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Final Fantasy XIV patch 2.5 is live
The day that Final Fantasy XIV players have waited for is finally here. Patch 2.5 has gone live, and it brings with it a host of improvements and additions to the game. The full patch notes also contain no shortage of items that had previously been held back from the preliminary notes, including new crafting recipes, new vendor wares, and new items available for quick exploration ventures. While this is only the first part of the game's 2.5 patch series, it includes three new dungeons, the new World of Darkness raid, three new trials, and the first half of the pre-Heavensward story conclusion. The servers are up and running, so if you have the day off or just don't have to go to work yet, you can get a jump on all of the new endgame content and start working your way through everything that's been added. Otherwise you can console yourself with the patch notes.
The Mog Log: A primer for Final Fantasy XIV patch 2.5
Ladies, gentlemen, and those who fall into neither category: The end approaches swiftly. Final Fantasy XIV's last pre-expansion patch is about to drop, and just like the bass, it won't be the same afterward. Tomorrow you've got a whole lot of new content to play through, enough to probably keep you well occupied for the next three months. The fact that the second portion of the patch will be dropping in about a month just makes it all the more occupying. As we've done many times before, today's column is meant chiefly to take apart the patch elements we know of and get you up to speed so you can start playing without any issues once you can log in again. So let's start in on the first part of Before the Fall, complete with its new mystery trial and the promise of many revelations. Even if the big fireworks are coming in March.
The usual suspects dominate December's Raptr rankings
Do you quote Raptr data when having unscientific discussions about MMO playerbase numbers? If so, rejoice, because here are some more numbers based on a sample size of dubious value! As you might expect, League of Legends, Dota 2, and World of Warcraft continue to dominate Raptr users' attention spans, while ArcheAge, Final Fantasy XIV, and Guild Wars 2 all dropped from their position in November's rankings. Click past the cut to see the full list. [Source: Raptr press release]
Final Fantasy XIV drops the preliminary patch notes for patch 2.5
The patch notes for Final Fantasy XIV always include a surprise or two. Yes, the preliminary patch notes for patch 2.5 are out, and they contain lots of things that players had known to expect. But aside from the three new dungeons, the World of Darkness, the previewed trials, the new quests -- whew! -- there's even more new stuff tucked away into the patch. For example, there's a new form of PvP match added to the game, which pits alliances against one another in a straight deathmatch. There's a new mystery trial unlocked through the main storyline. There's the new Aetherial Wheel furnishing, which allows free companies to charge up their company credits through alternate means. That's not even counting system adjustments or usability improvements or the items not previewed but expected such as new hairstyles. Take a look at the preliminary patch notes to get an idea of what's coming around once the patch goes live on January 20th.
Console sales up dramatically in 2014 as Xbox One finishes strongly
Console fanboys, get ready to gloat -- or mope. Actually, (nearly) everybody can be cheered by the latest data from NPD, which showed console sales up a cool 20 percent from last year to to over $5 billion. Leading the final charge was Microsoft's Xbox One, which topped the charts in December for the second straight month. Its recent success can likely be chalked up to attractive holiday pricing, since Sony's PS4 was consistently eating its lunch prior to that. Either way, it came at a good time for Microsoft, since the last two months of the year are far and away the strongest for consoles.
Neverwinter taking signups for February Xbox One beta test
Are you yearning to play Neverwinter on your Xbox One? You may be able to next month, as Perfect World is dangling closed beta registration for a February testing phase. More specifically, the game will be on Microsoft's newest console from February 5th through February 8th. A Perfect World press release claims that "Neverwinter on Xbox One will utilize console features including friends list integration and optimized controls to easily transition the MMORPG experience from PC to console." Once it exits beta, Neverwinter will be free-to-play if you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Final Fantasy XIV shows off story content and trials for 2.5
The last pre-expansion patch for Final Fantasy XIV is titled Before the Fall, not That Time When The Heroes Fixed Everything. There needs to be a fall, doesn't there? And there's a lot of stuff that can start falling, as demonstrated in today's preview from the official site. Ul'dah can fall. The Scions can fall. Ishgard can fall. Eorzea can fall. Or if you decide to face off against the Dark Divinity himself, you can fall. Players not confronting the dread primal directly will still have plenty of opportunities for pratfalls, as the Hildibrand storyline is wrapping up with the final confrontation between the Gentleman Inspector and his thieving rival. There's also a second confrontation with Gilgamesh Greg in the Battle at the Big Keep, with the victor winning the Treaty-Blade... which sounds like pretty good loot, but Greg carries a lot of weapons, so it seems rather natural. Patch 2.5 drops on January 20th.
Final Fantasy previews dungeons and plans maintenance for patch 2.5
The last pre-expansion patch for Final Fantasy XIV is going to be a big one. So big, in fact, that the game is dropping 12 hours of maintenance for the first part. Servers will go down at 6:00 p.m. EST on January 19th before coming back online at 6:00 a.m. EST on January 20th. As always, exact completion time is subject to change. If you missed yesterday's trailer, you can get an idea of some of the fuss by checking out today's dungeon preview, which shows off the Keeper of the Lake, Amdapor Keep (Hard), Wanderer's Palace (Hard), and the World of Darkness. While the exact item level requirements for these dungeons are hidden, it is clear that the Keeper of the Lake will once again be part of the main scenario quests like Snowcloak was in patch 2.4. So get ready to fight a dragon corpse, slaughter various voidsent, and most importantly rescue a whole lot of far-less-rancorous Tonberries.
Final Fantasy XIV drops a trailer for patch 2.5, Before the Fall
The final patch before Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion is a week away, and it's got plenty going on, so much that it's being split into three parts. A new trailer for the patch has been unleashed today, showing off bits and pieces of the whole thing but focusing chiefly on the content that will be going live on January 20th. You can view the whole thing just past the break, assuming you have 10 minutes to see all of the various hints and spoilers. Patch 2.5 brings with it more main scenario quests, three new dungeons (Keeper of the Late, Amdapor Keep Hard, and Wanderer's Palace Hard), the World of Darkness raid, a battle against the primal Odin, and a continuation of the Hildibrand storyline. Patch 2.51 is confirmed in the trailer for late February and will include the Manderville Gold Saucer, while part 2 of Before the Fall will wrap up the main scenario and set up the story of Heavensward in late March.
The Mog Log: Speculating on Final Fantasy XIV's Heavensward
We've got patch 2.5 around the corner, but Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion isn't all that far away either. And that, of course, brings with it no end of speculation about what players will find because so little is certain right now. What previews we've had have been vague by design, just enough to set our minds aflame with possibility without nailing down exactly what we'll find when we start venturing northward. Lucky for me, I love speculating. There are several ideas I've already seen regarding what we're getting in Heavensward, some of which are so far out of left field that I tend to think it's a pipe dream of the speculator and some of which seem to be logical predictions about the future of Final Fantasy XIV. So here's a bit of talk about those before we start hearing tons of expansion news and it's all proven transparently true or false. (Midway through the week, maybe.)
One Shots: Black sheep, black sheep
What in-game pet means the most to you? To reader Derrick, it's a special black sheep in Mabinogi that's snuggled its way into his heart. "I'm an Aries in real life and always liked the symbolism of rams in culture, so my first pet after my mount was a black sheep named Tanngrisnir," Derrick submitted. "It's now no longer available in the store and is a bit of a rarity. Over the years playing, I managed to find a black sheep balloon, puppet, and a pair of ram horns to complete the look, along with a black sheep title (not shown). It's helped out not just by providing my wool for tailoring; in my early days, Tanngrisnir was always willing to take a hit or two to distract enemies." Yes sir, yes sir, three bags of loot full. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'll be better after the break!
Fight through the underworld in DCUO's new DLC
SOE has announced DC Universe Online's next DLC update. It's called Amazon Fury Part II, and it's coming your way "early this year," according to the firm's press release. Three eight-player raids are part of the new pack, as are a pair of four-player operations and one single-player mission. Story-wise, Amazon Fury Part II introduces Ares, Hades, and Cerberus to the DCUO mythos and allows players to fight alongside Wonder Woman or Circe as they battle through the underworld in search of Queen Hippolyta. The DLC also includes new themed base items, new feats and collections, more skill points, and new gear. Creative director Jens Andersen offers further details in the latest producer's letter.
Rumor: The Elder Scrolls Online console version may be close
Let's just start with the disclaimers, for those who have forgotten: Online retailers do not necessarily know the date of releases any more than you do. They just enter a future date for preorders and go. Amazon's release date for the console launch of The Elder Scrolls Online is still December 31st, 2015, which isn't a prediction so much as a way of keeping it in the system for this year. But Microsoft's listing of the game for Xbox One on February 24th, 2015, does merit at least a little attention. Sure, it could just be a placeholder date, but it's awfully soon for a placeholder when the store could easily list December. It would also make a certain amount of sense, since the console version was originally slated for last month after its initial delay. So what do you think, readers? Is The Elder Scrolls Online just around the corner for console owners? Or is it just another placeholder date? While you're munching on that rumor, you can also speculate about the fact that Australian EB Games stores are recalling all boxed copies of the game and all time cards, supposedly as part of a normal post-holiday stock recall. Or as a prelude to free-to-play. You decide. [Thanks to squidgod2000 for the tip!]
John Smedley praises free-to-play on consoles [Updated]
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley knows a thing or two about running free-to-play MMOs on consoles. The studio already has DC Universe Online as a free-to-play title on PlayStation 4, it's bringing PlanetSide 2 to the console soon, and both titles are already free on the PlayStation 3. And there's good reason for it: Smedley said recently to Gamasutra that players on the PS4 have been monetizing on DCUO at nearly three times the rate of PC players. This isn't unique to the newest console, as DCUO players on the PS3 shell out cash twice as often as PC users. He also notes that it's a challenge to port to the console, as the lack of a mouse has to heavily influence design, plus it requires a method of dropping simultaneous updates across multiple platforms, which in and of itself can be a tricky venture. Read the full article for more insights from Smedley regarding the console market's free-to-play sustainability. [Update: Smed further clarified his statements over Twitter earlier today. "People think we're becoming a console first shop. NO! consoles are a great place for F2P, but we have always been a PC first company because that's our heritage. We aren't dumbing down PC ever."]
DCUO reclaiming inactive names this month
SOE will be releasing inactive character names for current DC Universe Online players to claim "shortly after January 20, 2015." If you haven't logged since July 20, 2013 -- that's 18 months ago, for what it's worth -- your character names will be appended with an underscore and a roman numeral. SOE says that accounts and characters "will remain otherwise intact" and that no deletions will occur. If you want to be that guy who saves names in games he doesn't play, you can simply log in once prior to January 20th. But you're not that guy, right?
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's year in review
A year ago, Final Fantasy XIV was in a weird place. The game had already done the impossible one time around, taking a title that had failed badly and re-launching to actual attention from the world at large. Barring a slight misstep with housing, it had done all right. But a year ago, it had to do the hard part: sticking the landing. Sure, re-launching was rough. But at that point it had to bank on that goodwill and shape itself into a respectable game within the MMO space. And it managed that. What still astonishes me about the game's year of history is that despite making mistakes and bad choices, the game has continued to earn praise from players and onlookers, more so as each month rolls on and it continues to not collapse. That alone seems surprising, especially after a year like 2014. So let's look back over the year, see what the game did right, and look forward to the new year as well.
One Shots: Shadow play
Welcome to a new year -- and the best year of One Shots you'll ever see. I know this because I've been to the future (December 31st, 2015) and spent those precious time-bending moments flipping through all of the One Shots column this year. Amazing stuff, people. Really well done. Well, we might as well get started with your glorious photo journeys! Our very first pic of the year is from reader Becca, who sends us this groovy bit of shadow play in Elder Scrolls Online: "While waiting for a boss to spawn in a public dungeon, my friend Arkslan and my character Rozyn had some fun with lighting." Great. Now I know what will be lurking under my bed tonight: a sing-songy bard. Terror knows no name, but it does sing harmony.
FFXIV, FFXI, and Dragon Quest 10 subscribers total(ed) 'nearly' 1M
Square-Enix has released its summary of 2014's finances with the start of the new year, and the good news is that it looks pretty rosy. According to the summary of the financial year that ended in March of 2014, the company's fortunes had improved immensely. Of more specific interest to the MMO market, of course, is the fact that the report gives some idea of the subscribers for Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI, and the currently Japan-only title Dragon Quest X. According to the report, all three titles together boasted "nearly" one million subscribers, with the lion's share likely belonging to Final Fantasy XIV. Specifics are not discussed, nor does the report clarify whether these subscriber numbers are from the end of the financial year in March or the end of the calendar year in December (we assume the former). The most recent official word from Square-Enix was 2.5 million registered accounts for FFXIV in December 2014.
The Mog Log: What we know thus far about Final Fantasy XIV 2.5
With all the cool stuff we heard about Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion, it's easy to forget that we also heard a bunch of stuff about the last patch of the current patch cycle. I think that's kind of intentional, not just because the expansion is a bit more eye-catching, but because things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. 2.5 is titled "Before the Fall," the Heavensward trailer does not predict sunny times for Ishgard, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what happens next. There's no actual release date for 2.5 just yet, although I imagine it's fairly soon, especially given the two-part structure and the proximity of the proposed expansion launch. So let's talk about what we know so far to look forward to before everything comes crashing down. (I'm betting around the end of January, although I'll admit to being a bit less anxious than I was with 2.4's release.)
The top 17 gaming gadgets you can buy right now
Say hello to Engadget's first-ever Buyer's Guide dedicated to consoles, turbocharged headsets and all things gaming. It's a wide, wide world out there, and choosing the right console and accessories is a daunting task. So whether there's a special gamer in your life, or you're looking to make a few upgrades yourself, we have the top 17 picks right here -- just click the gallery below.
