The first expansion for the fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has received a release date. It is set for June 23.
On June 23, players of Final Fantasy XIV will get the first expansion “Heavensward”. The release date was announced at PAX East in Boston.
What the expansion will bring, is already known in rough outlines:
- The level cap will increase to 60.
- A new race will be introduced to the game, the reptilian Au Ra.
- In Final Fantasy XIV, the ability to fly will be introduced. By the way, FF XIV mastermind Naoki Yoshida is most looking forward to this. Apparently, in order to fly properly on the new flying mounts, some pretty “airy” zones are being designed. The old zones will probably not be adjusted for flying mounts. This means, it will be the anti-WoW: flying in the new world, no flying in the old.
- The expansion delves deeper into the region of Coerthas, into the conflict between Ishgard and Dravania. There is a lot for heroes to do here.
- Genre-typical, a bunch of new gear will come. However, it should not be so strong that players will switch out their old endgame gear at level 51. The reward system will align with the base game.
- There will also be 20 new Triple Triad cards.
- Three new jobs will be introduced to the game: the Astrologian, a healer who relies on cards; the Dark Knight, a two-handed tank, a kind of anti-paladin; and the Machinist, a ranged DPS class. In the future, it is said that they prefer to design “jobs” instead of focusing on the base classes. Details on how to play the three new jobs are not yet available. They will probably start at level 30.
With three new jobs, space in Final Fantasy XIV will be even tighter
As Yoshida mentioned in an interview with Massivelyop, they know that players want more space in their inventory. This is not so easy for database reasons. With the expansion, more retainers will definitely be made available – these serve as a kind of bank in FF XIV along with several other purposes. At the moment, they are still investigating whether they can create more space in the armor chests.
The inventory system in FF XIV differs significantly from the conventional MMORPG inventory: players in FF XIV have a 100-slot inventory as well as special equipment tabs in which they can carry a ton of items. They essentially carry the gear for all twinks. This is due to the multi-classing system of the game.
The trailer gives you a taste of what to expect atmospherically in Heavensward:
These versions of Heavensward are available and what’s in the Collector’s Edition
The details on how the versions of the new expansion will work are now also known: Pre-orders start on March 13. There will be Heavensward in three versions: a standard edition, the collector’s edition, and an “all-in-one” edition, which includes the base game.
The collector’s edition is set to include a dragon figurine, an “art book,” and a disc with trailers and videos. In terms of in-game items, there will be a Griffin mount, a helmet inspired by the Dark Knight Cecil from Final Fantasy IV, and a “Kain” minion.
The early access for pre-orders begins on June 19, the official release on June 23. The expansion will be available for PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 – and with the expansion, FF XIV will finally also arrive on Mac. Rumors about an Xbox version for Final Fantasy have gained some momentum in recent months, but there is no definitive information available here.
