Letter from the Producer, LXI (08/27/2015)

Hello again to all you FFXIVers! Yoshi-P here. Today, we celebrate the second anniversary of FFXIV’s rebirth!

Since our official commencement of service on August 27, 2013, we’ve brought the Patch 2.X storyline to its conclusion, held fan festivals worldwide (which had long been a personal goal of mine), and released our long-awaited first expansion, Heavensward.

We owe it all to you, the Warriors of Light, who have supported our development and operation teams throughout these endeavors. I cannot fully express how grateful I am to our players—thank you all so much! I hope each and every one of you will continue to enjoy FINAL FANTASY XIV for many more years to come.

It’s been two months since the launch of Heavensward, and about one month since we added Alexander: Gordias (Savage). And now it seems there are two companies which have cleared the final area! The first to claim victory was Elysium, on August 24, at 9:08 AM (JST). Only fourteen hours later, the members of Lucrezia also cleared the final area.

We were concerned about the level of difficulty, especially the third and fourth areas. But these top-notch free companies showed our battle team that they were up to the challenge. In their rush to be first, both FCs demonstrated exceptional teamwork and individual skill, and I would like to congratulate them on their accomplishments. (We saw the Elysium clear video, and when they cried out at the end it was amazing!)

As you know, for 3.0 raids, we’ve implemented both normal and Savage versions. We plan to continue designing raids while paying close attention to your feedback so that as many players as possible can experience this content.

Also, our anniversary event, the Rising, will kick off today. This year’s Rising has something of an “old-school Final Fantasy” feel to it, so you might find it a little different from the seasonal events we’ve had so far. I hope you all enjoy it (there was some talk about whether or not we should make certain NPCs attackable...)

Until next time, at the 2015 Tokyo Game Show! See you soon! :)