Many jobs were buffed in a recent Final Fantasy 14 patch that adjusted PvP job actions. A series of jokes about the unevenness of these buffs sparked a chain of events which lead to Final Fantasy 14 Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida writing a letter to fans explaining the reasoning beyond the adjustments and promising to revert many of those given to Black Mage.
Shortly after releasing Patch 6.11, Final Fantasy 14 put out a small patch which adjusted PvP actions. Though many jobs got buffs, Black Mage received the most, with increases to potency, reduction to cast times and cooldowns, and additional effects.
Yoshida, affectionately called Yoshi-P, mains the Black Mage job in Final Fantasy 14. With the massive popularity of the new Crystalline Conflict PvP mode in Final Fantasy 14, several players on Japanese Data Centers have run into Yoshida’s character, Yoshi’p Sampo, on the fields of battle. Many of these players began to joke about how the massive buffs to Black Mage were because it was Yoshida’s favorite class, and that he wanted to dominate in PvP even more.
These rampant memes were seen by the Final Fantasy 14 director, who took them to heart. Recently, Yoshida released a statement about the team’s logic and reasoning behind the adjustments, as well as an admission that Final Fantasy 14 had gone too far with the buffs to Black Mage. He stated Black Mage is still strong without the buffs in the right hands, and that many of the buffs would be reverted in the upcoming Endwalker Patch 6.15. He also apologized to the community if it seemed he had given preferential treatment to the Black Mage job, and assured them he does not allow bias to influence his decisions.
Final Fantasy 14 players immediately felt bad about teasing Yoshida. Most of the community was joking around with their memes, and did not mean for him to take it personally, least of all feel the need to apologize. Furthermore, many fans truly believed FF14's Black Mage needed buffs, even if they did perhaps receive a few too many in the recent patch.
However, plenty of fans are not sorry at all. The buffs to Black Mage gave them too much strength, especially in casual Crystalline Conflict in Final Fantasy 14, and they are glad to see the changes reversed. Additionally, many players believe Yoshida’s rapid response to the accusations–while some other jobs in PvE content have been ignored–is evident he is biased after all. Nevertheless, it is obvious Yoshida is passionate about his work, and his continued efforts to communicate with the Final Fantasy 14 community are ultimately a blessing.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: Final Fantasy XIV