Dawntrail is over. The FF14 7.3 patch this week brought a conclusion to Final Fantasy 14’s divisive expansion story, and did so in style. I’m not really here to talk about narrative however; without getting too deep into spoilers, the finale played out in relatively the manner I think most people expected, though that didn’t stop me from yelling out loud twice during its closing scene. That’s fairly standard for the MMORPG; while ‘third patch’ climaxes are typically great, they’re usually a known quantity by the time they arrive, with all the pieces already on the board. What has me most excited for the future is everything else; a litany of smaller but important changes that suggest Square Enix is listening to feedback.
The biggest problems with Dawntrail aren’t actually new. Many of them have been recurring in Final Fantasy 14 for much longer, but they were easier to ignore when the story was so compelling that you were hanging off every word. As someone that actually enjoys a bit of mundanity in my MMORPGs, and found the setup for Heritage Found rather intriguing, I was still able to largely shrug off the constant barrage of ‘Speak with three NPCs’ every other quest. But there’s no question it’s become a big talking point as a major indicator of FF14’s often very safe, by-the-books quest design. Thankfully, patch 7.3’s MSQ feels like a direct response to this, and a notable step in the right direction.
I’ll do my best to avoid any notable story spoilers, but there will be some mentions of mechanics here, so keep that in mind if you’ve yet to play the new update. While there’s still plenty of talking, the pacing feels better, and the times where you are sent to seek out several NPC conversations are used in a better way. After gathering information, your companions actually ask you to examine the details and come to your own conclusions, rather than simply telling you what you’ve learned.
The highlight is the lab sequence, which presents a series of actual puzzles. These are relatively straightforward, with nothing so complex as Endwalker’s ‘Secret in the Box’ optional quest, or the legendary riddle fest from A Realm Reborn that is ‘The Greatest Story Never Told.’ This is MSQ, after all, and it feels like Yoshida’s team are gently testing the waters to see what players are happy with. Personally, I’m giving them an encouraging smile and a thumbs up; even if the challenge isn’t high, it’s nice to feel like I’m actually engaging with quest missions rather than simply being dragged along as things happen around me.
I’m also very enamored with the new dungeon, which comes as less of a surprise given Dawntrail’s high-quality battle design. Nevertheless, there’s a continuation of the experimentation we’ve seen lately; one boss plays with visual tells by creating false warnings, while another separates out the party and forces you all into one-on-one showdowns in individual, cramped arenas. It’s not a mechanic I’d like to see repeated all the time, but it’s one of the most novel and exciting encounters in a while.
Also of note is a continued step up in production values. Dawntrail made some good strides here (in fact, I believe the improved camera work and cutscenes are precisely why it felt so notable when some key moments were left unvoiced), but the sheer expressiveness of characters just keeps getting better. I often point to the incredible, silly balcony cutscene at the end of Shadowbringers patch 5.3, made during the early days of lockdown, as a particular high point of FF14’s animation, and it finally feels like that level of personality is now being achieved across the board.
The patch’s title, ‘The Promise of Tomorrow,’ might have ostensibly been about the core themes of the post-Dawntrail story, but it also feels like a sly nod to Creative Studio 3’s attempts to make changes that will impact the future of Final Fantasy 14 as a whole. There’s certainly still more work to be done; as strong as patch 7.3 is, the launch offering almost entirely comprises one-time activities, with only the alliance raid and extreme trial to hold us over until 7.31 opens the way to a new Cosmic Exploration location.
Those only interested in combat will be waiting even longer until the deep dungeon arrives in patch 7.35. This, however, will be yet another sign of what’s to come; Yoshida said in Live Letter 88 that the Pilgrim’s Traverse is a testbed for “a few things we want to change with FF14 overall,” which includes a philosophy shift towards finding ways to make sure every type of player has enough content to keep them satisfied. The real proof will be in the 8.0 pudding, and we’ll have to wait a little longer to see what that looks like, but based on the current trends I’m already booking my seat at the table.
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