With Final Fantasy XIV patch 7.25, Occult Crescent has brought out Dawntrail’s full potential

by

4 years ago, in May 2021, Zadnor was introduced to Final Fantasy XIV through update 5.55. This marked the last time the game introduced new Field Operations or “Exploration Zone” content – until now. While expansions such as Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers all received post-launch updates that included these zones to enhance their endgame offerings, Endwalker was excluded from this addition. Any dedicated XIV player will confirm the game’s noticeable absence of such a zone; it was sorely missed. To say that Occult Crescent has been eagerly awaited would be an understatement.

If you’ve only recently begun playing Final Fantasy XIV, it’s possible that the term “Field Operation” may be unfamiliar to you. To clarify, although Final Fantasy XIV is clearly a “theme park” style MMORPG, Field Operations are separate instances offering a gameplay experience more akin to a “sandbox” MMO, like Final Fantasy XI. Unlike the rest of the game where progression is heavily tied to Item Level, Field Operations have their own leveling and gear progression system. The gear in these zones is primarily earned and augmented with unique attributes specific to each Field Operation. Additionally, there are usually additional actions exclusive to these zones. While Diadem was the first instance of this type of content in Final Fantasy XIV, Eureka and Bozja are what current players would likely recognize.

For “Occult Crescent,” this is expressed as “Knowledge Level” and “Ghost Jobs.” Currently, overcoming “Fates,” “Commission Extras” (CEs), and vanquishing standard enemies in the latest zone yields “Knowledge,” which can elevate your “Knowledge Level.” Despite the fact that “Fates” and “Commission Extras” don’t grow based on Knowledge, standard enemies do. At the beginning of the zone, simply navigating the map to uncover Aetheryte Shards and locate survey points for the zone’s log is a risky endeavor. The “Knowledge Level” doesn’t influence your stats but rather your combat scaling against adversaries – if you’re at the same level as an enemy, the battle scale is comparable to regular gameplay. However, if you have a Knowledge Level 1 and confront a Level 10 enemy, you will be instantly defeated with just one auto-attack.

In its own right, the scale of this type of mapping sets the South Horn on Occult Crescent apart significantly from typical game zones. Beyond A Realm Reborn territories, players haven’t had to fret much about enemies in zones having drastically varying power levels, necessitating caution during exploration. Even at the present endgame, players must exercise care around regular mobs; if a group is chain-pulling Level 28 mobs, tanks and healers need to stay vigilant, as any error can lead to defeat. If a player dies in battle without being revived by another player, they’ll face a penalty severe enough to potentially demote their character’s level.

Initially, it appears that much of this resembles Bozja. However, there’s a significant distinction: while in Bozja, players could raise their standard jobs from 71 to 80 using the content, Occult Crescent expects players to begin at job level 100. Instead of increasing Knowledge Level, players will be working towards acquiring new Phantom Jobs that are unique to the Field Operation.

In Occult Crescent, players are initially provided with a variety of Ghostly Tasks, which grant extra actions and beneficial traits, useful not only within the game zone itself, but also in the optional 48-player raid, Forked Tower: Blood. Some of these abilities are quite intriguing; for instance, I particularly enjoy Oracle, where players receive timed prompts to activate their cooldowns. If they fail to do so within the short timeframe, they will be severely penalized with a Damage over Time (DoT) that can kill them in 2-3 ticks, depending on their job. Apart from the Thief’s Steal ability increasing the currency reward when pulling multiple mobs, it also allows players to open doors within the Forked Tower. The Geomancer job offers more than just a beneficial Tank buff; it also enables players to float, enabling them to dodge quake-based attacks (common in certain Challenge Extremes) and specific traps – again – within the Forked Tower. Additional jobs are obtained either by chance from specific Challenge Extremes or by purchasing them using Silver or Gold currency dropped by Fates/CEs or chain-pulling mobs, respectively.

Currently, I haven’t started playing Forked Tower: Blood. I want to prepare first by gathering all necessary equipment for the zone and mastering five different Phantom Jobs. Mastering a job grants permanent boosts to your damage and healing abilities within the Occult Crescent, making gameplay more effective in the long run. However, the main reason I haven’t started yet is that it seems nearly impossible to do so without organizing things outside of the game.

In certain situations where enough characters can enter the Forked Tower at a given time, the South Horn might occasionally glow red. Under these conditions, you’ll be able to see the tower faintly in the north-eastern part of the map. When it’s raining red, players with Knowledge Level 20 can head to the map center and interact with a structure to give Ciphers. If 16 individuals contribute one Cipher each, the Forked Tower will become active, allowing up to 48 players to be transported there. Prioritization is given to those who have already offered Ciphers if more than 48 players are in the vicinity and capable of taking on the tower.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed a pattern in the game that sometimes causes trouble. The problem isn’t so much on paper, but it becomes an issue when the weather changes suddenly and for a short duration. Often, if I’m engrossed in a lengthy Combat Encounter (CE) when the weather shifts, there’s a good chance the weather pattern will have passed by the time I finish the CE. In a few months, most of us would have wrapped up all our objectives within CEs, and we’d be chain-pulling mobs instead – an activity that can be easily stopped at a moment’s notice. The tricky part is, once you’re in a CE, you can’t exit until it’s completed. However, if you pull mobs for a chain, you can abandon the chain as soon as you defeat them.

I plan to visit the Forked Tower before Summer Game Fest, and I hope to explore it independently rather than having guidance along the way. Though I successfully completed the 24-player Chaotic Raid with friends, coordinating a group of 48 players is even more challenging. To complicate matters further, the instances for Occult Crescent are randomly assigned, making it difficult to ensure all party members are in the same instance. This was an issue with Eureka as well, but over time, it became less problematic as the content waned in popularity. However, this is not the case with Occult Crescent currently.

In my opinion, one significant blunder in Occult Crescent is allowing common rewards from Eureka and Bozja to be found frequently in chests in South Shroud. This oversight has been a major issue, aside from the initial problems with Forked Tower. Most complaints seem minor compared to this, but I can empathize with those who want a more casual encounter for players not deeply invested in raiding. Despite limited information about Forked Tower, I’m eagerly anticipating trying it out soon, as rumors suggest exciting challenges lie ahead.

In terms of games, Occult Crescent is the type of challenging grind I’ve been yearning to dive back into for years now. The past few evenings have found me in Discord voice chats with friends, having a great time, and I anticipate this continuing for months and years ahead. Though we’re only at the beginning, I feel comfortable saying that Occult Crescent is a triumph, despite the grumbles of my ever-expanding 2025 game release backlog. As anticipated, update 7.2 has really brought out Dawntrail’s best qualities, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Read More

2025-06-02 01:56