Another event is approaching for the citizens of Eorzea, and this one is a tad bit sweeter than the others. It’s Valentione’s Day, and there’s a whole lot of hub-bub about heartfelt sentiments, revealing your heart to the one you love, and a certain chocolate that seems to be so good that you’ll end up selling your own mother just to get a piece. It seems those sneaky Bismarck chefs have been communing with the goddess Menphina in order to produce something that’s probably about as addictive as crack. Goddess chocolate? Is that even fair? How is anyone else supposed to compete with that? I don’t think you could get away with that on Top Chef. Gordon Ramsay definitely would’ve pitched a hissy-fit about it. Read on below for the lore and the details.

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System

• [dev1300] The item search feature now allows players to distinguish HQ and materia-enhanced items.Search results will now display HQ designations and the number of materia attached to an item. Further details such as materia type and attributes can be viewed by placing the cursor over the item.
  * The difference in attributes between equipped gear and examined gear will not be displayed.

Resolved Issues

• The following known issues have been addressed:
  • An issue wherein the BGM for the Good King Moggle Mog XII battle occasionally did not play back as intended.
  • An issue wherein the synthesis ability Hasty Hand was being displayed in a fixed position.

Known Issues

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Hello again, FFXIVers. I hope you’re all having a good time riding around Eorzea on your new goobbue mounts! 

Well, like I mentioned in my last letter, today I’m going to be writing about the progress of patch 1.21, and posting an updated list of changes to the game. The total list is ridiculously long now, so what I’ve done is just update the parts relevant to 1.21. Take a look if you have the time!

Quests

New Content

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Ever since FFXIV was released back in September 2010, there have been many complaints about the “Click and Buy” and Crysta payment options for the game. The complaints ranged from not being able to use the service, a cumbersome and confusing payment process, and even paying extra fees. Those complaints obviously died down once the game went free-to-play for a while. Then, back in December 2011, it was announced that they’d be introducing new payment options, and many thought this would coincide with the reintroduction of subscription fees back in January 6. Well, Square Enix has finally delivered today.

As stated on the Lodestone, players can now enter credit/debit card information directly into the Square Enix Account Management System to handle subscription payments. This was hands down one of the most highly requested features from the community since, although many players have had no issues with the previous payment services, it’s been quite an ordeal for many others. It’s just a shame they were only able to implement this AFTER subscription billing has been active for the better part of a month already. It would’ve been preferable to delay reinstatement of subscription services until after this new billing option was implemented, simply due to the fact that players who’ve purchased three to six months worth of service already had to do it the hard way. Fortunately, those who have been unable to play the game at all may finally be able to actually give Square Enix their money.

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Hello again, FFXIVers everywhere. Yoshida, here, back for my 23rd letter, and first of 2012.

Incidentally, it hasn’t been a great year so far. I think all the crazy hours around the end of last year finally caught up with me, and for the first half of last week I came down with a nasty fever that really laid me out.

This year, FFXIV service will continue as usual, and we’re going to be surging forward with version 2.0 even more than we did last year to try and meet all of your expectations. Some of you on the forums have been kind enough to express your concerns, however, that all of this effort will be for nothing if I overwork myself into a hospital bed, and you’re absolutely right. So I’ll try to take a little better care of myself. (On a positive note, though, I did find out that the drips they hook you up with at the hospital really get you back on your feet quick!). We’ve also started our subscription billing, so we are more determined than ever to head into another year of putting our all into developing and running the game, and most important of all, to have fun while we’re at it.

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We talk about Patch 1.20b, new Grand Company items and the announcement of chocobo armor! We also have Dev Tracking and Aetheryte Camp today, finally getting to your responses about what you want for 2012. Also, Starbucks for chocobos, lalafell bellies, and Orophen doesn’t want you listening. It’s a show this time. And yeah, no real album/banner art this time, but you’ll be fine. Trust us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:52 — 42.6MB)

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If you are a currently paying customer of FINAL FANTASY XIV, you most likely know or have seen of the hulking mounted giants known as Goobbue that came with patch 1.20b. We also know that some of you out there are enthusiastic about it, don’t give a damn, or would rather they not be in the game at all. But no matter what you think or feel of the situation, one thing isn’t going to change: these lumbering giants are here to stay as an additional mount to the chocobo.

So, my question to you this time is: What do you think of the Goobbue? Like em? Don’t? State your reasons why. As a bonus if you have ideas for another mount, feel free to include them!

I can already tell you what I would like to see next: a giant fucking Mandragora. That’s right folks. I am taking my epic fights against the giant Mandragora and showing my utter dominance against them by riding on their head while laughing maniacally and burning mobs, people, and towns to the ground. As for the Goobbue; they are damn humongous. I would like them taken down in size a notch or two. Being a Lalafell is scary when someone decides to CHASE you down while riding on their Goobbue (which happened to me before I was able to get mine). The mount is so big that it takes up a majority of my screen real estate even if I zoom out far enough. I like em big, but even big things can be TOO big!

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Event

• [dev1296] The goobbue mount has been added.
  * Please note that the goobbue mount can only be obtained before the release of FINAL FANTASY XIV Version 2.0.
  The goobbue horn, used to summon the goobbue mount, can be obtained by players level 30 or above. To do so, simply speak with the “wandering minstrel” NPC, who can be found in eastern La Noscea (36,25).
  
  Click on the horn icon situated in the micro menu. The conditions for summoning the goobbue, and the restrictions while mounted, are the same as for the personal chocobo.
   Originally Posted by NOC_NA  Chocobos cannot be summoned at the following times:
  • While a player is within city walls
  • While a player is engaged by an enemy

  The following actions cannot be executed while on chocoback:

  attacks, class actions, magic casting, gathering, synthesis, item repairs, item usage, speaking with NPCs, attuning to aetheryte

  

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So, your chocobo is going to get barded. Right in the head. And the chest. Probably the back region and the legs too. Worried? You shouldn’t be. Apparently barding is armor for horses. Back in the olden days, or the Middle Ages, horses often became targets in battle due to knights gaining more and more proficient armor. So after stomping out into the field of battle, instead of taking on all your enemies in brilliant shiny metal glory, your faithful steed ends up taking an arrow in the knee. Or the face. Or whatever fleshy parts are sticking out at the moment. Well, that’s quite a cruel thing to do to a horse. What’s a knight who’s constantly on the go to do? Put some of that brilliant shiny metal glory on the horse to protect it from the pointy bits.

And that’s what the armorers of Naldiq & Vymelli’s in Limsa Lominsa have in mind for our chocobos. And those of you who were imagining your chocobo with a harp in his mouth, singing and providing buffs for your party, are probably a little disappointed right now. The latest issue of the Harbor Herald, the New York Post for pirates and marauders everywhere, has all the details of how this development came to be. The short of it? A hundred years ago during the Autumn War, a chocobo named Ouranos saves his master by dragging him all the way back to camp. But Ouranos had already been struck through the body by an arrow, so the poor guy promptly died after bringing his rider to safety. This story apparently inspired the armorer guild to do something about it. A hundred years might seem a long time to get some inspiration, but that doesn’t keep these pieces of armor from looking any less awesome.

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