FF14 Shadowbringers Release Date And Top 10 New Features Coming To The Expansion

Updated:

22 Aug 2024

What is Shadowbringers?

Shadowbringers is the third major expansion in the massively popular Japanese MMO known only as Final Fantasy XIV; an expansion that fans alike have been waiting to arrive for over a year and a half now. As of right now, Square intends to release Shadowbringers on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Mac, and Steam on July 2ed, 2019.

So while we wait patiently for that date to arrive, why don’t spend some of that time counting down and discussing the top ten exciting new features Square Enix will be introducing in this expansion of theirs, shall we?

10) An Increase in the Level Cap

An increase in the Level Cap? Alright.

To begin, let's start this list off with a simple, but understandable new addition, and that will be an increase in the level cap. Like most MMO expansions, Final Fantasy XIV will be increasing the level cap for its player base, allowing for continued grinding and leveling while furthering the personal narratives of all the available classes. Once installed and updated, players will be able to grind up to level 80 which will be the new level cap, at least until the next expansion comes along.

9) New and Exciting Locations

New and exciting locations, huh? I cannot wait.

With Shadowbringers, Square Enix is once again bringing us new and exciting places that I’m confident will be ripe for exploration upon release. Some of the areas Square has announced to the public include areas such as “Il Mheg,” “Rak’Tika Greatwood,” and “Amh Areng.” These are just a few of the regions currently announced, with hopefully more to be revealed when the time is right.

I’m personally excited to see these new areas for myself once the expansion arrives, especially after exploring the beautiful, lush landscapes that both Heavensward and Stormblood contained.

8) New Trials

I can't lie, I'm already excited about this Primal. Every Primal has been unique and exciting to fight, and I'm sure Titania will not disappoint.

Of course, with a new expansion, there’s got to be unique and exciting Primals to fight, right?

Well, I’m happy to report that Shadowbringers will be no different from its predecessors. Square Enix has already announced the name of one of its new Primal’s, “Titania, Ruler of the Pixies." The specifics of this upcoming Primal and the story surrounding her have been left a mystery, but hopefully, we'll learn more about her and her corresponding beast tribe soon.

7) New Beast Tribes

In addition to the new Primal, I cannot wait to see the story behind the new Beast Tribes.

Speaking of which, Pixies! These little creatures will be joining Final Fantasy's ever-growing list of Tribes that I'm sure will have their role to play within the greater narrative that Square is building here.

But wait, there’s more! In addition to these little guys, Shadowbringers will also introduce the Nu Mou and Dwarves as additional Beast Tribes. Though, outside of their reveal, there's not much else to report on when it comes to the Beast Tribes or how they might contribute to the game. Regardless, I’m still excited to see what they could bring to the table in terms of both missions and story.

6) The Trust System

As someone who enjoys partaking in the occasional Command Mission; I cannot wait to see how the Trust system unfolds.

On top of all that, Square is also introducing a brand new system called “Trust.” Trust, once implemented, will be an excellent inclusion for the players who enjoy partaking in the Command Missions with their Grand Company.

This brand new system will allow players to take certain characters from Shadowbringers main storyline and tackle the dungeon’s exclusive to the expansion. This system will effectively give players the option to play the dungeon content by themselves, rather than having to queue up with other players.

Of course, this isn’t replacing the traditional queue system, that will remain like always. The Trust System is there for players who want to enjoy the dungeon content from the main story at their own pace.

5) New Game Plus Mode

New Game Plus? In an MMORPG? Alright.

As one of the strangest announcements Square made when revealing Shadowbringers, they announced that players would be able to engage in New Game Plus. While this is far from uncommon in single player games like Dark Souls, it 's very much unusual for an MMO to have such a feature implement.

Square went on to explain that players would be able to replay previous MSQ missions, jobs and chronical quests with their current gear and stats; all while not affecting the progression of your story. On top of that, players who bought the item to skip the main story of A Realm Reborn and Heavensward will also be able to experience the story they might have missed out.

4) A New and Exciting Alliance Raid series

Final Fantasy XIV and Nier Automata? Now, this should make for an interesting crossover.

No, I was wrong, THIS is the strangest announcement Square made when it came to Shadowbringers reveal. I mean, w-who asked for this? Final Fantasy XIV and Nier Automata coming together for a crossover, much less as an Alliance Raid? I mean? Wh-what? And here I thought it was a strange move for Garuda to end up in Final Fantasy 15.

However, as strange as it might be, I’m entirely up for something new and different. Nier Automata was one of the best games of 2017, so seeing it team up with FFXIV to make some epic new game content is just pure eye candy to me, especially since it’s going to be a new Alliance Raid. All I can is that I'm hyped for this crossover, I hope the rest of you are, as well.

3) The Restoration of the Holy See

We're going back to Ishgard, everyone!

One of the announcements I was thrilled to hear about was the Restoration of the Holy See of Ishgard. As someone who admires European and Victorian Gothic architecture, Ishgard was just a visual treat for me while playing through Heavensward. So any reason to go back to Ishgard is a-okay in my books; especially if it means we finally get to see Ishgard fully restored.

Square hasn’t mentioned much when it comes to Ishgard's restoration, but they have said that everything relating to Ishgard will be set for end-game crafters and gathers.

In all honesty, I’m hoping this will be they’re way of introducing Ishgard as a new residential area for the player base. I know if they did that, my FC is immediately packing up everything and immigrating to Ishgard, no questions asked.

2) The Gunbreaker Class

A gunblade class is coming? Yes, thank you, Square.

If you were to ask me what I'm most excited about when it comes to Shadowbringers, it would easily be the "Gunbreaker" class. Yes, that's right, the gunblade class is finally coming to Final Fantasy XIV… and it’s a tank job? Alright, I can get behind this.

As the image above explains, the class will automatically start at Level 60 and players will be able to level it up from there. I’m sure this is not too surprising to hear since every new job in the expansions has started at a higher level in comparison to the Realm Reborn classes, so this is just fine with me.

Still, Gunblade, yes! As a Machinist main, I cannot wait for this class to arrive, even if it does means I’ll have to be a tank.

1) A New Playable Race: Viera

The Viera race is finally coming everyone, get your fantasia's ready.

And lastly, we come to what is perhaps the most heavily requested feature that players have been clamoring for since A Realm Reborn launched back in 2013. That feature is the brand new playable race known as the “Viera.”

That is correct; they are finally arriving after all these years of waiting. Shadowbringers will be the debut premiere of Final Fantasy’s next… and possibly final playable race. Get ready everyone; there’s about to be a mass immigration of Viera coming to Eorzea very soon.