Patch 5.1 for FF14: Shadowbringers is probably the most anticipated new addition to the latest Final Fantasy expansion. Dubbed “Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty,” it looks quite a lot like other story updates to previous FF14 expansion. We can expect new quests and features — including New Game Plus and Fellowships. But if you’re like us, you’re probably mostly here for one thing. You want to know about the FF14 and NieR: Automata raid crossover coming in patch 5.1. It looks like a doozy, which is why we’re here to help elucidate everything we can for you! Let’s take a look at everything we know so far.
Before you check that out, though, we now have a trailer for patch 5.1 that we can share! Just be warned: There are definite spoilers for those that haven’t beaten Shadowbringers yet. If you’re cool with that, and want to hear some amazing music, just click the video below!
UPDATE: We’ve included more information based on the updated teaser site for FF14 Patch 5.1 — mostly featuring information about follow-up patches 5.11 and 5.15.
New Main Scenario Quests – FF14 5.1 Patch
We know next to nothing about what’s coming in the next batch of story for Shadowbringers. Odds are that it will be a bit of a comedown period, what with the emotional roller coaster at the end of 5.0. Hades has been dispatched and the Eighth Umbral Calamity has been, if not canceled, then at least postponed. But bad guys are still hatching plans at the Source (the world where most of the FF14 story takes place).
“Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty” seems more concerned about the First (the planet where Shadowbringers is set), however. The Scions and our own playable protagonist seem set on fixing the nearly post-apocalyptic world. The world’s governments are in a bit of a shambles, after all, and there’s a big class divide that needs mending. Shadowbringers set a lot of radical changes in motion (that I won’t spoil here). And the itty bitty screenshots we have to go on hint at more to come.
New Game Plus – FF14 5.1 Patch
New Game Plus in FF14 is a bit of an odd duck. Most players (especially new ones) would probably prefer fewer early quests to play through, in order to catch up with their friends. But this is still a nice nostalgia play! New Game Plus will allow you to redo old missions and in-game cutscenes not shown in The Unending Journey. That is to say, single-player instances and such will be available to experience all over again with your current levels and gear. It doesn’t seem like there are any special rewards for it, though.
It also only applies to the Main Scenario Quests found in the FF14 expansions. You cannot redo Job quests! That’s a bit of a letdown, since level boosts let you leap frog to higher end content, but also skip those missions. What might seem even stranger is that you cannot use New Game Plus on FF14 2.0 (A Realm Reborn) missions. That’s likely because Square Enix is remixing those old quests to be less of a grind, so that new players can reach what is largely agreed to be “the good stuff” faster.
The reworked A Realm Reborn quests are currently planned for patch 5.3.
New Dungeon “The Grand Cosmos” & Armor – FF14 5.1 Patch
Patch 5.1 will include one new normal dungeon for players to peruse. Although its description is just a bit curious… The special site for FF14 5.1 seems to imply that the dungeon, The Grand Cosmos, is located in the Source. Yet its lore description mentions The Flood — an event that only occurred in the First. For all you lore lovers out there, this might spark quite a few theories. Or maybe it’s just a typo…
As commenter Marie Aetherias points out, “The Source” likely refers to the zone in Lakeland, rather than the universe in which FF14 is mostly set. That checks out! The screenshots we’ve seen of The Grand Cosmos definitely have similarly lavender colored foliage as Lakeland proper.
Either way, The Grand Cosmos looks to be set in a magic mansion full of new armor sets just waiting to get looted. Said armor has a very bestial, werewolf-like design to it. And it looks quite snazzy! The only issue is that the preview image doesn’t show either of the new races in FF14 — Viera or Hrothgar — suited up. That’s led to some speculation that it might not be visible on those characters (due to their very unique head shapes). My money is on those designs just not being ready for the promotional screenshot, however.
Fellowships – FF14 5.1 Patch
Fellowships sound like a mix between Free Companies (guilds), the Party Finder, and Linkshells (private chat channels). Each player can join up to 10 Fellowships, and each Fellowship can house up to 1000 players total. The idea is that each group will let players set loose goals — like grinding levels or farming Extreme Trials. Then you can chat and party up with one another. The main difference between Fellowships and Free Companies, meanwhile, is that the former is open to anyone on the same Data Center. That way you don’t have to be on the same server to group up and chat.
NieR: Automata Raid – FF14 5.1 Patch
The next Alliance Raid, YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse, is a crossover with NieR: Automata. And FF14 5.1 brings the first leg of this 24-player group activity in the form of The Copied Factory. It’s a pretty obvious homage to The Copied City zone from NieR itself. Not to mention a character, 2P, that looks very much like 2B with an inverted color scheme is visible in all the promotional art. There are at least two more major characters yet to be shown.
Here’s what the Lodestone has to say about 2P:
“An android in white, awakened within the excavation tunnels near Komra. Her knowledge of the ruins and their machine lifeforms could be an invaluable asset…”
This won’t be the first time FF14 has canonically crossed over with other Square Enix games. Gilgamesh from FF5, Noctis from FF15, and characters from Ivalice games (Final Fantasy Tactics and FF12) have all graced the MMO before. Granted, all those games were all set in the same loosely related franchise. This marks the first time such a major part of the story has reached beyond the bounds of other Final Fantasy games.
More FF14 & Shadowbringers:
- FF14 Patch 5.01 Brings the New Eden’s Gate Raid & Some Welcome Changes
- Final Fantasy XIV Halloween Event To Start October 17
- FF14 Ninja Job Guide: Shadowbringers Changes, Rework, & Skills
It all kicks off when some Dwarves of the First discover ancient ruins beneath the Duergar Mountains. This appears to unleash the machines — which look pretty much exactly like the ones you know from NieR — along with 2P.
Are the two worlds canonically connected? It’s tough to say, just yet. FF14 plays around a lot with parallel universes. And there are some pretty obvious visual similarities between The Copied City, in NieR: Automata, and the Mt. Gulg dungeon in Shadowbringers. But the Return to Ivalice raid in Stormblood — while it used characters ostensibly from FF12 and Tactics — was clearly more of an “alternate” version of events than a direct tie.
At the very least, NieR: Automata developers Yosuke Saito and Yoko Taro are working on the NieR raid. And whether it “counts” or not is really up to you, more than some corporate fact sheet! Just write some fan fiction.
Minor Changes – FF14 5.1 Patch
That’s not all, though! Here are some promised changes and additions coming to FF14 5.1 that don’t have enough info for their own sections:
- New Extreme Trial (The Minstrel’s Ballad: Hades’s Elegy, based on The Dying Gasp)
- More Housing (Wards 19-21 will open to Free Companies and players willing to relocate)
- Cooperative in-game music playing (plus Performance Assistance to help you play songs)
- New Gold Saucer activity (featuring Yojimbo)
- Job balance changes
- Pixie Beast Tribe quests
- New Custom Deliveries (weekly crafting quests that award Gil and Scrip)
- New Mounts, minions, hairstyles, and emotes
- Extra PVP gear (clearly for all races this time — you can see Viera and Hrothgar in the image below)
Ishgard Restoration – FF14 5.11 Patch
For those not in the know, this is a feature many years in the making, and will task non-combat FF14 Jobs with coming together to rebuild the Firmament in Ishgard. There’s just one problem. We’re going to have to wait a little longer for Restoration of the Holy See of Ishgard (more commonly known as Ishgard Restoration). Again… It seems Ishgard Restoration will, in fact, launch with FF14 patch 5.11. If all goes smoothly, that will land about two weeks after patch 5.1 itself.
So far we know it will be endgame content for Disciples of the Hand and Land (crafters and gatherers). It seems like it will be a server-wide affair, too. The event will also coincide with adjustments and improvements to non-combat classes. That’s nice to see!
Patch 5.1 and, later, patch 5.2 will “include various adjustments to actions, the removal of additional actions, improvements to the UI, and much more.” Square Enix also promises “There have also been adjustments to quick synthesis, desynthesis, and a new quick gathering option has been added.” Hopefully the extra couple weeks wait for patch 5.11 will give players time to adjust to these changes before stepping into endgame crafting and gathering. At the very least, it will give you time to finally grind your Jobs up that high like you’ve been telling yourself you’ll do for years. Right? Right…?
The Epic of Alexander (Ultimate) – FF14 5.11 Patch
Ultimate Raids are unique in FF14. They basically offer no progression loot at all. Instead, they’re high-end challenges meant for the most hardcore of hardcore players. They’re also not just complete rehashes of Normal and Savage raids. They’re more like gauntlets of boss battles — remixes forcing you to stay on your toes without a break in between.
The Epic of Alexander is, of course, based on the Alexander Raid from Heavensward. And it likely won’t be of interest to the vast majority of FF14 players. If you’re into that sort of thing, though, you’ve got something to look forward to… sometime down the line. This one is coming in Patch 5.11.
FF14 5.15 Patch Details
Even further down the line, we have Patch 5.15 coming to FF14. Obviously this one will take a bit longer to arrive. It’s weeks after the NieR Raid and such that we’ll even see Patch 5.11! That means you should expect more changes to be announced sometime closer to this update. However, for the time being, we know a couple things about the later changes. Let’s take a look!
- Blue Mage changes (increased level cap, new Job quests, and challenges)
- Onsal Hakair (Danshig Naadam) – A new Frontline for PVP set in the Azim Steppe
The FF14 5.1 patch is scheduled to arrive on Oct. 29, 2019. Square Enix originally only specified that the update was coming in “late October,” but these things usually land on Tuesdays — about a week and a half after the previous FF14 “live letter” from the devs. The most recent live letter, on Oct. 18, 2019, confirmed that it will arrive on the last Tuesday of the month. Until then, take care!
