Patch 7.2 of Final Fantasy XIV is finally upon us. I’ve alluded to this previously, but even though I have well over 2800 hours on the game, I still have not played through everything there is on offer. After all, even the most devoted achievement hunters will tell you that to truly get everything, it’s something that requires years and years of constant play.
And so, to document my journey throughout the game, we have worked on a brand-new article featured series. Welcome to Unending Horizons, where I, Ryuji Shiryu, will be regularly posting my impressions of both new and old content of Final Fantasy XIV. And for our first episode, I’ll be diving into my impressions of Patch 7.2: Seekers of Eternity, which released a week ago.
Disclaimer: The following article may contain spoilers of the new Patch 7.2 quests.
Main Scenario Quest Impressions
Starting off Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.2, my first priority was to finish the new Main Scenario Quests that were added. Back in Patch 7.1, the story ended on quite a cliffhanger, and many players, myself included, were excited to see what would happen next in this overarching journey. I’ll try my best to keep this relatively spoiler-free, but you can freely skip to the next section if you’re new to the game or perhaps still want to experience the story yourself.
The new story quests were absolutely phenomenal in my opinion, tailing off the cliffhanger that was introduced in Patch 7.1 and rolling with it. In terms of patches, we will soon see the story reach its conclusion with the release of Patch 7.3, and it seems the developers are closely listening to feedback, seeing as a lot of players that initially hated Dawntrail got their interest piqued once more with the plot twists that are happening in the Post-Dawntrail Quests.
It has to be said that there was a plot point that felt a bit too convenient for my liking, especially after the whole acting that went into making us think that a certain character has long since perished. This entire part of the story actually reminded me of Yotsuyu from Stormblood. Lately, I’ve been feeling that Dawntrail does take a few cues from that expansion in more ways than one, which isn’t a bad thing. Still, reusing plot points in lieu of something more original is a minor gripe, but one I’ve largely accepted.
The Arcadion’s Cruiseweight Tier
Next up in our list, we have the continuation of the Chronicles of a New Area quests, with the addition of the Cruiseweight Tier of the Arcadion series of 8-player raids. I had the chance to play through all four of them, so I’ll list out my thoughts on each of the boss fights.
First up, AAC: Cruiseweight Tier M1, where we fight the party animal that is Dancing Green. As you might’ve guessed by his name, he is all about hitting the dance floor, and his mechanics mirror that theme to a T. The most interesting mechanic has to be the Let’s Dance! attack, where you must pay attention to the dancers in the background and skillfully dodge each of his cleaves. It’s definitely not a hard fight, and honestly, it can be easily described in one word: Groovy.
Our second fight is against the mysterious graffiti artist Lalafell, whom we’ve seen teased in some of the Producer Live Letters. Her name is Sugar Riot, and her main gimmick is the power to draw objects and even change her own stage with her artwork. This fight is pure eye candy, and it can be very daunting to keep up with her attacks, especially if you’re a caster DPS.
The third fight is better known as a grudge match. Brute Bomber from the Light-Heavyweight Tier demands that we fight him again, and this time, he decided to use multiple feral souls, turning himself into an abomination. Out of all the matches, M3 was definitely my least favorite when considering the fight. This is only because the other matches all feel very original, whereas this one reuses a character from the previous tier. It makes sense for the story, but I seriously did not like it very much. At least the soundtrack is epic, I suppose.
And finally, our title match of this tier. We’re up against Howling Blade. Similar to the M1 and M2 fights, I really enjoyed this one, though it has to be said that the server delay made this fight very challenging. In the middle of battle, the boss is envigorated by our skill, and he will suddenly speed up his mechanics, which makes dodging them really difficult. Still, I enjoyed his fight.
What I most enjoyed in this fight was the soundtrack. Much like Wicked Thunder’s soundtrack from the previous tier, the lyrics feel that they were carefully composed to fit with the character. In particular, one part of it struck me: They’re clouding my vision, and I’m robbed of decisions with nowhere to go, which closely matches what we learn of Howling Blade’s backstory. I just love it when the soundtrack team ties it together so nicely.
The Return of Secure
Before the release of Endwalker, the PvP roulette cycled through four different modes: Shatter, Danshig Nadaam, Seal Rock, and a fourth one called Secure. This was removed due to “changes in the PvP system”. However, players quickly noticed that achievements related to Secure were still available, which implied that the mode would return someday.
And indeed, with Patch 7.2, Secure has made a return, and with several changes to make it “better”, though I strongly believe that a good majority of people–myself included–mostly only play PvP as part of the Duty Roulette: Frontline, which gives a significant amount of EXP, whether you win or lose. What makes Secure hated by many is the point count, and indeed, while most PvP modes require at most 2000 to declare a winner, in Secure, 3000 points must be scored.
Now, the way this mode does it is by combining a little bit of each mode. You have interceptor nodes you need to destroy, and there are even flag-capturing areas that provide buffs to the team. I honestly had a lot of fun, and I didn’t even think too much about the scoring system. I can’t opinate on it too much because by the time I started playing the game, the mode was buried away.
Furthermore, Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.2 also introduced new role-specific actions, but honestly, as I’ve said previously, PvP isn’t a mode I’m particularly keen on. However, after reading some of the new actions’ tooltips, I can see some potential in how these skills can turn the tables. That is, when they’re properly used. Ultimately, I’ll just stick to doing my Duty Roulette: Frontline, which is great since Secure being in the rotation means I can now get Shatter a lot less now.
The Plot Deepens Even Further
When Naoki Yoshida teased about how Patch 7.2 was going to be one of Final Fantasy XIV‘s biggest content patches since Patch 7.0, he surely wasn’t kidding. Honestly, I feel I’ve just scratched the surface of what we have in this patch.
And there’s still more to come, with the release of Patch 7.21, which will add the mode I’m the most excited for, which is Cosmic Exploration. And then a month after that, we even have a brand-new Field Exploration in the form of Occult Crescent. For our next episode, we will be talking about both of those pretty thoroughly, especially Cosmic Exploration.
