Responding to player feedback, Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.16 will introduce a Clouddark Demimateria exchange system. This update, launching January 21st, 2025, directly addresses concerns regarding the acquisition of high-demand items from the Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic) Alliance Raid.
The core change allows players to exchange Clouddark Demimateria 1 for Clouddark Demimateria 2, facilitating purchases of sought-after rewards like the "A Half Times Two" hairstyle and the "Dais of Darkness" mount. While the exact exchange rate remains undisclosed, this adjustment aims to improve accessibility to these items, which currently require a substantial amount of Clouddark Demimateria 2 (49 and 75 respectively). The availability of these items on the Market Board will also be impacted.
This alteration follows the December 24th introduction of the Cloud of Darkness (Chaotic) Alliance Raid, a challenging 24-player encounter. The raid's reward structure, initially criticized for its Demimateria distribution, prompted the developer, Square Enix, to implement this change.
Square Enix emphasizes that this is a response to player feedback, and further adjustments to the raid's reward system or other aspects of the game are possible based on continued community input. While Patch 7.16 will primarily focus on this Demimateria exchange and the conclusion of the Dawntrail Role Quest series, significant job balance updates are anticipated in a later patch (7.2). The impact of player feedback on future raid content remains to be seen.
