In today’s Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy XIV producer/director Naoki Yoshida and global online producer Toshio Murouchi detailed upcoming content and features in Patch 4.3 “Under the Moonlight.” Special guest Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of Ivalice, joined the broadcast to talk about the process of creating Return to Ivalice.

Our summary of the major information is below:

Patch 4.3 Trailer

Patch 4.3 Details

• Patch 4.3 “Under the Moonlight” arrives May 22nd, 2018; due to the amount of content there will be a 24-hour downtime for maintenance.
• Even Further Hildibrand Adventures will continue in Patch 4.35.
• The Forbidden Land Eureka’s Pagos Expedition will be in Patch 4.36.

Beast Tribe Quests: The Namazu

• Their location is in the western mountains of the Azim Steppe, you will need to be able to fly to get there and there is an aetheryte.
• The Namazu need your help with a festival, there’s been a lot of effort put into their interactions and dialogue.
• The mount obtainable has several namazu carrying you, it can also fly. There’s also an action.

Deep Dungeon: Heaven-on-High

• Deep Dungeon Heaven-on-High will be in Patch 4.35.

• “An all-new Deep Dungeon, in which players can not only level from 61 and above, but also acquire rewards such as new weapons. For the adventurous, floors 31 and beyond are designed as high-end challenges for fixed parties of 1 to 4 players.

• You will need a Disciple of War or Magic at level 61 or higher to enter. There are 100 floors total. The first 30 will have the complete scenario, 31 and higher will be a high-end challenge. Its difficulty is similar to Palace of the Dead floors 101 and deeper. To proceed, all players in a fixed party must have cleared level 30 and have uniform save data. Furthermore, your party KO count must be zero in order to enter.

• In Heaven-on-High, the three pomanders obtainable in the Palace of the Dead that can be used to transform into an enemy NPC will be removed, and in their place three new ones will be added. Pomander of Incapacity applies enervation to all enemies on the current floor. Pomander of Concealment will render players invisible to enemies and traps. Pomander of Petrification will petrify all enemies on the current floor.

• In Heaven-on-High, players may be aided on occasion by NPC allies, who will apply the following beneficial effects: increases damage dealt by nearby players (Komainu,) decreases damage received by nearby players (Inugami,) restores HP of nearby players over time (Senri.)

• In Heaven-on-High players may use certain magicite to call forth primals, which will use their powers to defeat all enemies on a given floor. Magicite will, on occasion be obtained from silver coffers. Players may possess up to three at a time. You can use them from the character window.

• Certain floor effects present in the Palace of the Dead will be removed and replace by others in Heaven-on-High. Sprint will be applied to all players at all times and Magicite Prohibited will render magicite unusable for all party members.

• You can obtain weapons in Heaven-on-High by enhancing gear inside the deep dungeon, exchanging 10 points of strength for a token, then exchange a given amount of tokens for a weapon. Palace of the Dead will be updated in 4.3 to utilize this same system. Minions, mounts, and other special items can be obtained in exchange for potsherds found in Heaven-on-High as well as from pieces of the Accursed Hoard.

The Weapon’s Refrain (Ultimate)

• The Ultimate-tier trial The Weapon’s Refrain will be in Patch 4.31.
• Background music will be from The Primals album.
• Trial will start with Garuda, but will include Titan and Ifrit.
• The fight will be shorter than the Unending Coil of Bahamut, but not necessarily easier.

Job Adjustments:

• Dark Knight, Scholar, Astrologian, Monk, Samurai, Ninja, and Black Mage will have revisions.
• Dark Knight revisions will take several months, so only minor adjustments for 4.3.

Housing Update:

• Picnic basket sets have been added to outdoor furnishings, a kitchen added to indoor furnishings, and more.
• Guestbooks have been added, you can sign and leave a message as well as “like” someone’s comment. There is an outdoor and an indoor version and you can only leave a comment once per day. There are also options to screen messages.
• Gold Saucer festival in June will include a Monster Toss furnishing — it’ll be a lot of MGP to purchase.
• The number of aquariums you can place has been increased. Six in a small estate, eight in a medium, and ten in a large.

The Feast Regional Championships:

• Square Enix will be hosting The Feast regional championship during each of the Fan Festivals. There will be a prelim and semifinal — prelims begin in early July. Semifinals to decide the champions within each data center. All eligible member from the top teams will be invited to the Fan Festival. Square Enix will cover all travel, lodging, and Fan Festival tickets. Each regions’ champions will receive a prize at the final round, which is held at the fan festival. Further details will be shared on the Lodestone and later broadcasts.

Additional Updates:

• UI option for Bard’s Perform includes an expanded keyboard to show all three octaves at once.
• New instruments include an oboe, piccolo, clarinet, flute and pipes.
• Accessibility option for the UI will be added for those who have different types of colorblindness – it will allow you to shift the tint of the colors depending on your sensitivity to light.

Special Guest: Yasumi Matsuno

• The Return to Ivalice alliance raid series will continue in Patch 4.3 with a visit to the Ridorana Lighthouse.
• The Ridorana Lighthouse chapter will resolve some plot points from the Rabanastre chapter. The quality will try to match the style of Final Fantasy XIV’s main scenario.
• Original Return to Ivalice was going to have characters from the main scenario but it was decided to
• Return to Ivalice was pitched at a New Year 2016 party for development in 4.0.
• Three ideas were considered for the scenario: one based on FFT, one based on FFXII, and an original story. In the end, they went with FFT.
• Return to Ivalice will conlcude in a later patch (likely 4.5.)
• The story must fit the existing world of Final Fantasy XIV and Matsuno worked with Banri Oda to make sure the lore and language were in line. It also had to be compact and fit within three chapters. Players who are unfamiliar with Ivalice games also need to have fun.
• Ramza and Alma Lexentale are not Ramza and Alma Beoulve.
• Gear from the alliance raid is based off FFT and FFXII.
• The same person who designed the Ozma boss designed the Ridorana Lighthouse bosses.
• FFTA won’t be in Return to Ivalice as Matsuno feels that those belong to Yuichi Murasawa and Hiroshi Minagawa. If you want a new FFTA ask the Square Enix CEO.
• Matsuno says with the advancement of technology which allows for more detailed character motion, the writing had to step itself up with regard to Return to Ivalice. He cites William Shakespeare’s works as an influence. He wrote them like a play at a small theater due to the cost of development. Yoshida added that game development is all about working within cost limitations.
• According to Matsuno, the things he thinks are most important in game development are deadlines, the feel of the gameplay, and the game’s atmosphere.
• Matsuno enjoys Final Fantasy XIV’s story the most, particularly Alphinaud’s character development.

Announcements

• Fan Festival 2018-2019 in Europe will be at the La Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris, France. February 2-3 2019.
• Final Fantasy XIV will be at E3 2018 – June 12~14. They will also be in the Square Enix E3 Showcase on Monday, June 11 @ 10am PDT.
• Letter from the Producer Live @ E3 will be Tuesday June 12 @ 11am PDT.
• The battle challenge at E3 will be against the 4.3 primal.
• Eorzean Symphony concert will be at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles June 15~16.
• Los Angeles orchestra concert attendees in FFXIV cosplay will be able to walk the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre on Saturday June 16 at the Dolby Theatre. You must have a concert ticket to attend.
• Final Fantasy XIV FATE in Kyoto will be held July 16th.
• Final Fantasy XIV team will be playing Final Fantasy Tactics live on May 12th and May 19th.
• A live reading of Patch 4.3 notes will air on May 21st.
• The Primals first album releases late May 2018.
• Stormblood: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack Blu-ray releases July 4th, will include a bonus item code.