What to expect from Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 6.1.
With the 6.1 patch set to release in mid-April, there are will be lots of new FF XIV Battle Content players can look forward to.
New Extreme Trial: The Endsinger’s Aria
The third trial of Endwalker was a spectacle to behold. While being thematically and visually a satisfying conclusion to the Hydaelyn and Zodiark Saga, it lacked somewhat in difficulty. But of course, we would get an Extreme version soon. And that’s gonna be with patch 6.1. Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida stated that the fight is pretty tough, even for Extreme standards. It took the team two full lockouts (That’s 120 minutes for the uninitiated).
The trial will most likely drop an ilvl 595 weapon, the Music Roll, a mount and maybe even a minion or crafting material. Yoshida also said that completing the trial will award two tokens instead of the usual one. Which could mean that this is a rather long fight, or a rather hard one. But you’ll only need 10 tokens if you’re unlucky on the roll to get your weapon. But 99 to get the mount.
Ultimate: Dragonsong’s Reprise
Many of the more hardcore player bases have been upset that Shadowbringers only had one Ultimate trial, the now infamous Epic of Alexander. Dragonsong’s Reprise will be a compilation of Heavensward’s main scenario trials and wrap them up in a neat, very demanding package. We saw screenshots of Thordan and his Knights. But also the dragons Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr who had been essential to this tale. According to Yoshida, this fight will be somewhat different from the other Ultimates. And that the team behind the fight tried to slam as many appropriate mechanics from A Realm Reborn all the way to Endwalker into this fight. He himself has already seen all the phases and is confident that this fight came out great.
Ultimates are Final Fantasy XIV’s most difficult content. Usually, it takes a group between 50 to 70 hours to clear them. While the rewards for this content are only cosmetic, this content is the ultimate test for one’s Final Fantasy XIV skill. Dragonsong’s Reprise will release 2 weeks after 6.1 with the 6.11 patch.
Ultima’s Bane (Unreal)
With 6.1 we’ll also see the return of the unreal trials. Which is older content adjusted for current gear and level cap. Endwalker’s unreal trials will kick off with Ultima, which was initially introduced in 2.1. Back then the fight was fairly straightforward and easy to brute force. Yoshida warns that this won’t be possible with this version of the fight. Unreal trials reward a weekly capped currency that allows players to take part in a minigame. That minigame will reward unique cosmetics and upgrade materials.
New PvP Mode and PvP Overhaul
We’ve been hearing a lot about the Crystalline Conflict mode and a long-overdue PvP overhaul. But we’ve yet to see anything concrete on the matter. So far we’ll only know that the new PvP mode will be a 5 vs. 5 player content that will replace Final Fantasy XIV’s feast. There is also going to be a general rework on how class balance in PvP is going to work. But for that, we’ll have to wait for the next Live Letter that should be ‘extremely soon’ according to Yoshida.
You’ll find more on Final Fantasy XIV here on ESTNN.