Dawntrail Came Back Swinging With Final Fantasy XIV’s Patch 7.1

It was only last week that I wrote about how much pressure was on Final Fantasy 14’s Patch 7.1 to deliver. With the patch now live, it’s safe to say it succeeded. The added Main Scenario Quests build upon the new story arc superbly, while the new duties offer new challenges for us to sink our teeth into.

I’ve always said the narrative is one of the most important aspects of FF14, and the new batch of MSQ gave us plenty to chew on. Without spoiling anything, it provided some much-needed insight and answers into remaining Dawntrail plot threads, while also opening up a new and particularly exciting can of worms right at the end, leaving us desperate to learn more.

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Fall Guys Did Not Prepare Me Enough For The New Dungeon

While the patch as a whole saw the return of the Dawntrail arc come back swinging, it was the new MSQ dungeon, Yuweyawata Field Station, that was the real gut punch. Not because it was emotional, but bloody difficult.

While the first boss was manageable, the second was much tougher. All the Fall Guys events in the world did not prepare me for the misdirection hit and I was terrible at it. We managed to scrape through and get to the third and final boss, and that was where the real trouble began. That damn rabbit was a nuisance.

We were wiping so much that I lost count, and it got to the point where myself and the healer, as the ones who were eating dirt the most, offered to leave so that the remaining party members could get others in to finish the dungeon without us holding them back. The mechanics were hard, but the amount of damage we were taking had us questioning whether we needed better gear.

Fortunately for us, the other two party members encouraged us to stay and were more than willing to keep wiping as long as it meant we eventually succeeded together. Funnily enough, it only took a couple more attempts to seal the deal after that conversation, so I’m glad they convinced us not to worry about staying.

A Promising Future For The Dawntrail Arc

While the community has mixed reactions about Dawntrail’s narrative, I think we can all agree that the latest expansion raised the bar in terms of duties and mechanics, and Patch 7.1 has continued this new pattern, much to the delight of players. While it might seem strange to enjoy dying over and over—don’t get me wrong, it can get frustrating—a fresh new challenge to overcome is exciting. It’s these more trying experiences that you overcome together that create the best memories.

While I have yet to get stuck in properly myself as I prioritised the MSQ instead, the player response to the new Echoes of Vana’diel raid has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve seen snippets and screenshots, and there are so many throwbacks to Final Fantasy 11 beyond the core setting and bosses, such as phantom NPCs that say things we used to say as players all the time. For example, the ghost saying “…Mea… 1k… Can I have?” is referencing the fact players used to shout in area chat asking for mages for Teleport-Mea and willing to spend 1k for it.

Though Dawntrail had a mixed reception at launch, Patch 7.1 feels like a promise of what’s to come. Now the story is in full swing and has hit its stride, the narrative can only go up from here, and the game continues to deliver on challenging duties that we’re all too eager to lap up. Patch 7.1 is showing what the best of this new arc can be, and I’m even more excited about it now than before.

Released

August 27, 2013

ESRB

T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC, PS4 & PS5

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