Highlights

  • Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail introduces a new chapter with a new continent, two new Jobs, and a major graphical update.
  • Players can expect a level cap raise to 100, another playable race, and challenging raids like The Arcadion and Echoes of Vana'diel.
  • Crafters and Gatherers will have new content with Cosmic Exploration and a Beastmaster Limited Job coming in post-Dawntrail patch cycle.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, the fifth expansion to Square Enix's critically acclaimed MMORPG, will pack plenty of features for players to enjoy upon release. In addition to two new combat Jobs and a new continent, Final Fantasy 14 will undergo its first major graphical update since the game's 2013 relaunch as A Realm Reborn, with character models and the game's environment receiving some polish.

Following the conclusion of the Hydaelyn-Zodiark saga that spanned over a decade, the new expansion marks the start of a new chapter for Final Fantasy 14. After accepting an invitation from a traveler named Wuk Lamat, the Warrior of Light and the former Scions of the Seventh Dawn travel to the land of Tural to take part in a rite of succession to decide the land's new leader, with Wuk Lamat being one of the rite's four main contenders. Also known as the New World, the land of Tural is divided into two halves based on the real-world Americas, the tropical Yok Tural, and the mysterious Xak Tural. Home to various races, including the Hrorthgar, the Pelupelu, and the Mamool Ja, Tural will serve as the main backdrop. Dawntrail will be released on July 2, with early access starting on June 28.

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Everything Coming To Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail

With each new expansion in Final Fantasy 14, new Jobs and adjustments to preexisting Jobs have been a staple. In Dawntrail, the blade-wielding Viper and the artistic spellcasting Pictomancer will enter the fray as a melee DPS and a caster DPS respectively. The Viper is the poster Job of Dawntrail and uses two swords that can be combined. By contrast, the Pictomancer wields a magic paintbrush to deal damage from afar. In addition to the two new Jobs, the level cap will go from 90 to 100, and the Dragoon and the Astrologian will be reworked. However, Final Fantasy 14 has not stated how those Job reworks will go, so it remains to be seen what those will entail.

The Major Features of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail

  • The first major graphical update for Final Fantasy 14
  • Level cap raised to 100
  • Two new Jobs: Viper and Pictomancer
  • New Continent: Tural
  • New Race: Female Hrothgar
  • New Raids: The Arcadion (8-player), Echoes of Vana'diel (24-player), and Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)
  • New Features: Cosmic Exploration and an Adventuring Foray similar to Bozja and Eureka
  • New Limited Job: Beastmaster (coming in post-Dawntrail patch cycle)

Dawntrail will also give Final Fantasy 14 a fresh look thanks to the long-awaited graphical update. While various character models and environments will be updated at launch, some weapon and armor sets will be updated gradually. The expansion will also bring a new playable race to the game, as the long-awaited Female Hrothgar will join their male counterparts. Final Fantasy 14 players who want to see how the Female Hrothgar and their current characters will look with the updated graphics can download the Dawntrail Benchmark for PC.

While the main story of Dawntrail will revolve around Tural and its rite of succession, players will also face new challenges along the way. Among the raids confirmed to appear during Dawntrail, the mysterious Arcadion will provide 8-player parties with some challenging encounters starting shortly after Dawntrail is released on July 2. Several months later, in the first major post-Dawntrail update, the Echoes of Vana'diel alliance raid series based on Final Fantasy 11 will begin. Only time will tell which foes from Square Enix's past will appear as bosses for 24-player squads to face. Players looking for the ultimate raiding challenge will also have content to look forward to. Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), based on the Eden raid series, will launch around the same time as the first Vana'diel alliance raid.

Crafters and Gatherers will also be shown some attention, as a new feature called Cosmic Exploration will be added in future updates. A new Limited Job called the Beastmaster will join the Blue Mage during the latter patch cycle of Dawntrail, and a new adventuring foray similar to Bozja and Eureka is also in the works. Between new content and updates to the blacklist feature in Final Fantasy 14, the Dawntrail expansion looks to be one of the most feature-rich updates in the game's history.