Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's first major patch comes mid-November: Alliance and 'Chaotic' raids, allied society quests, and a scant few details on the MSQ

Final Fantasy 14 is getting its first major patch mid-November. While patch 7.1, titled "Crossroads", doesn't have a specific release date just yet, it'll likely be coming on the 12th or 19th, since the MMO updates on Tuesdays. Details about the patch were announced during the "Letter From the Producer Live" at the 2024 Tokyo Game Show—and it's decently chock-a-block with stuff to do.

First up, there are some new main scenario quests (MSQ)—which, judging by the screenshots, will be dealing with Zoraal Ja's son Gulool Ja, who has been left as interim king of Solution Nine thanks to his dad saddling him, a child, with admin privileges. I'm generally behind this, considering Zoraal Ja was (unfortunately) under-developed in Dawntrail's initial MSQ.

As far as side quests go, we'll be getting the Pelupelu allied society quests to help level up combat jobs in the dozens column, custom delivery quests for Nitowikwe, more crafting quests at Wachumeqimeqi, the role quests capstone, and Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures.

When it comes to content where you actually hit stuff—aside from one two errant mobs for the Pelupelu—the first instalment of the alliance raid series, Echoes of Vana’diel, will also be released alongside a new experimental type of battle content called "Chaotic" alliance raids. These pluck a single boss out of an alliance raid and turn them into a 24-man fight that's more comparable to the game's current savage raids in terms of difficulty.

A few weeks after 7.1, there'll also be a new ultimate centred around Shadowbringer's Eden raids titled "Futures Rewritten"—for the uninitiated, ultimates are gruelling fights that last for around 15-20 minutes, where one slip-up spells death. They're complex enough to take all but the most dedicated of world-first raiders months to prog and complete. The prize? Primo status symbols in the form of shiny weapon glams.

Lastly, the final fight of Dawntrail, The Interphos, will also be getting its own Extreme difficulty version by the name of Minstrel's Ballad: Sphene's Burden.

Outside of that it's mostly quality-of-life updates to PvP and the start of Duty Support—which lets you do dungeons with NPC allies instead of players—being extended to side dungeons, beginning with Halatali. One exciting promised feature for housing enthusiasts (who tend to do some amazing things in MMOs, and FF14 is no exception) is that estates are getting new interior design layouts—additionally, there are promises to let players make their homes bigger on the inside in the future patch for a hefty sum of gil.

There'll also be a new Hall of the Novice tutorial, kicking in at level 49. It's a long-overdue update to the prior one, which teaches budding players some bad habits that are no longer applicable. It's very welcome, but I'm mostly left wondering why it's up there in terms of level requirements. Stack markers start happening way before level 50—but, hey, a refresher course is always useful.

Honestly, I'm mostly just excited for the new MSQ instalment—from a critical view, that is, rather than buying a one-way ticket on the hype train. As someone who was pretty lukewarm on Dawntrail's main story quests, I'm downright curious to see what direction Creative Studio 3 takes it and whether the overall moment-to-moment dialogue has improved.

The cover art, while gorgeous, doesn't actually tell us much about it, given Prishe is front and centre. Prishe is a character from FF11—meaning she's likely going to be in the Echoes of Vana'diel crossover raids. Meanwhile, the figures in the backdrop—including what looks like a Dragon Ball Z fusion of Gaia and Ryne—are all from the Eden Raids. The only MSQ boy here is thirst magnet Bakool Ja Ja, who is engaged in battle with Prishe, making me feel like he's being tapped for the alliance raid storyline. Alas, I think I'm going to have to wait for the trailer before I get any material with which to spin my little theories.