Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward video highlights big changes in next patch

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As game updates go, "patch 3.1" is not the kind of title that's liable to set your imagination racing. Nonetheless, the next update to Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward is a big one, with highlights including a new 24-player raid and a "real-time strategy attraction" that will pit players and their minions against one another in one-on-one battles. A preview trailer released today covers all the relevant points, and it's a big one too, clocking in at more than seven and a half minutes long.

The patch will also add new content that will follow on directly after the main Heavensward storyline, publisher Square Enix said today. "Exploratory Missions" set in distant islands accessible by airship will offer the opportunity to score rare gear and items, and there's a pair of new high-level dungeons, Saint Mocianne's Arboretum and Pharos Sirius (Hard), plus beast tribe quests featuring Vanu Vanu and new sidestory quests.

The update actually has a subtitle that's a little more stirring than simply "3.1," although it's almost willfully cryptic: Known in full as Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Patch 3.1: As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness, it will go live on November 10. More info about what's coming can be found on the Final Fantasy XIV developers' blog.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.