Final Fantasy XIV isn't slowing down one bit even after the recent release of the celebrated expansion Shadowbringers. The first major update since then, patch 5.1, delivers a wave of new content which was detailed in the update's trailer and the latest "Letter from the Producer Live" stream. Game director Naoki Yoshida showed off many new features, including a quick look at the much-anticipated Nier Automata raid, the new dungeon tied to the next story quests, and more. It was announced that patch 5.1 will be live on October 29.
First thing's first, we finally got a look at The Copied Factory, the first phase of the Nier Automata crossover raid. It appears that you'll be fighting alongside a black-haired 2B-like model who wields similar weapons and abilities as 2B herself. Her name? 2P. She even pilots a YoRHa Flight Unit at some point in the raid. You'll be going through areas reminiscent of the source material, too; rusty, abandoned structures and overgrown buildings seem to nail the aesthetic. It's a real treat for FFXIV and Nier fans, especially considering Nier series creator Yoko Taro is directly involved in developing the raid series and composer Keiichi Okabe did the music (see the trailer above).
The Copied Factory is only part one of the YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse 24-player alliance raid series that takes us through the world of Nier Automata and possibly includes lore implications. Note that these are high-level activities that require you to finish Shadowbringers and have top-tier gear. You can expect subsequent parts in future patches (likely 5.3 and 5.5, based on previous expansions' cadence).
The other huge part of patch 5.1 is the continuation of FFXIV main story--in the trailer above, you see many other major characters like the Crystal Exarch, Krile, Alphinaud, Zenos, Gaius, and Estinien still involved. Gameplay-wise, however, you explore The Grand Cosmos, the next four-player dungeon; it appears to be a luxurious palace built by elves that has since been abandoned due to the Flood. The dungeon will be compatible with the Trust system so you can take story characters into the instance to fill the necessary roles to complete it.
We'll be breaking down the finer details of patch 5.1 soon, as there are changes to jobs/classes, and New Game+ rolling out. In the meantime, you can read our previous coverage of FFXIV; we did a deep dive into the Trust system, and recently had the chance to speak with main story writer Natsuko Ishikawa and art lead Takeo Suzuki about how they created the Shadowbringers story. We also talked with Naoki Yoshida to look back at the work the team did to make Shadowbringers possible.
