During Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer LIVE LXVIII, director/producer Naoki Yoshida announced that the game will undergo some big changes going forward! Yoshida shared new details regarding Trusts, graphical updates and patch series going forward.
Expanded Trust Compatibility
As previously covered, patch 6.1 will introduce Trust compatibility to A Realm Reborn dungeons. Trust compatibility will be expanded across patches 6.2 – 6.5. 8-player trials will be made Trust compatible after patch 7.0. Dungeons will be restructured to accommodate for Trusts. This is one of the major steps forward in making FFXIV an even more welcoming game for solo players and those who want to revisit older content. According to Yoshida, the 10 year plan involves making FFXIV an even better RPG alone and with friends. Future live letters will provide updates for the Trust implementation on older content.
First Graphical Update
Final Fantasy XIV will receive its first graphical update with patch 7.0. Yoshida states that there will be more graphical updates rolling out in phases due to the immense amount of assets in the game. Development and preparation of this update will be ongoing until the next expansion arrives with patch 7.0. As expected, minimum system requirements will change as a result of the graphical upgrades such as animation and lighting updates. The development team is not aiming for photorealism but the upgrades with feature:
- High-res textures (hair/skin/gear/etc.)
- Improved shaders
- Improved material qualities (skin, metal, fabric, etc.)
- Better lighting and shadow effects
Adjustments will be made to NPCs and other parts of the game over various 7.x patches. Check out a character sample below:
Various background visual updates will improve depth and immersion within the world of FFXIV. The following upgrades will be made across the entire game from A Realm Reborn to Endwalker:
- Additional lighting points
- Higher-resolution shadows
- Improved textures across metals, fabrics, etc.
- More and better auto-generated greenery
Improvements to fog and other ambient effects are being tested. The next expansion will be developed with the new graphical feature set in mind so it should be an impressive experience from the get-go.
Patch 6.1 – 6.5 Roadmap
The patch 6.1 series of updates will bring a ton of new content following the events of Endwalker. As previously mentioned, Trust compatibility rolls out across these The main scenario continues across patch 6.1 – 6.5 with a wealth of side content along the way. Players can expect the long-awaited return of gentleman extraordinaire Hildibrand and Tataru’s next journey in respective questlines. The patch series also includes the following:
Patch 6.1
- Empyreum (Ishgard Housing)
- Custom Deliveries: Ameliance
- Crystaline Conflict (PVP)
- Dragonsong’s Reprise (New Ultimate Duty)
- Arkasodara dailies and tribe quests
- Ultima’s Bane (Unreal)
- Myths of the Realm
- New calling card style UI
- New Hrothgar hair-styles
Patch 6.2
- New weapon enhancements
- “Criterion” dungeon with variable difficulty (1-4 players)
- Island Sanctuary
- Faux Hollows
- Other Trials and more
Patch 6.3
- Deep Dungeon series #3
- Ultimate Duty #5
- Island Sanctuary Update
- Myths of the Realm
- More Faux Hollows
Patch 6.4/6.5
- Criterion Dungeons #2 & 3
- Additional Area for Island Sanctuary
- Conclusion to Pandaemonium
- More Faux Hollows
- Gold Saucer updates
- More plans are being made for both patches
The patch schedule is adjusted for extra development and fine-tuning. As a result, players should expect each patch in the 6.x series to arrive every 4 months. Specific release dates for the aforementioned patches will be announced later on. Catch up on more details and the Endwalker Q&A in Letter from the Producer LXVIII below:
Lastly, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is out now across PS4, PS5 and PC. Stay tuned at Final Weapon for the latest Japanese gaming news and updates!
