At the opening event of the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2023, fans got exactly what they were expecting from the event: the very first look at Dawntrail, the next expansion in the game following Endwalker in the 7.0 patches. The reveal trailer showcased a few moments of the main cast’s voyages to New World, the setting for this future expansion.
The 2-minutes CG trailer gave us a first glimpse at the new Warrior of Light design, renewed for a brand new adventure after the conclusion of the Zodiark saga.
Forging Ahead Into a New Continent
The trailer shows us the characters we’ve grown to love heading into the New World continent, where the expansion takes place. We have a direct shot at the new Warrior of Light look, but his new job wasn’t revealed yet.
It follows by showing the Scions hanging around in the new areas, as well as showcasing some of the monsters we might encounter in this journey. The Warrior of Light is shown alongside the Leveilleur twins and Erenville (the Viera gleaner from Endwalker) in a boat headed to the continent, ready to face whichever awaits them. He’s also seen in a fight at a point holding a sword, probably still referencing his old Paladin job from Endwalker.
The expansion is currently scheduled for a Summer 2024 release, which probably means that the usual Patch Cycles in Endwalker are very likely being expanded.
According to game director Naoki Yoshida, this new adventure involves a journey to a location known as Tural, located in the New World continent. A new guest received by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn requests their help in the throne’s rite of succession, which means we get to broaden our horizons to a previously unvisited location.
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This competition will apparently involve the legendary City of Gold, mentioned a couple of times around the story. One of the new areas will be named Yok Tural, but many more are still to be discovered.
The main theme in this expansion will be “A Journey of Discovery” as the main character takes its first steps after the conclusion of the previous arc. New adventures, stakes and dangers are waiting for them in this new chapter, which will be a fully-fleshed JRPG experience, in Yoshi-P’s own words.
The New World continent, located to the western seas, was briefly mentioned in the Blue Mage questline, while the City of Gold was also mentioned during Endwalker’s climax. It makes sense for us to visit this area now, and we had a few artworks showcasing how it will look like.
We’ll sure be seeing more of the new Dawntrail expansion, as well as possibly a new Job reveal later in the Fan Fest. And if you happen to be there right now, you might wanna grab some of that awesome FFXIV limited merch!
