New information on Final Fantasy XIV's latest expansion, Shadowbringers, was revealed at the Final Fantasy XIV 2019 European FanFest. Late last year, the expansion was announced to thunderous applause and much anticipation as not only a new job was teased but a new playable race as well. During the keynote today, Square Enix announced that the expansion will release on July 2 and demonstrated a new job, the Gunbreaker. Square Enix also shared some information on the highly anticipated playable race - the Viera.
Advertisement. Keep scrolling for more
Additionally, it was revealed that Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito of the NieR franchise would be collaborating alongside Final Fantasy XIV's team to work on a new raid titled YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse. Fans of both franchises will finally have the collaboration they've been longing for, though Yoshi-P (Final Fantasy XIV's director) promised more information on this new 24 man raid would come in the future. However, you can read more about the details of these announcements in the press release below.
SQUARE ENIX® announced today that the third expansion for its critically-acclaimed MMO, FINAL FANTASY® XIV: Shadowbringers™, will launch on July 2, 2019, with pre-orders beginning on February 6, 2019.
Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida first revealed the release date, alongside new information about upcoming content in the expansion, during the opening keynote address at FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival in Paris.
The first new job being introduced to the Shadowbringers expansion is the ‘gunbreaker’—a gunblade-wielding fighter that occupies the tank role. A first look at the gunbreaker in action can be seen here: https://youtu.be/uTe_GM8uEk0
Additionally, a new playable race was revealed – the ‘Viera’, a lithe race with long-ears like rabbits and best known from the world of Ivalice and FINAL FANTASY XII. The Viera reveal trailer is available here: https://youtu.be/N8JE4-T-i0s
The follow-up to the wildly popular Return to Ivalice alliance raid series will be YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse– a collaborative effort with special guest creators Yosuke Saito (Square Enix producer) and YOKO TARO (game designer), which will reunite the duo that helmed the NieR series.
A full list of new content revealed in Paris is below:
New Job: The gunbreaker – master of the gunblade.
New Playable Race: The Viera – rabbit-like wardens of the wood.
Trust System: An all-new system allowing players to tackle Shadowbringers instanced dungeons with familiar NPCs by their side (excluding dungeons requiring more than 4 party members).
New Areas:Il Mheg–a lush, awe-inspiring vale, and the Rak’tika Greatwood–a sprawling forest of ancient, towering sentinels.
New Beast Tribe and Primal: The pixies and their almighty regent, Titania.
New Alliance Raid: YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse–from the minds of renowned NieR creators Yosuke Saito and YOKO TARO.
SQUARE ENIX also revealed details of the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers Collector’s Edition.The collector’s edition will be available to pre-order on the Square Enix Store beginning on February 6, 2019 at 11:00 AM PT and includes the following:
Shadowbringers Special Art Box: A unique silver-inlaid box featuring an illustration by artist Yoshitaka Amano.
Dark Knight Figure: An impressive high-quality figure of the Warrior of Darkness as a dark knight.
Shadowbringers Art Book : An art book featuring behind-the-scenes illustrations and concept art from the development of Shadowbringers.
Shadowbringers Logo Cling : A reusable vinyl cling featuring the Shadowbringers logo.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Playing Card s: A deck of playing cards featuring artwork from A Realm Reborn® through Shadowbringers.
Exclusive In-Game Items
Grani Mount
Wind-up Fran Minion
Revolver Gunbreaker Weapon
Players who pre-order either edition of Shadowbringers will be eligible to receive exclusive in-game items, which are planned for distribution beginning March 1, 2019 at 12:01 a.m. (PT):
Baby Gremlin Minion
Aetheryte Earring – This earring grants a 30% increase in EXP when worn, up to level
70, as well as attributes that vary based on the user’s class/job and current level.
Pre-ordering will also allow users to enjoy early access to Shadowbringers ahead of the official release. Early Access is scheduled to begin on June 28, 2019
Additionally, in a surprise announcement, Yoshida revealed that the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Starter Edition for PC—including 30 days of subscription time—will be included with Twitch Prime beginning February 4, 2019 through May 3, 2019. Complete details on this promotion, including instructions on code redemption are available here: www.twitchprime.com.
Fans can look forward to more information on Shadowbringers at the Fan Festival in Tokyo on March 23-24, 2019. All Fan Festival events will be streamed free of charge on the official FINAL FANTASY XIV Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/finalfantasyxi
