The first night of the Final Fantasy 14 Digital Fan Festival kicked off with several keynotes relating to the release of the upcoming expansion, Endwalker. Following the announcement during a special live letter in February, information of the new expansion was limited, including the reveal of the new healer job Sage, with more information teased for May's Fan Festival.
Historically, the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival was a bi-annual weekend celebration, hosted by Square, in which fans and players of the critically acclaimed MMO gather. News involving the future of Final Fantasy 14, on-site events, and exclusive in-game items related to the fan festival were among several features that fans would expect. While last year's Fan Festival was delayed due to COVID-19 and shifted to an online format for 2021, many fans were treated to a surprise relating to the highly anticipated new class premiering in Endwalker.
Revealed as the new DPS job, Reaper, the gameplay trailer begins with a specter of the Void comforting an Auri wrapped in black-clad clothing. During the trailer, the specter fights alongside the Au Ra as she fights in close quarters, while the specter appears to fight separately from the Warrior of Light and in unison. During the trailer, the Warrior of Light appears to enter another state similar to Dragoon's Dragon Sight, giving them a momentary buff with intensified attacks. The Reaper class will be the fifth Melee DPS added to Final Fantasy 14 starting with Endwalker.
Prior to the Reaper trailer, players were introduced to an updated trailer for Endwalker, showing the Scions in specific circumstances involving the story for Endwalker. One of the major points of the trailer featured Zenos, the main antagonist of Stormblood and major antagonist of Shadowbringers, holding a scythe as he rises from his throne. Shortly after, series director Naoki Yoshida appeared with a distinct outfit carrying a similar scythe, confirming that the new class involved such attire and weapons. The new job will also share armor equipment with the Dragoon job, utilizing the once-exclusive "Maiming" set of armor.
While details on how the job will play have yet to be revealed, players were able to receive information about the new job, which begins at level 70. The new job will also begin at the Ul'Dah city-state, allowing players who have at least one job up to level 70 to be one of the first to attain the void using scythe-wielding DPS job. The release date of Endwalker was also revealed towards the end of the keynote, coming to PC and consoles on November 23rd, 2021.
Final Fantasy 14 is available on PC and PS4, with a PS5 beta currently live. Endwalker will release on November 23rd, 2021.