Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail expansion: Release window, new location, story & more
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail has been announced as the next expansion to the popular MMO. Final Fantasy 14 has had several expansions, mostly centred around large conflicts and potential disasters, but the MMO seems to be going in a different direction this time.
Dawntrail takes players to a new land called Tural for what appears to be an adventurous holiday, but no doubt will end up being much more. Here is everything we know so far about Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail, the game's "beach getaway" themed expansion.
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Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail release window
Click to enlargeEager fans can mark their calendars with a fairly wide circle, as Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is confirmed to launch in Summer 2024. Aside from the most recent expansion, Endwalker, every other expansion has launched during the summer.
The first three launched in late June, and the fourth in early July, so we might be able to start making an educated guess on what the Dawntrail release date might be when it launches next year.
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Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail story & details
Click to enlargeFinal Fantasy 14 Dawntrail takes the Warrior of Light to a new land called Tural. Seemingly inspired by South and Latin America, the names and designs of this new region appear to be inspired by Aztec and Inca history.
The trailer implies that the journey to this new place is for somewhat of a holiday, but also for a specific purpose. The Warrior of Light has been asked to participate in a rite of succession to determine Tural's next ruler, which seems likely to be the spark for the inevitable conflict that will arise upon our arrival.
Beyond that, little is known yet. We do know that exploration and discovery will be prominent themes of the expansion, as the Scions will be tasked with seeking out a fabled "city of gold". Also, there may be some friendly rivalry involved, as the Scions are going to be divided into two groups in this endeavour.
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Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail new content
Click to enlargeA new expansion means a heap of new content, with plenty to do beyond the new story. As is tradition, the level cap will be increased with the new expansion, this time to level 100. Players will be able to take their existing jobs to this new cap, as well as the two new jobs that are coming with Dawntrail.
Details on the new jobs are scarce so far. At the reveal event, game director Naoki Yoshida teased the two new jobs. He stated that they will both be DPS jobs, one will be a spellcaster and the other a melee fighter.
Another tradition at these events is for Yoshida to wear something that hints at what the new jobs are, and sure enough, he removed his jacket as he was speaking about them. Oddly, he was wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem shirt beneath. Ninja is already a job in Final Fantasy 14, so exactly how the turtles relate to these new jobs remains a mystery.
Beyond that, we had confirmation of new quests, new enemies, new dungeons of all kinds, new items and cosmetics, basically just a broad confirmation that this will be yet another content-packed expansion.
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Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail graphical upgrade
Click to enlargeFor the first time in the history of the game, Final Fantasy 14 is getting a graphical overhaul for both characters and the world. This update will be an ongoing process that will begin with patch 7.0, which will be released alongside Dawntrail.
These graphical upgrades look to bring the lighting and texture quality of the game to a much higher standard while keeping things familiar. The changes won't be drastic, they won't bring the game up to the same graphical quality as something like Final Fantasy 16, but they will make Final Fantasy 14 look and feel more like a modern MMO.
Players can expect higher-quality character models, improved armour and weapon textures, better lighting across the board, and much more. These changes will only start alongside patch 7.0, it will not be an overnight overhaul, but the game will be vastly improved over time.
That is everything we have so far on Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail. For more, head to our Final Fantasy homepage, or check out our Final Fantasy 14 leveling guide.