FF14 Live Letter 87 addresses player concerns, shows new content for patch 7.3

Final Fantasy 14's Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida and Toshio 'Foxclon' Murouchi kicked off Live Letter 87 a bit differently than usual to showcase FF14 patch 7.3. The stream gave both responses to player concerns, and the info we've come to expect in terms of new quests, dungeons, trials, side content, and more that is coming in patch 7.3. There were some surprises in this Live Letter that players might not have been expecting, but since it's only the first such livestream for patch 7.3, the info was much more general than it will be for Live Letter 88, which will premiere about two weeks before patch 7.3, which is currently scheduled for early August.

First, the FF14 developers addressed player questions regarding Occult Crescent, the newest content that was introduced in patch 7.25. Players have been concerned about the method of getting into Forked Tower, the 48-player content that results from a group effort in the newest zone for one of our best MMORPGs. Yoshi-P acknowledged that the community was calling it "Island Gacha," meaning it was up to chance that you'd find an instance where they could queue into Forked Tower.

Patch 7.3 will address this by allowing a premade alliance of 48 players to queue into the same instance at once, making coordinated efforts to get into Forked Tower easier. They're also working on the UI regarding Cyphers, which is the item required to initiate Forked Tower. Rewards for Occult Crescent were briefly mentioned, and the team are looking into that as well.

One of the biggest complaints from Occult Crescent was how fast FATEs were completed. Players would have to rush to each FATE right away to have a chance at completing it, and this was immediately noticed as one of the biggest pains. Yoshi-P noted that it was difficult to tweak this for when the instance is nearly empty, but is looking into making adjustments.

To those feeling slighted by the RNG of soul shards and demiatma, keep praying to those gods because Yoshi-P and the team aren't touching the drop rates. Furthermore, he noted that the drop rates are 20 percent for Critical Engagements and five percent for FATEs.

Next comes the feedback from 7.2's Cosmic Exploration. First and foremost, players have asked about using mounts. Yoshi-P confirmed that in 7.31, you will be able to mount up right from the start.

Mission time adjustments will be made, mission report windows will now open automatically, players will now get the GP they used back after gatherer missions, and cast times for cordials will also reset after gatherer missions. Some smaller adjustments, such as sequential missions' visibility, follow-ups for failed projects, and more rewards for completing content after the relic weapons are completed, are also being addressed in patch 7.3.

After a short break, the team released the name of patch 7.3: The Promise of Tomorrow. The artwork shows notable Dawntrail characters such as Erenville, Wuk Lamat, and more. Although no solid date was revealed, the patch will release in early August. Based on the usual schedule, we'd anticipate it launching Tuesday August 5, but we'll have to wait for the next Live Letter for confirmation.

The usual content players have come to expect were shown, such as new Main Scenario Quests, additional side quests, new mounts and minions, and more.

New Allied Society Quests are also on the way, and this time players will get to know the Yok Huy better. Following on from the introduction of the Mamool Ja gathering missions in 7.25, the Yok Huy will offer crafter quests.

Those who love the Hildibrand Adventures will be happy to hear that the questline is getting another addition for patch 7.3. Unfortunately there are no other side quests being added. Yoshi-P noted that other content has quests too, but none that are story heavy.

Some screenshots were shown of the new dungeon The Meso Terminal, which has a variety of differently themed areas, from a high-tech, fenced-off area, what appears to be a hallway full of hospital beds, and a broken down building. There will also be a new trial that doesn't have a name yet, and players won't know anything more about it until 7.3 drops.

The second iteration of the Alliance Raid series is coming with 7.3, called San d'Oria: The Second Walk. Just like last time, this will have an abundance of Final Fantasy 11 references, art, and characters. The images from the new raid were breathtaking, showing off an icy area reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis.

The new Unreal trial will be The Wreath of Snakes, which first appeared in Stormblood back in patch 4.5. The boss will be a level 100 Seiryu, providing a new challenge to those who love the Stormblood Trials, or the rewards from retellings!

A new treasure dungeon is coming in patch 7.3, and as per usual, the arena for it is stunning. Featuring a tech-heavy setting, players will fight their way through Vault Oneiron for rewards. Yoshi-P showed off one of the new bosses, which looks like a high-tech golden Mandragora. "Maybe it raps, maybe it's a DJ, we don't know," said Yoshi-P.

Then, Yoshi-P and Foxclon move on to some of the smaller content updates players have come to expect from patch updates. There will be a new duty support, a PvP update including PvP Series 9, action adjustments, fresh Crystalline Conflict tiers, and another Crystalline Conflict arena: The Bayside Battleground.

A new map being added is a surprise and very exciting, but even better than that for PvP enjoyers is the ability to duo queue in causal Crystalline Conflict in patch 7.3. Currently, you cannot be in a party while you queue for the content. This is great news for the players who gave the feedback that they were "scared of going alone."

Cosmic Exploration will be expanded upon in 7.3, meaning players will have another tier of the Dawntrail Relic Weapon to grind in August. The Moongate Hub is almost complete, and we'll be traveling to a brand new planet to start the process all over again.

The new area is called Star of Glass - Phaenna. Many viewers in the stream commented that the area reminded them of Star Wars or Star Trek. There will be new rewards, another tier of Cosmic Tools, and a new planet to explore.

Along with Cosmic Exploration, 7.3 will see the next iteration of Phantom Weapons in Occult Crescent. Not many details were given about the next step for this mode, and we're expecting a smaller update for this patch, so be sure to tune into part two of 7.3's Live Letter series to find out more.

A new Deep Dungeon will be added called Pilgrim's Traverse. The area looks reminiscent of Shadowbringers, reflecting the scenery and mobs from the beloved expansion. This dungeon also won't be 'deep' at all, since this time Yoshi-P described its traversal as 'sliding.' "It's deep to the sides," Yoshi-P joked. There also seems to be an outside area, which has colorful trees, mountain peaks, and lush flower beds from Il Mheg.

In order to access the new Deep Dungeon, players must have completed Endwalker and progressed to floor 50 of Palace of the Dead. Only players 91 or higher can enter, and you can speak with an NPC in Il Mheg to start their sliding adventure. A harder version of the Deep Dungeon level 99 boss will be available after you complete the normal version, and can be attempted with a level 100 party of four.

Unfortunately for those that love super-hard content, Yoshi-P apologizes as he confirms that there will be no Ultimate in patch 7.3. The good news is that there will be another Ultimate in the Dawntrail patch content, but it won't be for 7.3. This is disappointing but not necessarily surprising considering Ultimates are the hardest fights in the game and are thus tough to balance.

System updates were next, which can always contain some of the most exciting, smaller features that are highly wished for by the community. And boy, did they start with a highly requested one!

Chat bubbles are finally coming to FF14. These are coming in patch 7.3 but are under active development. They will be off by default and can be turned on optionally. The text will also appear in the chat log as normal, and can be set to on or off according to chat mode. This is a request players have been asking for for years, so there will likely be no shortage of excitement for this small detail.

A litany of options will be available for these chat bubbles, including the color, how many lines are displayed, when it is enabled or disabled, and more. The team are still discussing options for this feature, and said that they will continue to enhance it as player feedback comes in.

Another improvement that players will likely wait to reserve judgement on is expanded headgear for Hrothgar and Viera characters. Historically, most hats and headgear aren't able to be worn by these races due to their ears. Players are rightfully skeptical of how broad this implementation will be for head pieces. However, the developers noted that there will be further support for this added in later updates.

Furthermore, players can decide to hide Viera ears on certain headgear. Yoshi-P said that the ears could be seen as "hiding Viera ears by folding them," but also noted this might hurt their poor little ears. Whatever you choose, the setting will be saved and registered to the Gear Set you have equipped at the time.

Your characters will also no longer lose their hair when they pull up their hood! In patch 7.3, bangs will be displayed on hooded headgear, so you no longer have to walk around looking like you chopped all of your hair off just to put up a hood.

The previously touted raid-planning feature, called the Whiteboard, is coming in patch 7.4 or later. Although it's not releasing in the upcoming patch, Yoshi-P didn't want players to think they had forgotten about it. It's likely this will release with either the next Savage Raids or even the next Ultimate.

Housing was very briefly mentioned towards the end of the content updates. Yoshi-P had teased not only an increase in housing decoration slots inside of homes, but that the inside of them could be made whatever size you'd like. For example, you could pay to upgrade the inside of your small plot to the interior of a large. There wasn't any info given in this Live Letter, but more details will be revealed in the next one.

After the content updates, the stream concluded with several merchandise and event announcements, including the FF14 Summer Festival of Light in Japan, Anime Expo, replica ear cuffs of Alisaie and Alphinaud, new official merch, a surprise visit from Masayoshi Soken, and more. You might have been hoping for mention of a release date for FF14 mobile in more regions, but no such announcement was made.

If you're looking for something to keep you busy while we wait for the next update, consider sprucing up your FF14 Island Sanctuary with our handy guide. We've also picked out the best anime games, if you're curious to branch out further.

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