Final Fantasy 14’s 6.5 patch arrives next week with a new dungeon, trial, alliance raid and more
New Main Scenario quests to arrive in two parts ahead of next year’s Dawntrail
Final Fantasy 14’s next patch 6.5, Growing Light, has a release date, details and a dramatic new trailer as it plans to set everything in motion ahead of next summer’s Dawntrail expansion.
Growing Light was first teased during the Letter from the Producer Live event at Fan Fest Las Vegas in July, confirming that Growing Light will be split across two major updates. The first will land in FF14’s patch 6.5 on October 3rd, ahead of the second part in patch 6.55 next January.
As detailed during producer Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida’s latest stream, patch 6.5 will add a host of new content to XIV, the headline additions being the next set of Main Scenario quests - referred to as Part 1 - that will lead up to Dawntrail and continue to advance the MMO in its post-Hydaelyn-Zodiark story arc following the finale of 2021 expansion Endwalker.
There’ll also be a new dungeon to explore in the Moon-set Lunar Subterrane, along with a new trail facing off against Zeromus in The Abyssal Fracture - continuing the sprinkling in of Final Fantasy 4 characters and places throughout Endwalker and its subsequent patches.
Meanwhile, those after a tougher challenge can rechallenge Thordan and his knights in the Unreal difficulty version of Heavensward trial Fight in the Singularity Reactor. God, it’s a good fight.
A new alliance raid will explore Thaleia in the third and final part of Endwalker’s level-90 series Myths of the Realm, after Aglaia and Euphrosyne introduced in patches 6.1 and 6.3 respectively.
As well as the new trials and dungeons, duty support will be expanded to include the Drowned City of Skalla, the Burn and the Ghimlyt Dark, allowing every main scenario dungeon from A Realm Reborn’s base game up to Endwalker to be played solo with AI companions.
Elsewhere, there’ll be tweaks to various jobs, the start of FF14’s Series 5 of PvP modes - including updates to Crystalline Conflict’s minimap and UI - and a bunch of new stuff for those digging into the game’s crafting area of the Island Sanctuary, such as new ranks, materials, items to craft, crops, animals and a gathering area.
Beyond patch 6.5, patch 6.51 will bring new variant dungeon Aloalo Island and criterion dungeon Another Aloalo Island, a new arena for Crystalline Conflict in The Red Sands and Splendorous Tools tool enhancement quests in late October.
Then, in mid-January, patch 6.55 will continue the Main Scenario in Part 2 of Growing Light’s questline, along with new side quests in Tataru's Grand Endeavor and Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures. That’ll also bring new weapon enhancement quests for Manderville Weapons, plus further alliance quests for Endwalker’s tribes.
If you’re yet to get on board with Final Fantasy XIV, its heavily memed free trial will now offer the critically acclaimed MMORPG and both the award-winning Heavensward and Stormblood expansions as of patch 6.5, meaning you can play up to level 70 for free.