Two weeks after the official release of Dawntrail, the newest raid series in Final Fantasy 14 has been released, marking the next drop in endgame content. And thankfully, following up on the rest of the expansion’s limited but memorable combat, it’s just as good.
With minimal spoilers, the new raid series, “Arcadion,” pits you against a series of arena fighters in the expansion’s second hub. You’re recruited by that city’s entertainment company, who’re supposedly looking to cheer up its citizens after the tragedies of Dawntrail. The opponents are an eccentric bunch, given the fights are primarily for the sake of entertainment—but there seem to be secrets lying underneath the surface. And meanwhile, it all goes down with the styling and character of a professional wrestling match.
For now, the raids are only the “Normal” tier, which is the standard entry-level and story-focused series of fights. The “Savage” tier of fights, the game’s more infamous difficulty intended for more studious endgame players, will unlock in two weeks, along with all the high-end crafted gear meant to accompany it.
But if you enjoyed what Dawntrail had to offer in regard to fights, you should definitely dive into these, as every bit of the design of these four raid duties exudes the cool factor. From the stage design down to the mechanics and even in-duty voice-overs, every part has little flourishes and care to detail that it’s hard not to get pulled into the excitement of what’s essentially FFXIV WWE.
The mechanics are as exciting and challenging as you’d expect a raid’s to be, but they’re satisfying to figure out and really stunning to watch, especially with the new graphics update. The brief, blunt writing that made some parts of Dawntrail odd thankfully works here, and so the story doesn’t overstay its welcome. And the music team, of course, knocked it out of the park once again in ways that feel dissatisfying to spoil.
These raids are quick but fun to knock out, so it’s definitely recommended that you give it ago… especially if you want to pick up some clothes of the “classic” leather “pro wrestler” style.
