Final Fantasy XIV Details On New Explorations, Lord of Verminion, And Materia

Square Enix shared the latest details on Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming Patch 3.1 update, that will launch on November 10th. Here are some of its key features that we will get from the upcoming patch. We’ll have this post updated as the live stream goes on.

 

The above is a look at the latest trailer that showcases some of Patch 3.1’s main highlights.

 

• Knights of the Round EX will be added as a new Primal fight. It will be tougher than Ultima Weapon (Hard) was at the time, and Ravana EX. The other knights will actually a lot more in the Knights of the Round EX. No word on ilvl, but there will be "very good" weapons for loot.

 

 

• Patch 3.1 will launch on November 10, 2015.

 

 

 

• The new Relic weapons are called “Anima” weapons. They’ll be released in 3.15. Zeta weapon owners will get to skip its first step. This will be available sometime before the end of the year.

 

• There are Easy, Normal and Hard options for the Exploratory Missions. Hard mode is only accessible with your Free Company.

 

• If FC members already took off to explore, then other members can try joining by luck, but it’ll send them to a random island.

 

• There isn’t a way to actually "clear" Exploratory Missions, but a matter of how long you want to stay there. It ends after 90 mins. There will be a 30 min cooldown after you finish 90 minutes of exploration.

 

• There are Normal, Lootmaster, and All Greed loot rules for Exploratory Mission when you take off from the FC dock, but joining one that’s already in-progress from Ishgard will set it to All Greed.

 

• You’ll need an airship rank of 10 to do Easy mode. Normal won’t be much higher than that. Hard mode will require you to “discover” islands.

 

• You can fly in the Exploratory Missions, but similar to the other 3.0 areas, you’ll need to unlock it.

 

• There will be points that can be exchanged for things like mounts, special material, shards, Materia of your choice, and more.

 

• You will be able to change your class/job during Exploratory Missions.

 

• You can enjoy Exploratory Missions with early level 60 gear, and even as low as level 57 for starters.

 

  

• The house sharing feature can be done with up to three people.

 

• The new “Pegasus” and “Wyvern” mounts, along with some new minions and hairstyles that we’ll see in 3.1.

 

• The “group camera” feature will allow you to time emotes with the entire group, making it easier for taking timely screenshots.

 

• The “Idle Camera’ is optional and will kick in after you are idle for a set period of time. It causes the camera to cycle a cinematic HUD-less view on a number of points of interest depending on your area, acting as a screen saver of sorts.

 

Next is a look at some battle-related additions and adjustments:

 

 

 

 

Followed by other upcoming features:

 

 

New Gold Saucer updates:

 

 

• The Ifrit minion will be added in 3.1, with Titan and Garuda getting theirs sometime later.

 

• Gaelicat hat and Gaelikitten minion.

 

• The Minfilia outfit and hairstyle will be available later as a Mogstation item. It’ll only be available for female characters. There are also plans to release other NPC outfits and hairstyles.

 

• New bunny ears and outfit.

 

The next part is more on the new “Lord of Verminion” mini-game, that will be added in 3.1:

 

• Lord of Verminion won’t have a spectate mode, but they say that it’s a "necessity" and will add it sometime within 3.X.

 

• There are tutorials and basic rules that you’ll get to check for Lord of Verminion. You’ll have 20 seconds to set up at the start.

 

• The goal is to reach the opponent’s “Arcana Stone” as soon as you can. As you set the minions, they’ll do most of the work for you, and it’ll be up to you to guide them.

 

• There are special minion abilities, but they require you to have four of the same minions together. This is a function that the player will have direct command over.

 

• At first, it’ll be pretty simple with the tutorial, where you’ll only have to pay attention to a few minions; however, once you get into it more, it’ll get pretty hectic with all kinds of minions everywhere.

 

• There won’t be any overpowered minions that you “must need in order to win,” as it’ll be more important to balance out your party and play accordingly.

 

• Minions won’t have any roles like tank, healer, DPS, and will have types instead.

 

• There will be special minions that you’ll be able to get through achievements for Lord of Verminon.

 

Finally, Square Enix shared a few more details to finish the event, starting with some 3.2 changes that we’ll see in Materia Melding:

 

Along with the new Veteran rewards for 960 days, and new e-store items.

 

Final Fantasy XIV’s Patch 3.1 will launch on November 10, 2015. There will also be a new collaboration event with Final Fantasy XI on November 11th. You can also check out the official forums for a look at the full notes they put together for this Letter from the Producer.

---