FFXIV's first major patch since the release of Dawntrail is coming on 12th November so let's look at what to expect. This will be more text-heavy but I'll try to keep it simple.
If you are new to MMOrpgs you might find it hard to follow when new content is being released to the game. When I first started playing FFXIV I came from a very different MMO and was only really playing for the story, so I didn't follow the official site or any content creators, and this didn't change either when I returned in 2020 after a few years break. As I reached endgame, gearing became more important but I had no idea what was the best to get and especially not how long that will last? I was also itching for any further story elements and was disappointed when I saw a patch without new quests. Took me 3 years and playing through an expansion (Endwalker) from start to finish to finally see the patter and know what to expect and when.
If you are a new player to the game, or just interested in how the update cycle of a live-service game works, then hopefully I can make it a little bit clearer for you.
The latest expansion Dawntrail was released in early access end of June and available for everyone during the first week of July. We will be getting the first major patch next Tuesday, so that's about 4.5 months. This is how long we'll have to wait between major patches leading up to the next expansion in 2-2.5 years.
The contents of a major patch are not released all at once. The first instalment will include the story with a new dungeon, 8new gear options, a raid, unreal trial, some quests for casual players then some additional battle content or side quest series will be released halfway through the patch cycle. In addition there will be also smaller patches which serve to delay a certain type of content for example the savage version of a raid series will be released a week after the normal version. The amount of these smaller patches can vary depending on how much content is there in the patch and if additional hotfixes are needed.
Alternating patch elements
There are certain type of content which you will only see in every other major patch. This is mostly significant if you are wondering about where to get the best gear from.
Main expansion and every other major patch after:
Normal and Savage 8 man raid series
New tomestone to exchange for gear
New crafted combat gear set
First major patch and every other major patch after:
Alliance raid series
Upgrade option for the tomestone gear
Upgrade option for the crafted gear
New crafted gear set for crafters and gatherers (to give you the stat increase so you can craft the new things coming in the next patch)
There is a weekly limit on loot from the raid which has been released in that patch, but it also means that the loot limit will be removed from the raid released in the previous patch. So if you want to farm it for glamour, then this is your best time to do so!
Battle content
There is usually something for every type of player. A dungeon which you can complete with other players or with NPCs, a normal raid, trial or alliance raid for those who like to play with a bigger group and extreme or unreal trials, savage raids and ultimate raid for those looking for a bigger challenge. Some of these will be part of the weekly duties to do for rewards and gear others will be more the one time done for achievement, then maybe farm it for some additional rewards.
Casual content
What is casual content? That depends entirely on your playstyle and preference. Some call crafting or gathering casual, but I definitely wouldn't say that given how much work goes into figuring out how to craft some master recipes or getting everything for a crafter's ultimate tool.
Housing and glamour? Some say that is the true endgame, and as I don't have time currently to raid on a schedule I have to admit that this is my endgame too and the content I'm most excited for beside the story elements. And even if we don't get additional housing wards, there is always new furnishing and new outfits to look for, but you might have to grit your teeth and do PvP for it.
Quality of life changes
The devs are constantly working on improving the game, so in every patch there are some UI changes, additional features, graphic updates which will make someone happy. There is no way to predict what to expect ahead of time, some patch will only have smaller fixes, while another will have a major new feature.
How do we know what is coming?
There are usually at least 2 live stream sessions called Live Letter of the Producer with Yoshi-P where he talks about what is coming in the next patch, sometimes even showing updates which are a bit further down the line, but it's always exciting to see an in development footage or artwork.
Some of these will have live English translation, but often we will just get English text on the slides shown. Luckily there are dedicated members in the community providing translation on the FFXIV subreddit discord
If you prefer audio commentary, a lot of streamers usually co-stream the live letter and add share their thoughts. If you don't have hours to sit through the live sessions, creators will also have recap videos very shortly after the live stream finished.
If you are more interested in battle and combat endgame aspects, I recommend to check out Mr Happy, he's been playing since 1.0 and has a huge knowledge of the game. He's also not shy to voice any concerns and provide constructive criticism.
For the more casual players who enjoy looking at every small detail of a new housing item or glamour I recommend to check out Meoni. He's my go to creator for all the new shines:
Official patch notes
As soon as the title of the new patch is revealed we get a special site which will be updated regularly with new info and screenshots, it will also show if a certain content is coming in the major patch or in one of the follow-up patches.
Patch day is always Tuesday as this is the weekly reset day as well, with a smaller or bigger maintenance window before (6-24 hrs) On the Friday before the patch we get preliminary patch notes which will include a lot of information already, so you will have the weekend to browse through these. Here are the ones from today:
To give you something to spend maintenance time with, that's when the full patch notes will be released and it will include all the job adjustments as well.
But there is no content!
This is something which I've seen a lot recently on various social media sites and in Youtube videos, but I have to disagree. There is plenty of content, and there is something for everyone to do in each patch, sometimes more for the high-end raiders, sometimes more appealing to those who have different preference. Of course if you only like a certain type of content and have a lot of time to play you will find yourself without things to do fairly soon.
As someone who has a full-time job and can only play a couple of hours after work, I still find myself having a long list of older content I would like to do, not to mention that I used to be a raider but sadly can't commit to a schedule at the moment, so I just try to enjoy whatever I have time for.
If you are new to the game and didn't just skip ahead to max level for the high-end raids, you will find plenty of things to do and catch up on. As the game has been around for 10 years now and the devs keep coming up with new content types to try and please every type of player, it is almost impossible to catch up on absolutely everything, especially if you are not a full-time gamer.
So pick a content you enjoy doing and if a patch has limited updates to that content, then maybe it's time to try out something else you might enjoy.
This article got way longer than I originally planned. If you stuck around this long, then thank you!
Created at . Page last updated at .
