Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers’ benchmark tool is a good way to perfect your new character

Along with Patch 5.0 details

For some people, personal style is of paramount priority when playing any sort of game with a third-person perspective. You’re going to spend a lot of time looking at this character, so you might as well nail the aesthetic. And a lot of people plan to spend a lot of time with the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV expansion.

In preparation for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringer‘s July 2 launch, Square Enix has released a PC benchmarking tool. It can be downloaded here. The purpose, as with any benchmark, is to make sure your PC is capable of running the game and to figure out what kind of performance you can expect.

However, this one serves another purpose. Shadowbringer‘s benchmark includes a character creation tool that can be imported into the full expansion. You can tweak and tinker your look, making sure that everything is absolutely perfect, without wasting any precious playing time on launch day.

This is a luxury that’s only afforded to PC players. While it may seem obvious, it’s worth mentioning: There is no Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringer benchmark on PS4. That’s because the PS4 has standardized hardware, meaning the expansion will run the same for everyone. There’s no need for a PS4 benchmark tool.

The benchmark was revealed in a Letter from the Producer stream where Square Enix also outlined the next patch. Here are all the major changes coming in Final Fantasy XIV Patch 5.0 (courtesy of Gematsu):

• Final Fantasy XIV‘s third expansion to be released on July 2, 2019.
• Introduces a whole new world, the First, where players must fight to restore darkness to the realm.
• Contains content equivalent to an all-new single-player RPG.
• Six massive new areas.
• A new city: the Crystarium.
• Two new jobs: Gunbreaker and Dancer.
• New level cap: from 70 to 80.
• Gameplay adjustments and battle system changes.
• Countless new items and crafting recipes.
• Challenging new high-end raids: Eden.
• Exciting new alliance raids: YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse.
• Engaging new dungeons.
• End-game content for Disciples of the Hand and Land.
• New playable races: Hrothgar and Viera.
• New NPC assist system: Trust.
• New Beast tribes: the Nu Mou and Pixies.
• New powerful foes: Titania and Innocence.
• World Visit system.
• End of 32-bit OS support.
• Support for 64-bit Mac.

FATEs Gameplay Adjustments:

• New rewards other than EXP will be added:
  • Additional requirements must be met to unlock certain rewards.
  • Unique tokens will be implemented that can be exchanged for these rewards at specialty shops.

Side Quests:

• Side quests in new regions will be level-synced:
  • All 5.0 side quests can be undertaken at level 70.
  • Enemies will be scaled to player level when accepting side quests.
  • Intended to facilitate leveling of multiple jobs.

Role Quests:

• Four sets of role quests will be added:
  • Retrace the journeys of the First’s fallen heroes.
  • Physical DPS / Magical DPS / Tank / Healer.
  • One quest line must be completed to advance the main scenario:
    • New jobs will have quests from level 60 to 70.
    • All jobs will have a new quest available at level 80.

Crafting and Gathering Quests:

• Five sets of new quests will be added:
  • Stories centered on the Crystarium and a collective of artisans:
    • For Disciples of the Hand: The Facets of Forging, Crafting, and Nourishment.
    • For Disciples of the Land: The Facets of Gathering and Fishing.
• Hone your skills as you progress through the story of the Crystalline Mean.
• Learn more about the world and lore of the First.

User Interface:

• The first addition of a new theme: Light Skin.
• All UI elements to be expanded:
  • Cross-world Linkshells to be expanded to eight channels.
  • Target information to be updated.
  • Party list information to be updated.
  • Housing furnishing placement preview to be added.
  • …and more!

Battle System Changes:

• Charged Action System
  • New actions designed for more versatile usage:
    • Actions will gain charges for later use.
    • Charges will build until reaching a maximum limit.
    • Actions will gain an additional charge as the recast timer cycles.
    • Charges may be consumed to use an action whenever you want.
• Casting Interruption System
  • Interrupt enemy actions to turn the tide of battle:
    • PvE’s “Silence” status effect will be incorporated into this new system.
    • Actions that can be interrupted will be more easily discernible.
    • Tanks and ranged DPS will receive role actions for this purpose.
• Removal of Action Customization
  • As par of the general action review, role actions will be revised to set abilities:
    • New role actions will be automatically obtained upon reaching the required level.
  • The number of available actions will be adjusted:
    • Tanks: Seven actions.
    • Healers: Six actions.
    • Melee DPS: Six actions.
    • Physical Ranged DPS: Six actions.
    • Magical Ranged DPS: Four actions.
• The MP and TP Systems
  • MP will be capped and TP will be eliminated:
    • An upper limit on MP will be set at 10,000 MP.
    • The piety attribute will be adjusted in accordance with this change (Piety will remain and attribute that only affects healer roles).
    • TP will be removed, and affected actions will be revised so that they may be used more freely.
• Main Attributes and Materia
  • The difficulty in gearing up will be adjusted for each role:
    • The attributes for all accessories will be revised.
  • Main attribute increasing materia will no longer be meldable:
    • Main attribute increasing materia melded to existing equipment will be revised to have no beneficial effects.
    • Main attribute increasing materia will no longer be obtainable.
  • Weekly token gear, as well as savage accessories and belts will have two materia slots.
• Pet System
  • Pet management and usage will be revised:
    • Pets will no longer be affected by enemy attacks or PC actions.
    • Pet actions will be removed from the pet hotbar.
    • Pet actions will be re-categorized as player actions.
    • Actions for pets designed to function as tanks (Titan-egi, Topaz Carbuncle) will be revised.
  • Existing Pet Actions:
    • Each summoned pet has unique actions. From 5.0 and beyond, actions will be shared actions designed for use with multiple pets.
• Additional Battle System Adjustments
  • Various other changes will be made to improve overall usability:
    • Battle system calculations will be adjusted and changed.
    • Chain bonuses will be removed from dungeons (in order to standardize EXP gain).
    • The damage limit will be increased (999,999 to 9,999,999). This is to account for future damage inflation.
    • The party bonus will be adjusted (to account for the number of players filling a given role).
    • The rate at which the limit gauge fills will be adjusted (for 5.0 and later regions only).
    • The HP of a barrier shielding a party member will be displayed in the party list.
• Job Synergy
  • In order to address rigid party composition and the perception that certain jobs are essential:
    • The effectiveness of synergies between certain jobs will be reduced.
    • Debuffs reducing slashing, blunt, and piercing resistances will be removed.
    • Action values will be revised.
    • Certain actions will be removed.
    • The synergy of the new dancer job will be emphasized.
• Tank Role Jobs
  • Adjustments will be made to account for the main and off tank roles:
    • All four tank jobs (including gunbreaker) will be viable as MT and OT:
      • Tanks will possess defensive buffs that can be applied to all party members.
      • Additional buffs designed for OTs to support MTs will be added.
      • Tanks can also use buffs to enhance their defenses for a limited time.
    • Job effectiveness will vary depending on player skill.
    • Offensive stances will be removed.
    • Players will instead toggle stances on or off.
    • Tank stances will be adjusted:
      • Damage dealt and received reductions / max HP increase effects will be removed.
      • Only enmity generation will be increased (all attacks will increase enmity).
      • Adjustments will be made to emphasize the reduced damage received aspect of tanks.
    • Enmity generating combos will be removed:
      • Skill rotations will not change when alternating between MT and OT.
    • The Tank Mastery trait will be added:
      • All damage received will be reduced by 20 percent.
      • Bonuses to maximum HP and damage dealt based on certain attributes will be granted.
• Healer Role Jobs
  • Healers will be thoroughly re-balanced to emphasize a pure healing role:
    • Protect will be removed.
    • New actions will be added to address gaps in each healer’s repertoire:
      • White mage will receive an instant heal to mitigate the cast times of other abilities.
      • Scholar pet actions will be revised, while direct heals and barrier magicks will be adjusted.
      • Astrologian stances and card effects will be adjusted.
      • Offensive actions will be reviewed.
• DPS Role Jobs
  • Design concepts will be more traditional and mechanics will be revised accordingly:
    • Monk / Dragoon / Ninja / Samurai / Black Mage / Red Mage:
      • The play style of these jobs will remain relatively unchanged.
      • There will not be significant changes or additions to mechanics.
    • Bard / Machinist / Summoner:
      • Machinist is currently undergoing significant changes.
      • Bard and summoner mechanics will be partially reworked.