In the newest installment of their recent question and answer segment, the fine folks of the Final Fantasy XI Development Team have taken the time to respond to pressing questions regarding Kindred Crests, the future of the Aegis relic shield, the in-game radar during combat, and much more!

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From Playonline.com:

The FINAL FANTASY XI community is ever abuzz with discussion on in-game content. Today, the development and operations teams return to address some of our fans' most pressing questions and concerns in FAQ format.

Q: The recent update supposedly made it easier to increase skills, but I'm not noticing much of a difference. What exactly has changed?

A: The minimum enemy rating for raising skills to their caps has been lowered from "even match" to "decent challenge," providing more frequent opportunities for skill increase and greater values accompanying each increase. However, as the calculations are adjusted based upon your current skill level and your target's strength, the difference will be more noticeable at lower skill levels. We intend to monitor game balance with the new settings for the time being, but will consider future adjustments for skills such as parry and guard that are triggered less frequently.

Q: I've got enough Kindred and High Kindred crests to wallpaper my Mog House three times over. Will I be able to do anything else with them in the future?

A: We certainly wouldn't want to put a damper on your interior remodeling plans, but you might be interested in knowing that the next major version update will make these items NPC-storable, as well as introduce new high-level battlefields accessible with crests. Needless to say, suitable equipment rewards are also in the works, so stay tuned!

Q: Can we expect any changes to be made to the Walk of Echoes?

A: Yes. We have received considerable feedback concerning the Walk of Echoes, and are planning a large-scale overhaul of this feature to make it more enjoyable and rewarding for players. The time frame and further details will be announced as soon as they become available, so we ask for your patience for the time being.

Q: I can't help but feel like my Aegis shield pales in comparison to the recently added Ochain. Will anything be done about this?

A: Yes. The concepts behind Aegis and Ochain were to focus on magic and physical attack defense, respectively. As it stands now, however, Ochain's extremely high block rate makes it appear significantly more effective. We intend to balance things out in the next major update by giving a boost to Aegis's magic defense capabilities.

Q: I've always found it inconvenient that the compass/radar and other vital information are hidden when engaged in combat. Can we expect any interface tweaks?

A: Yes. With the next major version update, we intend to make the compass visible in combat. Players have also expressed wishes for a fix to keep the macro palette from covering the casting gauge and status icons, and we will be looking to address this in the future.