Update: While the Stormblood release date was announced and reported just before Christmas, Square Enix have finally shared some hi-resolution screenshots and additional details.
Pre-orders for the Stormblood expansion will go live January 24. There's no word if these will include an 'Early Access' period like the Heavensward expansion did before it, but it has made mention of the Collector's Edition contents. We don't have any images for the physical contents, but here's what you'll get;
- Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - With alternate Yoshitaka Amano-designed boxart
- Stormblood Special Artbook
- Expertly Crafted 'Zenos yae Galvus' Figure
- Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Art Book
- Cloth Map of Eorzea
- Stormblood Logo Sticker
- Syldra Mount
- Wind-up Bartz Minion
- Kitchen Knife
Original post: The wait was grueling, but the Toyko counterpart to Final Fantasy XIV's worldwide 'FanFest' events came and went over the Christmas period. What did it have for us? Major expansion news, of course!
Taking to the stage in the early hours of Christmas Eve (for us Europeans, at least) Director Naoki Yoshida finally shed light on the hints of a new playable class dropped during the last event in Vegas a few months back.
Red Mage is official; and while its reveal video was initially locked behind the paid livestream of the event, it didn't stop a mirror from popping up in record time. The class itself appears to be the hybrid of 'Black' and 'White' magic we'd expect from past uses of the class. Judging from the video, the role will primarily take on the 'Damage' role making use of both magic and melee by casting spells at the enemy before rushing forward with a rapier strike before skipping back again.
There aren't enough pixel-art games lately. Yuppie Psycho wants to change that.
Moving on swiftly, we were treated to an early look at the expansion's next 'Beast Tribe' - the aquatic lifeforms known as the 'Ananta'. And, being aquatic, we need a way to access the denizens of the new land; meaning, of course, swimming and diving will finally be possible. Confirming a stretched theory, the next 24-man raid encounter 'Return to Ivalice' more or less confirms a vague link between Final Fantasy XIV and the Tactics/XII universe, too, with a little design work being handled by Keita Amemiya of Shin Megami Tensei fame.
There's apparently two new classes coming to the game through the Stormblood expansion. With one now official, the community is working hard to decipher the clues pointing toward the next. But we'll only know for certain once the Frankfurt event roles around in February.
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