Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida helped unveil the 78th Letter from the Producer Live from Final Fantasy XIV’s Fan Festival in Las Vegas, and it revealed the next major updates to the beloved MMO following the Endwalker expansion.
As reported by Nova Crystallis, Growing Light a.k.a Patch 6.5 will arrive in two major parts and will lead up to summer 2024’s Dawntrail expansion. This fifth major expansion for Final Fantasy features a summer vacation theme, multiple new jobs, and marks the first step into a “new story” for the game.
Patch 6.5 will arrive in Final Fantasy XIV in early October 2023 and will feature new main scenario quests that will see Zero playing a major part. We don’t know much about what the story will tell, but it will tie into Dawntrail and will see the return of familiar faces like Y’shtola, Vrta, and Ryne.
The Lunar Subterrane will be Patch 6.5’s new Expert dungeon and, as the name suggests, will take place deep within the moon of what appears to be the Thirteenth shard. Yoshi-P said players should take their time when exploring the dungeon as the scenery will “change drastically” as players adventure through it. There will also be a new trial called the Abyssal Fracture that will pit players against Zeromus.
Players will join up with Thordan and the Heavens’ Ward once more for The Singularity Reactor (Unreal), which will see the final boss of Heavensward return for another battle. Furthermore, the third and final chapter of the Myths of the Realm alliance raid will take place in Thaleia and will let players “uncover the tale of the Twelve.”
Patch 6.5 will also see the Duty Support updated to include those dungeons that were released after Stormblood. Additionally, Duty Support will be able to be used for all main scenario dungeons from A Realm Reborn to whatever is available at the time of release.
If that wasn’t enough, PvP Series Five will begin with Patch 6.5, the Crystalline Conflict will get some updates to the minimap and UI adjustments, a new arena called The Red Sands will be added, and the Island Sanctuary will have new ranks and visions alongside a new gathering area.
In late October, Patch 6.51 will be released and will see the addition of Aloalo Island – the third Variant and Criterion dungeon. This patch will also give Splendorous Tools a new upgrade tier and will continue the story of Grenoldt and Mowen.
In Mid-January 2024, Patch 6.55 will serve as part two of Growing Light and will be the final big update before the Dawntrail expansion is released. There will be a capstone quest for finishing all of Endwalker’s tribal quests and Tataru’s Grand Endeavor will continue as well.
Somehow Further Hilibrand Adventures will have a new chapter in Patch 6.55, new upgrades to the Manderville Weapons will be added, and the Gold Saucer will see a Fall Guys collaboration that will be detailed at a later time.
For more, check out the news that Final Fantasy XIV will be headed to Xbox with 4K support and more, Yoshi-P’s response to those wanting Blitzball to return, and how Square Enix promises to bring its games to Xbox “whenever possible.”
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.