The Reraise effect granted by certain spells and items will no longer be removed by magic and abilities such as Dispel and Voidsong.

Thank you.

While the query selection boxes associated with the white magic spell Raise and the black magic spell Tractor are being displayed, the same spells will no longer be able to be cast on that player.

THANK YOU.
/quote]The enchantments on the following items can now be recharged in Al Zahbi, Aht Urhgan Whitegate, Nashmau, Southern San d'Oria [s], Bastok Markets [s], and Windurst Waters [s]:
Chariot Band / Empress Band / Emperor Band

The fee for recharging these items will be consistent regardless of whether payment is required in Conquest points, Allied Notes, or Imperial Standing points.[/quote]

THANK YOU!

The fees incurred for storing all item sets and furnishings have been halved.

Not a huge deal, but nice, now that I finally got RDM hat I'll admit that the 2k storage fee every time I wanted to play PLD or COR was starting to add up.

The following terms have been restored to the auto-translate dictionary:
Weapon Skill / Detonator

THAAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUUU


thought it has been amusing having a King's Justice macro on COR

[eticket109]

The locations of outpost warp NPCs in San d'Oria, Windurst, and Bastok have been changed as follows:
Northern San d'Oria (D-9) -> Northern San d'Oria (K-9)
Bastok Metalworks (F-8) -> Bastok Mines (K-8)
Port Windurst (D-5) -> Port Windurst (L-4)

wat

On rare occasions, defeating enemies in the following areas will yield a Treasure Casket:
West Ronfaure / East Ronfaure / La Theine Plateau / Valkurm Dunes / Jugner Forest / Batallia Downs / North Gustaberg / South Gustaberg / Konschtat Highlands / Pashhow Marshlands / Rolanberry Fields / Xarcabard / Beaucedine Glacier / West Sarutabaruta / East Sarutabaruta / Tahrongi Canyon / Buburimu Peninsula / Meriphataud Mountains / Sauromugue Champaign / Qufim Island / Behemoth's Dominion

There are two varieties of Treasure Caskets, locked and unlocked. Unlocked caskets will contain temporary items that can only be used in the area in which they were acquired, while locked caskets will contain non-temporary items and equipment.

ie: please, please, please come and exp in conquest zones

Furthermore, after obtaining items or gil from a coffer or chest, players will temporarily become unable to receive items or gil from other coffers or chests.

I was curious how they were going to do that.

Members of a Level Sync party will no longer lose beneficial status effects such as Protect should the synchronization designee level up. Accumulated TP, and the effect of the Charm ability on monsters, will also no longer be lost.

The following equipment attributes have been added to the list of those which will remain in effect, and be adjusted accordingly, during Level Sync:
Evasion / Enmity / Healing HP / Healing MP

nice.

The Reraise effect granted by certain spells and items will no longer be removed by magic and abilities such as Dispel and Voidsong.

sweet. granted, this means no more 'uh... yeah... I had reraise up... but it uh... got dispelled. >.>

When the experience points gained by a dragoon result in their wyvern receiving a status boost, the wyvern's HP will now be fully restored.

woohoo!

The amount of fishing fatigue incurred has been increased for characters below level 20, and for characters for whom less than two weeks have elapsed since their first login. In addition, the quest-related items, "Ripped Cap," and "Fat Greedie," will be easier to catch for players meeting certain conditions.

haha. nice shot to the RMT but that sucks for those of us with legit fishing mules.

Macros to target party members (), and alliance members (), have been added.
With these macros, it is possible to target any party or alliance member, including those not currently on screen. When used, a target icon will appear in the window displaying that party member's status. The icon will not appear when the macro is used to target characters on screen.

this may prove useful.

The potency of the dragoon's wyvern ability Healing Breath will now be adjusted accordingly when level restriction has taken effect.

damn. guess they noticed afterall. >.>

[Lmnop]

"Closed Position" was added to the translator twice. >.> Once as a Job Ability, once as a Job Trait.

M.M.M. got pushed back.

The rest of it: nifty. I'm not sure I understand these new subtarget tags but I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Looks like you're selecting based off of the list as opposed to having to find them on the field? If so, I'll end up replacing every <stpc> macro with them.

[Ellipses]

Originally Posted by Callisto

I don't understand this one...most of this update appears to be about convenience rather than major content additions, and they make a needless change to make it slightly more annoying to leave Sandy now that the outpost guy isn't next to the Signet guy anymore.

Yeah, but he's a lot closer to the Mog House. Do you get Signet every single time you OP anywhere? If you do, I guess this sucks, but half the time I'm just using OP warps to go somewhere, and Signet matters a lot less than getting there faster.

Originally Posted by Lmnop

I'm not sure I understand these new subtarget tags but I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Looks like you're selecting based off of the list as opposed to having to find them on the field? If so, I'll end up replacing every <stpc> macro with them.

I'm sure it will put a target arrow over their head on the field, too, but yes, you use it to select from the list. Just like you can with <stpc> or <st> and up/down instead of tab/left/right. The only difference is that these restrict it to party/alliance members, so I imagine you can use tab/left/right without worrying about targeting a non-member.