What’s new in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius v2

Eight months and 20 million downloads after its global release, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius receives its first major update. Other than tweaking the summoning system, the core of every gacha-focused mobile game, Version 2 butters its moving parts with a long list of changes, ranging from gameplay additions to qualify of life tweaks.

In case anyone missed it, here’s the official video:

Summoning

Rejoice, summoner, for the crystals no longer harbor false hope. All summoned units will now come in their base rarity always, eliminating the heart-sinking possibility of getting a five-star Kain when pulling a Rainbow.

In short: Blue crystals will always be 3-star base units, Gold crystals home to 4-stars, and Rainbow crystals exclusively 5-stars.

Why is this a big deal? As you’d imagine, the chances of scoring a Rainbow crystal isn’t exactly high – some unlucky players may go weeks without ever seeing one. Given our earlier example, Kain is a base 3-star unit who tops out at 5-stars, so acquiring him through a Rainbow crystal is always terrible. The fact that it’s a 5-star unit doesn’t matter, simply because he cannot evolve any higher.

That rare Rainbow could have been Noctis instead, a 5-star unit who can reach 6-stars, thus making him far more valuable. With the new system, 3-star units such as Kain will firmly stay in Blue crystal territory, leaving Golds and Rainbows to be a genuine cause for excitement.

New content

First of all, Global players can finally resume the story in Zoldaad, unlocking two new towns, two explorations, and seven dungeons. This arc will see a new esper, Odin, as well as a new story character joining the player’s party.

A new set of ring recipes are also available for players who have achieved 40, 50, 60, and 70 in-game trophies respectively. These include the infamous Ring of Dominion, an absolute monster in terms of item bonus and material requirements – nobody’s going to own one in the upcoming months.

As for units, a banner is currently live for the all-new Olive, Shine, and Shera. What’s more, they’re giving out free Star Quartz with every featured summon.

Interface and quality of life changes

The developers were pretty thorough when it came to updating the menus and out-of-battle systems, making for a more seamless gaming experience. Other than giving the main menu, crating menu, and world map a makeover, they’ve also added a material location function so players can farm better. There’s now a shortcut that takes you directly to King Mog, a coveted Claim All button for daily quest rewards, and even the continuous auto-battle setting to make explorations less of a hassle.

Players will also be better informed as they navigate various parts of the game. A new counter makes it absolutely clear how many Summon Tickets remain, a details screen breaks down a unit’s base stats and equipment bonuses, and magic spells now have tiny icons reflecting what element it is.

Loading up the game for the first time will immediately pull a notice about the new unit protection feature, whereas diving into the shop reveals raised unit and material caps (you’ll still have to buy slot upgrades). And over in unit management, we can finally assign espers independently between parties.

If you’d like to see every discovered change so far then the good folks at Exvius Wiki have you covered.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is available for iOS and Android devices. It’s an especially good time to join the game, now that a free 10+1 summon offer is on the table.

Don’t miss our interview with Global version producer Hiroki Fujimoto.