Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.2 is on track as one of the best the game has ever received

A new Final Fantasy XIV patch has dropped, so you know what time it is. Last time around with 7.1 I relayed that while it was a "good" patch overall, there wasn't all that much for non-raiders to contend with - and everything I've reported about the game since has echoed the same sentiment, including some of the comments I received in response to my thoughts. It's been a great time to be a XIV raider, but outside of the dripfeed of MSQ and Alliance Raid content, there hasn't been all that much for more casual players to whet their appetite.

Unfortunately, right now, that still remains true. Patch 7.2 has been out for 2 1/2 weeks as of this writing, and the content added amounts to a few hours of MSQ, a new dungeon, a new Trial (including an Extreme), a new tier for the Normal Raid series, and a Savage version of those same raid fights. There's also been a few new glams added to the Treasure Dungeon loot pool, naturally.

If we were to judge the patch solely off what already has been added, then it would be very easy to grouse about the same issues I've been complaining about for months now; there isn't enough for non-raiders to do. I've been fed, but I'm not so vain as to assume that the only thing that matters in XIV are the raids, or that even most of the playerbase engages with them. Thankfully, the wait for the other major additions with this patch will be out within a month and a half's time, and now that the dust has settled on the AAC Cruiserweight (Savage) tier - it's the best Savage Raid tier the game has seen in close to a decade - all eyes are on Cosmic Explorations and Shade's Triangle, when they'll be dropping in the interim between 7.2 and 7.3.

Without going into any specific details, while I work on crystallizing my thoughts on the raid tier for a more appropriate venue, the synthesis between the raid design in Chaotic Cloud of Darkness and the most recent Savage - and even Normal - tiers makes me very, very excited for Shade's Triangle. Eureka and Bozja are both some of the best content in Final Fantasy XIV, and the new fight design ethos we're seeing is quite exciting for large-scale, Exploration Zone content. Even for folks that don't Savage Raid, I know many players eagerly awaiting the update, and all indications point to it being the highlight of Dawntrail as a whole.

That, combined with the upcoming Cosmic Exploration that gives crafting sickos something to regularly come back to, and the most engaging Main Scenario of Dawntrail so far has already begun to change the tune of many XIV players. As I expected, especially once we hit patch 7.25 it feels like we'll be reaching the turning point for the expansion as a whole. Just think, we've still got Variant and Criterion dungeons left to be added, a new Deep Dungeon, Beastmaster and more in the months and years ahead; while it's taken way too long to get here, the actual changes that Dawntrail was sold on outside of the graphical update and the addition of a second dye channel for equipment is finally beginning to drop.

I don't have to tell Final Fantasy XIV players that it's been a rough wait to get here, but instead of dreading when the actual new content will arrive, players finally have a good reason to resub if they haven't been an active raider. While it's been a bumpy road, Dawntrail looks set to redeem itself as one of the better Final Fantasy XIV expansions in due time.

RPG Site received Final Fantasy XIV game time for the purposes of this patch review.