Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail — Everything We Know

It's no secret that one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time is Final Fantasy 14. The game has over a million players, a thriving community, and more content than any normal player could complete. Even with all of this, a new expansion comes out every few years. This time around, the expansion's name is Dawntrail, and it has a much different feel from the other four. For starters, this is the start of a new story, and it has a much lighter atmosphere. That's not to say that we won't see some brooding storytelling in the mix, though. Below we go over everything we know about Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.

What is Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail?

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is a large expansion to Final Fantasy 14. Like the other four expansions before it, it contains a new map, dungeons, enemies, raids, dungeons, characters, and more. Players will need to buy the expansion on top of having an active subscription. In addition, they will have to have completed all content up until Dawntrail. This includes Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker. Once this is done, players will be able to start the new story and access a majority of the new content. It's not yet known how long Dawntrail will be, but going on the other expansions, it will likely have around 50 hours of story. On top of the story, you can expect around 50 hours of content, most of which will include things like unique quests.

This expansion is made to extend the game for long-time players. Even those new to the game should be able to pay a fee on the Mog Station to jump straight into the new content. If you are already invested in Final Fantasy 14, then Dawntrail will be an easy purchase.

Story

The Scions set off on an adventure by boat to go to Yok Tural. This island is currently working on finding its next successor. The Scions have arrived due to the possibility of the Gates of Golden Cities emerging. While not a lot has been revealed about the story, we do know the Scions will be divided. You will need to compete against some of your friends during the story of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail. It's not yet clear how friendly of a divide or not this will be. Since this starts the new leg of the game's story, a lot is currently left up to speculation. When looking at the trailers, it seems that this expansion will have a lighter tone, but it's also possible this is a false promise, as the rest of the game has been rather dark.

Gameplay

The core gameplay will stay the same, with a few tweaks here and there. For starters, the level cap will finally be raised to 100. Most of the classes will get new spells to play with once they start leveling past 90 to keep things fresh. The main change comes with the new classes. The first of these jobs is Viper, which deals close-range damage. Vipeer is a DPS class that uses twin blades that are sometimes joined together for heavier attacks. The next main class is Pictomancer. This is another DPS class that uses long-range painting to attack enemies. This class stands out from the rest as it has cartoonish animations that give it a more light-hearted feel. Finally, there is the Beastmaster class.

This is a limited class that can be used in restricted settings like the Blue Mage. As the name suggests, the class concentrates on using beasts to do battle. The cosmetic race of female Hrothgar is also being added for the first time. Next, there will be new dungeons. Each dungeon typically has its own gimmicks to keep gameplay fresh. While some snippets of the new dungeons have been shown. All we know for sure is that they appear to have a tropical vibe. New raids and bosses have also been promised, as have new beast quests. Smaller changes like being able to dye equipment two different colors and further customization options will also be implemented. You can also expect tons of new armor, weapons, and decorations for your home. Even the Golden Saucer is set to get expanded content.

Development

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is being developed by Square Enix. Yoshi-P is once again heading the project, and many of the same developers will be working on the expansion. Thanks to this, players already have a good idea of what to expect from the expansion as a whole. There have been several conferences hosted by Yoshi-P showing the progress of the game. For the most part, the formula should stay the same with only a few changes to help keep things interesting for players.

Trailer

During this section, we take a look at Dawntrail's trailer. The trailer bounces back and forth between a light-hearted vacation and some epic battles. We see the new main city of the expansion, along with some of the bosses players are going to be able to fight. Many characters are showcased throughout it, but not too much is given away about the game's narrative or much of the new content. Plenty of information has been released separate from the trailer and can be found on the official site for Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is set to launch in the summer of 2024 with no exact release date. There will likely be a collector's edition of the game, as was the case with the other expansions. A digital collector's edition with exclusive items and mounts is also highly likely. As for the platforms it will launch on, Dawntrail will launch on any that currently support Final Fantasy 14. This includes PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. The title is also set to launch on Xbox systems in 2024, but it's not yet stated whether this will be before or after Dawntrail has been released.