FFXIV 7.1’s Alliance Raid takes us back to one of FFXI’s most iconic locations

Square Enix finally announced the FFXIV 7.1 release date in a trailer that also teased a return to one of FFXI’s most recognizable locations

Square Enix

After teasing what to expect in the next Dawntrail patch, Square Enix finally announced the FFXIV 7.1 release date in a new trailer. FFXIV 7.1 goes live on November 12, 2024, with a whole slate of new updates for the MMO game.

Producer Naoki Yoshida also showed off a bit of the upcoming FFXI Alliance Raid, including a return to Jeuno, a bustline mercantile hub and one of the MMO game’s most recognizable locations, and it’s certainly looking good. Not that that’s too surprising. FFXI was hardly an aesthetically pleasing game when it launched in 2002, and that hasn’t changed over the last two decades. Seeing it in Dawntrail’s improved graphics engine makes me wish the games industry’s love of remakes might one day extend to FFXI as well.

• Read more: FFXIV Dawntrail review - A vision reborn

Anyway, the idea behind the FFXI Alliance Raid is that memories of Vana’diel are bleeding into FFXIV’s world, a concept that should sound familiar if you finished Dawntrail’s main scenario quest. 

“A pall of unease has settled over Yak T'el, and memories of a world not our own now find themselves buried in the woods,” the raid’s official description reads. “The Warrior of Light has set off to investigate, but what secrets will they unearth beneath those shaded boughs?”

In addition to the raid’s storyline and seeing Jeuno reimagined in gorgeous new detail, you’ll also get a new set of gear if you manage to complete the challenge. 

Speaking of raids, Square Enix is adding Chaotic Raids in patch 7.15, a half-step difficulty between Extreme and Savage raids that lets you earn gear at item level 730 and tokens to exchanged for rewards, among other things. That’s typical stuff for FFXIV, but the standout detail is that there’s no limit on rewards. Assuming you and the other 23 people raiding alongside you can continue clearing the Chaotic Raid, you can grab as much as you want.

• Read more: If you want more Wuk Lamat in FFXIV’s post-Dawntrail patches, Naoki Yoshida has good news for you

Finally, the Shadowbringers raid Futures Rewritten is back as an Ultimate Raid, if you’re after a high-level challenge.

FFXIV 7.1 adds a lot of new material and makes some welcome tweaks. We’ve outlined much of this already in our FFXIV 7.1 preview, but Yoshida shared some other noteworthy new tidbits. One of them is a set of PvP reworks, such as reacting to an opponent’s move while your attack animation is in progress and new PvP actions for every class except Viper and Pictomancer. After 7.1, you’ll also have the option to store glamour items in your dresser as sets, instead of as individual items, though you’ll have to own the entire set to take advantage of that option. Still, it’s convenient if you do have it.