The first post-Endwalker update for Final Fantasy XIV was released last Tuesday. A patch that not only brings new content and balances, but also aims to move the lines of Square Enix’s MMO. How ? By bringing it into a new era: that of the single-player game.
With Endwalkerthe extension released at the end of last year, Final Fantasy XIV completed its first cycle. The end of an epic that began more than eight years ago, but which does not mark the end of Square Enix’s online game (MMO), as the 6.1 update has just proven. Aptly named “Newfound Adventure”, this patch aims to deal with the consequences of the events ofEndwalker on the world of Hydaelyn, but also to transform the gaming experience in depth.
And it’s a real little revolution that is coming. Over the past few months, Naoki Yoshida (the director and producer since A Realm Reborn) and its teams have made many changes to gradually allow players to discover the game alone. With this update, it’s all main story content brought by A Realm Reborn which is now playable that way.
This possibility, which absolutely does not prevent you from continuing to play “normally”, opens the door to a whole bunch of new players wishing to discover all the qualities of Final Fantasy XIV without going through the MMO box. Especially since Square Enix has everything planned: since last February, the free trial version of Final Fantasy XIV is back. All the conditions are therefore met to allow you to go on an adventure in Eorzea.
Final Fantasy XIV: All you need to know about solo play
Hailed many times for his writing, and the construction of his universe, Final Fantasy XIV is for many one of the best massively multiplayer online games around. Some would even say, one of the best JRPGs. It must be said that since 2013, Square Enix’s MMO has had the time to deploy a story of rare richness, populated by endearing characters and events narrated with mastery. A story developed over almost a decade, and whose first act ended at the end of last year with Endwalker, the latest expansion to date. Only “problem”, to discover all the ins and outs of the lore of Final Fantasy XIVit is imperative to go through the multiplayer box.
Because beyond the classic quests, which it is quite possible to carry out on your own, there are many contents such as Dungeons, Challenges or Raids, which require you to go on an adventure with allies due to of their difficulty. And each of them, in their own way, brings a piece to the puzzle that is the narration of FF XIV. What frustrate some of the players eager to discover this adventure, but refractory to the multiplayer component of the game.
Well, that was before. Because the 6.1 update, freshly implemented, now allows players, if they wish, to discover part of the main story alone. Since April 12, all the content of A Realm Reborn is now accessible in this way, which easily represents around thirty hours, at the very least. A work that will continue over the next updates, until the content of the other extensions Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker is also playable entirely alone.
In order to make what remains an MMO accessible to solo players, Naoki Yoshida and his collaborators have thoroughly reworked the different instances of A Realm Reborn in order to make them more accessible, more current, and in line with the gameplay philosophy developed for the game over the past few years. To compensate for the absence of other players, a brand new system of companions has been put in place for the occasion.
After selecting the instance (Dungeon, Challenge, Raid), three NPCs with complementary classes are assigned to players to enable them to overcome the challenges offered to them. A system as simple as it is effective, which now allows Final Fantasy XIV to be enjoyed like a classic Final Fantasy. A godsend for all those who wish to immerse themselves in this extremely dense universe at their own pace.
The Return of the Free Trial is Great News for New Players
If you ever wanted to find out Final Fantasy XIV without ever daring to take the plunge, the time may have come. Why ? Well, quite simply because the free trial version of the MMO is available again. After a few months of shutdown, due to the massive influx of players caused by the release ofEndwalkerit was last February that Square Enix announced its big comeback.
A perfect timing for players wishing to embark on the adventure alone since this free trial version allows you to discover the first hours of the game. Finally, the first hundreds of hours of play to be more exact. Because Square Enix does not do things by halves with its “demo” of Final Fantasy XIV. By downloading it, you will be able to:
- Discover all the content of A Realm Rebornthe base game and Heavenswardthe first expansion;
- create a character (choice of race, appearance, job, etc.) and advance it to level 60;
- test the different classes of the game with a single character;
- play without time limit to give you time to discover, at your own pace, all the possibilities offered by the game.
Patch 6.1: discover the new features brought by the Newfound Adventure update
The passage of the main missions of A Realm Reborn solo is unquestionably one of the biggest changes in patch 6.1. But this is not the only novelty brought by this update. Newfound Adventureit is also a host of content and balances brought to Square Enix’s MMO, which should delight the most assiduous players.
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What to do after saving the world? Well, go on an adventure of course! And that’s exactly what the quests of Newfound adventure. The Warrior of Light returns to service, and returns to the roads to investigate a whole new mystery thanks to a series of clues given by an old acquaintance. New instances are also in the game, to satisfy players who lack a challenge:
- The Final Response (Extreme Challenge);
- The Scourge of Ultima (Unreal Challenge);
- The Eorzean Myth (Part 1): Divine Domain – Aglae (Raid);
- The Dragonsong War (Fatal Raid).
Jumbled up, you can also find a new player versus player mode (Crystalline Conflict), the opening of the residential district of Empyrean in the region of Ishgard and numerous balances for the different classes offered by the game. All these new features are available since April 12.