Heavensward content

Patch 3.1

From Final Fantasy XIV Online Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Patch 3.1
"As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness"
PatchTitleCard-3-1.jpg
Expansion
Heavensward
Release Date
3.1 - 10 November 2015
3.15 - 15 December 2015
Promo Page
Link
Patch Notes
3.1, 3.15
PreviousNext
Patch 3.0
Patch 3.2
All content patches
Concept Art

Introduction

Patch 3.1: As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness is the first major content update introduced for Heavensward.

Notable Features, Additions, and Changes

New Content

System Changes and Additions

  • 45-day Auto-demolition timer added for unused housing plots
  • Personal Housing: Estate Sharing "the owner of a house may designate up to three of their friends as "tenants" who have access to the house and its associated features. A player may only be a tenant of at most two houses."
  • Certain ARR mounts can now fly

Miscellaneous

  • Tradeable versions of Mogstation dyes added.

Note: Not all content listed here will launch on the same day. This article is about the 3.1x season as a whole.

Main Story Summary (Spoilers)

Lore

In the wake of the archbishop's fall, the nation of Ishgard trembled, the faith of her people shaken to its very core. They had embarked upon a strange and unfamiliar path, and none could predict the troubles which lay ahead.

An Uncertain Future

In the event of the archbishop's passing, canon law dictated that the lord commander of the Temple Knights was to assume his responsibilities as head of state-temporarily. They further specified that he should surrender his powers as soon as a conclave of the senior clergy and the High Houses had named a new archbishop.

However, rather than attempting to conceal certain details, Ser Aymeric had elected to disclose the whole truth regarding his father's disappearance. Though he had done so in an effort to retain the trust of the people, the immediate result was growing unrest, as the most sacred beliefs of the populace were called into question. Under such circumstances, selecting a new archbishop was out of the question.

Ser Aymeric believed that to address the people's concerns, they must needs secure a lasting peace-a definitive end to the Dragonsong War, marked by the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Ishgard and Dravania. To that end, he once more turned to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn for aid, and bade Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light escort Lucia to Anyx Trine.

The first commander, acting as Ser Aymeric's envoy, treated with Vidofnir, relaying his words with heartfelt conviction. Regrettably, the dragon's response was disappointingly noncommittal, as she would need to discuss it with her father, Hraesvelgr, before a decision could be made. Nevertheless, there was a sense among those present that, in her heart of hearts, Vidofnir harbored the same hope.

A Dark Rivalry

Several members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn remained missing, and to find them they sought the assistance of a Sharlayan scholar newly come to Eorzea: Krile, a member of the Students of Baldesion. She had been present during the attack on the Isle of Val, when a magick of immense power akin to Ultima obliterated not only the order's headquarters, but the isle itself. However, like the Warrior of Light, she possessed not only the Echo, but had availed herself of the blessing of Light's protection, and in so doing managed to survive. Upon waking from her long torpor, she learned of Minfilia's disappearance, and so she resolved to come to Eorzea, that she might more effectively assist the Scions with their search for her dear friend and the others.

Krile devised a plan to locate Thancred, who had also escaped the Sil'dih Aqueducts by way of Y'shtola's forbidden magick Flow. Her method would require the use of Master Matoya's Crystal Eye-a powerful relic that was in truth an ancient Crystal of Light. Once the elderly scholar consented to her plan, Krile wasted no time in carrying it out, and soon she determined that Thanered had emerged from the Lifestream near the base of Sohm AL.

The Scions began their search in earnest, and after some unexpectedly awkward twists and turns, they eventually came to Loth ast Gnath. Drawn by the sounds of battle, they ventured within the beastman stronghold, but found not their missing comrade but a party of mysterious adventurers, who before the Scions very eyes effortlessly slew an incarnation of the primal Ravana. These self-proclaimed Warriors of Darkness then abruptly attacked the Warrior of Light and his comrades, who struggled to defend themselves--until Thancred suddenly leapt into the fray, dueling their leader to a draw and forcing them to retreat. Though they had weathered their opponents' assault and been reunited with a missing comrade, the Scions were nevertheless troubled and unsure what to make of the encounter.

Against the Dying of the Light

Upon returning to Ishgard, the Scions were shocked to learn that Ser Aymeric had been the target of an attempted assassination. For a mercy, he had not suffered serious injuries, but the incident was only the beginning: shortly thereafter, buildings throughout the city burst into flame, as part of what appeared to be a coordinated-and ongoing-attack. The Scions eagerly joined with the Temple Knights in an investigation, but although it resulted in an arrest, a rebel faction calling themselves the True Broth- ers of the Faith exploited the chaos to seize control of the Vault and take hostage a number of refugees who had been sheltering within.

These fundamentalists, who were loyal to the previous archbishop, de- clared Ser Aymeric guilty of patricide and high treason and demanded that he surrender himself at once to receive of the Fury's judgment-namely execution. The lord commander was of course in no position to acquiesce to their demands, and so, together with the Scions, he led an armed assault on the Vault.

After Ser Aymeric's forces successfully secured the hostages on the lower floors, they learned that the sole remaining captive, a young girl, had been borne off to the upper levels by the priest who had led the rebels. When at last cornered atop the Vault, the man would not hear reason, and in a final act of defiance he threw the child from the ledge. Yet when all hope seemed lost, the great white dragon Vidofnir swooped down to pluck her from the very jaws of death, as a crowd of Ishgardians looked on in utter amazement. [1]

References

  1. Encyclopaedia Eorzea: Volume I, page 74