Today Square Enix hosted a new Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer Live from Sapporo, in the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido. Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and Global Community Producer Toshio Murouchi Toshio Murouchi provided more information about the Forbidden Land of Eureka feature coming with update 4.25.
Eureka is an unexplored and untamed land where the elements are constantly in flux. Each instance holds up to 144 players, and cooperation is encouraged. Parties can be formed and disbanded at will, and we’ll be able to enjoy a completely different form of progression.
This is represented by the elemental level, which indicates our ability to endure and control the elements. The elemental level cap at launch will be 20, but it will be increased gradually through the series of 4.X updates from here to the next expansion. Progression will be persistent, so you’ll retain your level in subsequent visits.
Elemental XP is gained by defeating enemies, and it will be affected by the number of players in your party and the challenge offered by the monsters. Soloing is possible, and chain bonuses will also apply.
Players can slot Magicite into a “Magia Board” strengthening your connection with the elements. By improving affinity with an element, you’ll increase the damage you deal to enemies of the weaker element, and your defense against attacks from the same element. Interestingly, the board can be rotated depending on the monster you want to fight, but this consumes a gauge that will recover over time, so you can’t do it without limits. The gauge can also be replenished by talking to the Magia Melder at the starting base. He can also change your Magicite configuration.
Funnily, monsters will pursue players for much longer distances than in the rest of the game, increasing the level of challenge.
Eureka comes with death penalties, so you’ll have to be careful. If you’re above elemental level five and you’re KOd, you risk losing elemental XP. This doesn’t happen if another player resurrects you within ten minutes from your death.
If you’re over elemental level 10, death can actually reduce your elemental XP under zero, causing a level down, which is the loss of an elemental level. The message you’ll receive will be very familiar to Final Fantasy XI veterans.
By braving the challenges of Eureka, you can obtain Eureka gear and weapons. You can also drop Protean Crystals that can be used to enhance gear. Yet, to fully upgrade them, you’ll need items that are dropped by notorious monsters. Those require collaboration with other players to kill and also provide a lot of elemental XP. Contribution to battles is similar to FATEs, so you don’t need to attack first and claim the monster to get rewarded.
Interestingly, the rewards we’ll get include job-specific AF3 gear that can be dyed (I can’t wait to get my Paladin AF3 in black), outfits with removed role requirements, and even nostalgic ones like the Scorpion Harness from Final Fantasy XI.
Below you can see all the slides of the presentation, on top of some of the gear that can be acquired in Eureka, and a notorious monster.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PS4 and PC, and recently it just received a massive update numbered 4.2 and titled “Rise of a New Sun.” Among the many changes, players will be able to fight the iconic Phantom Train and everyone’s most beloved Final Fantasy villain, Kefka.
If you want to learn more about Final Fantasy XIV, you can also enjoy our recent interview with Naoki Yoshida and our review of the Stormblood expansion.
