Today marks the official worldwide launch of Final Fantasy XIV’s second expansion, Stormblood. To celebrate, we’re listing off the top five new features being added to the game with this update. This is a sponsored article, so it’ll be more informative than exclamatory. Hang onto your butts, here’s what’s new in Eorzea with Stormblood.
THE RED MAGE AND THE SAMURAI
Not only is the level cap raising from 60 to 70, but there are two new DPS jobs added to the fold with Stormblood: the Red Mage and the Samurai. People might want more tanks and healers, but adding these two actually levels things across the game in terms of what’s available. What’s more is that each new Job has a complex and engaging mechanic that makes them stand out from the pack. Each starts at level 50, meaning they don’t have to work their way through the entirety of the game to be enjoyed with Stormblood’s content either.
SWIMMING
This may seem like a small touch, but FFXIV is a game about the little things. Weather it’s the way thunderstorms sweep into valleys, or the way the Chocobo music kicks up when you mount your winged friend, Square Enix takes care to make sure FFXIV has all the little things in check. Well, now FFXIV has swimming too. Not just surface swimming, either – but full underwater exploration. If you’re not a fan of underwater combat, fear not – swimming in FFXIV is largely cathartic and about finding hidden secrets within the game. There’s no underwater combat here.
ROLE SKILLS
Over time, FFXIV’s combat system became overly complex, and filled with skills and abilities that weren’t needed or were necessary and made you level other classes and jobs to obtain them. Well, Yoshi-P and team realized this and went back to the drawing board to make the Role Skills. Basically, these take over in place of the old cross-class abilities. Everyone gets them, and as you level you unlock up to 5 role skills. You can swap them in and out as needed. Problem solved.
SHIROGANE – NEW HOUSING DISTRICT
One of FFXIV’s most adored non-combat features is its robust and detailed housing system. That’s being taken to the next level in Stormblood with the far eastern inspired Shirogane – a brand new housing district for people to find personal abodes and Free Company housing within.
NEW DUNGEONS GALORE
There are EIGHT new 4-man dungeons in Stormblood, the first one coming at 61 as part of the Main Story Quest on your voyage across the Sirensong Sea. But wait, there’s more! A new 8-man raid: Interdimensional Rift – Omega, a new Alliance Raid – Return to Ivalice, and more. There are new Primals, new beastmen, and of course the new gear that comes with it all. In short, Stormblood is content rich.
)
BONUS ROUND: THE JUMP POTIONS
If you’re like me, you never did finish A Realm Reborn, but suddenly find yourself wanting to play Stormblood with all its new content and changes. Well, if you’ve got the cash to spare, you can now buy two different services: Job Jump Potions will level a chacacter’s chosen job to level 60, and Story Skip books will allow you to jump past ARR or Heavensward if you’d rather not grind through older content. These cost a premium, but if you’re aching to be where the rest of the community is and playing Stormblood, they’re an option.
That’s our look at the Five Biggest new additions to FFXIV: Stormblood. The expansion is officially live today, after a few days’ early access for pre-order folks. Head on over to FFXIV’s official website to grab your copy today.
