If Shadowbringers didn’t prove well enough that Final Fantasy XIV is alive and kicking, then the MMORPG’s upcoming patch should double down on that fact. Today, in the team’s 45th “Letter From The Producer,” they unveiled more details about the patch. And boy, it’s a lot.
Fans especially have been hyped about the crossover between FFXIV and Square Enix hit. The beloved cyberpunk game, which focuses on androids that keep the world clean of corrupt robots, has been making waves in various Square Enix titles, including a full DLC character in Soul Calibur 6. Now it’s FFXIV‘s turn to get its treat.
But there are plenty of other things coming in the update! A “New Game+” mode, real-time collaborative progression tasks, a whole new guild system and more are among the new implementations. Most of what’s planned goes live on October 29th.
The full patch notes are planned to be read on that same day, October 29th, around 3 PM Japanese Standard Time (that’s 11 PM PDT), but we’ve got what we’ve got for now. Here’s what we caught during the (Japanese-language) presentation.
NieR: Automata Quest & Raid
Of course, there’s the much-anticipated crossover. The MMORPG is now roping in themes, characters and music from the hit RPG, NieR: Automata.
For one, fan favorite 2B, as well as some robots from her own world, are popping up in a “Chronicles of a New Era” quest line. Such quests expand on storyline with less depth than the main scenario quests, but more than a typical side quest. The trailer does some work to justify the crossover through some spoilery lore. Whatever the case, it looks like “YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse” brings some intense bosses and more beautiful battle themes, which NieR is especially known for.
There’s also a new raid called The Copied Factory, which appears to be… well, the factory from NieR, copied. Now your FFXIV toon can too Become As Gods.
New Storyline Quests & Dungeon
Not all the new content is NieR! Though it’s definitely making us want a NieR MMORPG.
First off, FFXIV is getting some new Scenario Quests, which are the story quests. We assume it’ll continue the Shadowbringers storyline and follow the aftermath of what we’ve already seen so far. Which, in a world like this, can be a lot!
There’s also going to be a new dungeon called The Grand Cosmos. Basically, a massive, grand palace estate has laid in decay for years, until a mage took it over. Now, the mage lies in wait with its familiars for anyone wanting for a challenge. And perhaps that’s your crew.
If you enjoy the Beast Tribe quests and want another group to appease to, you’ve got a little more in store as well. The Pixies are also getting their own tribe quests! At least, it’s a little more to do each day to keep you occupied each day.
New Game+
If you really enjoyed any part of the main storyline and want to revisit, you now have the option to — without completely remaking your character, even! New Game+ is a new mode aimed at veteran players who want to revisit old scenario quests. We can’t tell the precise details, but most importantly for the moment, we know you can maintain your current character and level to do these. So, you can dive into old memories without grinding all the way back up.
Fellowships — Or Guilds, Basically
The Free Company system is interesting for tight-knit groups, but its features don’t scale very well for, say, WoW-sized guilds. The Fellowship system looks to fill the other end of that spectrum. It allows up to 1000 players to join, and each player can join up to 10 Fellowships. It acts more of a large-scale recruitment system for communities, raids, dungeons, elite marks and more. If your Free Company is a little slow, or you’re looking to make new friends, this could be the way to go. (Or, of course, if you want to join the inevitable roleplay groups. Because you know that’ll be a thing.)
More Final Fantasy XIV:
- The FF14 Version of this NieR: Automata Song Fucking Rules
- Final Fantasy XIV Halloween Event To Start October 17
- FF14 Black Mage Job Guide: Shadowbringers Changes, Rework, & Skills
Ishgard Restoration
This isn’t happening until the next minor update, patch 5.11. But if you specialized in crafting and gathering, or just really want to get your hands wet in it again, then this is for you! The Ishgard Restoration utilizes crafting skill in a massive player collaboration to, of course, restore war-torn Ishgard. You collaborate with other players, and your whole World will make progress together. This means Worlds with more dedicated players will progress faster than others!
Other Updates
There are plenty of other tweaks and changes coming in patch 5.1. Some are talked about more extensively in the stream, but… well, none of us know Japanese, and we’re not going to lean on Google.
Here are the for-sure things we know:
- Ability balancing
- New trials
- Job adjustments
- PvP, including a new game mode
- Musical performance updates
- Launcher update
Blue Mage is also getting some adjustments, but that’ll be in a few minor patches, around 5.15.
That’s a lot to take in, but of course, that means there’ll also be a lot to do very soon. If you’re not in the game, it’s a subscription MMORPG; all editions, including those with DLC, include 30 free days of gameplay. You can pick it up on PS4, PS3, Windows and Mac, the latter of which make the game available through Square Enix directly or Steam.
