Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LXII Summary
Just hours ago we got our first look at Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker and now we’ve gotten our first look at the upcoming Patch 5.5 for Shadowbringers.
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers patch 5.5 will be titled Death Unto Dawn. Part 1 will release on Tuesday, April 13 (which will coincide with the PlayStation 5 beta). Part 2 will release at the end of May.
- New Main Scenario Quests
- Split between parts 1 and 2.
- New Instanced Dungeon
- Paglth’an
- Trust System Compatible
- New Chronicles of a New Era Quests
- Final chapter of the Sorrow of Werlyt.
- New Trials
- The Cloud Deck
- The Cloud Deck (Extreme)
- New Alliance Raid
- YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse Chapter 3
- Secret
- A weekly quest tied to the story will be available after completing the duty.
- YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse Chapter 3
- Job Adjustments
- PvE Adjustments
- PvP Adjustments
- Upgrading Resistance Weapons in 5.45
- Upgrading requires completion of the Save the Queen story quests.
- Requirements up to Patch 5.35 will be eased.
- Upgrading will be possible while playing through the Bozjan southern front.
- Upgrades in Patch 5.45 will require completion of story quests up to Patch 5.35.
- Upgrades in Patch 5.5x will require completion of story quests from Patch 5.45.
- Upgrade quests in Patch 5.45
- Quests that must be completed once per job.
- One when beginning the upgrade process, and another when finishing.
- Quests that must only be completed once per character.
- Intermediary quests.
- Not all quests are required to be completed for each job.
- Improving rewards for Castrum Lacus Litore
- This duty has become a bottleneck both for unlocking Delubrum Reginae and completion of Resistance weapons.
- It has become increasingly difficult to find players to join in this duty.
- Additional rewards will be added. (Scheduled for a hotfix.)
- Quests that must be completed once per job.
- Save the Queen Update
- Final Step in Resistance weapon upgrades.
- Upgrading requires completion of the Save the Queen story quests.
- New area- Zadnor
- Final Step in Resistance weapon upgrades.
- Unreal Trial Update
- A new trial will be selected.
- Crafter Update
- More challenging expert recipes.
- Challenging content geared towards crafters.
- Will require high level equipment and expert use of crafting skills.
- Players will earn achievements and unique crafting tools.
- More challenging expert recipes.
- Gatherer Update
- Maps opened via the gathering log will indicate areas where gathering points appear.
- A listing of fish to be released at fishing holes will be added.
- Ishgardian Restoration Update
- The Firmament will periodically celebrate its completion.
- During these periods, the locals will hold Fetes.
- New Custom Delivery Client
- Story quests related to the Firmament.
- Triple Triad Update
- Adjusting the use of 4-star cards in decks.
- Acquisition rates will be adjusted.
- A reward will be added for obtaining all Triple Triad cards.
- Explorer Mode Update
- New duties will be added (level 70 dungeons).
- Level sync and item level sync can be disabled.
- Instruments can be used in Explorer Mode.
- Miscellaneous Updates
- New indicators for bonuses while ocean fishing will be added.
- A new instrument will be added to the performance feature.
- A reward for obtaining all trial mounts from the 5.x patch series will be added.
- New Ultimate Trial
- Dragonsong War (Ultimate)
- Reimaging the Dragonsong War with a ‘what if…’ scenario.
- Originally planned for release in Patch 5.55.
- Production schedule delayed due to COVID-19 related complications.
- Needed to prioritize the development of other content.
- The situation was at a point where it would affect the development of Endwalker.
- Originally planned for release in Patch 5.55.
- Release has been postponed and is presently scheduled to release in Patch 6.1.
During the second half, Yoshida sat down with Lead Project Manager, Shoichi Matsuzawa. They jokingly described his job as “everything Yoshi-P doesn’t want to do.”
They also went further in depths into the complexities of a simple request like “add mahjong to FFXIV” before talking about patch cycles. As an example, it takes between 15-17 weeks to work on one patch- that’s only 75 to 85 working days!
PlayStation 5 Information
The PlayStation 5 version will be digital only and it’ll be possible to upgrade from the PlayStation 4 version. Additionally, players using a disc to play, will no longer require one after upgrading. Further details about the upgrade will be shared at a later date.
FFXIV Fan Festival 2021 Around the World
As announced during the Announcement Showcase, a digital Fan Fest will take place in May. The stream, including a live concert, will be free of charge. Details on how to tune in will be announced at a later date.
An 8-person Lunar Whale mount, as well as three minions based on characters from Final Fantasy IV will be available to purchase on the MogStation on the day the event starts.
After another short break, Masayoshi Soken joined Yoshida to talk about the new arrangement album Scions & Sinners. They took a look at some of the behind the scenes footage while shooting the videos for the album. Originally, they planned to use footage from the Fan Festival concerts but… that didn’t work out.
They then showed off some of the new items that are available for pre-order from the Square Enix store, including Minion figurines, face masks Fan Fest 2021 shirts and more.