Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida has confirmed that the delayed Patch 5.3, Reflections In Crystal, will be released on August 11th.
Fans were dismayed when Yoshida announced in April that Patch 5.3, originally scheduled for June 16th, would be delayed due to COVID-19 concerns. Because of the unprecedented circumstances, the developing team were unsure how long the delay would last at the time, citing from one to two weeks to over a month.
In a Letter From The Producer (announcements posted on the official forums), Yoshida confirmed a release date for the patch for the first time since the delay announcement. He attributed the two month delay to complications in “preparing a working environment in the office that adhered to social distancing guidelines and regulations.” Now that their system that allows employees to work from home has been instituted, they are able to return to their regular intervals of releasing updates approximately every three and a half months.
The post went on to clarify that this is not a return to the previously scheduled release calendar, but that the three and a half month intervals will continue after August 11th.
Yoshida also shared a sneak peek of upcoming content as well as stating that another Letter From The Producer LIVE— the official livestreams for FFXIV— will be taking place on July 22nd, revealing more about the upcoming patch and other future plans.
“Unfortunately, there is no way for us to ever completely recover from this two-month delay. Were we to try and accelerate our schedule from Patch 5.4 onwards, it would only result in cutting content and sacrificing the quality of our work─and given the serialized nature of FFXIV’s story, it is important that we keep to our original roadmap in terms of number and quality of major patches.”
Eager returning and prospective players can now mark a definite date on their calendars to begin the game, as Patch 5.3 was meant to streamline the famously tedious main questline to be less fetch quest heavy and more newcomer friendly. There will be numerous quality of life improvements, including but not limited to quest EXP adjustments, PVP and PVE tweaks, as well as the inclusion of flying in the pre-expansion pack areas.
Current players also have much to look forward to, as this patch will bring the next installments of many questlines, including the NieR: Automata crossover raids, YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse. Additionally, the next phase of the Ishgard Restoration will become available, bringing players one step closer to establishing a brand new housing area. This announcement also sets a definite end date for the current event, The Hunt For Law, as it is scheduled to end as of the 5.3 update— players who haven’t gotten all the prizes they want from the Itinerant Moogle should get grinding now before it drops.
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