Final Fantasy XIV Fan fest: Reactions to Stormblood

At the sold-out Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, Square Enix revealed that players of the popular MMORPG will not only join the resistance and fight for the liberation of Ala Mhigo, but will also be travelling to Doma and its surrounding areas in the title’s second expansion, Stormblood. This Far-Eastern nation has often been intertwined within the game storyline, and players will now have the chance to depart the shores of Eorzea and explore an entirely new region within the world of Hydaelyn.

Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida announced further details and features for Stormblood during the keynote presentation of the event, including the following:

New Job – Samurai (DPS Role): Samurai joins red mage as one of the new jobs to debut in Stormblood. The katana-wielding samurai is a powerful melee attacker and master of “Iai” swordplay techniques who can store energy within their katana to unleash special attacks. This new job will allow players to learn and master the art of “Sen” and its three forces as they develop their abilities: “Setsu” (snow), “Getsu” (moon), and “Ka” (Flower).

New City – Kugane: Located within Hingashi, a Far-Eastern archipelago nation with a strict isolationist policy, Kugane is the only port city open to foreign trade vessels. Violent acts are strictly prohibited within the town’s walls.

Additional Beast Tribe and Primal: The Ruby Sea is one of many new areas accessible on the continent of Othard, and home to the Kojin—skilled traders residing in underwater settlements who welcome dealings with other races. The Kojin believe that a unique god resides in all objects and are collectors of treasures housing powerful deities. This beast tribe, like the others of Eorzea, finds itself intertwined in the worship of a primal: Lord of The Revel, Susano.

New Dungeons: Many new and challenging dungeons, including Yanxia and The Azim Steppe, await adventurers in Stormblood as they explore the reaches of Othard.

Residential Areas: The highly anticipated new residential area, Shirogane, was also announced. This housing area in Kugane brings an entirely new style of housing to players, featuring Far-Eastern style dwellings and wards.

Also showcased at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Frankfurt was a first look at the extended Stormblood CGI trailer, which highlighted a variety of new content, including Kugane and the samurai in action.

Check out the Trailer:

“We also know that the battle system is being “revamped,” which sounds big but as of yet doesn’t actually mean much. Yes, cross-class actions are being changed up, and yes, useless abilities are getting trimmed. But without any details, all of that can mean anything. Are cross-class actions being changed in such a way that we’re actually going to have more space on our bars? Are outdated things like attribute allocation going away? We don’t know, and until we know it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm for the change. It’s just an idea right now, and while I’d like to see a system that actually gives different jobs more effective things to choose between rather than having every tank choose the same cross-class skills, there’s nothing right now for or against that idea.

If you dislike the game’s current combat, don’t expect it to change that much. The GCD isn’t going anywhere, but the exact number crunching will change. We need more details before we can be absolutely sure of anything.”