With the addon Endwalker in Final Fantasy XIV the big story arc around Hydaelyn and Zodiark was completed, but the game is far from over. What does the near and distant future hold for the MMORPG?
The boss says: For many months before the release of Endwalker, FFXIV Director Naoki Yoshida has insisted that his game doesn’t end there. The MMORPG’s support would continue for years to come, Yoshida said.
There are concrete plans for at least another 5 years (via Kotaku) and the next add-on is already in the works, as the boss explained in an interview on Radio Mogstation. The details are still shrouded in silence, which will probably remain so until the next fan festival at the earliest.
Yoshida commented on the producer’s stream on August 12 that he would like the festival to take place on FFXIV’s 10th anniversary. That would be August 27, 2023. Whether that will actually happen is still unclear.
The long-term plans for FFXIV are primarily anchored in the financial success of the MMORPG. If you look at Square Enix’s financial reports to investors, the MMO division’s earnings are up 3% year over year. Other areas of digital entertainment have in some cases shrunk considerably.
So fans don’t have to worry about their favorite MMORPG running out of steam. On the contrary, in a year full of flops, FFXIV saved Square Enix’s finances.
In the last producer stream, however, Yoshida noted that FFXIV’s usual patch cycle will change. The transition to the upcoming add-on used to start with the x.4 patch. This will no longer be the case in subsequent patches of Endwalker.
Warning: Heavy spoilers for the addon Endwalker and the subsequent patches follow.
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Off to nothing
This is the status of the story: In the ongoing story of FFXIV, a quieter phase has come after Endwalker. The end of the world has been averted and the warriors of light suddenly have a lot of free time, which they spend in search of new adventures.
These adventures will take you back to the beginning of FFXIV, the Crystal Tower Raid. The world of darkness, also called the void, which you briefly visit during the raid, is the next destination.
In search of Azdaja, sister of the dragon Vrtra, the warrior of light and his allies found a way to travel the void. There they meet Zero, half-naught, half-human, who tells more about the history and rules of her world.
The story’s new antagonist is initially a voider named Golbez, whom some Final Fantasy fans will recognize from FFIV. He commands a vast army led by his generals and holds Vrtra’s sister captive.
fun fact: After completing the 6.2 story quests, if you visit Cyella and Unukalhai in the Crystarium, you can talk to them about the journey to the 13th Shard. They both originally came from there and now have new dialogue options. But this is only possible if you have previously completed their respective quest series.
What’s next? In the coming patches, fans of the story can expect more confrontations with Golbez and his henchmen. The few scraps and clues from the patch 6.2 cutscenes have caused a lot of speculation among players, mostly about Golbez and who he really is. This includes:
In any case, one can assume that the rest of the story will revolve around the 13th splinter world. The remaining loose ends of the Endwalker story, on the other hand, are closed in the side content of the raids. Pandaemonium will show players their shared adventures with Elidibus, and in the 24-man raids, players will learn who the 12 gods worshiped in Eorzea are.
On the content front, patch 6.25 will be coming in the near future. He brings:
Since patch 6.2 has just been released, the next major update 6.3 is expected to come in December 2022 at the earliest. Nothing is known about it yet, apart from the usual fixed content such as a new dungeon, a new trial and the next part of the 24-man raids
What are your theories regarding Golbez and his identity? What are your thoughts on the upcoming story? Write us your opinion in the comments.
In the meantime, players will butcher their way through patch 6.2’s “relaxed and slow” content:
Final Fantasy XIV Boss Says Players Should Play New Content Slowly – Ends Exactly How You Think