The final Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter from the Producers before Dawntrail happened today, June 14, and viewers were given a myriad of sneak peaks. From new Tomestones to a glimpse of The Arcadion, here’s everything we learned.
Right from the jump, viewers were inundated with new information in the form of the official launch trailer for Dawntrail, featuring gameplay footage and story prologue, as well as an introduction to a new character:
After showing the trailer, Yoshi informed us that the team is still on track for early access release on June 28, so we’re not likely to face any delays as we did in the run-up to Endwalker. Some viewers asked if Yoshida will be getting a summer holiday after all of his hard work, but he stated that he’s already working on the story for 8.0, so that’s unlikely to happen.
Beyond that, here’s everything we were told about Dawntrail:
New Content
We were given glimpses into a few new duties, including the first dungeon of Dawntrail and the level 93 Trial which will see us facing off against Valigarmanda. We learned that the boss during this Trial will alter its appearance, and also told of a new addition to the UI. Information regarding upcoming attacks will now be displayed in the middle of the screen.
Very excitingly, we were also given a brief glimpse into the 8-player raid series The Arcadion, which really is a live tournament complete with audience and commentary:
Hilariously, Yoshi and the team were trying to keep the name of the first tier of The Arcadion a secret, but neglected to remove the duty list from their stream, therefore giving away the name. As such, I think I’m allowed to reveal that the first tier of The Arcadion will be Light Heavyweight. Presumably, the weight class will increase with each tier.
The first tier of The Arcadion will be added in patch 7.01, which is due to be implemented on July 16. The Savage variant will be added in patch 7.05, due to release on July 30. We’re also getting a new Treasure Dungeon added in 7.05, called Cenote Ja Ja Gural.
New Tomestones
It was revealed that the next iteration of Allagan Tomestones will be called Aesthetics, while the capped version will be called Tomestones of Heliometry and will arrive with patch 7.05. We were also shown some of the gear which will be available in exchange for Heliometry.
New characters
After briefly going over already established characters, we were given more information about four new characters we’ll meet in our journey. From left to right:
- Zoraal Ja is the First Promise of Tulliyolal and Commander of the Landsguard. Sibling to Wuk Lumat, he’s considered the foremost candidate in the Rite to Succession, so it’s likely we’ll face off against him at some point.
- Koana is another sibling of Wuk Lumat, adopted by Gulool Ja Ja. He wants to drag Tuliyollal into the future using technology and innovation.
- Bakool Ja Ja is the only candidate in the Rite of Succession who isn’t part of the family of the current ruler, instead having won his place through Martial Tournament. He is contemptuous of others and considers anyone with one head to be inferior.
- The “Enigmatic Maiden” remains largely a mystery, and we weren’t told much about her other than there are some secrets in her story.
New items
Towards the end of the Live Letter, Yoshi showed off some of the minions and mounts we can look forward to collecting in Dawntrail. The most exciting reveal was the theme of the next set of Trial mounts, which take the shape of something that players have been wanting for a long time — wings. Actual wings, which attach to your back and make you fly. Glorious.
Here’s some of the minions we saw:
At one point, while showing off some new screenshots of Solution 9 featuring cars and motorbikes, Yoshida started to describe a new mount which apparently “transforms”. Sadly, we didn’t get to see this mount in action, but here’s what we did see, including those precious wings:
We also saw some of the new gear we can expect to get in a variety of ways, although it’s uncertain how to get most of these items. We saw three different sets of gear:
One which will be gained with Heliometry:
One which will be crafted:
And this final set of unknown origins:
Although any updates to housing will be coming much later during the 7.X series, we were shown a new house design, which looks like a fairytale cottage and comes complete with functioning treehouse feature:
New quests
There will be five new role quests available for Disciples of War and Magic classes to complete, one for each of the roles and unlocking at level 92. We were told that, at some point in one of the questlines, a Namazu will be making an appearance. Completing all five Role Quests will unlock a further quest to complete.
There will also be five new classes for Disciples of the Hand and Land to complete, named “Wachumeqimeqi Deliveries”, though we weren’t told at which level these would unlock. Completing all five will unlock an additional quest. The questlines will be split into the following groups:
- Blacksmith/Armorer/Goldsmith
- Carpenter/Leatherworker/Weaver
- Alchemist/Culinarian
- Miner/Botanist
- Fisher
While we weren’t told much about Viper and Pictomancer Job Quests, we were given a glimpse into their content in the form of screenshots. Through these, we know that the Viper quests will see us return to areas from A Realm Reborn, while Pictomancer quests will take us to Kugane, alongside at least one Moogle.
Disciple of the Land and Hand updates
All DoH/DoL classes will be getting new actions and traits, as well as a new Orange Scrip. Master Recipes will become available for Crafters with the implementation of patch 7.05 on July 30.
Gatherers will benefit from additional updates:
- Integrity will now be displayed in the gathering interface
- Fish Guide will now display the type of hook required for a catch
- New Regional Folklore
- New gathering points
Other adjustments
- Maximum amount of Bicolor Gemstones a player can possess will increase from 1,000 to 1,500
- Emotes and Recipes needed for quests will be accessible from the duty list
- Facewear will get its own slot in the character window
- Clicking this slot will bring up all available face accessories, each accessory will come in 12 different colors and doesn’t affect stats
- Some pieces of gear will have two dye slots, including all newly added gear. Further gear pieces will be updated to include two gear slots on an ongoing basis
- Players will now have the option to remove other players from view when approaching a quest giving NPC or object
- This will affect all players aside from those in your current party
