Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail FAQ — Gameplay, trailers, everything we know

On July 28, 2023, Square Enix announced the 5th major expansion to its popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV, during that year’s Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival. This new upcoming expansion, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will be coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms in 2024 and will bring a smorgasbord of new gameplay features, gameplay balance changes, and new content to indulge in.

Some of the new content that Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will include are: the beginning of a new story arc, two new playable Jobs, a new continent to explore, new dungeons, new raids, a huge graphical update, quality of life improvements, and more.

Here is everything you need to know on Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: What is it about?

After saving the world from a cataclysmic event called ‘The Final Days’, the Warrior of Light and his companions, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, embark on a new adventure to the continent of Tural. There they will discover new cultures, participate in a Contest of Champions to help determine the next ruler of Tural, and explore the lands to uncover the fabled lost city of gold.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: What will the gameplay be like?

The gameplay of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will be the same as previous expansions. You will explore new lands and take up Main Scenario Quests to advance the plot, while completing optional side-quests along the way. At certain points in the story, you will be tasked to battle through dungeons filled with enemies using a Tab-Target Combat system like in most MMORPGs and take on titanic boss fight sequences called Trials.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: What new gameplay features will this expansion bring?

As with every expansion, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail plans to bring a host of new dungeons, Variant Dungeons, 8-player Raids, 24-player Alliance Raids, Trials, and Ultimate Raids for players to engage in. One of the new Trials that players can look forward to is fighting against Valigarmanda, a magnificent bird-like creature originally featured in Final Fantasy VI, where it was formerly known as Tritoch.

One of the Raids announced for Dawntrail is the Echoes of Vana'Diel Alliance Raid. This will a special Raid series as it will be a crossover between Final Fantasy XIV and its MMORPG predecessor, Final Fantasy XI, created to celebrate FFXI's 20th anniversary,

To help players overcome the new challenges that await them, the level cap for player Jobs has been increased to Lv. 100 and new player Jobs will be added: a Melee DPS, a Ranged Magical DPS Job, and a new Limited Job.

During the FFXIV 2023 Fan Festival in London, the Melee DPS Job was revealed to be an original Job, exclusively made for Final Fantasy XIV called the Viper. This is a fast-paced, dexterous Job that allows the player to wield a pair of swords and combine them to form a double-bladed staff. 

If you're an old-school Final Fantasy fan, you may notice that the Viper's fighting style and choice of weapons are reminiscent of Zidane, the thieving protagonist of Final Fantasy IX.

Based on hints provided by the initial teaser trailer and Naoki Yoshida (the game’s director and producer), fans speculated that the new Magical Ranged DPS Job could be a painter-themed Job inspired by Relm Arrowny from Final Fantasy VI. It turns out they were right as Square Enix confirmed during the 2024 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Japan, that the new Magical Ranged DPS Job will indeed be Pictomancer.

At the time same as Pictomancer's announcement, Square Enix also revealed that the new Limited Job coming in FFXIV: Dawntrail will be Beastmaster. Beastmasters originated in Final Fantasy V and their strength lies in wielding giant axes and taming monsters in battle.

Limited Jobs are special Jobs compared to regular Jobs, as they have their own plethora of quests and content to complete. However, Limited Jobs cannot partake in specific content like Main Scenario Quest instances or Ultimate Raids, for example.

One of the biggest changes that Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will bring is a huge graphical update for the whole game. This graphical update will improve the overall lighting of environments and upgrade the visual fidelity of character and material models with higher-resolution textures and shadows.

Other gameplay additions Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will include are:

• Job balance changes.
• Female Hrothgar finally becoming a playable race.
• A new Hub City situated in Yok Tural called Tuliyollal.
• New areas to explore: Urqopacha, Yak T’el, Kozama'uka
• New Allied Tribes: The Pelupelu, Moblins
• New FATES.
• More ‘The Hunt’ bounties.
• New Treasure Hunt maps.
• New Quest-Synced Sidequests.
• PVP Updates.
• Duty Support Updates.
• New Gear and Recipes.
• Expansive New Lifestyle Content similar to Final Fantasy XIV: Storm Island Sanctuary content and Bozja/Eureka battle-instanced content from previous expansions.
• Blue Mage Update.
• New quests for the Hildibrand questline called ‘Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures’.
• New plans for Deep Dungeons.
• Updates for the Gold Saucer.

In addition to gameplay and graphical updates, there will also be system changes that apply for the whole game:

• You will be able to use two dyes on each piece of gear you acquire, instead of being restricted to one dye per gear piece.
• There will be a new type of gear piece called ‘Eyeglasses’ that can be equipped alongside headgear.
• The furnishing limit will be increased for player-owned houses.
• A new ‘Strategy Board’ feature will be included to help player teams plan their strategies when tackling various hardcore Raids or Trials.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: What are the PC spec requirements?

Thanks to the graphical updates introduced in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, the PC specifications for the PC and Mac versions of Final Fantasy XIV have all been updated.

Do note that these system requirements may change when the final product is released. 

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: What platforms will it release on and when is it coming out?

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will be released on July 2, 2024, on PC (via Windows, Mac and Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: Are there any special editions and pre-order bonuses?

There will be a few editions of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail to buy once pre-orders go live on March 26, 2026. There is the Standard Edition, Digital Collector's Edition, Collector's Box, and the Collector's Edition. 

If you pre-order any of these editions of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, you will receive the Wind-Up Zidane Minion and Azeyma's Earrings(which grants a 30% EXP up to Lv.90) in-game items ahead of the expansion's release. 

The dawn of a new era for Final Fantasy XIV is upon us

With these new quality-of-life improvements and exciting quests, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is promising to bring to the main game, it’s no wonder fans are excited to get their hands on this upcoming PC title.

What’s more is that Xbox fans will be able to join in on the fun as Final Fantasy XIV and all of its content up until Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, is now available on the Xbox Series X|S.

What new adventures await the Warrior of Light now that the world is safe from evil, and will they be able to prove Tural’s lost city of gold exists? Stay tuned for more details as we keep an eye out for news updates on the latest expansion of one of the best PC games on the market.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail | Square Enix webstore | Steam

Set sail for The New World and start a new adventure in the world of Final Fantasy XIV with Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail. This expansion will bring new Jobs to learn, new foes to face in challenging dungeons, Raids, and Trials, a huge graphical update to enrich the game's visual fidelity, and more.