Hello Keepers!

Multiplayer Open Beta is upon us, in less than 24 hours. The point of this thread is to answer all queries one might have about the multiplayer feature, and many other related issues to multiplayer as a whole. This thread will serve as a basic entry point to multiplayer, which honestly shouldn't be all that hard to figure out since we're not having to read it in moonrunes.

I would like to remind fellow keepers that we are anticipating a number of multiplayer-related posts when it does go live - to avoid this, we'd like to ask keepers to please keep discussion about multiplayer within this megathread (for now) - this includes mainly looking for groups.

The Multiplayer Feature, in a nutshell

The Multiplayer feature can be accessed from the tab in the top right corner of the Events dungeons listing screen. In it, you will find a list of bosses you can currently challenge, similar to how one would access an event.

Multiplayer mainly rewards players with the standard stuff like eggs, upgrade materials, orbs, and mythrils. Multiplayer also has drops which are also mainly consisting of the standard stuff. There are three tabs in the reward screen for drops, as indicated in the first picture - these correspond to Single (solo play), Leader (room host), and Member (player who joined a room hosted by another player) rewards respectively.

Multiplayer can either be played solo (the player brings a standard 5-man party to challenge the boss), or in a group (up to 4 players, each controlling 2 characters of their respective choices). Here is a screenshot showing how the two options appear (left is solo, right is group).

But this megathread is about to discuss the social side of things, so we'll be focusing more on the group play aspect.

There is also this page by Dr. Mog himself to detail about multiplayer.

How to Play Multiplayer

When you've decided to challenge a boss in the list, you've then selected your difficulty and you've selected to play as a group, you'll be given a screen to set up your party. You only get to pick 2 characters, of which one must be placed in the front row, and one in the back row (you cannot change this).

After you've set up your party, you get to go into a lobby listing screen. Here, you can see a list of available rooms for you to join, or you can create your own. To set up your own private room, click this big button at the top, then on this menu, you'll see a number of buttons.

• The topmost button indicates party preference (whether you wish to play with anyone using only minimum Lv80 characters for example).
• The big text box below it is to add in a message for players to read before they join your lobby. Think of it as a signpost of sorts.
• The big button in the middle is to host a public room. There are no restrictions to entering this room.
• The bottom left button is to host a private room. You'll be asked to enter a 4-digit room number - users will have to search this room number to join it. It is possible to have more than one room with the same 4-digit room number, but hopefully you'll be able to recognize the friend you wish to join.
• The bottom right button is to send an invite via various communication applications. Currently in JP, the only supported app is LINE.

If you're planning to join a public room, you can also refresh until a room you want to join appears.

If you are looking to join a friend who is hosting a private room, you will need to enter from the menu screen. There is this button in the lower left corner of the list of bosses - press it, input your room number, select the room you wish to join (yes, there can be more than one room with the same 4-digit room number), and in you go.

Once you're inside, you get to do a final round of changes - you get to change your setup based on what other people are going to bring.

Multiplayer battles costs stamina - the room's host pays a full price, whereas other members pay one-third of that stamina cost. For example, a d160 fight usually costs 60 stamina, so the room host will pay 60 stamina, whereas the other 3 members will pay 20 each. The leader gets better drops and rewards compared to the other 3 members.

However, if the battle is eventually lost, all stamina is refunded to every player. All you really lose for failing is your time spent.

Communicating with stamps

On the lower left corner of the lobby screen, you will see a speech bubble that says "Stamps". If you press this, it will bring up a list of stamps you can use to communicate with your fellow players. Fairly straightforward.

In battle, the same Stamps bubble is also located on the lower left.

Keep in mind that there are two sets of stamps you can have for multiplayer - one for the lobby screen, and one for use during battle. You can set them by pressing this button in the party setup screen.

Battling

When everyone's ready to start, then the battle begins! You can communicate using stamps, or an external chatroom.

Keep in mind that in all multiplayer group battles, all battles are played at Speed 3. I would suggest trying some battles in Speed 3 to get a feel for it, but it's honestly not really that hard to settle in.

At the end of a successful battle, you will be given an option to add the other players you played with to your following list. Likewise, they will also be able to follow you.

If the battle is lost, then the leader has an option to either end the battle (Game Over), or revive the entire party with 1 Mythril (leader's Mythrils only, but why would you, leader!?).

Tips for Multiplayer

1. In multiplayer, there is no S/L. This means that if you get screwed over by status effects, or a random death of any sort, there is no S/L-ing to begin the fight again. I highly recommend planning ahead, and bringing skills like Esuna, Arise, or Curaise to counter a potentially bad start, as necessary.
2. Status resist accessories become quite important in Multiplayer because there is no way to mitigate status procs via S/L. If you go into a fight where Death is a thing, and you don't equip Death resist, you might suddenly find yourself in a losing position if it does proc. As with above, plan ahead!
3. Plan your actions with your teammates in mind. If someone has brought Ramza with Shout, allow him to use Shout first, before you decide to open with your Mako Might BSB. If a boss uses powerful counterattacks from the get go, don't be the guy who uses Lifesiphon on a boss before any mitigation is up, and kill a teammate by accident. Make sure you glean all necessary info from the lobby screen.
4. Lastly, have fun and be civil! This is the only outlet to play as a group with other people.

Known Issues in Multiplayer

1. If a user disconnects from battle, whether due to poor connection, or closing the app at any time during battle, the user may not reenter the battle. Their stamina will be refunded, and that player's party will be controlled by the host.
2. If the host disconnects from battle (similar to above), the battle ends, and everyone else is kicked out. All players' stamina will be refunded.
3. Depending on the speed of your connection, and performance of your device, you may experience frame lag. What this means is that the events in battle may lag behind for you for a few seconds, and as such, you may not be up to date as to what is actually going on (a boss could be dead for the last 30 seconds, and your screen could still be showing 20% HP remaining on the boss).
4. It might be possible that your client may display a different language based on the client of the other players (credits to /u/Road--).

Communication

I also understand that there may be people who prefer to plan out their fights, or prefer to play with people they know. To that end, I am allowing the advertising of chatrooms, but only within this megathread.

All chatroom advertisements outside of this thread will be removed.

Please do not advertise your phone numbers in this megathread. If you want to join any advertised chatrooms that require a phone number, please PM the advertiser directly. We will not be responsible for any issues arising from sharing your number in public if you choose to do so, and we will remove any publicized phone numbers advertised here or on the sub.

Some platforms you can consider using to communicate for multiplayer:

• KBP - this is the official chatroom for Kongbakpao, where /u/fattybomchacha writes all his event guides.
• The Unofficial Discord Channel - this is the unofficial Discord chatroom for FFRK. There are a number of channels that have been set up for multiplayer group plays. You can also choose to set up your own private server here with your friends.
• LINE - this is a chatroom app available on major phone operating softwares (iOS, Android), as well as on PC (Windows). You can form a chatroom here, and invite people using their designated ID, or phone number.
• WhatsApp - this is also a chatroom app available primarily on mobile devices, but has a Web interface that can link up to your phone. People can only be invited using phone numbers.
• Telegram - this is yet another mobile-based chatroom app, with desktop integration. Similar to LINE, you can add other users by phone number or usernames.

As a last reminder, once again, please be civil and obey the rules of any chatroom you wish to join.

Enjoy multiplayer, and happy record keeping!