Final Fantasy XIV’s expansions have taken players across the world of Eorzea and beyond. With each new update players are able to dive into additional content by experiencing unexplored stories and other ways to play the game.
If you are planning to jump into Final Fantasy XIV and need a little help knowing what you are in for, we’ve put this guide together with details on every expansion laid out in order, with all the key information you’ll need to get up to speed.
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A Realm Reborn
It seems fitting we mention where the journey started before diving into its expansions. A Realm Reborn was released in August 2013 following the poorly received 2010 version and takes place in the world of Eorzea. The game sees you, the Warrior of Light, aid the Scions of the Seventh Dawn in their efforts to stop the Primals from unleashing their destruction on the world. It also introduces the Ascians and the Garlean Empire, both of which will be recurring enemies throughout the expansions.
Following the initial release, several major patches added story and content to the game, including patch 2.5 titled Before the Fall. This update has you and other members of the Scions framed for murder, and contained plenty of twists that set up and lead into the game’s first expansion.
Heavensward
Following the events of a Realm Reborn, Heavensward sees players enter the region of Ishgard, with the story revolving around the millennium-long conflict between the Dragon Nidhogg and his Dravania horde and the City of Ishgard. Here, you explore and discover the origins of the kingdom, the history of the conflict, and get wrapped up in the events and politics of the region as you look to end the war and aid the people of the Ishgard.
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Heavensward bought with it a slew of new content and features, including raising the level cap to 60, a new playable race called the Au RA, new locations, a new storyline, new crafting systems like Favor and Scrips, Free Company Workshops, and flying mounts. It also saw the introduction of three new jobs: the Dark Knight, The Astrologian, and the Machinist.
Stormblood
The Stormblood expansion has players journey to the lands of Ala Migho and Doma to aid and free the regions from the clutches of the Galrean Empire, which has controlled the area for years and is slowly creeping across the world. This expansion sees you aid in the revolution to take back the regions and introduces you to Zenos, the main antagonist of the expansion and a major character in the next few. It also plants the seeds and begins to reveal the Ascian’s plans and motives.
In Stormblood, the level cap was raised to 70 and presented two new jobs, the Red Mage and Samurai. Multiple overhauls were made to the battle systems, including changes to stats, introducing shared skills across roles, new UI elements, and other tweaks. It also introduced swimming and The Forbidden Land Eureka area, where the Relic Weapon quests would be handled. This is along with the usual new content updates like additional stories, dungeons, areas, crafting, and recipes. The Stormblood expansion was when the end of PlayStation 3 support.
Shadowbringer
Shadowbringers sees your character transported to an entirely new world known as the First, which has almost been destroyed by the Light. You discover your allies who have been transported there and find themselves trapped. In the mission to bring them back to your world, you will aid the people of the First and take on the mantle of the “Warrior of Darkness,” push back the Light, and attempt to save this new world.
You meet the fan-favorite character Emet-Selch, and through him and the story, you learn about the history of both your and other worlds and discover huge revelations that raise and answer questions about the whole storyline of Final Fantasy XIV. All this while back in your world, the Garlean Empire is preparing to counterattack and bring about war.
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The Shadowbringer expansion for Final Fantasy XIV saw the level cap increase to 80 and the introduction of new systems such as the NPC Trust system. World Visit allowed players to visit other servers in their region, and two new races, the Viera (female only) and the Hrothgar (male only) were also included in this update. It also added the Gunbreaker and Dancer jobs to the game, along with all the usual story, quests, and other expected content. During this expansion and its following patches, Final Fantasy XIV received PlayStation 5 support.
Endwalker
Endwalker is the most recent for Final Fantasy XIV and brings the Hydaelyn and Zodiark storyline to its end. In this expansion, you travel to Old Sharlayan and work alongside the Scions and the people of Eorzea to prevent the end of days. You’ll once again meet Zeno’s and the Ascians, learn the all-important details about your world’s creation and its fate. You discover major revelations that make for some great twists in what many consider to be an epic conclusion to the story, and is considered by a lot of players as the best Final Fantasy story in years.
Endwalker came with two new jobs, the Sage and Reaper and the male version of the Viera race. Additionally, the level cap was raised and now sits at 90, and introduced the Island Sanctuary in later patches. This island includes multiple activities and ways to enjoy a more slow-paced, cozy game mode with rewards for completing tasks and earning currency. It also introduced a new PvP mode, Crystalline Conflict, and new locations, raids, dungeons, and other content.
Dawntrail
Now, let’s glimpse into the future of Final Fantasy XIV. Dawntrail is the upcoming expansion for the MMO that is set to release in mid-2024, and will see players off to an entirely new region with people to meet and a brand new storyline to discover.
We don’t know all the details yet, but we know that we can expect a new story, as well as dungeons, raids, locations, and some other system features and changes like lifestyle content similar to the Island Sanctuary. It will also see updates to the Dye system, cosmetic additions, and a major change to the game’s graphics. Dawntrail will also have two new jobs, the first being the Viper, with the second currently unannounced.
