Final Fantasy 14’s next expansion is a vacation for Warriors of Light

Final Fantasy 14’s next expansion is a vacation for Warriors of Light

Time Stamp: July 28, 2023 4:20 PM

At Final Fantasy 14 FanFest 2023 on Friday, Square Enix and producer Naoki Yoshida unveiled the 7.0 Dawntrail expansion and revealed what will arrive alongside this major content update coming in summer 2024. This included an entirely new region players will have the opportunity to traverse with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Major changes will appear alongside this content update, including the highly anticipated graphical upgrade, an overhaul to the dye system, and an added raid tool.

One of the biggest reveals during the FanFest keynote included the reveal of the Dawntrail expansion, which will introduce the entirely new region of Tural to the wider world of Eorzea. The development team teased a new player hub and provided a brief look at new areas that will appear, with designs appearing to take inspiration from Meso-American and Indonesian cultures. This demonstration included mention of specific areas changing during day and night cycles, with more information to be revealed in the future.

Square Enix also provided a glimpse into the story that will accompany the Dawntrail expansion. Framed as a “vacation” of sorts — referencing Endwalker, Yoshida said, “you did just save not only all of Hydaelyn, but kind of the whole universe, so we thought we’d give you a little break” — the experience will begin with players arriving in Tural to participate in a storyline that seems similar to the Steppe quests that appeared in Final Fantasy 14 Stormblood. Players will see the Scions divided as they participate in a “rite of succession” to effectively choose the leader of Tural. The general theme of this expansion is rooted in “discovery,” with Yoshida also stating that “diversity” was also one of the key focuses in the development of Dawntrail.

Image: Square Enix

In Tural, players will uncover mysteries concerning the “City of Gold,” which sounds similar to the Meso-American city of El Dorado. The area reportedly lacks industrialization in comparison to Eorzea, which raises some questions (and possible red flags about its portrayal). More information about this area will appear in the future, potentially at Final Fantasy 14 FanFest 2023 Europe in October.

New dungeons will be available in the Final Fantasy 14 7.0 update; although no screenshots were shown, the development team did share that Final Fantasy 6’s Valigarmanda will appear as a boss.

As always, a new Tribe arrives as part of the update. The Pelupelu from Final Fantasy 10-2 will appear as the Tribe for this new expansion. They are notably more humanoid than previous Tribes; they are described as “diminutive,” and their aesthetic appears inspired by Peruvian culture.

Outside of these story-based updates, Final Fantasy 14 will see the addition of two new DPS Jobs, with Yoshida teasing what one of the new Job Classes could be via the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt he wore to the event. There has been some speculation that the new Job Class will be Beastmaster, given that even Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi requested the addition of this class into the game. Whether or not this makes it into Square Enix’s MMORPG remains to be seen, as more information will appear at both the European and Japanese FanFest events.

Image: Square Enix

Final Fantasy 14 will receive major graphical upgrades that will be rolled out through 7.0 onward. This includes reflective textures on armor and other surfaces, more polished textures for player characters that include hair and skin, and even an adjustment to face morphs. The developers mentioned that this will roll out over time, and not all NPCs will receive the update all at once. Other additions include the ability to apply two dyes to gear and to wear glasses while wearing headgear.

Ultimately, Final Fantasy 14 7.0 Dawntrail will see a plethora of new content added into the game, alongside much-awaited updates to continue to polish the experience of the ever-growing MMO.

Final Fantasy 14 is currently available on Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC. At FanFest, Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu, Yoshida, and Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed that an Xbox Series X version is coming, with a spring 2024 release. The Xbox version will support cross-play with other versions of the game.

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