FFXIV Director Clarifies Fatigue System

Well, we should know better than to cite a source that needs the "NSFW" disclaimer. And the clarification on Square-Enix's part is so very in-depth - and potentially confusing - it requires an entirely separate article.

The whole uproar over that 8 hour/week limitation in Final Fantasy XIV hit a fever pitch yesterday, which prompted game director Nobuaki Komoto to clarify the developer's position concerning the Fatigue System for their upcoming MMORPG. For the full explanation, feel free to visit FFXIVCore and read up on the complex issue. We'll just sum up- most MMOs, like World of Warcraft, have systems to reward players for taking some time off from playing the game, but none have actually penalized the player for playing too many hours. At first, MMO fans thought the Fatigue System in FFXIV did exactly that. But Komoto addresses this concern:

"First off, the main concept behind FFXIV is allowing those players with little time on their hands to play effectively, and game balance is based off of that. Furthermore, it is being designed to not give those with more time on their hands to play an unfair advantage. Because of that, systems such as Guardian's Favor (a bonus to Guildleves) have been implemented to make leveling in the short-term easier than leveling in the long-term."

Basically, the Fatigue System should be compared to real-world fatigue. "No one could train ad nauseam in the real world with no ill effects," the director says. That may or may not go over well with fans; many play MMOs to get away from real life, but whatever. You should definitely read up on what exactly is meant by an 8-hour limit; it actually relates to the specific class you've chosen, and you can always switch jobs on the fly. They're also still fiddling and tweaking the rate at which you gain experience, and then the rate at which the earned experience falls off after the 8-hour mark.

But really, you need to read the entire post. It's a little complicated but at the very least, it addresses the fan outrage.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIV

Tags: final fantasy xiv, ffxiv, fatigue system, square-enix

8/26/2010 9:22:34 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (37 posts)

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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 9:55:48 PM
Reply

At the very least, it doesn't appear to be denying anything. If I did plan on getting this, I'd rather be able to stick to one character and class and make he/she a friggin monster at my own rate.

3 up, 1 down

LimitedVertigo
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:32:10 PM

I'm still going to get the game, it's FF and my days of putting 30hrs into an RPG per-week are currently on hold.

4 up, 3 down

TheCrazyMerc
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:03:53 PM
Reply

BOO!!! FATIGUE SYSTEM=RETARTED!

3 up, 9 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:09:07 PM

No all-CAPS posts.

9 up, 2 down

SvenMD
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:13:40 PM

And if you're going to bash something and call it retarded....then at least spell retarded correctly...

Unless of course you are just saying that the fatigue system is equivalent to placing your pop-tart in the toaster twice...in which case it might be considered "retarted".

17 up, 1 down

LimitedVertigo
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:28:24 PM

Sven,

Wonderful example of "owning" someone :)

5 up, 1 down

Hezzron
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 9:18:08 AM

I agree. Nice work SvenMD.

2 up, 1 down

frylock25
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:08:16 PM
Reply

doing something to much is not good no matter what it is. i have had long game play sessions for days on end and all i end up with is progress in my game and cramped hands. its a good thing in a way that they will help keep the community from to quickly fracturing and makin it hard for new players. either way i dont have time for this and wasnt gonna get it. IF i did have the time i dont know that this would keep me from getting it.

this is square-enix and they havent been having the best ideas lately anyway.

Last edited by frylock25 on 8/26/2010 10:09:41 PM

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:16:03 PM
Reply

Ya know, I thought about this a bit. While it is good for a person not to make an MMO their life, people have free will. It shouldn't be up to the seller of a product to say when or how often the buyer can use it once owned.

If someone wants to waste hours on end and not be socially effective, it is to their detriment but it is their choice. I don't feel bad at all for that fellow who is suing an MMO maker for "addicting" him and "stealing" 20,000 hours of his life or whatever the claim was.

4 up, 1 down

LimitedVertigo
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:31:00 PM

Exactly.

I don't care what filler words they choose to use in explaining the why, what, and how. The end result is SE forcing myself to limit my style of gameplay.

The worst part is they're expecting me to pay a monthly fee as well!

2 up, 0 down

JackC8
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 6:52:38 AM

One of the things I've learned in life is that penalizing the hardcore to make things easier for the casuals is always a gigantic mistake. The casuals will play the game for a few weeks or months, and then quit and move on to something else. The hardcore will be stuck with this crap for years to accommodate people who quit ages ago.

1 up, 0 down

totozero18
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 5:05:29 PM

Woot? WOW sued for being adictive?
Morgan Spurlock must be already filming "Super Buff Me" or "Powerlevel Me" or something like that.

That's nonsense it's like suing your girlfriend just because she's too hot for you to keep it in your pants.

Last edited by totozero18 on 8/27/2010 5:10:52 PM

1 up, 0 down

Milonakis
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:16:20 PM
Reply

Square Enix is the biggest piece of crap. Let the game balance itself out. People who spend a lot of time should be rewarded not discouraged from playing the game.

6 up, 1 down

Mavfan321
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:20:08 PM
Reply

I'm not at all an MMO player but is this more evidence how out of touch SE is with it's audience? Thinking that the majority of it's players would only be casual therefore catering to them?

Last edited by Mavfan321 on 8/26/2010 10:20:21 PM

4 up, 0 down

NeoHumpty
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:21:29 PM
Reply

People who have more time are going to kick my ass. I can handle that. Let them get their money's worth out of the game. Damn, I'm really missing FFIII right now.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:35:41 PM

The real FFIII or the US FFIII (FFVI)?

1 up, 0 down

NeoHumpty
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:15:57 AM

US III. My second favorite in the series.

0 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:30:18 PM
Reply

Square...where has your logic gone to? :(

Just make separate servers....is that so hard? One for those who want the 8 hour rule, those who don't.

*sigh* Squeeeenix makes me sad.

4 up, 0 down

Alienange
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:38:48 PM
Reply

Just the idea of getting into an MMO fatigues me in real life. I've been MMO free for decades and I'm not about to fall off the wagon now.

5 up, 1 down

SvenMD
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:17:35 PM

Stay strong!

BTW - are you in the Tuesday or Thursday support group?

3 up, 1 down

LimitedVertigo
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 11:29:14 PM

Not even for some FF? I mean come on, we all know you're a trophy whore and I'm sure it will have quite a few.

1 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 12:04:58 AM

I like getting trophies as much as the next guy. Literally they've added quite a few play throughs and even more hours into a game, I previously was done with! I understand the terminology and think its funny, that those people go out of their way. But I like em' too!

As for this game, I'm sure it'll be good, I just don't have enough time for an mmo, especially when I'm paying for it. So I guess this level cap deal works in my favor! ;) Still not getting it though!

1 up, 0 down

Hezzron
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 9:22:51 AM

There's nothing wrong with being a trophy whore. It's what separates us from you casual PS3 gamers.

2 up, 1 down

Knightedrik
Thursday, August 26, 2010 @ 10:58:51 PM
Reply

Speaking as someone who spent 366 complete 24 hour days playing FFXI.. I feel this is a joke. Is this in relation to time spent in a party grinding? Or time spent standing in front of the auction house (doing nothing)? Or what? If they are going to limit xp at all, then this game is basically an automatic fail. I wish Square-Enix would pull their head out of their ass and get with the times. Every single news story I hear about SE makes me slowly hate them even more. And it's very sad, because I've been a SE fan for a very, very long time now. Since FF on NES.
Crappy games, inability to make towns, not remaking FFVII even thought the entire world is screaming for them to do so, and now this crap.

I think I'm going to vomit.

9 up, 0 down

Heartless Angel
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 12:27:30 AM
Reply

This system should be something that could be turned on or off depending on the player.

4 up, 0 down

BTNwarrior
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 12:56:16 AM
Reply

Did I just read the article in the link wrong or what because what I got from it is that yes there is an 8 hour time limit per week.

3 up, 0 down

___________
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 3:29:38 AM
Reply

thats actually a brilliant idea, trying to balance the game instead of giving those with no life a fair advantage.
thats one thing i hate about MP games, and trophies in general.
the whole point of games is to reward SKILL not TIME!
so why are so many trophies and MP restricted to those who can put 10+ hours a day in them?
like the come in the top 1% in KZ2, you look at everyone who has that and they put in at least 6 hours a day!
as i said games should be rewarding skill, not rewarding people for being hermits and playing games all day.

2 up, 3 down

Mamills
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:15:29 AM
Reply

yea, im skipping this one, ill wait for blade n soul

1 up, 0 down

Soultaker
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:31:56 AM

didn't you hear? They're hiring a xbox 360 UI designer for Blade and Soul! So for all I know it's not even GOING to the PS3 regardless of that exclusive deal they made with NCsoft

0 up, 0 down

dante_zero
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 7:20:16 AM
Reply

while you make a fair arguement. However even with the limit there will still be skilled people that will be better no matter how much they try and make sure everyone plays the game for the same amount of time. the problem here is not so much the fatigue system it's self its the fact your paying for the privilage and that is not fair to a consumer who wants to get the most out of their game for their money. imho SE has opened a can of worms with this and i hope for the industrys sake the game fails with this system because if it's successful i can see it being implemented into other MMO's which in the long term could damage the genre.

0 up, 0 down

BTNwarrior
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 10:26:09 AM
Reply

if only guild wars 2 was coming to ps3, then we wouldn't need to settle for FF14

0 up, 1 down

GuardianMode
Friday, August 27, 2010 @ 10:59:05 PM
Reply

I doubt this system will last long. There are too many hardcore players that will be very vocal. I think it will change into the xp format similar to WoW. They will just do that quietly.

0 up, 0 down

timjayko
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 2:23:36 PM
Reply

its all engineered by SE to keep you playing even longer over time. So you don't get bored with the system so you spend more monthly fees. fu** you SE and your money grubbing ways. I miss Squaresoft when Sakaguchi and Uematsu were there to just create good games without thinking about the profits... too much Enix and not enough Square right now. If I were SE I would fire the Enix President and hire Sakaguchi back.

0 up, 0 down

timjayko
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 2:25:32 PM
Reply

Look at apple.. if it weren't for Steve Jobs returning as CEO they would probably be out of the market right now.. instead they are thriving.. bring back Sakaguchi! The original creator of Final Fantasy who made you big in the first place...

0 up, 0 down

Drodin
Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 12:19:20 AM
Reply

This makes no sense and I hope they reconsider before it launches.

I don't think I'll be reaching that limit when I pick up FFXIV but I also don't want their help keeping me close to someone who wants to spend a lot more time. Let them play how they want and if I fall behind thats fine. I'll be at my rate, doesn't mean everyone has to be.

0 up, 0 down

Nynja
Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 10:42:27 AM
Reply

Even with this news, which sounds much more reasonable, I'm still on the fence. I don't think I can justify $15 a month for access to a game that has a weekly "timed experience cap". What is this, a mobile phone service contract? Can I buy more minutes? Are nights and weekends free? Is there a rollover plan?

If they drop the monthly fee, then I'm in even with this lame system for new comers otherwise count me out.

Last edited by Nynja on 8/30/2010 10:46:09 AM

0 up, 0 down

Nynja
Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 12:02:32 PM

Just reread my comment. I guess I'm really not on the fence about this game. I can't see myself wasting money on FFXIV.

0 up, 0 down

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