Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Bringing out the scythes for the first saga’s finale
PC, PS4, PS5
MMORPGs aren’t designed to end – and if they do it’s not with a bang but a whimper, as player numbers dwindle before servers are unceremoniously shut down. Of course, Final Fantasy XIV, now at its most popular with over 24 million registered users, is far from over. Its latest expansion is comparable to Avengers: Endgame, which merely draws a line under one phase of the MCU before the next begins.
Having settled aeon-spanning conflicts, liberated nations and gone to another world entirely, you have to wonder where this epic MMORPG can go from here. But as we wander the opulent, isolated city of Old Sharlyan and take a mount through the vibrant geography of new India-inspired region Thavnair, FFXIV continues to boast arguably the strongest art direction of any MMORPG. That’s not limited to beautiful environments either, as we finally take the fight to the Garlean Empire’s doorstep, its ruined capital looking even gloomier than Midgar.
Our hands-on ahead of Endwalker’s release later this month gives nothing away plot-wise, and if the story is even half as momentous as the acclaimed Shadowbringers, then far be it from us to spoil anything for you. After playing tourist in the new locales, it’s time to party up for the new dungeon, Tower Of Zot. The build we’re playing is not the final version, but we’re soon humbled by what the first dungeon’s foes can do to our party – even with job levels and gear sets at the new Level 90 cap. Indeed, even the sub-bosses prove a tough hurdle as we take time parsing their complex attack patterns. For veteran players who have acclimated to FFXIV’s escalating challenges over the years, you’d expect nothing less.
The challenge also arises from figuring out the new jobs, which automatically give you over a dozen new abilities and hotkeys to memorise; additions to the previous 18, on the other hand, are incremental. We can’t resist giving the new Reaper job a whirl. Fast and furious swipes with their scythes animate as smoothly as anything you might expect from PlatinumGames, while a Soul gauge can be charged up to unleash even more devastating attacks.
While MMORPGs are, by definition, designed to be experienced alongside other human players, it’s also possible to run dungeons with an AI party via the Trust System. In a neat touch, you can actually fight alongside the Warrior Of Light’s companions, including returning fan-favourite dragoon Estinien. The downside is that if you’re unfortunate enough to die, you don’t get
In a neat touch, you can actually fight alongside the Warrior Of Light’s companions
revived but must restart the fight, after being bumped back to the start of the dungeon. As an alternative for players reluctant to play with others, the system was also introduced rather late to previous expansion Shadowbringers. As producer and director Naoki Yoshida admits, “We thought that if we always just leave it to one side, we would never be able to get it done. So we decided, in order to properly implement the Trust System, we would have to start with the latest content first.”
While it’s not been confirmed whether the Trust System will eventually be incorporated into older dungeons, essentially making it possible to experience FFXIV’s main story as a singleplayer RPG, Yoshida does rule out an offline version akin to what Square Enix is doing for Japan-exclusive MMORPG Dragon Quest X. “We would have to recreate all of the fields contained in the MMO world; it would have to be a selection process about which quests we would keep or cut, and this kind of task we would obviously have to be in charge of doing,” he explains. In other words, it simply isn’t something the team can consider when their duty is expanding FFXIV. Fortunately, it means fans can be assured the only tears they’ll be shedding will be for Endwalker’s emotional climax to a decade-long saga, not for the end of a beloved MMORPG.