FFXIV JP Fan Fest 2024 - Thoughts and Talk

We have the final Fan Fest Keynote! Here is a review of the main points and my thoughts! And hoo boy do I have some thoughts for some of this.
Twitch: / weskalber
Twitter: / weskalber
Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/weskalber.bs...
Discord: / discord
FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
© SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
#FFXIV #Endwalker #Fanfest

[@Miniman6347]

Crackpot theory: We're skipping Shinryu for a Zenos Ultimate, which would be what Zenos would have wanted in terms of a fight, starting with the party fighting him as is in early Stormblood, the fight in Ala Mhigo, Shinryu Transformation, him becoming a reaper, and then the final fight against us at the end of Endwalker. At least, that's the only thing I can think of for why we're skipping Shinryu.

[@Apollow99]

That sounds amazing !

[@petrus9067]

Only issue with that is, unless they make 3 ultimates in an expac, where would be the EnW msq ultimate? I dont think that would be considered one, and it definitely would upset a lot of people if we dont get somehow a zodiark-hydaelyn-dynamis themed ultimate.

[@ianlindstrom2019]

@@petrus9067 The trick here is that the 6.0 and 6.1-6.4 stories are fully separate for the first time in like ever. So we'll get ShB story ulti, ShB raid ulti, EW raid ulti, EW 6.1-6.4 ulti (four fiends), *and* Zenos ulti. The Zenos ulti should cover the 4.0, 4.3, and 6.0 trials (because zenos shows up in all of those fights). Basically the EW MSQ gets split up. Half of it gets merged with the StB story to make one ulti. EDIT: They aren't afraid to break up ultis so that e.g. HW ultis are split across expansions. They already did that with HW and now StB (assuming we get that zenos ulti for a second StB-influenced one). So they can still be 2 ultis released per expansion and they'll just get around to the other thing when they get to it.

[@Ganmorg]

I had this exact thought too, Zenos has been fought by himself like 4 times already, so that’s already a ton of boss phases unto itself. I’d love if they called it The Deadliest Game (TDG) or something like that. As for an Endwalker Ultimate I think there’s still plenty of material there to work with without Zenos.

[@ShanaGartrex]

If they do this then they NEED to mention something about endwalker's ending with you fighting him solo either during or before the fight.

[@kimlee6643]

I was pretty surprised with the lion moms. I just never bothered to imagine them, so seeing them presented as athletic and upbeat was way more positive than I would have guessed. Overall, this is now the most exciting release for Summer that I have.

[@desubysnusnu]

I love how there are slight differences between 2 mommy races. Femroes are more cool & a bit flirty while Femhroths are more fierce & warm. The opposite of their male counterparts.

[@Scerttle]

I was really glad they stand up right and seem quite tall. My two fears were that they were either: 1. Gonna be a short petit size like au ra, or 2. hunched over like the male hrothgar.

[@bennytaros]

Was fun to hang out in chat and watch this with everyone, super excited!!

[@celfhelp]

this is a fun video and it’s all exciting and such, but i feel compelled to note: fan fest didn’t just take place “in a baseball stadium”, it took place in the fucking Tokyo Dome more than most of the reveals, the fact that Yoshi-P was reading stream chat on a stage in the center of the Tokyo Dome was constantly frying my brain while some may not understand the significance, this being a thing is proof that Square is violently confident in what CBU3 is cooking and i think that’s a really, really good sign

[@akoom799]

Loved catching your stream for this! Great vibes!

[@ubermaster1]

Pictomancer already won my heart aesthetically, and cause it's gonna give Krile some spotlight, if it ends up playing smooth, it legit might replace MCH as a my defactor main, who I have been maining since HW. It just looks so goddamn silly and I am all for it.

[@chrisanderson7820]

The best guess I have seen re Solution 9 is that it might be a post-Ancient or Allagan analog from one of the Reflections, given that a big EW theme was Y'Shtola working out cross rift travel and Emet talking about civilisations on the Reflections. Also loving the aestherics of Pictomancer, 100% playing this at launch.

[@aidanmillow566]

I initially read this as Y'Shtola working out cross fit and I feel the need to share this with everyone.

[@skeletor8951]

Saw some people theorizing it's a city that escaped the 2nd Calamity, the Lightning one,("Solution 9" meaning it was their ninth plan of action to survive), but I struggle to believe even an isolationist society of that complexity wouldn't affect the world or even continent more over thousands of years. Unless it was stuck in the Rift or something somehow until at LEAST the last couple hundred years.

[@ngwoo]

@@skeletor8951 I have a wild theory: maybe Solution Nine didn't affect the world because it's not on the world. Their "solution" could have been a massive colony ship, and within the purple ruins that we DO know are on the surface we find the means to warp there. Would also play into the planetary exploration thing they showed off as the new lifestyle content - if we commandeer an entire colony ship why not use it to ferry thousands of adventurers into the cosmos to settle dozens of new planets?

[@StriderZessei]

It's a simple thing, but I really like the Viper sheathing his weapons across his back; I thought they were going to be on his hips like a Ninja.

[@thekaxmax]

silly, but looks good. :P Me, I'd have preferred the hip, same way the paladin wears their one.

[@thekaxmax]

@@chestercarter6081 all should be sheathed. But that looks weird on darknights. Ninjas should be sheathed and across the kidneys. No-one puts a sword on their back except for long-distance travel, not if you go by history and tested usage--remember cloaks are basically universal before coats, and you can't wear a sword on your back under or over a cloak, not and use the cloak as a cloak. A viper's draw should be cross-draw, though, not direct like a ninja. Ninjas also should have one blade forward and one back, if you want to be picky about usefulness.

[@rinnnnnnnnnnrin]

​@@chestercarter6081ninja is not Kratos, their weapons arent nearly heavy enough to where they can't be on the hip(not counting the chunkier nin weapons)

[@rinnnnnnnnnnrin]

​​@@thekaxmaxwe should have at least gotten a back sling to hold the less extravagant designed swords for drk... speaking of which get rid of the annoying back sling on clouds advent children outfit... it doesn't fit any greatsword and we still do not have a buster sword despite it being used in melee lb 1/2. That stupid thing is the only reason i never wear his outfit :(

[@thekaxmax]

@@rinnnnnnnnnnrin 'magnetic' sword holder makes more sense from an art and tech point of view. Note that anything longer than a shortish sword can't be drawn from a back scabbard, so there's no point putting one in.

[@greenboots_4661]

Terra, not Gaia

[@WeskAlber]

Shit, yeah, Gaia is the planet. I let the excitement get to me.

[@cdsbradley]

Baby Mamool Ja wants to know if you got any games on your tomestone

[@Jonesman64]

As a black mage main, I'm excited to see what Pictomancer will bring to the table. I have to wonder if the landscape paintings will be like Astral Fire/Umbral Ice state changing.

[@chainsawenthusiast8261]

Thank god there's a graphics card raid because I feel my old build is going to struggle with the new requirements

[@Draylin41]

Finally, someone else mentions PSO immediately instead of just cyberpunk.

[@WeskAlber]

I don't even play PSO lol

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

​@WeskAlber you should is fun! Not NGS though....

[@TheIvoryDingo]

Solution Nine undeniably reminded me of Xenoblade X and Xenosaga. As for the jobs, I'm still undecided on whether or not I'll make levelling either of them at the start of the expansion a priority instead of other jobs in those roles (RDM for Caster; RPR/SAM for Melee), but I expect that to be the case until the Job Action Trailer releases.

[@wkdpsin]

Thanks for your take on it all, 6 to 8 months out and it's already exciting :)

[@storytellerzeke]

Looking forward to the Job Guides. Rather curious with what they cook up with the Job Actions, as well as what awaits in the story.

[@Cassapphic]

I think they're probably delaying stromblood msq ultimate so they can include endwalker zenos in some way, giving 4 enemies to fight, samurai zenos, tsukuyomi, shinryu and reaper zenos, maybe even a phase just against pactbound zero.

[@Draylin41]

someone else immediately thought that they weren't doing it so they could have Shinryu in Endsinger Ultimate way down the line.

[@TheIvoryDingo]

I think having the first phase be Ilberd due to him being Shinryu's initial summoner would be neat as well.

[@amazingj4173]

The Jerseys were already on sale with the London Fanfest 🤫 Definitely going to play pictomancer since I'm a mage main.

[@commandguthix]

Coincidentally, FRU is also the word for wife in swedish. Perfect for the adorable lovebirds.

[@WeskAlber]

I saw that after I wrote the script and it was just... Man. Lesbians.

[@kiiturii]

I speak swedish and didn't even notice that smh

[@wavypavy4059]

Everything they showed looks good. For the expac release I love the look of both new jobs, and the fact they showed the techno area and just kind of chuckled about how we have no idea where the story is going was great. The post release content seems like so much more than endwalker - crafting gathering stuff every patch it seems with cosmic exploration, more variant dungeons and a deep dungeon, eureka/bozja battle content, and two limited job updates. Hopefully it'll all add up to far less of a lull between patches than endwalker so people who didn't like this expansion's post release schedule enjoy DT more.

[@hippoflounder]

This fanfest got me so hyped to get back into final fantasyxiv

[@crowshroud]

My absolute highlight was all the updates to lighting and characters - but specifically for the skin tone fixes. I've had to use hyper-specific shaders for pretty much my entire time playing just to be able to slightly see my WoL even a TINY bit better in the dark (male keeper miqo'te with dark blueish-grey skin), but even with them it isn't... perfect. Them finally showing off some examples of non-pale characters at this fan fest for the graphics update, and saying they'd fix it make me veeeery relieved. The skin highlights and lighting looks fantastic too! I was watching with friends (a number of them aren't pasty like me IRL too, I know I don't have to deal with it quite in the same way as they do) and we all popped off with that because its seriously about time! But largely I'm just glad they took the steps to recognize and (hopefully) fix their past mistakes for good. And looking forward to maybe even making a fem hrothgar alt too, who knows!

[@myrany8407]

I was meh about the expansion before yesterdays reveals. Now I am totally psyched up for Beastmaster!

[@aguardente6531]

Sadly we have to wait for 2 more years since it is LATE 7.X

[@ehko9989]

We're skipping Shinryu to get a Zenos ultimate down the line. Since Zenos's arc ends at the end of endwalker it makes sense to wait a bit

[@Sil3ntLynx]

The keynote was a fun time. I can't help but feel the Hrothgal is bulkier in the trailer and concept art than it is in the game, but that could just be me. I note that because I was maybe hoping they'd go a little bit more muscular still, but I quite like the showcase. I'm too attached to my initial character to make a switch to it (heck, I can't even decide to switch hairstyles lol) but I'm looking forward to seeing people with them.

[@Akantorz]

I'm just glad that we got faces that had different levels of beast to them for Hrothgals. If you look at the race trailer, near the end, 3 of them are standing side by side: middle if the first, left is the second one we saw, and third was revealed only at that part. I'm glad they made faces that compromised on the looks since, to me, the first face and trailer Hrothgal has that kinda uncanny look. Face one looks like they just stuck an actual cheetah head on a human body. But the other faces are great, I've been hearing sighs of relief across the board when those two faces showed up. I hope they work on the first face to get it to fit as a head better, because right now, it looks like a head that has a much smaller brain than the other two. We'll see though. Also can't wait to see tail variations. As for the rest of the fest: I'm very excited, can't wait to see how it will all unfold. Hope we see the benchmark tests soon.

[@thekaxmax]

cool and useful commentary, good stuff

[@DevilHunterJax]

As a sprout playing Summoner? Dude, you said the exact same thing as me! That damn horn! We can't escape it! XD

[@thekaxmax]

I've been both using glam and helmetless since it was available and helmetless, I have no issue with the horn. :P

[@SunChaoJun]

Can't wait to meet our raid NPC, N'vidia Tia

[@nealwesco7465]

I think the only thing that made me feel the sads was it wasn't Green Mage as the new mage job. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Pictomancer cause I want more weird things but Green Mage is my favorite of all the mage colors

[@biocajun86]

“You’re just never happy” I FCKN CLAPPPPPPPED! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TomTheOwl68]

Pictomancer is cool and i actually like the graphics etc.

[@SinHurr]

I'm kind of glad for a later release date. I'm a latecomer to the game, so I'm still moving my way through the MSQ. I took a break just before Endwalker to handle 2023's absolutely *massive* glut of awesome single-player games.

[@kataku8609]

I love Female Hrothgar, can't wait to be one in DawnTrail!!!

[@raleo7466]

I took a break out of FFXIV as a casual player because I was making time for content grinding Bozja and leveling jobs to 90 but this sparked my interest into getting the sub again a few months before DT, I just have so many games to play now ;.;

[@sakuram69]

I’m not a massive fan of the 2D style animations for picto, but they’re growing on me. I was sold the moment I saw the moogle nuke lol as for bst… I’ll take what we get, but I was really hoping for pup. Actually, I’m more annoyed we didn’t get more elaboration on blu. It is literally from the new world, the exact continent we are going to, is a practiced art of the mamool ja and we just got the usual “blu will get more content.” After the last update I was really hoping for at least something to tide me over for the year-two year wait. That last update was a mean joke. Overall I am beyond hyped. Seriously though if they want me to remain a smn main they better give us something obscenely awesome like Odin.

[@burtwonk]

Great summary Wesk, thank you. You are wrong about summoner armor, though-it looks incredible and I have never even played the job! Andean/peruvian dress looks beautiful and I bet they will be able to summon Quetzalcoatl or another Incan deity 😃

[@Sil3ntLynx]

I love the clothing as well. I think Wesk's main issue is the horn which... Yeah, they are a classic and some work but it's an odd fit. As for summoning options, I would like the job to evolve for sure. Just because we go to the Americas doesn't mean we'll get something from there, but it would be cool to get Quetzalcoatl, especially since if we go by elements, we don't have a lightning aspected summon yet. They even lampshade it with us trying and failing to summon Ramuh in the job quests. I actually can't recall the reasoning of why it doesn't work.

[@winter2060]

when are we getting the job actions trailer for Dawntrail? Was curious about the changes but not seeing anything for this fanfest confused me. I guess in a live letter closer to release?

[@WeskAlber]

This is extremely normal. It will be closer to launch. Go watch the EW one and notice Samurai. They have an entire skill that DOES NOT EXIST. Skills and potencies are very, very much in flux all the way up past the Media Tour. I'm not sure of the order it will go in, but likely will be before the Media Tour... whenever that is.

[@Th3Crazy]

Love wesker reaction in the corner

[@davidmaclean2734]

I really, really, really, want GNB artifact gear for my MCH main, somebody please tell me if there is an Irvine Kinneas(ffviii) style gear for ranged DPS.... Bare in mind though, I'm only just hitting Storm blood 😅

[@sergel02]

I’m really excited for the graphics update and new jobs! I am not super crazy about some of the Pictomancer spell effects, but I just hope there’s some variety like black ink brush strokes. As a casual player though, my biggest hope is they make the Alliance Raid tougher. It’s basically my endgame content, and the 5 raids between Mhach and Orbonne were pretty perfect in difficulty. Myths of the Realm ended up having great visuals and lore but felt so flat in challenge.

[@MrKalefe]

last time was Omega Ultimate and Thordan Ultimate, going one expansion foward for Raid Ultimate and one back for Story Ultimate, so probably the second utimate will be Stromblood Story

[@lukoscreyden]

For real, I am more excited about Solution 9 and what it could mean for the story and game then anything else. Music, lore, fashion. Give me all that and healthy dose of FF9 sauce immediately, please. (Probably a Viper main btw.)

[@KaminaGoukiKirito]

I haven't touched Ultimates yet but I still wish the new Ult was instead Four Lords. I would've loved to see the Four Lord bosses getting combined in weird ways, as well as being more puzzle oriented ala Ultima Weapon. Also, Koryu getting a Unique model would be nice, since it just sharing a model with the Kirin mount was pretty underwhelming.

[@WeskAlber]

Can agree it just being Kirin was a big :/

[@Scerttle]

Massively underwhelming, yeah. I don't think it'll happen, but I have the same hope as you that we'll get it at some point in the future.

[@barisaxman2]

I need someone to redo the 90s show intro for Art Attack with Pictomancer moves.

[@BeckyScottFairley]

thanks for the Zidane lore - I hope he gets made in XIV with this, Look we already had Vivi basically in hildibrand questline in HW and Gigi so what is my second favourite IX character here.

[@SubduedRadical]

Also, Horn aside (and it is for lore reasons...sorta?), I actually like this summoner outfit. Not sure if that's midriff showing (if so, I like it less), but the cape and shawl effect I kind of like. AST is the one healer I don't like, but the velvet look of the gear looks amazing!

[@hayatotheninja]

Pictomancer looks amazing, and I look forward to maybe making it my secondary DPS class, replacing SMN (unless it surpasses my primary love of playing SAM). One of these days I'd love to get into ultimates, but time... scheduling and all that be hard when you're a salaryman...

[@TheFrantic5]

I am ready for a job actions trailer.

[@ryuichiro.sakuraba]

I love the sleepytime pajama style of Astro! It's minimalist too so I dig. Hahaha

[@Wanderingsage7]

There was also an Alisaie cosplayer wearing a baseball jersey. Iunno I just like spreading the word on that

[@WeskAlber]

Yeah someone else mentioned that the jerseys are apparently already out there

[@pidgy8927]

pictomancer is the one class this expansion that gonna make me come out of my tank bubble for a little bit im always disappointed when no new tank is announced, but i kinda get it i guess.

[@twotoned_echos]

Finally, someone else who thought of PSO after seeing Solution 9 😅 It totally reminded me of Tokyo from PSO2

[@BorgWolf359]

I hope Solution 9 is connected to FF9! I also think the town for Solution 9 & Heritage Found looks like Midgar from FF7! Gaia is also in FF7!

[@IKMcGwee]

Man I so hope to get some ff9 love in DT! EW was pretty much an ff4 love letter, gemme more ff9 besides the Almighty vore orb!

[@zinogama5084]

Ooh how I wish that I could play Dawntrail once it releases, won't be happening tho as I only have a i5 750 core and 8gb ddr3 ram... Still gonna preorder dawntrail tho

[@DukeCyrus]

It was a whole lot, ngl i was surprised it wasnt grm tho

[@omensoffate]

It was never going to be green mage 😂

[@coolman5242]

Yeah I agree I would've loved to fight Shinryu at full power after how much the post-HW storyline hyped him up to be

[@bendonatier]

My theory is that Zenos is getting his own ultimate, the rush of bosses is Zenos, Shinryu, elidibus, Reaper Zenos, and then his final being burning the whole candle.

[@oygemprime3864]

They put noctilum in this game now???

[@telezon7206]

nice vid

[@kiiturii]

10:17 finally someone says it, I'm tired of people acting like they can't tell any difference lmao

[@Xylus.]

Can't wait to collect all the gym badges and fight the elite four with beastmaster

[@SubduedRadical]

"And if this reveal is nothing...then what are they hiding?" Good god, that's goosebump worthy. I agree with you on this one. For EW, they showed Garlemald and when people cried spoilers, pointed out that what they were showing was the LEAST spoilery when we actually played it between Zodiark (being the FIRST Trial), Elpis, Hydaelyn, Ultima Thul...makes me wonder what they're hiding.

[@muovikallo]

I bet Arcadion's raids will take place in a virtual reality game.

[@Khemrikhara]

I mean, they keep saying "hrothgar have fur" but it looks exactly the same to me lmao. Besides that, very happy with everything announced.

[@WeskAlber]

There very much are differences. You might not look that closely, but its similar to hair in some of them being very subtle

[@pidgy8927]

downloading the graphics update is gonna take days with my connection xD

[@SubduedRadical]

Oh, one final thing: DPS ques are going to be abject murder, lol Yes yes, leveling we have Trusts. But when it comes to roulettes...I'm glad I'm not a DPS main. XD I still remember SB days. I still remember 2.4 when NIN was released. Good luck out there, DPS people.

[@dreamllusion8390]

Now that sakaguchi is binging ff14 right now. Using ff9 references is a direct target to him xD

[@rafagd]

I think they skipped Shinryu just because they wanted a ShB one before another SB.

[@markup6394]

13:44 --- Yey ^.^ Pictomancer... I'm still not warm with the animation effects... its too cartoony. The only reason I'll not go for that job right away is... I always find it a bit irritating sharing a job with one of the Scions while doing MSQ ^^° Call me petty, dont care. Thats probably why I'll go for Viper first... unless my inner artist tells me to sod it and go for Picto ^.^

[@koopakape]

FEMHROTH REAL that's all that matters

[@WeskAlber]

No more races

[@Kate-ms2mn]

why is nobody saying its a jactuar? it's right there - the perfect joke Also, I happy to hear you feeling hype about this

[@Scorchlette]

My crackpot insane theory behind them skipping Shinryu is that they just haven't fully figured out what to do with it yet, whereas there was a more concrete idea for Futures Rewritten.

[@tbz709]

Lol we must be the same person. Same opinions on AF gear, and same first thought about Cosmic Exploration. We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon!

[@Densuii]

I like to imagine that my WoL who is pretty much a paragon at combat chooses to go for viper's chuuni energy and pictomancer's pretty colors because after EW they just wanna have fun.

[@Ed-1749]

Not to be a debbie downer, but wasnt shadowbringers and endwalker also chock full of FF9? As much as I love it, we might be reaching critical mass of FF9 references soon.

[@WeskAlber]

No? ShB was 3 and 8. EW is 4. The only thing from 9 we got is Memoria Miseria but only that name.

[@Ed-1749]

@@WeskAlber I mean, the reason we went to memoria was because of a blue birdish character having an existential crisis. That character being created by a character from the past who's friend is attempting to destroy the world to rebuild his. It isnt totally one to one, but the villain plot is very similar. Also ShB has a big fat dictator with red and blue clown servants.

[@WeskAlber]

@@Ed-1749 ...no? We went to Memoria because we were prodding Cid's memories of the Bozja Incident. Not sure where you're getting Meteion but that's stretching it. The two colored jesters is actually a pretty common trope. It's similar to and sometimes outright analogous to Comedy and Tragedy. Zorne and Thorne are hardly the first. Possibly a reference, yes. But they weren't called Zone and Thorne so it's not meant to be "yeah, this is outright 9 fanservice." Also you've not even mentioned the Zidane outfit and the Gigi story. Small references to every FF happen. The difference is, small. Do we even have any music right out of 9? I don't recall if the Memoria section (before Varis) had the same music or not. And really, to me, the marker is whether or not we get a fight/Not Alone.

[@Ed-1749]

@@WeskAlber Right, that was memoria. Got dead ends and memoria confused. Maybe it's just that I've played 9 recently and the fact that both 9 and 14reference every game before it makes me think they're referencing eachother.

[@cina9218]

Nvidia Savage looks great

[@kiiturii]

raideon

[@blackwhistyle]

Summer 2024 is gonna be awesome gonna be a dad and FFXIV update 90days off work

[@Oktobyr]

I'm calling it now - baseball jerseys signal Blitzball or some other team-based ball-related sport to introduce team-vs-team content that isn't strictly PvP. Probably wrong, but in case I'm right I need to document it 😂

[@user-yk2jm3mp7l]

I have a really dark skin femra so this is the best expansion they can ever make

[@shideception3614]

Besides the new ultimate nothing else got my attention

[@ashencometmom5291]

im not _super_ optimistic about the plot of dawntrail but if they put a kuja expy in it im gonna like it no matter what

[@WeskAlber]

idk, a succession war into a cyber world? Shit's gonna be wild

[@SirusDiarota]

I am probably going to get shotgunned for this, but honestly I think bringing Zenos back after that ending is a mistake. I think his story is done, and if they're going to bring him back, it has to done extremely carefully. Otherwise, lolGanonBanned anyone? I mean, I get it, he's the dark mirror, the Vegita, the Rival. But, I think it ended perfectly, and bringing him back for fan pop might just cheapen his character arc. Hopefully I'm talking complete bollocks, but... Ehh... As for the rest, WHY ARE WE COMMITING PAINT MURDER?

[@zeelyweely1590]

Wait, they're bringing him back?

[@Jojo-uc9or]

When did they bring him back after he died in 6.0?

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

Speak for yourself. I'd welcome a test of my reflexes!

[@SirusDiarota]

@@Jojo-uc9or @zeelyweely1590 I am referring to the end of 6.0. As in, the idea of bringing him back I find is a mistake if they're doing it.

[@kiiturii]

what are you talking about? They haven't mentioned anything about zenos let alone "bringing him back" lol..

[@atlas6690]

I have to disagree with the idea of making the free fantasia a reward for finishing Dawntrail, not because i think there's no possibility that they could distribute it that way, but because i think it could possibly harm people's experiences with both Dawntrail and the game at large. Let's say you're a sprout who has already used their free fantasia, you got to stormblood and then Dawntrail hit with the graphics update. The changes in the update leaves your character different enough to where it's actively bothering you, and how would you fix that for free? "Oh just grind through the 3 expansions you have left to get to the endgame with a character whose looks you don't like! that certainly won't sour you on the game at all!" and even for the *best* case for someone who really doesn't like how the update left their character looking, someone who's ready to jump into dawntrail content the moment it launches. it would still require to go through the whole expansion having to look at your wol in every cutscene not looking like you want, and on top of that it might make those people feel like they need to rush through the msq to get that fantasia as quick as possible and the *last* thing you want in your story based game is for people to feel like they're being rushed through the story. This isn't attack or anything i think it's very possible that's how they end up distributing it but i just think it would be a pretty bad idea lmao

[@WeskAlber]

The issue I consider is, this is technically giving away thousands and thousands of dollars in product. Yoshida is basically single handedly holding SE above water, but even his pull has his limits. So I'm not keeping my expectations too high. He's going to make sure there's a Fantasia, but there's gonna be a catch for sure.

[@atlas6690]

That's completely fair, I'm for one being hopeful, if only cause i want everyone to have the best chance of enjoying the expansion launch, but keeping expectations down is comepletely reasonable as well. guess we'll all just have to wait and see for the official confirmation of the process@@WeskAlber

[@PipPanoma]

I think a good compromise would be for the first dawntrail quest to reward the fantasia, ensuring that anyone who gets it will need to buy the expansion.

[@bobseesall]

The more I watch the trailer the more Krile looks like someone who just got a new job and is spamming the skills.

[@SubduedRadical]

Healer main, tank off-main, caster when I need to DPS (SMN generally, RDM when I'm feeling frisky)...I found the Pictomancer Job preview effects pretty off putting. I think it's more the sound effects (the paint splatter splooshy effect), but the cell shading I didn't care much for. I liked the Krile cinematic visuals, though, the smooth neon glowy threads of paint. Not sure why they made the switch for the in-game effects. As a non-dps and anti-melee main (Melee is my least favorite), Viper is the one I actually am interested in. Picto...not so much.

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

I think they are skipping zenos because he will return in some form. He is without a minion which means his story isn't over. I also know DTs final boss if you played Final fantasy 9, you do too. Also seeing the shadowl ord as the new 8 man has be hyped! The new 24 man looks like we are in Terra from FF9. I can't wait for the new mods they will make though! As FF fans we are eating good!!!!❤❤😂😂😂

[@WeskAlber]

He's dead, and the 24man is FF11

[@PipPanoma]

Death is subjective in ffxiv

[@Sweetwaterdream]

Pictomancer and Viper haven't really appealed to me as I dont really enjoy the DPS role - I left the game after endwalker patch 6.0 and I dont see anything that will draw me back in from the reveals so far. What will be of interest to me is what they do with tanks and healers. Beastmaster was a nice surprise and one of my favourite classes in FF11 but I'm not sure I could re-sub solely for beast master. I get beach vacation filler episode vibes when I watch the trailer...but there is nothing that surprises me with the reveals so far (the early ultimate is nice but I cannot dedicate time to progging this anyway). I will watch and see what they have in store closer to the expansions release.

[@Tom-Pendragon]

Already guessed pictomancer and a duel wielding before the second trailer.

[@alexrelo9753]

After everything that happens on the last part of ultimas thulei dont belive zenos is dead mayb thats why they dont want to make an ultimate with him

[@thekaxmax]

He's specified as dead-dead after you beat him the last time.

[@DronesOverTheMoon]

I honestly was kind of bummed with Pictomancer, it looks flashy yeah, but the colors look way too bright for the game as it stand, maybeit will be better when the graphic update drop, not sure. Another thing I didn't really like is how childish it looks (Especially because it will be playable in EW) in comparison to all the other jobs, but that's really it.

[@WeskAlber]

Found the reason Jet Black Dye is so expensive

[@DronesOverTheMoon]

​@@WeskAlberIm too poor for that unfortunately

[@davidpower5710]

​@WeskAlber i didn't know you were a blm main, with that flare style roast my god.

[@mrdarkstar3756]

The theme is pretty weak. Imo, but who cares.

[@WeskAlber]

Better than Revolutions

[@testogel85]

Actively horrified about Pictomancer being an actual job. Can't believe they're putting something in that clashes with the established art direction this much. Hopefully reduced skill effects setting will hide most of it ; ;

[@WeskAlber]

Let me guess, you're also angry about FF having technology like Solution 9.

[@testogel85]

nope, really excited about Solution Nine actually. @@WeskAlber

[@yeetintothevoid]

My dude I think you're overreacting. This is the game where you can ride on fat chocobos and motorcycles and there's talking catfish who squeak anytime they move and small rabbits on the moon

[@nelia039]

The jerseys were on pre-order 🥲

[@luisvolta8827]

Locking the fantasia on completing Downtrail story? Intelligence is not your forte, is it? MSQ is where your character looks shine the most. Or you’re gonna tell me that you can focus on your character details in the middle of an ultimate raid? Don’t know why you still relevant.

[@WeskAlber]

Can't spell, can't use proper grammar, and yet my intelligence is up for dispute? You also seem to lack any math abilities. What is the price of fantasia? How many players will be getting one? Multiply that together. Maybe now you understand a very basic point. Not that you could understand your own comment. It's barely legible.