Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
TheMMOtakesawalkon the dark side in its next expansion
A lways being the goody two-shoes hero in
Final Fantasy XIV is getting a little
tiresome. TheWarriors of Light have
spent five years and two expansions
defending Eorzea from the evil Garlean Empire.
But with Shadowbringers, it’s time to fight fire with
fire. The future of the world depends on it.
At least, that’s what I think is happening.
The story of Shadowbringers, Final
Fantasy XIV’s third expansion that
launches on July 2, 2019, is wrapped up in
a maddening blanket of riddles that I can
only speculate over. What happened in the
interim between the current Stormblood
expansion and Shadowbringers to bring
about a calamity that threatens to destroy
the world? Why does that calamity
necessitate hanging up my good guy
cloak and becoming a Warrior of
Darkness? And, just as importantly, what
the hell does that title even mean?
As I walk the convention floor of Final
Fantasy XIV’s Fan Festival in Paris, it’s
these questions that I keep returning to.
Though it primarily serves as a place for
fans to gather and celebrate their love of
all things Final Fantasy, Square Enix also
uses these events to reveal new details
about what’s to come in future updates.
But much of Shadowbringers feels like a
closely kept secret.
closely kept secret.
During the keynote presentation, game
director Naoki Yoshida revealed an
extended teaser trailer – and never has
the word teaser been more applicable.
Ominous dialogue reflects back on the
decisions and pivotal plot moments that
led our characters toward an apocalypse
the nature of which we don’t even
understand yet. Meanwhile, main
characters battle monsters between cuts
to dramatic dialogue scenes rife with clues
that only hardcore fans would pick up.
People scream when fan favourite
character Y’shtola takes the screen
wearing black robes, suggesting that she
might have given up the healing arts for
the destructive magics of a Black Mage.
Others gasp when a hooded character is
revealed to be a youthful-looking Minfilia,
an important character who supposedly
died years ago during the early chapters
of the Heavensward expansion.
Unless you’re a dedicated fan of Final
Fantasy XIV, most of this means little to
you. That’s because Final Fantasy XIV’s
new expansions aren’t trying to win over
new players nearly as much as they’re
playing to the desires of a passionate and
vibrant fanbase. And if the previous two
expansions and their massive post-launch
updates are anything to go by, Square
Enix does a damn fine job of it.
GOING DARK
Thanks to its decidedly bleaker tone and
exciting new features, Shadowbringers is
Final Fantasy XIV’s most exciting
expansion yet. Following the events of
Stormblood, which saw players liberate
the nations of Ala Mhigo and Doma from
the Garlean Empire and then try and fail to
secure a lasting peace, Shadowbringers
thrusts players into direct all-out war with
the villains of Eorzea on their own turf. Like
the previous expansions that means an
enormous new story to chew through as
players explore new locales and increase
their level up to the new cap of 80.
But exactly where and when
Shadowbringers takes place is still a
complete mystery. During the keynote
presentation at the Fan Festival, Yoshida
revealed details of the new locations,
features, and jobs, but without a better
idea of what the central storyline will be,
it’s hard to get a sense for how everything
will fit together. I’m beginning to think that
the reason so much is being kept a secret
is because Square Enix is planning
