Patches are a regularly celebrated event in Final Fantasy 14 because they almost always include new content to dive into. Patch 3.55a is no exception, which introduces a host of new goodies as we inch closer and closer to the release of Stormblood on June 20.

The lettering after the patch may catch the eye of seasoned adventurers as it’s a little bit unusual compared to previous updates. Simply put, extra missions in the Diadem exploratory quests that were planned for Patch 3.55 was not ready in time, so has been pushed back ever so slightly whilst letting the rest of the patch content come out as planned.

Patch notes have become a lot more readable lately over on the Lodestone, but here’s a little digest of some of the key points to look out for:

Anima Weapon Quests

 

If you’re a fan of the heavy grind to get a hold of super-shiny and super-powerful weaponry, then the Anima questline will certainly be familiar to you. Patch 3.55a will offer a couple of new quests to give your weapon another dose of power. Both of these quests will be available in the usual spot at Azys La, but only if you’ve already completed the rest of the Anima quests so far.

For one of the chunkier stages of the questline, today’s patch will offer a little bit of respite. For the Umbrite/Crystal Sand stage, the cost to purchase Umbrite has been halved from 300 to 150 Allagan Tomestones of Lore. If you’ve been farming the Aetherochemical Research Facility a lot for those Tomestones, this might come as a bit of a relief! On top of this, another trade option for obtaining Crystal Sands has been made available using those spare Unidentifiable items that you may have acquired in an earlier stage of the questline. One of each of the four Unidentifiables will yield a Crystal Sand for you. Bonus!

Aliapoh asks for all manners of goods!

 

You may know Khloe Aliapoh already, the wee lass that gives you a diary to fill with stamps as you complete a myriad of duties. Doing so and scoring lucky in making lines out of those stamps can earn you some tasty loot as a reward. This particular activity focuses purely on the Disciples of War and Magic, leaving crafters and gathers out in the cold ever so slightly. Enter Khloe’s sister- Zhloe Aliapoh- who has a task for willing adventurers

Side note: If the name ‘Zhloe’ sounds a bit odd to you, there is an explanation for the similarity. In the Japanese localisation of the game, Khloe’s original naming makes use of the word ‘Kuro’ meaning the colour Black. Zhloe’s Japanese name makes use of the word ‘Shiro’, meaning the colour White. In Japan, this is intended as a play of words on the two names, which is unfortunately lost in translation ever so slightly in the English localisation.

Zhloe will task you with acquiring certain items over a certain time period. Completing a delivery successfully will reward you with gil and blue/red scrips. As more deliveries are completed,  the bar at the top of the diary indicating client satisfaction will increase. Higher satisfaction levels means more rewards when you hand in your items.

Proto-Ultima challenges you to a duel

 

The 24-man trial that was available for play at the most recent Fan Fests in Vegas, Tokyo and Frankfurt will also be available for the challenge. It’s implemented slightly differently now that it’s publicly available in-game. Here are a few things to bear in mind:

  • According to a few voices on Reddit, it is not a separate trial. You’ll find Proto-Ultima in the Dun Scaith alliance raid.
  • Beating it will drop a unique item that can be traded for accessories rated at item level 270.
  • The quest to earn said accessory resets weekly.
  • Word on the street is that it replaces a mob instead of being a separate boss. Therefore, don’t expect there to be a lot of challenge in this boss (It was a rather easy down during Fan Fest. I remember seeing some groups attempting to beat it in amusing team compositions, including one with raw classes and no job crystals!)

PvP changes and a new map

 

In my Free Company at least, there has been a growing interest in the competitive edge of FFXIV. The Feast took centre stage during Fan Fest and it inspired a fair few people to explore the PvP side of the game a lot more than before. It’s good news then that another map is on its way to the game to provide a fresh layout.

If you’re in a custom match, you’ll be able to specify this new map if you wish. Should you be jumping in via the Duty Finder, the map will be selected randomly.

Patch 3.55a also brings a  couple of enhancements to the PvP system. In Feast matches, a tied match will now result in a Sudden Death scenario, with the first team obtaining a medal becoming the victor. Additionally, Wolf’s Heart kits will replace Medical Kits in The Feast, which will instead offer gradual HP/MP restoration along with reduced skill times and increased movement speed.

When’s all this out?

Right now, actually! The patch dropped this morning, so you’ll be able to dive right into the new content straight away should they tickle your fancy!

What do you think about these new updates? Let us know in the comments!

Also, if you haven’t already then do check out our deep dive into what’s been announced so far for the Stormblood expansion.