Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail brings some style back to my favorite MMO job, and Yoshi-P promises that's only the start

2024-06-06

GamesJRPGFinal FantasyFinal Fantasy 14 Dawntrail brings some style back to my favorite MMO job, and Yoshi-P promises that’s only the startWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Square Enix)

A female Hrothgar enjoying Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail's new town

There are fewer things I am more precious over in Final Fantasy 14 than the headcanon I’ve curated for my Warrior of Light. The first connection I made with my character was that the game lived and breathed before either of us arrived. The story of A Realm Reborn casts new players in the role of a fated hero who arrives after the events of Meteor wiped the slate clean. Though, as someone who hasn’t played since day one, I also felt late to the story, both the in-game tale and an external one of how the MMO recovered from a critical failure to a jewel in developerSquare Enix’s crown.

The sense of walking into an ongoing situation drew me towards making my character a Samurai when my level was high enough, as my inner sense of roleplay imagined them as a lone wandering swordsman – that, and too many Akira Kurosawa films at the time. That’s the romantic part, the other reason I play Samurai is that I’m a sicko for big damage numbers.

All of this is to say that when I got to preview theFinal Fantasy 14 Dawntrail expansion– the MMO’s first since Endwalker concluded a 10-year story – my immediate priority was to see how my beloved MMO class – called a ‘Job’ here – has changed.

Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.

Summer Games PreviewGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub

Summer Games PreviewWe are diving deep into the hottest upcoming games out of Summer Game Fest. To find all of our coverage, visitGamesRadar’s What’s Hot 2024 hub.

Gone with the wind

(Image credit: Square Enix)

A Samurai exploring Final Fantasy 14’s Dawntrail map and kneeling in front of a statue

A new Final Fantasy 14 expansion typically means 10 more levels for you to grind through, leading to more abilities for each job. New toys are always fun but 10 years of new skills means each job requires constant streamlining to avoid button bloat. As such, a new chapter in the MMO often means discovering what’s new and what’s been cut.

This time, the Samurai’s ever-handy Meikyo Shisui ability has been given the additional value of turning Tenka Goken and Midare Setsugekka into more powerful versions of themselves – new additions that don’t take up more room on the Hotbar. Using Ikishoten can also lead to one more set-piece move, whereas other abilities like Kaeshi: Higanbana is gone – though I should add things are always subject to change since I played an in-progress build.

My most audible reaction, though, comes from how Meikyo Shisui folds into your bread-and-butter rotation. It’s always been handy to shorten the Samurai’s most common combo without giving up any buffs, though now, if you really want, you can pop it before a move like Midare Setsugekka to power it up into a Tendo version – is it optimal to do it right there instead of before the rotation starts? Probably not, but it’s fun!

Meikyo own way

(Image credit: Square Enix)

A Samurai sits in the main city of Final Fantasy 14’s Dawntrail expansion and looks out to the sea

It reminds me of a previous fan-favorite move that the Samurai lost after Endwalker – Kaiten. The move simply gave the action that followed a 50% damage buff, but that’s not why many love and miss it. Using the move offers a stylish ‘wind-up’ moment that makes using Midare Setsugekka hit harder in both damage and style.

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Its removal remains a popular talking point today – heck, one cosplayer even brought it back to everyone’s attention during one of Final Fantasy 14’s fan festivals last year. All of that certainly hasn’t been lost on director and producer Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida.

“But back then when we made the decision, there were more people requesting Kaiten to be removed than there were that were happy with it. So whether it’s good or bad, I think there’s no answer. There are always going to be some people who prefer more difficult mechanics, and then others who prefer simple mechanics.”

Yoshi-P goes on to say he’s concerned about the simplicity of the job as it’s becoming “more difficult to showcase one’s own technique or expertise.” As such, plans are in motion post-Dawntrail that’ll touch upon not just the Samurai, but numerous other classes.

“From 7.2, we will be working towards a more fulfilling playing experience,” Yoshi-P says. “But to start that off, we will be focusing on Battle content. So, once players get used to the changes in those battles, then we will look to the jobs and we will focus on providing more individuality in the jobs.

“So we will be incorporating various changes and some of those changes will also be related to the skill rotations. So for the jobs, we would like players to wait until we come to that time. But one thing I can promise is that it will not be more simple.”

As for Kaiten, that likely isn’t coming back, which is understandable. Samurai aren’t greatly lacking for damage and Ikishoten offers that same sense of winding up for a high damage attack. While Yoshi-P says he can’t say whether or not Kaiten might return, he’s happy to tease “Kaiten 2.”

On hols

You’ve heard of Endwalker’s low-poly grapes, now get ready for Dawntrail’s low-poly tacos(Image credit: Square Enix)

A helping of some rather lovely looking low poly food

The best is hopefully still to come for Samurai and other jobs, then. That said, what I’ve played is promising. Our preview allows us to explore the open plains of Yok Tural and its main city Tuliyollal. Plenty has been stripped out to avoid spoilers, though access to random enemies, several FATEs, and one dungeon remains. The dungeon being level 92 limits what moves we can make, though using it out in the open does enough to assure the power fantasy remains intact – the damage numbers remain high, and it all feels effortlessly cool to use.

Also on display were the new Viper and Pictomancer jobs. The former offers fans of melee DPS roles something with quick inputs and branching combos. The power fantasy of playing as a cutthroat is on point, and weaving in debuffs to ensure foes take more damage is familiar enough if you’ve played non-Samurai roles – we know our ‘utility’ is damage, it’s fine.

The latter is also big and vibrant enough to tempt me to introduce some variety to my Final Fantasy 14 life. One for magic DPS fans, this Final Fantasy 6 throwback has plenty of neat mechanics that see drawings come together for big and colorful attacks.

Our preview is light enough not to give too much away but meaty enough to leave me excited for the July release. When the time comes, the community will thoroughly test each job’s potential for damage output and fashion sense. For now, though, I’m content with how fun both are to play.

The feeling extends elsewhere, too. No further story details are given away beyond what we know, which is that the vacation-themed expansion takes us to lands new to sort out a succession crisis – one that pits the Scions against each other.

What gives me hope, though, comes not from the preview but the MMO’s latest story patch. Square Enix has added plenty to the moment-to-moment gameplay over the past 10 years to keep things fresh. Dungeon encounters now ask you to pay greater attention to a boss’s body language to keep you on your toes, and NPCs might keep you company during run-and-talk sections to stop them feeling repetitive.

Recently, though, we got something that offered a bit of both. Final Fantasy 14 also features more story-driven encounters that cast you in the role of your Warrior of Light or someone else. Dawntrail’s grand build-up patch puts a chill spin on that with what is essentially a dungeon run with newcomer Wuk Lamat that features pause for dialogue and getting to know each other. With Dawntrail set to feature plenty of the gameplay loops we’ve seen over the past 10 years regarding dungeons, talking to NPCs to advance narrative, and set-piece encounters, I hope we get more moments with our comrades that involve some light busy work and good yapping.

The road ahead of Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is long. While the post-expansion stretch of content is the longest and is what will keep many engaged, it all starts with the expansion itself. 10 years of momentum came to a conclusion in Endwalker, making Dawntrail’s summer vacation vibe a wise move as the narrative wheels spin up once more. While it does feel as though there is so much more to see beyond what’s already been shown, my eagerness to rejoin the Scions for another adventure only grows.

This article is based on play of an in-development build of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, and content in the final version is subject to change.”

TOPICSSummer Game Fest

TOPICS

CATEGORIESPC GamingPS5Xbox Series XPlatformsPlayStationXbox

Most Popular

Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum explain why comics are still the perfect medium for superhero stories - “Visuals that will never be achieved in TV or movies can be achieved in comics”

Team Asobi’s gigantic 2024 proves it’s time to free Astro Bot from PlayStation’s past

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was the favorite shooter of the year, and it also made me fall even harder for my fiancé

17 years on, Sam Barlow reflects on Silent Hill: Origins: “To pull it out of the bag with a seven-out-of-ten game was incredibly rewarding”

Here’s our Black Ops 6 multiplayer playlist to keep you and your pals connected over Christmas

Spy x Family season 3: Everything we know so far

One of 2024’s best anime shows subverts all expectations, but that’s its biggest strength

How Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth represents the best of Final Fantasy’s past while charting a course for the future

I’m proclaiming 2024 to be the year of outstanding indie puzzle games

The Inside Out 2 panic attack scene is one of the best depictions of anxiety ever – and something Pixar director Kelsey Mann is incredibly proud of: “I couldn’t be happier”

Marvel Rivals has what it takes to shake up the PvP shooter genre if it can maintain its hero fantasy while also making balance changes

GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Nicola Coughlan as Joy in Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World

1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

Gone with the wind

Meikyo own way

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

On hols

Contents