Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 57 Summary; Patch 5.2 arrives February 18

In the 57th Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy XIV director/producer Naoki Yoshida and global community manager Toshio Murouchi shared more information about the second major update to the Shadowbringers expansion: Echoes of a Fallen Star.

We’ve included a summary of the major information below:

Patch 5.2 Content & Features

  • Patch 5.2 arrives on February 18th, 2020.
  • New main scenario quests will be added.
  • Beast tribe quests featuring the Qitari (Qiqirn) will have a focus on gathering.
  • A new Chronicles of a New Era quest The Sorrow of Werlyt will be added.
  • A new instanced dungeon Anamnesis Anyder will be added.
  • Cinder Drift (Ruby Weapon) will be added as a new trial and will also have an Extreme difficulty version.
  • A new raid called Eden’s Verse will be added and will feature both a normal and Savage level difficulty.
  • Job adjustments and PVP Job adjustments will be implemented.
  • Crafting, fishing, & materia system updates will be implemented. A few crafting actions will be removed and fish bites will be changed to notifications.
  • Ocean Fishing will be added.
  • Allgan tomestones of allegory will be added.
  • Additional New Game+ chapters will be added – this time alliance raid quests will be added.
  • Rank increase for free companies to 30 – higher levels will get an upgraded FC chest.
  • New course in the Gold Saucer’s Leap of Faith GATE.
  • Fellowships can be viewed in the companion app.
  • Umbrellas will be added.
  • Red Mage damage will be buffed as it’s the lowest caster DPS, including the Fleche action.
  • Summoner damage will be nerfed – Yoshida apologizes that the previous Summoner buff was too powerful.
  • Samurai’s Meditation stacks will be moved to the Job UI.
  • In PvP, Warrior and Monk will see adjustments, and Dancer will be nerfed for balance. Summoner will be used as a baseline for balancing PvP.
  • (Patch 5.21) This update will release three weeks after Patch 5.2.
  • (Patch 5.21) Ishgardian Restoration will include gathering in the Diadem, Kupo of Fortune, Expert Recipes, and a ranking system that will take place for 10 days with the release of Patch 5.21. Top ranked players will receive special titles. Yoshida says these new expert recipes are difficult.
  • (Patch 5.25) A new secret trial will be added.
  • (Patch 5.25) A new quest called “Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr” series for upgrade-able equipment will be added.

Cinder Drift (Ruby Weapon)

A new trial versus the Ruby Weapon will be added in Patch 5.2. The story will highlight Gaius’s past and will continue in the future.

Qitari (Beast Tribe Quests)

The Qitari beast tribe will be found in the Rak’tika Greatwood and will be a gathering-focused series you can start with a Disciple of the Land at Level 70. One of the quest rewards will be a Great Serpent of Ronka mount.

The Leap of Faith (Update)

A new course will be added to the Gold Saucer’s Leap of Faith GATE featuring the Floating City of Nym found in Outer La Noscea.

Eden’s Verse (Raid)

The next chapter in the Eden raid series is Eden’s Verse. Gaia (designed by Tetsuya Nomura) will make her formal debut. The team showed off a new trial versus what seems to be a fusion of Ramuh and Ixion?

Yoshida comments that the staff designing this raid are different from the group that designed Eden’s Gate, and that this chapter will be more challenging.

Eden’s Verse (Gear)

Ocean Fishing

Ocean fishing is fisher-exclusive content. Board a ship at specified times to enjoy fishing on the high seas. Receive experience and scrips based on fish caught. After meeting certain conditions, passengers may discover a spectral current and the chance for a big haul.

Every two hours of real world time, you’ll be able to board for a period of 15 minutes – similar to a Gold Saucer GATE. There are two locations, and each trip will have three spots where you can fish for seven minute blocks. If one person meets certain conditions for a big haul, it’ll be available for everyone on board. Yoshida comments that, and one ocean fishing trip will last about 30 minutes. You can leave the instance without completing it, but at the end everyone’s points will be tallied.

Ishgard Restoration (Diadem)

This stage of Ishgard Restoration will see you return to the Diadem, which has been reworked to be a gathering area. You’ll be able to collect items for the restoration here.

When you gather in this zone, you will also build up a compressed aether gauge which you can use to power a cannon that will blow apart mobs into materials. Different weather effects will be present in the Diadem.

The “Kupo of Fortune” is a lottery system tied to Ishgard Restoration with semi-random rewards. You can either pick one panel on the left hand side or one of three panels on the right hand side. The side you pick will affect the odds, with higher risk on the left-hand side. You’ll be able to get a bread eating emote through this.

Skysteel Tools

Skysteel Tools will be primary tools that can be upgraded over the course of multiple patches. This will begin with a quest in Ishgard’s Brume. Craft or gather specified items to enhance these tools and enlist the aid of the Skysteel Manufactory. For the time being, the Skysteel Tools won’t have better stats than a fully-melded one and no extra visual effect.

Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr

This is a new quest series for upgradeable equipment. Playing through the quests available in Patch 5.25, players will receive the base weapon. Join the Resistance and free Bozja from the rule of Legatus Noah van Gabranth of the IVth Imperial Legon. Those who levelled a Gunbreaker job may have an idea of what’s going on.

Due to the story content involved, you will first need to complete the Return to Ivalice alliance raid series introduced in the Stormblood expansion. Guest creator Yasumi Matsuno is returning to oversee the development of this series. Content in addition to quests will be added from patch 5.3 onward.

In 5.25 you’ll start the story and obtain the base weapon, and there will also be a boss involved. In 5.35 there will be a new field instance – but it’s not exactly the same as Eureka’s zones. This time, developing the weapon isn’t strictly in lockstep with the story progression. Yoshida mentions an instance similar to the Baldesion Arsenal in development.

Umbrellas

You can access umbrellas through the “Extras” section of the command menu. The umbrella will cast a shadow in the sun and keep you dry in the rain. If they add more umbrella types, they may make a separate sub-menu for it. It uses a similar programming path as mounts. They may considering adding them as rewards to content.

Spiritbonding & Materia

Previously, when you reached 100% spiritbond on an item, you could convert it into a materia but lose the weapon. Now, you’ll be able to keep the item, but the spiritbond progress will reset to 0%

Updated Waymarks

The waymarks system has been updated where you can save pre-set configurations of waymarks to be deployed during an encounter. This is in an effort to dissuade use of third party tools (against the TOS) that provide the same effect.

Miscellaneous

Fan Festival 2020-21

Dates and locations have been revealed for the next Fan Festival:
– San Diego, CA, USA (San Diego Convention Center) on November 6-7, 2020.
– Nagoya, Japan (Aichi Sky Expo) on December 19-20, 2020.
– London, UK (ExCeL London) on February 20-21, 2021.

Announcements

  • Final Fantasy XIV will be at PAX East 2020 on February 27 through March 1st. Includes Ruby Weapon Challenge, developer panel with Yoshi-P and lead character artist Yusuke Mogi on the techniques used to create artwork for the game.
  • The Art of Reflection -Histories Forsaken- Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers artbook. Releases in Japan on March 31, and NA in May 2020. Includes Wind-up Dulia Chai minion.
  • NHK is hosting a poll where you can vote for your favorite aspects of Final Fantasy – the voting period ends Tuesday, February 11th.
  • A collaboration hotel room can be reserved at The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Tokyo Shiodome from March 18 through June 30th. Rooms are decorated based on Il Mheg and include a giant beaver cup.
  • The Primals Live in Tokyo Bringers of Shadow concert will happen April 14 and April 15.

About the Author

Tony Garsow Tony joined Nova Crystallis in 2015, and has spent more than a decade writing in the Final Fantasy community. He also contributes to the Nova Crystallis Twitch and YouTube channels, where you can watch select gameplay highlights, previews, and streams.

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