Final Fantasy XIV players have officially one more year to wait before the next expansion, Dawntrail. Meanwhile, Patch 6.5 will be the biggest update of the year, bringing major changes and content to discover. Here’s everything you need to know, including its release date.
The latest expansion, Endwalker, was released in December 2021, and the next one has been confirmed for summer 2024. Now, players are looking ahead. The next patch will be the last major update before the release of Dawntrail.
Here’s when Patch 6.5 will be released in FFXIV.
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.5 release window
Patch 6.5, the last major update before the Dawntrail expansion, is planned to be introduced in FFXIV on Oct. 3.
Players have until that date to complete everything that released alongside the previous updates and prepare for the massive patch’s launch.
Players can already complete the Variant and Criterion Dungeons to get ready for the addition of the next in line, which are planned for Patch 6.51. Usually, these smaller updates release roughly two months following the previous major updates.
Patch 6.51 will introduce the Variant Dungeon Aloalo Island, as well as its corresponding Criterion Dungeon, and the final stage of Splendorous Tools for crafters and gatherers.
We also recommend playing Daily Roulette duties every day if you want to maximize your playtime so you collect Allagan Tomestones of Causality to trade upgrade items for your Manderville Relic Weapons, which are the strongest items in FFXIV. Trials and Normal Raids are usually the shortest ones to complete.
What to expect in Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.5
This will be the last major update of Endwalker before the release of the next one in summer 2024, which means players can expect to see a lot of new content, as well as quality-of-life updates and changes.
The update will wrap up some quests players began after the end of Endwalker’s main story, such as the Myths of the Realm.
Some other chapters won’t be closed just yet, though. More post-Endwalker Main Scenario Quests will release with the patch, but they’re not expected to be the last ones of the cycle. Players will have to wait a little longer before discovering the story’s end.
The update will also be geared toward newer players. Duty Support will be added for three dungeons (The Drowned City of Skalla, The Burn, and The Ghimlyt Dark), and free trial users will get the Stormblood expansion’s whole content as it will become free with Patch 6.5. It means the level cap will rise up to 60 and they’ll gain access to Stormblood’s Samurai and Red Mage jobs.
Confirmed FFXIV 6.5 changes
Named “Growing Light,” Patch 6.5 will introduce more post-Endwalker Main Scenario Quests, as well as new quests to pursue side stories for Manderville and Tataru.
Some of these quests will unlock the last Alliance Raid of the expansion, named Thaleia, as well as the Dungeon The Lunar Subterrane, Trial The Abyssal Fracture, and an enhanced version of Thordan, the Unreal Trial named The Singularity Reactor.
Other activities will also get more content with Patch 6.5. Island Sanctuaries will receive an update, and the Fall Guys universe will collide with the Gold Saucer. Crafters and gatherers will also discover more items to obtain, new Custom Deliveries, and more.
PvP fans won’t be forgotten either. A new map named The Red Sands will release in the Crystalline Conflict mode with Patch 6.5. It’s still unclear whether some balance changes will be brought to shift the meta, though.
Meanwhile, more events will be joining FFXIV over the next few months to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the title, such as Moonfire Faire.
