It won’t be long now before Leviathan joins Final Fantasy XVI. The series staple was notably absent in the base game, but will make waves when it arrives on 18 April as part of The Rising Tide expansion.
The major content drop comes after the Echoes of the Fallen DLC, rounding out the team’s plans for two post-release expansions. Where the former focused on combat, this upcoming adventure opens up a new area of the map and fleshes out more of the game world, as shown in a glistening new trailer.
“An unmarked letter arrives at the hideaway containing a request most curious: the Dominant of Leviathan, long lost Eikon of Water, is in need of rescue,” reads the video description. “To heed this call, Clive and his companions must journey to Mysidia — a hidden land under a blue sky —where they will uncover the tragic history of a forgotten people.”
Longtime fans will recognise Mysidia from past titles like Final Fantasy IV, usually introduced as a locale with heavy ties to magic. More notably, it seems Jill may be getting more character development — not only is she from the north (where Mysidia is located in), the trailer also spotlights Shiva, which Jill is the Dominant of.
The official PlayStation blog offers further information on what to expect. The new Leviathan Eikonic ability set lets players “tame the tides and drown [their] enemies both near and far” and summon a “sea-spitting serpent capable of dealing precision strikes to enemies at great distances” with the Serpent’s Cry Eikonic feat, while Kairos Gate brings a 20-stage battle mode. Other additions include new weapons, increased level caps of 60 (for Story and Action Focused modes) and 110 (Final Fantasy mode), and two new Hideaway tunes, “Torn from the Heavens and “Through the Maelstrom.”
The Rising Tide will be available as a separate purchase for US$19.99 or as part of the Expansion Pass for US$24.99. According to DLC director Takeo Kujiraoka, the main story will be twice as long as Echoes of the Fallen, clocking in around five hours of gameplay. With side quests and endgame content, however, that may add up to about 10 hours.
As for Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix is rolling out a new update with the following quality-of-life improvements on 18 April when the expansion launches:
- Return to a quest giver immediately with the new “Quick Complete” function
- Icon updates for important character quests
- A new Skill Set feature, which allows players to save up to five unique Feat and Ability sets
- Abilities and Accessories adjusted for easier use
- New “Custom” controller type allows for freely customizable button layouts
- Tone correction, screen effects, and more added to Photo Mode
- Numerous new orchestrion rolls added
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.
