The collaboration between Final Fantasy XIV and Nier Automata takes the form of the raid “YoRHa Dark Apocalypse”. Here is what we know so far about it.
What is YoRHa Apocalypse? The new 24-man raid from Final Fantasy XIV will come with patch 5.1 “Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty” and is expected to be released at the end of October.
It is based in its story and design on the popular spectacle fighter Nier Automata. In it, the androids from the special unit YoRHa fight against the hordes of the aliens’ robot army to save humanity.
The raid has been designed so that even players who are not familiar with the game can still have fun with it.
What are the contents of the raid? The story of the raid seems to revolve around the character 2P, with FFXIV director Yoshida confirming that several original characters from Nier Automata will also appear in it.
It will directly connect to one of the several endings of Nier Automata and link it with the world of Final Fantasy XIV.
The first area is called “Copied Factory”:
- Its design is heavily inspired by the first zone “Abandoned Factory” from Nier Automata
- The name “Copied Factory” is likely a reference to the area “Copied City”, which has symbolic significance in Nier Automata
The FFXIV team has designed specific enemies for the raid that are reminiscent of the robots from Nier Automata and aim to convey the feel of the game:
Fans speculate that the Nier raid will take place in the world of The First, which was introduced with Shadowbringers, and not in the original world of FFXIV. The reason for this is two dwarf NPCs that appear in a questline in Kholusia and are visible in a screenshot of the raid.
Structurally, YoRHa Dark Apocalypse will likely be built similarly to the previous 24-man raids, with 4 bosses and mechanics spread among the three groups of players:
Each platform of the arena in the picture will have its own mechanics that players must master to survive.
Who is 2P? Not much is known about 2P as a character, as it is actually a color variation of the Nier protagonist 2B. She first appeared as a guest character in the beat’em’up Soulcalibur 6 and will be available as a Bring Arts figure starting September 16.
The name 2P comes from “Player 2”. This is how the alternative skin of a character is normally referred to in beat’em’up games when both players choose the same character.
2P has black hair and white clothing, contrasting with 2B. Since the director of Nier Automata, Yoko Taro, is known among fans for his extravagant and unconventional ideas, it would be typical of him to develop a “blank doll” into a standalone character.
Who is working on YoRHA Dark Apocalypse? The director and writer of Nier Automata, the eccentric Yoko Taro, and producer Yosuke Saito are supporting the FFXIV team in the development.
Nier fans can expect that the story of the raid will have a close connection to the story of Nier Automata. Taro emphasized during the producer livestream for FFXIV that connoisseurs of Nier Automata will have more fun in the raid.
The popular composer of the Nier games, Keichi Okabe, has also written new music specifically for the raid. The new tracks combine music from Nier with that from FFXIV.
An example can be heard in the video above. It is a mix of the song “Weight of the World” from Nier Automata and the main theme from Final Fantasy (and it is awesome).
Yoko Taro is known for incorporating unexpected twists and surprises into his games, so we can look forward to what this collaboration has in store for us.
Glory to mankind!
