FFXIV Dawntrail – Everything We Know

The new expansion FFXIV Dawntrail was just announced at the 2023 Fan Fest in Las Vegas. Here is everything we found out at the keynote address!

The next expansion of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV is called Dawntrail (“Golden Legacy” in Japanese). And from the looks of it, it will take us to the New World and beyond. And it is scheduled to release in the Summer of 2024.

Here is our quick and sweet summary of everything we learned about the upcoming 7.0 expansion.

FFXIV Dawntrail

The new Final Fantasy XIV expansion will take us to the land of Tural, which is commonly known within the World of FFXIV as the New World. It lies far west of Eorzea, across the Indigo Deep. How do we end up there and what is going on? We, unfortunately, don't know yet.

We only know that the Warrior of Light and their companions have been invited to the New World, called Tural, and its capital city of Tuliyollal. If you've done parts of the Blue Mage quest, whose job originates from that region, you already have a small idea of the people you can expect to meet there.

Together with the former members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, we're invited to oversee and help with a contest that will settle the succession of Tuliyollal royalty. Amongst the two candidates, the Scions are apparently split in their opinion and we'll have to mediate and figure out what is going on.

Oh, and we're also on the hunt for the illustrious and famous Golden Cities that hide in Tural's lush Amazon forests.

New World: Tural

Tural or the new world seems to be closely based on Latin and South America, as its geographic location on the world map might suggest. We've seen already some visual influences from Aztec and Khoisan cultures, but as per usual, they come with their own spin.

The New World is also home to the Pelu Pelu which Final Fantasy Fans might remember from the Final Fantasy X series. While we don't know much about them as of writing, they do boast their iconic bird-like masks and are known to speak fast and be very quick-witted.

The game will center around the capital of Tural, Tuliyollal which is also featured in the Expansions keyart. It's supposed to be massive and features buildings stacked on top of each other, a sprawling market and a harbor that puts even Limsa Lominsa to shame.

There will also be a region called Urqopacha, which lies in the mountains of Tural. This area seems to be based on Machu Picchu in southern Peru, going by screenshots and key art alone. Over 1000 years ago, this used to be the empire of the Giants who once presided over a smaller race. Today they live in harmony amongst the ruins of the once-great empire.

The Last Region we've come to see was Yak T'el which is split between a high plateau and a low Amazonian forest. The foliage is apparently so thick that barely any sunlight touches the forest floor. Here live Hrothgar who we once believed to be native to Bozja and the Mamool Ja, who you can find all across the New World.

Content for 7.0 and Beyond

New Expansion means new content and FFXIV Dawntrail won't be falling behind either. You can expect everything we've already seen in previous expansions, an increased level cap up to level 100. New gear, quests, skills trials, and so on.

Dungeons, Raids, Alliance Raids, and Trails will of course also be part of the upcoming expansion. As well as new content for non-combat classes. And yes, there will be at least one new Ultimate.

Variant Dungeons will also make a return in 7.x content, Deep Dungeons will also see a new iteration. There is also going to be something called “Lifestyle content”. Which director and producer Naoki Yoshida introduced to be similar to the Island Sanctuary.

Duty Support will also continue to be implemented and see a major update, which we can't see yet due to spoilers. We do know that the Duty Support will include a bunch of new characters aside from the Scions we've grown to love and cherish.

New Jobs

But what would be a Final Fantasy XIV Expansion without a new job? We don't know what exactly the new jobs will be like, but we do know that they will both be DPS. A Caster and a Melee DPS. BUT Yoshida did wear a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt.

Which could either mean we'll see some kind of weapon master. Or most likely, the new job will be based on the popular FF monster Genbu, who is introduced as a Geomancer in Final Fantasy XIV. And looking at the fit the Warrior of Light was sporting in the cinematic, we might be getting the sable rattling Corsair a new take on the XI Job.

Graphics Update

We'll also bear witness to Final Fantasy XIV's first graphical update. Seems like Creative Business Unit III's work on Final Fantasy XVI will benefit the critically MMORPG as well! Not only will there be an increased graphical fidelity across the board for textures, models, and especially shaders.

Neat little additions such as volumetric fog, an overhauled foliage system, and new material effects will also be added. But keep in mind that some of these updates will be added during the 7.x period, so some areas might take a while to be brought up to the new standard.

But since most NPCs use the same assets as the character creator, this won't be an issue. Just some of the older NPCs with costume models and older locations will take a while

System Updates

Now the few things we actually care about.

Thanks to the overhaul of the graphics as well as the shaders, players will now be available to apply 2 dyes to all pieces of equipment. Finally. Honestly, nothing else matters now.

But there is more. You'll now be able to wear two pieces of equipment on your head. Technically still one, but the current Accessory feature which lets you wear glasses out of combat will be completely reworked. Now you'll finally be able to wear a big hat and big glasses while wiping.

Coming in 7.x is also an update to the housing system. While details were scarce, we do know that the maximum number of furniture for all housing will be upped considerably.

Still MIA

Maybe it is because the Graphics Update is still a work in progress, but we haven't seen the long-promised female Hrothgar yet. Something the team behind FFXIV has promised since the reveal of male Viera for Endwalker back in 2021. But who knows, maybe we'll get to see them tomorrow in the 6.5 live letter.

And that sums up everything we've learned from the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023. Oh, and there was more, like the announcement that Final Fantasy XIV will come to Xbox! We'll of course have more all around Fan Fest 2023 very soon here on ESTNN