In this latest installment of the "Ask the Devs" segment, the development team for Final Fantasy XIV focused on several questions and issues that new players to the game face. A breakdown of map information, including detailed marker keys, a breakdown of monster difficulty cursors, and quest timing information are just a part of the plethora of information one can find.

 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.