Square Enix is setting out for new horizons in its next expansion. Final Fantasy XIV will get its next expansion Dawntrail in summer 2024.
Revealed at today’s Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest, the trailer spotlights the new locales that the Warrior of Light and (former) Scions will be visiting in the next expansion. Dubbed Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, the journey takes the crew into the New World. If you’ve been keeping up with Blue Mage content, you might already know a bit about this landmass.
Director and producer Naoki Yoshida describes this new expansion as the “very best summer vacation” a hero can have. The Warrior of Light heads to the New World, a.k.a. Tural, to aid someone in a rite of succession, which takes them out across the Indigo Deep. And this adventure will also apparently see the Scions “divided” into opposing groups.
On an exciting note, we do see Endwalker favorite Erenville playing a big role, it seems. We also caught glimpses of the rest of the Scions adventuring around, eating some incredible-looking food, and taking in the sights.
A new arc
Since Endwalker brought an end to the major arc starting with A Realm Reborn, Square Enix is framing the Dawntrail expansion of Final Fantasy XIV as the start of a new journey. The general theme is a “journey of discovery.” Personally, I’m curious to see how this pans out.
What’s also really neat is to see the world map expand with this expansion. The new hub city is in Tuliyollal, the seat of the federal nation-state governing Tural. It’s ruled by a two-headed Mamool Ja named Gulool Ja Ja, who’s hosting the competition to see who will succeed him.
We got a good look at the new areas players will be visiting. It’s got a lush tropical vibe, which all looks very good with the graphics update. “We’ve never been able to create such dense foliage in a forest before,” Yoshida mentioned as the XIV head took the audience through different snapshots of both the hub and outlying areas.
The Pelupelu are a new tribe, and familiar to those who have played some Final Fantasy X-2. They’re a smaller race and dig coffee, which is relatable.
Upping the cap
Of course, the level cap will tick up, from Level 90 to Level 100. Final Fantasy XIV will finally hit triple-digits, and new skills will arrive for all Jobs. Crafter and Gatherer will go up in cap, too.
And with a new expansion comes new jobs, too. Two new DPS jobs will arrive, one melee and one ranged magical attacker. Yoshida gave a hint, in the form of a TMNT: Mutant Mayhem shirt. No clue.
New dungeons, threats, and content will arrive too, with Normal and Hard versions. We got some artwork of one of the bosses, the legendary Valigarmanda.
Duty Support will also get an update, as well as new Gear and Recipes for Crafters and Gatherers. There will also be new Variant Dungeons, and new Raid content for Alliance, 8-player, and the Ultimate players out there. PvPers will get an update too, including new maps for Frontline.
Somehow, impossibly, inconceivably, even further adventures
Even more ongoing content is on the way, including new updates for Blue Mage, new plans for Deep Dungeons, and Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures. And a Gold Saucer update is on the way, too. (It’s not Blitzball.)
We also got a big look at all the graphical updates coming as part of the 7.0 update, a.k.a. the Dawntrail expansion. They look pretty solid, and Yoshida says the team is working to go back and update content all the way back to 2.0, or A Realm Reborn. Auto-generated environments will also roll out, and it really looks like it’s filling out some of the areas in earlier content.
Some big systemic updates are hitting too, including one very exciting one for glam fans: two dyes per gear piece! Eyeglasses are also being added as a separate piece, which can be equipped independently of headgear. The furnishing limit is getting increased at some point in the 7.X cycle, too. Raid players can also rejoice: a strategy board function is on the way, with editable strategy layouts.
Requirements shift
With all the new graphical updates, the system requirements are also going up for PC Final Fantasy XIV players.
The PlayStation 4 will still be supported for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, so no jump to PS5 just yet. Though, as Yoshida mentions, there is another Final Fantasy on PS5 that you could check out too.
That’s all for 7.0 today at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest, but there’s plenty of other news for crossovers and upcoming pre-7.0 patchs. Looks like there’s quite a lot on the way for the critically acclaimed MMORPG.
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