FFXIV: Live Letter 86 shows off in-game footage, details of Large Scale content, and a surprise update to mount mechanics

Final Fantasy XIV players are always excited before a patch that brings new content, but major patches such as 7.2 always bring a huge amount of new features that really rile up the playerbase. 

Live Letters from the Producer are a glimpse of whats to come in each major patch, and Live Letter 86 has brought a deeper dive into new mechanics, features, and items that will be available once patch 7.2 - Seekers of Eternity releases on March 25, along with a lot of gameplay demos from Naoki Yoshida himself. 

Not everything discussed within the Live Letter was a new reveal, with a lot of the basics having been disclosed as part of Live Letter 85 on February 7. However, there are still a lot of new details to go over. 

As always, with the Live Letter being broadcast exclusively in Japanese, translations were needed. All translations used in this article come from Miuna and Iluna over on the FFXIV Discord Server.

No more stopping to mount

One of the biggest announcements, although it was slipped in as though it wasn’t a huge development, was a change to the mount system. For the last decade, players have had to stop what they’re doing and wait for the mount cast to play out before moving again. As of patch 7.2, this will be a thing of the past and players will be able to call out their mount without stopping. 

This is a small but not insignificant change, and will be especially useful in duties such as the newly revamped Borderland Ruins (Secure) Frontlines map. 

A sneak peak of The Arcadion: Bruiserweight Tier

The Arcadion: Bruiserweight Tier will be releasing on March 25, the biggest draw of the main 7.2 patch alongside MSQ content. The Savage equivalents will be releasing exactly one week later on April 1 (happy April Fools!), and Yoshida encouraged people to use that week to purchase or craft the new highest iLvl gear in preparation.

In the in-game demo shown by Yoshida, we were introduced to the first enemy we’ll face as part of the Cruiserweight Tier — Dancing Green. His arena is covered in differently colored tiles, and Yoshida mentioned DDR during his description of the duty, so there’s definitely going to be some placement-based mechanics at play during this fight. 

During the brief glimpse of the fight itself, the mechanics seemed to work in time with the jaunty background disco music, and although we weren’t shown many of the mechanics, a lot of position changes seem to be likely. 

We were also shown the gear obtained from completing both Normal and Savage tier Arcadion raids. It all looks a little Mad Max, and I’m here for it. All of the different gear can be seen in the images above, but you’ll need to excuse Toshi’s handheld camera work. 

Aim for the stars with Cosmic Exploration

Yoshida provided a lot of in-game footage for those looking forward to the new Crafting and Gathering content, Cosmic Exploration, which will be coming with patch 7.21 on April 22. While showing off the setting of the Moon, we learned a lot about how this Firmament-esque side-content will work, including how it’s unlocked. 

After completing the MSQ quest “Endwalker”, players will be able to access Cosmic Exploration with any Crafting or Gathering Job at level 10 or above. While in the instance, players will need to complete a range of mission types to earn both Cosmo Credits and Lunar Credits, which can then be exchanged for rewards or to unlock new features. 

Cosmo Missions will be for solo players, working much like Guild Leves, and completed by collecting specific resources from around the star. Completing these will earn players Cosmo Credits, which can then be exchanged for exclusive items. 

Perhaps more exciting are the Critical Missions and Mecha Ops. Critical Missions will need participation from all players within an instance, working together to complete certain objectives within the allotted time. Mecha Ops, on the other hand, work in a way that is remarkably similar to Duels within The Bozjan Southern Front and Zadnor. 

Using your Lunar Credits, all players will be able to purchase a ticket to pilot a Mecha, and up to five pilots will be randomly selected from those who put their name into the proverbial hat. Mechas will work together with ground support to gather resources or remove obstacles. There is no limit to the number of players within an instance who can join as ground support, and anyone who puts their name down but doesn’t get picked as a pilot will have their Lunar Credits restored. 

With any Lunar Credits you don’t use to become a Mecha pilot, you can enter Cosmic Fortune, a roulette-style mini-game in which players stand a chance to get their hands on exclusive rewards such as glams, mounts, minions, or a new Metallic Cobalt Green Dye. 

If you’re big into your Crafting and Gathering, and plan to spend a lot of time working on Cosmic Exploration, you may stand a chance of getting world-wide (in-game) acclaim. There is a ranked system that, every two days, will reward the player with the highest contribution the title of “Star Contributor”. Getting this title will reward the following for 14 days:

• A hologram of their character at the bases
• Their name on the bulletin board at the bases
• A visual effect for their character while present in Cosmic Exploration instances

A deep dive into Occult Crescent

Perhaps the most exciting upcoming side content for many players is the new iteration of Large-Scale Battle Content, Occult Crescent, coming with patch 7.25 on May 27. From in-game footage shown off by Yoshida, it appears that Occult Crescent will work nearly identically to The Bozjan Southern Front and Zadnor, albeit with a few quality of life updates and tweaks to certain systems. 

Up to 72 players will be able to join an instance of Occult Crescent at a given time, taking on mobs and bosses to earn EXP and increase their Knowledge Level. The higher your Knowledge Level, the stronger you’ll be, which is pretty basic stuff. However, those in parties will be able to sync their Knowledge Levels, making the entire party eligible to receive EXP chains when defeating similar monsters. 

We were also shown some more details about Phantom Jobs, and learned that the first three Phantom Jobs will be unlocked by completing the first Occult Crescent quests, while others will be unlocked through exploration and progression. There will also be Field Notes to collect, likely through completing CEs and other battles. 

CEs, or Critical Engagements, mostly work the same way they do in Boz or Zadnor, with one minor change. Rather than registering for the CE through the instance menu, players will now have to physically go to the location of the CE and stand on the pulsing circle at the location. Anybody standing on that circle with the CE begins will be dragged into the encounter, so try to avoid AFKing anywhere near a known CE location!

Forked Tower is a 48-player dungeon that can be accessed through playing in Occult Crescent. To enter Forked Tower, players will need to acquire ciphers. When 16 or more players use these ciphers at the designated location, a node will activate, transporting them to the Forked Tower. If more than 48 players are standing on the node, players will be randomly selected from those present on the node. 

While inside Forked Towers, raising restrictions will be in place. This is a familiar mechanic from previous Large Scale Battle Content Dungeons, but can be bypassed by certain Phantom Jobs. 

One addition to Occult Crescent that comes directly from Eureka is treasure chests that can be found in the wild. The items inside are kept by the person who opens them, so get ready to battle the bots who are after the spoils with none of the effort of actually playing. I know that sounds salty, but if you’ve ever played in Eureka, you’ll know what I mean!

Two types of currency will be earned in Occult Crescent: Enlightenment Silver and Enlightenment Gold Pieces. Silvers will be rewarded for completing FATEs and Critical Encounters, while Golds will be rewarded for defeating certain monsters. No details were given about rewards you can obtain with these currencies. 

Not many details were given about the latest round of relic weapons, Phantom Weapons, but Yoshida did detail that the first step will be a drop when you clear “some sort of content”. Admittedly, that’s a little vague, but it’s understood that the new relics will be fully obtainable by completing objectives within Occult Crescent. For those who don't want to focus exclusively on the Large-Scale Battle Content, there will be an alternative way to gain Phantom Weapons too.

Some images were shared of gear items that will likely be obtained through Occult Crescent, with the individual items likely obtained using Silver and Gold Pieces. These gear pieces do seem familiar, with many appearing to be re-makes of previously obtainable items with some tweaks, and the outfits vary wildly in their themes. However, they’re still worth getting as they will boost stats if equipped while playing within Occult Crescent. 

Although Occult Crescent will only be accessible by players on a Job at level 100, and therefore is not something that can be used to level alternative Jobs, Yoshida did let slip that a new Deep Dungeon will be coming during patch 7.3, although no further details were given about that. 

We were also given an update schedule for Occult Crescent. The content itself will release with 7.25, and new Phantom Jobs will be added in 7.4x, and further new Phantom Jobs and a whole new area will be coming in patch 7.5x. That’s a lot to look forward to over the next few updates, and will definitely be appreciated by the more casual side of the playerbase. 

Bordeland Ruins (Secure) gets a much needed update

For those who are familiar with the previous iteration of the much-loved PvP map, Borderland Ruins (Secure) will seem much the same, particularly the basic premise. You’ll still need to battle it out for occupation of nine key locations, and you’ll still need to head to the middle platform to take on Allagan Weaponry. 

However, a new addition to the map is the location buff “Sheer Will”. This will boost damage for all players while within the confines of a key location, regardless of which team occupies the location itself. This will likely change how the map is played, with players being unable to camp out at owned locations or on the middle platform as they previously have. 

Another new addition is Teleporters, three of which will be located around the outside of the map. When you step onto these platforms, you will immediately be flung towards the central platform. Thankfully, this does put an end to the chat spam of “MID, MID, MID!”, so Borderland Ruins (Secure) might be a little calmer than you remember it. 

Final Fantasy IX inspired Tomestone gear incoming

With the underlying themes and inspiration drawn from Final Fantasy IX in the story of Dawntrail, it should come as no surprise that the new Tomestone gear takes heavy inspiration from the outfits of the previous FF title. These will likely be purchased with the new Tomestones of Mathematics, so you’ll need to grind out high-level content to get your hands on these epic outfits. 

If you've ever wanted to kit yourself out as a Viper and cosplay as Zidane, now is the time. Although we've previously had a similar outfit in the Tantalus Attire Veteran Reward, this Tomestone version is much less flouncy and preferable to the older version.

New mounts and minions coming in patch 7.2

Although none of the names were given of the mounts and minions, never mind how we’re supposed to obtain them, Yoshida did show off some of the mounts and minions coming to FFXIV within patch 7.2. 

The minions vary in their level of cuteness and/or weirdness, with the Beagle definitely coming out on top in the “things I’m immediately going to grind for” ranks. There is a strange mix of themes going on with the new additions, but everyone has different tastes so there’s something for everyone in this mix. 

As for mounts, Yoshida started with a version of the bizarre demon box from Occult Crescent, with the legs of the rider sticking out the bottom and the arms flapping out of the side when you’re in flight. Admittedly it’s very funny, but I don’t even want to hazard a guess as to where this thing comes from. There’s also a Tesla-esque glowing car that we’ve previously seen as decor in Solution 9, and a Mecha that I can almost guarantee comes from Cosmic Exploration. 

And, of course, the latest addition to the collection of Extreme Trial wing mounts. These red and white wings transform to give the user a cloak and sword when in flight, and are sure to become a favorite among players. 

Upcoming maintenance schedule

If you’re wondering exactly when to expect each of the additions detailed above, then I’m happy to report that we have an update schedule for the main parts of the 7.2 patch:

• March 25: 7.2 releases
  • The Arcadion: Cruiserweight Tier
  • New MSQ quests
• April 1: The Arcadion: Cruiserweight Tier (Savage) releases
• April 22: Patch 7.21 releases
  • Cosmic Exploration
• May 27: Patch 7.25 releases
  • Occult Crescent
  • Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures
  • Mamool Ja Allied Society Quests

That’s it from Live Letter 86, and everything we know so far about the new content coming in patch 7.2. Now all that’s left to do is count down the days until March 25, and then we can all dive straight in!

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