FFXIV Patch 7.1: Loaded with Content...and big job changes

The wait is over! Patch 7.1 dropped Tuesday, November 12th and offers a good chunk of content for players who have completed the Dawntrail main scenario.

New Alliance Raid, Dungeon, and More!

FFXI fans will get some nostalgia vibes with the first entry in the new alliance raid series Echoes of Vana'diel. (I've played this and hell yeah is it a good time.)

MSQ enjoyers will follow some interesting plot threads and eventually have the chance to challenge the new dungeon, Yuweyawata Field Station, which can be completed with other players or the Duty Support and Trust system. A new Extreme and Unreal trials are available now, and a new Ultimate and Chaos World of Darkness Alliance Raid are right around the corner. I'll be in Party Finder for that one...pray for me!

Crafters and gatherers got some love too with custom deliveries, new furnishings, and more. And fan favorite Hildibrand shows up again too. And there are some off-the-hook new joke weapon glams. Overall, this patch is packed with juicy content and something for all types of players.

There were also some job changes that might look minor on the surface, but really impact the feel or ease of play of a class.

Surprise job changes

We never know what job changes will be rolled into a patch, but there are usually a few surprises (except for Machinist, who always gets a potency boost of 10 to a few skills--IYKYK). Some jobs have been made less busy, some have QoL updates, and some have updates that make existing actions very, very, strong. I'll highlight a few here that are interesting. This isn't a comprehensive list.

Dragoon

Dragoon is my favorite DPS job. I love the insane burst window! But unfortunately, we see a 2-action reduction in that window this patch:

Stacks of Nastrond Ready granted has been reduced from 3 to 1.

The good: The lost potency is spread across other jumps, making your big showy jumps hit harder.

The bad: Nastrond is easy to double weave and decently ranged, and flexible. You can weave it while disengaging unlike other jump actions that either freeze you momentarily (High Jump) or just force you to fully commit (Stardiver).

The ugly: 2 less jump animations now for a total of 4 lost in Dawntrail. Aren't Dragoons supposed to, you know, jump?

White Mage

WHM is just a DPS who occasionally needs to do something to keep your ass alive. I guess. Meh, your co-healer can handle it.

WHM continues to be the go-to source for blinding your party (unless the RDM has an LB3). Now they can just move more.

Holy		Cast time has been reduced from 2.5 to 1.5 seconds.
Holy III		Cast time has been reduced from 2.5 to 1.5 seconds.

The good: Holy go BRRRRRRR.

The bad: Less excuse to trigger Lilturgy of the Bell by eating an AOE on purpose.

The ugly: You can use OGCDs now with Holy. Someone might expect you to actually heal them.

Gunbreaker

All tank invulns got a nice upgrade in this patch with less delay. This was absolutely noticeable for me when trying it out. I popped Living Dead at the last possible second in a dungeon and it still went through.

Gunbreaker got a big buff to their invuln though:

Superbolide

The effects of this action will now be applied earlier. No longer reduces HP to 1, and instead reduces HP to 50% of maximum.

The Good: Shooting yourself in the head apparently now only takes half your health away. Thancred would approve.

The Bad: "A test of your reflexes" memes just won't hit the same.

The Ugly: Paladin Midnight strongly objects to Gunbreaker essentially getting Hallowed Ground with a shorter cooldown.

Closing Thoughts

This patch really delivers. There is a lot of high-quality, diverse content. But FFXIV players who have expressed concern about the simplification of jobs are not going to find a lot to like here. It's a tough balance between accessibility and challenge.

The jury's out for me still. I was not happy about how the DRG changes looked from the Job Actions Trailer before Dawntrail, but ended up really enjoying the gameplay changes (with the glaring example of Spineshatter Dive being replaced by a baseball slide). There might be some significant job reworks coming in 8.0, so I'll hold off on a firm opinion until then. There's plenty of awesome new content to mess around with without worrying too much about that.

What is your favorite new content from 7.1? Leave a comment!