On December 8, the next major update for Final Fantasy XIV, Patch 5.4, will be released. Here are the main contents of the patch notes and how you can unlock them in the game.
What will happen on December 8? The next major update number 5.4 for FFXIV is just around the corner, bringing a new batch of content to the game.
Included are among other things:
- Continuation of the story quests
- New raid in normal and epic
- New trial battle in normal and extreme
- New cosmetic items like mounts, companions, and outfits
- and other smaller contents
You can watch the German trailer for Patch 5.4 here:
What to expect after the maintenance
Why can’t I play? Currently, FFXIV is offline and cannot be played. The reason for this is the usual server maintenance before each major patch.
- The maintenance is expected to end tomorrow, on December 8, at 11:00 AM our time.
Until then, we have put together a compact overview of all the new exciting content and quests, what rewards they bring, and how you can unlock them. You can find all the information about the update in the official patch notes.
Continuation of the main story
What can I expect here? For already 7 years and 3 expansions, the ongoing story of FFXIV has been unfolding. In the latest update, the player character and their NPC friends return to the original world, where a major problem is brewing and new enemies are emerging.
The main story quests often provide smaller rewards at the end, in the form of companions or outfits. Whether this will also be the case with Patch 5.4 is still unknown.
Here’s how to unlock the main story:
- Name of the starting quest: “High Aspirations”
- Quest NPC: Krile
- Location: Mor Dhona, Sunstone instance (X: 6.0 / Y: 5.9)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of the quest “Threatening Clouds on the Horizon.” This is the last story quest of the previous patch 5.3.
Together with the main story, you will likely also automatically unlock the new dungeon “Matoya’s Atelier.” So don’t worry if you can’t find the starting quest for the dungeon anywhere.
Quest series “Battle of Werlyt” and the fight against Emerald Weapon
What can I expect here? The quest series around Werlyt continues and brings a new trial battle with it. After the Ruby Weapon in Patch 5.2, players will now have to face the Emerald Weapon. After defeating the weapon, players can challenge it again in a hard “Trauma” mode, also known as Extreme mode.
As a reward for the battle against the Emerald Weapon EX, players will receive new strong weapons, a new dragon mount, and another cosmetic item, which will drop randomly after the battle.
You will also receive totems, which you can exchange for rewards with the NPC C’intana in Mor Dhona (X:22.7 Y:6.7).
Here’s how to unlock the quests:
- Name of the starting quest: “Blood Emerald”
- Quest NPC: General of the Liberation Army
- Location: The Fen (X: 11.3 / Y: 22.5)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of the quest “Airstrike on Werlyt.” This is the last Werlyt quest of the previous patch 5.3.
The normal battle against the Emerald Weapon will be automatically unlocked during the quest series.
Here’s how to unlock the Emerald Weapon EX: After the fight against the normal Emerald Weapon, you will have the opportunity to challenge the powerful EX form of the boss and earn cool rewards. Here’s how:
- Quest NPC: Garlond Model Maker
- Location: The Fen (X:11.5 Y:22.5)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of an unknown Werlyt quest from Patch 5.4. It is likely that you will have to defeat the normal version of the weapon.
- Item level: at least 500
8-Man Raid: Eden’s Promise
What can I expect here? Eden’s Promise is the third and thus final part of the Eden raid, where players can challenge themselves in 4 boss battles. It comes in normal and epic versions and also concludes the story of friends Ryne and Gaia.
As rewards, you will receive new weapons and armor. In the normal Eden raid, items drop which you can exchange with the NPC Yhal Yal in Eulmore for new equipment. In the epic version of the raid, you can obtain the currently strongest weapons and armor, but they are correspondingly harder to get.
Here’s how to unlock the raid:
- Name of the starting quest: “Empty Promise”
- Quest NPC: Yalfort
- Location: Amh Araeng (X: 26.7 Y: 16.7)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of the quests “Crystal Reflections” and “Worlds Apart”.
The individual boss battles of the raid will be automatically unlocked as the quest series progresses.
Here’s how to unlock Eden (epic): The epic versions of the Eden boss battles are significantly tougher than the normal ones but also come with much stronger equipment. You unlock them as follows:
- Quest NPC: Lewrey
- Location: Amh Araeng (X: 26.8 Y: 16.4).
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of an unknown Eden quest from Patch 5.4. It is likely that you will have to defeat the normal versions of the bosses and complete the Eden quest line.
- Item level: at least 500 for the first fight, 505 for the second fight, 510 for the third and fourth fights.
Dream Trial: Titan
What can I expect? The current Dream Trial Shiva will be replaced by Titan. The fight will feature the old Extreme version of Titan, which has been raised from level 50 to level 80. And it is just as challenging.
After defeating Titan, you will participate in a mini-game and earn the currency “Dream Leaves.” You will be able to exchange these leaves for rewards like companions or mounts.
Here’s how to unlock the new Dream Trial: If you haven’t unlocked the mini-game yet, you can do it here:
- Name of the starting quest: “On the Fox’s Trail”
- Quest NPC: Traveler from Ishgard
- Location: Frohenhalde (X: 7.0 / Y: 5.9)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80
Role and Scenario Side Quests
What can I expect here? In addition to the new combat content, several new side quests are coming with Patch 5.4 for FFXIV. These will likely be purely story quests that will contribute new information and background to the world of FFXIV.
It is still unknown whether players can expect special rewards after completing these quests. However, the stories themselves may interest some.
Here’s how to unlock the role quests:
- Name of the starting quest: “Crystals of the Warriors of Light”
- Quest NPC: Cyella
- Location: Crystarium (X: 10.7 Y: 15.3)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of the quests “Crystal Reflections” and “In the Shadow of True Heroes.” You will need to bring a tank, healer, mage, and physical fighter job to level 80 and complete all their role quests.
Here’s how to unlock the scenario side quests: These are a follow-up quest to the role quest above. However, it has somewhat more complex conditions for unlocking:
- Name of the starting quest: “Reunion on the First Shard”
- Quest NPC: Cyella
- Location: Crystarium (X: 10.7 Y: 15.3)
- Requirements: A combat or mage job at level 80, completion of the quest “Crystals of the Warriors of Light.” You must also defeat all primals of the Heavensward expansion on extreme difficulty and complete their quests. These include: Ravana, Bismarck, Sephirot, Sophia, and Zurvan.
And while you wait for the maintenance to finally be over, check out the 5 exciting things from the new trailer that you probably overlooked.
