Final Fantasy 14's 8.0 update isn't going to be another "rebirth" for the MMO, Yoshi-P says, as it isn't on the scale of A Realm Reborn
This isn't a "second" take of the 2013 rework
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No, Final Fantasy 14 8.0 – the MMO's hotly anticipated next expansion – won't be quite as game-changing as A Realm Reborn was back in 2013.
At least, that's why director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida says in a new interview with Famitsu (as machine-translated via DeepL and Google). According to the legendary lead, calling the upcoming expansion a "rebirth" of Final Fantasy 14 – or implying that the game will be "reborn" come its arrival – isn't exactly accurate, because Square Enix isn't rebuilding things from the ground up as it did for A Realm Reborn.
That's why, as Yoshi-P explains, it doesn't feel right to dub 8.0 a "second" Realm Reborn of sorts. Not everything from the client onward is changing, after all – but that doesn't mean the expansion will be small. No, not by any means.
According to the director, it's quite the DLC to look forward to, and we'll find out more come next week's Fan Fest, where Square Enix will officially lift the veil on whatever's set to launch after Dawntrail for good.
We don't know much about 8.0 at the moment, although patch 7.5 teasers seem to hint toward a potential return to the Void in the expansion, with a raid foe that's said to be "wielding the boundless power of the Void" to a dungeon boss that looks to be a literal Voidsent underway.
It's something that I'd love to see come to fruition myself, especially as the last bit of solid Void content came in 2023 with 6.5, but there's truly no telling just yet.
Yoshi-P presents 7.5 as an update that'll allow us to enjoy the present while anticipating the future – and while I'm not sure exactly what that means, it does fill me with hope for what's to come.
He also admits that developers have prepared plenty of content for the new patch and future releases, which is even more exciting to read. With Void-y features and the limited Beastmaster job coming, I'm sure he's not understating things here.
Honestly, I'll take anything at this point after the disappointment that was Dawntrail. Seeing as it's got "Mixed" reviews still, I'm probably not the only Warrior of Light who feels this way. I've had my fill of Wuk Lamat for an eternity, I think.
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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.
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