With the new patch 4.5 “A Requiem for Heroes” in Final Fantasy XIV, the final part of the 24-player raid series “Return to Ivalice” was released. And in this raid, a very special character appeared, well known to fans of the Final Fantasy games.
What is “Return to Ivalice”? The now traditional 24-player raid series of FFXIV is accompanied by the side story “Return to Ivalice” in the expansion “Stormblood”. In it, players explore the origins of an ancient legend about King Delita and the Zodiac Warriors, who brought peace during a time torn by wars.
The special thing about Ivalice is that it is the world from other Final Fantasy games, such as Tactics and FFXII. Many of the characters that appear in the story are also borrowed from these games.
This includes the main NPCs of the quest, Ramza and Alma, but also the newest NPC, Fran, from patch 4.5, who has generated a lot of hype in the community.
Who is Fran? In Final Fantasy XII, Fran is one of the six playable characters. She is the partner of the sky pirate Balthier, and together they travel the land in search of valuable treasures. The two join the dethroned princess of the kingdom of Dalmasca, Ashe, and together they stand against the Empire of Arcadia.
The most important thing is: Fran is a Viera. Viera are one of the various races from the “Ivalice Alliance” games, first appearing in Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance. They are characterized mainly by their large rabbit ears and a rabbit tail.
This is the first time a representative of the Viera has appeared in Final Fantasy XIV. This fact and Fran’s popularity among fans has caused excitement in forums and on social media.
What does this mean for FFXIV? A large part of the FFXIV community firmly believes that the Viera will come as the new playable race in the next expansion “Shadowbringers” in early summer 2019.
Although the Viera have not yet been explicitly and officially announced, the development team of Final Fantasy XIV seems to be quite open about it. Director Yoshida has openly discussed “possible rabbit people” in past live streams and mentioned how there might “soon be a special character” belonging to this race.
Apart from Fran’s actual appearance in the game, there are other indications that support this:
- A similar situation occurred before the announcement of the Au Ra race in the expansion “Heavensward”. A female Au Ra was implemented as an NPC in the game, just like Fran.
- Director Naoki Yoshida made it a game to hint at future content at the FFXIV Fan Festivals through his T-shirts. At the Fan Fest in November 2018, he wore a shirt featuring Bugs Bunny and checkered flags used in car racing. The community interpreted this as “Bunny Race”.
- Concept artworks of Viera in FFXIV have existed since before “Heavensward”. They were temporarily shelved due to the Au Ra , however.
- The “BluFever” leak, which has proven to be almost completely accurate so far, also mentioned that the Viera will be available as a playable race in Shadowbringers.
For more information regarding the Viera as a playable race, fans will have to wait for the upcoming European Fan Fest in early February 2019.
To shorten the waiting time until the Fan Fest, we have something for you:
Here’s how to find new mounts and cosmetics from Final Fantasy XIV 4.5
