The latest expansion of Final Fantasy XIV has finally been officially released. After four days in Early Access, MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß can say: Dawntrail is a great RPG, but there’s no trace of the MMO in MMORPG.
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail started in Early Access on June 28, 2024, and officially released on July 2. I took the Friday off for the launch and have since invested 25 to 30 hours into the new add-on. Currently, I have about half of all the content behind me and am facing the Level 95 dungeon.
This isn’t my first foray into the MMORPG: My subscription has been practically uninterrupted since 2016, and I’ve played all new content at release except for patches 6.3 to 6.55. Except for hardcore raids.
Accordingly, I have about eight years of experience in Final Fantasy XIV and a total of four out of five expansion launches under my belt going into Dawntrail.
Are there spoilers in this article? I am myself a strong advocate of the unofficial anti-spoiler policy in the English-speaking community (no spoilers for 4 weeks after release), but I won’t be able to avoid it completely. However, I will refrain from specific story details.
The new expansion – This is Dawntrail in a Nutshell
What is Dawntrail like? Dawntrail is vacation, summer, and sunshine. Dawntrail is colorful.
But Dawntrail is also another expansion following the now-familiar Final Fantasy XIV formula. So, first things first:
- Yes, the story starts slowly, and at times it is really tedious
- The first two areas are again hidden behind two different quest lines
- The dungeons are faced with 4 players and each has 3 boss encounters
- Every few levels there is a dungeon
- There are two boss encounters during the leveling process
- We must unlock flying with mounts in the new areas with wind aether sources
This is how Dawntrail compares to previous FF14 expansions: If there was something in earlier expansions that you didn’t like, you won’t like it in Dawntrail either. Although FFXIV mastermind Naoki Yoshida stated that the new expansion is supposed to become more MMO after focusing on single player – there is still no trace of that in the leveling process.
But I must also say that Dawntrail leaves me with a well-rounded and polished impression overall. The team has learned from the last expansions and does what it does really well: telling a beautiful story that is spectacular, almost cinematic. Just with a focus on single player, not group content.
A new story approach: Mentor instead of Main Character
What is Dawntrail about? You still play the Warrior of Light and are a world-renowned adventurer. However, you take a step back to assist the new protagonist as a mentor:
Your protege is Wuk Lamat, a female Hrothgar and the adopted daughter of the current ruler of Tuliyollal. The ruler wants to gradually hand over power to a successor.
It is precisely here that the candidate needs your help. She is one of four candidates for the throne and must now pass seven trials and find a legendary golden city.
The story trailer gives you a good first impression of what to expect:
You are not the center of the expansion
This is your role: Surprisingly, Square Enix has written the mentor role really well. The constellation in the game reminds – at least until halfway – of Stormblood:
You are not at the center, but you are a supporter of a good cause. Instead of freeing Ala Mhigo together with Lyse, you help Wuk Lamat to outshine her competitors – some of whom have warlike ambitions.
Am I still the main character? Yes and no. Every person is the main character of their own story, so your Warrior of Light remains your personal focus. For Tuliyollal and the future of the country, however, it is more important that Wuk Lamat passes the trials and personally matures with each trial.
After 90 levels in which you were at the center of the story, this is unusual at first.
More beautiful and colorful – Square Enix flexes its graphics and tech muscles
How does the graphic update affect? Final Fantasy XIV does not look like Horizon Forbidden West. Naoki Yoshida warned against expecting that. But with the update to 7.0, the MMORPG received a fresh coat of paint.
Especially in old areas from A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, the difference is noticeable. The younger the area, the less obvious the changes are.
Dawntrail itself boasts a riot of colors. At times it even feels as if the team decided to show how good the game can look with the new areas.
Here are some impressions. Click the images to enlarge them.
The cutscenes are of higher quality with Dawntrail
Are there noticeable technical improvements in the expansion? Final Fantasy XIV tells its story largely through cutscenes. What starts comparatively statically in A Realm Reborn has improved with each new expansion.
Now in Dawntrail, the productions take a significant leap forward:
- The camera movements are noticeably more dynamic and varied
- The own character reacts much more often and is more in focus (despite the mentor role)
- The hand animations are now partially visible and really well animated – in previous expansions, Square Enix always shied away from this
- Action scenes are underscored with new, stylish effects
I am personally a big fan of the feature to hide other players when I am standing or interacting with a quest NPC.
Because during the releases of Shadowbringer and Endwalker, I barely saw any quest NPCs: The large groups of players around them at launch made it impossible if you didn’t hide other players.
Now I am noticing: The NPCs even move when you talk to them.
A great single player, but I miss the MMO
All in all: Dawntrail is a beautiful single player, whose story does not stress me (yet). A welcome change after the universe-threatening challenges of Shadowbringer and Endwalker.
However, this makes me wary: The development team actually wanted to bring more MMO content. However, Dawntrail does not feel like that.
Because the two new classes are damage dealers, group play suffers
So far, I have not played any of the dungeons or the one trial that I unlocked with other players. My main is Dragoon, so an attacker. Because the two new classes are also attackers and everyone wants to level these now, the role queue times for combat content are exceptionally long. You often wait 60 minutes for a dungeon invite.
I would like to use the time differently if I already know it will take a while. For example, taking a break: Walking the dog, going shopping, or enjoying the 32 degrees with bright sunshine on the balcony. But after 30 minutes of inactivity, the game logs you out. Then you only have other in-game content left – but these must not interfere with the queue.
Even if I replace other players for a dungeon, it doesn’t mean I will get in faster: Because there are too few tanks and healers due to the two new damage dealers, the wait time will only shorten if you fill these classes.
My focus in testing was to see as much of the expansion as possible. So I ultimately jumped in everywhere I could with the NPCs. With them, I can immediately access the content – without the annoying wait times.
Yes, I see other players. But I have only interacted with them for small challenges in the overworld so far. There is no reason for me to form groups with others. The game makes it too easy for me to get everything done alone, and too tedious to wait for real players.
Level phase is solo-heavy – MMORPG contents are expected to be added later
Final Fantasy XIV is currently supposed to cater to two different types of players: MMORPG fans and story enthusiasts. I suspect that the mandatory main story is designed to be as easy and without waiting times as possible for everyone.
So both groups can get their money’s worth: The story player can role-play undisturbed, while the MMO player is not hindered by long waiting times from reaching the endgame.
Real MMORPG content will likely come in the course of patches. The new Bozja or the next 8-man raids, for example. Until then, however, we are all currently alone in the crowd.
I personally love good stories in games. But I miss having to interact with my fellow players. Currently, it is very easy to play completely alone. That may be good for some, but those who start with Final Fantasy XIV in Dawntrail looking for an MMORPG will search in vain for it at least until the Level 95 dungeon.
And I can’t even talk to my friends about it because I don’t know who has unlocked what. I am the last person who wants to accidentally spoil the story for others.
Regularly I log in, we do our dailies, and then go to the endgame – whether it’s raids, trials, or treasure maps. But right now, everyone is busy with the leveling process. And that is unfortunately very lonely in Dawntrail.
Whether the content mix in Dawntrail is good or bad, you have to decide for yourself in the end. Personally, I would prefer it if my fellow players were more than the zone-populating NPCs that I will probably never cross paths with again.
The launch of the expansion went relatively smoothly compared to previous expansions. Perhaps due to the really very good weather, I only had a queue of more than 1,500 people in front of me for the initial login at the Early Access start.
Since then, everything has been quite normal with a maximum of 36 people lined up in front of me. The European servers also held up on the weekend. As for the few bugs actually appearing (shoutout to Amon in the Syrcus Tower
raid), Naoki Yoshida has already commented in a blog post: Final Fantasy XIV: The new expansion is live and the chief has already apologized for the errors.
