Square Enix has announced the new release date for the highly anticipated fourth expansion for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker along with its launch trailer. According to the new announcement, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker will now release on December 7, 2021, with Early Access starting December 3, 2021.
This was announced by Final Fantasy XIV Online Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida during the latest Letter from the Producer LIVE broadcast where he detailed:
We sincerely apologize for postponing the release at the last minute on this occasion. FINAL FANTASY XIV: Endwalker is both the latest expansion pack for the game and the one that will conclude the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga spanning 11 years since the launch of the original FFXIV.
We will of course deliver a new adventure in FFXIV to follow on from Endwalker but, with the various struggles we experienced from the failure of the original FFXIV leading up to where we are now, I just couldn’t contain my desire to perfect Endwalker to the best of my ability. As a result, the time we spent on quality improvement exceeded our expectations and we ended up using our time allotted for debugging. On the other hand, as stability is crucial for an online game, I have taken the decision to postpone the release of the expansion pack for a fortnight in order to resecure the time for debugging that would arise as we wrap up development.
Once more, I’d like to convey my deepest apologies to all of our Warriors of Light and partners for the inconvenience this has caused. We will continue to do our utmost to bring you the best adventure in Endwalker and to expand the game experience through further updates that will follow, in order to restore your trust step by step.
If you want to read another message to the community, you can check out another message directly to the FFXIV Community at the official Final Fantasy XIV website. During the broadcast, Yoshida however shared some additional information about the title such as revealing the launch trailer and a teaser for the Endwalker theme song. Check out both of them below:
Apart from the new videos, Yoshida also shared details of the new content which is slated to arrive with the new DLC. We have detailed it below:
- Crafter and Gatherer Updates – New crafting and gathering actions will be added along with adjustments for existing actions. Additionally, Studium Deliveries, which are similar to Crystarium Deliveries, will be added for Disciples of the Hand and Land to experience, with extra quests available upon completing all of the new questlines.
- New Role Quests – Players can look forward to a new series of role quests for tank, healer, melee DPS, physical ranged DPS, and magical ranged DPS. Players who complete all five role questlines can look forward to extra quests in a future patch update.
- New Raids – Yoshida offered a first look at the Pandæmonium raid during the broadcast. Normal and Savage difficulties will be available for players to challenge in the forthcoming 6.01 and 6.05 patch updates respectively.
- New Treasure Hunt Dungeon – A new treasure hunt dungeon, The Excitatron 6000, will arrive with Patch 6.05 and offer new chances at rare treasure and spoils.
- New Housing Area – The Ishgardian housing area, Empyreum, will be available to visit beginning at the launch of Endwalker, with plots becoming available for purchase with the release of Patch 6.1.
- Expansive System Updates – New Allagan tomestones, crafter and gatherer scrips, updates to the achievement UI, and more will also be added with the upcoming patch updates.
The developer also shared additional details on the major updates coming to the PvP content in the new patch 6.1 including brand-new PvP content titled ‘Crystal Conflict’. The new content will provide an all-new ruleset and gameplay experience on new maps. Major changes are detailed below:
- 5v5 Competition – “Crystal Conflict” will introduce 5v5 team gameplay and an updated matching system that will pair players of similar skill levels together.
- Exciting PvP Gameplay – Players will fight for control of a crystal in the middle of the arena as they work to keep control of it long enough for it to be pushed into the opposing team’s goal. Crystal Conflict will feature three playable match types depending on play preference: Casual Match, Ranked Match, and Custom Match.
- Ranked Seasons – PvP seasons will continue with the Crystal Conflict offering “Season Rewards” including titles, achievements, and other accolades for those who participate and climb the rankings. Alongside this, however, a new “Series Level” feature will be added encompassing all PvP content. Players can earn rewards including gear, mounts and other items by simply by participating in PvP matches to accumulate series EXP and raise their series level.
The new Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker release date schedule is:
- 3rd December – Early Access
- 7th December – 6.0 Launch
- 21st December – Patch 6.01
- 4th January – Patch 6.05
If you prefer watching the whole Letter from the Producer LIVE broadcast, we’ve attached the video below for you:
Are you looking forward to playing Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker expansion when it comes out next month? Let us know in the comments section below.
