The new expansion was unveiled during the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest London 2023 keynote with a trailer featuring a summer vacation theme and multiple new content. Read on to know more.
FF14 Dawntrail Announced Updates at FF14 Fan Fest London 2023
New Viper Class
The new Viper class coming to FF14’s expansion, Dawntrail, was the highlight of the keynote presented at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest London 2023. FF14 director Naoki Yoshida, better known as Yoshi-P, has unveiled more on the new class.
The Viper class is a dual-wielding melee DPS designed explicitly for the expansion. It adopts a close-range combat style and uses dual blades that are unique to the job and can be combined into a single two-handed weapon.
Yoshi-P has shared that the combat style of the Viper will let players alternate between dishing out swift strikes using the twin blades and heavy blows using the joined weapons. The new class is expected to be a "technically demanding yet highly stylish melee Job that affords players frequent opportunities to execute various abilities in between the weapon skills".
The Viper class was also created in response to fans clamoring for a dual-wielding class different from Ninja, said the FF14 director. Now, while these two are intended to play differently, the Viper will don Melee-Dexterity gears similarly to Ninja.
Yoshi-P also teased another new ranged Magic DPS coming to Dawntrail. The new class is still shrouded in secrecy, but other than the little hint, Yoshi-P says fans will have to wait until FFXIV Fan Fest Tokyo to know more about the new DPS.
New Setting and Narrative
FF14 introduces a new world called Tural–a tropical world loosely based around Brazil. Yoshi-P has stated that there’s a sense of pride, happiness, and excitement that there is this representation of Brazilian culture in the game. Furthermore, he shared that they aim to pay respects to Brazil’s culture and people and blend these inspirations into FF14’s own unique world.
Dawntrail's narrative promises to deliver "the ultimate summer vacation experience for heroes," initiating a fresh storyline for the game. The journey players will take in Dawntrail is about capturing the throne as the Warrior of Light. The Warrior of Light will help with the land's Rite of Succession, determining the next ruler with familiar allies like Alphinaud, Alisaie, and Erenville. Other characters such Estinien, Thancred, Y'shtola, Graha, and Urianger from Scions of the Seventh Dawn also join the fray. It has also been teased that players will battle for the throne alongside these characters.
Players will have access to Tuliyollal, a new hub city within the broader region known as Yok Tural. Unlike heavily industrialized cities, Tuliyollal prioritizes harmony with nature and celebrates diversity among its inhabitants. New allied tribes such as the Pelupelu, a race that made its debut in Final Fantasy X and X-2 will be reintroduced; and, the Moblins, a goblin-like race inhabiting the jungles of Kozama’uka. They are described as experts at tinkering and gathering and procuring items.
Other Details on Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Level Cap Increase
Apart from the refresh on the storyline, new classes and jobs, raids, and a whole new setting coming to Dawtrail, other updates were also announced. Player level has officially entered the 3-digit territory as the level cap has increased from Lvl.90 to Lvl.100.
New Dungeons and Enemies
Yoshi-P further shared that players can expect the same amount of new dungeons as in previous expansions coming to Dawntrail. He blessed fans with a teaser of a new dungeon that starts off as a "river cruise", as opposed to the typical cave-like dungeons, doubling on the "fun, summer holiday" Dawntrail promises to bring fans.
These dungeons will introduce new enemies players will not expect, such as the "Eliminator". "We can’t tell you much about it yet, but it’s obvious we are going against expectations" Yoshi-P told fans. Along with new dungeons and enemies, new job-specific gears and recipes are also underway.
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Crossovers with FFXI and FFXVI
A Final Fantasy XI crossover raid and a Final Fantasy XVI crossover called "The Path Infernal" have also been announced. The London keynote lightly touched on these crossovers with Dawntrail, and more details are expected to be revealed at the FF XIV Fan Fest in Tokyo.
The FF14 team seems to have a lot cooking up for the new expansion. Yoshi-P shared that the plan was to show more robust upgrades and new content but the team in charge didn't think it was quite ready so fans will have to wait until the Tokyo event. However, he assured fans that devs are hard at work and that the new content for Dawntrail is "something you can enjoy with a lot of people", unlike the "Island Sanctuary" update that came in the previous FF14 expansion, Endwalker, which was more “solo content".
Sources:
FF XIV Fan Festival London 2023 Twitch stream
