During the Shadowbringers press tour in London, we had the opportunity, together with other media, to ask some questions to the head of Final Fantasy XIV, Naoki Yoshida.
Shadowbringers, the new expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, is already set to release on July 2nd, and Square Enix is continuously revealing more new information about the addon.
The director and producer of FFXIV, Naoki Yoshida, answered some questions during his press tour in London. This interview was conducted with various media partners.
The NPCs should feel alive
The Trust system is a new feature that will come with Shadowbringers to Final Fantasy XIV. It aims to allow players to enter dungeons together with familiar NPCs from the story.
The system contrasts with the usual group play of MMORPGs, as the NPCs replace other players in group content. This is an unusual feature for a multiplayer game. Together with other media, we asked him some questions about it.
Question: What is the behavior of the NPCs in the Trust system in the dungeons? Do they adapt to the player’s style or follow a fixed AI?
Naoki Yoshida: When you are in different dungeons, there are also randomly generated elements and mechanics. For example, one of the boss enemies can use an area attack, and sometimes it may target the player’s character, while other times it may target one of the NPCs. It can also happen that the same NPC is targeted twice. So there are different situations even within a dungeon.
The AI of the Trust NPCs is designed to assess what the most effective reaction in the given situation is while also emphasizing the character of the NPCs. This is the fundamental design of the AI.
The hidden part of this AI is that it recognizes early on which monsters are more problematic and will try to deal with these monsters first. However, the monster could also use a very fast AOE attack, and the NPCs will know where it will land.
When certain bosses use their strong attacks, it can happen that it covers larger areas of the battle field. The AI will then recognize where the NPCs need to go to avoid this attack.
For example, there are four safe areas in which one can stand. The AI will recognize which area the NPC needs to go to be as close to the boss as possible and to deal damage efficiently.
So if you are unsure what to do with a mechanic in a dungeon and need to run away, you can follow the NPCs.
And to come back to it: Each NPC has its own characteristics. They stay true to their backstory.
If the player takes the NPC Alisaie into a dungeon, for example, she will try to take down the enemies as quickly as possible. She wants to be useful and help the Warrior of Light. She attacks very aggressively. Her priority is therefore attack, attack, attack. When the limit gauge is full, she will be the first to use it.
Another character, however, is Minfilia. She is very young and not very experienced in combat yet. You will observe in the dungeon how she initially struggles to choose the right target. Therefore, there are these different behavior patterns for each character that you take into your group.
I think that when playing, Alisaie will probably be the first to run and attack. And since she is aggressive, she wants to attack for as long as possible and could accidentally be caught by an area attack. And if she suddenly falls, her brother Alphinaud will quickly come to revive her.
So if you are familiar with the story of FFXIV, you can observe how these characters come to life in the dungeons.
The future of the Trust system depends on player feedback
Question: Can you give us more insight into the future development of the Trust system? Will players only be able to fight alongside NPCs in dungeons or will it be possible to build some sort of “relationship” with the individual NPCs in the future, providing more story or information about their characters?
Naoki Yoshida: Regarding the future development of the Trust system: I think it is a very new idea that we want to bring into the game. We understand that FFXIV is an MMORPG, and yet we have a system that tells players, “Hey, you can also complete this content alone!” So it is almost contradictory to what an MMORPG is.
But precisely for that reason, we want to see how the system feels for our players. We want to see player feedback, the reactions, let us know if you like this system and would like to see more of it.
Or if you feel that what we have is already enough. We want to assess how the system is received by players and base our next steps on that.
As for the different NPCs you can interact with, we primarily want players to learn about their backstories through the main scenario quests.
Especially regarding the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. We will portray the emotions and feelings they experience throughout the story, why they fight, what their mission is, etc. And that will be handled through the story.
Here is new information we have not released until now: We said that you can take these characters into the dungeons of Shadowbringers.
However, once you have completed all the main scenario quests and reached level 80, there is initially no further story, as Shadowbringers will be completed for the time being.
Let’s assume, theoretically, that for story reasons, for example, Y’shtola would need to go somewhere at the end of Shadowbringers. It would therefore be strange if you entered other content with the Trust NPCs and Y’shtola suddenly returned to the party.
Instead, when reaching level 80 at the end of the main scenario of Shadowbringers, you will receive a sort of “copy” of each of the individual Trust NPCs.
I am sure players will enter the dungeons with different jobs to level them. Therefore, you will receive these crystals, which contain a copy of Y’shtola or Thancred.
And you can then summon their energy so that they can continue to fight alongside you in certain content. This system is activated once you reach level 80.
And these crystals containing a copy of the NPCs will also need to be leveled. When you receive them, they will start at level 70. This way, you will have the opportunity to let your Y’shtola or Thancred grow.
It is of course very practical to take these NPCs with you when you are advancing through the main scenario, and it is fun to play the content together with the characters. But if we think about how we might develop it further, I think we must first evaluate player reactions.
Therefore, I hope that many players will take the chance to play with this Trust system and give us their feedback. We already suspect that many people will ask for the NPC Estinien (laughs).
A story where not everything is black and white
Especially the content of the story of Shadowbringers should be accessible to FFXIV players. That is why the Trust system will be implemented first in the story and level dungeons of the addon.
Question: There is a huge amount of content coming with Shadowbringers. I wonder if there is a specific element or feature that you are most proud of.
Naoki Yoshida: If I had to choose one element for Shadowbringers, it would be the story. I am still reviewing the script or the scenario, even in my hotel room here in London. I am very picky. Because I want the quality of the story to be as high as possible, it will be refined until the last minute.
As with any story, there are certainly differences in taste and opinions. Some people like a certain style and others do not. But I believe that the story of Shadowbringers is so far the best of FFXIV. It is very good.
I hope, therefore, that even people who have never played FFXIV will try it and dive into the story.
We felt that there is this fixed idea of “light = good” and “darkness = evil”. And what is interesting about Shadowbringers is that there is this extremely strong power of light. The flood of light is crashing in to destroy the world, and the player is trying to bring back the darkness of night into this world.
Of course, you will encounter characters who stand on the dark side but are still not evil. Therefore, we try not to portray it as if A is right and B is wrong. It is not all black and white.
We wanted to convey in the story that it is not good if one side becomes too strong and that there is a balance that is necessary. That is the plot of the story, and we want players to take a look at it.
The 14 mirror worlds and how they affect the story
Question: In Shadowbringers, we will travel to another world, which is in a way a copy of our world. Will there be a meeting with “former friends and comrades” that we may have to fight?
Naoki Yoshida: To give you some background on these different worlds that exist in the universe. I am sure you will see this in the main scenario as well, but there are 14 different “mirror worlds”, so to speak.
There was a significant event 10,000 years ago, and the world was split into 14 different shards. The world in which we have gone on adventures until now is called “The Source”, or the source of the shards. And we will travel through a rift into the world directly next to it, which is called “The First”.
When the world was divided into 14 different copies, they were initially identical. There was the Source and then 13 of its shards. Now that 10,000 years have passed, each of these shards has gone through its own 10,000 years of history.
Let’s say that when the world was split up, there was a Yoshida in each of those 14 worlds; they were initially exact copies. However, it may have happened that he met different people in different worlds or performed different actions in varying situations.
As a result, the shards are now beginning to develop their own individual stories, and each shard is taking its own direction. There is now an initiative to reunite these shards so that they can become a single world again.
And it has been noticed that The First is just about to be destroyed by this flood of light. Therefore, our heroes must intervene and save this world.
And players will notice: Yes, it is quite similar, and yet there are some areas where you think, “Oh, this is quite different.” I think that makes it very interesting.
It is fascinating. If players know a lot about the lore and history of the current world and then go into the world of The First and discover all the new elements, they will find many Easter eggs that will make them laugh.
Question: In the future, after the current expansion, will it be possible to travel to other shards as well?
Naoki Yoshida: Unfortunately, 7 of the 13 copies of the Source have been destroyed over the course of 10,000 years. Our next adventure takes us to The First, but there is also the “Thirteenth”, the thirteenth shard. We also call it the void. It has been completely swallowed by darkness.
So there are still some shards that exist. It is therefore possible. Perhaps, possibly, if we travel to one of these shards, we will see a Mako Reactor or the city of Midgar (FFVII).
