Final Fantasy XIV‘s patch 6.2 live letter from the producer was streamed earlier this month, revealing what the long-running MMORPG has in store. While many new features were announced for the patch, which will be arriving in August, fans of lore and hard content will be most excited by the new Variant and Criterion dungeons.
Square Enix has been adding tons of new content since the release of the Endwalker expansion, including fan-favorite mounts and new alliance raids. Patch 6.2 is scheduled to release with more content than ever before, including two brand-new types of dungeons for players to experience. Though Final Fantasy XIV‘s Variant and Criterion Dungeons share similar names, their actual gameplay is set to fill very different content niches.
Variant Dungeons Are Casual, Narrative & Choice-Based Dungeons
The first type of dungeon announced for FFXIV‘s patch 6.2 is Variant Dungeons. Though they were called Criterion Dungeons in previous announcements, the new Variant name fits their gameplay and theme better. These will be geared towards more casual players, with an emphasis on story and narrative. Variant Dungeons will be for level 90 players.
Variant Dungeons can be played by 1-4 players, and the difficulty and strength of mobs will scale to match the party size. The more players in the party, the stronger mobs will be. This means that solo players can also experience the new content without worrying about finding a group. The more casual difficulty of Variant Dungeons will also be ideal for new players. In addition to the variable party size, Variant Dungeons are following the success of Crystalline Conflict by not imposing role restrictions, which will both have queue times down and allow players to play with their friends, no matter what jobs they have at level 90.
Arguably the most interesting feature of the new Variant Dungeons is also where they got their new name. Dungeons in FFXIV have traditionally been linear, with a single path and narrative that is the same every time for all players. Variant Dungeons will be the first to change this, with entirely different stories told for all the branching paths players can decide to take. Variant Dungeons will also have an NPC that accompanies each player party, though details have not been released yet.
Patch 6.2 will add “The Sil’dihn Subterrane,” the first Variant Dungeon. Considering that Sil’dih was an ancient city in Thanalan (a sister-city to Ul’dah) the lore implications are sure to be interesting, helping these dungeons appeal to players who care about FFXIV‘s story and worldbuilding.
Criterion Dungeons Are Extreme Challenges for Parties of Four
In contrast to the casual nature of Variant Dungeons, Criterion Dungeons will be high-difficulty instances. They are locked at a party amount of four, and role restrictions are in effect, meaning Criterion Dungeon parties must have one tank, one healer, and two DPS.
Criterion Dungeons will look similar to their Variant Dungeon counterparts, as they share the same theme. While the new Variant Dungeon is called “The Sil’dihn Subterrane,” the new Criterion Dungeon will be called “Another Sil’dihn Subterrane.” Though the dungeons are thematically the same, the actual maps and enemies will be completely different. Criterion Dungeons will also only have one route, meaning they won’t have multiple possible paths like Variant Dungeons.
Criterion Dungeons will also have a savage version, which will be even more brutally difficult. Another Sil’dihn Subterrane (Savage) will have additional requirements and stronger enemies to increase the difficulty. No forms of resurrection will be allowed, so once a party member falls, they will stay down until the dungeon ends or the entire party is knocked out. If there is a party KO, all the enemies in the dungeon will respawn, restarting the party’s progress.
Finally, enemies in the Savage dungeon have an enrage-like mechanic where they become stronger if not defeated quickly. For Savage, parties must be pre-formed, meaning duty finder will be unavailable for Criterion Dungeons. Solo players will still be able to use Party Finder to create a group and take on the content. For a challenge this hard, hopefully FFXIV will reward victorious players with either rare mounts or prestigious titles.