FFXIV: A Realm Reborn Live Letter Details 2.1 Update and the Game’s Future

Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and Community Manager Toshio Murouchi just completed their latest Live Letter for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and it was a doozy.

They kicked off the presentation by talking about the upcoming addition of the Beast Tribe Quests, a daily quest system. These quests will be limited to six per day, but reward players with tomestones, experience, and gil. There are three quest-givers, each associated with a different faction. By completing quests for them you’ll earn reputation that can provide rewards similar to those of Grand Companies (i.e. The Maelstrom). You can expect to earn furniture, dyes, and much more.

Interestingly, you won’t have to be level 50 to obtain the quests since  they open up at level 42. For now, they’re limited to two beastmen types, the Sylphs and Amalj’aa, but more are to come in future patches.

Treasure Hunting is a feature the development team is very proud of, and lets Botanists, Fishermen, and Miners obtain treasure maps. These maps will be vague in details, but if you can find the location they are hinting at you’ll be faced with a pack of enemies that, once defeated, reward you with treasure.

The Wolves’ Den PvP received several minutes of showtime during the Live Letter, but not much new information was shared. As previously stated by the development team, PvP play will differ from PvE. Not only will tuning such as attack distance for ranged classes affect gameplay, but many skills will be removed and added to achieve balance.

There will also be PvP-tailored gear that will significantly increase survivability, and thus effectiveness in PvP encounters. A new stat called Morale will increase your defense, and the other existing stats will be altered for balance.

As with other MMOs, you’ll earn PvP currency by playing in competitive 4 v 4 matches which can then be used to purchase gear and accessories. Unlike previously stated, you’ll be able to see the names of other players.

About halfway through the presentation Yoshida confirmed that the Barber Shop has made it into 2.1. You’ll be able to fine-tune your character’s hair-style and more even after character creation.

Surprisingly, The Crystal Tower will only contain four bosses including King Behemoth, Bone Dragon, Thanatos, and Acheron. Each will drop one loot chest per party. Since it’s a raid that requires three groups, that means 12 chests will be rewarded for completion.

Yoshida then showed the current state of the PS4 version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and it looks fantastic. Beta will arrive on February 22nd and will deliver 1080p graphics at 30 FPS. The beta is expected to be relatively short with a full version debut only weeks after.

Unlike the current versions of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the PS4 version has cool integration of the touch pad on the DualShock 4. It’ll work as a mouse, with quick swipes to move the cursor and clicks to select in-game objects or UI elements. You’ll be able to run the game in PC or console mode.

Lastly, Yoshida confirmed that the PS4 version will have a Collector’s Edition. It will likely contain similar items as the other Collector’s Editions. Square Enix would like to release a PS4 bundle that includes Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn at some point in the future.

Patch 2.1 will be released on December 17th. You can read the full patch notes here, see more about Beastmen Quests here, read about Treasure Hunting here, or preview PvP here.

Below is a gallery of everything 2.1 has to offer.