Final Fantasy XIV producer Yoshi-P has been discussing the story of FFXIV 6.2 and the new non-linear Variant Dungeons in an interview with Famitsu. Ahead of Live Letter 72 on August 12, Yoshida also reveals some details about what players of the critically acclaimed MMORPG can expect for the rest of the 6.x patch cycle that goes beyond Buried Memory, as well as discussing the new wild raid level delay. and how that affects the release of manufactured equipment.

In the interview with Famitsu (Japanese page), game lead Naoki Yoshida talks at length about the FFXIV 6.2 MSQ patch, the Abyssos raid series, upcoming class rework plans, and how the team has adopted feedback from the players for the visual design of the future. contents. First and foremost is the pacing of the entire 6.x expansion arc, which Yoshida says will take longer than usual to transition to the events of the next expansion.

“It’s a little different this time,” he says (via aitaikimochi) the usual pace, which typically sees the events of the current expansion coming to an end in patch x.3, leaving x.4 and x.5 to set up future stories. “Currently, the story is focused on the ‘new adventure,’ but I think in patch 6.5 you’ll see a glimpse of the next expansion’s story.” Yoshida notes that the team is “developing 7.0 at the same time, and it’s been quite challenging.”

Addressing the title 6.2 ‘Buried Memory’ (also called ‘A Forbidden Memory’ in Japanese), Yoshida discusses the setting of the Thirteenth Fragment, the Void, and says that the title could refer to “memories and feelings of those of the Thirteenth who turned into monsters, who were once human.” However, he notes that it also relates to the Pandaemonium: Abyssos raid series and the idea of ​​”wanting to seal something, wanting to forget something”. also mocks that “a character that everyone should know will also make an appearance” in the 6.2 raid.

Yoshida says that the second level of Abyssos will be more difficult than the first, as players are now more familiar with his level 90 skill set and rotations. While he had only tried normal difficulty at the time of the interview, he believes which is relatively challenging. He also addresses concerns about the visual design of fights in FFXIV, including P3 (Phoinix), saying the team has been paying close attention to visuals and design visibility.

When asked about the appearance of Golbez and the Four Fiends from Final Fantasy IV in patch 6.1, Yoshida say what “some of them might even approach Adventurers directly” over the course of 6.x, and suggests that all four will appear in order from weakest to strongest (suggesting we’ll likely see Scarmiglione first, though Yoshida declines to give details.) any specific confirmation on that).

FFXIV 6.2’s wild test will release a week later than normal for the first time in FFXIV history, but Yoshida notes that the tomes won’t be delayed as the team’s goal was “not to change anything except the wild release date.” “. He acknowledges that this means Wild will likely be a bit easier for organized groups due to higher ilvl, but that the team didn’t want to rebalance things to account for this in this first test of the new schedule.

Also addressed are the upcoming reworks of Astrologian and Dragoon, now expected to arrive alongside the release of expansion 7.0. Yoshida says that the changes shouldn’t be compared to Summoner, instead pointing to Ninja’s changes during Shadowbringers that acted as a major overhaul but kept the similar gameplay feel.

Yoshida hopes to fuse some actions for Dragoon to reduce the number needed, but not drastically change what Dragoon intends to do. For Astrologian, he comments that they plan to make changes to the cards, but admits there are arguments for and against their random elements.

Speaking about the upcoming Variant and Criterion Dungeons, Yoshida notes that the team wanted something a little different from the traditional FFXIV dungeons, which are designed to be linear for clarity and consistency. However, in this new type of dungeon, players can discover hidden paths with different encounters and alter boss mechanics by flipping certain “switches”, although Yoshida stresses that this may not always be a good idea.

Not many new details were given about FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary, which looks like it could be coming sooner than expected with the 6.2 release date. Yoshida confirms that players can queue for Duty Finder while working on their island and that while the core feature is mostly disconnected from the rest of the game’s systems, players may discover some items that connect to the outside world when exploring. for the max.

Finally, Yoshida points out that some new UI features will arrive with 6.2, though he doesn’t elaborate on that. He also refers to Endwalker’s relic weapons, saying that the team decided to go back to the simpler relic weapon model of ARR and Heavensward, as they were too busy with the rest of the expansion’s content. Yoshida hopes that people will enjoy seeing “what happens when Godbert and Gerolt are side by side.”

While we wait for patch 6.2 to arrive, the FFXIV Moonfire Faire 2022 event is live, challenging players with one of the toughest platforming challenges to date. The FFXIV Moogle Treasure Trove 2022 event is also ongoing and includes some hard-to-get rewards. Elsewhere in the community, some FFXIV fans have paid homage to one of the internet’s most famous meme videos with a Final Fantasy XIV twist.

Thanks to aitaikimochi and MKillerby1 for interview translations. Image credit: Famitsu.