“We’re working on a fourth region”: Phantasy Star Online 2 developers discuss future of the game

Phantasy Star Online 2 has enjoyed quite a bit of success since coming to the West and has also recently celebrated the first anniversary of Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis.

It was a major milestone for the developers. Sportskeeda’s Jason Parker spoke with the development team about the game.

The team discussed Phantasy Star Online 2's impact in North America, challenges faced along the way, and a bit of chat on major updates coming to Phantasy Star Online 2 this year. Developers continue to celebrate the first anniversary of PSO2: New Genesis.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 development team discusses the most recent milestone

The NGS (New Genesis) team is pleased to celebrate the first anniversary of the release of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis. We are grateful to all ARKS (Artificial Relict to Keep Species) who played the game this past year, allowing us to reach this milestone.

Q: While Phantasy Star Online 2 is not new in other parts of the world, it’s barely a year old in North America. Were there any particular challenges that delayed the game’s arrival in North America?

Dev team: To launch PSO2 in North America, we have updated the character creation tool and other game elements such as story events, costumes, and emotes. We need to localize years’ worth of content! Since PSO2 and Phantasy Star have a long history in Japan, some challenges were translating for a new audience.

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Q: One of the year's major highlights was the addition of the Braver class, a Katana-wielding dynamo. How has the audience received it?

Dev team: When the Braver class was first released, players wanted more firepower and greater mobility. We listened to player feedback and made those adjustments. Thanks to their feedback, Braver has become a fan favorite.

Glossary

• Braver: A class that uses a katana and bow type of weapon called a “Bullet Bow.”
• Class skill: Ability specific to each class
• PP: Resources for using photon arts, which are special attacks

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Q: Did add a new class offer any challenges in in-game balance?

Jet Boots are going to be a blast to use in Phantasy Star Online 2 (Image via SEGA)

Dev team: When adding a new class, we are always cautious about the strength of the class. If the new class is too strong, users who are playing a different class will be negatively affected, but if it’s not strong enough, they will not play the new class.

We conduct tests over and over to find the right balance. Braver is a class that has many elements that make it strong, but since it was the first class to be added, we over-adjusted its performance and initially ended up with an under-tuned class.

As for Bouncer, we achieved a good balance by learning from Braver’s launch, although the “Jet Intensity” of the Jet Boots on Bouncer was challenging! It was all worth it as we ended up with a great new class.

Glossary

• Bouncer: A class that uses dual blades and jet boots.
• Jet Intensity: An attack derived from the Jet Boots normal attack inflicts heavy damage.

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Q: Sandstorm Requiem also saw a new area, alongside new foes and characters. Are there any other new genomes fans can expect shortly?

The floating action looks awesome in Phantasy Star Online 2! (Image via SEGA)

Dev team: Yes, we will be releasing a new region, “Kvaris,” on June 8. This new region will include new enemies, characters, and actions such as “Throwing Action” and “Floating Board.” Later this year and beyond, we will add new fields, enemies, characters, and mechanics to the game. ARKS has much to look forward to in the coming year.

The new Throwing Action also looks incredible, with its very flashy animation (Image via SEGA)

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Q: While this was a huge year for Phantasy Star Online 2, what about the downsides? Were there any hard lessons learned by the team when it came to the game?

Dev team: One of the biggest challenges that we faced this year was the “open field” elements of the game. We had difficulty finding the proper density and volume for open fields. We received a lot of feedback immediately after release regarding this, and we apologize that we didn’t hit the right balance at launch.

While Phantasy Star Online 2 had a wealth of success, there were also challenges to overcome (Image via SEGA)

In response, we have prioritized developing new quests and stories that delve deeper into the main characters to add to the world of Halpha and add content to the game over time. We also learned that open communication with our players and the way we communicate information relating to these problems is vital.

By being transparent, we learned that we could share with the community that we’re taking action on problems even when the cause is unknown or progress is slow.

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Q: There are always new updates and ideas thrown around for MMO development. Given a chance, is there any content from PSO1 that you would like to add to Phantasy Star Online 2?

Dev team: We have had a lot of freedom in what we have been able to develop in NGS and what we would like to someday include in this ongoing online game. So far, we have included new actions such as “Dash” and “Glide,” which lets players freely move around the open field. Thanks to these two actions, players can quickly move around and explore the open fields.

Jumping into Dash will let players get some serious travel going in Phantasy Star Online 2 (Image via SEGA)

Jumping from “Dash” allows you to approach the higher ground, making it possible to take out substantial boss enemies such as “Daedal” and “Renus Retem” not only in special quests like emergency quests but also in the regular field.

“Multi-Weapon” is another newly added element that allows players to enjoy combat with more flexible actions. The “board action” element, which we wanted to implement in a snowy mountain field, was also realized with the “floating board” added in the Kvaris Region.

In addition to being able to glide comfortably on the field, we are also planning to add racing-like content using this action, so players have that to look forward to!

Glossary

• Daedal: A generic name for a giant-typed boss enemy.
• Renus Retem: A giant serpent-typed boss enemy that appears in desert fields.
• Multi-weapon: A system that allows two different weapons to be combined and used as a single weapon.

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Q: One of the biggest parts of the game in the Western market was the character creator. Are there any updates coming to that in the next year?

Dev team: Each region update adds new face patterns to the “Character Creation.” We also plan to add new accessories and ear patterns that will allow for more unique characters in the future.

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Q: June 2022 is the biggest content update for Phantasy Star Online 2 so far. What can fans expect out of it?

Dev team: In June, the Kvaris Region release will feature new actions such as “Throwing Action” and “Floating Boards.” We hope that players look forward to using these two actions to explore the new field, which has undergone significant changes in both combat and exploration.

Furthermore, in Kvaris Region, an Ancient Enemy, which is even more powerful than Gigantix, the most powerful Enemy so far, is scheduled to appear one week after the Kvaris delivery. We encourage players to strengthen their weapons and prepare their characters for a challenge.

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Q: Are there any hints you can give our readers about what the next year will feature in Phantasy Star Online 2? Is anything massive on the way?

Dev team: We are currently working on a fourth region to be released by year-end. We are also working on a housing feature that users have been asking and waiting for, although it will be an update further down the road. It will take some time to prepare, but we think it will be worth the wait.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 is celebrating its first anniversary of the New Genesis update and has a wealth of new content coming throughout the year. The action MMO isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the developers have highlighted some fantastic changes that are coming to the game as the year goes on.