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Final Fantasy XIV is the gift that never stops giving, as this year’s Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival has proven yet again. The annual celebration of Square Enix’s massively popular MMORPG teased fans with a promising glimpse of the game’s future, including a full trailer for the upcoming Dawntrail expansion, a new Pictomancer job, the female Hrothgar playable race in action, and more.
While the DLC release date hasn’t been firmed up, the nearly six-minute footage gives an extended look at Tural, a land that lies over the ocean to the far west of Eorzea, and its sprawling environments. It will also feature a “new story” for the game, and is designed to be the “very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have.”
Taking centrestage, however, is the Pictomancer, the mystical painter who battles with a paintbrush and palette. The intelligence-based ranged magical DPS job joins the previously announced Viper, and appears to be a heck load of fun to play, allowing players to draw creatures (including Moogles!), weapons, and landscapes to deal damage to foes. To this end, it’s more similar to the physically-oriented Dancer class with some support abilities to boot, such as magic buffs.
Much like the Viper, the Pictomancer unlocks at level 80 in Gridania. There’s no prior class requirement, so adventurers will be able to pick it up immediately as soon as they own the expansion. If the job seems familiar, that’s because it originated from Final Fantasy VI, where Relm was able to draw enemy techniques.
Finally, players who have at least the Shadowbringers expansion will get the chance to play as a female Hrothgar, previously available only in the male form. Identified by their “lithe, muscular forms” and their “predisposition for leadership,” these lionesses are described to be rare as part of the story, and will be the final race to be added to Final Fantasy XIV — for now, at least.
Other notable new features include a new town called Solution Nine, a “city of towering facades constructed by an entirely different civilization than of Tuliyollal, and the Heritage Found region, which comes “overflowing with lightning energies” and” streaks of purple levin illuminat[ing] the land day and night.” Fans can also look forward to a new 8-player raid, The Arcadion, the Echoes of Vana’Diel Alliance Raid, held in collaboration with Final Fantasy XI, and an Ultimate Raid titled “Eden: Futures Rewritten”.
Here’s a quick look at the major features coming to Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, per the official website:
- Level cap increase from 90 to 100
- Tural, a vast continent where new adventures await
- New cities: Tuliyollal and Solution Nine
- Distinctive new areas, including Urqopacha, Yak T’el, Kozama’uka, Shaaloani, and Heritage Found
- New allies to encounter: the Pelupelu, Moblins, Mamool Ja, Yok Huy, and Hanuhanu
- New threats to overcome, including Valigarmanda, Eliminator, and the Barreltender
- New dungeons
- A new raid series: The Arcadion
- A new alliance raid series: Echoes of Vana’diel
- A new limited job: Beastmaster
- Expansive new lifestyle content: Cosmic Exploration
- New gear and crafting recipes
- New variant dungeons
- New Field Operations
- A new Ultimate raid: Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)
- New trials
- New Unreal trials
- PvP updates
- Blue Mage updates
- Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures
- New plans for Deep Dungeons
- Gold Saucer updates
- First graphical update
- Duty Support updates
- System updates
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is slated for PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in summer 2024.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
