The new FFXIV Shadowbringers Patch 5.05 dropped earlier and it has brought with it a new dungeon on top of a Savage raid that will keep players engaged in the end-game for the next few weeks. The release is notable because it marks a return to normality for the game just weeks removed from one of the best-reviewed MMORPG launches of all-time, and indicates a commitment from developer Square Enix to continue to maintain the schedule of content releases that have made FFXIV an evolving and popular realm for genre fans over the past several years.
FFXIV Shadowbringers might not be the best-reviewed Final Fantasy game of all time - that title belongs to the oft-underappreciated FFIX - but it is the most critically-acclaimed expansion the game has ever launched. While during the troubled years of its early launch that wouldn't amount to much, each FFXIV expansion after A Realm Reborn has debuted to rave reviews, and Stormblood, the expansion prior to Shadowbringers, was considered the best the game had ever seen and a strong contender for one of the best MMORPG expansions ever. Given the context, the success of FFXIV Shadowbringers really is nothing short of impressive, and post-launch content has continued to dazzle fans with the Eden raid.
Eden is about to get much more difficult for the Warriors of Darkness, as the new FFXIV Shadowbringers Patch 5.05 has dropped to introduce a Savage version of the content. Savage content drastically ramps up the difficulty for players attempting to complete the raid, while also awarding a surplus of new tomestone gear that's aggressively darkness-themed and will likely make for a popular glamor choice in the future. On top of the release of Eden (Savage), FFXIV Patch 5.05 introduces the Dungeons of Lyhe Ghiah, a new treasure adventure that will be much less challenging for players and instead offer up some exciting, relatively consequence-free adventure to complement the heavier storyline being told by Eden's content.
On top of these two major additions coming in FFXIV Shadowbringers Patch 5.05, the update will also make some changes to some of the FFXIV jobs that require the most help post-Shadowbringers. That includes Monk, Samurai, Red Mage, and Summoner roles, which will all find themselves slightly more powerful thanks to some tweaking from the developers. Ninjas, who are quickly becoming something of a meme in the FFXIV community, also received exactly one buff to an ability that has been continuously tweaked over several updates despite cries for more substantial reworks.
All of this prefaces Patch 5.1, which FFXIV Shadowbringers Patch 5.05 probably predates by another few months at least, which will introduce a new EX Trial to the mix as well as an ultimate encounter. There will also be a NieR: Automata themed raid coming, something that has many interested as a crossover event - especially since it's pretty much guaranteed to drop some of the most desirable glamor equipment in the game.
Here's a full breakdown of the patch noes for FFXIV Shadowbringers Patch 5.05.
Source: FFXIV Online