Patch notes are up here.

The big stuff:

• Hunts have seen a slight nerf (B-rank marks have been eliminated in the sense that they're meant to be soloed now).
• Ixal beast tribe quests are now a thing and seem to be primarily crafting-focused.
• Spiritbonding for materia has seen a nerf. Prices might be all over the place this week.
• Some PVP class tuning.
• Full alliances can be formed prior to entering the Crystal Tower (meaning the long-awaited full twenty-four-man Free Company runs are now a thing).
• Chocobos can now be dyed different colors.
• New emotes and items.

The B-rank mark changes make me happy.

I honestly had trouble remembering who the Ixal were because I keep thinking of many of the races as their FFXI equivalents.

Awesome. I can dye my Chocobo red now!

Same. Them Yagudo were way cooler, had more personality and intelligence.

As a player who is not yet at the level cap or done the main story, this is the absolute best part. I'm going to make Birdy all sorts of colors.

I have only recently got my Chocobo and was thinking about the lack of ability to change it's color, that's awesome news.

Reading some of those patch notes as me thinking I really need to join a decent free company. One that will at least give me hope of owning a personal chamber at one point because I doubt I'll be able to afford a house anytime in forever.

@thelastgunslinger said:

Be careful with joy here. There's strings attached. Not only do you need to be in a fairly active Free Company to dye them but you have to have the access to plant the seeds to get the dye. They've tied it to the feature in such a way that not many people will be able to do it immediately.

Even as part of an FC I'm not sure when/if I'll be able to buy a personal chamber. They're 300,000 gil!

As mainly a soloer the changes to hunts is great for me. Now I can actually do them.

Making the ability to change your chocobo's colour be restricted to Gardening though is really dumb because it ensures I will never be able to use that feature. I'm seeing a pattern with SE and I don't like it. Every new feature they introduce is locked behind something ridiculous half the time.

I got the email Squenix sent out about the patch and saw that you can change your chocobo's color. I'm pretty sure the strings behind doing it means that I probably won't be able to do it but it's nice that it's there. I've been meaning to log back in and play that game, and I will once I finish off some things in Guild Wars 2. I have not abandoned the Free Company!

I wish they didn't make dying my Choco so damn bothersome. :-/

I've only been playing for about two months and using the market I've been able to earn now 250,000 gil so I'm confident it's possible.

Won't the fruits to dye chocobos eventually hit the market anyway or am I missing something. I can wait.

I can understand the frustration that it's more complex than maybe it should be but I sort of enjoy that you need to do a little hardwork to get the rewards. It's something about FFXIV I have started to appreciate, but at the same time I can see SE taking it a little to far.

I think I need to sell things via my retainer more often. People seem to be willing to pay quite a bit for spare shards.

They will but be prepared to spend a fucking assload of cash buying them. And you'll most likely have to buy multiples. Because if you read the discription its not just a one and done situation the more you feed your chocobo specific fruits the more the hue changes that color.

Honestly, I've got two million right now and I'm going to save and spend the bulk of that on a personal house when 2.38 hits so I can garden myself.

Yup, with the seeds being untradeable and everyone wanting to dye their chocobo it's just too much of a hassle right now. I'll wait until I get access to my own garden, assuming they allow it with player housing.

best thing is the new weather forecasts

Wait, are personal houses coming in 2.38? I thought they were further into the future? If so I better save up, I'm a big fan of personal housing in MMO's and I'm certainly going to try to get one.

envane mentioned them but do the weather forecasters serve a purpose? I'm guessing it's something I haven't yet come across but it seemed like an odd thing to add to the game at first, does weather play an important role in regards to a mechanics in the game?

@machofantastico: Yes personal housing should be 2.38 and the forecasters are useful if you're doing the exploration log since some of the vistas require specific weather to get credit for.

Weather forecasters are also very useful for fishing.

Of course, I'd forgotten about that. I haven't messed with the exploration log much having only recently unlocked it and concentrating on other areas. Had no idea it affected fishing either.

Happy to hear about personal housing, wonder how much they'll cost. I did run into a red chocobo yesterday which was neat, I'll probably wait till I can get a garden of my own. That said I might be switching realms from Moogle to Ultros soon anyway.