Dawntrail, the fifth major expansion to the extremely popular Final Fantasy XIV Online, has been officially announced by Square Enix and Creative Business Unit III. The newest expansion was announced during the Final Fantasy Key Note Address, with a trailer that highlighted a summer vacation theme as well as multiple new jobs, set to release sometime in the summer of 2024.
During the event, Naoki Yoshida, known by fans as Yoshi-P, took to the stage to announce the expansion, before declaring he wanted to continue his work on the long-running MMO “until I die or even afterward.”
Dawntrails story was described as being “the very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have,” following “a sudden change from the ending of Endwalker.” This expansion is intended to take the game into a new story and will take place in the new world, which is known as Tural, which is far removed from Eorzea by way of a large ocean. There the warriors of light will take part in a rite of succession to determine the new ruler.
This conflict will take players to multiple new locations including the new hub city of Tuliyollal. This city will diversity, and have multiple groups focused on living in harmony with one another. The city, which is not heavily industrial, will be ruled by Gulool Ja Ja, a two-headed Mamool Ja, with the rite warriors of light taking part in intended to determine his successor.
Dawntrail will also feature the inclusion of new allied races such as the Pelupelu, who were first introduced to Final Fantasy fans in X and X-2. Alongside the new content in the expansion, update 7.0 is set to be a host of new content including:
- Level cap increase from level 90 to 100, including new skills for all jobs
- Multiple new jobs
- New dungeons
- New enemies
- Duty support update
- New gear and recipes
While we wait for all this new content, Creative Business Unite III is taking a much-deserved victory lap for their work on Final Fantasy XVI which they developed with Yoshi-P as the producer. The game served as a much-desired return to form for the mainline series despite massive departures from the usual formula.
While Square Enix has seen some struggles in recent years, including the departure of Yosuke Matsuda following the troubled launch of the action-adventure game Forspoken. Given that he was also the person pushing the company toward a heavier investment in NFTs this switch-up will hopefully prove a positive one. Regardless, Final Fantasy looks to be finally heading in the right direction, something that XIV Online and Yoshi-P himself, have proved invaluable for that course correction.
Don’t forget to follow me here and on Twitter to stay up to date on all things gaming!
