Yesterday, on May 27, 2025, a long-awaited new content went live with the Occult Crescent in Final Fantasy XIV. And it is well received by the players, although particularly one point is dividing the community again.
What is Kreszentia for a content? The Occult Crescent in Final Fantasy XIV is a new “field excursion”; a large, additional area that operates under its own rules and was released in Patch 7.25.
Players have waited 5 years for this content, as the last similar field excursion became part of the game and the endgame of the Shadowbringers expansion with Patch 5.35 and the Bozja Front. The first content of this kind was introduced by Eureka in 2018 as endgame content of the Stormblood expansion.
Kreszentia offers players the opportunity to obtain relic weapons of the Dawntrail expansion and prove themselves in PvE content such as skirmishes, critical battles, and a 48-player dungeon, which represents a welcome change and new challenge for many.
However, the popular relic weapons are again surrounded by a fact that divides the community – and not for the first time.
“This is how the normal Dawntrail overworld should be”
How is the content received? Essentially, the new content hits exactly the mark that many players have wished for in the past 5 years. Particularly in the official FF14 forum, but also on Reddit there are numerous positive voices expressing their appreciation for the content:
- Veritas-Ancora writes in the forum: “Honestly, I have been playing since 6 AM and it is 7:13 PM, so I have invested about 12 hours (with a break). Awesome! I feel engaged.”
- Voidmage shares the opinion, also in the forum: “[…] This is how the normal Dawntrail overworld should be. My only criticism are the phantom jobs. Compared to the Bozja system with all its fun extreme builds, they feel quite uninteresting at the moment. […]”
- CidHeiral notes in the forum: “I wish more coordination between people in the zone was required than just forming a group to kill a boss, but apart from that, it has been fun so far.”
The Occult Crescent incorporates many elements that the community already liked about Eureka and Bozja and transfers them into a setting that fits Dawntrail with its own storyline and mechanics. This is well received, even though some perceive the phantom jobs as too shallow and hope for more in the future.
What divides the community? However, many players are also frustrated with the grind required for the relic weapons associated with the content. Just for the now available first step, about 18 special materials (Atmas) are needed, which can be obtained through critical battles and FATEs – but with a seemingly very low drop rate.
Especially in the official forum, but also on Reddit there are some voices that have invested numerous hours into the new content but have only managed to obtain very few Atmas:
- gsil247 shares via Reddit: “I did this for about 6 hours and received a total of two Demi-atma. If I keep this up, I only need 96 more hours to complete step 1 of the relic weapon. Yay!”
- VitaDivina writes via Reddit: “I have been grinding for 4 hours and have 1. […]”
- Thurmnmurmn posts in the forum: “The drop rate in the Occult Crescent is ridiculously low. I spent about 6 hours there and only got 3.”
Many players also note that it was similar in Bozja back then, and with later patches, the rates at which materials could be obtained were increased. There would also be opportunities outside the Occult Crescent zone to obtain Atma for the weapon more targeted through FATEs in various areas.
Additionally, regarding the grind effort for the relic weapons, there were already various factions in the community, as many players found it too low for the relic weapons in Endwalker (via Reddit) while some players found it a bit too much during Bozja times (via Reddit). According to the community, it is therefore almost impossible to satisfy the majority or find a healthy middle ground.
Editor Alexander Schürlein from MeinMMO has also experienced the new content with some friends: I was able to play the Occult Crescent for a few hours last night as well, and I must say, we reached a similar conclusion. The content feels fresh and new, despite drawing on familiar elements.
Nevertheless, the drop rate of the Atmas leads to frustration in my circle rather than long-term enjoyment. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and what the next steps for the relic weapon will look like. Based on experience, there will be steps that require less effort and others that will likely demand similar investments at first, until the drop rate is gradually increased with patches.
If you haven’t been to the Occult Crescent yet but want to check it out, we have created an overview of all the important information for you. There you will find everything you need to know about how to unlock the content, what to expect, and which phantom jobs you can take on: Final Fantasy XIV: The Occult Crescent – All about the new field operation, the phantom jobs, and the new relic weapons
