It’s not often a game company listens to its fans and makes changes to the story of a game that’s already released. But Square Enix did just that with Final Fantasy XV: Along with the Episode Gladiolus DLC they also released patch 1.07 and it’s added quite some juicy content.
Most importantly is Chapter 13 verse 2, a short section playable as Gladiolus and Ignis. What I really appreciated is that you can play this additional content straight from the main menu, so people who have already finished the main game don’t have to go through a new game + for 12 chapters just to see it.
You’re in control of Gladio (using the gameplay mechanics that were developed for the DLC) and are tasked by none other than Ardyn himself to go and find Noctis who is also running around Zegnautus Keep. You’re only level 24 but this rarely matters as most enemies go down in a few hits either way.
The entire thing only takes about half an hour to get through but there are some cinematics added that really pad the main story. I was always curious what happened to Ravus before Noctis arrived to find him lying dead on the floor. Now they show you, and it’s a doozy. The level is also very straightforward and Ardyn even tells you where to go. You don’t have to stray off the beaten path looking for collectibles either as there are only a few potions to find. Not that you truly need the potions, as the only enemy that puts up some resistance is the bossfight vs Foras and he’s perfectly manageable without the assistance of healing items.
But after finishing this chapter I was also curious to test out the other improvements they showcased in the trailer. Some people had complains that the Ring of Lucii was underpowered and not useful after finishing chapter 13. But boy, did they ever buff this piece of jewelry. I’ve seen videos online of people oneshotting Adamantoise with it. The battle vs the giant mountainsized turtle that personally took me 40 minutes to finish and that would take underleveled characters more than 3 hours to beat. Unlike some rumors, your magic stat is of no importance to achieve this and it’s purely luck-based. All you need is the Ring equipped and perhaps some Ethers, Elixirs or Magitek Boosters (no MP use for some time) and then you spam the Alterna Magic (hold Y on XBO or Triangle on PS4) and if you’re lucky he’ll get sucked into a black hole and you reap the benefits. For me it worked on the 9th cast.
Another improvement they made was to the manoeuvrability of Chocobos; they’re less likely to get stuck behind bushes or rocks and can now even travel atop the giant stone spires that stretch out from the Meteor impact zone. There are no new items to discover this way, but at least you can take some scenic pictures. Speaking of pictures, on the FF15 Twitter and Facebook pages they also had a contest running and the winners of that contest are now showcased in the Hammerhead diner.
I really like how the FF15 development team keeps putting time in free content, besides the ones I’ve mentioned here they have also added:
- The Moogle Chocobo Carnival that ran in February
- A weekly Timed Hunt afterwars (so far we got to face off vs 100 cactuars, some marlboros, Midgarsormr and the Dread Behemoth)
- Extra songs that have been added to your playlist (like some interesting ones from NieR Automata for example
and it doesn’t look like they are going to stop anytime soon. Thank you, Square Enix, for thinking of the fans!
Which improvement would you like to see? More playable environments, 5th party member, Outfits & weapons? Let us know in the comments!
Still haven’t got the game? You can buy it here.
