On August 11, the next major content patch for Final Fantasy XIV is released. MyMMO author Irina Moritz is torn between excitement and anxiety.
After the FFXIV team struggled with delays in their strict schedule due to COVID-19, the next major update 5.3 is finally coming in early August.
The contents will be no surprise to most veterans. As always, there will be a story, a raid, dungeons, and boss fights. The usual FFXIV update formula. Nonetheless, the past .3 patches have been something special from a storytelling perspective, and this one will be no different.
What was interesting about .3 patches? In the patch cycle of FFXIV, which normally consists of the expansion and 5 major updates, the .3 patches mark the “halfway point”. They conclude the story of the current expansion and lay the groundwork for the next one, even if it has not been officially announced yet.
- In patch 3.3 of Heavensward, players finally defeated the dragon Nidhogg. The vengeful soul of Nidhogg had possessed Estinien, a friend of the player character, and led an attack against the nation of Ishgard.
- Patch 4.3 of Stormblood marked the dramatic end of the character Yotsuyu, who was betrayed and despised by her brother and stepparents, becoming the Primae Tsukuyomi.
In both cases, the story in the patches was emotional, and much was at stake for the characters.
Having found the Shadowbringers expansion an emotional rollercoaster for me so far, I therefore await patch 5.3 with both joy and fear. The main reason for this is a particular character.
“He’s got a target on his back”
Why is the Exarch so popular? Through his appearance in the Shadowbringers expansion, the Crystal Exarch has gained many fans. I think he ranks among the most popular characters in FFXIV, alongside Emet-Selch and Aymeric.
One reason for this is certainly his backstory. He comes from a ruined future where an alchemical weapon of mass destruction triggered a catastrophe. Countless people died, including our player character, the Warrior of Light.
Therefore, the Exarch sacrifices everything to travel back in time and save the player character’s life. He is very caring, warm-hearted, and you can tell how important the player character is to him.
At the same time, the game has made a great effort to remind us every few cutscenes that he could die at any moment. On Reddit and in the forums, players have long speculated that the Exarch might die. A friend from my raid group directly said, “He’s got a target on his back.”
Originally, he wanted to sacrifice himself voluntarily, then he was shot and abducted, then he wanted to sacrifice himself again, and in the latest trailer, he is stabbed right before our eyes:
It is therefore not surprising that many fans, including myself, are quite scared of the next patch. Of course, it could be a red herring. There are two main reasons for this.
It’s too obvious
In the years I have played FFXIV, I have developed a certain impression of the development team. They seem to take a sadistic pleasure in leading players like me, who enjoy speculating, around by the nose with the trailers.
- The scenes appear to be randomly strung together
- Quotes and dialogues are pulled out of context to sound more mysterious or confusing
- Shocking situations are shown without context
The community breaks these trailers down frame by frame, trying to understand what exactly is happening.
I have often experienced that seemingly shocking scenes from the trailers turned out to be harmless or completely different. Especially regarding the deaths of important story characters:
- For example, the trailer for patch 4.4 made us believe that the character Thancred was dead
- The trailer for 5.2 showed Cid severely wounded and bleeding
- In the launch trailer for Stormblood, Y’shtola appears to be killed
But all of these characters are still alive. The latest trailer for 5.3 would fit perfectly into this pattern. We are shown a scene in which the Exarch apparently dies to build tension.
If FFXIV has killed off a character, it has been relatively unexpected to maintain the shock effect. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Exarch actually dies in the next patch.
Hints from the lore and interviews
Further hints that the Exarch might survive the next patch come from director Yoshida himself. In interviews published since the last producer’s stream, he has also commented on the fate of the characters, albeit very vaguely.
To the folks at Gamespot, he mentioned that “the adventures of the Exarch are not yet over” and that “we have not yet seen where his journey goes next.” That sounds quite positive.
Another statement came in our interview with director Yoshida and only indirectly refers to the Exarch. He says:
There will be many scenes of farewells where you say “farewell” to the people of the first shard world, and we wanted to portray that very carefully. The end of Shadowbringers is therefore slightly different from the previous expansions.
The key point here is a detail from the story. If the Exarch dies, the characters he summoned will be sent back directly to their original world. Their stay in the first shard world is tied to his life.
If he were to die in 5.3, they would have no time for grand farewell scenes.
Besides, Elidibus has already skewered someone like the Exarch in the new trailer. In patch 2.1, Minfilia was stabbed with the same purple energy sword in the chest and survived.
The new trial battle worries me
This now sounds as if everything would be fine, were it not for the new secret boss battle. In every new FFXIV patch, there is at least one trial battle that is often tied to the story.
And in 5.3, this battle is a secret. We know virtually nothing about it, as director Yoshida stated that any info would be massive spoilers.
This, of course, immediately sparked wild speculation in the community, with the Exarch at the forefront. The assumption is that during the story, something will happen that forces us to fight against him and ultimately kill him.
I also consider this possibility quite likely, which is why I await the new patch with both joy and fear. Killing popular characters is one thing. What is entirely different is being forced to kill them yourself because there is no other way.
It was already bitter that we had to eliminate Emet-Selch. Killing another great character will truly be painful.
The lore fans in Final Fantasy XIV can test their knowledge until 5.3. Do you still remember these 3 important things from the story?
