During Final Fantasy XIV’s fourteen-hour live broadcast to celebrate the game’s fifth anniversary, we got a deeper look at “Prelude in Violet” — the Stormblood expansion’s fourth post-release update out on September 18th, 2018.

Patch 4.4 Overview

— Patch 4.4 “Prelude in Violet” arrives on September 18th, 2018.
— New main scenario quests, side stories, and sidquests will be added.
— Level 70 instanced dungeon The Burn will take place during the main scenario.
— A new Level 70 trial versus Suzaku in the Hells’ Kier will be added as well as an Extreme difficulty version.
— A hard mode version of Saint Mocianne’s Arboretum will be added through a sidequest.
— The newest tier of the Omega raid series will be added called the Alphascape.
— The battle system will be adjusted: particularly adjustments to job abilities and role action slots.
— PvP will have “Focus Attack” added to the quick chat and PvP-specific HUD layouts can be adjusted on the Wolves’ Den Pier.
— Even Further Hildibrand Adventures will release in Patch 4.45.
— The Forbidden Land Eureka will be updated in Patch 4.45 with a new region and the “Logos System”. You’ll also continue to upgrade your Eureka weapon in this duty.
— The Lost Canals of of Uznair will be updated with new dungeons.
— Housing will see mannequin indoor furnishings to equip gear to as well as new customization features.
— A Gold Saucer GATE will be added called the Leap of Faith — jumping puzzle.
— New crafting and gathering recipes have been added.
— Ceremony of Eternal Bonding will add Anniversary ceremonies.
— Captain rank added to Grand Companies, as well as new Squadron missions.
— Group pose will be updated to include minion actions, walking/running motions as well as time and weather settings.
— A new tier of Allagan tomestones will be added, the amount of record-able duties in the Duty Recorder will increase with revisions, features expanded for the Unending Journey, configuration data saved server-side.
— An “Alarm” has been added.
— Minion and mount guides will have a search feature.

Alphascape: Chaos

— The newest tier of the Omega raid series — the Alphascape — features Chaos from Final Fantasy I as a boss. The battle takes place in a square arena where you can fall off the sides. There will also be a Savage difficulty version released.

Suzaku — Hells’ Kier

— Hells’ Kier is the battleground set for Suzaku, one of the Four Lords. This trial will have a normal and Extreme version.

The Shifting Altars Uznair Update

— The Shifting Altars of Uznair uses a roulette-like wheel to determine the challenges you will face.
— After landing on an icon you will face a boss — defeat that boss for rewards.
— Landing on a purple monster icon will eject you from the Shifting Altars.

Final Fantasy VII mounts and minions

— SDS Fenrir is a mount obtainable for Fan Fest — it plays Crazy Motorcycle as its background music.
— Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa minions will be available as minions for each region of the Fan Festival.

Housing

— Mannequins can be placed in housing and equipped with gear.
— Players can select an option to sell that gear to other players that will be managed through a retainer.
— You will be able to set a “house appeal” to signify what you use your house for — largely a roleplaying feature.
— These tags for house appeal can be accessed in each housing ward.

Gold Saucer

— A new Gold Saucer GATE has been added called the Leap of Faith.
— It’s a timed jumping puzzle where you can also collect bronze, silver, and gold statues to improve your reward.

Announcements

— Fan Festival in-game mount SDS Fenrir will be sold separately on the MogStation for $29.99.
— Fan Festival in-game minions are Tifa (North America), Cloud (Europe), and Aerith (Japan). They’ll be sold separately on the MogStation for $6.99 each.
— Fan Festival will have a special battle versus Yojimbo.
— Fan Festival will be live streamed in all regions free of charge — all stage events will be viewable on Twitch except for the concerts.
— Tickets for Fan Festival in Tokyo start in early October via a ticket lottery system in which you must have an active FFXIV subscription.
— You’ll be able to pre-order merchandise to pick up at the Fan Festival.
— Cloud’s hairstyle will be offered as a prize for winning the Fanfest art contest, amongst other contests.
— New optional items are available on the MogStation today including The Red Hare (mount) and the Crimson Lotus (emote).
— Encyclopedia Eorzea II will go on sale November 24th.
— Final Fantasy XIV will attend Tokyo Game Show 2018 on September 23rd.
— Patch 4.4 Note Reading will take place on September 18th.