The FFXIV 6.2 release date and full details for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.2 update have been detailed in Live Letter 72. The livestream digs in detail into the next big expansion for the critically acclaimed MMORPG, titled Buried Memory. Among the highlights are new story content revolving around the Void, the next stage of the Pandaemonium: Abyssos raid series, and the incredible Animal Crossing style Island Sanctuary that turns the MMO into a crafting and farming game.
Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.2 launches on August 23. The general gist of the new patch was previously outlined in Live Letter 71, but this latest livestream sees game director Naoki Yoshida and community producer Toshio Murouchi playing some of the new 6.2 and 6.25 content live, and exploring some of its most anticipated content in even greater depth. Luckily, we’re here to break down all the key information for you right here.
Addressed first are the new main scenario quests and trial, which seem to be taking place in the Thirteenth Shard (also known as the Void). The trial is also tied to the main story this time, although Yoshi-P insists that its exact nature will be kept secret until patch day to preserve the mystery. We did get a look at a creature that is almost certainly Scarmiglione from Final Fantasy IV, however, which lines up with previous expectations.
Yoshida also speaks about the upcoming raid tier for the Pandaemonium: Abyssos raid. With the savage tier releasing a week later than normal for the first time in Final Fantasy XIV’s history, Yoshida asks players for their feedback on how this pans out. He hopes that it will allow players who want to race for world first the opportunity to actually enjoy the story of the raids, rather than feeling forced to rush through the content at launch.
Yoshida also says that he thinks the savage difficulty for this patch is pretty challenging and that “even if you go in with 900 tomes, I feel like it is on a high level with a lot of new mechanics.” When trying to do the first two floors of the savage raid tier within a two hour testing period, Yoshida said that he was struggling to remember all the mechanics even after they were explained to him.
Dipping into the game itself, Yoshida showed a brief glimpse of a battle against a ‘Proto-Carbuncle’ – saying that “originally a carbuncle might have been this kind of creature, but since it was too scary, it ended up in Pandaemonium.” After a short tease of the fight’s mechanics (and a rebuttal of players asking to summon the proto-carbuncle themselves, as “you can’t control them”), Yoshida showed off some of the raid armour sets.
The raid sets include several very striking designs, featuring some very ornate armour that blends classic Final Fantasy with some more traditional high fantasy, and even some gear with fiery visual effects that are set ablaze in oranges, reds, and purples. Importantly, the exchange rate for the Abyssos Mythos tomes will be lower in the new raid tier – only requiring four copies each for the gear that is equipped to the head, hands, and feet (rather than the usual six).
Also discussed are the new Hildibrand quests, Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures, which are coming in patch 6.25. Yoshida jokes that when looking back at the new quests he said, “What have we done with these cutscenes” – implying that we are likely to see even more of their trademark over the top silliness. Don’t forget that we’ll also be seeing the Endwalker relic weapons included in these quests, so you’ll have to enlist the services of Godbert in order to craft your strongest weapons this time around.
Adventurer plates and their associated portraits are coming out of beta with the launch of 6.2. Previously it was thought that any portraits created during the beta phase would be lost, but Yoshida confirms that if you have tied a portrait to either your adventurer plate or a gear set then it will carry over to the full release of the feature. The glamour dresser is also having its capacity doubled to 800 slots. “Just because the capacity got doubled, don’t just put everything in there, okay?” Yoshida chuckles, “I know you guys will ask for more!”
As part of the lead-up to FFXIV 7.0’s planned graphics update, some features are being implemented step by step to make the implementation and debugging process smoother. Coming with patch 6.2 is the implementation of optimised graphics processing and dynamic resolution, which is an option players can choose to enable that will automatically reduce the displayed resolution when your GPU load is heavy to ensure a consistent frame rate.
One of the big balance changes teased previously was a change to critical and direct hits, and Yoshida lays out how these will work. Previously, classes which utilised skills that guaranteed critical hits or direct hits didn’t benefit as much from gear or party buffs that increase the rate at which they occur. From patch 6.2 onwards, actions that guarantee critical or direct hits will also inflict more damage based on their respective stat when it is buffed, to help make them feel more worthwhile.
PvP series two is set to begin with the new patch, along with a fresh set of rewards. Rewards for the previous series one may be claimed until the end of series two. Importantly, Yoshida says that from season three onwards, ranked players at the higher levels may be demoted when losing matches. Those players in the top end Diamond and Crystal tiers can be dropped down to the previous rank should they lose while at the lowest stage of the rank. However, your rewards for the season will still count your highest rank attained, even if you are demoted out of it afterwards.
We got to take a look at a couple of rather wonderful mounts on offer in the new expansion, including a space jellyfish that comes as a reward for the new Omicron tribal quests set to be added in patch 6.25. Also shown is a mount reward from the variant dungeons coming in patch 6.25 – which looks to be a giant, adorable rodent with a very puffy ball on its tail, which also appears as a boss fight in one of the dungeons.
The variant and criterion dungeons, Final Fantasy XIV’s non-linear, scaling adventures that can be tackled with 1-4 players, also got their own deep dive. Yoshida shows off the previously announced ‘The Sil’dihn Subterrane’ and ‘Another Sil’dihn Subterrane’ dungeons – that’s right, FFXIV patch 6.25 will see players grouping up to tackle ‘ASS (savage).’
Joining fan-favourite Nanamo on a journey through the Subterrane, Yoshida shows how players can choose between several different paths to progress – showing a checklist that implies up to 12 possible outcomes can be achieved over the course of multiple dungeon runs. Depending on the route taken, players will encounter distinct boss fights and obtain different story fragments, which can then be pieced together to reveal the true nature of things. When playing in a group, players can vote on which path to take at each turn – and the NPCs may even suggest routes themselves.
While in these variant dungeons, players will have access to a selection of five variant actions – Variant Cure, Variant Ultimatum, Variant Raise, Variant Spirit Dart, and Variant Rampart. These are designed to ensure that players will have access to a variety of actions from across all three combat roles, even when queuing in an undersized party or with a group that does not conform to the traditional party role format.
The criterion dungeon, which is a harder twist on the variant, are “a lot stronger” than their equivalents in the variant dungeon. Yoshida notes that bosses in the regular criterion dungeon “feel like savage floor 1.5, floor 3, and floor 4” enemies. The savage mode for the criterion dungeon requires a premade party of four, and removes ground attack indicators for enemies – including the general mobs. Yoshida says that this extreme difficulty level is “definitely aimed at players that are going to clear the next savage raid tier early on so they can challenge it with their good gear.” He does, however, reassure players that it is “really, really fun.”
A large central chunk of the live letter is dedicated to exploring the new Island Sanctuary feature, which is looking like it could well be FFXIV’s spin on Animal Crossing. The segment is so in-depth, in fact, that we’ve given it its own explainer article – so be sure to click that link for all the juicy details.
Here’s the launch trailer for FFXIV patch 6.2 Buried Memory:
Full patch notes for the FFXIV 6.2 update will arrive closer to its release, including details on the job adjustments for PvE and PvP, so keep your eyes on PCGamesN for all the important updates. In the meantime, we have everything you need to know about the ongoing Moonfire Faire 2022 quests and rewards, as well as everything available as part of the Moogle Treasure Trove 2022 event.
Thanks to Miuna and Iluna Minori on the FFXIV Discord for their translations.