Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida says Dawntrail's new Viper job was partly shaped by the MMO community's desire to play a two-sworded melee DPS character who felt like Sword Art Online's Kirito. Speaking to , Yoshi-P shares that the team considered fan desires when designing the new job. The result? A job that starts with two blades but can stick 'em together after building up points for bigger damage.
Skills have a low cooldown, but combos are flexible enough to allow you to take a string of moves in whatever direction you fancy. For Yoshi-P, it's the result of delivering on the power fantasy that fans want without succumbing to how overpowered Sword Art Online's Kirito is – there are heaps of other jobs within the MMO you've got to factor in, after all. "We received a lot of feedback from players around the world that if we were to implement another melee DPS, they would want to have a job where they could use two swords," Yoshi-P explains.
"And what's more, at the same time, it was often that they would provide an example, like Kirito from Sword Art Online. "So, we went with an approach where we would be focusing on stylish, speedy action, and also making it look cool. But when it comes to Kirito from Sword Art Online, Kirito is kind of overpowered and very strong in the game.
So, for Viper, we thought about showcasing that sensation of becoming strong and for the player to become focused on their actions and getting absorbed into battle. An.
