What To Expect From Final Fantasy 14 Patch 6.3
The maintenance for Patch 6.28 in "Final Fantasy 14" has come and gone, leaving players with nothing to do but prepare for the release of Patch 6.3. Officially titled "Gods Revel, Lands Tremble," this update is expected to be released sometime in January 2023 per the new patch roadmap outlined back in February 2022 (via Nova Crystallis) and will bring a new dungeon, trial, alliance raid, and the second step in the ongoing Relic Weapon quests as well as continuations of other minor storylines.
According to the most recent Letter From the Producer LIVE, there will also be tons of optional content for players of all stripes to sink their time into: Whether you're a high-end raider, a hardcore crafter/gatherer, or a Golden Saucer enthusiast, it looks like you'll have your hands full with all the new quests, duties, and upgrades. Here's what to expect from and how to best prepare for all the things coming in "Final Fantasy 14"'s Patch 6.3.
Story updates
Of course, the main attraction of any major update in "Final Fantasy 14" is the next installment in the ongoing Main Scenario Quests as well as the new duties bundled into them. As with the X.3 Patches in previous expansions, 6.3 will bring a new 4-man dungeon and 8-man trial with an extreme version that drops a new themed mount, themed weapons, and the crafting material used in creating the themed housing items and Chocobo barding set. From how the story has been borrowing Golbez's Four Archfiends from "Final Fantasy 4" as the new main dungeon and trial bosses — with Scarmiliogne and Barbariccia having been defeated in 6.2 — it's likely the Warrior of Light will be facing off against one of the two remaining Archfiends, Rubicante or Cagnazzo.
In addition to the MSQ, 6.3 will also be continuing the two side story questlines, "Tataru's Grand Endeavor" and "Tales of Newfound Adventure" — while these quests are completely optional and offer no substantial gear or experience rewards, they flesh out the story themes touched upon in the MSQ and are highly recommended if you'd like some additional lore context to the goings on of Eorzea at the moment.
New ways to upgrade your gear
Patch 6.3 will also be continuing the "Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures" quests and "Myths of the Realm" series, offering players the next Relic Weapon step and alliance raid respectively. As always, this is a great chance for the average, non-raiding player to upgrade their gearsets' Item Level before the next Normal Raid series releases in either 6.4 or 6.5. Following the strict logic of "Final Fantasy 14" gear updates, the Relic Weapon augmentation will provide weapons of higher item level than those that can be crafted or purchased with tomestones. Accordingly, the new alliance raid, "Euphrosyne," will drop a new weekly token that can be traded alongside the Aglaia Coin for Lunar Envoy gear upgrade materials — with diligent enough grinding, you'll be able to obtain maximum Item Level equipment without having to set foot in the Savage raids at all.
If you have enough money and tomestones saved, however, you may be able to get a small upgrade as soon as the servers open after maintenance. Patch 6.3 will almost certainly offer the option to trade in the crafted Rinascita gear for tokens that can be exchanged for augmented versions 10 Item Levels higher, just as the previous patches did with the crafted Neo-Ishgardian, Exarchic, and Classical gearsets. You will likely have to buy the corresponding new bottles of "Rain" with Tomestones of Astronomy, however, so make sure to grind them before maintenance starts.
Optional combat content updates
If you're already a high-end raider, you'll most likely be in Best-in-Slot gear already in preparation to tackle the next big challenge: a brand new Ultimate raid, slated for release in the 6.31 update. In the most recent Ultimate, players were finally allowed to save Haurchefant, even if only in a hypothetical scenario — while there's been no confirmation of what storyline or theme will be covered in the upcoming fight, the new weapons awarded from the duty will be the most powerful ones available in-game until the next update (as is customary for Ultimate weapons).
In addition to the new Ultimate, Patch 6.3 will also be adding an array of optional combat content that consists of:
- The next Faux Hollows trial, "Containment Bay P1T6 (Unreal)."
- A new Crystalline Conflict PVP arena reminiscent of the final boss fight of "Kugane Castle."
- A new Deep Dungeon, "Eureka Orthos," which will only become available after clearing floor 50 of "The Palace of the Dead."
- A new Treasure Hunt instance, "The Shifting Gymnasion Agonon," which will likely be a roulette-style arena in the fashion of "The Shifting Altars of Uznair" and "The Shifting Oubliettes of Lyhe Ghiah" from previous expansions.
An important note is that a new Treasure Hunt instance means the addition of an exclusive crafting material dropped only from the arenas that'll be required for crafting a new level 1 cosmetic gearset — make sure to stock up on level 90 treasure maps if you're interested.
Crafting and Gathering content updates
Alongside the new cosmetic gearset will be a list of new crafting recipes. Following the pattern of "FF14" recipe releases, Patch 6.3 will be releasing the next tier of Disciples of the Hand/Land accessories as well as stat boost food items. Players who specialize in crafting and gathering will want to save up on Aethersand and Materia in order to craft and meld the new items, as they'll need them to meet the updated stat requirements in the upcoming expert recipes and gathering nodes. A new patch always means a great opportunity to make a tidy profit crafting, gathering, and selling the new content — but you'll have to act fast to make a profit before the market prices inevitably crash with oversupply. If you'd rather not participate in the mad marketboard dash and don't mind waiting to meld your own gear, you can also make a reliably massive profit selling crafter/gatherer Materia to those racing towards Best-in-Slot.
Money matters aside, there'll also be new exciting DoL/DoH content for the more relaxed crafter/gatherer:
- Lopporit tribal quests for DoH jobs, which offer hefty amounts of crafting experience, tribe reputation points, and tokens that can be exchanged for crafting-related items as well as an exclusive mount that unlocks at the maximum reputation rank.
- A new Custom Delivery client located in Il Mheg, Anden.
- The start of the "Endwalker" Relic Tools questline.
- New diving area and corresponding underwater spearfishing nodes in Upper La Noscea.
Important miscellaneous updates
The various system, UI, and casual side content updates of any given patch usually aren't too interesting, but it seems Patch 6.3 has some big news for players in the "miscellaneous" category. Alongside some Golden Saucer and Island Sanctuary updates, "FF14" will be adding a new swath of player housing wards available for purchase through the lottery system. With 12 new wards added to all five residential neighborhoods, each world will see an increase of 1,800 new housing plots: that's 1200 cottages, 420 houses, and 180 mansions opening up per world. How many of these plots will be reserved for Free Company use and which will be available for individual purchase has yet to be announced — regardless, Patch 6.3 will present a big new chance to land your first residence or a move to your favorite plot.
Additionally, there will be a new UI update that displays the remaining time on status effects shown next to character names on the party list as well as category icons on incoming damage, which will be a huge help in coordinating team abilities in trials and dungeons. It's worth noting that this does make some very popular third-party plugins obsolete, and it seems to be part of the development team's ongoing efforts to improve the in-game tools and accessibility options so that third-party mods will no longer be needed. Hopefully, the developers will continue to implement native ways of viewing crucial in-game data to streamline the player experience.