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In the latest issue of Famitsu, Final Fantasy XIV director Nobuaki Komoto spilled some of the beans behind the series’ next entry into online roleplaying. In particular, he revealed some key information about the game world, how quests are handled, and the so-called ‘armory system’ that will take the place of Final Fantasy XI‘s job system:

– The nations of the world of Eorzea have recently ceased open warfare; major advances in military technology, such as weaponized airships and other super-powered game changers, have created a state of peace (read: Mutually Assured Destruction) between the former enemies.

– Some details are, as suspected, effectively holdovers from Final Fantasy XI. Time is relatively similar, with one in-game day roughly equal to one Earth hour. Obviously, the races are physically identical, albeit under different names, though there are now subdivisions within those races. The article mentions two by name: Hyuran (Humes) are divided into ‘midlanders’ and ‘highlanders,’ and Miqo’te (Mithra) are split between Sunseekers and Moonkeepers, which appear to favor daylight or nighttime conditions respectively. It is not yet known what this will mean in gameplay terms.

– A purported ‘armory system’ appears to handle character growth and serve as a replacement for FFXI‘s job system. Four broad job skills (Fighter, Sorcerer, Gatherer, and Crafter) are all tied to different weapons and armor, meaning your character switches jobs, and the skills they learn, when they change gear. Within those skills are subclasses that seem to depend on what specifically you’ve equipped; Swordsman, Blacksmith, and Caster are mentioned by name. Additionally, this raises the possibility of changing one’s job in the field or even in the middle of a fight, although it isn’t explicitly stated in the article.

– Traditional levels and experience points seem to have been supplanted by the aforementioned job skills and classes, suggesting that base statistics and HP/MP may be influenced by those as well.

– Quests are handled through Eorzea’s guild system. Work passes may be issued to players by a guildmaster, and the available passes change regularly. Players may team up or even combine passes to involve their party “in sort of a mini-campaign.” Quests are reportedly short; Komoto estimates them to be about half an hour, though it’s not clear whether he means on average or as a rule. He does state that there is no set number of participants for any given quest.

Final Fantasy XIV is set for an unspecified release date in 2010 for the PC and PS3.

Source: 1UP