At the Berlin Fan Festival of Final Fantasy XIV, the new tank for the expansion “Evercold” was announced. This not only caused a real hype in my surroundings. But MeinMMO editor Alex claims: The new ranged fighter will surely be at least just as cool.
The new trailer for Evercold is running on the huge screen of the stage at the Fan Festival in Berlin and at home in the livestream. Then the new tank appears for the first time and cheers erupt from the crowd. Messages from my guild and circle of friends with enthusiasm keep popping up on my phone.
The “Bastion” is well received.
And I also can’t shake the feeling that the new job surprised me. It is novel, fresh, experimental, and just looks cool. I mean, hello?! Weapons that are basically a hybrid of huge shields, rifles, and claws in one? Support abilities for oneself and the group in the form of shields and healing round it all off.
Even those among my friends who never wanted to tank before have been convinced and absolutely want to roam the world as Bastion with the new expansion and tackle content. Even in my raid group, there will likely be a scuffle about who gets to play the role of the defender at the start of the raid series this time – a circumstance that has not occurred in all those years before.
Here you can take a look at the Bastion yourself and get an impression:
Somehow the Bastion still reminds me of the Paladin, which takes away a bit of its uniqueness, at least at first glance. Because we still do not know the true abilities of the new tank.
But those who followed the Fan Festival closely know: There is also a physical ranged fighter coming. And I believe that he could even become cooler than the new tank. Because the hints that exist so far indicate that this job will become even more unique.
In Dawntrail, he then switched from tank to healer in his raid group and still enjoys tackling tough trials and raids. But his house in the lavender fields and his island are always glad to see him back.
With Falcon into battle?
What do we know so far about the ranged fighter? To be honest, not much from an official perspective. However, there are some hints suggesting that we have already seen and heard him.
Additionally, we even heard him in the developer panel when main composer and sound director Masayoshi Soken introduced some new sounds and “let slip” that these were sounds belonging to the new ranged fighter. You can see the corresponding clip here on Reddit:
Among the sounds is one that sounds like something is magically charging and then activating or shooting. Shortly after, you hear a bird seemingly attacking. He asks the crowd what they think which job the sounds would belong to, and then reveals that they belong to the new ranged fighter.
This confirms a suspicion of the fans that had arisen after the extended trailer shown at the opening ceremony of the Fan Festival. You can watch it here:
Fast forward to the timestamp of minute 2:53 if you want to see the part where not only a new important NPC named Visna is shown, but most likely also the new ranged fighter. Here you can get an impression if you cannot watch the video right now:
The explosion or activation sounds very similar to the sound that Masayoshi Soken revealed in the developer panel, and the present bird does its part. It is therefore more than likely that Visna in the trailer represents the new physical ranged fighter.
It could be some kind of falconer or hunter who fights with etheric animal companions and commands them. Additionally, the staff that Visna holds in hand could represent some kind of ammunition, bolts, or something similar, thus not showing the entire weapon. It could also be that the new job brings along other animal companions besides the bird.
The hints indicate a similarly fresh approach to a new job that shows a lot of potential to be at least just as fresh and cool as the Bastion. For my part, I am certainly much more curious about what awaits us with it, than with the Bastion, even though I have passionately tanked for many years.
Which job are you more looking forward to? Do you already know that the Bastion is your favorite? Or do you feel like me and are much more curious about what the new ranged fighter brings? Feel free to tell us in the comments!
Besides the new jobs, there will also be a new raid series. This will take place in collaboration with Final Fantasy VII and bring the epic lore into the world of Final Fantasy XIV. We could talk with FF7 director Naoki Hamaguchi about the collaboration: Final Fantasy 14 brings Cloud Strife into the MMORPG – We asked the FF7 chief what you should pay most attention to in the new raids
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