Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer 69: A Realm Reborn’s Overhaul

What to expect from Final Fantasy XIV's patch 6.1.

Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida promised a few weeks ago that older content will see an overhaul to FF XIV's Realm Reborn. Here are the details on what that will look like with the 6.1 patch!

You are not Alone

With Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV saw the implementation of the trust system. Something already present in its predecessor Final Fantasy XI that allowed players to tackle content solo. Yoshida promised during the last Live Letter that they plan to change the current perception of Final Fantasy XIV. A game that can be played with friends. But who's story can be enjoyed by everyone, even alone.

The first step for this is to overhaul some of the game's oldest content. Mainly the main scenario content of A Realm Reborn, which already saw a facelift about a year ago with the 5.3 patch. Now new players can enjoy the story with the new Duty support system. New players will be assisted by AI-controlled comrades in main scenario content instead of real players. These assistants will, for now, only be available for 2.0 4-man content.

We already know from the roadmap presented two weeks ago that they plan to implement this feature everywhere. This process is supposed to be done by the time 6.5 rolls around and we're getting ready for the next expansion. But Yoshida also revealed that they've been tinkering with some of the older content. Lightsource's and textures got adjusted, annoying dungeon mechanics got removed. And some of the bosses received slight adjustments to make them more plateable.

Such Devastation

The biggest overhaul will be A Realm Reborn's final stretch of dungeons and trials. Having been the subject to many jokes, the duty Cape Westwind will be turned into a single-player duty. While the Castrum Meridianum will be turned into a 4-player dungeon instead. The Praetorium however will be split up into three separate duties. A 4-player dungeon up to the fight with Gaius, the Ultima Weapon fight will be a 4-player trial. And the fight with Lahabrea at the end will be a single-player duty. There are currently no plans to remove the cutscenes players have to watch.

The team had also considered removing the main scenario roulette from the duty finder. But since both Castrum Meridianum and the Praetorium are rather long, they decided to keep it for now. This roulette will now include the previously mentioned dungeons and the 4-player Ultima Weapon fight. Of course, the rewards for the roulette have been adjusted, so players will still do them.

For more on Final Fantasy XIV and the Live Letter, go here on ESTNN.