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Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the fifth expansion in the long-running MMO’s history, and it represents such a fascinating point in its life. This expansion has the unenviable task of following up after two excellent additions. In the end, I found FFXIV Dawntrail shows us the best and worst moments of the MMO so far.
With the lead-up to Dawntrail, I often kept asking myself what the whole point of it was. Endwalker put a nice little cap on the MMORPG, feeling like the right place to end FFXIV. In fact, it was supposed to be the original ending. But here Square Enix is, continuing the story past Hydaelyn and Zodiark because there is a massive, active player base.
My main concern about Dawntrail reared its head in the first half of the FFXIV expansion. The initial part of the story acts as a wacky summer vacation filler arc, for better and mostly worse. The Warrior of Light and some of the Scions take a trip to the new continent of Tural to help Wuk Lamat fight for her claim to the throne against other contestants. In theory, the premise sounds pretty neat! This is especially true when some of the other Scions are on opposing sides, offering some fun internal conflict within the group. However, the execution feels about as underwhelming as Stormblood, the weakest FFXIV expansion by far. This largely stems from the rather uninteresting cast of characters accompanying you.
Wuk Lamat is one of the most forgettable heroes in FFXIV, despite essentially being this expansion’s main character. Her voice acting is solid, but everything else about her isn’t up to par. She is by far one of the most one-note characters in the game. She’s always so happy-go-lucky, to an almost nauseating degree. Even her latter character development feels forced. She’s not as natural or complex as some other characters, like Lyse or Ryne.
To make matters worse, the first half of the expansion also features the most unlikeable members of the Scions journeying alongside the Warrior of Light and Wuk Lamat. It would be one thing if I could catch up with my guy G’raha Tia swooning over me once again or Y’shtola’s witty remarks, but that doesn’t happen here. This is Wuk Lamat’s story through and through. It is almost to the point where the Warrior of Light and the other Scions seem pretty much done story-wise, with the exception of characters like Krile. I almost questioned why some characters were even there, as the expansion would’ve been almost exactly the same with or without Alphinaud and Alisaie. During the first half, I often looked at some of the other contestants and wished I was partnered with them instead.
The one silver lining in this portion of the expansion is the actual content itself. The new locations, such as Kozama’uka, are absolutely stunning. The mix of jungles, deserts, and other wild biomes look so incredible. The detail and vast nature of each locale pops so well in the accompanying graphical update. These new locations are some of the best in the MMO’s history, with fantastic diversity throughout. There are even surprises and visual changes within some individual zones. While I didn’t enjoy the story, I at least appreciated the views along the way.
Plus, it helps that the dungeons, trials, and even instances excelled in these places. There are so many new mechanics and challenging moments that surprised me and tested my skill. For one, the Trust System is back and better than ever before. I wanted NPC trials since Trust’s introduction in Shadowbringers and it finally comes to fruition for more than one instance here.
The two new jobs, Pictomancer and Viper, both fill welcome niches in the meta. Pictomancer feels like a true support DPS, capable of buffing the party and dealing outrageous damage. The ability to queue up drawings before a big fight never got old. Then there is Viper, with its plethora of combos and flashy mechanics. It isn’t too overwhelming, but has just enough variety that will likely appeal to Ninja fans like myself.
If only for the content alone you experience, it is well worth getting through the succession storyline. That at least kept me going until the second half, which is when everything changes for the better. The second half of Dawntrail proved to me there is still some juice left in FFXIV’s tank. If you’ve been disappointed with everything since the final fight of Endwalker, this is the part for you.
While I certainly won’t go into details here, all you have to do is take a look at the second city of Solution Nine to see the surprising tonal shift. The story gets exponentially better in this second half. The introduction of the best new characters this expansion happens then, plus several shocking story sequences. There are even optional side quests in one particular late-game area I recommend everyone does for ensuing tearjerker moments. In fact, there are even some spectacular fan service moments that came out of nowhere and felt surprisingly earned. These epic sequences, some playable and others cutscenes, felt created just to convince me FFXIV is headed in the right direction.
This second half of Dawntrail stands up there with some of the best parts of the MMO, whereas the first half like it barely surpassed the heavily disappointing FFXIV Stormblood. I would rank it significantly higher than Heavensward at this point. It doesn’t quite reach the peak of the MMORPG’s history but there are several shining moments reminiscent of elements I loved about Shadowbringers and Endwalker. It is just unfortunate that these highest of highs also come along with the lowest of lows.
Fortunately, in the end, Dawntrail balances out for a solid, but not necessarily ground-breaking FFXIV expansion. Though it starts rough, Square Enix brings it all together quite well by the second half for a satisfying conclusion. The consistency of the actual gameplay content throughout at least ensures it is enjoyable to play from start to finish. In the end, FFXIV Dawntrail is a shaky, but ultimately positive step in a new direction for the best MMO of all time.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
