Since Tuesday, the first raid for Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is live, where players engage in arena battles like in wrestling. Although the hard version is yet to come, players are already celebrating the tier.
What kind of raid is it? The new raid in Final Fantasy XIV is the Arkadion – Lightweight
. In it, eight players face off against a total of four different fights. The requirements for this can be found in our endgame guide.
The content is still fresh: Launch was on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, with patch 7.01.
However, this is not the actual raid that everyone is currently waiting for. The current fights are the easy ones. The challenging versions will only be released with patch 7.05.
The first new raid in Dawntrail turns you into wrestlers
What is the raid about? As a powerful warrior of light, you get a place in the lightweight class of the Arkadion. There, you compete against other solo fighters. Each of them has a gimmick and a cool title. Before the fight, the opponents transform to battle you.
The battles take place in an arena with an audience, and as fighters, you gain fans as well as haters, and the gear is completely designed for wrestling.
Overall, the Arkadion leaves the impression, at least in the first raid tier, that the developers drew inspiration from wrestling promotions like WWE, AEW, or Japan’s own New Japan.
Pro wrestling and the wrestlers live out their fursona fantasies
How do players find the raid? Player feedback is generally very positive, even if they note some negative points. There are already several discussion threads in the official forum and on Reddit. On x.com, users are likely holding back due to spoiler reasons.
Here are a few positive voices:
- “This is truly the best normal raid in this game, and I don’t think it’s just a honeymoon phase. These mechanics feel new. Even if some of them still involve dodging left/right, Shiva aoes, etc., they are present in a way that feels refreshing.” – tyrionb on Reddit
The mechanics made me smile from ear to ear! […] The arenas were so dynamic, and the use of space couldn’t have been more exciting!
– LittleArrow in the official forumIt’s pretty much pro wrestling, and the wrestlers live out their fursona fantasies, and I am all for it. One thing that impressed me is that our warriors of light have both fans and haters after their second fight.
– loafplep on Reddit.The new raid is S++ quality.
– AnActualPlatypus on Reddit- “With this normal (raid), they really cooked it. Very excited for Savage.” – 3dsalmon on Reddit
In fact, the negative voices are very monotonous. Among the many happy comments, the main criticism revolves around the gear sets that can be earned through the fights. These are all outfits that wrestlers would wear in real promotions – which is not to everyone’s taste.
Here and there, there is also feedback on the mechanics. Lazyade writes on Reddit that Square Enix should please be more creative. They use too many evasive mechanics that affect half the arena.
At least the criticism of uncreative mechanics could be resolved with the release of the hard versions in patch 7.05. The Savage
fights are the originals, while the currently released normal tier is the simplified version.
However, when patch 7.05 will be released is currently unknown. However, the development team led by Naoki Yoshida has now announced when fans can expect new major MMO content: “It will excite the fans”: Head of Final Fantasy XIV announces the most anticipated content of the MMORPG for Dawntrail
