Final Fantasy XIV

Patch 3.56 is almost here — and so the end of Heavensward is in sight. The patch, which will go live on Tuesday March 28, brings the 3.0 main scenario to a close.

It’s another big week in FFXIV news! You’d think things that would quiet down a little, given that there was a patch LAST WEEK. But the game’s director, Naoki Yoshida, held a PAX panel and fielded some media interviews that shed a lot of light onto the future of the game. It’s worth getting clued.

I had an amazing time at Final Fantasy FanFest 2017 in Frankfurt, Germany. I was able to walk the floor early and see all the festivities planned for the revelers before the show opened to the general public. From the hundreds of computers set up for the duty roulettes and the PvP tournament to the giant Magitech Armor Square Enix really knows how to put on a show.

Diadem’s back! The exploratory missions initially introduced in Patch 3.1 — and then temporarily nyxed in 3.5 — have made a return to the game, bringing with them new content and some familiar problems.

It seems like Square Enix are releasing a new patch for Final Fantasy XIV every week right now — and that’s because they are. Patch 3.55a hit on Tuesday, and another patch is due in the next few days.

January saw The Far Edge of Fate Part 1 hit Final Fantasy XIV, with new raids, dungeons, and other bonus content. The next part (3.55a) drops this Tuesday, along with most of the content we’ll get before Stormblood.

Class balance is one of the most difficult things to get ‘right’ in an MMORPG. I remember how much time I spent getting frustrated about what other people had that I didn’t back when I played WoW in the vanilla days, and how lucky I felt playing a Guardian in Guild Wars 2 given how much everybody wanted me in World v World.

Another extreme trial comes with Final Fantasy XIV’s latest patch, The Far Edge of Fate. This time it’s our boy Zurvan, the Demon of the Warring Triad, in Containment Bay Z1T9 — but you can call him Zurvy.

Patch 3.5 is here! With The Far Edge of Fate, we have a new raid, a new extreme primal and two dungeons to chew on. That — along with a host of quality of life changes and additions across the board — have really built upon the content available. This is only part one, with the second part due in March, but what’s here is hugely substantial.

The patch notes for Heavensward’s final chapter are finally here! It feels like we learned about Zurvan of the Warring Triad, Dun Scaith and a brand new Diadem a lifetime ago — but now we have hard information about what’s in 3.5. Here’s what you need to know.

Big news from Square Enix this weekend: the patch 3.5 microsite is live, along with a trailer — and it’s one of the best yet. Also, Heavensturn, one of the lighter annual events on the XIV calendar, has begun! It started on New Year’s Eve and will trundle along until patch 3.5 hits later this month (January 17).

Happy New Year, folks! Fanfest Japan is over, and, if you’re anything like me, holiday celebrations dragged you away from keeping a close eye on things. Never fear! Here’s a summary of the important bits from the Stormblood keynote and producer Naoki Yoshida’s live letter XXXIV.

Man, 2016. What a year, eh? Almost every prediction I made this time last year was wrong — and that’s just Final Fantasy XIV.

Housing is one of the best things about FFXIV. Despite being entirely optional, player housing is fully-featured and a big part of the game’s culture. It’s the first thing people include in Free Company advertisements — “We have a large house in The Mist!” — and an excellent platform for player creativity. It’s also perhaps the ultimate vanity purchase. Bored of glamoring your gear and have gil to burn? Wait ‘til you see how expensive furniture can be!

For the most part, playing how you want is fine. But there’s one area where I cannot stress enough that conventional knowledge is incorrect: the idea that healers shouldn’t DPS is preposterous, and anybody who says otherwise is wrong, wrong wrong.