Final Fantasy 14's New Patch 7.20 Arrives: Jogging Is Real, And So Are Black Mage Changes

To continue the post-expansion cadende, Final Fantasy 14 has just dropped its newest patch—and with it some interesting changes. In "Seekers of Eternity," the quality of life updates keep coming, though one class also has the community talking. 

Of course, as with any big update, this one brings a solid chunk of new story to the FFXIV world. We see the return of a banished queen, and players get to step back into the wrestling ring for the Normal Raids. 

The newest addition to FFXIV one you’ll likely see and use everywhere is the new Jog feature. Instead of Sprint entirely leaving you without that little speed boost, once it expires, it’ll turn into “Jog.” Jogging doesn’t give the full speed boost of Sprint or even Peloton, but it’ll be faster than just walking—which is very useful for the sprawls of Tulliyolal and Solution Nine, or even just Limsa Limosa’s weird layout and your last-second holiday event quest sprints. 

One more major change anywhere you can use mounts will be the ability to jump onto your mounts while moving. Instead of having to stop and stand still for a few seconds like some kind of Black Mage main, you’ll be able to jump on without hesitation. We do know now that this works in Frontlines, too. 

More controversial to some FFXIV players are the certain combat that Black Mages are getting: namely, the removal of the Astral Mastery timer, formerly known as the Enochian timer. Plus, a lot of abilities got tweaked to be 2 or 3 seconds flat (with potency adjusted to match), instead of the traditional longer cast time, and Leylines are only 20 seconds long.

To say the least, it’s got Black Mage fans talking. As I, the writer, am a Black Mage myself, I did get to give it a whirl already, and it’s… not bad. It feels fast-paced, and I don't mind not having to worry about casting as much as possible; it's already the DPS calculator's job to make me worry. But of course, mileage may vary.

Beyond today's update, FFXIV's 7.2X patch series will also include both a crafting/gathering game mode, arriving in April, and a combat "Open Field Expedition" game mode, as they're called now. Also, don't forget to pick up another new Fantasia!