On the following day, they announced patch 5.55, the second part of the Death Unto Dawn update, that will start the Endwalker storyline and conclude some questlines long overdue. Walk with me as I give in-depth information about the announcements and some references or fanmade assumptions I spotted during the live stream. I will start with the 5.55 update and go on to Endwalker’s.
Part 2 of Death Unto Dawn Main Scenario
On April 13, we got the first part of Death Unto Dawn’s main scenario. Shadowbringers questline is concluded, and we started to scratch the surface of what we can expect from the next expansion as some weird towers began to appear across Eorzea. On May 25, we will get the second part to conclude Shadowbringers’ main scenario quests and introduce us to Endwalkers’ plot.
Save The Queen Updates
Save The Queen is the Bozjan Resistance’s questline, an instanced battleground with unique FATES and raids loaded with players aiming to get this expansion’s relic weapon. With every update, your weapon gets a new upgradeable stage, and Yoshi-P promised the last one will give players a weapon slightly stronger than the one you get from savage raids. Alongside the Zadnor, a new battlefield, expect new skirmishes, critical engagements, duels, and the Dalriada, a 48-man dungeon that will surely test your prowess and your PC video card. Your resistance rank will get a new rank 25 cap while also unlocking resistance honors, increasing your attributes in the area. They showed screenshots bestowing players Final Fantasy XII familiar espers as bosses, such as Belias (the Gigas already appeared in the Ridorana Lighthouse raid) and Shemhazai, and outfits for glamour from Basch and Penelo.
PlayStation 5 Version Official Release
PlayStation 5 beta version started April 13, when Death Unto Dawn was released. With the second part of the update comes the official PlayStation 5 release. If you got the PlayStation 4 version and managed to luckily got a PS5 console, don’t forget to do the upgrade free of charge. If it works like the PS3 version, you will have some time on hand to do it. With features like fast load times, 4k resolution, and haptic feedback, Yoshi-P says the PS5 version is currently the ultimate experience to play Final Fantasy XIV.
Additional Features In Patch 5.55
If you manage to collect all Triple Triad cards, which is quite the endeavor, you will get a reward. While they didn’t say that the reward is, we could at least expect a mount because, oh boy, they did increase card rate drop, but the RNG can still be brutal. According to Yoshi-P, a bug slipped from their quality assurance. Desynthesizing some gears from trials gave players no materials. Yoshi-P apologized for that and said that adjustments were made, so now all extreme trials will yield crafting materials. However, the rarest materials aren’t a guaranteed drop. NieR’s alliance raid gave Final Fantasy XIV players a taste into the fantastic world Yoko Taro built. After finishing the three 24-man raids, you get to help the dwarves reconstruct their homes. The epilogue may conclude this questline and offers players some rewards for their boundless aid and knack to dive into other people’s troubles that jeopardize everyone’s safety.
New Melee Job, Reaper
After much assumption, bets, and theories, the expansion second job was finally announced. While most players got the weapon right, a badass scythe, no one expected them to add a unique and exclusive job to Final Fantasy XIV: Reaper. The job actions, appearance, and skills aren’t devoid of flair. In fact, the job thrives in the Void, a dark realm where creatures called from voidsent hail from. Reapers can call a void avatar to aid the player in battle, and while the class thrives in close-quarter combats, they can also serve as for their avatar, further enhancing its power. They will use the same armor as Dragoons. To unlock the Reaper, players must have the Endwalker expansion, have another job at level 70 and speak to the quest giver in Ul’dah. The Reaper is the second job to come in the new expansion beside Sage.
New Areas and Hub City
Old Sharlayan is the players’ new hub city and will work as Crystarium did in Endwalker, so Radz-at-Han will probably be the second hub city, similar to Eulmore. The nation of scholars was apathetic to the world’s problems apparently until now when the trailer presented us Y’shtola confronting them and demanding their positioning. One new area announced was Labyrinthos. Despite first looking like a run-out-of-the-mill area, it seems powered by remarkably advanced technology, such as an artificial sun, and architecture similar to what we saw in Old Sharlayan. They gave us a more in-depth look at the new region, Thavnair, home of the Dancer job. Colorful and with abundant vegetation, the area continues to provide us strong Indian references in the buildings. As the Warrior of Light rides by the sea, we can see a black tower similar in design to a dungeon featured in the dungeon crawl trailer. Radz-At-Han is explored by our hero, who showed in several shots the colorful city with a theme very peculiar to the culture it portrays. It looks stunning and seems to be the second main hub, much larger than its respective. Yoshi-P also shared the artwork of a new area that, while it resembles the Sea of Clouds in Heavensward, fans quickly state it reminds them of the Kingdom of Zeal, a nation in Chrono Trigger. Considering the nation was the home of culture, technology, and magic, it certainly matches the characteristics of Old Sharlayan. But, even though both are from Square Enix, it may be more an easter egg than a straightforward reference. Of course, the central spotlight in the expansion, the Moon. While its ambiance and landscape isn’t something noteworthy (will we find an American flag there?), they showed us Mare Lamentorum, which roughly translated from Latin means “Regret of the Sea,” a building with a scholar’s structure, possibly Sharlayanic. Due to some elements shown in the trailer, there seems to be Allagan technology on the satellite. Maybe we will use some Allagan transport for our space travel as well. The trailer also shows a cavern filled with crystal. Fanmade theory alert: it’s strongly implied that Zodiark, our crystal mommy most dangerous antagonist, is trapped in the moon. Considering that crystals are the primary source of aether used by the Beast Tribes to summon a primal, did we just see Endwalker’s final area? The moon certainly looks appropriate as an endgame scenario. For last and with minor news, we had more glimpses of Garlemand, the imperial capital. In the first announcement, we noted that it was pretty destroyed and abandoned, and in this one, we can be sure. After Zenos changed his job from Samurai to Reaper, and I agree with Fandaniel, suited him perfectly, it seems that he has been negligent in his formal career and hasn’t handled the empire’s public services adequately.
New Dungeons, Raids & Enemies
The dungeon crawl gives us a peek at some dungeons we will fathom. The first resembles the tower we saw near the beach in Thavnarian, with black spiral details with purple shades. One looks a lot like the insides of a monster; the other, where a train appears on a metallic facility, may be located on Garlemald. The last one has some blue containers similar to the ones inside Mare Lamentorum, and while its surroundings don’t resemble moonlike, it’s possibly from the same populace that is up there. And of course, the background music played in the dungeon crawl, Tower of Zot, reinforces all the FFIV references we will get in the next expansion. Magus Sister joins the fray. With every new expansion and Beast Tribes comes new primal. While they didn’t officially announce the sisters as Primals, I imagine it’s a safe bet considering the game’s past. Their outfits are colorful as Thavnarian, which denounces where they will appear. Soon after, they announced the new Beast Tribe, the Loporrits, rabbit-like race equal to Hummingways from Final Fantasy IV. They lived in the moon back then, so it makes sense they still live there. If the Magus Sister really is Primals, I believe they are a deity of the Arkasodara, an elephant-like race with much more in common with the Thavnarian ecosystem. In this case, Anima would be the Primal of the Loporrits since its appearance is more lunar. But these are just well-considered assumptions. Myths of the Realm is the new Alliance Raid, and it won’t be a crossover. But at long last, it will delve into Eorzea’s mythology and tell us why the hell we choose a birthday on character’s creation. The raid will explore the Twelve, the pantheon of Eorzea who ruled the continent before the arrival of the wandering tribes - this is us: Hyurs, Elezens, Lalafells.
New Race: Male Viera
Talking about bunny-like races, players’ pleas were heard, and Square gave us male Viera, with the female Hrothgay scheduled for later this year. After releasing the new races in Shadowbringers, players quickly expressed their displeasure with the gender lock, which was addressed by Yoship-P promptly. Because they listen to players, here they are delivering on their promises.
Endwalker Release Date
Finally, they announced a date: November 23, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, and Mac. While they lamented the expansion delay, which usually took place between July or August, it is justifiable given our global situation. Along with the date were also released bonuses for those who pre-order the game and additional collector’s edition items. If you pre-order the game, you can play the early access, starting November 19. You also get two in-game items: Menphina Earrings, which increases EXP by 30%, probably until level 80, and Wind-up Palom Minion, one of the young twins of FFIV. If you acquire the Collector’s Edition, you will get the Arion mount, honorable like Endwalker’s signature job, the Paladin. Along the stallion comes the Wind-up Porom Minion, so you keep the twins together, and Death Scythe, a weapon from Final Fantasy XI, designed for the Reaper. Also, last but not least, Final Fantasy XIV welcomes a new continent to their servers party: Oceania. It’s said that players there suffer from high latency, so getting a highly dedicated server will improve their gameplay. As someone who plays in North America from South America, I can concur that latency issues can make your life harder, especially in boss fights.
