Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.21 Adds Cosmic Exploration & More – Full Notes & Highlights
Patch 7.21 for Final Fantasy XIV is live! Dive into Cosmic Exploration, updated Recollection trials, new dyes, and major quality-of-life improvements across the board.
🌠 Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.21 – Full Patch Notes & What’s New
On April 22, 2025, Square Enix dropped Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.21, and it’s a big one. From the all-new Cosmic Exploration system to gear updates, trial tweaks, and flashy new dyes, this patch is packed with stuff for both casual players and hardcore crafters.
Whether you’re a fan of crafting, gathering, savage raiding, or just hoarding cute minions, here’s everything you need to know about what’s new in Patch 7.21.
Also Read: Eternal Strands Roadmap Teases Free DLC Collabs with Final Fantasy & No More Heroes Studios
🪐 Cosmic Exploration – Massive New Feature for Crafters & Gatherers
Remember Ishgard Restoration? Think of Cosmic Exploration as its high-tech cousin—this time set on the moon and eventually across the stars.
✅ Unlock Requirements:
- Must have completed the main scenario quest “Endwalker” (Patch 6.0).
- Speak with Namingway, the red-robed Loporrit, in Old Sharlayan.
- Head to Mare Lamentorum and talk to Drivingway to reach your new base, Sinus Ardorum.
💡 Key Features:
- Explore and build across new planetary zones (up to 3 new planets will be added in future 7.x patches).
- Complete stellar missions with varying difficulties to earn Cosmocredits and Lunar Credits.
- Cosmocredits = used for gear, furnishings, and more.
- Lunar Credits = used to draw cosmic fortunes (loot roulette) and apply for mech op piloting.
🔧 How Cosmic Exploration Works:
🌌 Base Building & Progression
- Start in Sinus Ardorum and help build your city over time.
- Progress is tracked via an infrastructure index.
- As progress increases, more areas, missions, and rewards unlock.
🔨 Stellar Missions
- Core tasks that include crafting, gathering, and delivering goods.
- Rated Bronze, Silver, or Gold – better scores = better loot.
- Synced to your level to keep it fair.
- Sequential Missions pop up after Gold-ranked completions for more XP and loot.
🌪️ Weather/Time Missions
- Some tasks only appear during specific in-game weather or time windows.
🔴 Critical Missions
- Triggered during “red alerts”.
- Focused on high-demand classes.
- Completing these fills a gauge for extra community-wide rewards.
Read: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Already Beating Remake’s Steam Launch in Just a Few Days
🤖 Mech Ops – Pilot Battlesuits in Large-Scale Events
One of the coolest additions: Mech Ops. These are large-scale missions where five players are randomly selected to pilot mechs, while everyone else can support from the ground.
✨ How It Works:
- Use Lunar Credits to apply via your Exotablet.
- Not picked? Your odds improve for next time.
- Complete mech ops for:
- XP
- Cosmic gear
- Buffs to help with future missions
- Special Cosmic Fortune tickets
- XP
🧪 Tool Enhancements – Cosmic Tools
Crafting and gathering classes can now unlock Cosmic Tools, which can be upgraded through exploration.
🛠️ To Get Started:
- Complete the “A Cosmic Homecoming” quest.
- Talk to Researchingway to get your first prototype.
- Collect research data by doing stellar missions (no need to equip the tool).
- Report back when you’ve got enough to upgrade your tool to the next tier.
🎨 New Dyes Added in Patch 7.21
New dyes = new fashion. Some are tradable on the market board, so crafters and flippers, take note.
- Standard Colors: Carmine Red, Neon Pink, Bright Orange, Violet Purple, etc.
- Metallic Finishes: Metallic Ruby Red, Metallic Cobalt Green, Metallic Dark Blue, and more.
These can be used with the expanded dye system for more vibrant glamours than ever.
🎉 New Content & Quality-of-Life Additions
🆕 Sidequests (Cosmic Exploration Story):
- A Cosmic Homecoming
- Passion, Thy Name Is Ardorum
- A Manager’s Patience
- A Manager’s Persistence
🏠 Housing:
- New furnishings from the 2022 FFXIV Furnishing Design Contest are now in the game.
📖 Other Additions:
- New Orchestrion Rolls
- New Minions
- New Mounts
- New Facewear and Accessories
- New Emotes: /visage, /rage
- New auto-translations, PS5/Xbox achievements, and music/SFX
🛡️ Battle Updates
⚔️ Recollection Trial Fixes:
- Magic Sigil’s contrast improved for better visibility.
🛡️ Echo Buff Added:
- AAC Light-Heavyweight (Savage) now has a 10% buff to:
- HP
- Damage
- Healing
- HP
(Buff is static, won’t increase even if your party wipes.)
Related Read: 7 Games Like Fallout That Capture Its Vibe and Spirit
⚙️ System & Launcher Updates
- Mare Lamentorum and new patch areas now use multiple field instances to avoid congestion.
- Heritage Found now merged back into a single instance.
- Launcher now uses Microsoft WebView2, so you might be prompted to install it (Windows only).
- Checkbox for “Remember Square Enix ID” may reset—don’t forget to recheck it!
🛠️ Bug Fixes
Patch 7.21 addressed a ton of long-standing bugs, including:
- Incorrect damage in AAC Cruiserweight M4 (Savage)
- Targeting issues with elite marks
- Broken Bard potency tooltips
- Hair dye issues on certain races and gear
- Texture glitches on Augmented Temple sets
- Incorrect crafting material names
- Wondrous Tails duty tracking bugs
And loads more small QoL fixes behind the scenes.
⚠️ Known Issues (Still Being Worked On)
Even with all these fixes, a few issues remain:
- NPCs not displaying correctly during certain Cosmic Projects
- Field scanner bugs when rejoining mech ops
- Cursor bug in Cosmic reward windows
- Inconsistent bonus accrual from Cosmic Tools
Expect these to be addressed in an upcoming hotfix or Patch 7.25.
📌 Coming Soon in Patch 7.25
- Mamool Ja Allied Society Quests
- Occult Crescent storyline
- Phantom Weapon Enhancements
- More Hildibrand Adventures
Between Cosmic Exploration, new tools, fresh content, and a vibrant crafting economy, Patch 7.21 is one of FFXIV’s strongest mid-expansion updates in years.
Whether you’re a hardcore gatherer, a social glam hunter, or just here for mech ops and moon missions—there’s something for everyone this patch.
Related Article: Runescape: Dragonwilds – Goblin Diplomacy Quest Guide
