ranzware
Final Fantasy 14‘s next patch, 7.2, will release on Tuesday 25th March.
As always, the new patch – titled Seekers of Eternity – will extend the story with new quests and dungeons, a new raid in The Arcadion, a new trial, and more. You can see what’s to come in the trailer below – who’s the boy with the blue hair?
However, the anticipated Cosmic Exploration and Occult Crescent field operations modes will follow in slightly later patches: the former in patch 7.21 on 22nd April, and the latter in patch 7.25 on 27th May.
The news was shared by director and producer Naoki Yoshida during the latest Letter From The Producer stream.
Highlights from the stream include this look at the flamboyant raid boss coming to The Arcadion a week after patch launch:
Also, this adorable looking robot friend:
Finally, here’s Yoshida and global community producer Toshio Murouchi trying on some cute new merch:
As mentioned in the previous Letter From The Producer, the 7.X series will continue with references to Final Fantasy 9. However, it’s the Occult Crescent field operation that’s perhaps most intriguing.
On a separate island, players can explore the field together to fight monsters and bosses, with a different levelling system based around knowledge collecting. The difference between your level and that of enemies will influence damage dealt and taken, and if incapacitated, players will lose experience points when not revived, which could ultimately result in a loss of knowledge level.
Players will also have a secondary support job to boost their abilities, with classes similar to those in Final Fantasy 5. This field operation looks to provide a fresh twist on the MMO’s co-operative gameplay.
Cosmic Exploration, meanwhile, is a new activity for crafters and gatherers, with new moons arriving with each new patch to explore. Players will explore moons, gather resources, and build bases in a communal experience – its story is all about building a spaceship launching base.
Ahead of the livestream, Yoshida was interviewed by Japanese outlet Famitsu, where he stated this patch would be the largest to date. That will please fans who have burned out on the game since the release of Dawntrail.
Other smaller changes Yoshida mentioned include being able to use a mount while running and a new jog mechanic once your sprint runs out in cities and safe areas, both of which will aid with the speed of exploration.
Further, Yoshida told Game Watch he was initially skeptical of including so many Final Fantasy 9 references in Dawntrail and these following patches (thanks Automaton).
“Regarding FF9 elements, I was rather torn… At first, I thought it might be best to distance ourselves a little from homages to FF9 and was going to go with that approach,” he said.
“FF9 is a masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it, so I wanted to avoid consciously pulling the story too much in that direction. However, I now think that the current flow of the story is appropriate in light of future developments.”
Of course, series fans will be aware of rumours of a Final Fantasy 9 remake, but Square Enix is yet to officially reveal any such project.
Earlier today, Square Enix revealed the Final Fantasy series has now sold over 200m copies worldwide.
Source link
Kurt Indovina
Add comment