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Final Fantasy 14’s next big patch, 7.2, had both its release date trailer reveal and live letter broadcast today—and it’s looking like the most jam-packed update we’ve had in a while. Here’s a quick shortlist of what’ll be bundled into the patch, and when:
- March 25 (7.2): New main story quests, including a new dungeon and trial, as well as the next tier of the Arcadion Raid.
- April 22 (7.21): Cosmic Exploration’s first zone.
- May 27 (7.25): The long-awaited release of Dawntrail’s exploration zone, The Occult Crescent, alongside new allied society and Hildibrand quests.
I’m rather excited, even if FF14 is staggering out this heap of content through the update—which doesn’t come as a surprise, though it’s still a little frustrating as someone who’s been chomping at the bit for some solid midcore content. Still, I had a ball with the Arcadion’s first four fights, and Cosmic Exploration might just tide me over.
You can see the full trailer for the patch below: It opens up with a montage of The Occult Crescent, a lush green island jampacked with monsters to grind up your new fancy Phantom Jobs. These’ll be the exploration zone’s typical side-progression, unlocking new abilities. We also get some glimpses of the Fork Tower, here, plucked straight from FF5 and repurposed for the MMO.
There’s a brief Sphene jumpscare, as if to just remind us that the MSQ is going to be a thing, before we’re shot into the moon for a gander at Cosmic Exploration. As explained in the live letter, you’ll be able to access this activity after completing Endwalker, and you’ll just need to have a crafting or gathering class at level 10 to hop in.
It’ll function very similarly to Ishgard Restoration—a group zone with events and rewards to keep your tools busy. Oh, and there’ll be large-scale operations where some players’ll get to pilot mechs. Each major patch from now on will add a different planet to explore.
Lastly, we get some looks at what’s going on in the main story. I’m particularly curious, especially as someone who was rather down on Dawntrail’s MSQ, whether Square’ll be able to get back in its players’ good graces. It all certainly looks interesting. We’ve a mysterious science kid, and a mysterious hooded figure (who may very well be the OG Sphene), heard saying “I… died? Whatever do you mean?” Spooky.
We’re also getting more out of the totally-not-evil version of Alexandria’s queen, making all sorts of promises about eternal life. I’m not sure how many times we’re going to have to keep teaching her and her digital copies of this particular lesson, but the counter is now firmly at ‘twice, bare minimum’.
There’s a few previews of the Arcadion fights jammed in here, too—brawls with a disco diva, a giant paint-wielding lalafell, some kind of horrible Akira-style monster, and a big mech are all on the docket. What’s interesting is how it seems to be breaking away from arena fights, as little—and the monstrosity has a suspicious armband worked into its wall of flesh. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.
Honestly, I’m genuinely very excited to get stuck in—even taking into account my woes with FF14’s sluggish patch cycle. Despite all my griping, I do adore this game, and I’m with PC Gamer’s own Mollie Taylor in wanting to see it thrive despite these issues.
For FF14’s players, May 27, 2025 marks the day that Dawntrail finally has a solid base of midcore content to muck around with, but should it have taken Square almost a year to do it? Is the heft of this patch a sign of improvements to come? I hope so, because I’ll be rather grumpy if the wait between 8.0 and 8.2 puts us in this same reliable rut again.
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Kurt Indovina
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