Square Enix released a new FFXIV trailer for Patch 5.1 - Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty, and the video showcased much more of the NieR: Automata crossover raid that will be coming with the patch. The FFXIV and NieR collaboration is one of the biggest crossovers the MMORPG has ever embarked on, and expectations are high following one of the best expansions in genre history in Shadowbringers - not to mention NieR: Automata's stature bringing with it more reputation for stellar execution.
FFXIV has been impressing for years now as one of the most consistently great MMORPG titles available today, rivaling World of Warcraft for both experience and playerbase. Shadowbringers, the most recent expansion, only strengthened the game's stance in the MMORPG community, providing one of the most compelling Final Fantasy stories in recent memory despite coming from a game that's a multiplayer experience at heart. One of the ways that FFXIV has continued to keep fans engaged has been crossovers or references, the latter of which have often been self-referential to other games in the franchise, and events like the upcoming NieR one help make the game feel exciting while drawing in new eyeballs based on the partner property.
The new FFXIV Patch 5.1 trailer that Square Enix dropped earlier today gave fans their best glimpse at what the upcoming NieR raid would look like. Many wondered whether or not the game would lean all the way into NieR: Automata's industrial post-apocalyptic aesthetic, since it doesn't naturally fit into much of the environment present in the base FFXIV experience. Square Enix has found a way, however, as the robots, factories, and rust all feature heavily into the new trailer - not to mention some iconic attacks from NieR: Automata, translated into MMORPG form:
The new FFXIV Patch 5.1 trailer also featured a brief glimpse at a swordfight between two androids, and although heavily obscured, it's implied that 9S might be making an appearance in the raid as an enemy. Crucially, the FFXIV Patch 5.1 NieR dungeon will also contain some of Automata's soundtrack, with "Weight of the World" playing during the trailer. If the raid's orchestral score is lootable, as is tradition in FFXIV, it's expected to be one of the most in-demand musical items ever implemented.
There's a lot of other elements being added to FFXIV in Patch 5.1, and the plan for the game extends well beyond the NieR Automata crossover coming in this update. The sheer amount of content coming to FFXIV, coupled with an experience in Shadowbringers that rivals any single-player Final Fantasy, makes Patch 5.1 one of the biggest releases of the fall - and it's coming soon, as FFXIV Patch 5.1 releases on October 29, 2019.
Source: Final Fantasy XIV/YouTube