Highlights

  • Final Fantasy 14 players have discovered evidence that suggests the next areas of the game were teased over nine years ago.
  • The "New World" concept in Final Fantasy 14 has been hinted at for a long time.
  • Teasers and references to the new zones in the upcoming expansion pack, Dawntrail, have been found in previous in-game books and descriptions, showing the deep lore and planning behind the game.

Final Fantasy 14 may have just revealed the continent of Tural in Dawntrail, but fans have discovered hints of the fabled New World that date back as far as A Realm Reborn. This evidence proves some of the next areas of Final Fantasy 14 have been over nine years in the making.

Dawntrail, Final Fantasy 14’s next expansion pack, brings players to Tural, a massive western continent inspired by the Americas. That said, the idea of the “New World” is not new to Final Fantasy 14; indeed, the Mamool Ja native to Tural reappeared in the first zones of A Realm Reborn. The New World was shrouded in mystery, but many fans knew about it in concept.

a ff14 dragoon wearing silver armor looking to the left
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However, fans have now discovered some of the details about Dawntrail’s new zones had been teased as early as nine years ago. Recently, Trust Insiders, a fan group that posts Final Fantasy 14 Duty Support quotes and dungeon Easter eggs on Twitter, shared an in-game book called Over the Horizon, which details an account of Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn’s journey to the New World. However, Final Fantasy 14 player B’runi Masana pointed out that this book was itself referenced in a fishing log entry added in Patch 2.3, released in July 2014, proving Final Fantasy 14 has had plans for Tural and Tuliyolal, the City of Gold, for over nine years.

Tuliyolal isn’t the only location in Tural that has been teased in Final Fantasy 14’s past. During the recent Fan Festival, Final Fantasy 14 revealed Solution Nine, a cyberpunk hub city players will visit in Dawntrail. While this futuristic city might have felt out of left field by some, FF14 fan Ashril Enard pointed out that Solution Nine was referenced in the original Encyclopaedia Eorzea released in December 2016. The brief description of the Haragin Xaela tribe mentions their ancestors once sailed around the world eastward and found a “terrible island covered in massive grey monoliths and inhabited by fire-breathing steel demons,” seemingly referencing Solution Nine in the seven-year-old passage.

These are not the only references to Tural hidden throughout Final Fantasy 14, of course. The Blue Mage class quests explain the Final Fantasy 14 limited job originated with the Walaqee tribe from the New World – likely in Shaaloani, the Wild West-themed zone coming in Dawntrail. It seems like the new expansion is drawing deep from previous lore of the critically acclaimed MMORPG.

Dawntrail doesn’t have a release date yet, but players can expect it before the end of summer. Before then, Final Fantasy 14 is releasing Patch 6.55 on January 16, the Xbox beta on February 21, and the Final Fantasy 16 collaboration event in early April.