FINAL FANTASY XIV Online News

To stay "healthy", FFXIV devs are slowing the patch roadmap

Final Fantasy XIV's big climax arrived with Endwalker, but the devs behind the MMO are getting right back to the regular cadence of major updates and patches. Well, mostly. There are some important shifts to the formula coming in the few years leading up to the 7.0 expansion, including a slightly longer wait between updates

Previously, major FFXIV patches were scheduled to launch every three-and-a-half months, barring any major development difficulties forcing a delay. Starting with the 6.X patch series, updates will now be scheduled for release every four months, adding an extra two weeks of wait time between the big patches. The devs say that the two extra weeks are for "implementation" and "fine-tuning", and you can expect another week's time added during summer and New Year's holidays, too.

"Looking at our schedule and how we work, I do want my team to be healthy, and to be able to maintain a good level of quality because they're taking the necessary breaks," director and producer Naoki Yoshida says via translator in the latest live letter. "To be honest, there were areas where we might not have performed as well as we should have, because some of us may have been pushing too hard."

Read the rest of the story...

FFXIV's first graphical overhaul is coming in the next expansion

The latest Final Fantasy XIV Letter to the Producer stream happened earlier this weekend and brought with it a lot of info on some of the major things coming to the MMO game - including details on the "first graphical update" coming in the next expansion, alongside FFXIV 7.0.

The latest Letter to the Producer show for FFXIV kicked off this weekend, and it had already been announced that the stream would cover the next ten years of the MMO - as well as the updates that would build to the game's next expansion after Endwalker.

There was a lot of news in the stream but perhaps the biggest was the reveal that FFXIV's first graphics overhaul will arrive in version 7.0, with preparations for this running from 6.1 to 6.5 (thanks, Nova Crystallis). It will require an increase in the MMO's minimum requirements, but Square Enix will still "try to accommodate as broad a range of hardware specs as possible" - and don't expect it to suddenly look like Horizon Forbidden West or anything. With the number of people on screen, "I don't think it'd run on anybody's PC," says director Naoki Yoshida.

Read the rest of the story...

"No NFTs in FFXIV" confirms producer Naoki Yoshida

The producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV has stated that the team and Square Enix "do not have any intentions" to add NFTs to the popular online MMO. In the latest livestream, Naoki Yoshida stated that FFXIV NFTs would never be a thing. "No NFTs in FFXIV," he confirms - opposite to a recent statement by Square Enix's CEO.

Final Fantasy XIV's latest Letter to the Producer live broadcast went out this weekend and touched on a number of subjects, including the long-term future of the MMO. During the pre-broadcast segment (thanks, Fanbyte) the stream's titular producer Naoki Yoshida spoke - through Square Enix translator Aimi Tokutake - about the NFT controversy.

"We don't intend on incorporating any sort of NFT element in the game at this point," Yoshida confirms. "If anybody is worried or concerned about it, I can clearly state at this time that we do not have any intentions to incorporate that into the game." Then, just to be absolutely clear, he repeated, "no NFTs in FFXIV, so don't worry."

Read the rest of the story...

FFXIV live letter start time confirmed - watch it here

It's been a few months since the launch of Endwalker, which means we've almost - almost - had enough time to emotionally recover from the finale of the story arc Final Fantasy XIV has been telling from the start. So what's next? Well, that's exactly what the developers intend to reveal in the next live letter, which is coming up soon. Like, very soon.

Letter from the Producer Live Part LXVIII will broadcast on Friday, February 18 at 6pm PST / 9pm EST, or Saturday, February 19 at 2am GMT. The stream will be available on Twitch and YouTube, and will include live translation from Japanese to English. There are two items on the agenda here: a look at the "next ten years of FFXIV," and an Endwalker Q&A, which you can submit questions for over on the official forums.

The devs have already started teasing some new features for the upcoming patch series, including a new Deep Dungeon and more FFXIV housing changes for 6.1, but the full 6.1 reveal isn't expected to land until March.

Read the rest of the story...

Your FFXIV house is no longer safe

Final Fantasy XIV's server congestion issues have largely subsided following Endwalker's release, so Square Enix is bringing back automatic housing demolition. Basically, your FFXIV house is getting toppled over if you're away from the MMO for too long.

The developer explains in a blog post that the auto-demolition timer will work in one of two ways when it returns on March 9. If you've visited your humble abode over the suspension period, it'll be reset entirely on March 9. If you haven't, though, you'll have the same amount of time left on your timer as you did when Square Enix suspended it last December.

Housing is always in high demand for Final Fantasy XIV as there's rarely enough space for everyone. Even if you do get a plot of land, it's usually down to hours of sheer persistence, as this video from YouTuber Pint wonderfully captures. While we're getting another housing district in Ishgard during the post-Endwalker content cycle, though, Square Enix decided to remove the auto-demolition timer on current houses when servers got so congested that many struggled to play the game for a good week or two.

Read the rest of the story...