Here’s Everything We Learned In FFXIV Live Letter 68

Final Fantasy XIV’s “Letter From the Producer Live! Part LXVIII” was broadcast worldwide in Japanese and English on the evening of February 18th, and the topic of the night was “the next ten years of FFXIV.” Given my enthusiasm for Endwalker, I had many reasons to be hype for this stream. As you might expect, there was much to discuss, so here’s what we learned!

(Please forgive the more brief bullet points, a lot of information was covered with very little detail, and we are expecting more to come in the next FFXIV Live Letter that will specifically cover Patch 6.1.)

Part 1: A Decade of FFXIV

This mainly was a discussion and retrospective on the development of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn thus far.

Part 2: The Next 10 Years of FFXIV

• Yoshi-P stated that Patch 7.0 is indeed his next focus.
  • Leading up to 7.0, the team will develop the game’s first major graphical update.
• The future core concepts of Final Fantasy XIV are as follows, per Yoshi-P.
  • “An even better RPG – alone or with friends!”
    • Yoshida expressed his frustration with the number of Final Fantasy players who have played every game in the series, except for Final Fantasy XI and XIV, and a desire to expand the player base to those who dislike the concept of playing online games.
    • Trust compatibility for all main scenario dungeons and four-player trials will be added in this expansion’s patch cycle.
      • Patch 6.1 will make all A Realm Reborn scenario duties Trust-compatible.
      • Further improvements will be made for low-level main scenario dungeons and trials.
        • 8-player trials are not being considered at this time but may be in Patch 7.0 or later.
      • Castrum Meridanium and The Praetorium will be changed into four-player duties.
        • Further adjustments are being considered for dungeons up to Patch 4.0.

• • “Preparing for years of service to come: FFXIV’s first graphical update”
    • “Planned for implementation in Patch 7.0”
      • Development and preparation will be ongoing until the subsequent expansion releases.
      • The team is aiming for a more current aesthetic appeal “suited to a more multiplayer environment,” however the new graphics will not be comparable to recent stand-alone titles such as Horizon Forbidden West.
      • Animation and lighting system updates are being planned.
        • Patch 7.0 will change the minimum operating specs but will try to accommodate as broad a range of hardware specs as possible.
        • Patch 7.0 will still be compatible with the PlayStation 4. The team is currently considering a Performance/Graphics mode toggle.
      • Character appearance updates:
        • Higher-resolution textures for hair, skin, gear, etc.
          • More and better auto-generated greenery.
        • Improved material qualities for skin, metal, fabric, etc. (shaders)
        • Better lighting and shadow effects, especially for players’ shadows.
          • Additional lighting points for improved depth/immersion.
          • Higher-resolution shadows with increased movement and decreased flickering.
        • Overall appearance of player characters will be altered as little as possible, and improvements will be applied to old NPCs where possible from Patch 7.0 onward.
          • NPCs who share “parts” with player character creation will be updated when the player character models are updated, as a matter of necessity.
          • The team clarified that they can not implement a solution to clipping issues, as it would require a physics engine that would create massive problems for the game client as it currently exists.

• • “Continuing to provide regular updates on an appropriate schedule!”
    • Patch 6.1 is currently slated for April and will include:
      
      • Myths of the Realm Part 1 (Alliance raid)
      • Crystalline Conflict (new PvP mode)
        • New Calling Card-style UI for PvP
      • Arkasodara tribe quests/dailies
      • Dragonsong’s Reprise (new Ultimate duty)
      • Ultima’s Bane (Unreal Trial)
      • Ishgard housing (Empyreum)
      • Trust system for Patch 2.0 main scenario dungeons
      • New hairstyles for Hrothgar
      • Custom deliveries: Ameliance
      • Updates to the glamour system
      • New trials and other assorted updates
      • More details will be coming in the next Live Letter on March 4th.
    • Patch 6.2 Planned Major Updates:
      • Trust system for Patch 2.x main scenario dungeons and a small number of Heavensward main scenario dungeons.
      • New weapon enhancements
      • New “Criterion” dungeon with variable difficulty for 1-4 players.
        • Details are currently scarce, but the dungeons can be entered with anywhere between one and four people and will scale in difficulty based on the number of players.
      • “Island Sanctuary” feature added
      • Next Pandaemonium tier, Faux Hollows, other trials, and more
    • Patch 6.3 Planned Major Updates:
      • Trust system for all Heavensward main scenario dungeons
      • New “Deep Dungeon”
      • Ultimate Duty #5
      • Island Sanctuary Update
    • Patch 6.4/6.5 Planned Major Updates
      • Trust system implementation for all Stormblood main scenario dungeons
      • Criterion dungeons #2 and #3
      • Additional area for Island Sanctuary
      • Gold Saucer updates
      • Conclusion to Pandaemonium, “further” Myths of the Realm, Faux Hollows, other trials, and more
    • The Hildibrand questline will continue in Patch 6.1-6.5, and a new “Tataru’s Grand Endeavor” sidequest series will be created.
    • A level cap increase for Blue Mage is currently being planned but has no release window as of this time.
    • The major patch cycle is being extended from a major patch every ~3.5 months to every ~4 months.
    • Data Center Travel is currently being planned for Patch 6.18

And that’s it for now! I would say that the “next 10 years” theme wasn’t quite met. I would have liked to hear more about the game’s future beyond Patch 7.0, but this still included the absolutely massive announcement of the highly-requested graphical update, with really promising samples.

A lot of this stuff is two years away, but they already gave us a lot to look forward to, including another Live Letter in only a few weeks! We’ll be here to provide you with all the details on Patch 6.1. Personally, I can’t wait for the glamour dresser update because where else am I supposed to put all my swag?