Final Fantasy XVI Patch Changes One of the Game’s Biggest Flaws
A much-needed update.
Final Fantasy XVI’s second DLC, The Rising Tide, is set to release on April 18, and the game is getting a massive update to coincide with it. Square Enix has released the patch notes for Version 1.31, bringing some surprisingly drastic changes that will alter the entire game, specifically the combat system. But most of the modifications are smart, and address a core criticism that fans of Final Fantasy XVI have had since its launch.
The big focal point of this patch is one singular change — the game is increasing player attack outside of select Eikon battles, according to the notes.
One of the big complaints about Final Fantasy XVI’s combat has been that enemies simply have too much health, with battles dragging on for 10-20 minutes at times, especially if you’re underleveled. This is even more true in the hard difficulty Final Fantasy Mode, where enemies have even more health. There are accessories you could use, like the Genji Gloves, to help boost your damage, but it still never felt like enough.
In addition to the patch changes, The Rising Tide adds a brand new Eikon set for Leviathan.
Boosting the base attack power of Clive could significantly alter how battles play out, and make everything feel snappier and less time-consuming. That’s hardly the only change, however, as across the board Square Enix seems to be buffing a ton of Clive’s Eikon abilities, both making them more powerful and more useful. Here are some of the bigger ones below. (You can view the full patch notes here.)
- Clive can now dodge while using Blind Justice.
- Gouge damage is increased.
- Gouge will damage is increased.
- Gouge recast time is reduced.
- Earthen Fury recast time is reduced.
- Flare Breath now dispels certain ranged magic attacks.
- Flare Breath now lifts enemies instead of knocking them back when canceling the ability.
- Flare Breath damage is increased.
- Satellite damage is increased.
- Satellite recast time is reduced.
- Gungnir recast time is reduced.
- Gungnir will damage is increased.
That’s a substantial list of changes, and the full patch notes contain even more. It’s abundantly clear the development team has listened to complaints of the combat system. Part of the reason for these changes might be the arena-like mode being added, Kairos Gate. In this mode, players will take on 20 levels filled with waves of enemies, earning points for upgrades. There’s also apparently an ultra-hard secret boss at the very end.
These new challenges might have dictated a boost in Clive’s damage, but this patch in general seems very focused on streamlining the entire experience. Fans are also getting a host of quality-of-life changes, including an enhanced photo mode, swappable skill sets, boosting the usefulness of Torgal’s accessories, making quest rewards clearer, and more.
Powering up Clive’s abilities will likely help players tackle the new Kairos Gate endgame arena.
Some other notable changes include a “Quick Complete” option for side quests that let you warp directly to the quest giver, and a boost to Ability Points given for some side quests. Interestingly, the notes also state “additional cutscenes have been added to certain side quests” and “new NPCs have been added to certain settlements.” That certainly sounds like more story content has been added, or at least something from The Rising Tide affected the main game.
This update honestly makes it feel like Final Fantasy XVI is hitting its 2.0 version, and it’ll be interesting to see how the slew of changes change and streamline the entire game. Of course, the other interesting factor here is that this will make the PC version, currently in development, quite a different experience from the PS5 one at launch. If you were planning on replaying Final Fantasy XVI, this patch makes it the perfect time to do so.
