Release Date and Full Details of FFXIV 6.5: The Growing Light Update

FFXIV 6.5 Release Date and Everything to Expect from the Growing Light Update

We now have a FFXIV 6.5 release date and a look at everything we can expect from the Growing Light update, courtesy of the latest letter from the producer. FFXIV Live Letter 79 just took place at the Tokyo Game Show, and as always game director Naoki Yoshida and community producer Toshio Murouchi held their light-hearted, laid-back look at everything coming in the next big Final Fantasy 14 patch. We’ve got all the details below, including a promise of math with Thaliak, a glimpse at the Zeromus fight, Stormblood joining the free trial, and the much-touted FFXIV KFC collab.

FFXIV 6.5 Release Date

The FFXIV 6.5 release date is set for Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The final big update before the FFXIV Dawntrail release date sails into view in 2024, this patch is highly anticipated by the community. To give players a taste of what’s to come, a flashy three and a half minute trailer for the MMORPG was unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show, featuring beloved characters like Zero, Ryne, Lyna, and Krile, accompanied by most of The Twelve, a handful of Loporrits, and the ever-popular gentleman inspector Hildibrand Manderville.

“Some people seemed to have been expecting the release on the 10th,” Yoshida comments. “We know it’s a little off compared to usual.” The patch 6.51 will launch in late October, while patch 6.55, featuring several notable quest chains including those for Tataru, Hildibrand, and the Tribal Alliance, will arrive in January 2024. Yoshida assures players that they will have plenty to do next year.

The Abyssal Fracture: Zeromus Fight

Yoshida gives players an in-game look at The Abyssal Fracture, where they will face off against the final boss of Final Fantasy 4, Zeromus. The fight takes place on a square platform, with Zeromus standing along the outside of the arena. Yoshida teases that there might be a debuff players haven’t seen in a while and advises players not to be nervous and move too quickly, as there might be something trying to knock them back. The fight is designed to test players’ reflexes and execution.

New Alliance Raid: Thaleia

The next 24-player Alliance Raid, Thaleia, is introduced by Yoshida. He mentions that players who have followed the story closely might be wondering how they are going to fill one last 24-player series. Yoshida walks through a gorgeous cityscape and comes up against Thaliak, the Scholar, who hints at the need to use your brain a lot in this fight. While it won’t involve complex math like sine, cosine, or tangent, players will have to deal with falling triangles. Yoshida jokes about the familiarity of prime numbers to every Warrior of Light.

Stormblood Joins Free Trial

Great news for FFXIV free trial players! The entire Stormblood expansion will be added to the free trial version of the game with patch 6.5. Stormblood offers spectacular moments, including exciting Dungeons, Trials, and Raids, making it a must-play for both new and experienced players.

Additional Content and Updates

Alongside the major highlights, patch 6.5 will bring a plethora of new quests, battles, job adjustments, and miscellaneous updates. Here’s a breakdown of the content to expect:

Quests

• New Main Scenario Quests
• Growing Light part one [6.5]
• Growing Light part two [6.55]
• Tataru’s Grand Endeavor continues [6.55]
• Endwalker Tribal Alliance Quests [6.55]
• Requires completion of the Arkasodara, Omicron, and Loporrit tribal quests.
• Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures [6.55]
• Further Manderville Weapons [6.55]
• Splendorous Tools [6.51]

Battles

• New Dungeon – The Lunar Subterrane
• New Trial – The Abyssal Fracture (and its Extreme)
• New Alliance Raid – Myths of the Realm part three: Thaleia
• New Unreal Trial – The Singularity Reactor (Unreal)
• New Variant and Criterion Dungeon – Aloalo Island [6.51]
• Duty Support for Stormblood dungeons
• The Drowned City of Skalla
• The Burn
• The Ghimlyt Dark

Job Adjustments

• Adjustments made in 6.5 to balance damage output between jobs within each role
• Increases to the potency of certain job actions

Island Sanctuary Updates

• New Sanctuary ranks and visions
• New gathering area in the wilds
• New crops, isleworks handicrafts, animals, structures, and more
• Felicitous Favors

Special Events

• Fall Guys Collaboration [6.5x]
• Coming soon to the Manderville Gold Saucer
• KFC Collaboration [Japan only]
• Begins Wednesday, October 4, 2023
• Purchase combo meals at participating retailers throughout Japan to receive KFC x FFXIV stickers and the in-game Eat Chicken emote

PvP Updates

• Effects for certain actions, pets, etc. adjusted to indicate whether they are being used by an ally or an enemy [6.51]

Crystalline Conflict update

• Minimap and UI adjustments
• New settings to permanently display affiliated team to the left of the minimap and/or HUD
• New line on the field indicates the ‘comeback point’ – how far the losing team must progress to turn the tide
• New setting to display a countdown timer ten seconds prior to the commencement of overtime
• Enhanced Progress Gauge, including winning team indicator, comeback point, more visible checkpoint clear progress, and an overtime gauge to indicate how long the losing team can remain away from the tactical crystal before the match ends
• New arena – The Red Sands [6.51]

Miscellaneous Updates

• New Custom Deliveries: Margrat
• New consecutive aetherial reduction function for collectibles
• Green dot indicators on newly logged fish in the Fish Guide
• Ability to store optional items in the Armoire (PCGN note: ‘Optional items’ refers to items purchased from the online Mogstation)
• Option to sort teleport destinations by expansion (Can be enabled from the teleport settings menu)
• New reward for obtaining all trial mounts in the 6.x patch series
• Item level restrictions for Duty Roulette: Alliance Raid based on level
• EXP and Allagan tomestone rewards for each Alliance Raid adjusted according to difficulty and time required for completion
• Free Trial expanded to include the Stormblood expansion

FFXIV Tabletop Role-Playing Game

• Take up the adventuring life through dice and dialog in this all-new Final Fantasy 14 tabletop RPG
• Starter set release date: Saturday, May 25, 2024

Server Infrastructure Updates

• In the interest of expanding server infrastructure options in the future, the use of cloud data centers is under consideration
• A North American cloud data center will be temporarily implemented for the purposes of a public stress test, which will be held during the 6.5x patch series
• The Data Center selection screen will display the cloud DC as an option upon 6.5’s release, and it will become accessible once the test commences
• Further details regarding the cloud data stress test will be revealed at a later date via the FFXIV Lodestone

While awaiting the arrival of the next update, you can read our interview with FFXIV battle systems designer Hikaru Tamaki on Crystalline Conflict, where we discuss why the mode is so popular and what its future looks like. We also have everything you need to get your FFXIV Island Sanctuary in tip-top shape ahead of the Growing Light launch.