Quick Thoughts On Final Fantasy XIV's Upcoming Patch 7.3

I'm an unusual type of MMORPG player. I don't really get excited for major patches. Because I spend so little time playing compared to a lot of other players. Also, not having a lot of real life combat skill leads me in different directions than the majority of the player base. Final Fantasy XIV's patch 7.3 for the Dawntrail expansion is just the latest example.

The above trailer almost inspires me to finish the last trial in patch 7.2, Recollection. But honesty compels me to admit patch 7.3 finishes the Dawntrail story. Admittedly I'm really hoping the story will place Wut Lamak in the rear view mirror and make Sphene a regular member of the rotating Scions cast. Yes, I really do want to have the ability to choose both Graha T'ia and Sphene as Trust characters in future expansions.

One bit of content I am excited about is the next installment in Cosmic Explorations, Phaenna. The screenshots on the special site look pretty good. I'm hoping we can earn a hoverboard mount on the first planet we explore. Also, the idea of upgrading all my crafting and gathering tools fills me with a lot of happy thoughts.

I know a lot of players are excited by the new deep dungeon, Pilgrim's Traverse, coming in patch 7.35. But I never got into deep dungeons, possibly because I only played white mage seriously for my first few years playing FFXIV. If I have to run through Palace of the Dead to get to content, I'm not doing the content. 

What I am excited about coming in patch 7.35 is the new alliance society, the Yok Huy. I liked that section of the main story questline and look forward to revisiting Urqopacha and learning more about the tribe. Some of the tribe's beliefs influenced the main story and I'd like to explore more of the difference of the Yok Huy and Alexandrians.

I have two other things I'm looking forward to. The first is the next installment of the adventures of Hildibrand. When doing the quests my character runs around in a cosplay of Nashu. I'd really like the detective outfit but I know that probably won't become available until the end of the questline in patch 7.5.

The other thing I'm looking forward to is chat bubbles. That's right, the developers have finally cut through all the spaghetti code and have unlocked chat bubbles. Just remember, Yoshi-P decided the feature should be turned off by default, so the first thing I may do is adjust my settings.

On top of all of the above I still have so much to do. But for the next couple of weeks I'll have to prepare for the coming of patch 7.3 on the fifth of August.