Games Happy

I suppose this was inevitable when it was confirmed that Remaining Fantasy XIV: Endwalker’s story would correctly conclude with the growth’s launch content material, moderately than in patch 6.3; but, the MMO’s most up-to-date patch could be the growth’s first notable stumble. This isn’t to say it’s a foul launch, however in comparison with the updates that got here earlier than, 6.3 – and 6.31 – it stands proud like a little bit of a sore thumb.

Whereas I claimed that each patches 6.1and 6.2 have been a few of the strongest patches launched for the now 10-year-old MMORPG, regardless of all the content material added with the most recent replace, the identical merely can’t be mentioned for it. Sure, gamers get entry to new story content material, together with a brand new dungeon and a brand new trial – together with an Excessive variant of the identical trial. Gamers additionally acquired entry to the second battle within the Myths of the Realm Alliance Raid sequence. There’s even a brand new Treasure Dungeon too! All of that is nice, nevertheless it’s additionally the naked minimal expectation for an x.3 Remaining Fantasy XIV patch. What issues way more is what the patch additionally introduced alongside it; bugs, instability, together with points to a selected job’s usability that was not patched in time for six.31’s The Omega Protocol (Final) launch.

Instantly following the discharge of 6.3, gamers seen some odd quirks popping up within the recreation; a few of them, like Warrior’s with the ability to heal hundreds of thousands of HP with Shake it Off below sure circumstances, had been humorous, however in the end didn’t impression usability. Nevertheless, earlier than lengthy the North American Primal Datacenter crashed, and general stability elsewhere wasn’t significantly better; throughout a reclear get together I used to be in with plenty of associates, half the raid had extreme connection points throughout the very first pull of the occasion, at across the identical time that Primal had buckled below its weight.

Ninja, a very fashionable Melee DPS class had a bug that impacted the usability of its Mudra talent; an important a part of its rotation. Whilst you can at the moment work round it, it’s instantly noticeable for anybody who has put even an insignificant period of time into the category, and instantly interferes with the muscle reminiscence that devoted gamers might need ingrained themselves with for the job. Whereas different class-based bugs had been mounted with 6.31, the Mudra delay that 6.3 mistakenly added to the sport was not, which implies that anybody severely trying the identical patch’s new Final Raid – the top of raiding issue, and which for a portion of the playerbase is the principle purpose that they’d stay subbed for this patch cycle – they are going to be doing so with a handicap.

To not point out, on the identical time gamers have turn out to be more and more conscious of the constraints of the sport’s buff restrict. In the course of the World First race for The Omega Protocol, quite a few teams switched off Jobs with heavy raid buff presence to people who comparatively provide little or no, as gamers had been discovering that alongside the necessary debuffs used for mechanics throughout later phases, you might in a short time hit the buff cap – negating the usefulness of lots of the recreation’s jobs within the first place.

Different bugs have permeated all through the sport for the reason that patch, as properly. Some points have already been mounted; others haven’t. Even points of the patch that aren’t definitively bugs really feel like they may have arrived within the recreation somewhat half-baked. Adventurer Plates, a characteristic that I gave nice reward to in my article on patch 6.1, have formally come out of Beta – and together with it, the beforehand PvP-exclusive implementation of Prompt Portraits have been added to different instanced duties within the recreation. Whereas on paper that’s an ideal change, the issue is that it has shone a light-weight on how the present implementation is bafflingly cumbersome to cope with.

Prompt Portraits are tied to whichever Job you at the moment have geared up, which implies that as a substitute of simply showcasing no matter portrait is out there in your Adventurer Plate, anybody that performs a number of jobs must spend the time to create portraits for each considered one of them in the event that they don’t need to be caught with the blank-eyed stare that the default portrait constitutes. Worse nonetheless, altering any gear connected to your character – even when the identical glamour is utilized to the gear in query, and as such your outward look has not modified, will break the Prompt Portrait, forcing you to return into the settings to repair it manually.

Features of Patch 6.3 are as implausible because the updates that Endwalker acquired earlier than, and it shouldn’t be ignored that options just like the PvP revamp, Island Sanctuary, and even the above-mentioned Adventurer Plates proceed to obtain substantial tweaks and additions. Equally, very similar to with patch 6.25, there may be nonetheless loads of content material that the 6.3x sequence has left to point out us. The brand new Deep Dungeon, the ultimate Tribal Quest sequence, updates to the Manderville Relic Weapons (and, after all, the beloved Hildibrand sidequest line), and naturally the lately launched The Omega Protocol Final Raid; which I’m personally excited for essentially the most, and hope to get a transparent for earlier than the subsequent main patch in 6.4.

Which is to say; Endwalker’s post-launch help continues to be one of the best that Remaining Fantasy XIV has ever had, to the purpose that what would’ve maybe been an particularly noteworthy patch in Shadowbringers is maybe somewhat too straightforward to deride as a weak patch this time round. In the long term, it doesn’t actually matter; assuming these bugs may be mounted, and 6.4 can launch with out as a lot of a hitch, no matter concern gamers have had with 6.3 can be straightforward to overlook. Contemplating how properly Endwalker has been going since launch, I really feel fairly assured in precisely that taking place.