Final Fantasy 14 has seen confirmation on the release date, as well as the teased contents, of the MMORPG's upcoming Patch 5.5. Laying the groundwork for the upcoming Endwalker expansion, Patch 5.5, revealed to be titled Death Unto Dawn, is promising extra main story quests, a new trial, as well as the much-awaited return of a popular raid.

Death Unto Dawn is now confirmed to be releasing on April 13, also now officially setting the end date for the current Moogle Treasure Trove event, which has seen players re-running old content in order to gain enough tokens for event-exclusive rewards. The new wave of content does feature some returning favorites, like the NieR: Automata crossover raid YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse. Importantly to fans of Final Fantasy 14's story, however, is the promised inclusion of new Main Scenario quests, likely laying the foundation for Endwalker's story. This next step in the game's story is the largest since 2019's Shadowbringers expansion and will be adding yet more content to Final Fantasy 14's celebrated storyline.

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Players invested in Final Fantasy 14's replayable co-op content are getting some goodies as well, with a new Dungeon and Trial to partake in, and for the top tier of players, a new, as of yet unconfirmed raid is receiving an Unreal difficulty mode. Free Companies, the game's guild system, will be happy to see the upcoming rewards for their labor with an update to the Ishgardian Restoration, which will be adding more unique land plots for affluent guilds (or particularly market-savvy solo players) to purchase and develop. Less combative characters are receiving more crafting quests, as well as more social accessories like emotes, non-combat minions, and mounts.

April 13 will also see Final Fantasy 14 begin its beta period on the PlayStation 5, the game's first foray onto the new generation console. The beta will be exclusive to Sony's console, with no announced plans for other platforms --in fact, Final Fantasy 14's director has emphatically shut down hopes for an Xbox port, upsetting prior beliefs set out by Xbox's Phil Spencer that Final Fantasy 14 will make its way to Microsoft's flagship.

Players wanting to try the game out in advance of the new expansion can benefit from Final Fantasy 14's free trial mode. The trial was expanded last year to include the game's oldest expansion Heavensward. While players won't be able to get into the game's later content, it will allow them to reach a level with which to experience a majority of the base game.

This update comes on the back of Square Enix enacting a ban wave in Final Fantasy 14, primarily targeting real-money traders. These bot accounts can have a negative impact on the in-game Gil economy -- never mind Square Enix's real-life profit margins. At the least, it shows that Square Enix is keeping an eye on Final Fantasy 14's overall longevity.

Final Fantasy 14 is out now on PC, PS3, and PS4, with a beta launching on PS5 on April 13.

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Source: Square Enix