With Endwalker bringing about the completion of the Hydaelyn and Zodiark Saga, Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida laid out the foundations for the critically acclaimed MMORPG’s next 10 years during his latest Letter from the Producer LIVE. Some of the highlights include a long-awaited graphical overhaul; applying the Trust System to previous Main Scenario Quest (MSQ) dungeons; a complete revamp of the A Realm Reborn dungeons Castrum Meridianum and Praetorium; and making the game more solo-friendly so fans of Final Fantasy who aren’t as into MMOs can still enjoy the game’s stellar story.
For the graphical updates, Yoshida said the game will never match the fidelity of a dedicated single-player experience like the recently-released Horizon Forbidden West, but did showcase several early test examples of high-resolution character models, backgrounds, map environments, and retooled lighting. Not all graphical revamps will happen simultaneously, with high-resolution textures being rolled out on a priority basis of player characters, certain NPCs, environments and popular glamour items.
For more details, you can watch the archived stream here. The second half of the broadcast goes into a Q&A session regarding the Endwalker story, lore and characters, and should be avoided if you haven’t played yet and do not want to spoil yourself on what the expansion has in store.
While more specific details about the upcoming patch 6.1 will be detailed at March’s Live Letter, Yoshida did lay out a roadmap for the 6.x patch series, including:
Patch 6.1 Series
- New Main Scenario Questline – Patch 6.1 – 6.5
- “Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures” – Patch 6.1 – 6.5
- “Tataru’s Grand Endeavor” Sidequest Series – Patch 6.1 – 6.5
- Myths of the Realm #1 (Alliance Raid)
- Crystalline Conflict (New PvP)
- Arkasodara Tribe Quests and Dailies
- Dragonsong’s Reprise (New Ultimate Duty)
- Ultima’s Bane (Unreal)
- Trust Support for A Realm Reborn (Patch 2.0) Main Scenario Dungeons
- New Calling Card-Style UI (Name TBD)
- New Hairstyles for Hrothgar
- Empyreum (Ishgard Housing)
- Custom Deliveries: Ameliance
- Plus, New Trials and other assorted updates…
Patch 6.2 Series
- Trust Support for A Realm Reborn 2.X Main Scenario Dungeons
- Trust Support for 2-3 Heavensward Main Scenario Dungeons
- New Weapon Enhancements
- New “Criterion” Dungeon with Variable Difficulty (for 1–4 Players)
- “Island Sanctuary” Debuts
- Plus Pandæmonium, Faux Hollows, Other Trials, and more…
Patch 6.3 Series
- Trust system for Remaining Heavensward Main Scenario Dungeons
- Deep Dungeon Series #3
- Ultimate Duty #5
- Island Sanctuary Updates
- Plus Myths of the Realm, Faux Hollows, Other Trials, and more…
Patch 6.4 and Patch 6.5 Series
- Trust system for Stormblood Main Scenario Dungeons
- “Criterion” Dungeons #2 & #3
- Additional Area for Island Sanctuary
- Plus the conclusion to Pandæmonium, further Myths of the Realm, Faux Hollows, Other Trials, and more…
After pausing the Free Trial during Endwalker’s admittedly rocky launch, new user registration will reopen on Feb 22, 2022. The expanded Free Trial includes all of A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, up to level 60, with no limit on playtime.
