The long awaited update to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, patch 3.1, arrives today. This is the first major patch since the expansion Heavensward launched and the development team decided to take some much needed time off. Now that the patch is here, players who powered through the expansion’s content will have something to do again.
Among a long list of features, the patch adds a new 24 raid entiled Void Ark, a new rts-esque styled mini game for minions called Lords of Vermilion, and the ability to fly on a greater variety of mounts. Perhaps most exciting is an entirely new game mode, The Diadem. This mode of play allows players to fly their custom built airships alongside their friends to a series of floating islands. These islands, which are populated by multiple servers at a time, are some of the only dangerous field areas in the game. Players are given a series of objectives to complete, can change their job class at any time, can harvest or mine, and can acquire gear that is randomly generated in stats and appearance.
The patch solves a problem players have been having for months, namely, a lack of things to do. Now with harder versions of old fights and different ways to get gear, what had become a grind fest should hopefully feel revitalized.