Final Fantasy XIV will receive a new addon on July 2, 2024. Our tips will tell you how you as a returning player can jump into the game right on time for Dawntrail.
What is happening in July 2024? With Dawntrail, the next addon for Final Fantasy XIV will release on July 2, 2024. Following the emotional Endwalker finale, the new expansion is set to form the starting point of the next story arc that will engage all Eorzea adventurers over the coming years.
Additionally, the addon will introduce the following content:
- An increase of the level cap from 90 to 100
- The new continent Tural, also known as
the New World
. There you’ll find at least two new areas – Urqopacha and Yak T’el. - Two new jobs – a melee DPS and a magical ranged DPS. We now know that one class will be named Viper and can wear gear from the Ninja.
- A new lifestyle content similar to the island from Endwalker
- New dungeons and raids, including the alliance raid Echoes of Vana’diel
- New armors and recipes
- An update to the Trust system
- A major graphics update
Currently, it is a good time to jump into the new chapter of Final Fantasy XIV or to make a comeback after a long break. At MeinMMO, we have prepared some tips for you on how to easily navigate FFXIV and get started.
The launch trailer for Final Fantasy XIV – Dawntrail:
Quickly get back to the main scenario
When you return to an MMORPG after several months or even years, you quickly realize that you don’t know where you are and how to proceed. Especially in games like FFXIV, which receive major updates every three to four months, it can be easy to lose track.
So if you log in and suddenly find yourself in the middle of nowhere, take a look in the upper left corner of your screen. There you’ll find the name of the story quest you should complete next and its location.
This is why the main scenario is important: The main story quests are the running thread in FFXIV that accompany players to the maximum level (with Dawntrail: level 100). You must play through them to reach the endgame and start the latest expansion. There is no way around it unless you are willing to spend money on story skips. Therefore, it is important that you quickly find your way back into the main scenario.
No matter how long you haven’t played FFXIV, you can start right from the story quests and continue your path alongside them. Throughout the main scenario, you will also receive new gear and unlock additional dungeons.
This feature allows you to replay certain story sections without having to create another character. You can experience everything again with your current level and gear. It is unlocked by the quest “Awakened Memories,” which you receive from the pensive old man in Western Thanalan [X: 12.0 / Y: 14.0].
How do I play my class again?
Players who haven’t checked into FFXIV for several years will find upon their return that they need to revise their hotbar with skills. With the release of the new expansions, some abilities were removed, and others were added.
Before you head into a dungeon, you need to clean up your hotbars. To do this, open the command list that you can find in your character menu. Remove all abilities from your hotbar that are grayed out and struck through and fill them with new skills that are missing from the bar.
Make sure to layout your hotbar in a way that it’s comfortable for you to reach all necessary skills. Skills that form a combo should be next to each other. For practice fighting and testing, you can use training dummies found in the following zones:
- Western Thanalan X: 26.4 / Y: 24.0
- Central La Noscea X: 26.5 / Y: 17.2
- Deep Wood X: 25.1 / Y: 20.0
But even if you’ve been away for just a few months, it’s advisable to stand in front of a training dummy and thoroughly read through the descriptions of your skills.
If you then find yourself in a dungeon with unfamiliar players, don’t hesitate to tell them that you are doing the content for the first time or have just returned. In many cases, you will then receive brief instructions or help with boss mechanics.
The path to level 90
Since the release of the Endwalker expansion, level 90 is the maximum level you can reach in FFXIV. So if you are below this level with your battle class, you need to level up. Because reaching level 90 is one of the requirements you must meet to play the new addon Dawntrail.
Leveling in FFXIV normally runs parallel to the main scenario quests. These give you a lot of routine, which is often enough to keep you at the currently required level. However, if you’re falling behind or want to level up ahead, there are various options in FFXIV:
- Complete your daily random content, which you can find under “Content Search” in your content menu. They give a hefty routine bonus daily.
- Finish dungeons that are close to your current level. So if you’re, for example, level 68, then the dungeon Doma Castle is optimal for you. The level of the dungeons is displayed in the overview in content search.
- While you are in the queue for dungeons, complete quests and FATEs that correspond to your level to use the time efficiently. You can see the level of the FATEs by clicking on them on the map. The level of the quests is listed in their description.
- Alternatively, you can run the Deep Dungeon Palace of the Dead (unlocked in New Gridania X: 12.0 / X: 13.1) and from level 61 the Heaven-on-High (unlocked in Ruby Sea X: 6.2 / Y: 11.7). All information about these dungeons can be found here.
- At level 71, you unlock your first dungeon of the Shadowbringers expansion. Optionally, you can tackle this and all subsequent instances with human companions or with the NPC heroes of the “Side by Side” system.
- Alternatively, head to the Bozjan Southern Front. You can join the Southern Front at the ferryman in the doman enclave. Once you reach the front, your character will be boosted to level 80.
This way, there’s more routine
In Eorzea, there are several ways to activate bonus effects for the routine received. Simple buff-food gives you a routine increase of three percent for 30 minutes. A further bonus of 15 percent for 120 minutes can be obtained from the Society Guide “Battle Doctrine.” You receive the guide through the command missions of the state societies.
Your Free Company can provide you with battle routine effects. Additionally, there are items that yield more routine up to a certain point, such as the ring from the Beginner’s Arena or the Friendship Hairpin, which you can receive as a “Invite a Friend” reward.
Also take a look at the Current Agenda. You unlock the agenda after the level 15 main scenario quest “Call of the Sea” in the Adventurers’ Guild on the Upper Decks in Limsa Lominsa; it is hidden under the “Notebooks” menu option.
The agenda rewards you for completed activities, such as completing multiple dungeons as random content or finishing a certain number of FATEs. Completing the objectives offers you plenty of routine. Cool: Every Tuesday at 10 AM, the entire list resets, and you can earn the rewards again.
Get the current gear
In MMORPGs like FFXIV, every major update introduces new gear. To be prepared for the upcoming endgame content, you need to raise your item level as high as possible.
The methods for doing so have not changed in FFXIV for years. While leveling up, you can either receive the new gear for your character dropped from dungeons that fit your level or purchase it from NPCs or the market board.
How you go about this is up to you. However, while leveling, you should keep the gear as close to your level as possible so that you don’t run into problems in dungeons. Every ten levels, you can also purchase special powerful armor sets.
These sets have high stats and can be exchanged for Allagan Stones of Poetry at the following locations:
- Mor Dhona X: 22.7 / Y: 6.8
- Happy Heath X: 5.7 / Y: 5.3
- Ralgr’s Reach X: 13.8 / Y: 11.7
- Or in the three capitals Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, and Ul’dah near the teleport crystals. The shop is marked with a blue icon.
You earn Allagan Stones for completing level 50, 60, 70, and 80 dungeons, as well as through raids, primal fights, and daily random content. They are a good option to acquire strong gear without having to spend money. You can check how many stones you have by clicking on the gil icon in the lower right corner of your screen.
Many of the recommendations for optimal preparation for Dawntrail are still useful now:
Check out the character configuration and other settings
Over the years, many improvements to gameplay experience and assistive features have been added to FFXIV to make your journey through the MMORPG more pleasant. This includes various settings you can adjust in the many menus of the game.
It’s generally wise to take a look at these settings as they can make your life more comfortable. However, since there are so many, and as a returning player, you might want to dive back into the action quickly, we’ve summarized some of the most useful ones:
- To remind yourself of the controls in FFXIV, you can take a look at the key bindings. You can also change the binding to suit you best (System → Key Bindings)
- If your PC is not the newest, you can reduce the number of effects on the screen and lighten the load (System → Character Configuration → Control → Character)
- If you need more space for skills on the hotbars, you can add more and specify what form they should have (System → Character Configuration → Command Menu)
- You can freely determine the layout of your user interface and move or resize various UI elements (System → Layout)
- For players with vision problems or color blindness, there are special settings that can make playing easier (System → System Configuration → Accessibility)
- In your command list, you not only have the abilities of your classes but also useful shortcuts for various menus and gameplay functions that you can conveniently drag onto the hotbars for quicker access. These include, for example, friend lists or notebooks for recipes or gathering spots (Character → Command List)
You can also ask other players in forums, on social media, or directly in-game about which settings they recommend and which they find particularly good. Especially in the newcomer chat, players will be happy to explain which configurations will make your life easier.
Bonus tip for the upcoming launch: Practice patience
Months before the release of Dawntrail (i.e., during the great content drought before the launch of the new expansion), there were small login queues during primetime on all worlds. What do you think will happen when the great wave of players hits at the beginning of July?
The good news: Square Enix is getting ready and has already announced that there will be a new European data center named Shadow. This will host the three worlds Innocence, Pixie, and Titania.
Nonetheless, you should expect long queues and annoying server issues on the old data centers around the launch of Dawntrail. More information on the maintenance, the new worlds, and all other measures from Square Enix can be found here: Days of maintenance before the launch of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, servers go offline today
