During last month’s Fan Festival in Tokyo, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is releasing on June 20 in North America, Europe, and Japan for PlayStation 4 and PC. You’ll be able to pre-order it beginning on January 24, and anyone who does will receive “exclusive bonuses.”
Recapping what happened at the Fan Festival, Square Enix confirmed the contents of the Stormblood Collector’s Edition. It will include a copy of the game, a special art box, an expertly crafted Zenos yae Galvus figure, a Stormblood art book, a cloth map of Eorzea, a Stormblood logo stick, and these exclusive in-game items: Syldra Mount, Wind-up Bartz Minion, and Chicken Knife.
Here’s a close-up look at some of the #Stormblood CE contents revealed earlier today at Tokyo #FanFest2016. Pre-orders start 1/24/17! pic.twitter.com/mtGJxvaXNk
— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) December 24, 2016
Prices for the Collector’s Edition, as well as the regular edition, will likely be announced on January 24. You’ll be able to buy Stormblood through both physical and digital retailers.
Here’s some of the Stormblood features Director Naoki Yoshida highlighted during his Fan Festival keynote:
- New Job – Red Mage (DPS Role): The highly anticipated red mage job will make its debut in Stormblood as a ranged magic DPS, wielding a rapier and magicked crystal medium. A very mobile attacker, the red mage dives in and out of melee combat, assaulting enemies with red magic and short-ranged attacks. The red mage also has the ability to link multiple spells with chainspell, dealing massive damage and following them up with melee attacks.
- Swimming and Diving: This new gameplay mechanic will allow players to seamlessly enter and traverse specific rivers, lakes, and seas in both new and existing areas throughout Eorzea. Players will also be able to dive underwater in select locations, even while riding flying mounts. Underwater areas will not only include new gathering locations, but also will provide an opportunity for NPC interaction.
- New Beast Tribe and Primal: The Ananta, an all-female beast tribe, is the newest of the beast tribes to be introduced to the world of FFXIV. This ancient tribe resides in the mountains near Ala Mhigo and worships the primal Lakshmi. Known for their skill in spell and gemcraft, the Lamia will play a very important role in the Stormblood main scenario as their persecution by the Garlean Empire is revealed.
- New High-Level Raid: The Bend of Time – Omega was announced as the high-level raid series for Stormblood. Omega has surfaced within the main scenario in the past, but this menace will soon appear in full force. The mystery behind the appearance of Omega and the significance of “The Bend of Time” will be unveiled through the story surrounding this raid.
- New Alliance Raid: Two special guest creators were invited to assist with the design of the newly-announced alliance raid “Return to Ivalice”: Yasumi Matsuno (Final Fantasy XII/Final Fantasy Tactics) will write the scenario surrounding the raid, while Keita Amemiya (Onimusha 2 / Shin Megami Tensei IV) will spearhead monster and boss design.
- Stormblood Theme Song: Legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu will return to create the main theme song for Stormblood.
You can also expect a level cap increase from 60 to 70, new gear and crafting recipes, expanded item inventory, and more.
In his New Year’s message, Yoshida said:
At the second Fan Festival in Las Vegas we announced the upcoming Stormblood expansion, and recently revealed further details at the Tokyo event.
That we will be delivering another major expansion is a sign of how stable and prosperous Eorzea has become. This in turn provides us the time and resources we need to consistently bring you new adventures.
I want to take this chance to express my thanks once again to all you Warriors of Light out there that have made this possible.
The next Fan Festival runs from February 18 to 19 in Frankfurt, and additional details for Stormblood will be given at that time.
[Source: Final Fantasy XIV (1), (2), (3)]
