FF14 made its most tragic death scene worse without telling anyone
Heavensward players will cry again.
One of the most tragic death scenes in Final Fantasy 14 is now a little more heart-wrenching thanks to a stealth change in patch 6.2 Buried Memories.
For the spoiler averse: The change adds in an additional line of dialogue to explain why neither our hero or their allies can save the injured character. Square Enix didn't include it in the lengthy patch notes, but the dungeon where the cutscene plays got updated to support NPC parties for solo runs, which could explain why the change was made.
FF14 players who have finished the main story of the Heavensward expansion (which is available to play with the game's free trial) will immediately recognize the pivotal scene that changed. Fan favorite character Haurchefant spends most of the expansion helping your character settle into Ishgard and, after the city's leader reveals his true evil intentions, he makes a heroic leap to save you from a spear of light, ending in his death.
Ever since the expansion's 2015 release date, fans have mourned Haurchefant and, if that wasn't enough, future expansions kept reminding us through flashbacks and references. It's a loss that FF14 doesn't want anyone to forget. Some were frustrated that there wasn't a way to heal his wounds, especially if they played one of the game's support classes—something FF14 occasionally acknowledges in cutscenes with unique dialogue options. The altered scene doesn't go that far, but it does have Alphinaud, one of your longtime healer companions, comment (fully voiced too) on how the "wound is too deep" and that it "refuses to mend."
No...they added more voiced lines to THAT scene with Alphinaud explaining why we can't just use heal and Aymeric's reaction oh noooo it's even sadder 😭😭😭 #FFXIVspoilers pic.twitter.com/uB8BS8ou2dAugust 23, 2022
In response to the news, FF14 players have been reminded of how heartbreaking the scene is and how much they miss their Ishgardian friend.
Twitter user Gelgumi explained why this addition lines up with how healing in the game's fiction works: "Heal spells can only heal wounds that will naturally heal." And others in a Reddit thread about the new scene think the change helps clarify this early in the game's four-expansion-long storyline.
Not me watching it at the dinner table and having to explaine to mum why I am crying https://t.co/nN3UgDJQJTAugust 23, 2022
cries in white mage 😭 I can’t believe they did this to me all over again https://t.co/CbzVMnaNNAAugust 23, 2022
The new 6.2 patch includes some other slight cutscene changes and new dialogue for old dungeons along with a pseudo farming sim. It's not that common for Square Enix to go back and change things like this, other than when it makes playing the game's early questlines a little less tedious. There's no quality of life here though; in fact, it's the opposite.
Comic deals, prizes and latest news
Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.
Tyler has covered games, games culture, and hardware for over a decade before joining PC Gamer as Associate Editor. He's done in-depth reporting on communities and games as well as criticism for sites like Polygon, Wired, and Waypoint. He's interested in the weird and the fascinating when it comes to games, spending time probing for stories and talking to the people involved. Tyler loves sinking into games like Final Fantasy 14, Overwatch, and Dark Souls to see what makes them tick and pluck out the parts worth talking about. His goal is to talk about games the way they are: broken, beautiful, and bizarre.
FF14 and FF16 senior translator Koji Fox says 'you can kinda tell' game director Naoki Yoshida is 'like: I'm done with dark fantasy, I want to do something light again'
Final Fantasy 14 is bringing its Yo-kai Watch crossover back after 4 years, offering weapon glams, mounts, and a minion we crowned 'the ugliest MMO pet of all time'