Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the fifth expansion for Final Fantasy XIV. It was announced in July 2023 during the first 2023 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, and was released July 2, 2024. The expansion takes players to Tural, the "New World", and is set to be the beginning of a new storyline after the end of of the HydaelynāZodiark arc.
The Japanese name for the expansion, é»éć®
Story[]
Premise[]
Having defeated the despair of the Final Days, the Warrior of Light and their comrades had resumed walking their respective paths. Yet fate would see them reunited for a mission unto another reflection, and now an unexpected petition has arrived beckoning them westāto the faraway continent of Tural.
Answer the call, seek new horizons, and embark upon an adventure the likes of which you have never experienced!
After the events of Endwalker, the Warrior of Light, Krile Baldesion, and Alphinaud and Alisaie Leveilleur head towards the westernmost continent of Tural by request of Wuk Lamat, the daughter of Gulool Ja Ja the current ruler of Tuliyollal, to aid in a contest for leadership of the land.
Features[]
Dawntrail features the regions of Yok Tural and Xak Tural, the former containing the new main hub city in the form of the cosmopolitan Tuliyollal and the areas of Urqopacha, Kozama'uka, and Yak T'el and the latter featuring the high-tech city Solution Nine and the areas of Shaaloani and Heritage Found.
Two new jobs are set to be introduced: A physical melee DPS known as viper, who wields dual-blades that can be combined into a double-bladed weapon, and the magical range DPS known as pictomancer, who wields a paint brush and palette to paint magical elements, creatures and landscapes to buff allies and attack enemies; both of which will feature job quests from level 80. In addition the level cap will be increased to 100 for all non-limited Jobs and Classes, including disciples of the hand and land. A new limited job, beastmaster, is set to be released during 7.X patch cycle.
All core battle content is set to return, including FATEs, the Hunt, treasure hunts and sidequests, alongside new dungeons and trials, including encounters with the legendary beast Valigarmanda and mechanical Eliminator. Additionally, there will be an update to Duty Support, including the debut of Krile for the system. New role quests will once again be available, unlocked at level 92, and will be divided into five questlines divided by roleātanks, healers, melee DPS, physical ranged DPS, and magical ranged DPS. The new 
Treasure Hunt dungeon, Cenote Ja Ja Gural will be available starting from patch 7.05.
Alongside these, the expansion will feature more variant and criterion dungeons, as well as new raids, including the normal raid series, the Arcadion, where gladiatorial spectacle is king, the new alliance raid series, Echoes of Vana'diel, which sees the player venture into the world of Vana'diel, and new ultimate raid, Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), an alternative retelling of the Eden raids. These are set to debut across the lifespan of the expansion, alongside a new 
Blue Mage update, a Gold Saucer update, and new Hildibrand sidequest series, entitled Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures. Additionally, there are plans for a new Deep Dungeon and a new Field Operation series, the latter of which takes place within the Shades' Triangle, as well as plans for new types of battle content.
Disciples of the land and hand quests are set to return with the Wachumeqimeqi deliveries, divided into five questlinesāone for blacksmith, armorers, and goldsmiths; one for carpenters, leatherworkers, and weavers; one for alchemists and culinarians; one for miners and botanists; and one for fishers. In addition, the expansion is set to feature expansive new lifestyle content for disciples of the land and hand, named Cosmic Exploration, planned to be implemented in the 7.X patches. With the new expansion, gatherers will have access to new gathering nodes, regional folklore, and a new variety of gatherers scrip, as well as new quality of life additions, including gathering integrity displayed in the gathering window, and the fish guide will now display the type of lure required for a catch. Crafters will similarly receive new recipes, master recipes (scheduled for patch 7.05), and a new crafters' scrip.
New allied tribe quests are set to debut with the expansion, available from the diminutive Pelupelu and goblin-like Moblins. Other tribes featured in the expansion include the giant Yok Huy and birdlike Hanuhanu.
Dawntrail will feature updates to the various PvP modes, with further updates to Crystalline Conflict, Rival Wings and Frontlines, with the last set to receive a new map.
With the expansion, the game's first graphical update will be applied, with higher resolution textures and shadows, improved materials and lighting, and additional foliage resolution and density, as well as miscellaneous upgrades to visual presentation, such as more dynamic mount animations and new graphical options. An additional dye channel will be added to gear, allowing players more options for color combinations, as well as an additional, purely cosmetic, gear slot for eyewear, which will not take space in the player's armory chest. Alongside these, furnishing limits will be increased during the 7.X patches. With these system updates, game's system requirements will be changed.
The expansion will also introduce a new playable race, female Hrothgar. Players with Shadowbringers registered to their accounts will be able to create female Hrothgar characters.
A new, collaborative tool, called the Strategy Board, is set to be introduced in Dawntrail, allowing players to collaboratively modify and share visual strategies for raids and other encounters.
Introduced with the expansion are a variety of quality of life features: there will be an option hide nearby players when close to an quest NPC or objective marker and players will be able to select emotes and recipes related to quests directly from the duty list. Phials of fantasia will now allow a 60 minute in-game period to see the characters in in-game conditions before the changes lock-in.
Music[]
The main theme of the expansion, "Dawntrail" was composed by Masayoshi Soken, with guest vocal performance by Amanda Achen, lyrics by Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and Kathryn Cwynar, and lyric concept and translation by Natsuko Ishikawa. Initially revealed alongside the expansion with the teaser trailer, the full theme was revealed with the full trailer during the Tokyo Fan Festival 2024 and released June 2024 with the 7-inch vinyl single Dawntrail, which also includes "Open Sky - The Theme from Dawntrail", a variation of the track performed by The Primals.
Development[]
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail was first referred to with the implementation of male Viera, with female Hrothgar announced for release in 7.0. It was later teased 1 January 2023 in a Lodestone post, with thoughts on the keynote speech of the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festivals of the year and a poem:[1]
With gladness for Their blessing,
Unto the Twelve we pray,
For ten more dawns as brilliant,
As this resplendent day.
Since first began our journey,
Like many years we count,
Each step that we have taken,
A challenge to surmount.
Yet still the faint horizon,
And lands where few have gone,
Renew our weary spirits,
Together we march on.From the journal of a well-traveled young man[1]
During the keynote speech at the Las Vegas 2023 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, the first teaser CG trailer was shown. The keynote proceeded to showcase the title and various details regarding the expansion. More information about the expansion was revealed during the London 2023 Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival, where an extended teaser was shown.
The expansion was later teased again in a 2024 new year's greetings alongside another poem:[2]
I awake at the break of dawn, as I always do.
Turning to scan the western seas, I contemplate the journey ahead.
Will it seem a homecoming or a new beginning?
Time will tellāthough the salt winds whisper to me of things unknown...From the journal of an explorer[2]
Behind the scenes[]
As with the announcements of the previous expansions, producer and director Naoki Yoshida wore a shirt at the Fan Festival 2023 in Las Vegas in July to tease upcoming jobs. He took off his overshirt to reveal a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt after announcing that there are two new jobs, hinting at the pictomancer job, as the four turtles are named after artists.
Many of the English voice actors in Dawntrail are Latino and Latina actors based in California, such as Sena Bryer who plays Wuk Lamat and Luis Bermudez who plays Koana, as befitting the Americas-based setting of Tural. This is the first time that American voice actors have been featured in Final Fantasy XIV since the move to a London-based studio in Heavensward.
Gallery[]
- Artwork
- Renders
- Location art
- Countdown art
Citations[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 Naoki Yoshida (2023, January 1). "New Year's Greetings!". From The Lodestone. The Lodestone. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023.
- ā 2.0 2.1 Naoki Yoshida (2024, January 1). "New Year's Greetings!". From The Lodestone. The Lodestone. Archived from the original on 07 January 2024.