PAX East Update, Patch 5.2 Observations, And A Mount

The real world is intruding into the world of Final Fantasy, as Square Enix announced a reduction in its activity at PAX East this weekend.

As the community may be aware, COVID-19 (also known as “novel coronavirus”) is spreading within the East Asia region. Taking into consideration the current situation within the region, sadly SQUARE ENIX has decided to cancel the PAX East attendance of staff who would be travelling from the Japan offices. This difficult decision was based on our desire to prevent any potential spread of the virus and to prioritize the health and safety of our team and our fans.

For Final Fantasy XIV, the decision means the cancellation of three events. The first is the in-person art presentation. Instead, Square Enix will give the presentation on its Twitch channel in both Japanese and English on Saturday, 29 February at 8pm Eastern time. The signing sessions and photo opportunities scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, as well as the fan gathering planned for Friday, are cancelled entirely.

Still playing in the original A Realm Reborn content means I didn't see nearly as much of the impact of Tuesday's patch as those in Shadowbringers. I can, however, report on a couple things. The first is crafting. I didn't do any of the level 50 quests, but I did get my Blacksmithing, Carpenter, and Culinary classes up to level 49, with all other crafting classes up to level 50. I didn't see much, if any, difference. Then again, my gatherers are all level 50-52, so for the most part I'm using high quality crafting components. The big difference in my game play should come to making higher level items than my crafting level, and I haven't tried that yet. I can report that the update where if your food effect runs out while crafting you don't see the reductions until after the item is completed is happening. I'm glad because that occurred on my last item before I needed to go harvest some more materials. I didn't need to eat more food to complete one item.

The other new feature I can report on is the new version of Leap of Fate found in the Gold Saucer. The Leap of Fate is a jumping puzzle that now has two versions located in Belah'dia and Nym. I like what the art team did with the GATE, as I can look over the visually gorgeous course. I also find the jumping from place to place easier as well. I ran the course twice, even getting the maximum number of points once.

I also have to say I like the new GATE schedule in the Gold Saucer.

Every hour, on the hour (Earth Time)

• Cliffhanger

• Air Force One

• Leap of Faith (The Fall of Belah'dia)

Hourly, 20 minutes past the hour (Earth Time)

• Any Way the Wind Blows

• The Slice Is Right

• Leap of Faith (The Falling City of Nym)

Hourly, 40 minutes past the hour (Earth Time)

• Air Force One

• The Slice Is Right

• Leap of Faith (The Falling City of Nym)

Knowing the schedule lets me know which version of Leap of Faith is available. I only have to do 5 every week, and successfully complete 3 to get bonuses equaling 13,000 MGP.

Is it gambling if the worst payout if you always win more than you pay?

At this point I should explain my fascination with the Gold Saucer, FFXIV's casino. The Gold Saucer has its own currency with which one can purchase items from the various vendors inside the casino. One class of items is mounts. And I, in a sure sign of insanity, want to get Fenrir, a mount that costs 1 million MGP.

The flavor text gives some idea of what the mount is.

Following the rise of Ishgard, hoarhounds all but disappeared from the Coerthas highlands. However, the shift in climate caused by the Calamity has seen the legendary beasts descend from their mountain dens once more.

But to understand the true majesty of the mount, I'm including a video one of my favorite FFXIV YouTubers, Meoni, created.



I currently am sitting around 500,000 MGP, and make a little over 100,000 MGP a week. GATES like A Leap of Faith and Air Force One make up my second biggest source of MGP. The biggest? The Fashion Report. With the addition of the 10% bonus effect my free company runs on Saturdays, the Fashion Report provides me 66,000 MGP every week. Which is why I keep writing about my outfits. Whoever knew that min/maxing would lead to becoming a fashionista?

My week 108 outfit

Speaking of the Fashion Report, getting the 80 points for my weekly 66,000 MGP was easy. Wear maple pattens, a level 5 item, and dye the body and hand slots soot black. Easy peasy. But I have to try to get all the points, not just 80, in order to buy everything from the boutique as quickly as possible. Also, I tend to wear my fashion report outfit until the next week's event.

Getting a perfect score was out of reach. As a level 46 white mage, I couldn't wear the items for two of the four slots. In the body slot, I substituted in the Anemos Gambison for all the gambisons that would score maximum points. The Anemos set is rather useful as a filler set, and I think looks good as well. The hands were a total loss, as I can't wear bracers. After trying on several items, I thought the Fingerless Goatskin Gloves of Gathering were the best looking option to go along with the gambison.

The other two slots I could get maximum points from items already in my inventory. As mentioned above, I had the maple pattens. In the leg slot, I could use the Extreme Survival Slops which already are part of my gathering glamour. I finished off the look with a beret dyed midnight blue. I got 9 out of 10 possible points for the dyes, because wearing a metallic blue beret was not happening. I think the yellow flowers that are part of the Aetherial Wand of Tremor goes well with the outfit as well.

That's my update for Final Fantasy XIV, a day late. I'm still having fun, and if I get the time this weekend, I look forward to binge watching the level 50 crafting quest cut scenes this weekend. And a bunch of other things out there I still haven't tried. Now if the real world will not get in the way, in more ways than one.