With the Endwalker addon from Final Fantasy XIV, players embark on a journey to Garlemald, Radz-at-Han, and the Moon. But where might we go next? Here are 3 exciting places in the MMORPG that we have never visited before.
This is what happens in Endwalker: For Fall 2021, FFXIV announced the new addon Endwalker, which concludes the current storyline involving Hydaelyn and Zodiark. The expansion will lead us to several new areas.
For the first time, we will enter the warring empire of Garlemald, which has been at the center of many conflicts since 1.0. The island nation of Radz-at-Han, with its capital Thavnair, will also be a destination on our journey.
Likely serving as the setting for the final decisive battle will be the Moon. There we will face the final boss of Endwalker and conclude the story surrounding Hydaelyn and Zodiark.
But how, or better yet, where will we go afterwards? The world map of FFXIV still has many white spots and places where we have never been. Here are some locations that have been frequently mentioned in the lore and story of the MMORPG and would make excellent new travel destinations for the Warriors of Light.
Sharlayan
Sharlayan is a nation that has been mentioned very early in FFXIV and that we have not been able to visit to this day. Already in version 1.0, the members of the Alliance spoke about being scholars from this distant land.
Located on an archipelago north of the continent of Aldenard, Sharlayan is a nation that places knowledge above all else. The scholars of Sharlayan are therefore tirelessly searching for new knowledge, which they record in thick books and store in their great library.
As a very peace-loving people, the Sharlayers abhor any form of violence and consider wars barbaric. They are therefore also keen to lock away knowledge they deem dangerous so that it cannot fall into the wrong hands.
Many years ago, the Sharlayers founded a prosperous colony in the Dravanian Hinterlands. However, it was abandoned when Ala Mihgo fell and the Garleans advanced into Eorzea with their expansion conquests. Since then, the Sharlayers have almost completely withdrawn from the affairs of world history.
Throughout the expansions, Sharlayan has repeatedly come back into focus for players in various quest lines.
- In A Realm Reborn, the Saint Coinach Foundation from Sharlayan investigated the Crystal Tower and paved the way for the events in Shadowbringers.
- In Heavensward, we learned that the art of astrology and the associated job originally came from Sharlayan.
- And in Stormblood, we traveled to the mysterious island Eureka, which turned out to be Vaal. An island that used to belong to Sharlayan.
The nation of scholars has always been intertwined with the events in the FFXIV story, despite its inaccessibility, making it a fitting setting for the next chapter of the MMORPG.
Hingashi
The nation of Hingashi is located on the world map far to the east, beyond the Ruby Sea, in direct proximity to the continent of Othard. Players first learn about Hingashi during the storyline of the Stormblood addon as they embark on a journey to Doma.
Although both the art of ninjutsu and samurai sword fighting originally come from Hingashi, very little is known about the land itself. After over 600 years of terrible civil war in which powerful clans fought for supremacy, peace finally returned to Hingashi.
However, the nation remained firmly closed off to outsiders. In light of the aggressive expansionist policies of Garlemald, which engulfed one nation after another, the government of Hingashi declared absolute neutrality and withdrew from the affairs of the world.
Only in a single port can ships from foreign lands dock and offer their goods for sale. Thus, Kugane still serves today as a window that allows travelers to glimpse into the world of Hingashi. Due to its neutrality, consulates from Garlemald, Radz-at-Han, and trade posts from nations of Eorzea can stand side by side here.
In the second lore book, the aggressive Garlemald is cited as the reason for the near-total isolation of Hingashi. Currently, the government deals solely with internal matters. However, with the apparent fall of Garlemald in Endwalker, the threat from expansion would disappear.
This could make open borders for trade and travel suddenly much more interesting for Hingashi than the current isolationist policy.
Meracydia
Far to the south of Hydaelyn, beyond the equator lies the vast landmass of Meracydia. It is so far from the three great continents that it cannot be seen on the current world map. However, from the story, we know quite a bit about Meracydia.
Many centuries ago, during the third era, the southern continent was inhabited by various tribes and peoples.
- The great dragons Bahamut and Tiamat settled there with their offspring.
- There were tree-like beings who worshipped their god Sephirot.
- A people of centaurs worshipped Zurvan.
- Several mixed tribes revered the goddess Sophia.
This came to an end when the Allagan Empire invaded Meracydia. They destroyed and sealed the gods of the Meracydians, who the tribes had summoned out of desperation as primals. They also killed the great dragon Bahamut, who subsequently also rose as a primal and was imprisoned by the Allagans in the moon Dalamud.
In present times, the continent of Meracydia is only sparsely populated, and the tribes there are extremely hostile towards all outsiders. Travelers are often attacked without warning, whether on land or in the air.
Although Meracydia plays almost no role in the current events of FFXIV, it is the origin of the seventh calamity. There are still many unanswered questions and exciting storylines that could be further explored.
Furthermore, Tiamat is finally freed in Patch 5.5, as the new trailer reveals. It would be exciting to find out how her story progresses.
Bonus: Additional Fragments
Of course, the FFXIV developers are not limited to only covering the areas that have already been mentioned in the game. After all, we certainly have not seen the entire world map yet. There are still the continent of Meracydia and the New World, located far to the west.
And who knows, perhaps with the rest of the world map opening up in the future, additional areas for us to explore will also become available. After all, FFXIV is expected to deliver new content at least until 2024.
Additionally, there are still 5 shard worlds that we have not explored. One of them is, for example, the 13th shard, which was overwhelmed by darkness. However, during a side quest from Shadowbringers, one finds out that the world may not be as completely lost as initially believed.
With the Crystal Tower now able to be reopened, we would also have the means to travel to this world. It would therefore be interesting to visit the 13th shard after the first shard and possibly restore it.
However, it is unlikely that we will quickly traverse one of the shards again after the events of Shadowbringers. After all, traveling between worlds is no easy feat. But it is an ace up the developers’ sleeves that they can play if they ever need a change of scenery in the game.
Now it’s your turn: Where do you think the journey for the Warrior of Light will lead after Endwalker? Will we have to clean up in Garlemald first, or will we head straight to other unknown places? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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