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Project Spotlight: Defenders of Eorzea

Featuring DrakeXIV

This month, we are featuring Defenders of Eorzea, a project being developed by DrakeXIV. To see the project in full as it stands check out its Planesculptors page, linked here: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/defenders-of-eorzea

In a few sentences, what is the premise of Defenders of Eorzea?

"Defenders of Eorzea is the first set in a block based on critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. This compact set is focused on the base story content of A Realm Reborn, but does bleed a little into the expansions to fill in mechanical holes and sprinkle community in-jokes. The ultimate goal of these projects are to make print-friendly drafts for fans to enjoy at home or to play at fan meet-ups."

What inspired you to begin creating Defenders of Eorzea?

"Back in 2015, one of my first custom magic projects was a Final Fantasy XIV set. I had just started my own foray into the then-struggling game, so I started making cards of the characters and set pieces. But that product was what you would expect from an amateur designer–verbose text, poor art, and a imbalanced soup of mechanics. Unsurprisingly, it was not good.

After half a decade, Final Fantasy XIV has become an impressive success story and I wondered how I could share my love for the world that has developed since. Considering that I have spent an unhealthy amount of time in Custom Magic spaces, I figured I would return to one of my first projects to try and see if I can actually do it justice."

Where would you say Defenders of Eorzea is in the development process?

"Defenders of Eorzea is back in early design. One of the early milestones for the project was to have it draftable at FanFest 2023, the first in-person event for Final Fantasy XIV after quarantine. But after failing to nab tickets, I decided to restructure the project for the following year using lessons learned while grinding out the set.

For now, the uncommons have just been completed with the rares soon to follow. So I am looking forward to firing drafts again soon! We will see if those lessons have been properly applied, or if additional changes will be needed."

Early on, Duties were based on AFR Classes, but are now based on Battles. What caused the shift, and how has that affected their place in the set?

"This is a constant theme in designing this set, but complexity shift. One of the largest fundamental lessons that had to be hammered into me when developing this set was there is only so much you can do. And between Duty, Party, and Discipline, I was spreading my text budget pretty damn thin. Discipline had become so core to the identity of the set, and Party just felt like such a cohesive tool to reward player agency. That left Duty with the short straw on being simplified.

Battles were already being toyed around with, but it was hard to replace Duty enchantments in the final stages of development. However, with the timing of the full set restructure and Calypso providing a template for them, Duty battles were workshopped as double-faced cards posed a printing logisitic error. The Duty word was reused as a new subtype and ended up being combat-based flashback to match how Sieges incentivized players to attack them to advance their board state. They have tested well, but I am still collecting data on what effects I can get away with using and how they affect player decisions."

With Discipline affecting abilities, subtypes, and counters, how have you found it to balance and play with?

"I feel I could write an essay just on the development Discipline has gone through, but I will try to keep this brief. Surprisingly, the base concept of the mechanic has gone over well and is one of the few things that has survived the constant redesign loop. A lot was invested in making that core feel intuitive, and I think it has paid off as playtesters have found it a novel way to approach decision-making with creatures.

But the largest sore spot with Discipline is, again, complexity. The format of the mechanic already demands so much space, so the modes need to be kept simple and low power so players can make sense of a game state. I found that the best solution was to make players choose between french vanilla creatures at common. However, at higher rarities, designs can start pairing synergistic abilities together for more powerful packages and a more satisfying play experience. As mentioned before, the newest batch of Discipline creatures did just get remade, so it still has to be seen if they continue to be a success."

What is your favorite card in Defenders of Eorzea?

"There are quite a few favorites in the set, but at the top of the list is "Hero of Light." It represents the player character stand-in, also coming in an art-less version intended for fans to paste in art of themselves. And better yet, it is an intentionally nonlegendary un-typed planeswalker so you can assemble your own party with your friends!

It was, unfortunately, renamed from the in-game title "Warrior of Light" since players were experiencing some dissonance naming any party besides "warrior.""

Would you like to give any special thanks to anyone on this server for their help?

"First, shoutouts to SimpleFlips

Biggest thanks to Ensorceler, a proper community legend for being one of the most consistent voices in the project channels. Also thanks to TVP, Barbecube, and Fusegu for pushing me to innovate and try something new. But also Zangy, Splitmoon, Pipsqueak, and Platypeople for keeping me grounded with feedback and not getting too outlandish with some designs.

Finally InvertedVertex, Bergland, Zervintz, and Philippe for the mechanics that inspired the early foundation of Defenders of Eorzea."

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