Forza Horizon 4 Will be Delisted From Digital Stores in December

Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital stores on December 15, meaning it and additional content will no longer available for purhcase on the Microsoft Store and Steam, Playground Games announced today.

Playground Games attributed the decision to delist Forza Horizon 4 to “licensing and agreements with our partners,” referring to the franchise’s complex array of car and music deals. Forza Horizon 3 was previously delisted in 2020.

As part of the run-up to delisting, Playground Games revealed its final roadmap for Forza Horizon 4, confirming that the final series will begin July 25 and end on August 22. After that, it will no longer be possible to access the playlist screen and fans will be taken to the Festival Site instead.

Developing….

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Payday 3 Finally Getting ‘Offline Mode’ But It Requires Online to Play and Runs Worse Than Normal

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment is finally adding what it’s called an “offline mode” to the game but it requires an online connection to access and runs worse than normal.

As reported by VG247, Starbreeze claims to have finally addressed the “online only” criticism by adding what it’s dubbed the Solo Mode Beta.

The mode will be updated over time, seemingly to make it a legitimate offline mode at some point, but for now players must be connected to the internet to access it and they won’t receive progression rewards until they connect again. When will these updates come? “[Solo mode] will be improved once we improve this feature,” head of community and global brand director Almir Listo said in a developer update video.

You will still be required to start the game while online in Solo Mode, which will be improved once we improve this feature.

“It’s not our full vision for this feature,” he began. “For now, we’re setting it as a beta to see how it runs. We expect the performance to be affected since the parts normally frontloaded by our servers will now have to be run on your own hardware.

“It will work though, and you can get progression that will update you once you return online. You will still be required to start the game while online in Solo Mode, which will be improved once we improve this feature. For now though, we want to test that the features that went into this work work properly.”

The initial release of the Solo Mode Beta will be released as part of a greater patch to go alongside the Boys in Blue update, which adds a new playable character, weapons, and more on June 27, 2024.

Payday 3’s launch in September 2023 was somewhat of a disaster, plagued with server issues that forced then Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren to apologise. “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario — we should be able to do better,” he said (but has now left the company).

Almost a month after its launch and Starbreeze apologised again for its lack of communication, and then just a week later said sorry one more time for not delivering a promised patch and again going quiet. It said in January 2024 it was “well aware” fans weren’t satisfied.

Starbreeze boasted Payday 3 had 3.1 million players as of October 2, 2023, but this number has dwindled, at least on Steam, as many more players are currently playing Payday 2 than its sequel. According to SteamDB, Payday 3 has a 24-hour peak of just 565 compared to Payday 2’s 21,584, despite the latter launching over a decade ago.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

PlayStation 5 Exclusive Stellar Blade Sells 1 Million Copies

PlayStation 5 action game Stellar Blade has sold more than one million copies, developer Shift Up has announced.

As reported by VGC, the studio hosted a Stellar Blade presentation where it revealed that estimates now suggested the game had sold upwards of the one million mark. That number may grow even more if Shift Up releases a PC version, something it is “currently looking at” but is unsure on as a result of a “contractual relationship,” likely with PlayStation owner Sony.

Shift Up also reiterated prior comments that it’s considering releasing more downloadable content and even a sequel to Stellar Blade. A photo mode coming in August, further outfits for protagonist Eve coming in October, and more are already announced for the game, though Shift Up did tease a big collaboration at the end of 2024.

The one million sales will likely make a sequel more likely, giving fans who enjoyed the game more hope, but an official announcement is likely still very far away as Stellar Blade only launched on April 26, 2024.

Its sci-fi action and adventure took inspiration from Alita: Battle Angel, 80s and 90s science fiction, and a taxi driver strike according to director Kim Hyung Tae. Its already enjoyed a handful of post-launch updates too, including one which added a boss challenge, new outfits, and more.

In our 7/10 review, IGN said: “Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its role playing game mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

GTA Online: Bottom Dollar Bounties Update Out Now — Here’s What It Does

GTA Online’s big summer 2024 update, called Bottom Dollar Bounties, is out now across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC alongside the release of patch 1.69 for Grand Theft Auto 5.

Players assume the role of “the new lead dog” for Bottom Dollar Bail Enforcement, and work with notorious bounty hunter Maude Eccles’ daughter, junior assistant bounty hunter Jenette, to take down targets.

Elsewhere, LSPD officer Vincent Effenburger provides new off-the-books Dispatch Work. New rides include three new Law Enforcement vehicles, below, new Drift Tuning upgrades for select vehicles, as well as new tools and props in the Creator.

  • Declasse Impaler SZ Cruiser
  • Bravado Greenwood Cruiser
  • Bravado Dorado Cruiser

The other new vehicles are the Enus Paragon S (Sports), the Bollokan Envisage (Sports), the Übermacht Niobe (Sports), the Annis Euros X32 (Coupe), the Invetero Coquette D1 (Sports Classic) and the Declasse Yosemite 1500 (Off-Road).

Today’s update also brings increased base GTA$ payouts for many activities, including Open Wheel Races, Taxi Work, A Superyacht Life, Lowriders Missions, Operation Paper Trail, Casino Story Missions, Gerald’s Last Play, Madrazo’s Dispatch Services, Premium Deluxe Repo Work, and Project Overthrow. Solo players also benefit from an increased timer when taking on Gunrunning and Biker Sell Missions.

Rockstar teased further updates coming later this summer, including Martin Madrazo providing daily bounties. You’ll also be able to ride a Pegassi Pizza Boy scooter and help Pizza This… deliver pizzas around Los Santos. Expect an Independence Day event, a Halloween trip to North Yankton’s Ludendorff Cemetery, an “exciting new multi-stage head-to-head mode”, a new community Heist Challenge, and more coming to the game.

The GTA Online summer 2024 update comes amid increased excitement around GTA 6. So far Rockstar has dropped a solitary, record-breaking trailer for the game, due out fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Rockstar is yet to detail its plan for GTA 6’s version of GTA Online, or say what becomes of the existing GTA Online once GTA 6 comes out. Until then, however, GTA Online remains hugely popular, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars for parent company Take-Two each quarter.

GTA 5 Title Update 1.69 Patch Notes (PS5 / PS4 / Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / PC)

[June 25, 2024] – New Content in Grand Theft Auto Online

The Bottom Dollar Bounties update adds a new Bail Enforcement business property, new Dispatch Work in Freemode, new Vehicles, and a range of Creator additions as well as overall experience improvements.

Bail Enforcement Office

  • Purchasing this business provides new ways for players to earn money through bounty hunting
  • Bail Enforcement Office owners can hunt down new bounty targets, securing them alive to be processed or eliminated and delivered to the Los Santos County Coroner Office
  • Each day a Most Wanted target will be identified with a large bounty on their head. Three other standard targets will become available every hour.
  • Secured bounty targets are processed over time in the Bail Enforcement Office’s holding cell. Upon completion, cash will be added to the player’s wallet.
  • Bail Enforcement Office owners can purchase Agents that can be sent out to complete their own work, adding cash to the owner’s safe upon completion
    • Agents will also reduce the amount of time taken to process secured bounty targets
  • The Bail Enforcement Office can be customized with a range of styles and includes a bounty transporter van, which can be upgraded with Armor Plating and used in Freemode
  • This property comes with new Awards as well as Career Progress Challenges on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles

Dispatch Work

  • Players that own a Law Enforcement personal vehicle can access a new range of Freemode Dispatch Work provided by Vincent
  • While driving an owned Law Enforcement personal vehicle in Freemode, players can request Dispatch Work from Vincent directly or wait until Vincent contacts them
  • Players can find applicable Law Enforcement Vehicles on Warstock Cache & Carry
  • Dispatch Work cannot be accessed when part of an Organization or Motorcycle Club

Vehicles

Nine new vehicles have been added:

  • Enus Paragon S (Sports) – With Imani Tech
  • Bollokan Envisage (Sports) – With Imani Tech
  • Übermacht Niobe (Sports) – With HSW Upgrade (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
  • Annis Euros X32 (Coupe) – With HSW Upgrade (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
  • Invetero Coquette D1 (Sports Classic)
  • Declasse Yosemite 1500 (Off-Road)
  • Declasse Impaler SZ Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle
  • Bravado Dorado Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle
  • Bravado Greenwood Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle

Three existing vehicles are also receiving custom Drift Tuning upgrades, these can be applied to personal vehicles inside the LS Car Meet:

  • Vulcar Nebula Turbo (Sports Classic)
    • This vehicle is again available for sale on the Southern San Andreas Super Autos website
  • Übermacht Cypher (Sports)
  • Übermacht Sentinel Widebody (Sports)

Economy Updates

Base GTA$ payout rates for the following content have been increased:

  • A Superyacht Life (Contact Missions)
  • Lamar’s Lowriders (Contact Missions)
  • Operation Paper Trail (Contact Missions)
  • Casino Story (Contact Missions)
  • Gerald’s Last Play (Contact Missions)
  • Madrazo Dispatch Services (Contact Missions)
  • Premium Deluxe Repo Work (Contact Missions)
  • Project Overthrow (Contact Missions)
  • Open Wheel Races (Races)
  • Taxi Work (Freemode)

Cosmetics

  • 150+ pieces of male clothing and accessories have been added to clothing stores
  • 200+ pieces of female clothing and accessories have been added to clothing stores

Experience Improvements

  • Several business Sell Missions have had their timers increased by 50% when launched solo:
    • All Biker businesses
    • Bunker business
  • The armor values of the Sparrow and RM-10 Bombushka have been increased by 50%
  • Players’ snack inventories are now fully restocked upon launching Contact missions and Heists from lobbies
  • The button prompts upon failing a mission have been updated
  • Drag Races can now be played over a series of rounds
  • Multiple texts and emails sent to players have been spaced out over longer periods of time or removed
  • Players can now move an owned Avenger between their Hangar and Facility storage via the Interaction Menu
  • The minimum player count required to launch the Assault on Cayo Perico mode has been increased from 4 to 8 players
  • An advanced options menu has been added to the Race Lobby Menu, containing many of the least used race options
  • The Music Locker Strobes section of the Interaction Menu has been moved to the Pause Menu
  • The Nightclub and Office Garage menus have been divided into separate sub menus when requesting vehicles from the Mechanic
  • The rank requirement for purchasing properties has been removed
  • A new starting grid option has been added when playing races in a series, sorting players based on their positions in the previous race
  • A link to the Community Guidelines has been added to the Welcome screen and other select alert screens
  • Custom Arena War vehicle names are now only visible to the local player

GTA+ Updates

The Vinewood Club App

  • GTA+ Members have access to a new phone app, which grants a range of features:
    • Claiming the earnings from owned business safes remotely
    • Purchasing ammo without paying a convenience charge
    • Requesting and purchasing Car Club vehicles has been moved to this app

The Vinewood Club Garage Vehicle Workshop

  • A Vehicle Workshop has been added to the Vinewood Club Garage, allowing players to modify their stored vehicles at an exclusive 10% discount

Creator Updates

Several updates have been added to the Creator as part of this update

Drag and Drift Race Creators

  • Players with an LS Car Meet membership can now create their own Drag and Drift races inside the Creator

General

  • Ambient weather options are now implemented when players take a photo for their created mode
  • The RUNE Zhaba is now available as an Off-Road vehicle option in the Creator

Race Creator

  • Additional units have been added to the Race Creator, these are placed scenarios that can consist of people and vehicles
    • People:
      • Race crowds of 1–5 people, previously only larger crowds were available
      • A photographer taking photos of the race
    • Vehicles:
      • Lowrider vehicle using hydraulics
      • A car doing a donut
      • A car doing a burnout
  • The existing race crowd units can now stand in a range of different poses
  • Race crowds can now be triggered to cheer and wave when a player gets close
  • When testing a Race, players can choose which checkpoint to start testing from
  • Flaming barrel props can now have their color changed
  • Players can now preview different audio tracks while in the Race Creator

Prop Additions

  • Additional small stunt track props have been added
  • Additional track smoothing props have been added
  • Road paddle props have been added

Fixes

The Bottom Dollar Bounties update brings a range of fixes to various issues

Game Stability and Performance

  • Fixed multiple crashes and issues affecting stability that occurred in GTAV

Matchmaking and Networking

  • Fixed multiple issues that affected network stability in GTA Online

Content

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in destroyed Signal Jammer collectibles being tracked incorrectly
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not unlocking the Skull Santa finish for the Special Carbine upon winning five games of Entourage (Festive Remix)
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to start Lowriders missions after completing them on a different character
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being unable to drop cargo during Special Cargo Sell Missions
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to progress after completing VIP Contract prep mission – Data Recovery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress through Casino Work – Best Laid Plans shortly after launching
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in unowned vehicles appearing in the personal vehicle space of Salvage Yards
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players having access to their owned weapons when playing Short Trips – Seed Capital
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in enemy blips not appearing during The McTony Robbery – Sonar Equipment mission
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to launch Tow Truck Service missions
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress when playing A Superyacht Life – Icebreaker
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in planes falling to the floor during Air Race countdowns
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in other players’ Kosatkas interfering with the Cargo Ship during The Cargo Ship Robbery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck in an air vent during The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid – Concealed Weapons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to swap inventories during The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid – Concealed Weapons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players respawning outside of the factory during The Cluckin’ Bell Raid – Scene of the Crime
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress through The Cayo Perico Heist Finale when the leader has died
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players transforming into a land vehicle during a flying section of Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players coming to an immediate stop upon passing a checkpoint during Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the race countdown not starting during Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access the Interaction Menu during The Pacific Standard Job – Convoy
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress after leaving Mason’s apartment during Operation Paper Trail – Intelligence
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in P Moss taking off without players inside the Avenger during Operation Overthrow – Unconventional Warfare
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to finish The Podium Robbery – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to request personal vehicles during LSA Operation – Direct Action
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to lose their wanted level during The Doomsday Heist – Setup: Server Farm
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in hacking minigames being more difficult when playing on ultrawide screen setups
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Hao’s Special Works Time Trial not appearing for players that haven’t completed it
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to send photos to Pavel during The Cayo Perico Heist – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the mission not progressing after delivering the two lowriders back to Lamar during Lowriders – Peace Offerings
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in incorrect prompts to leave the Avenger appearing when entering an owned Thruster during Project Overthrow – Reporting for Duty
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to obtain the VIP pass during The Duggan Robbery – VIP Pass
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to send photos to Jamal during The Gangbanger Robbery – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players leaving their F-160 Raiju during Project Overthrow – On Parade
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to pick up snowballs during Snowball Fight Deathmatches
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when interacting with Street Dealers
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to complete Terrorbyte Client Job – Robbery in Progress
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in weapons given during Hot Swap Deathmatches not persisting when returning to Freemode

Properties

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in stolen vehicles disappearing after completing a successful Salvage Yard Robbery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the roulette game inside The Diamond Casino getting stuck
  • Fixed an issue that resulted players’ Tow Truck disappearing from the Salvage Yard
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from entering an Auto Shop with no vehicle slots remaining
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in CEOs being unable to enter their Agency while an Executive Search is active
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players becoming stuck when attempting to enter a Nightclub in a vehicle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not entering their Acid Lab when selecting “enter with nearby friends and crew” inside the Freakshop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not sitting up from their Agency office chair
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to interact with the Drone Station inside Arcades
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck after interacting with the Shiny Wasabi Kitty Claw machine inside an Arcade
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Auto Shop 5% discount not being applied to Wheel Type and Wheel Color
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to mod personal vehicles inside their Auto Shop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in vehicles colliding with each other when multiple players were modding vehicles in the same Auto Shop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to leave their Motorcycle Club Clubhouse on a personal vehicle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to interact with the laptop inside their Bunker
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when leaving Hao’s Special Works inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players’ personal vehicles becoming invisible when leaving the Test Track inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players spawning far away when leaving the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in personal vehicle blips not appearing on the map when another player is test driving a vehicle inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to get a makeover inside the Spa of their Diamond Casino Penthouse
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to move while using the Place Decorations Menu inside their Diamond Casino Penthouse
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when attempting to enter their Diamond Casino Penthouse from Freemode
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Acid Lab not appearing inside the Freakshop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Tow Truck not appearing inside the Salvage Yard after purchase
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unexpectedly kicked out when driving another player’s vehicle in the LS Car Meet Test Track
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being registered as a CEO or MC Leader after purchasing an Office or Motorcycle Clubhouse for the first time
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access their Nightclub PC

Vehicles

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in BMX bikes behaving differently when bunny hopping
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in incorrect speeds being displayed during Highest Speed Freemode Events
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to request their Avenger in Freemode
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Suspension mods not being available for the Karin Asterope GZ
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in custom license plates for vehicles claimed from the Salvage Yard not persisting
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to see the tracers of the F-160 Raiju’s cannons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the camera clipping through the Avenger when modding a vehicle inside
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players with no owned garages losing their personal vehicle
  • The Declasse Impaler SZ’s vehicle class has been updated from Sedan to Muscle

Miscellaneous

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players losing ammo when joining a new session
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to change gears during Drag Races when using alternative control types
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access the Cockpit Access settings for the Avenger in the Interaction Menu
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to swap outfits via the Interaction Menu when wearing full body outfits
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in event exclusive weapon liveries that had been previously earned being unavailable
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players gaining negative amounts of body armor when purchasing from Ammunation
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Snowball Launcher weapon being unusable when on a Motorcycle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to use snacks or equip armor via the weapon wheel
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to add Stunt Races to a Playlist
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to see under the map when spectating a player in their Kosatka
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to use the default name “An Organization” when creating an Organization for the first time
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in SFX previews not playing when editing clips in the Rockstar Editor
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in TVs in owned apartments not showing anything

PlayStation Specific

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to accept invites to GTA Online after purchasing PlayStation Plus with GTAV running

Xbox Specific

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Xbox keyboard continuously appearing after editing an owned garage tooltip

PC Specific

  • Fixed numerous issues relating to stability and security

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S Only

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in GTA+ alerts triggering during a Race and bringing the player’s vehicle to a sudden stop.
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when moving vehicles via the Vehicle Organization Menu
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in GTA+ Members being unable to enter The Vinewood Club Garage with their personal vehicle when part of an Organization or Motorcycle Club

Creator

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in conflicting button inputs when using the Override Position Menu on PC
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Trap to Activate options under Arena props not being able to be toggled when placed
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Trailer Units being unable to be placed
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when testing a King of the Hill mode

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD Review

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire may have been straight up busted at the box office, but thankfully there’s another spectre-stalking adventure to enjoy this year – albeit a very familiar one. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD – a remaster of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS original that was also known as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon in the US – has arrived on the Nintendo Switch looking better than ever, but almost entirely unchanged as far as its gleeful ghostbusting gameplay is concerned. It is therefore the best way to experience Luigi’s second foray into catching cheeky Caspers, but it’s no longer the best entry in the series since this Dark Moon-based adventure has subsequently been eclipsed by Luigi’s Mansion 3 in 2019.

Here’s what our reviewer said in her review of the 2013 original:

That sentiment still stands, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD remains an entertaining journey as spooky as it is silly, its dual-screen setup seamlessly smooshed into a single panel and sharpened to a visual standard that only just falls short of that of Luigi’s Mansion 3. The team at developer Tantalus, which was also responsible for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD in 2021, hasn’t merely boosted the resolution for this remaster, it’s also added noticeably more detailed textures, right down to the reflective sheen on suits of armour and the threads on Luigi’s dungarees. In addition, drastically enhanced lighting means this Switch version’s haunted dioramas have been given enough depth that I didn’t really mourn the absence of the original’s stereoscopic 3D. (Although to be fair, I’m not sure I even used stereoscopic 3D in the first place.)

It’s not likely to win any awards for best visual design in 2024, but compared to the 2013 original the difference is night and day. I remember Luigi’s Mansion 2 having a charismatic cast of characters and enjoyably spooky settings to explore, but it was a shock to revisit the 3DS original 11 years after it launched only to have my eyeballs assaulted by enough jagged edges to grate cheese with. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, however, has been polished up to a level that allows the playful nature of its phantom menaces and its many magnificently crafted corridors to really shine on screen.

The goofy ghost enemies are more dork souls than dark.

Those enemies and environments are still effectively the same as they were a decade ago, however. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD features no additional ghosts to bust, levels to search, or bosses to point your Poltergust 5000 at. None of Luigi’s moves from Luigi’s Mansion 3, like his plunger-powered suction shot or his ability to summon the Gummi Bear-like Gooigi, have been retrofitted into this adventure, which makes for a spook-hunting and puzzle-solving experience that preserves the clever level design of the 3DS original, yet one that noticeably lacks the expanded variety of interactions that the series’ third installment enjoyed.

It does, however, feature twin-stick controls similar to that of the third game. For whatever reason the original didn’t support the use of the Circle Pad Pro, the bulky Nintendo 3DS peripheral that added a second stick to the system while also making it much more likely to bust a seam in your trouser pocket. This meant that in Luigi’s Mansion 2 on 3DS, the taller Mario brother was stuck facing in one direction anytime you needed him to aim his flashlight or vacuum up a startled soul. That’s no longer the case in this remaster, which allows you to swivel Luigi’s aim around with the right stick. That definitely feels much more flexible and intuitive, and although the difficulty curve here remains pretty gentle – the goofy ghost enemies are more dork souls than dark – I was relieved to find that the control system never frustrated me like it did in the original.

I do wish more had been done to Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s multiplayer, however. Unlike Luigi’s Mansion 3, which allowed two people to play on the same system, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is strictly one player per console, whether you’re playing online or locally on a LAN. The multi-levelled multiplayer mode, Scarescraper (known as Thrill Tower in the original release), is still a lot of frantic, phantom-wrangling fun, but it’s the kind of fun I wish I could share with my kids without having to buy multiple additional Switches and copies of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD in order to enjoy. Sadly, there’s no split-screen support to be found here.

That said, I certainly still had a ghostbusting-ly good time for the dozen or so hours I spent with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. While I prefer the sprawling, single structure of the third game’s hotel setting, I appreciate that the more compartmentalized levels of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s five distinct environments make it easier to narrow your search for any missed collectibles upon completing the main story. Plus, there are some fantastically phantasmic moments that I’d forgotten about in the decade since I first played it, from the wonderfully puzzle-heavy first boss fight with a supersized spider, to tumbling down a lengthy haunted staircase later on that feels akin to a more G-rated version of the climactic sequence from John Wick: Chapter 4.

Final Fantasy 14 Version 7.0 Patch Notes Reveal Every Change Coming Alongside Dawntrail

Square Enix has released the preliminary patch notes for Final Fantasy 14’s highly anticipated Patch 7.0, which will arrive soon alongside the Dawntrail expansion.

Revealed on its website, the incredibly long patch notes outline everything changing in the massively multiplayer online game and, interestingly, what isn’t changing yet.

Square Enix said the new raid, the Arcadion, will arrive with Patch 7.01, while the Savage version and the Cenote Ja Ja Gural treasure hunt will arrive with Patch 7.05.

The update still adds plenty of new content, of course, including new areas, quests, quality-of-life improvement, a huge graphical upgrade, the Viper and Pictomancer jobs, plenty of raids and dungeons, and much more.

Square Enix categorized the list of changes by the different versions of Final Fantasy 14, noting players must own up to Stormblood to access the 2.X changes, Shadowbringers to access the 5.X changes, Endwalker to access the 6.X changes, and finally Dawntrail to purchase the 7.X changes. The full patch notes are available below.

Dawntrail launches into early access on June 28, 2024 at 2am Pacific / 5am Eastern / 10am UK, but releases fully on July 2, 2024. Patch 7.0 will presumably arrive sometime before the early access release, though Square Enix didn’t give any specific timings.

The developer has also asked players not to spoil things as the early access period launches. Only those who preorder can play early, but given the amount of content being added in Dawntrail, it will likely take most players a long time to get through it.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Patch 7.0 Patch Notes

Areas

New cities have been added.

TuliyollalSolution Nine

New field areas have been added.

UrqopachaKozama’ukaYak T’elShaaloaniHeritage Found

New city and field aetherytes have been added.

The number of aether currents in all Endwalker areas has been reduced.

*Players who met this new aether current requirement prior to the release of Patch 7.0 will unlock the ability to fly in each area.

Quests

Patch 7.0 introduces myriad quests in addition to the main scenario. As such, there may be cases where the patch notes only cite the initial quest in a series, or omit quests entirely to prevent spoilers. We encourage players to explore and discover what new stories and adventures await.

So that all players are able to enjoy the expansion at their own pace, we kindly ask that you do not post main scenario spoilers on the official forums, Lodestone, social media, or in videos.

New main scenario quests have been added.

New side story quests have been added.

Side story quests added in Patch 7.0 will employ an automatic level adjust system known as Quest Sync.

Quests using this system will have their difficulty and EXP rewards adjusted to match your current level.
* Certain side story quests do not use Quest Sync.

ThanalanBottled Fantasy

Any class or job level 1Ul’dah – Steps of Thal (X:13.4 Y:9.2)Medicine MerchantPlayers must first complete the main scenario quest “The Scions of the Seventh Dawn.”

Players will receive a phial of Fantasia upon completing this quest.

Role quests have been added.

Uncouth Customers

Disciple of War or Magic level 90Tuliyollal (X:12.4 Y:14.5)Br’uk EvuPlayers must progress to a certain point in the Dawntrail main scenario.

Tank (Paladin / Warrior / Dark Knight / Gunbreaker)The Narwhal Beckons

Paladin, Warrior, Dark Knight, or Gunbreaker level 90Tuliyollal (X:12.9 Y:15.0)LoazenikwePlayers must first complete the role quest “Uncouth Customers.”

Melee DPS (Monk / Dragoon / Ninja / Samurai / Reaper / Viper)The Hunter and the Hunted

Monk, Dragoon, Ninja, Samurai, Reaper, or Viper level 90Radz-at-Han (X:11.8 Y:14.9)ShashepyaPlayers must first complete the role quest “Uncouth Customers.”

Physical Ranged DPS (Bard / Machinist / Dancer)To Steal a Steelhog

Bard, Machinist, or Dancer level 90Tuliyollal (X:12.5 Y:15.0)Raholl JaPlayers must first complete the role quest “Uncouth Customers.”

Magical Ranged DPS (Black Mage / Summoner / Red Mage / Pictomancer)Power Forgotten

Black Mage, Summoner, Red Mage, or Pictomancer level 90Tuliyollal (X:12.8 Y:14.8)TsuuhePlayers must first complete the role quest “Uncouth Customers.”

Healer (White Mage / Scholar / Astrologian / Sage)In the Sting of Things

White Mage, Scholar, Astrologian, or Sage level 90Tuliyollal (X:12.0 Y:15.0)NyipinePlayers must first complete the role quest “Uncouth Customers.”

* Additional quests unlocked upon completing the entirety of the main scenario and all five role quest series will be added in a future update.

New job quests have been added.

Enter the Viper

Disciple of War or Magic level 80Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X: 9.3 Y:9.2)Worried Weaver

The Joy of Pictomancy

Disciple of War or Magic level 80Old Gridania (X:8.0 Y:10.3)Cheerless Hearer

Wachumeqimeqi Deliveries have been added.

Each Disciple of the Hand or Land will be able to progress through one of five series of quests associated with the different shops of Wachumeqimeqi.

Completing deliveries for a shopkeeper of Wachumeqimeqi will advance the story of that particular shopkeeper.
* Because Wachumeqimeqi Delivery quest rewards include crafters’ scrips and gatherers’ scrips, players must first complete the quest “Inscrutable Tastes” before undertaking deliveries.

Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi

Disciple of the Hand or Land level 90Tuliyollal (X:16.1 Y:11.1)RopliPlayers must first complete the sidequest “Inscrutable Tastes,” and make progress to a certain point in the Dawntrail main scenario.

XRral Soj Metalwares (Blacksmith / Armorer / Goldsmith)Your Friendly Neighborhood Metalworker

Blacksmith, Armorer, or Goldsmith level 90Tuliyollal (X:16.9 Y:11.0)Rral SojPlayers must first complete the quest “Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi.”

Epistles by Pameka (Carpenter / Leatherworker / Weaver)Pameka, the Scrivener

Carpenter, Leatherworker, or Weaver level 90Tuliyollal (X:16.6 Y:11.3)PamekaPlayers must first complete the quest “Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi.”

Xeerol Ja Juicecraft (Alchemist / Culinarian)Blame It on My Juice

Alchemist or Culinarian level 90Tuliyollal (X:16.4 Y:11.0)Xeerol JaPlayers must first complete the quest “Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi.”

Shunye’s Apothecary (Miner / Botanist)Hands for Hire

Miner or Botanist level 90Tuliyollal (X:15.9 Y:11.3)Greying GathererPlayers must first complete the quest “Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi.”

Fish Fancies Donuhanu (Fisher)Fishmonger Blues

Fisher level 90Tuliyollal (X:17.1 Y:11.2)DonuhanuPlayers must first complete the quest “Wrought in Wachumeqimeqi.”

* Additional quests unlocked upon completing all five Wachumeqimeqi Deliveries quest series will be added in a future update.

Requested materials can only be collected while undertaking each quest. Furthermore, these materials will not be listed in the Gathering or Fishing Log, but will appear in the Duty List.

The location where items must be gathered or delivered can be confirmed via the Journal or the Duty List. When viewing the Journal, select Map, then either Gathering Location or Delivery Location from the subcommand menu that displays. When viewing the Duty List, selecting the appropriate duty will display the same subcommand menu.

Players can now temporarily hide the display of nearby player characters when interacting with quest-related NPCs or objects.

Adjust this setting via the Character Configuration menu by selecting Control Settings followed by the General tab, then checking or unchecking the options under “Quest Progression Settings.”

  • Hide nearby players when close to quest NPCs
    Enabling this option will temporarily hide nearby players when you approach NPCs or objects with a quest icon.
  • Hide nearby players when interacting with quest NPCs
    Enabling this option will temporarily hide nearby players when you interact with NPCs or objects with a quest icon.

An additional option is available to also hide party members.

* These options are only applicable to NPCs or objects with a quest icon.
* These options will not be applied to players that are targeted or force targeted.
* These options are not applicable to certain quests.

Quest objectives that require following an NPC will now utilize visual indicators to help players avoid detection.

Indicator that players risk being seen should the NPC they’re following turn around.Indicator that players should not approach

Players can now select icons in the Duty List to carry out quest objectives such as using emotes or opening the Crafting Log.

* As of the release of Dawntrail, this feature is only applicable to quests implemented in Patch 7.0. Implementation for past quests is planned in future updates.

Players may now adjust text auto-advance settings to apply only to voiced dialogue.

To help alleviate issues with misinputs when completing quest objectives that require entering phrases with the chat mode in Say, certain half-width and full-width characters will now be treated as the same character when typing.

The categorization of certain allied society quests has been adjusted.

BeforeAfter
Tribal QuestsAllied Society Quests

Certain quest battles can no longer be undertaken using limited jobs.

Leves

New tradecraft and fieldcraft leves have been added.

No tradecraft leves or fisher fieldcraft leves allowing multiple turn-ins have been added.

Experience points rewarded when using a class at level 90 or above to complete a leve with a level requirement below 90 have been capped at 1,000.

FATEs

New FATEs have been added.

Players will receive bicolor gemstones upon completing FATEs in 7.0 areas. This currency can be exchanged with Gemstone Trader NPCs for various goods.

Furthermore, as you continue to complete FATEs in these new areas, Gemstone Traders will offer a wider selection of items.

To view your progress in each area, select Shared FATE under Travel in the main menu.

The maximum store of bicolor gemstones has been increased from 1,000 to 1,500.

FATEs that grant a bonus to experience points gained will now also grant a bonus to earned bicolor gemstones.

The game client will now respond more quickly when opening the Shared FATE window or changing between categories.

Large-scale FATEs that take place at fixed locations will now also appear on the map like regular FATEs.

FATEs

  • The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damned Thing
  • A Finale Most Formidable
  • Devout Pilgrims vs. Daivadipa
  • Omicron Recall: Killing Order

This change also applies to large-scale FATEs implemented in Patch 7.0.

Treasure Hunt

The following additions and adjustments have been made to treasure maps:

Loboskin Treasure Maps and Br’aaxskin Treasure Maps have been added.Rewards for Saigaskin Treasure Maps, Kumbhiraskin Treasure Maps, and Ophiotauroskin Treasure Maps have been adjusted.Allagan tomestones rewarded for completion of Saigaskin Treasure Maps, Kumbhiraskin Treasure Maps, and Ophiotauroskin Treasure Maps have been changed from Allagan tomestones of causality and Allagan tomestones of comedy to Allagan tomestones of poetics.* Starting in Patch 7.05, there will be a chance for a teleportation portal to appear when completing Br’aaxskin Treasure Maps.

The Excitatron 6000 and the Shifting Gymnasion Agonon will now be level synced, adjusting player levels to 90.

Grand and Free Companies

Additional items will now be accepted for supply and provisioning missions.

Viper and pictomancer symbol options have been added to the Charge category of the Company Crest editor.

New craftable items have been added to the company workshop.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to subaquatic voyages:

New areas have been added.New items have been added.Maximum submersible rank has been increased from 115 to 120.

Housing

Ward classifications have been adjusted for residential districts on certain Worlds.

Changes will go into effect on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. (PDT) / 15:00 (GMT) / June 30, 2024 at 1:00 a.m. (AEST)

All Worlds in the Dynamis Data Center / Phantom / Sagittarius / Alpha / Raiden

WardEligible to Purchase Land
Ward 1Free Companies
Ward 2Free Companies
Ward 3Free Companies
Ward 4Free Companies
Ward 5Free Companies
Ward 6Free Companies
Ward 7Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 8Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 9Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 10Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 11Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 12Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 13Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 14Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 15Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 16Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 17Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 18Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 19Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 20Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 21Private Buyers
Ward 22Private Buyers
Ward 23Private Buyers
Ward 24Private Buyers
Ward 25Free Companies
Ward 26Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 27Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 28Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 29Free Companies/Private Buyers
Ward 30Private Buyers

* Ward classifications for all other Worlds will remain unchanged.
* Changes to ward classifications will have no effect on plots that have already been purchased.

Learn more about ward classifications.

The Estate Holder Rights system has been implemented.

Players can now eject characters from their estate hall or garden, and bar characters from entering their property.

To bar a character from your property, you must first be on your estate grounds and have the requisite authority. Target the character you wish to bar, and select “Bar from Property” in the subcommand menu, then choose “Register as Barred Character.” They will be ejected from the estate grounds and moved to the housing area entrance.

Barred characters will remain on the Barred Characters list for 10 days. During this time, any attempts to enter your estate hall or garden will instead transport them to the housing area entrance.

To view or adjust these settings, select Housing from the Social menu, followed by Estate Settings, then Estate Holder Rights. Authorization settings will differ according to the type of residence.

Free Company Estate

The free company master is the main rightsholder, and may appoint up to four free company members as secondary rightsholders.

Personal Estate

The estate owner is the main rightsholder, and may appoint up to three tenants as secondary rightsholders.

Apartment / Private Chambers

The apartment or private chambers owner is the main rightsholder, and cannot appoint secondary rightsholders.

It should be noted that, when secondary rightsholders with the setting enabled are present on an estate, characters on their blacklist may also be denied access to the property. Which rightsholders’ blacklists will be included to determine who is barred from the estate may be adjusted via the Estate Holder Rights window.

After entering the lottery for an estate, viewing the placard for a different plot before confirming the results of your entry will now remind you of the estate address of the plot you bid on.

Furnishings from the FFXIV Furnishing Design Contest have been added.

New furnishings have been added.

Crafting facility furnishings can now be used by crafting classes up to level 90.

In accordance with the increased character level cap, level 100 striking dummies have been added.

New orchestrion rolls have been added.

New aquarium fish have been added.

A new seed for flowerpots has been added.

  • Garden Sunflower Seeds

    Garden sunflower seeds can be purchased from the following NPCs:

    • Mist (X:11.0 Y:11.4) – Material Supplier
    • The Lavender Beds (X:11.9 Y:8.3) – Material Supplier
    • The Goblet (X:10.9 Y:8.9) – Material Supplier
    • Shirogane (X:10.5 Y:12.1) – Material Supplier
    • Empyreum (X:10.2 Y:12.2) – Material Supplier
    • Apartments – Apartment Merchant
    • New Gridania (X:11.0 Y:11.2) – Tanie

The Manderville Gold Saucer

New prizes are available for purchase using MGP.

The following additions have been made to Triple Triad:

New cards have been added.New NPC opponents for Triple Triad have been added.Players can now engage in Triple Triad matches in new areas.Card numbers have been added to the item description of all Triple Triad cards.

Miscellaneous

Players can now select female Hrothgar when creating a character.

Regardless of your progression in the main scenario, female Hrothgar will be selectable when creating new characters, editing your character’s appearance using Fantasia, or hiring a retainer.

A winning entry from the FFXIV Hairstyle Design Contest is now available.

Learn more about the Hairstyle Design Contest 2023.

New hairstyles have been added.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the Trust system:

Krile has been added as a new avatar NPC.She will become available after progressing to a certain point in the main scenario.In accordance with the increased character level cap, the level cap for avatar NPCs has also been increased.By progressing through the main scenario, avatar NPCs can reach a maximum level of 100.New glamours will be unlocked for avatar NPCs that reach level 100.

The Dawntrail category has been added to Duty Support.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to Wondrous Tails:

Prizes available in exchange for Khloe’s Gold Certificate of Commendation, Khloe’s Silver Certificate of Commendation, and Khloe’s Bronze Certificate of Commendation have been adjusted.The following duties have been added as objectives for Wondrous Tails:The addition of these duties will not affect a Wondrous Tails in your possession prior to reaching level 100 with at least one Disciple of War or Magic.

  • The Minstrel’s Ballad: Endsinger’s Aria
  • Storm’s Crown (Extreme)
  • Mount Ordeals (Extreme)
  • The Voidcast Dais (Extreme)
  • The Abyssal Fracture (Extreme)
  • Level 91-99 Dungeons
  • Level 100 Dungeons

The following raids and alliance raids have been grouped together into raid series categories:The addition of these duties will not affect a Wondrous Tails in your possession prior to reaching level 100 with at least one Disciple of War or Magic. Completing any duty from a series will be counted toward objectives, granting a seal.

BeforeAfter
Eden’s Gate: Resurrection or Descent
Eden’s Gate: Inundation or Sepulture
Eden’s Gate
Eden’s Verse: Fulmination or Furor
Eden’s Verse: Iconoclasm or Refulgence
Eden’s Verse
Eden’s Promise: Umbra or Litany
Eden’s Promise: Anamorphosis or Eternity
Eden’s Promise
The Labyrinth of the Ancients
Syrcus Tower
The World of Darkness
Alliance Raids (A Realm Reborn)
The Void Ark
The Weeping City of Mhach
Dun Scaith
Alliance Raids (Heavensward)
The Royal City of Rabanastre
The Ridorana Lighthouse
The Orbonne Monastery
Alliance Raids (Stormblood)
The Copied Factory
The Puppets’ Bunker
The Tower at Paradigm’s Breach
Alliance Raids (Shadowbringers)
Aglaia
Euphrosyne
Thaleia
Alliance Raids (Endwalker)

Dawntrail entries have been added to the sightseeing log.

Skywatcher NPCs have been added to the new areas.

Skywatcher NPCs in 6.0 and previous areas will also be able to offer weather forecasts for 7.0 areas. However, special requirements must be met for certain locations.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the Island Sanctuary:

When selecting the plus button on the Isleworks Agenda interface, players can now choose whether Set Agenda or Supply & Demand is the default window that opens.From the Islekeep’s Index, select Sanctuary Settings, then Default Agenda Settings under the Workshop tab.The Sanctuary Gathering Log can now be opened via the Material Allocation window.The Material Allocation window will now save sorting settings.When selling materials in bulk via the enterprising exporter, the quantity set may now be saved for future transactions.

The level cap for all Disciples of War and Magic has been raised to 100.

The viper and pictomancer jobs have been added.

These jobs have no corresponding classes and begin at level 80.

Viper (Melee DPS)

Viper can be unlocked by completing the following quest:

Enter the Viper

Disciple of War or Magic level 80Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X:9.3 Y:9.2)Worried WeaverPictomancer (Magical Ranged DPS)

Pictomancer can be unlocked by completing the following quest:

The Joy of Pictomancy

Disciple of War or Magic level 80Old Gridania (X:8.0 Y:10.3)Cheerless Hearer

In accordance with the addition of these new jobs, gear for viper and pictomancer has been added to the rewards for certain duties, and will now be sold by merchant NPCs. Please note, however, that viper and pictomancer cannot be used in the Hall of the Novice, nor can they receive the first-time completion bonus from guildhests.

New job actions have been added.

Actions and traits have been adjusted.

The layout of the Blue Magic Spellbook interface has been adjusted.

The following adjustments have been made to limit breaks:

Monks will no longer change position when executing Final Heaven.Dragoons will no longer change position when executing Dragonsong Dive.

Certain status effects granted by class and job actions will now be removed when changing areas or entering an instanced duty.

The effects of certain monster and NPC actions have been adjusted.

The armoury bonus granted below level 90 has been increased from 50% to 100%.

The armoury bonus is applied to all available Disciples of War and Magic other than your highest level job or class. From level 90 onward, the armoury bonus is a 50% increase in EXP gained.

In accordance with the increased level cap, New World and Preferred World character bonuses now apply to all jobs at level 89 or below.

New enemies have been added.

New dungeons have been added.

After beginning a boss encounter in dungeons newly introduced in Patch 7.0, the shortcut warp will take players to the boss area’s entrance.

In accordance with the increased level cap, players can now gain experience from level 90 dungeons, trials, and 6.x alliance raid dungeons.

New trials have been added.

Unreal trials have been temporarily disabled.

Players may still exchange Faux Leaves for various rewards.
* A new unreal trial is scheduled to be added in Patch 7.1.

Players will now receive the power of the Echo in the event all party members are incapacitated during the following trials:

  • The Abyssal Fracture
  • The Gilded Araya

Each time players restart the aforementioned trial, they will be granted a 10% Echo effect boost, which increases each restart up to a maximum of 50%. If a player restarts after battling for less than three minutes, they will not be granted this effect.

  • The Abyssal Fracture (Extreme)

Each time players restart the aforementioned trial, they will be granted a 5% Echo effect boost, which increases each restart up to a maximum of 25%. If a player restarts after battling for less than three minutes, they will not be granted this effect.

The strength of the Echo granted in Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage) has been increased.

The Echo will take effect upon entering Pandæmonium: Anabaseios (Savage), increasing players’ maximum HP, damage dealt, and healing potency by 20%.
* Unlike other instances, the strength of the Echo will not increase in the event all party members are incapacitated.

The Spire of Trial, an expansion of Stone, Sky, Sea, has been added.

The Spire of Trial offers trials tailored to various high-level duties in which players will be tasked with destroying a level 100 striking dummy. To access the Spire of Trial, players must first complete the following quest:

Trial by Spire

Disciple of War or Magic level 100Solution Nine (X:19.9 Y:17.1)Eccentric ResearcherPlayers must first complete the final quest of the Dawntrail main scenario and the quest “A Striking Opportunity.”

The weekly restriction on receiving Cracked Anthoclusters upon clearing Thaleia has been removed.

New elite marks have been added.

Players can now hunt regular and elite marks in the new areas.

Marks defeated in the new areas will also yield Sacks of Nuts, which can be exchanged for various items. Players must first complete the following quest before taking up the Hunt in these areas:

A New Dawn, a New Hunt

Disciple of War or Magic level 90Tuliyollal (X:11.8 Y:13.7)Wing of Protection ScoutPlayers must first complete the quest “Elite and Dangerous” and have progressed to a certain point in the main scenario.

You can exchange Sacks of Nuts for items with the following NPCs:

  • Tuliyollal (X:13.9 Y:13.4) – Ryubool Ja

Viper and pictomancer’s arms are now available from the following deep dungeon vendors:

  • South Shroud (X:25.0 Y:20.6) – E-Una-Kotor
  • Ruby Sea (X:21.2 Y:9.3) – Confederate Custodian
  • Mor Dhona (X:34.9 Y:19.0) – Synthesis Node

Allagan tomestones of aesthetics have been added.

Players can only obtain up to a maximum of 2,000 tomestones of aesthetics. Moreover, players can only receive tomestones of aesthetics after reaching level 100 with at least one Disciple of War or Magic class or job.
* There is no weekly limitation on tomestones of aesthetics.
* A secondary currency, Allagan tomestones of heliometry, will be available in Patch 7.05, which is scheduled to release approximately four weeks after the start of official service for Dawntrail.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to Allagan tomestones:

Allagan tomestones of causality and Allagan tomestones of comedy

The aforementioned tomestones will no longer be obtainable. All trials and duties where these tomestones could be obtained will now offer Allagan tomestones of poetics or Allagan tomestones of aesthetics instead.

Please note that any Allagan tomestones of causality or Allagan tomestones of comedy obtained prior to Patch 7.0 will not be lost. The NPC Auriana in Revenant’s Toll will now give players the option to exchange them for Allagan tomestones of poetics.

Allagan tomestones of astronomy

Allagan tomestones of astronomy have been removed from the game.

Allagan tomestones of poetics

Allagan tomestones of poetics may still be obtained from duties up to level 90, as well as certain Duty Roulettes.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the Duty Finder:

Category names and the duties listed within each have been reorganized.6.x duties can now be undertaken using the Unrestricted Party option.When undertaking duties using the Unrestricted Party option, players can now elect to leave a duty even during combat.

The Raid Finder now only lists trials and duties introduced with Patch 7.0.

* However, the Unending Coil of Bahamut (Ultimate), the Weapon’s Refrain (Ultimate), the Epic of Alexander (Ultimate), Dragonsong’s Reprise (Ultimate), and the Omega Protocol (Ultimate) can still be accessed via the Raid Finder.

The Duty Finder has been adjusted as follows:

New duties for Dawntrail have been added to Duty Roulette: Expert, Duty Roulette: Leveling, and Duty Roulette: Trials.Duty Roulette: Level 50/60/70/80 Dungeons and Duty Roulette: Level 90 Dungeons have been combined into Duty Roulette: High-level Dungeons.The type and number of Allagan tomestones received from each Duty Roulette category has been adjusted.

Duty RouletteAllagan Tomestones
Duty Roulette: Expert80 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: High-level Dungeons100 Allagan tomestones of poetics
120 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Leveling100 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Trials60 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Main Scenario350 Allagan tomestones of poetics
100 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Alliance Raids120 Allagan tomestones of poetics
120 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Normal Raids80 Allagan tomestones of poetics
60 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Mentor30 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics
Duty Roulette: Frontline50 Allagan tomestones of aesthetics

The requirements to register for Duty Roulette: Alliance Raids have been changed.

BeforeAfter
Players must meet average item level requirements commensurate with the level of their current class or job at the time of registration.Players must meet the highest item level requirements among the alliance raids they can enter at their current class or job level at the time of registration.

PvP

PvP actions for viper and pictomancer have been added.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the Wolves’ Den Pier:

New items are available in exchange for Trophy Crystals.New items are available in exchange for Wolf Marks.

Series 5 will end and Series 6 will begin.

Series 6 will be held from Patch 7.0 to the release of Patch 7.1, during which time you can earn Series EXP and increase your Series level by participating in any PvP duty. Increasing your Series level will unlock various Series rewards.

* Rewards from Series 5 can only be claimed until the end of Series 6. To claim rewards, select Series Malmstones from the PvP Profile window, then select Previous Series.

Crystalline Conflict

Season Eleven will end and a pre-season will begin.

When the season ends, the top 100 ranking players from each data center will receive vouchers via the moogle delivery service.

Players finishing in the Bronze tier or higher can claim rewards by speaking with the Seasonal Quartermaster at the Wolves’ Den Pier (X:4.9 Y:5.7).

Learn more about rewards.

* Tier rewards for Season Eleven must be claimed before the release of Patch 7.1.

New items have been added.

* Due to the volume of items added with the release of Patch 7.0, they will not be listed in the patch notes.

New recipes have been added.

* Due to the volume of recipes added with the release of Patch 7.0, they will not be listed in the patch notes.

Facewear, a new form of accessories for the head, separate from other equippable accessories, has been added.

Facewear can be equipped via a new equipment slot in the Character window, or by accessing the Facewear interface under Character in the main menu, and will also appear in portraits.

Facewear can be acquired by using corresponding items such as a copy of The Faces We Wear – Oval Spectacles. Once acquired, they can be freely equipped or removed at any time, and customized with a selection of twelve colors.

The following fashion accessories have been converted into facewear:

  • False Oval Spectacles
  • False Shaded Spectacles
  • False Classic Spectacles
  • Rose-colored Spectacles

Players will now acquire facewear in place of the aforementioned fashion accessories.

The fashion accessories listed above will no longer appear in the Fashion Accessories window. However, players who acquired them prior to Patch 7.0 may obtain corresponding facewear free of charge by speaking with the Calamity salvagers located in Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, and Ul’dah.

It should also be noted that the items used to acquire these fashion accessories have not been removed from the game. If one is in your inventory or obtained via trading or the market board, it can be used to obtain corresponding facewear.

The item icons for phials of Fantasia and Retainer Fantasia will now include a marker to better distinguish them from one another.

IconItem
Fantasia
Retainer Fantasia

Certain items can now be sold, desynthesized, or submitted for expert delivery missions.

Grade 8 Dark Matter can be used to repair level 91 to 100 gear.

Viper and pictomancer have been added as required jobs for certain gear.

The following items are no longer classified as unique:

  • Moonward Ring of Fending
  • Moonward Ring of Slaying
  • Moonward Ring of Aiming
  • Moonward Ring of Healing
  • Moonward Ring of Casting
  • Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Fending
  • Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Slaying
  • Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Aiming
  • Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Healing
  • Augmented Radiant’s Ring of Casting
  • Augmented Lunar Envoy’s Ring of Fending
  • Augmented Lunar Envoy’s Ring of Slaying
  • Augmented Lunar Envoy’s Ring of Aiming
  • Augmented Lunar Envoy’s Ring of Healing
  • Augmented Lunar Envoy’s Ring of Casting
  • Augmented Credendum Ring of Fending
  • Augmented Credendum Ring of Slaying
  • Augmented Credendum Ring of Aiming
  • Augmented Credendum Ring of Healing
  • Augmented Credendum Ring of Casting

The following additions and adjustments have been made to dyes:

Up to two dyes can now be used on a single piece of gear.Gear that allows more than one dye will display two separate dye tabs in the Item Dyeing window.
* Additional gear that allows for multiple dyes will be added gradually in future updates.
* Following this change to dyeing, currently selected instant portraits may need to be edited.Undo Color Selection and Redo Color Selection buttons have been added to the Item Dyeing window.After selecting a color, it can now be set as a favored dye.An option to preview preferred color schemes using favored dyes has been added.An option to preview a previously applied color scheme has been added.An option to invert colors selected as dye 1 and dye 2 has been added.A marker indicating no dyes have been applied to an item has been added.When previewing your character’s appearance while using a gamepad, players can now press R1 (RB) to switch between color categories.

The furnishing Sealing Wax & Letter Set is now dyeable.

The following items can now be equipped regardless of gender:

  • Faerie Tale Prince’s Circlet
  • Faerie Tale Prince’s Vest
  • Faerie Tale Prince’s Gloves
  • Faerie Tale Prince’s Slops
  • Faerie Tale Prince’s Boots
  • Faerie Tale Princess’s Tiara
  • Faerie Tale Princess’s Dress
  • Faerie Tale Princess’s Gloves
  • Faerie Tale Princess’s Long Skirt
  • Faerie Tale Princess’s Heels

Sundry Splendors, a one-stop shop for gear and items purchased in exchange for Allagan tomestones and scrips, has been added to Old Sharlayan.

The shop is unlocked after completing the main scenario quest “Endwalker.”

The layout of gear exchange menus has been unified.

The following adjustments have been made to gear exchanges for Allagan tomestones of astronomy, causality, and comedy:

Gear that required the exchange of a base item and upgrade material can now be obtained directly in exchange for Allagan tomestones of poetics.The base items and upgrade materials for such gear can no longer be obtained from shops, dungeons, or retainer ventures.Players who possess the base item for such gear may upgrade them in exchange for 100 Allagan tomestones of poetics.

New items have been added to the inventory of Calamity salvagers.

New items are available from Calamity salvagers in exchange for Silver Chocobo Feathers.

The following items, which previously required a Silver Chocobo Feather each for a single-handed weapon or shield, can now be purchased together with a single Silver Chocobo Feather.

  • Doctore’s Scimitar and Warded Round Shield
  • Doctore’s Cudgel and Nightprowler’s Targe

Verdant Scepter and Warlock’s Buckler will no longer drop separately in the Aurum Vale, and instead drop together as Black Mage’s Verdant Arms (Level 47).

New items are available in exchange for societal currency from allied societies in 2.0 areas.

* Players must progress to a certain point in the respective allied society’s quests to exchange for these items.

The time until actions may be used after consuming certain medicinal items has been reduced.

After using the following items to grant a boost to experience points earned from synthesis, a system message will now be displayed when their effect expires:

  • Company-issue Engineering Manual
  • Company-issue Survival Manual
  • Company-issue Engineering Manual II
  • Company-issue Survival Manual II
  • Commercial Engineering Manual
  • Commercial Survival Manual
  • Revised Survival Manual
  • Revised Engineering Manual

The level cap for Disciples of the Hand and Land has been increased to level 100.

Orange crafters’ scrip and orange gatherers’ scrip currencies have been added for Disciples of the Hand and Disciples of the Land that are level 100.

Players can begin exchanging their collectable items for these scrips at Splendors Exchanges and custom deliveries starting at level 100, and can have up to a maximum of 4,000 at any given time.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips:

White Crafters’ Scrips and Gatherers’ Scrips

No longer obtainable from completion of quests and levequests.All activities which yielded white crafters’ or gatherers’ scrips will now yield purple crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips.* White crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips can now be exchanged for purple crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips at the scrip exchange in Revenant’s Toll (X:22.4 Y:6.7).Can no longer be used for item exchanges.Items currently obtained with white crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips will be obtainable with purple crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips respectively by speaking with the scrip exchange.

Yellow Crafters’ Scrips and Gatherers’ Scrips

Yellow crafters’ scrips and yellow gatherers’ scrips have been removed.

Purple Crafters’ Scrips and Gatherers’ Scrips

The number of purple crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips required in exchange for items has been adjusted.

The amount and type of crafters’ and gatherers’ scrips received from custom deliveries have been adjusted.

The following changes have been made to collectables:

The experience points rewarded when delivering collectables will be standardized per item, the amount received no longer being reduced at lower levels.Experience points rewarded when using a class at level 90 or above to deliver collectables that are level 90 or below have been capped at 1,000.

New actions and traits have been added for Disciples of the Hand.

The categories under Special Recipes in the Crafting Log have been adjusted.

BeforeAfter
Restoration (1)
Restoration (2)
Restoration (3)
Restoration (4)
Restoration

New actions and traits have been added for Disciples of the Land.

The following miner and botanist actions can no longer be used when a gathering point is at maximum integrity:

Miner

  • Solid Reason
  • Wise to the World

Botanist

  • Ageless Words
  • Wise to the World

New miner and botanist gathering points have been added.

New items have been added to gathering points.

The Gathering window will now display the integrity of a gathering point.

New fishing holes have been added.

New teeming waters have been added.

The Bait & Tackle window will now also display swimbait, a new form of bait obtained using the level 91 fisher action Spareful Hand.

The Fish Guide will now indicate whether a fish requires Precision Hookset or Powerful Hookset to catch.

Following the increase in level cap, the following adjustments have been made to rewards obtained while ocean fishing:

Level 1-49

  • Experience points

Level 50-99

  • Experience points
  • Purple Gatherers’ Scrips

Level 100

  • Purple Gatherers’ Scrips
  • Orange Gatherers’ Scrips (certain conditions must be met to obtain this reward)

GP will no longer be reduced to 0 when players are incapacitated as a non-gathering class.

Spiritbond gained when gathering will now be based on gear’s equipping level rather than it’s item level.

Following this adjustment, spiritbond bonuses when gathering at unspoiled or legendary nodes has been adjusted.

Players will now receive a bonus to spiritbonding when landing a big fish or legendary fish.

New Tomes of Regional Folklore have been added.

New items that can be used for aetherial reduction have been added.

The following changes have been made to desynthesis:

The level cap for desynthesis has been increased from 650 to 710.When using quick desynthesis, canceling will now close the window if all items have been desynthesized.After checking the “Desynthesize entire stack” box in the Desynthesis window, this option will remain checked even after desynthesizing unstackable or single items.

New mounts have been added.

New minions have been added.

New chocobo barding has been added.

New fashion accessories have been added.

Graphical Update

A number of features have been implemented following our first graphical update.

The following graphical details have been added:

  • Improved movement of certain weapons, tools, and gear.
  • Character tilting when turning on certain mounts.
  • Certain environmental effects such as water splashing and smoke will now appear darker in the shadow of nearby objects.
  • Wavering distortion effect when underwater.
  • Subtle eye movements for player characters and certain NPCs.

As part of our first graphical update, the following details have been improved:

  • Character hair and face textures.
  • The appearance of skin on player characters, animals, monsters, etc.
  • The appearance of hair on player characters, animals, monsters, etc.
  • Subtle hair movements.
  • The appearance of lenses in glasses and other glass objects.
  • The appearance of metallic material on certain gear.
  • The appearance of characters and objects that are wet.
  • The appearance of fog.
  • The appearance of water and waves.
  • The appearance of textures of distant terrain when riding a mount.
  • Soft shadows (PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, Windows®, Mac).
  • Shadows used in backgrounds and in certain cutscenes.
  • Changes in lighting due to the passage of time.

* With few exceptions, these updates apply to all content implemented in Patch 7.0.
* Graphical updates will be applied gradually to older content in future updates.

Detailed textures for various objects such as rocks, trees, and fabric have been added.

The number of light sources used for shadows has been increased.The following updates have been made to grass:

  • Improved textures.
  • Increased density.
  • Color spotting.
  • Motion from wind and character interactions.

Movement from wind will appear more consistent at high frame rates.Upscaling via AMD FSR 1.0 and Nvidia DLSS 2.0 has been added. (DLSS is only available on Windows®)Anti-aliasing via TSCMAA has been added. (Windows®, Mac)SSAO via GTAO has been added. (Windows®, Mac)

System

The following additions and adjustments have been made to character creation:

These additions and adjustments are also applied to character editing via Fantasia, retainer selection, and character editing via the aesthetician.

A new lighting option has been added to the aetherial background.Selecting the clock icon at the bottom right will now allow players to choose between Lighting 1, the original aetherial background lighting, and Lighting 2, natural lighting.Character combat voice lines can now be sampled.Class selection is now grouped by roles.

When using the aesthetician, the display of headgear and facewear can now be toggled on or off.

When editing character appearance by way of Fantasia, players will have 60 minutes of in-game playtime from the initial usage to re-edit their appearance as many times as they desire.

A new market board has been added to Tuliyollal.

In accordance with the addition of a new market board, reduced tax rates have been adjusted.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to retainers:

Retainers can now be registered to the Tuliyollal market.You may now create female Hrothgar retainers.The retainer level cap has been raised to 100.Retainers can now be assigned viper and pictomancer jobs.To assign viper and pictomancer jobs to retainers, the following requirements must be met:

  • Retainers cannot be already assigned a job, or must be reset if they are.
    * If your retainer has already been assigned a class or job, open the retainer menu and select “Reset retainer class.” Please note, however, that doing so will lower the retainer’s level to 1.
  • Retainers must be Disciples of War or Magic at level 80 or higher.
  • Players must first unlock the viper and pictomancer jobs.
  • Players must possess a copy of Modern Vocation.

New retainer ventures have been added.New items can now be obtained from quick exploration ventures.

New achievements and titles have been added.

Elite marks will now be displayed in the Recommendations list.

The gil cost for using Teleport has been adjusted.

With the addition of new areas, the world map has been updated.

The map will be updated according to progress in the main scenario.

The following adjustments have been made to maps:

On the map for Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks, the positions of the red arrows indicating area boundaries have been adjusted.All maps will now display at high resolution quality.Following this change, the graphic setting for map resolution has been removed. (Windows®, Mac)

The following additions have been made to the Player Search menu:

Viper and pictomancer have been added.7.0 areas have been added under Custom.

When editing Search Info, the size of the online status pulldown menu has been increased.

The following adjustments have been made to Target Information:

When a target’s remaining HP is set to be displayed as a percentage, decimal values will now always be shown.When the setting “Display only detrimental effects you inflict” is enabled, it will only be applied to enemy targets.Following this change, the name of this setting has been adjusted to “Display only detrimental effects you inflict on target.”

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the Actions & Traits window:

The default view of the Actions tab will now separate actions that can and cannot be assigned to the hotbar.A new option has been added, allowing players to choose whether certain actions will be replaced by another on the hotbar when executed.A new option has been added to enable a recast timer to prevent erroneous inputs of actions that replace others on the hotbar upon execution.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to job gauges:

Gauges for certain jobs have been added or adjusted.The Job Gauge Details window has been updated to reflect these changes.The display of job gauges can now be disabled via the HUD Layout menu.The parameters used for the text command /jobhudmode have been adjusted according to the order in which job HUD elements are unlocked.

A glamour guide has been added to the following windows, explaining the usage of various fashion-related features such as dyes and glamours:

The guide can be accessed at any time via the question mark icon in each window.

  • Item Dyeing
  • Cast Glamour
  • Glamour Dresser
  • Glamour Plates
  • Armoire
  • Facewear

Descriptions in the help menu of the Emotes window have been adjusted.

When viewing a repair request, the item details will now include information pertaining to dyes and affixed materia.

When viewing items attached to a mog letter, the item details will now include information pertaining to dyes and affixed materia.

The requirements to keep the New Adventurer status have been adjusted as follows:

BeforeAfter
Have played less than 300 hours
Have not completed the main scenario quest “Death Unto Dawn”
Have played less than 300 hours
Have not completed the main scenario quest “The Coming Dawn”

Players who fulfill either of the above requirements may set their status to New Adventurer.
* Players who no longer have the New Adventurer status but fulfill the above requirements can restore it by first using the text command “/nastatus on,” then selecting the New Adventurer status in the Edit Search Info window.

The bonus to experience points earned when a mentor forms a party with a new adventurer or returner will now apply until level 90.

In accordance with the increased level cap, the requirements for new mentors have been adjusted as follows:

Disciples of War and Magic Requirements

BeforeAfter
Must have completed the level 90 tank role quest.
Must have completed the level 90 healer role quest.
Must have completed at least one of the level 90 DPS role quests.
Must have completed at least 1,000 dungeons and trials.
Must have received at least 1,500 player commendations.
Must have completed the level 100 tank role quest.
Must have completed the level 100 healer role quest.
Must have completed at least one of the level 100 melee DPS, physical ranged DPS, or magical ranged DPS role quests.
Must have completed at least 1,000 dungeons and trials.
Must have received at least 1,500 player commendations.

Disciples of Hand and Land Requirements

BeforeAfter
Must have reached level 90 with at least one Disciple of the Land.
Must have reached level 90 with at least one Disciple of the Hand.
Must have synthesized at least 100 collectables.
Must have gathered at least 300 collectables.
Must have reached level 100 with at least one Disciple of the Land.
Must have reached level 100 with at least one Disciple of the Hand.
Must have synthesized at least 100 collectables.
Must have gathered at least 300 collectables.

Mentor Renewal

Players who are currently mentors must renew their certification during the 7.0x patches. Players who fail to do so will be unable to access certain features during this period.

Once the renewal period has ended, players who have not renewed their certification will lose the mentor status, and must wait until after Patch 7.1 to reapply for certification.

Available During Renewal Period

  • Novice Network chat channel
  • Mentor party bonuses

Unavailable During Renewal Period

  • Duty Roulette: Mentor
  • The ability to change online status to PvE Mentor, PvP Mentor, or Trade Mentor.

A log message will now be displayed when newly created characters on New or Preferred Worlds meet the requirements to receive a gil bonus.

The following additions have been made to adventurer plates:

New accents have been added.The color of lettering on the base plate for the Twelvefold Blessings Framer’s Kit has been changed to black.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to portraits:

New accents have been added.New poses have been added.When viewing the Edit Portrait interface, new filters are available for background, frame, and accent lists.When hiding the display of headgear, this setting will apply to instant portraits even after changing headgear.

The following changes have been made to group pose:

New stickers have been added.The Patch Logo frame has been updated with a Patch 7.0 logo.

When using monitors with a resolution wider than 16:9, screenshots taken from certain cutscenes or with certain frames in group pose will have copyright information placed within the bounds of a 16:9 resolution.

* Not applicable to certain cutscenes, or when “Affected by camera settings” is enabled.

Copyright information displayed in screenshots has been adjusted as follows:

BeforeAfter
© 2010-2024 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.© SQUARE ENIX

Duties that can be recorded via the Duty Recorder have been changed.

BeforeAfter
The Mothercrystal
Euphrosyne
Anabaseios: The Twelfth Circle (Savage)
Thaleia
???
???

Two trials introduced with Patch 7.0 will be added.

The log message that displays when a congested area is inaccessible has been adjusted.

A button to temporarily hide display of the chat log has been added.

The following changes have been made to alarms:

The maximum number of alarms that can be set has been increased from 10 to 30.The character limit for alarm names has been increased from 10 to 20.The layout of the Alarm Editor interface has changed.Simplified alarm settings are now displayed by default. Additional options are available after selecting the down arrow for advanced settings.
* The display of advanced settings will be saved even after closing the Alarm Editor interface.Sound options are now available for alarms.Alarm sounds can now be muted while undertaking duties.

The following adjustments have been made to the Blacklist:

Characters registered to the blacklist will be hidden.When joined in a party or alliance, their character will be displayed; however, their name will display as “Unknown” in the party list and on their nameplate.Messages from characters registered to the blacklist will be hidden.When joined in a party or alliance, a notification will be displayed when they speak during duties.
After receiving a notification of blacklisted messages, players may elect to temporarily see what was written via the subcommand menu.Blacklisting will apply to all characters tied to the blacklisted character’s service account.Blacklisting for party recruitment will now also apply to all characters tied to a service account. A system message will be displayed if a blacklisted player joins a party you’re in, or if you join a party that contains a blacklisted player.
* New blacklist functionality will not be applied to characters tied to a blacklisted character’s service account if they were registered prior to Patch 7.0.The Blacklist tab has been removed from the Social window, and will now be displayed in its own window found under Social in the main menu.Players can now save comments regarding blacklisted characters.Blacklisted characters and all characters tied to their service account will also be subject to the Lodestone blocked users list.

The Mute List has been added.

The Mute List can be found under Social in the main menu.

Messages from Muted Players

Muting will apply to all characters tied to the muted character’s service account.

While their messages cannot be seen, if they are members of your party or alliance, a notification will be displayed when they speak during duties.

Players can also save comments regarding muted characters.

Temporary Display of Muted Messages

After receiving a notification of muted messages, players may elect to temporarily see what was written via the subcommand menu.

A Term Filter has been added, allowing players to mask messages containing specific words from the chat log.

Once registered to the Term Filter, any messages containing designated words can be hidden from the chat log.

Display of Filtered Terms

The Term Filter can be applied to hide the display of registered words in one of two ways:

  • Display the applicable term filter’s number.
    A system message will be displayed, indicating the term filter applied to the chat log. (e.g. “Message could not be displayed due to Term Filter 1.”)
  • Hide the affected message in its entirety.
    Messages containing a registered word will be completely hidden.

Registering Words to the Term Filter

Words can be registered to the Term Filter in one of two ways:

  • Players can freely register words as they see fit via the Term Filter List window.
  • Select a desired word in the chat log, then register it via the subcommand menu.
    * Half-width and full-width spaces, as well as words from the auto-translation dictionary, cannot be registered.

Up to ten words can be registered to the Term Filter list, each with its own individual settings.

  • Shout
  • Yell
  • Say
  • Tell
  • Custom Emotes

Saving Registered Words

Term Filter settings are saved locally.
* When playing on a different platform, words you wish to be filtered must be registered anew.

In order to reduce server congestion upon the release of Patch 7.0, the following measures will be implemented temporarily:

* We will continue to monitor server activity and remove these features when server congestion is determined to no longer be an issue.

Use of the Data Center Travel system World Visit system will be restricted for certain Worlds and data centers.Learn more about travel restrictions.Players who are inactive for thirty minutes will be logged out automatically.New areas will be split into multiple instances.* Particular instances can be selected when entering from a neighboring area or teleporting via aetheryte.

Players can now use the mouse to drag and drop actions onto or off of the W cross hotbar.

Gradation of the main menu background in Gamepad Mode has been adjusted to improve visibility.

The DualSense Edge™ wireless controller can now be used on Windows®.

DualSense™ wireless controllers and DualSense Edge™ wireless controllers can now be used via bluetooth on Windows®.

* Haptic feedback, controller sounds, and create button functionality are unavailable when connected via Bluetooth.

When connected to a 120Hz monitor, the maximum frame rate for PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S is now 120 fps.

* Please note this is only a change to maximum frame rate. This setting will not ensure your system runs at a steady frame rate.

When playing on the PlayStation®5 or Xbox Series X|S, trophies and achievements can be obtained or unlocked if their requirements have been fuflilled while playing on other platforms.

When playing on the PlayStation®5 or Xbox Series X|S, achievement data will be updated upon opening the Achievements window. There may be a delay in receiving notifications of earned or unlocked achievements.

The following options have been added to the Character Configuration menu:

Control Settings

General Tab

Quest Progression Settings

Hide nearby players when close to quest NPCs.

Also hide nearby party members.

Hide nearby players when interacting with quest NPCs.

Also hide nearby party members.

Supplementary explanations of graphical options have been added to Display Settings in the System Configuration menu.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the System Configuration menu (Windows®/Mac)

Frame Rate settings under Display Settings have been changed.

  • None
  • Main Display Refresh Rate
  • 60 fps
  • 30 fps

The following settings have been added:

Graphics Settings

Resolution

Graphics Upscaling (Windows®)

AMD FSR

NVIDIA DLSS (Applicable with only certain graphics cards)

3D Resolution Scaling

Enable dynamic resolution

Frame Rate Threshold

Below 30 fps

Below 60 fps

Always Enabled

General

Enable dynamic grass interaction.

Edge Smoothing (Anti-aliasing)

TSCMAA

TSCMAA + Camera Jitter

Shadow Quality

Use low-detail models on distant object shadows. (LOD)

Shadow Softening

Strongest

Cast Shadows

Maximum

Normal

Minimum

Texture Detail

Texture Resolution

High

Normal

Effects

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion

GTAO: Quality

GTAO: Standard

The default setting for UI Resolution has been changed to High (WQHD/4K).The following categories were removed:

Graphics Settings

General

Enable wet surface effects.

Disable rendering of objects when not visible. (Occlusion Culling)

Map Resolution

High

Normal

Texture Detail

Texture Filtering

Anisotropic

Trilinear

Bilinear

Effects

Glare

Off

Following adjustments made to graphics settings, graphic presets have also been adjusted.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the System Configuration interface: (PlayStation®4/PlayStation®5/Xbox Series X|S)

Under Display Settings, the option “Limit frame rate to 30 fps” has been added.In accordance with our first graphical update, a Graphics Settings tab has been added.The following categories have been added to this tab:

Graphics Settings

Movement Physics

Available settings: Self/Party Members/Other NPCs/Enemies

The following categories have been removed (PlayStation®4):

Graphics Settings

Resolution

Enable Dynamic Resolution

General

Use low-detail models on distant objects. (LOD)

The following settings have been moved from Display Settings to Graphics Settings:

  • Draw Quality (PlayStation®4 only)
  • Enable dynamic resolution. (PlayStation®5/Xbox Series X|S)
  • Use low-detail models on distant objects. (LOD) (PlayStation®5/Xbox Series X|S)
  • Water Refraction

Additions and adjustments have been made to text commands.

The following text commands have been added:

CommandDescription
/facewearUSAGE:
/facewear [accessory]

→Equip a specified face accessory.

>>Example:
/facewear “oval spectacles”
(Equip the oval spectacles face accessory.)

/facewearlistUSAGE:
/facewearlist

→Opens and closes the Facewear interface.

/autotargetpriorityUSAGE:
/autotargetpriority [subcommand]

→Change auto-target priority settings.

>>Subcommands:
on
Enables auto-target priority.
off
Disable auto-target priority.

Toggles between on and off when no subcommand is specified.

/mutelistUSAGE:
/mutelist

→Opens and closes the Mute List interface.

/termfilterUSAGE:
/termfilter

→Opens and closes the Term Filter interface.

/visualalertsUSAGE:
/visualalerts [subcommand]

→Change visual alerts settings.

>>Subcommands:
on
Enables visual alerts.
off
Disable visual alerts.

Toggles between on and off when no subcommand is specified.

/colorfilteringUSAGE:
/colorfiltering [subcommand]

→Change color filtering settings.
※Windows® and Mac only.

>>Subcommands:
on
Enables color filtering.
off
Disable color filtering.

Toggles between on and off when no subcommand is specified.

The following text commands can now be used to adjust volume levels even during events such as cutscenes:

  • /mastervolume
  • /bgm
  • /voice
  • /systemsounds
  • /ambientsounds
  • /soundeffects
  • /soundeffectsself
  • /soundeffectsparty
  • /soundeffectsother
  • /performsounds
  • /systemsoundsspeaker

New parameters have been added to the /hud text command: JobGauge1 and JobGauge2. These parameters can be used to toggle the display of job gauges.The following parameters have been added to the /alarm text command:

  • se00/se01/se02/se03/se04/se05
  • mute

New parameters for new jobs and areas have been added to the /search text command.New parameters have been added to the /petsize text command for Solar Bahamut.

Additions have been made to the auto-translation dictionary.

Additions have been made to the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5 auto-complete dictionary.

New trophies and achievements have been added. (PlayStation®5/Xbox Series X|S)

New music, sound effects, and voices have been added.

Sound effects will now play when touching certain plants.

The layout of the game launcher has been changed.

The title screen logo and opening movie have been changed to those of Dawntrail.

The logo and opening movie for Endwalker can be viewed by selecting Movies & Titles at the title screen.

The following additions and adjustments have been made to the title screen:

Options and License have been added to the title screen.Configuration has been renamed System Configuration, and can now be found under Options at the Title screen.
Installation Details has been added within Options, displaying information on previous installations.The game version displayed at the top left of the title screen now only includes the base package and most recent expansion.A notification will now be displayed when a player is logged out due to inactivity during periods of congestion.

The display of certain World names has been changed in the World Selection window.

World names will no longer include a region label, regardless of game client language settings.

After registering to use the World Visit system, accessing an aetheryte and selecting “Visit Another World Server” will display your pending registration.

Retainer ventures can now be assigned via the Companion App.

Players can not only assign retainer ventures via the Companion App, but also retrieve items once they’re completed. Retainer ventures assigned in-game can also be completed via the app using the kupo nut and mog coin in-app currency.

It should be noted, however, that exploration and quick exploration ventures can only be assigned in-game. Furthermore, standard ventures cannot be assigned while exploration and quick exploration ventures are underway.

Setting an exploration or quick exploration venture to “completion pending” will allow you to assign standard retainer ventures. To complete a pending venture, you must summon your retainer in-game.

Any experience points earned or retainer ventures counted toward earning achievements will not be claimed until logging into the game and summoning your retainer. However, any experience points earned cannot exceed that needed to level up your retainer.
* Players must log out in their Home World to assign ventures or retrieve items via the Companion App.
* This feature will be available starting on Friday, June 28, 2024, at 4:00 a.m. PDT / 11:00 GMT / 9:00 p.m. AEST.

Viper and pictomancer have been added to the solo rankings for Palace of the Dead, Heaven-on-High, and Eureka Orthos.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

6 Months Later, Palworld Dev Insists Nintendo Is Yet to Make a Complaint Despite ‘Pokémon Rip-Off’ Claims

The developer of Palworld has said Nintendo is yet to make a complaint after The Pokémon Company said it intended to investigate amid the “Pokémon rip-off” claims earlier this year.

Palworld, dubbed ‘Pokémon with Guns,’ launched in early access form in January 2024 on PC via Steam and on Xbox as a day-one Game Pass title. It saw enormous popularity overnight, becoming one of the biggest game launches of all time. But it’s also one of the most controversial. Developer Pocketpair has said its staff has received death threats amid the Pokémon “rip-off” claims, which it has denied.

Soon after Palworld’s launch Nintendo moved quickly to remove an eye-catching Pokémon mod, then The Pokemon Company issued a statement, saying: “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” At the time, IGN asked lawyers whether Nintendo could successfully sue.

Now, speaking to Game File, Pocketpair boss Takuro Mizobe insisted it has yet to receive any complaint from Nintendo or The Pokémon Company, even after The Pokémon Company issued its statement that it intended to launch an investigation.

“Nothing at all,” Mizobe said. “Nintendo and the Pokémon Company didn’t say anything to us. Of course I love Pokémon and respect it. I grew up with it, in my generation.”

Despite this, fans continue to compare Palworld to Pokémon, and this week’s major new update, called Sakurajima, will no-doubt fuel those comparisons. Pocketpair has also teased Palworld on PlayStation, although a Nintendo Switch version sounds unlikely. IGN’s Palworld early access review returned an 8/10. We said: “Palworld may crib quite a bit from Pokémon’s homework, but deep survival mechanics and a hilarious attitude make it hard to put down – even in early access.”

As much as possible, I try to avoid creating new things.

It turns out that in 2010, then student developer Mizobe created a DS game while enrolled in a one-year Nintendo Game Seminar in Tokyo. Game File asked if he learned any lessons from working with Nintendo that stuck with him years later.

“Kind of,” Mizobe replied, reportedly with a laugh. “I always think: to make new things is very hard. In game development, of course, sometimes we have to do it, but, as much as possible, I try to avoid creating new things.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Helldivers 2 Update 01.000.403 Fixes Broken Spear

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has issued a new patch for the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter that fixes the Spear after a previous update caused crash problems.

Last week’s update 1.000.402 included a fix for the Spear not targeting several entities (spawners, compound objects, etc). This change was welcomed by fans because, it was hoped, it would finally make the Spear weapon more reliable out on the battlefield.

However, players soon found that the Spear, the very weapon Arrowhead had sought to fix, caused crashes, resulting in a fresh recommendation not to use it. Now, patch 01.000.403 includes a fix for Spear-related crashes. Fingers crossed that’s now the end of the Spear’s tumultuous time in Helldivers 2.

Elsewhere, there are more fixes for a variety of relatively minor problems, and an updated list of issues Arrowhead is working on.

Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since going on sale earlier this year. Amid the huge revenue Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has suffered a number of crises, including launch server problems and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to force Steam players to account link to PlayStation Network.

Arrowhead recently revealed it was in the process of setting the studio up so it could “make more and better stuff” in the long-term. In an introductory post on reddit, new CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced previous Arrowhead CEO and now current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt, said the studio has had to adjust to the enormous success Helldivers 2 has brought to the company.

Helldivers 2 update 01.000.403 patch notes:

Overview

For this patch, we have made improvements and changes to the following areas:

  • Crash fix related to the FAF-14 Spear
  • General fixes

General

  • Japanese language voice-overs are now available globally on PS5 (also on PC).

Fixes

Crashes

  • Fix for crash happening when players with unique hellpod patterns leave during hellpod launch cutscenes
  • Crash fix while aiming with the FAF-14 Spear

Misc fixes

  • Fixed corrupted text showing “?” for some characters when having Traditional Chinese language selected
  • Fix for Plasma Punisher being unable to shoot out of the SH-32 Shield Generator Pack and the FX-12 Shield Generator
  • Fixed so the Quasar Cannon has the correct change to its heat when on hot and cold planets
  • Fixed issue where Spore Spewer would appear purple on certain planets
  • Fixed some cases where pink question marks would appear in missions on various planets
  • Fixed Peak Physique armor passive not properly affecting weapon ergonomics
  • Fixed issue where available Operations were reset after player reconnected from getting kicked due to inactivity

Known Issues

These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.

  • Sending friend requests via friend code in game currently does not work
  • Players may be unable to be joined or invited to the game
  • Players added to the Recent Players list will appear in the middle of the list
  • Players may experience delays in Medals and Super Credits payouts
  • Enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions
  • Deployed mines may sometimes become invisible (but remain active)
  • Arc weapons sometimes behave inconsistently and sometimes misfire
  • Most weapons shoot below the crosshair when aiming down the sights
  • Stratagem beam might attach itself to an enemy but will deploy to its original location
  • Hand Carts ship module does not reduce Shield Generator Pack’s cooldown
  • Superior Packing Methodology ship module does not work
  • Bile Titan sometimes does not take damage to the head
  • Players may become stuck in the Loadout when joining a game in progress
  • Reinforcement may not be available for players who join a game in progress
  • Planet liberation reaches 100 % at the end of every Defend mission
  • Raise Flag of Super Earth objective does not show a progress bar
  • Mission count in the Career tab is being reset to zero after every game restart
  • Some weapons’ descriptions are out-of-date and don’t reflect their current design

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Grab a 1TB Nintendo Switch Memory Card for Only $63.99 on Amazon

Looking to increase the storage capacity of your Nintendo Switch? Amazon currently has a TEAMGROUP GO 1TB Micro SDXC card for only $63.99. For most people, this will be enough space for the entire lifespan of your Switch and at a great price. There’s only one Micro SD card slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford.

1TB Micro SDXC Card (Switch Compatible) for $63.99

The Nintendo Switch is an outstanding console, but it doesn’t give you much space to install many games out of the box, especially if you purchase digital games off eShop. The Switch and Switch OLED have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively, with some of it reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses up 16GB and Breath of the Wild about 13.5GB. If bought digitally, those two games alone would take up all of your internal storage on the OG Switch console. Fortunately, the Switch features a single memory card expansion slot. It supports up to 2TB Micro SDXC cards, but since 2TB Micro SDXC cards don’t exist in the mainsteam market, a 1TB or 1.5TB card is the maximum you can get.

The 1TB TEAMGROUP Micro SDXC card is compatible with virtually any device that accepts the Micro SDXC card standard. That includes the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, any recently released smartphone that supports expandable memory, GoPros, cameras and much more. Despite its low price, the TEAMGROUP is faster than your average Micro SDXC card. It has a U3 A1 rating and boasts transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s read and 50MB/s write. Although TEAMGROUP isn’t as well known of a brand as SanDisk or Samsung, this brand has been around for a while and is a legitimate manufacturer of flash-based storage. This particular model has plenty of good reviews on Amazon.

Need a faster speed? Choose this one instead.

The TEAMGROUP PRO PLUS 1TB Micro SDXC card is U3 A2 rated with transfer speeds up to 160MB/s read and 110MB/s write. This extra speed can’t be exploited in a Nintendo Switch, but this is a better Micro SDXC card for mobile electronics that often handle bitrate heavy files like GoPros, smartphones with 4K video recording, DSLR cameras, and PCs with an available Micro SD or SD card slot (an adapter is included).

A Twitch Streamer Just Killed Off Two Shadow of the Erdtree Bosses Using Mind Control, and Zero Hands

Twitch streamer Perri Karyal has taken down two major Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree bosses using a hands free ‘mind control’ virtual controller, which decodes electrical information fed directly from her brain in real time.

Prior to Shadow of the Erdtree’s release, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki was quoted as saying that the challenge posed by the DLC “really pushed the envelope in terms of what we think can be withstood by the player”. True to his word, the days following Shadow of the Erdtree’s June 21 launch have seen many players take to social media to lament that the new content is simply too hard, while others complained of performance issues, leading to a ‘mixed’ review on Steam.

However, its fearsome difficulty hasn’t stopped Karyal from attempting to take on the DLC using a very unconventional method of controlling her tarnished, which also proves that 90 percent of a FromSoftware boss fight plays out between the ears.

Karyal made headlines last year after beating Elden Ring’s base game content while using an electroencephalography (EEG) brain monitoring headset to control specific in-game actions such as attacking, and rolling. EEG technology is ordinarily used by physicians as a diagnostic tool. However, after encountering the brain-scanning headwear while studying for a masters degree in psychology she became curious as to whether the technology could be adapted to control video games as part of a virtual controller.

To that end Karyal was able to use some fancy coding to train the software that came with her commercial EEG headset to recognize patterns in her brain’s electrical activity that were brought about when she imagined a particular object, action, or emotion. Each pattern was then assigned to an input on a virtual controller, which allowed Karyal to execute actions with her mind by imagining things during gameplay. For example, by imagining herself pushing a cube forward she could execute a roll, or alternatively she could imagine a plate spinning to make her tarnished perform an attack, or simply make herself angry to heal.

During the 2023 Elden Ring runthrough Karyal had still been beholden to a physical Xbox controller to dictate the movement of her tarnished warrier. However, for Shadow of the Erdtree, the streamer opted to attempt a completely hands-free run, by using eye-tracking software to track the movement of her head to control her character’s movement, and voice prompts to trigger more nuanced actions, including saying “I choose you” to summon a spirit ash. Navigating to bosses also required a completely different command setup to the one used during the climactic fights themselves, adding another layer of mental gymnastics to the process.

Impressively, Karyal has already managed to use her mind-control approach to take down two challenging early DLC bosses in the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, and Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight. Of course this isn’t the first time that FromSoftware fans have employed a non-traditional controller to shame Elden Ring bosses. Just last year Twitch streamer MissMikkaa managed to beat two Malenias simultaneously in two separate instances of the game while using a Dance Pad and a PS5 DualSense. Another FromSoftware challenge runner by the name Dr. Decomposing was also able to complete a no-damage run while using a modified electric saxophone as a controller.

Be sure to check out IGN’s interactive map and comprehensive guide for all the tips, tricks, and walkthroughs that you need to get the most out of your time in the Land of Shadow, or read up on how modders are already finding ways to make the game easier on PC.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer