There is still half a month before 2024 ends. Compared with last year’s performance, this year’s FF14 can be said to be better, not only launching a new expansion but also a series of necessary technical upgrades. Although Endwalker ended a major legendary story of Final Fantasy 14, the emergence of Dawntrail opened up a new story, leading you to Etheirys and beyond.
In fact, with the launch of the fifth DLC Dawntrail, a series of changes in FFXIV have further improved the quality of your life in the game. In addition, this year FF14 began to land on Xbox Series X/S, laying the foundation for the development of the mobile version, expanding the coverage of the game, and ensuring future development potential.
Based on this, we will introduce you to 5 major changes worth noting.
1. 7.1 Housing Interior Updates
If you play FFXIV more frequently, you will find that after each major content update, new indoor and outdoor furniture will be added to your inventory. However, patch 7.1 gives you new options for decorating your virtual home.
With the 7.1 update, interior wallpapers and frames can be replaced with designs that differ from the residential area where your house is located. For example, houses in Lavender Beds can now have house interior designs from Shirogane District or Empyreum.
In addition, a minimalist design was added to Crossroads update, removing some pillars from each house. And the development team also revealed at 2024 Tokyo Game Show that they plan to give players larger indoor spaces. Although this feature is scheduled to be launched in 2025, you can start accumulating Final Fantasy XIV Gil needed to expand your house now.
2. New Main Storyline Direction
Once you enter the game, you will obviously find that Tural’s design is inspired by the real world America, Tuliyollal’s beaches draw on the scenery of South American countries such as Mexico and Brazil, and Solution Nine presents a brand new cyberpunk-style street.
While these shifts in setting and tone affected the main Dawntrail storyline in patch 7.0, the subsequent patch 7.1 was dedicated to resolving the remaining issues across Eorzea, including resolving matters in Solution Nine.
While some of Tural’s mysteries remain unsolved, you’ll have to wait for the upcoming patch in 2025 to see the conclusion of the main Dawntrail storyline. But outstanding locations like the continent of Meracydia may still be available for you to explore in future DLC.
3. Dawntrail’s New Raids
Starting with Dawntrail, you’ll find that 4-player dungeons will require more coordination and awareness than before, and this mechanic also extends to the updated 8-player raids and trials. In fact, in patch 7.01, the doors of Arcadion raid were opened to all challengers, starting with the light heavyweights, and future patches will allow you to challenge Arcadion’s Light and heavyweight divisions.
A few months after Arcadion was released, patch 7.11 added Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), an 8-player challenge based on Eden raid series from Shadowbringers. Besides this 8-player content, patch 7.1 also released the first raid in FF11 crossover series, Jeuno: The First Walk.
However, another difficulty level of Chaotic Alliance Raid provides a unique challenge. The first in this series of new raids is called Cloud of Darkness. Although you may have fought Cloud of Darkness before in A Realm Reborn’s World of Darkness raid, the new Chaotic difficulty will give you more replayability.
4. Crossover Event With FF16
In the months leading up to the release of Dawntrail, Final Fantasy 14 gave you a long-awaited crossover event that complemented Final Fantasy 16. In this limited-time event, you can play as a Warrior of Light and a wandering bard to help an unknown swordsman. The swordsman arrived in Eorzea with amnesia, and he is Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of FF16.
Under the guidance of the bard, you will fight a fierce battle with an imaginary Ifrit shadow in Clive’s mind. After Clive and you win, he will remember his position as the ruler of Ifrit, and gain the return of his wolf companion Torgal, and finally return to Valisthea with the help of his friends.
Although the crossover event with Final Fantasy 16 has ended, FFXIV is likely to hold such crossover events with other games in the same series in the future, which is worth your anticipation and preparation.
5. New Challenges In Hall Of The Novice
After Crossroads update, if you are a novice or returning player of FF14, you will experience two new challenges in Hall of the Novice. These challenges can help you adapt to some combat mechanisms popular in DLC, such as stack markers and tethers.
In fact, these adjustments are also made in response to most players’ feedback, because some people have reported that FFXIV did a poor job of explaining stack markers to new players. For example, if you don’t have enough experience, you might panic in a fight, flee from your team, and get knocked down, without being able to share damage with your teammates.
And these additions are the first major update to Hall of the Novice since the 3.2 patch. If you can complete the new challenges in Hall of the Novice, you will receive Neophyte’s Ring, which gives you extra experience points if your character is level 60 or below. And the ring can also be stacked with other accessories that increase experience points, allowing you to master different jobs in later games quickly.
Based on the above changes, Final Fantasy 14 has delivered a satisfactory answer in 2024 and has become an indispensable presence in large-scale MMORPGs. And it is expected to continue to improve in 2025.
