Final Fantasy XIV Online’s latest patch just released. Titled Gods Revel, Lands Tremble, this is patch 6.3 and will continue the story that began after the conclusion of the first story arc spanning the launch of the game to 6.0.
The new main scenario focuses on a previously-encountered world that serves as a source for the darker elements of the game, and it includes inspiration directly from Final Fantasy IV — a modus operandi with which the game is quite comfortable after drawing from nearly all mainline games in the series in its present state.
In addition to the new main scenario quests, players will have the option to explore further Alliance Raid quests (a format that groups 24 players together for a raid), with the series paired with its counterpart Normal Raid quests (with 8 players) in staggered patches; both act as a denouement for the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga to tie up loose ends of the story and flesh out some of the more esoteric details of the game world’s foundation.
Several different side adventures continue in this patch as well. Tataru’s Grand Endeavor whisks the player to the side of one of the more beloved characters whose role in the series has grown with each expansion, and the Somehow Further Hildabrand Adventures (with an offset release in companion patch 6.35) features the return of a pantomime storyline that serves in a dual role for this series to also provide the player with the customary special upgradeable weapon that the game offers every expansion.
Also included for the companion 6.35 patch is the long-awaited return of the Deep Dungeon. These are a set of procedurally-generated dungeons with “floors” in sets of 10 which the player must travel through in order to get to the escape. As development for the latter half of the Shadowbringers expansion took place mostly during the quarantine measures enacted in Japan to combat the coronavirus, the Deep Dungeon series was removed from the schedule to allow for focus on what the developers felt were more important tasks at the time. In Endwalker, the dungeon type returns in the form of Eureka Orthos — invoking the name of the questline which provided the upgradeable weapons in Stormblood 5 years before.
The last set of dungeons for the Heavensward expansion will be added to the ever-expanding Duty Support System, which will mean the implementation of the system for all main scenario dungeons available in the free trial of the game. Additionally, the traditional fare of a new standard 4-player dungeon and 8-player trial for the main scenario of the current expansion rounds out the more standard content for this patch cycle.
The Island Sanctuary — a haven for players to gather resources, craft tools, arrange various structures how they see fit, and play a production-and-market minigame upon an ocean island — will be gaining two new possible ranks to achieve that will allow for new buildings and cosmetic rewards. Players will also discover a couple of new unique animals to capture and plants to harvest, in addition to some fine-tuning of the island’s info presentation, which should provide players with some fresh content to explore.
Developers have opened six new housing districts with accompanying subdivisions in all housing areas of the game, providing much-needed relief to players of a somewhat rare resource in Final Fantasy XIV Online as housing is public and the districts communal, multiplying server load for every district added.
Various music, hairstyle, and other cosmetic additions will be scattered around the patch, providing players with ample opportunity to seek out and collect while they play the game.
Image: Square Enix
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