Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LX Summary

9 Oct 2020

Earlier this morning, Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida took to the internet to talk about next week’s Patch 5.35 update as well as as upcoming Patch 5.4.

Patch 5.35 will arrive next week on October 13. The major points of the patch include:

  • The Bozjan Southern Front
  • Resistance Weapon Upgrades
  • Skysteel Tool Upgrades
  • Additional Housing- 3 Wards and Subdivisions in all residential areas
    • *this means the patch will not go live ahead of its scheduled time

You can view the information about the Bozjan Southern Front as discussed during Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LIX here.

Patch 5.4

Patch 5.4, titled Futures Rewritten, is currently aiming at an early December release.

  • New Main Scenario Quests
  • New Instanced Dungeon
    • Matoya’s Relict
      • Trust system compatible
  • New Chronicles of a New Era Quests
    • The Sorrow of Werlyt
  • New Trials
    • Emerald Weapon Battle (Name TBC)
    • Extreme Emerald Weapon Battle (Name TBC)
  • New Raid Dungeon
    • Eden’s Promise
    • Eden’s Promise (Savage)
    • *Completion of main scenario quests from patch 5.3 will be required.
  • Job Adjustments
    • PvE Adjustments
    • PvP Adjustments
  • Blue Mage Update
    • Level cap will be raised from 60 to 70.
    • New spells and blue mage exclusive gear will be added.
    • New duties will be added to the blue mage log.
  • Save the Queen Update
    • Resistance weapon upgrades
    • Delubrum Reginae
      • Normal: 24 players, no role requirements for matching.
      • Savage: 48 players, players must form parties before entering.
  • Crafter Update
    • Less frequently used actions will be adjusted.
    • New crafting conditions will be added for expert recipes.
    • These conditions will not appear for recipes added prior to Patch 5.4.
  • Gatherer Update
    • Collectable and aetherial reduction systems have been revamped.
    • The Collectable Glove option will be removed.
    • Item wear will be removed, putting a focus on gathering attempts and collectability rating.
    • Elevation of gathering points can be discerned on the map.
    • Fish Eyes will be adjusted.
      • Will no longer be required to catch fish.
      • Will allow players to ignore the time requirement for catching fish.
  • Ishgardian Restoration Update
    • Fourth phase of the restoration begins!
    • The restoration is scheduled to reach completion.
    • Commemorated with construction of a monumne.t
      • Monument based on the crafting class with greatest contributions during a certain period.
  • Unreal Trial Update
    • A new trial will be selected.
  • Treasure Hunt Update
    • Delve deeper into the secrets of Lyhe Ghiah.
  • Ocean Fishing Update
    • New routes will be added.
    • Additional objectives will be added.
      • Completing these objectives will add bonus points to your score.
    • ‘Reembarking after abandoning a voyage will be restricted.
  • Triple Triad Update
    • Rules and UI will be revamped for ease of play.
    • New rules and tournaments will be added.
      • A new ruleset to battle opponents with a deck of randomly chosen cards.
      • Periodically held tournaments.
  • Doman Mahjong Update
    • Tonpusen (Quick Match) now available.
    • UI will be adjusted.
      • Dora indicator can be changed to show the tile before dora instead.
      • The discard pile indicates whether a tile is “tsumokiri” (discarded immediately after it was drawn) or not.
  • Miscellaneous Updates
    • New violin instruments will be added.
    • New system for affixing multiple materia.
    • Abililty to link quests in the chat window.

Playing on PlayStation 5

  • The PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy XIV can be used to play on PlayStation 5.
  • PS4 Pro settings in the System Configuration menu will be available.
  • PlayStation 5 hardware will ensure quick load times.

After the break, UI Designer Kei Odagiri came onto the broadcast to discuss his role and talk about some of the things they have worked on.

  • Explorer Mode
    • Freely explore dungeons you’ve previously completed.
    • Players will be able to explore dungeons added in the 5.x series, with more to be added in the future.
    • No enemies will appear, and all objectives will be cleared.
    • Mounts, minions, and fashion accessories allowed during excursions.
    • Striking dummies can be placed to allow for actions to be used.

A new UI option was also revealed.

Fan Festival Status Update

At this time, the North American, Japanese, and European Fan Festivals have all been cancelled.

The team will be hosting an event in February 2021 to announce new information. A 14-hour broadcast will be held on the same day. They are also still considering switching to a digital Fan Festival and ask that you stand by for further information.

Community Finder

Alongside the October 13 update, the Lodestone will see a Community Finder feature added to it, which will allow players to recruit and find in-game communities.

To mark the occasion, there will be a Community Finder Release Campaign that will run from October 13 to October 27. By posting a free company recruitment listing on the Community Finder during the campaign period, members have a chance to receive in-game items.

Final Fantasy XIV Print Collection (Tentative Name)

Last but certainly not least, its been announced that Square Enix is looking to make the Final Fantasy XIV art prints, (which were previously only available in Japan), available overseas. The prints certainly aren’t cheap, listed at a price point of 30,000 yen (around $300 USD), but it’s certainly something for collectors and art lovers to keep an eye out for.