The development and management teams continue to address the questions and concerns of the community in an ongoing FAQ. The topics addressed this time around are party-based combat, guildleves, and quests.


Party-Based Combat

Q. What is all this hubbub about a so-called “party bonus”?
A. The party bonus is a feature that increases the amount of skill points awarded to players from combat while in a party. This feature will be in effect so long as the difference in class ranks between all party members is between the range of ±5. In addition, the bonus will be greater the more party members there are.

Q. Why did the version update that went live on October 15, 2010 alter the party bonus to be based upon class rank rather than the number of party members?
A. Under the previous settings, since party bonuses were calculated solely on the number of party members, even players who were too low-level to effectively participate in combat were being awarded extra skill points simply by being present in the party. The alterations to the system were made to prevent exploitation of this in the form of “power leveling.”

Q. If I am in a party with someone beyond the ±5 class rank range, will I be getting less skill points than I would be if I were playing solo?
A. No. Rather, the amount of skill points awarded in these two instances would be the same, regardless of whether the player is solo or in a party. If a party bonus is not in effect, the amount of skill points capable of being obtained will be the same.

Q. Is it possible the class rank range for party bonuses will be adjusted in the future?
A. We initially set the difference to 5 to combat the issue mentioned above. We will continue to monitor community feedback and look at how parties are formed - depending on these results we may tweak these values in the future.


Guildleves

Q. What can you tell me about exchanging regional leves?
A. The exchange of regional leves may be carried out under any of the following circumstances:
The maximum of eight plates has been reached for the regional leve in your possession
You wish to abandon the duty of the regional leve in your possession
Supplementation of a completion bonus to the regional leve you wish to undertake

When exchanging regional leves, you may select up to four to exchange for the one you wish to receive. Should a regional leve in your possession be displayed in a white font, regardless of whether its status is completed, failed, or not yet undertaken, it may be selected for exchange. In the event that you select a leve already in your possession, your current leve will automatically be exchanged for the newer of the two.

Q. What should I do if I want to place a completion bonus on a regional leve?
A. When exchanging regional leves, a completion bonus will be attached should the number of ☆ marks be more than one. The bonus will be greater the larger the number of ☆ marks, up to a maximum of eight.

A regional leve with no completion bonus applied.


A regional leve with a completion bonus applied.

* When a completion bonus is applied, the reward in the leve completion window will be displayed in an orange font.

Q. How do I increase the number of ☆ marks?
A. Either of the following two methods may be used to increase the number of ☆ marks.
Exchange for a regional leve with a different issuing authority (☆ +1)
Exchange for a regional leve with a different motif (☆ +1)

Increasing the number of ☆ marks related to a leve’s reward in no way influences its degree of difficulty, nor impacts it in any other adverse way.

Q. What type of specific effects does increasing a regional leve’s degree of difficulty have?
A. Increasing the degree of difficulty will result in more powerful enemies, larger amounts of experience and skill points, and greater rewards. At present, the degree of difficulty may not be changed once a regional leve is underway, but the version update scheduled for late November will introduce a feature which allows players the option do so.

* Lowering the degree of difficulty will also cause the reward to be scaled down accordingly.

Q. I saw a treasure chest while I was out doing a regional levequest! Is there always a treasure chest somewhere on a levequest!?
A. While on a regional levequest, treasure chests may appear based on the levequest location, but there is no guarantee. The chances of a treasure chest appearing, however, may be increased through leve linking.* Upon opening these chests,** players will be rewarded with gil and, in rare instances, items. Should a chest be opened by a player in a party, gil will be automatically split and distributed to party members on the levequest, while items will be placed in a random member’s loot list.

* A leve link is created when a party member initiates a regional leve of which other party members are also in possession. Party members not in possession of the guildleve will not be part of the link, but instead will be leve sharing.
** Select the Examine command which appears in the Interactions menu when in proximity to a chest to open it.

Q. Why are there no rank 20 regional leves for miners outside of Limsa Lominsa?
A. Beyond rank 20, regional leves for Disciple of the Land classes are issued only from certain authorities. Below is a table displaying which nations issue leves for which classes.



Quests

Q. Why can I no longer undertake the rank 20 armorer quest after accepting the rank 20 blacksmith quest?
A. The blacksmith and armorer class quests have been grouped together. Though players are free to choose either of the classes they wish, they will only be able to complete the quest for one of the two. For example, if a player has undertaken the rank 20 blacksmith quest, the rank 20 armorer quest will become unavailable. The player will, however, again become free to choose either blacksmith or armorer for the rank 30 quest. Quest content and rewards will be adjusted to fit the class chosen for the each quest.

* Quest progress for both classes can be viewed by opening main menu >> Journal >> Blacksmith & Armorer Quests.

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http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/character/871200/

I'm gonna keep whining until they add a party search feature similar to the one in FFXI. I don't like the broken system in this game.

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Assuming this isn't just worded incorrectly, I find the following to be extremely important:

That is interesting, ket... I hope that's not the case.

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but thats what i would expect. like level 23-28 would be everyone is +-5 of each other

only alternative is +-5 of middle ranked guy so +-10 and thats too much

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RIP Shiloh - I'll never forget ya

Nah, Whisp, that's not what Ket means. 23-28 is the goal, yes. The question is this:

Let's say we have four party members: 22, 23, 24, 28. Will the "party bonus" be calculated individually for each member, or will it only count if the whole party is within 5 ranks. If it's individual, 22 and 28 get +200%, and 23 and 24 get +300%. If it's calculated as a party, everyone gets +0%.

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i would expect the bonus to be Yes or No, and if there is someone outside the range, the bonus should be No for everyone

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RIP Shiloh - I'll never forget ya

Yeah but in a party of 6 people you'd be getting a +500% SP bonus. Then, the guy who is at the top end levels up, and makes the party range 6 levels instead of 5. If SE's wording is correct, all of a sudden the entire party's +500% bonus is reduced to +0%. That's extremely harsh for just being 1 level out.

I was more under the impression that (because it seems like the more logical way to do it) that the person who ranked up would move out of the 5 level range of the other party members, so their SP bonus would reduce to +400% instead of +500%. And the person who ranked up would probably reduce to something like 200-300% depending on the ranks of the other people. It seems the more logical way to do it, yes, which is probably why SE hasn't done it that way.

Again, this is entirely dependant on if SE meant "all party members" literally. I'm sure some people on BG or something will test it soon.