‘Stormblood’ 4.05 Patch Notes: Job changes you need to know from the ‘Final Fantasy 14’ update
Early Tuesday morning, Square Enix posted the Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood notes for patch 4.05, comprehensively detailing every change — minor or major — that came to the game during All Worlds Maintenance on Monday evening.
Many damage-per-second jobs received quality of life adjustments. Dark Knight and Warrior both got major buffs to bring them up to speed with Paladins, which received a small nerf. But if you play a Healer, the biggest of all the changes in Stormblood Patch 4.05 will affect you.
Here’s everything you need to know about what, if anything, just happened to your job.
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: The end of the Age of Astrologian?
When Stormblood first launched in June, Astrologians appeared to have it all: Damage output, strong area-of-effect healing and unparalleled raid utility — especially after the drastic changes bards received. But 4.05 delivers a huge nerf to their most valued contribution to any party: the balance card.
Balance has had its potency cut in half, decreasing its damage boost from 20% to 10% on buffed single targets and 10% to 5% for party members buffed through the AOE of Royal Road.
But it isn’t all bad for Astrologians: The spear card, once among the trashiest of the job’s random number generator draws, now increases critical hit rate of buffed single targets by 10%, with half potency for party members buffed through the AOE of Royal Road.
Some will argue that this is yet another reason to opt out of playing Scholar, whose ability Chain Stratagem increased critical chance against a single target. They’re not wrong. But think of the synergy when Scholars and Astrologians use chain strategem and a royal roaded spear card in tandem with one another.
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: All those extra credit courses are finally paying off for Scholars
Scholars were in an awful place at the start of 4.0. The job lacked the mana efficiency and raw healing of the White Mage and the unparalleled raid utility of the Astrologians. Nerfs to their fairy companion meant you spent more time on your second rate healing. Nerfs to bane meant a serious hamper to the damage output for Nym’s pride and joy.
But Patch 4.05 brings Scholars the gift of better — much better — healing. Emergency tactics had its cooldown reduced, meaning you’ll be doing bigger (if expensive) burst healing more frequently. Excogitation had both its potency increased and its cooldown time decreased, giving you more reason to set a heal and forget it. Quickened aetherflow now procs 100% of the time, meaning your aetherflow cooldown if you’re using your spells efficiently is now 45 seconds instead of a full minute.
In short, Scholars are so much better than they were in June — but as long as their damage output is still way out of whack, they’re no where near the head of the pack.
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: We’re finally ready to indulge White Mage their lilies
White Mages were so misunderstood in the lead-up to Stormblood. Yes, their lily-based job gauge is still pretty flavorless in comparison to other jobs. And yes, plenary indulgence, their level 70 ability, was extremely underwhelming. But when it came to raw healing, they were unstoppable. With thin air, lucid dreaming and the cooldown reduction to assize, they finally had what they were sorely lacking in Heavensward: mana restoration.
Stormblood Patch 4.05 gives White Mages the overhaul to plenary indulgence that they deserve. No longer are you using it to heal one character on the off-chance that a confession stack procs off of your single cures — the ability now procs off of your AOE heals 100% of the time.
In other words, after a massive AOE attack from a primal or an omega raid boss, cast three medicas, then use plenary indulgence for a free 450 potency AOE cure.
If you’re really feeling nasty, turn on your thin air spell before this combo to keep your mana up. Yes, Cure I now also spawns lilies 100% of the time, but with a game-changing boost to plenary indulgence, how can anyone notice anything else?
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: A visit from the Dragoon squad, at Ninjas’ minor expense
Dragoons saw a number of quality of life buffs, including huge cooldown reductions to elusive jump, increases in time duration for Blood of the Dragon and a boost of over 200% to Lance Mastery’s potency.
Ninjas received a single nerf to the potency of gust slash, which is fine. They’re still monsters. But dragoons’ buffs might just give the job enough toys to outclass the shadowy assassins.
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: Machinists, Black Mages and burst, oh my!
Machinists are in a much better spot: Their abilities don’t increase their heat gauge as quickly as they did at 4.0’s launch, meaning they’ll have twice as much wiggle room to focus on damage output without worrying about overheating.
But Machinists’ best new toy? Their turret overload abilities have seen their potencies doubled at no cost to their (lengthy) cooldowns or mana cost.
Black Mages were in a weird spot at the launch of Stormblood. In addition to the palpable excited around the Red Mage, Stormblood’s theatrical new DPS caster job had a damage output that felt far more reliable and mobile than the Black Mage.
On top of that, the new burst potential Summoners received from Bahamut meant that Black Mages had little that made them unique.
But Stormblood Patch 4.05 gives Black Mage better toys to help differentiate its flavor from their Red Mage and Summoner counterparts. Shortening the cooldown of triplecast from 90 seconds to 60 seconds means you’ll have 50% more Fire IV light shows you did in June.
On top of that, reducing the mana cost of foul, your most powerful spell, to zero means you won’t be worrying about where to throw the spell during your delicate Enochian stance-dancing between astral fire and ice.
Oh, and if you’re a Summoner, you won’t be scrubbing and ruining everything when you accidentally cast your festers and banes before your land your damage over time spells on the target: A quality of life adjustment to athertrail attunement means you don’t need to inflict an effect with your aetherflow spells to charge stacks of dreadwyrm.
Final Fantasy 14: Stormblood 4.05 patch notes: Tanks for being such a Paladin
Make no mistake: Paladins’ passage of arms ability cements their status as the best tank in Stormblood. And fortunately for fans of the job, 4.05 didn’t nerf the ability at all.
When 4.0 first launched, it was widely believed that Paladins completely outclassed Dark Knights and Warriors. Stormblood Patch 4.05 helps bring the latter two up to speed, giving Dark Knights slightly higher damage to Souleater and adding coveted mana restoration to the Quietus ability.
Warriors got the most new toys: You no longer lose half your beast gauge when you switch between deliverance and defiance. On top of that, unchained and inner release no longer have beast gauge costs, meaning you’ll have even more fell cleave potential.
Paladins no longer lose half their oath gauge when they switch between sword and shield oath. However, they received a small nerf to holy spirit’s damage.
Do these changes affect whom you’ll be leveling to 70 next? Will you finally be willing to give Machinists the time of day?
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