One thing that’s fun about incremental patches for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is there’s always just that little extra newness to make you want to keep playing.
Unlike previous FFXIV mini-patches, Patch 2.35 provides an entirely new incentive to leveling a new crafting class. There’s a Beast Tribe that wants your help making items for them, and it’s up to you to be the goodwill ambassador and get them what they need.
Enter the Ixal
The main new feature of patch 2.35 is the introduction of some outcast Ixal as a new beast tribe that wants to be friends.
The story basically revolves around the Ehcatl Nine, the outcast Ixal who want to build an airship so they can fly to the Ixal’s lost paradise.
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According to the Patch Notes, after completing the level 41 quest “In Pursuit of the Past,” this beast tribe will be accessible in the North Shroud of Gridania, and will task you with crafting items for them, either as part of a daily quest, or as a special daily delivery quest for the Nine.
Special Crafting Facilities?!
One little twist to the Ehcatl Nine quests is the use of special crafting facilities for creating the quest items needed for the dailies.
You’ve got some time pressure ahead of you though. The crafting quests require making the exact amount of materials for the task being requested in a limited amount of time. Not only do you have to be a good crafter, you’ve also got to have a good system for mastery!
You also need to wear a special set of wrist gloves from the Ixal to do the work required, so depending on your crafting gear, you may not be as effective. In other words, you need skill to win the day!
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Chocobo Ch-ch-ch-CHANGES!
Of course, beast tribe quests aren’t the only new addition. The chocobo stables in free company housing will now allow users to change the color of the chocobo’s plumage, by feeding them a snack.
I’m not 100% sure which items create which color plumage, but it seems you have at least 7 colors to choose from now, assuming each 6 fruits – Xelphatol Apple, Doman Plum, Mamook Pear, Valfruit, O'Ghomoro Berries, and Cieldalaes Pineapple – along with the fruit that reverts it back to the original plumage, the Han Lemon.
As you can expect, this is going to require some gardening to pull off, so you may want to talk to your free company about how to manage the color schemes!
Stargazers and Skywatchers
For those looking to fulfill the requirements for Sightseeing Logs, there are also new NPCs available to help in your quest for vista-viewing supremacy.
Skywatchers are now available in the main cities as well as in Coerthas and Mor Dhona and they’ll tell you the “current weather conditions for all regions, as well as forecasts for the next 8,16, and 24 hours.” Perfect for picking the right location to sightsee from.
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And Finally, Shantotto
Finally, a mainstay of Final Fantasy XI is returning to Eorzea once more, giant-sized. A giant-sized Shantotto is tearing up the land Eorzea and it’s up to adventurers like you to stop them.
From Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at 4:00 a.m. to Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 7:59 a.m. (PDT), you can engage in special FATE events to try and defeat Shantotto, the Tarutaru Black Mage, and earn yourself your own mini-Shantotto minion!
This is a repeat of an earlier event in January, so if you missed out, now’s a good time to get back into the action, especially with a free login campaign happening. Cheers to all who are coming back to the game, and I’ll see you around Eorzea!
Victor Barreiro Jr. / Victor Barreiro Jr. maintains the the Landmark/Everquest Next and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn columns for MMORPG.com. He also writes for news website Rappler as a technology reporter. You can find more of his writings on Games and Geekery and on Twitter at @vbarreirojr.
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