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Final Fantasy XIV’s Live Letter 90 was livestreamed on December 5, 2025, and was heavily focused on patch 7.4. It followed up on the content that was previewed in Live Letter 89, with plenty of new information to go around. However, like all Live Letters, it was in Japanese without any form of subtitles. Thanks to community members and YouTubers iluna minori and miura, we’re able to bring you all the information you need.
As always, we will update this article as sections of it are completed live, so do make sure to check back often. This article will be complete shortly after the Live Letter 90 ends and will have everything of note for the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV patch 7.4 update when it drops on December 16, 2025.
This article is being updated live as content is discussed.
Content confirmed in Final Fantasy XIV patch 7.4 part 2 as per Live Letter 90
Final Fantasy XIV's patch 7.4 Live Letter 90 will begin at 6 am ET/3 am PT and cover a wide array of topics and content that will arrive later this month. It's truly an exciting time to be a Final Fantasy fan, especially for the major updates to glamour coming in this patch.
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The livestream began with a trailer for the update, and it looked incredible. Teases of the new dungeon, the new raid content, and the gorgeous Variant Dungeon, which I still think very much belongs in Kingdom Hearts. It's hard to believe that's a real place that will exist in Final Fantasy XIV patch 7.4.
However, below is everything that was covered in the livestream. Before getting started, the developers also did a preview/recap of the 7.4 content, revealed in the previous Live Letter, such as teasing the Mistwake dungeon.
Hell on Rails was talked about in detail during the recap, too. There will be some memory game mechanics/memorization to keep in mind for that fight, so it sounds like it will be interesting. They also confirmed that each clear will give Two Totems if you're farming for the mount.
Another very important update concerns Deep Dungeon. If someone gets disconnected while soloing Deep Dungeon, or if the whole party is disconnected, you can resume your progress by logging in within 10 minutes, provided nobody in the party (or the solo person) dies. This came as a result of major feedback after the DDOS attacks began.
Content featured in Live Letter 90
- The Arcadion: Heavyweight Tier (Normal/Savage)
- PVP Updates
- Glamour Update
- The Merchant's Tale (New Variant Dungeon - patch 7.45)
- Command Panel
- Strategy Board
1) The Arcadion: Heavyweight Tier (Normal/Savage)
During Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90, Yoshi-P went into the Heavyweight Tier of the Arcadion, to show off the gameplay. He showed a pair of what looked like brothers or allies, who transform into powerful beach-themed Oni. They also share a health bar, so that's a positive.
However, the fight started with just one of the Oni, but at a certain point, they will swap places. He also demonstrated that you don't want to stand on the barrier around the arena because it's instant death. Here are some of the mechanics we saw:
- Fire Puddle that sticks around for a bit.
- Huge fiery AOE cone that sticks around for a bit.
- Icy blasts from the blue Oni.
- Huge tidal wave pushes back.
Yoshi-P also showed off some fantastic, cybernetic style gear that would be the rewards that you can pick up in the Heavyweight Tier during the Live Letter 90 of Final Fantasy XIV.
There was also a tease that "award-winning artists" will be featured in the Heavyweight Tier, and they weren't kidding.
Tom Morrello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) is going to be collaborating with Caleb Shomo (Beartooth) on a track called Everything Burns, which is massive. The teaser from the track goes incredibly hard, and I can't wait to hear the rest of it. The song will be released on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, on streaming services.
2) PVP Updates
As a part of Live Letter 90 for Final Fantasy XIV, we learned there will be some PVP changes, such as Series 10, and the rules for the new PVP battleground. There will be new Wolf & Eagle gear series items to use commendation crystals on, and replicas of gear from Seasons 1 and 2 of the Feast will be available in a different color palette.
Worqor Chirteh (Triumph) is the new PVP Frontline Map/Campaign, which we already knew about. Before they went into the new details, they gave players a reminder of what Frontline is (three teams, 72 players, each trying to win a large-scale battle).
In this new mode, "those who go on the offensive will reap the rewards." Players will need to claim Triumphs, and they cannot be retaken and do not need to be defended, so this is a very kill-focused PVP Battleground. There will also be weather conditions to deal with, and Yoshi-P revealed what that will look like.
How will you be scored, though? Defeating enemies and claiming Triumphs will increase your Tactical Rating (Score). To claim a Triumph, you need to stand inside a circle to raise your faction's flag.
Once all the circles have a flag on them, you've claimed the Triumph. No matter how many people are in the circle, the amount of time it takes to raise a flag won't change. You can do it with just one person, which is nice.
You could have three people, one for each circle, or you could do it with one person standing in each circle.
As a part of Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90, Yoshi-P also showed off what the battleground would look like. You have to wait for the triangle to appear, and when the meter fills, you can stand in the circles that appear. If enemy factions are on the other circles, you cannot progress. You need to take them out or push them away first.
As a part of this battleground, weather changes can happen that affect gameplay. The snowy weather, for example, created huge circles of white ice that spawn. If you stand in it, you receive a buff (A powerful barrier), so don't hesitate to stand in the white circles.
You still need to avoid orange damage circles, though. The Northern Lights can also appear in this Final Fantasy XIV battleground. One of the great benefits of this weather is that your Limit Break gauge fills faster. Remember, though: Your opponents get the same benefit! The other is that high-ranking Triumphs are more likely to appear.
3) Glamour Update
Arguably the most important part of the Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90, the Glamour Update was next. They did a brief recap, pointing out that you can wear any gear, irrespective of class, job, or level restriction, though weapons and tools had to stay the same due to animation restrictions.
Yoshi-P also showed off what it would look like in-game. This is the most important update and arguably the one I think is going to draw the most players back to the game.
He showed off his Black Mage, wearing typical Black Mage gear, and then began experimenting with the new Glamour System. His character then wore a Warrior outfit, with his Black Mage weapon.
It looks very cool, and I can't wait to see what combinations people are going to create. Yoshi-P did a few sorts of silly designs, where his character looked like they were wearing pajama pants, and then a Reaper top, and then a Reaper wearing Botanist gear. It's a very deep rabbit hole when you combine two dye slots with all these new outfit combo possibilities in Final Fantasy XIV.
In addition, certain class/job-exclusive gear, starting gear, and "fashion gear" are going to be treated as outfit glamours, other than level 1 gear. Individual items that are part of an outfit glamour can now be converted to outfit glamours, without requiring a complete set. That's a huge change.
You will be able to see the outfits you have as a set in the Glamour Dresser. This will, from what I can tell, allow you to combine your outfit pieces into a full outfit combination, which will then save space in your Dresser. He would also tease some very Mahou Shojo (Magical Girl) crafted weapons coming to the game, and they certainly were cute.
4) The Merchant's Tale (New Variant Dungeon - patch 7.45)
As a part of the second half of the Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90, they did a recap on what the updates to Variant Dungeons are. The changes made were a result of feedback, which now changes this dungeon type. Now you complete the Variant Dungeon, then the Variant Dungeon (Advanced), and then the Criterion Dungeon.
He would then show real, in-game footage of The Merchant's Tale, which I still have a hard time believing. It looks so beautiful and painted. It looks like it would fit in a Kingdom Hearts game, but I think I say that every time.
They also showed the UI, where you can see how many routes a Variant Dungeon has and how many potential endings it has. This could help players figure out more ways to clear out a Variant Dungeon to complete all of the routes. You will also have the ability to give yourself a few extra abilities to cast if you're playing a Variant Dungeon solo.
What we saw during the preview was within the book, where the Variant Dungeon takes place. Of course, there will be plenty of path divergencies and routes to take, leading to lots of replay value. There are many ways you can change your route, too. Interacting with certain objects and talking/not talking to NPCs can and likely will change your path.
It might look like just a storybook tale, but there's plenty of fighting to do, don't worry. You can easily go alone or go with a group, though. It's up to you how you approach it.
Yoshi-P teased that perhaps, depending on your route, you might have to be careful about the world around you, too. I have never been more excited to look at Variant Dungeon content before, and I really feel like Final Fantasy XIV is delivering on this one, making the Variant Dungeons more appealing.
The first boss has some truly wild mechanics. You really have to stay on your toes for it, but I don't want to talk about the mechanics, because there's no way for me to know if they will change depending on the route (but I doubt it).
The Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90 tease of the Merchant's Tale is a pretty fantastic one. You will definitely have to deal with multiple mechanic types at once, and that can be incredibly challenging. Yoshi-P himself was defeated several times.
Yoshi-P, during the Live Letter 90 stream in Final Fantasy XIV, also showed how, depending on what you do, other routes that were blocked off in the dungeon would open up. This creates new scenarios and encounters you may not have seen in previous playthroughs. Exploring and experimenting are going to be important to seeing everything this Variant Dungeon has to offer.
For those curious, the developers also teased some of the Merchant's Tale (Advanced) during the Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90 stream. In this version, you can choose which bosses you want to fight and immediately go to them instead of playing the whole story out.
In addition, Yoshi-P showed off what Variant Actions are going to be available for each role. Depending on how you queue, you can use these to give your party an advantage in battle. There's a new action for this Variant Dungeon too, Variant Eagle Eye Shot, that everyone can use.
It's worth noting that Variant Raise Ii revives one ally, but it will only be available in Criterion Dungeons, and each player can only use it once per boss encounter. At least players will have ways to raise no matter what!
5) Command Panel
The Command Panel is a great new way to access hotbar icons that you only use occasionally. This includes emotes, gear/job changes, mounts, or even the occasional ability. Anything you can put on a hot bar can be put in this.
During the Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 90, Yoshi-P also showed it off in-game. To access it, you go there is an icon in the Extra section of your Action List, Quick Panel. Put it on your Hotbar, and using it will activate your Quick Panel. You can then open up the settings for the Quick Panel to adjust some of its settings, like opacity.
There are four tabs, and each one has 25 slots, so you have plenty of space to put anything you could possibly need in it. When you use an action in the Quick Panel, it will automatically close (unless you toggle it otherwise). There are also a few other options, like being able to lock the buttons, to open the panel wherever your cursor is, and more.
I keep a pretty clean UI, but thanks to this, I may actually start using Job Change icons, as so many of my friends do.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of this update because I think it will really allow me to have an even cleaner display. This system will also be usable on the controller, as Yoshi-P showed off in the stream. It functionally works the same way. It does look a little clunky, but players will acclimate to it, I think.
6) Strategy Board
Do you struggle with learning mechanics, or are you sick of having to go to YouTube seconds before a fight? This feature lets you show off (or receive) strategy boards and see exactly how attacks are supposed to look, and where you need to stand. This can stay on the screen for the whole fight, so you can easily see what you need to do for each phase/attack of a boss.
Conversely, people who want to be Mentors can use this as a great tool to show players what to do, instead of just telling. You can make them from scratch, make them from a preset, receive from a party member, or receive via a share code. In terms of improving your gameplay, this is the most important feature of Final Fantasy XIV's Live Letter 90.
You can use those share codes in your Lodestone profile, share them in party chat, or put them on social media. Put them wherever you need your party members to get them, whatever works for you.
Players can save up to 50 strategy boards and create folders that can each hold 10 strategies. You can prepare for specific dungeons, trials, and raids quite easily in this way. In addition, you can even share those full folders to really display your skill (and strategies) for fights.
The Strategy Board is found in the Party menu of Final Fantasy XIV, and naturally, Yoshi-P showed off some strategy boards so fans could see how they work. He showed how to make one from scratch but unfortunately, I don't read Japanese. A variety of presets are also available, which Yoshi-P cycled through. There are several preset settings, making it pretty flexible.
It's easy to share these Strategy Boards, too. There are icons to share them, and this might be one of the biggest changes for the game thus far. Many players avoid doing harder content because they don't want to feel like they're dragging the group down, or don't understand what to do. Through this, experienced players can share exactly what it takes to survive fights.
There will even be two different styles of icons for the Strategy Board in Final Fantasy XIV. This is because there are two different icon/naming styles across the Japanese and NA/EU communities. You can just swap them to the icons you are used to, and you'll be good to go after receiving a Strategy Board from someone in a different region.
Strategy Boards will even let you highlight a specific role/position, so you don't get lost when you're in a heated battle. This is great for times when you're learning a role or trying a different one to shake things up.
This amazing feature also has all the wild types of boss attack patterns/shapes, so whether it's a cone, pulse, or it requires specific numbers of players to stand in a spot, you'll be good to go! They've really thought of everything, I think.
You can adjust the size of these attacks, too, and layer attacks over one another, because some fights are just complicated. There's no fight you cannot learn, thanks to the power of Strategy Boards. It's a truly remarkable update for Final Fantasy XIV.
After the in-game demonstration, the Live Letter 90 Final Fantasy XIV stream also showcased PowerPoint slides of strategies to show just how far this system can go, with enough knowledge of how the settings work.
If that weren't enough, you can "screenshare" your strategy boards while editing them to discuss and create tactics in real time. That's probably one of the more impressive parts of the Strategy Board feature in Final Fantasy XIV. It will be especially helpful when progressing through challenging content.
If you have too many Strategy Boards saved, you can hold onto the shared codes and use them later, when you've got room. Yoshi-P also highlighted that shared codes count for specific strategies, and not whole folders.
This wrapped Live Letter 90 for Final Fantasy XIV. Players won't have to wait long either because most of this content drops on December 16, 2025.
Check out our other Final Fantasy XIV guides and features:
- Final Fantasy XIV: How to get and use Jellyfish Umbrella
- Final Fantasy XIV: How to get Sacramental Spirits
- Final Fantasy XIV: How to upgrade Monster Hunter Veldian weapons (Guardian Arkveld)
