Final Fantasy XIV's December update goes live

Final Fantasy XIV players can take heart, as the first of two promised updates in December has just gone live. The game's last major update a month ago was centered on quality-of-life improvements, but this update is focused toward content as well, with the addition of several new guildleves and the promised notorious monsters. That doesn't mean that there's a shortage of improvements to the game's interface, however, with several persistent issues having been addressed or expanded, even beyond the previously known changes.

Among the more welcome interface changes are the addition of visible timers to all status effects, an increase in the chat character limit, and improved display of an item's durability. As for content, players not looking to kill monsters can enjoy the first part of the promised recipe book and lessened spawns around gathering points, not to mention the option to abandon unwanted local levequests. Final Fantasy XIV players can look forward to a second update later in the month, that promises to build upon this update and offer further improvements to the game.