Getting to the Core: Eorzean Dynamite

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Getting to the Core

Eorzean Dynamite
The official FFXIV website illustrates the versatility of the Armoury System through the tale of Leeroy, who starts his day as a Gladiator but exchanges his sword for a staff to become Thaumturge when he joins an adventure party. Once the party disbands, he whips out a pole to take the role of Fisherman. Finally, Leeory concludes his day by swinging the hammer as a Blacksmith.

Fans of Final Fantasy XIV know that the newest MMO from Square Enix won’t use a traditional leveling system. What we don’t know is exactly how the Armoury System will allow our characters to grow. We’ve seen plenty of videos from Gamescon 2009 that show us how characters skill up in their weapons through use in combat. What we haven’t seen is how players acquire their elite axe skills, sword skills, bow hunting skills, and magic skills (sorry fans—no lightsaber skills). This week, I examine three possible methods of gaining combat skills in FFXIV, which came to me while watching the movie referenced in the title. It’s all just speculation at this point, but it’s fun to speculate!

Method One: Vote for Leeroy
Nowhere in Leeroy’s tale is a definitive answer as to how he might acquire the skills of each profession. The best hint readers get is as follows:

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Leeroy recently chose to begin the journey down the path of the gladiator, trying his hand at the age-old art of swordplay for the first time. Even today, he woke at dawn to spend the daylight hours drilling relentlessly on the tiny wildlife just outside of town.

We already knew that Leeroy would have to practice using the sword to increase his prowess with the weapon (his weapon skill), but perhaps this passage tells us that all progression for the sword is tied to “drilling relentlessly.” Watching that movie with my wife this weekend and seeing signs that urged people to “Vote for Pedro” made me wonder if perhaps each skill up in a weapon brings Leeroy closer to learning a new combat skill. Each skill up could be a vote for Leeroy.

In a system where weapon skill ups result in gaining new combat skills, Leeroy could experience progression of his character toward the next skill so long as he uses any weapon in the category. For instance, Leeroy might wield a rusty sword when he starts out as a Gladiator. He could kill field mice long enough to get four skill ups in his short sword skill before looting a gladius. After equipping the gladius, he could kill a few more field mice and obtain the fifth skill point in short swords, when he unlocks a combat skill (let’s call it Double Slash for fun}. In this way, Leeroy could see incremental progress toward new combat skills on an increasing curve. The first skill might come at five weapon points, the second at fifteen weapon points, and the third at thirty weapon points.

Method Two: The Time Machine Doesn’t Work without Crystals
Another idea that came to me while watching the movie is that maybe the Armoury is even more closely tied to combat skill progression than a mere requirement to hold any weapon in the same category. Leeroy may find that some skills are bound to a particular weapon. Borrowing a bit of the mechanics from Final Fantasy Tactics, Square Enix may elect to require Leeroy to use a certain weapon to gain the skill he wants.

Altering my Double Slash example from above, let’s look at how Leeroy would learn a new combat skill. He’d start with his rusty sword and kill those field mice until the gladius drops. A quick check of the weapon would reveal that Leeroy needs five points in his short sword skill before he could equip the gladius. Once he hits that, he must log an additional number of skill ups or even kills before he learns Double Slash.

A system that binds combat skills to weapons would require Leeroy to attain both a certain weapon skill level and a special weapon to learn the skills he wants. If Leeroy wants to use the time machine, he has to put in the crystals.

Method Three: Going to the Mall for Photos
A third possibility that occurred to me during the movie is that maybe Leeroy will need to visit a trainer to gain combat skills. It could be that Leeroy will need to achieve a certain level in his weapon skill and then find an appropriate trainer before he can learn combat skills.

Using my example of Double Slash, Leeroy would need to kill those field mice until his short sword skill reached level 5. Then he would need to visit a professional to learn Double Slash. It’s a bit like getting dressed up to go get a photo taken at the mall.

A system of combat skill progression involving weapon skill levels and trainers might make it impossible to learn new skills in the field. Leeroy might not be able to buy a scroll of Double Slash. Instead, he’ll need to return to a town and find a trainer when he is ready to learn a new combat skill.

Parting Thoughts
The three ideas for acquiring new combat I have presented above (automatically upon weapon skill ups, with the use of a particular weapon, and by hiring a trainer) are just speculation. Each method has its appeal to me, and each has some drawbacks. Maybe I’ll discover more ideas if a watch another movie. In the meantime, does any of these solutions sound like a fun system to you? What other notions do you have about how players should learn combat skills?