A more detailed list of the Endwalker patch content, stolen from NoisyPixel because I wasn't staying up until the early hours of the morning.
Tl;DR Hildebrand is getting a new quest line to run from 6.1 to 6.5, Trust System is being expanded into ARR, Heavensward and Stormblood (this will mean the story should be able to run solo completely), New story sidequest line featuring Tataru, Hrothgar get new hairstyles (probably as bad as the 3 new styles Viera got access to, shut up I'm not bitter about that) and Island Sanctuary's not coming till the end of this year (BOOOOOOO, I wanted to see more on this one).
But here we go:-
“Continuing to provide regular updates on an appropriate schedule!”
- Patch 6.1 is currently slated for April and will include:
- Myths of the Realm Part 1 (Alliance raid)
- Crystalline Conflict (new PvP mode)
- New Calling Card-style UI for PvP
- Arkasodara tribe quests/dailies
- Dragonsong’s Reprise (new Ultimate duty)
- Ultima’s Bane (Unreal Trial)
- Ishgard housing (Empyreum)
- Trust system for Patch 2.0 main scenario dungeons
- New hairstyles for Hrothgar
- Custom deliveries: Ameliance
- Updates to the glamour system
- New trials and other assorted updates
- More details will be coming in the next Live Letter on March 4th.
- Patch 6.2 Planned Major Updates:
- Trust system for Patch 2.x main scenario dungeons and a small number of Heavensward main scenario dungeons.
- New weapon enhancements
- New “Criterion” dungeon with variable difficulty for 1-4 players.
- Details are currently scarce, but the dungeons can be entered with anywhere between one and four people and will scale in difficulty based on the number of players.
- “Island Sanctuary” feature added
- Next Pandaemonium tier, Faux Hollows, other trials, and more
- Patch 6.3 Planned Major Updates:
- Trust system for all Heavensward main scenario dungeons
- New “Deep Dungeon”
- Ultimate Duty #5
- Island Sanctuary Update
- Patch 6.4/6.5 Planned Major Updates
- Trust system implementation for all Stormblood main scenario dungeons
- Criterion dungeons #2 and #3
- Additional area for Island Sanctuary
- Gold Saucer updates
- Conclusion to Pandaemonium, “further” Myths of the Realm, Faux Hollows, other trials, and more
- The Hildibrand questline will continue in Patch 6.1-6.5, and a new “Tataru’s Grand Endeavor” sidequest series will be created.
- A level cap increase for Blue Mage is currently being planned but has no release window as of this time.
- The major patch cycle is being extended from a major patch every ~3.5 months to every ~4 months.
- Data Center Travel is currently being planned for Patch 6.18
And for the future (again stolen from NoisyPixel)
- “Preparing for years of service to come: FFXIV’s first graphical update”
- “Planned for implementation in Patch 7.0”
- Development and preparation will be ongoing until the subsequent expansion releases.
- The team is aiming for a more current aesthetic appeal “suited to a more multiplayer environment,” however the new graphics will not be comparable to recent stand-alone titles such as Horizon Forbidden West.
- Animation and lighting system updates are being planned.
- Patch 7.0 will change the minimum operating specs but will try to accommodate as broad a range of hardware specs as possible.
- Patch 7.0 will still be compatible with the PlayStation 4. The team is currently considering a Performance/Graphics mode toggle.
- Character appearance updates:
- Higher-resolution textures for hair, skin, gear, etc.
- More and better auto-generated greenery.
- Improved material qualities for skin, metal, fabric, etc. (shaders)
- Better lighting and shadow effects, especially for players’ shadows.
- Additional lighting points for improved depth/immersion.
- Higher-resolution shadows with increased movement and decreased flickering.
- Overall appearance of player characters will be altered as little as possible, and improvements will be applied to old NPCs where possible from Patch 7.0 onward.
- NPCs who share “parts” with player character creation will be updated when the player character models are updated, as a matter of necessity.
- The team clarified that they can not implement a solution to clipping issues, as it would require a physics engine that would create massive problems for the game client as it currently exists.
I am taking a minor break from FFXIV at the mo' while I have a play around with Lost Ark and Total Warhammer 3.
Yeah, I must say that I have been so far disappointed in the Glamours in Lost Ark (no joking this is the most likely thing to make me drop the game). So far I have found 3 different types of tops which haven't been too bad. But so far 2 variants of hotpants. Frankly I want something (excuse the crudity) that comes down past her ass cheeks. In fact I would kill for a pair of trousers for my gunslinger.
Anyway, unlocked the crafting systems (at least mining, fishing and gathering so far) and as with everything else the tutorials where ass. It took me 5-10 minutes to realise that fishing wasnt pressing G in the fishing spot (that is for trap fishing apparently) but my hotbar button. Obvious I know but it was 6 new icons dropped on the hotbar tab.
This game is basically a beautiful horrible mess with an absolutely amazing combat system that even after close to 20 hours I am not bored of yet. Hell I am about to log in and I am already planning on my second and third character (apparently four characters is recommended for the Stronghold system, but not got that far yet).
