Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker – A brief rundown

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker – A brief rundown of the main information we know about the upcoming expansion from Square Enix on PlayStation 5, PC and Mac.

Like many players of Final Fantasy XIV Online, I am very excited for the upcoming expansion “Endwalker” and not just because we’re going to the moon! With the reveals at Fan Fest 2021 last weekend and the announcement showcase back in March, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of some of the key information available on the anticipated 5th Expansion to the wildly popular MMO from Square Enix.

During Fan Fest 2021 we were given the extended, full version of the trailer that brought us a large number of exciting shots, from Estinien riding yet another of the first brood of dragons, Vretra, to Y’Shtola heading to Sharlayan and being her usual no-nonsense self to the scholars there. Put to a new amazing track composed by series musical director Masayoshi Soken with lyrics by Michael ‘Koji’ Fox and Natsuko Ishikawa, Endwalker looks to be shaping up to be another excellent chapter of this long standing MMO.

Final Fantasy XIV is known for its wide variety of jobs and classes based on a range of different characters and classes from previous iterations of the franchise, like the Gunbreaker inspired by Squall from Final Fantasy 8, and Endwalker brings us 2 new jobs to learn and master; the Sage (Healer) and the Reaper (Melee DPS).

During the announcement showcase back in March we were given out first look at the new healing class with Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy XIV’s director, making it clear that the Sage is a completely new class designed just for the game.

The job was shown off in a brief piece of footage detailing how it works as a party buff and shield healer (similar to the way Scholar works) along with its newly designed weapons “Nouliths” that seemingly form as a wing when not being used as fancy magic laser guns.

Fast forward to mid-May and, during the keynote speech at Fan Fest 2021, Yoshi-P gave use an exclusive new look at the Reaper, the new Melee DPS class that will share armour with the Dragoon. Wielding a large scythe, the reaper is definitely an interesting job and looks a lot of fun to play.

However I was mainly grabbed by the style of the job mainly that the design of the starting armour shown off (assuming it is the starting armour). Baring a striking resemblance to something from Bloodborne. Similar to Sage, we were given a look at the job in action and it also seems to take the Bloodborne and gothic vibes into the way its action work too, seemingly looking more visceral than other melee classes and jobs.

Since the announcement showcase back in March, the main thing that has many players excited is the setting. Yoshi-P announced that we would be leaving the planet (Hydealyn) and travelling to the moon. Like the actual moon! And during Fan Fest we were shown one of the main areas of the satellite called Mare Lamentorum.

What struck me about the area in the footage we were shown was the seemingly Ishgardian and Crystarium architecture of the tower, followed by what looked like a large piece of Allagan technology embedded on the surface and some odd tree structures as one of the final shots (apart from some caves with crystals).

The moon aside, during the Fan Fest we were also given more details and some first looks at the other areas that our Warriors of Light will travel to over the course of the expansion including the scholars home of Sharlayan, which many fans of the game and its expansions will already be very aware of as the homes of everyone’s favourite twins Alphinaud and Alisie as well as others and the near eastern island of Thavnair, home to the city of Radz-at-Han and some of the greatest weapon smith and the enigmatic subterranean city of Labarynthos.

The final area we will be travelling to in Endwalker will be none other than the capital of the Garlean Empire, Garelmald. Since its initial launch in 2010 Garelmald has been the home to the repeat antagonists of the game and it’s expansions, the Gralen Empire and has spent much of its overarching narrative exploring the aggressive expansion of the empire in its bid to take over the whole of Eorzea through its advanced technology (Magitek), and use of questionably moral military decisions (the Black Rose poison, Ultima Programme and more recently the Weapons Project). As a long-time fan of the game, I for one will be waiting with bated breath to explore the Garlean capital, despite its war-torn aesthetic that we’ve seen from some artwork and screen captures.

We also got some more information on a potential new Beast Tride, the “Loporrit’s”. Adorable miniature bunny people that look almost too cute to deal with and were informed that they may in fact call the moon their home.

The Loporrit’s will join the Arkasodara to form the 2 new beast tribes in the expansion. The Arkasodara are large colourful elephant creatures, and a tribe of peaceful Matanga (a set of enemies that have shown up in other parts of Eorzea) and yet we know little about them for now they will no doubt be a welcome addition to the colourful host of friendly beast tribes already available through the many areas of Eorzea.

We were also shown some images of The Magus Sisters. Now as someone who deems Final Fantasy IV to be one of the best games of all time, I may have gotten quite excited about the prospect of being able to interact with these three mages.

However, all we currently know about these enigmatic mages is that their role in Endwalker will be a completely original role, but I for one am still excited at the prospect of how the dev team for XIV plan on taking these recurrent characters and embedding them in the new narrative. Coupled with the looming threat of the Magus Sisters, during the announcement showcase we were also shown some images of Anima, who will also be an antagonist during the course of Endwalkers.

Of course FFXIV isn’t just about travelling around the world (and to the moon!), people play the game for its battles and challenges and Yoshi-P and the team are building the hype well with some screen captures of some of the new dungeons and the name for the new high-end raid: Pandemonium.

Despite a lack of extra information, the artwork for the raid seems to point towards some form of conflict against the Ascians. Could this be the raid series that wraps up the final conflict between Hydaelyn and Zodiark? I know I’m excited to find out!

On the subject of raids, we were also given some very enigmatic images of the next set of 24-man alliance raids along with their title “Myths of the Realm”. Yoshi-P was quite direct in his informing us that this set of raids would not be a collaboration, but if a completely original story and concept for XIV focussing on the pantheon of the 12, the benevolent deities of Eorzea.

This sets the Endwalker alliance raids apart from all the others which have had tie-ins to other games, like the wildly amazing YoRHA Dark Apocalypse raid series we have had with current expansion Shadowbringers.

The final reveal, in spite of what players were told ahead of Shadowbringers, was the ‘new’ playable race – Male Vierra. Yoshi-P explained that, despite not planning to add another race to the game, the feedback from fans on wanting male bunny people had led to the development team implementing male Vierra as a playable race, and fans were promised further explanation to their lore in the near future.

Excited to explore Sharlayan, Thavnair or The Moon? Or just excited to witness the climax of the battle between Zodiark and Hydaelyn? The wait won’t be too long as Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is due for release November 23rd, with early access for pre-orders starting November 19th. Pre-order now on the Square Enix Store, Steam or PlayStation store.

Want to watch the trailer? Click here (English Version)

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