Today, during a Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida and Global Community Producer Toshio Murouchi provided more information about the upcoming update 4.5, dubbed “A Requiem for Heroes.”
First of all, we learn more about the upcoming expansion “Shadownbringer” which will be released this Summer. A new teaser is going to be shown at the European Fanfest in Paris on Feb. 2, while the full trailer will be revealed in Tokyo on March 23.
First of all, we get a summary of the 4.5 content including new main scenario quests, side quests (including the finale of The Four Lords, more Hildibrand quests in 4.56, and Beast Tribe quests, still in 4.56), the addition of the Blue Mage job and “The Masked Carnivale” the week after the release of 4.5, “The Ghimlyt Dark” dungeon, the Seiryu trial and its extreme version, and “The Orbonne Monastery” alliance raid.
We’ll also get the 4th installment of The Forbidden Land, Eureka with the Hydatos Expedition in 4.55, a PvP update to Rival Wings and The Hidden Gorge in 4.55.
The Gold Saucer will get new content with Doman Mahjong addition and the new GATE “Air Force One.” A new deliveries client named Adkirag will provide new activities for crafters.
The data centers will be expanded in both North America and Europe, and the World Visit system will allow players to visit other servers in the same datacenter with patch 4.57. This will come after Part 2, and timing will be announced at a later date
Job balance will also be adjusted, focusing on Machinist, Monk and White Mage mostly to increase their damage. A more radical revamp of the job system will come with 5.0 next summer.
We get to see the first look at the Seiryu trial, The Wreath of Snakes.
Following, we see the reveal of the new minigame to be added to The Gold Saucer, Doman Mahjong.
Considering the difficulty of Mahjong there will be an extensive set of instructions available within the game. You’ll be able to play against three different NPCs with novice, intermediate, advanced difficulties. Wins are tracked separately for each difficulty.
You can also play against other players in ranked mode via the Duty Finder or in pre-formed parties of four, which won’t affect your rating.
Rating starts at 1,500 and will increase or decrease depending on your placement in each match. It will also unlock achievements. Your rating also influences your ranking. Only players ranked 1st Dan or higher can register for advanced ranked Mahjong.
Interestingly, this will available to those who are playing the game with the free trial program. Tiles will also come in both Doman style and classic Majong style. Players will be able to choose between them freely.
Funnily, the Final Fantasy XIV development team will host a livestream on December 23rd at 2:00 PM Japan time during which they will play Mahjong and explain the rules.
The next new element introduced is the “Air Force One” GATE that will be added to the Gold Saucer. It’s basically an amusement park-style shooting gallery ride. You can see what it looks like below. The course is generated randomly, and you can earn achievement by playing it.
We also see new housing decorations including painting equipment, a fat cat couch, and more. Housing items will also be updated in order to make sure that they display without errors. Precision for the placement of furniture has also been improved. You might notice some changes when you log in the first time after the patch is applied.
The next segment showcased the new job, Blue Mage. We finally get to see the job in action including its spellbook. Players can solo level in the field and learn new abilities in any order. As a bonus, two new mounts were also revealed.
You actually need to activate “Learning” mode when you want to achieve a new ability before you see monsters executing it. You don’t need to be hit by it in order to learn it. There are 49 actions in total. You can have 24 active at the same time, and save five different sets. Once a skill is active, you can drag it in your bar. If you’re in a party with multiple Blue Mages, one of them successfully learning an ability (with 30% chance) will unlock it for everyone.
Interestingly, the Mighty Guard skill acts as a stance that you can use to tank, increasing enmity and decreasing damage taken. INT is the Blue Mage’s main stat. Damage is calculated based on armor and accessories. Job quests are unlocked by learning certain skills.
The Masked Carnival was also showcased. It will allow Blue Mages to earn rewards depending on their clear times.
A new UI setting was also showcased letting you change the opacity of windows.
Lastly, we get to see the new mounts that will come with Final Fantasy XIV update 4.5, and new features for the Gpose photo mode. This includes manual focus, wet effects, and an emote option that lets you change gestures without having to go through the convoluted method we had before.
Part one of the update will come on Jan 8. Part two will be released in late March.
If you want to see more about the update, you also enjoy some recent screenshots showing the new trial, emotes, mounts, minions, and hairstyles. The previous batch showing the Blue Mage, while Final Fantasy XIV players are celebrating the Starlight Celebration.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PS4 and PC.
