Four months after the release of Endwalker, its latest expansion, Final Fantasy XIV continues to improve with a brand new patch. This marks the beginning of a new era for Square-Enix’s MMO, and its gradual transition to a fully solo playable experience.
At the end of last year Endwalker was released, the extension coming to close the scriptwriting arc of Hydaelyn and Zordiarche started 8 years earlier with A Realm Reborn. This does not mean that Final Fantasy XIV has bowed out, but rather that a new cycle begins for Square Enix’s flagship MMO.
Proof of this is with the brand new patch (6.1) which is released on April 12. It brings many changes. In addition to the usual additions of content and other classic gameplay balancing, there is a feature intended for players who would be put off by the online game (MMO) aspect of this role-playing game.
With this update, Final Fantasy XIV begins a rapprochement towards the classic episodes (understand: solo) of the series. From April 12, it’s the start of the game, i.e. all the content of the main story offered by A Realm Reborn, which become playable solo. What better way to discover this novelty than to take advantage of the free trial version, which made its big comeback last February?
But why play Final Fantasy XIV alone?
As its name suggests, an MMORPG-like online game has a strong multiplayer component. Dungeons, challenges, and raids require you to form a team with other players, friends or not, with all the constraints and advantages that entails.
Yes Final Fantasy XIV has a main story with a fairly classic structure, it is mandatory to go through the multiplayer box in order to advance it, in particular to take up the challenge of high-level instances. Gold, Final Fantasy XIV is a game hailed for the quality of its writing and the richness of its universe. Each quest, in its own way, brings its stone to the edifice that is Hydaelyn.
Update 6.1 comes to offer an answer to all those who wish to discover Final Fantasy XIV at their own pace, without having to undergo the constraints of an MMO. Naoki Yoshida’s teams have been working hard to revamp the first challenges and dungeons to make it possible to do without other human players.
Concretely, it is now possible to carry out all the content of the main story of A Realm Reborn alone. An approach that should also continue in the months and years to come, until the entire story and expansions are playable in this way. Great news for all JRPG lovers and those who love beautifully plotted stories.
To open the possibility for players to practice the adventure Final Fantasy XIV alone, two important modifications have been made to the contents of A Realm Reborn. To begin with, the teams have made major changes to the very structure of the Challenges and the Dungeons (in particular Castrum Meridianum and Praetorium) in order to streamline the gameplay.
But the biggest addition is undoubtedly a brand new system allowing solo players to take three allied NPCs with them at the start of each instance, much like the adjuration system that was implemented with Shadowbringers. These NPCs will be chosen according to the job used at the start of the instance, in order to create a balanced team, capable of helping you during your adventure.
The Final Fantasy XIV trial version is back and that’s great news!
Extremely popular, the trial version of Final Fantasy XIV which allows you to play without time limit up to level 60 and which includes all of A Realm Reborn AND the award-winning extension Heavensward had been suspended last December. The reason ? Its too great popularity, precisely. After the release ofEndwalkerand the massive influx of players that this had caused, Naoki Yoshida had made the decision to suspend everything while waiting for things to calm down, in order to preserve the game’s servers and the player experience.
With the situation back to normal, Square Enix decided to reopen its free trial version last February, and that’s great news. You are aware that this trial version includes all the content offered by A Realm Rebornthis same A Realm Reborn which has just been reworked to be playable entirely solo. If you want to find out Final Fantasy XIV at your own pace (this trial period is not limited in time), without worrying about finding companions to assist you in dungeons and challenges, the timing is perfect!
The other good news is that the content offered by Heavensward should also eventually become playable solo. Enough to offer you dozens of hours of play to discover the full potential of Final Fantasy XIV, without pressure. To start your adventure in Eorzea, nothing very complicated since you just need to download the game client by going to this address.
Discover version 6.1 of Final Fantasy XIV from April 12
While one of the major new features introduced by this patch 6.1 is undoubtedly the overhaul of the instances of A Realm Reborn In order to make them compatible with the single-player game, veterans of Square Enix’s MMO will also be delighted to learn that this update adds a plethora of content.
- Newfound Adventure : new quests extend the story ofEndwalker to deal with the consequences of your actions, and the fate of the Companions of the Seventh Dawn;
- New instances: new Challenges (The Final Response), new Unreal Challenge (The Plague of Ultima) new Raid (The Eorzean Myth) and new Fatal Raid (War of Dragonsong) are here to give you a hard time;
- New PvP mode: the Crystalline Conflict mode makes its appearance for thrilling matches;
- New residential area: get a mansion in the Empyrean district, in the heart of Ishgard.
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