The end of days is approaching in Final Fantasy XIV, as the final infusion of content for the MMORPG’s current expansion arrived today, as well as its PlayStation 5 beta.
Patch 5.5 went live this morning, the first part of the Shadowbringers expansion’s finale and the lead-in to this fall’s launch of Endwalker. As usual, the latest Main Scenario Quests continue the story, tasking the Warrior of Light with stopping the machinations of Fandaniel and the Telophoroi. A new story Dungeon is included, called Paglth’an, and can be completed using the Trust System.
There also a handful of new challenges for high-level players. “The Tower at Paradigm’s Breach” is the third and final chapter of YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse, the NieR-inspired series of Alliance Raids co-developed by Yoko Taro—just ahead of Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139‘s arrival later this month. The Sorrow of Werlyt questline is also coming to a big conclusion with a battle against the Diamond Weapon in “The Cloud Deck”, with a minimum Item Level of 495 for the Normal difficulty, and 510 for Extreme. Leviathan makes its return in the new Unreal Trial for level 80 players, while the Save the Queen and Ishgardian Restoration quests continue with new rewards and upgrades.
(Full patch notes for 5.5 can be found here.)
Meanwhile, players with a registered PlayStation 4 license of Final Fantasy XIV can now access the PlayStation 5 Upgrade Edition at no extra cost. New players can start their journey in Eorzea on next-gen with the Free Trial version, and the full version will be available on PS5 at the end of the open beta.
This marks Final Fantasy XIV‘s third generation of PlayStation hardware, and incorporates many of the system’s bells and whistles. Framerates and load times are improved, while 4K, DualSense haptic feedback, and 3D audio are supported.
Lead Project Manager Shoichi Matsuzawa told the PlayStation Blog that the team is working dilligently to present a version of the game that lives up to the power of the PlayStation 5, while also not excluding current players on older hardware.
One more update is planned for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Patch 5.55, at the end of May. This will leave the stage set for Endwalker this fall, though we will learn more about the next expansion at the game’s digital Fan Festival May 14-15, featuring a keynote from director Naoki Yoshida.
