Final Fantasy XIV’s newest expansion, Dawntrail, has finally been revealed during the North American Fan Fest in Las Vegas. The 7.0 expansion will see the Scions of the Seventh Dawn journey to the New World in search of adventure and the continent’s fabled cities of gold. Of course, the new expansion will bring with it new Jobs, features, trials, dungeons, and more, so there’s plenty to look forward to. More information will be drip fed to us as the expansion draws closer to release, but we already know quite a bit about Dawntrail and the New World in Final Fantasy XIV.
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
- Dawntrail Release Date
- New Dawntrail Jobs
- Dawntrail Story Details
- New Dawntrail Locations
- Dawntrail Allied Tribes
- Dawntrail Dungeons, Trials, and Raids
- Dawntrail Lifestyle Content and Glamour
- Fall Guys Gold Saucer Update
- Graphics Update
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Release Date
The Dawntrail expansion will release on PC and PlayStation consoles in Summer 2024. There isn’t a concrete release date yet, but director Naoki Yoshida stated during the 2023 North American Fan Fest that the team hopes to get the expansion out the door as soon as possible.
Endwalker was delayed a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the release window for Dawntrail is being kept purposefully vague. The Summer 2024 release date leaves a few months of downtime between Patch 6.5 and the release of Dawntrail, so players will have time to finish grinding Endwalker’s patch content like the Manderville relic weapons, Mount Rokkon variant dungeon, and island sanctuary.
New FFXIV Dawntrail Jobs
While we don’t know the exact Dawntrail Jobs coming to Final Fantasy XIV in Patch 7.0, we do know that one will be a melee DPS, and the other will be a ranged magic DPS. The melee DPS is all but confirmed to use Striking gear like the Monk and Samurai, but the magical DPS is still up in the air. However, Yoshi-P did his usual T-shirt tease and he was wearing a shirt for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Do with that info what you will.
More information will be revealed at future Fan Fests leading up to release. Typically, the first Job reveal takes place at the European Fan Fest followed by a second Job reveal at the final Fan Fest prior to launch. These Fan Fest keynotes will also come with extended trailers for Dawntrail, showcasing more locations, story details, and features.
FFXIV Dawntrail Story Details
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail sends the Warrior of Light and their fellow Scions westward to the continent of Tural. This continent has previously been referred to as the “New World” in existing FFXIV content. It’s the fifth of the world’s continents and one of the only ones we haven’t visited yet in our travels. Many were hoping this expansion would take us to Meracydia since it has been referenced several times in existing story content, but Tural is the next stop on our adventure.
Director Naoki Yoshida describes Dawntrail as “the very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have.” However, a hero can’t just put up their feet and relax for very long, and things quickly go south once the Scions arrive in Tural. The Warrior of Light is invited to participate in Tural’s rite of succession, which could potentially lead to a lost city of gold. This rite of succession will see the Scions divided, with some remaining allies and others becoming rivals.
Dawntrail Locations
While the continent of Tural is massive (and Square Enix has already shown a lot of new screenshots to showcase the upcoming graphics update), there are only a handful of locations revealed so far.
Tuliyolla
The main hub city of Dawntrail is Tuliyollal, a capital city ruled by a two-headed Mamool Ja named Gulool. It has an established sea route to Old Sharlayan, which is likely how the Scions arrive in the first place. The trailer did feature Erenville, a Viera gleaner from Sharlayan we first met early in Endwalker, so he is likely a major reason for the Scions setting out to the New World.
Urqopacha
The first major zone revealed for Dawntrail is Urqopacha. This region is home to a wide array of diverse people, including the new allied tribe coming to the game in Patch 7.0. Urqopacha was the home of the ancient race of Tural that left the ruins that scatter the continent in the present day. The golden cities that adventurers search for were left by this race, and they will most likely play a huge role in Dawntrail’s story.
Yak T’El
The second zone we’ve seen so far is Yak T’El, which is a thick forest zone similar to the Rak’tika Greatwood from Shadowbringers. The Hrothgar and Mamool Ja of Tural live in this region, and Yoshi-P has shared that the zone is split into low-level and high-level halves like some of the zones we’ve seen in 5.0 and 6.0. It looks great from the concept art and screenshots shown off so far.
New Allied Tribes in Dawntrail
Of course, a new expansion brings new allied tribes and tribal quests to the game and the first new tribal race has already been shown off. There will be more tribal allies revealed as we get closer to Dawntrail’s launch.
The Pelupelu
The Pelupelu are a race of traders and entrepreneurs that never go without their signature masks. They’ve appeared in previous Final Fantasy games before, but they’ve been given a new world facelift for their life in Tural.
Given their reputation as a mercantile race, it’s likely that their tribal quests will be centered around Disciples of the Land and Disciples of the Hand. Gathering materials for them or crafting tea, coffee, and mezcal on your own would make great daily content.
FFXIV Dawntrail 7.0 Content
Not much is currently known about the new gameplay content in Dawntrail, but we’re obviously getting new dungeons, raids, trials, and more.
Dungeons
Names for the new dungeons weren’t revealed at the North American Fan Fest, but concept art was shared. A jungle-themed dungeon was expected given Dawntrail’s setting, and the first piece of content art shows a lush green jungle with a weird blue little guy serving as one of the dungeon’s bosses.
The second piece of concept art shows something much more ethereal. It most likely depicts some of the ancient ruins left by the precursor race of Tural, but there is some sort of magical energy floating throughout the stone structure. This will surely be an interesting one when it pops up in the 7.0 MSQ.
Trials
One of the new Dawntrail trials has already been revealed! Players will face off against the massive Valigarmanda, which is clearly inspired by the Quetzalcoatl of Aztec myth. This makes sense given Tural’s culture and Dawntrail’s theme, so expect to see more Aztec culture represented in the expansion. Knowing the XIV story team, they’ll likely pull from other tribal cultures as well.
Raids
Yoshi-P was fairly tight-lipped about the new raids coming in Dawntrail, but a new 8-player raid series and 24-person alliance raid series were confirmed. The alliance raid series is going to be “more Final Fantasy” than the Myths of the Realm raids featured in Endwalker, but that’s a pretty vague hint. Maybe it’ll draw heavy inspiration from a classic Final Fantasy game like the Crystal Tower raid series was inspired by Final Fantasy 3.
Deep Dungeons and Hildibrand
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.0 will also add a ton of new content outside of dungeons, trials, and raids. Deep Dungeon updates are planned for Dawntrail, plus Blue Mage is getting an update that will most likely increase the level cap even further and add new spells learned from the creatures of Tural. Everyone’s favorite gentleman detective Hildibrand Manderville is also back for another set of quests following the Manderville relic storyline from Endwalker.
Level Cap Increase to 100
Lastly, a new expansion brings an increased level cap. With Dawntrail, Final Fantasy XIV’s level cap reaches the triple digits with an all-new cap of 100. This, of course, brings new Job actions for every Job in the game, including crafters and gatherers.
New Lifestyle Content
Dawntrail will continue the tradition of including lifestyle content for endgame players who don’t want to spend all their time raiding or trying to clear ultimates. New content in the vein of Island Sanctuary will be added throughout Dawntrail’s patch cycle, but more importantly, there are new glamour changes that will make fashion even more fun in Final Fantasy XIV.
Two dyes can now be applied to each gear piece in Dawntrail, giving Warriors of Light even more control over their appearance. Fashion is the true endgame of FFXIV, so this is a huge addition to the game. Plus, eyeglasses are being added as a new type of gear that can be equipped alongside headgear! Lastly, for those of you lucky enough to have a house, the furnishing limit is being increased in one of Dawntrail’s patches.
Gold Saucer Update and Fall Guys Collab
Final Fantasy XIV is getting a Fall Guys crossover with the Dawntrail expansion! Final Fantasy XIV’s long-awaited Gold Saucer update will bring a Fall Guys mode to the game that will support 24 players at once. On the Fall Guys side, a new Fame Pass will add FFXIV skins and cosmetics to the game.
The Warriors of Light Fame Pass, which includes Alphinaud and Alisaie, a Chocobo, a Namazu, and more Eorzean staples, will be released on August 22. The Fall Guys mode for the FFXIV Gold Saucer is slated to launch during the Dawntrail expansion.
FFXIV 7.0 Graphics Update
The release of Dawntrail will mark the beginning of Final Fantasy XIV’s first graphical overhaul. All of the new content in Tural will benefit from the enhanced graphics on day one, but some of the older content might not look as great at launch. Tweaks will be made throughout Dawntrail’s life cycle though.
Character models will be the primary focus of the graphics update, but the game will also see huge improvements to shadows and foliage. A video was released showcasing most of the major enhancements for armor and lighting, and plenty of screenshots were released showing off the more detailed character models and lush foliage added to new zones. Check them out below.
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is slated to launch in Summer 2024, and this page will be updated as more information is released regarding the expansion. Expect to see more details confirmed at upcoming Fan Fests, including the two new jobs coming in the expansion and more major features coming in Patch 7.0.
