MMORPGs are time-consuming things, and Final Fantasy XIV is no stranger to that. Beyond having been around for over a decade and a half, part of what makes one of the best Final Fantasy games around a daunting experience to jump into is that there is so much of it to go through before you even get to the daily grind of an MMO that keeps you subscribed. The good news is that at least some of that sounds like it’s changing as XIV prepares to enter a new era.
Today in Anaheim, California, Square Enix announced Evercold, the seventh expansion to the MMO (including its rebirth from the original Final Fantasy XIV‘s failed state as A Realm Reborn back in 2013), a new story that will take players from the sunny climes of its current expansion, Dawntrail, and bring them to the frozen climes of The Fourth, one of the fourteen shards of Final Fantasy XIV‘s shattered multiverse and a realm plagued by ruinous ice.
All that so far sounds very much like Final Fantasy XIV, a game that has managed to turn even its quieter moments between epic story beats into adventures across wild realms and into fantastical places. But what sounded different from today’s reveal is that Final Fantasy XIV is starting to realize that it’s been around for a while now, and so has its player base, as they’ve grown and have plenty of other things going on in their lives outside of the game. So aside from all the traditional new expansion content it will add, Evercold will also start updating FFXIV‘s systems to allow players to tackle their regular goals at their own pace.
Starting in Evercold, Final Fantasy XIV will begin transitioning to a more weekly reward system, rather than largely revolving around various daily resets as it does now, giving players more time and more opportunities to decide how they want to progress their advancement in acquiring upgrades and resources in XIV‘s endgame (and perhaps, more crucially, include a catch-up system if people miss out on hitting the weekly cap for endgame resources). This will also be reflected in a new seasonal content structure, as well as a desire to reduce downtime in between Final Fantasy XIV‘s patches, to try and stop people from being left like they’re waiting for their next block of preferred content, be it raids, story content, or other things, over the course of a given patch cycle. The goal, according to game producer Naoki Yoshida, is to allow for all sorts of time-constrained players to keep up with the game, whether it’s people who only have time to play on weekends or players who can play on a daily basis.
That focus on player individuality is also being highlighted in a swathe of other systems updates. For one example, players will no longer worry about having to re-gear for the multiple jobs a character can play, with the new armory system letting players apply their highest gear item level to all of their leveled jobs. For another, more character customization is coming, both in terms of increased options in character creation and more aesthetic gear customization, allowing you to modify the appearance of gear through a toggle, and even customizable animation sets players can earn as in-game rewards that allow you to tweak your combat animations.
Perhaps one of the biggest questions around these changes comes with a new approach being made to Evercold‘s combat system. Players will now be able to largely choose between two branches of combat mechanics: a “Reborn” mode available to all of Final Fantasy XIV‘s current combat jobs (save for limited-scope ones, like Blue Mage or the upcoming Beastmaster) that operates as the current system does, or a new “Evolved” mode that offers a streamlined but not simplified playstyle with fewer actions but more player expression and individuality. This split won’t be maintained going forward, though; from Evercold‘s two new combat jobs, a tank and ranged physical DPS that will be revealed at a later date, each new job added to the game will only have an “Evolved” form.
It marks arguably one of the biggest changes Final Fantasy XIV has tried to make to its broader systems and playstyles since it was relaunched with A Realm Reborn—and certainly feels like a strong response to XIV‘s current expansion, Dawntrail, which was meant to be the start of a new narrative cycle for the game after its main plotline came to a conclusion in Endwalker but has often divided players on whether or not it ended up feeling like more of the same. Time will tell what Evercold‘s narrative does to shake up this new era for Final Fantasy XIV, but mechanically at least, it seems like this is going to be the expansion that tries to reshape XIV‘s future for years to come.
Oh, and somehow, they’re doing a goddamn Neon Genesis Evangelion raid collaboration with Studio Khara, akin to XIV‘s previous collaboration with Nier Automata, telling a new story merging the worlds and ideas of Final Fantasy XIV with Evangelion. Sure, what the hell.
Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold is set to release in January 2027.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
