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It’s been three months since the Final Fantasy XIV’s last big expansion launched, and the team at Square Enix have been hard at work on new content for the current subscribers of this popular massively multiplayer online game (MMO). The latest patch, update 4.1, introduces the ability to run old dungeons, dive into a new one, and enjoy a brand new Raid. Let’s take a look.
Running old dungeons
One of the new features that launched is the ability to run old dungeons with AI squadron members. You could previously send them out on missions which allowed you to level them up. This has now been expanded with five dungeons, where you can gain items and unique emotes. As you progress the squadron levels up, with the max level cap now being 60.
The dungeons start off with incredibly basic AI but as you run them they unlock new tactics which you can set up after acquiring them. The tactics also give your three AI squad mates stat boosts, so it’s best to grind the low level dungeons before attempting the harder ones mainly for the AI buffs, even if you already have a level 50 squad. Here is the Final Fantasy XIV footage captured from Stone Vigil with my Squadron.
As you can see I used the engage command and even set it to my hot bar for easier use, though not everyone will have space for it. It does have its own bar, but with a controller I found that to be more hassle. During boss fights, make sure you use the disengage command as the AI does have trouble dodging mechanics if they are set to engage all the time, and when disengaged the squad will run to you allowing you to move them about.
Once a squadron member reaches level 51, you are able to unlock the glamour function, which allows you to change the appearance and weapon of your team mate. Warning: Just like normal glamour, you will need glamour prisms which can now be purchased with grand company seals.
Drowned City of Skalla playthrough
The Final Fantasy XIV patch 4.1 also includes a new dungeon, the Drowned City of Skalla. I won’t go into detail about how this dungeon is unlocked due to story spoilers but it’s not too far into the new msq story line. Please check out my playthrough of this new dungeon. I was lucky enough to be joined by Klauss from www.phoenixdownradio.com and Kane from the free company.
The Royal City of Rabanastre raid playthough
The 24-man raid for this expansion also launched with this update, and it’s based on Final Fantasy Tactics, but also has a lot of content and lore based on Final Fantasy XII. The raid is one of the most challenging to date with several mechanics that will instantly wipe the party if done incorrectly. This doesn’t mean it isn’t a lot of fun though; it’s probably my favourite 24 man raid they have created so far. The story was written by a guest, the original creator of XII and Tactics Yasumi Matsuno, and the story is amazing with much more love shown then previous raids. The bosses were designed by Keita Amemiya who is another guest designer that was brought in for the raid – his work was previously shown off with the Garo PvP event.
The Final Fantasy XIV patch 4.1 added a very nice amount of content, and with so much more content coming in update 4.2, the best thing to do is play the Raid to gear up other jobs and make sure you are prepared for future content!