Final Fantasy XIV is by far one of the most popular MMORPGs today with over 40 million subscribed players worldwide. Today, none other than Yoshi P himself opened the FFXIV FanFest 2023, the first physical FanFest in 5 years, gave a keynote speech that left the audience excited for the future of the game. Also a little confused, but we’ll come to that. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s been revealed so far at FFXIV FanFest 2023.
Dawntrail
Even before the start of Naoki Yoshida’s first live keynote speech at a FanFest in five years, we were blessed with the trailer for the next story arc, Dawntrail, coming during Summer 2024.
Dawntrail will be set in The New World land of Tural, where the Warrior of Light will be sent on a much needed summer holiday. However, upon arriving in Tural, the Warrior of light will be visited by a guest who seeks their help in the upcoming Rite of Ascension. This Rite is in order to find the next ruler, who will succeed Gulool Ja Ja, a strong, wise and two-headed Mamool Ja who currently rules the land. Yoshida went on to describe how the process will divide the Scions in two and it will be up to us to figure out who is friend and who is foe.
The new land brings with it a new story arc, the overarching theme of which will be “the journey of discovery”, which will be continued throughout 7.0 and beyond.
What we know about Tural
Tural is part of The New World, located across the Western Seas and beyond the Indigo Deep. It is a land that, as previously mentioned, is ruled over by Gulool Ja Ja, at least for now. The residents of Tural prioritise living at one with nature and in reflection of this, the main city state is not as industrialised as those we have previously encountered in our journey. There is an emphasis on diversity, with many different races living side by side in harmony.
Tuliyollal
Nestled within the wider area of Yok Tural, Tuliyollal is a vibrant and foliage filled hub which has an established trade route with Old Sharlayan. Yoshida revealed three screenshots that give some hint as to what we can expect from this city state. Imagine taking the architecture of Kugane, mix in the foliage from The Rak’tika Greatwood and put it all on the coast of Old Sharlayan and you’ll get a good feel for what we can expect from Tuliyollal.
Tuliyollal’s Harbour. Yoshida was very enthused about the shadow quality and foliage that we see in this screenshot, something that is much improved with the upcoming graphics update. He also stated that the number of objects within a location will be increased, allowing for a much more immersive and realistic experience.
The marketplace, where trading and socialising occurs between the races that inhabit Tural. Also where players will most likely spend most of the time, assuming there will be a Marketboard here.
A night shot of an area in Tuliyollal. Yoshida asked us not to get too used to the position of the moon, as it is not finalised. Maybe the Loporrit’s are up to something.
Rest reassured, Tuliyollal is not to be the only major city within Tural for us to explore. Yoshida stated that there would be others and those would be revealed between now and the release of Dawntrail.
Urqopacha
Inhabited by the diminutive race we know as the Pelupelu, first seen in Final Fantasy X. Urqopacha sits high up in the mountains.
Yoshida went on to give us more screenshots, detailing the rich shadows and detailed foliage that surround the settlement inhabited by the Pelupelu. He seems very excited about the new addition of auto-generated environments that will come with the upcoming graphical update.
Yak T’el
Still within the general area of Yok Tural, Yak T’el is the region inhabited by a larger race that we have yet not been introduced to. It is nestled within a lush forest and split into two sections for us to explore; the high level and the low level.
Of course Yoshida gifted us with more screenshots, detailing the density of the foliage. He assured that there is a “very different atmosphere” when night falls within the area.
Having shared these screenshots and left the audience wanting more, Yoshida then moved on to discuss what we can expect from 7.0
Coming In 7.0
The updates for 7.0 are what we’ve come to expect from any expansion in the XIV series. Here’s what was revealed on day one of FFXIV FanFest 2023:
- Level cap is rising to 100 for all jobs (except Blue Mage)
- New skills will be introduced for all jobs
- New core battle content, such as FATEs, Treasure Hunts and The Hunt.
- New dungeons
- New gear and recipes
- New trials
- Duty Support update
- Expansive new lifestyle content
- New variant dungeons
- New alliance raids from 7.1, which Yoshida described as “even more Final Fantasy-ish”
- New 8 player raids
- New ultimate raids
- PvP updates including new maps for Frontlines, updates to Rival Wings and Crystalline Conflict
- Ongoing content updates for the Gold Saucer which we were vehemently assured was absolutely not going to be Blitzball
- Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures
- Blue Mage update
- Possible plans for Deep Dungeons, though the development team are also considering introducing a brand new type of battle content as well.
- Two new jobs, one of which will be a melee DPS and the other will be a ranged magical DPS. Yoshida absolutely refused to elaborate on either of these jobs, but he did reveal his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt which prominently featured an image of Leonardo dual-wielding a pair of swords and was taken as a strong hint by the audience.
First Graphical Update
After teasing us with the updates that will be coming in 7.0, Yoshida moved onto the long awaited information about the upcoming graphical update which will be implemented with the release of 7.0. He assured the audience that these graphical updates will not be too drastic, though they will improve the appearance of everything within the game. Yoshida went on to play a video which showed detailed before and after shots, though these are still under development and likely to change before the update drops.
Gear seems to be getting a radical update to improve the appearance of materials such as metal.
Characters are taking on a slightly softer appearance.
Both interior and exterior spaces seem to be taking on a much clearer, slightly more realistic appearance.
Due to the magnitude of the graphical update, Yoshida urged players to remain patient while they gradually implement the update to older content. He also described how because there are such a large number of gear items within the game, the graphical update will also be applied to those gradually, so we shouldn’t be surprised if we’re not looking quite as shiny and new as the person standing next to us for a while.
System Updates
The first system update that Yoshida announced was one that has been long awaited by the entire community; the ability to use two different dyes per gear piece to dye separate parts. This announcement caused elated cheers from the crowd in Las Vegas as well as likely everyone watching at home.
Eyeglasses will be equipable alongside headgear, though there was no mention as to how this would work for Viera or Hrothgar players. Yoshida did assure that while they would now be equipable, they would not be classed as accessories or take up space within the Armoury Chest; good news for savage raiders, who really don’t need any more complications with accessories.
The furnishing limit is being increased for player housing, though we weren’t given a time frame for when this is likely to happen. Yoshida apologised for making the community wait so long for this update and assured the audience that the server team are trying their best to accommodate it, asking for our patience.
The introduction of a collaborative strategy board was an unexpected announcement from Yoshida, though it went down well with the audience and will be incredibly useful when planning for raids, especially savage tier. It will allow up to 8 players to work on their strategy for individual bosses as a team.
New system requirements
In a much anticipated announcement at FFXIV FanFest 2023, Yoshida went on to detail the system requirements for the game once the graphical update has been implemented. He used the opportunity to shamelessly plug Final Fantasy XVI, encouraging players to buy a Playstation 5 in order to prevent having to update their PCs. The audience appreciated the humour, though.
They’re expanding the free trial
Whereas previously Final Fantasy XIV free trial was available to play until level 60 and included A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, it will now be expanded to include Stormblood with a new level cap of 70. This will be implemented with the release of 6.5.
FFXIV FanFest 2023 gives us a crossover with… Fall Guys?
One of the weirdest and least expected announcements at any fan event this year was possibly that XIV is having a crossover event with Fall Guys.
Yup, you’re not going mad, rest assured. These images show the items that will be available with the Warriors of Light fame pass, which will be available for only six weeks ending October 3rd. The pass will include costumes based on many of our most well loved XIV characters including Alisaie and Alphinaud as well as Namazu, Chocobo and more. As well as the costumes, the pack includes emotes, celebrations and other bizarre, yet not unwanted, items.
As well as XIV content within Fall Guys, there will also be Fall Guys content within XIV! There will be a Gold Saucer update, playable by up to 24 players, in which you run the gauntlet and try to still be standing at the end. Just what we’ve come to expect from Fall Guys, though definitely not from XIV.
Final Fantasy XIV is coming to Xbox!
The biggest announcement from this year’s keynote speech was saved until last. Yoshida invited a special guest onto the stage who turned out to be none other than the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer. The two revealed that, finally, Final Fantasy will be released on the Xbox series S and with 4K support on the series X. An open beta will begin with the release of 6.5 with a final release to coincide with the release of 7.0. The game will only be available as a digital download and will be monitored continuously throughout the open beta to ensure that Xbox players receive the same gameplay that other players already enjoy.
During the Xbox reveal, after also inviting Takashi Kiryu (President and CEO of Square Enix) onto the stage, we were teased with the promise of Square Enix working more closely with Microsoft in order to facilitate the release of more games going forwards. The three men shared a slightly awkward handshake before Yoshida brought out the rest of the development team to officially open the Las Vegas FanFest.
Before moving onto the opening ceremony, though, Yoshida informed that the next round of reveals would take place during the opening of the London leg of FFXIV FanFest 2023, which takes place on October 21st.
If you want to watch the keynote speech for yourself and enjoy the atmosphere, you can right here!
