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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker was revealed during the FFXIV announcement showcase–it’s the next expansion for the MMORPG, and it came with a teaser trailer and several details outlined by director and producer Naoki Yoshida. While there are wild implications for where the story is going next, that wasn’t all that the FFXIV team had in store. A new Live Letter from the Producer stream followed the showcase to detail FFXIV patch 5.5, which will lead into the Endwalker expansion.
It’s a two-part update that’s called Death Unto Dawn and will set players up for the Endwalker story. The first part will go live on April 13, which lines up with the PlayStation 5 open beta for FFXIV, and the second part is set for the end of May, which comes after the digital FFXIV Fan Fest event (scheduled for May 15 and 16). The following details may contain spoilers for those not caught up in FFXIV’s main story.
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Now Playing: Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Teaser Trailer
Screenshots shared in the Live Letter stream show a gathering of several major characters who represent the various regions across FFXIV’s world, and this is likely about the events that happened at the very end of the 5.4 storyline. The new main story dungeon was also teased–it’s called Palgth’an and looks like it could be the beginning of destruction across Eorzea (which has been alluded to in the narrative and Endwalker details). Palgth’an is compatible with the Trust system so you can take AI characters with you.
Patch 5.5 will feature the conclusion to the Sorrow of Werlyt optional questline. This also comes with a new trial boss fight called The Cloud Deck and it’ll pit eight players against Diamond Weapon–an Extreme difficulty version will also be available.
As expected, the third part to the 24-player Nier Automata crossover alliance raid series will be included in patch 5.5. The subtitle to this part is being held as a secret, and Yoshida-san teased that Nier series creator Yoko Taro (who’s been working on the raids) might have surprises in store. He also mentioned that they’re calling this a third chapter to the raid series and not the final chapter–we’re not sure what this could mean or if it hints at future content. We did get a teaser screenshot with what looks a lot like the a Seed of Destruction from Drakengard.
Job adjustments are planned for patch 5.5, but the team did not have details to share during this stream and will share more at a later date.
Many changes to the Bozjan Southern Front and the Save the Queen quests tied to it were given. The recent 5.45 patch eased requirements for upgrading your resistance weapons up to patch 5.35 content, and Yoshida-san clarified how the process works. He mentioned that the ratio between the Bozjan route and alternative methods for upgrading weapons is unbalanced and will address that in a hotfix. Castrum Lacus Litore duty rewards were also improved, and additional rewards are planned in a hotfix to encourage players to play it. As for patch 5.5, it’ll feature the final steps to upgrading resistance weapons which includes completing the Save the Queen story quests. There will also be a new zone in Bozja called Zadnor.
A new Unreal difficulty trial will come in the 5.5 update. However, the next Ultimate trial–which is a reimagining of the Dragonsong War trial–has been delayed due to changes in the production schedule since working from home. It was planned for patch 5.5, but would have interfered with the development of Endwalker. Players will have to wait until patch 6.1 for it, meaning it’ll be post-Endwalker content.
There are several other changes and additions that were outlined in this Live Letter, such as the following:
New PvP rewardsThe Firmament celebrations from Ishgard RestorationMore challenging expert recipes for craftersA few improvements for gatherersTweaks to Triple TriadNew dungeons added to Explorer Mode, and instruments can be usedGetting all trial mounts from 5.x content will reward you with a mecha-dragon mount
The Live Letter stream then went into details about how development and production of FFXIV content works, showing schedules and process used internally. They also showcased what you can expect from the free digital FFXIV Fan Fest event in May, and revealed a new FFXIV soundtrack arrangement album called Scions and Sinners.
The last thing to note was the information given about how players can upgrade to the PS5 version of the game. FFXIV on PS5 will be digital only, but you can still upgrade for free if you have a physical copy of the game. As we understand it, you’ll be given a voucher in order to obtain the new version. Afterward, you’ll no longer need the physical copy and will simply have the digital PS5 version. An “upgrade edition” is planned for the PlayStation Store. There will be more details shared in the future, but for now check out what information we have on the PS5 version of FFXIV.
For more on the wave of FFXIV news, be sure to read up on the reveal of Endwalker and everything we know about the upcoming expansion. Although the presentation is in Japanese, you can also rewatch the the patch 5.5 livestream for more details.
