Long before I spent hundreds of hours immersed in Final Fantasy 14, I saw it end and return in 2013 with A Realm Reborn, a major reworking of FF14's entire world that would go on to It was a critical moment for the MMO that shaped the next 11 years. The latest expansion, Endwalker, had yet to tie up the loose ends that stemmed from its reworked foundation.

Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida, director of the MMO, said in a recent Famitsu interview (translated by Aitai Kimochi, an RPG website) that he and his team worked on this year's expansion, Dawntrail, like a "second rebirth" of the game: A Realm Reborn", and not an apocalyptic destruction, "like a 'second rebirth' of 'Reborn'."

Yoshida explained that this new era was less about the scenario and more about the team's much improved game production skills. He said that Dawntrail is now "three or four times more solid" than it was before, signifying a shift in the future direction of the game.

Indeed, while Dawntrail introduces what one would expect from a new expansion, such as new jobs, new playable races, and entirely new locations to explore, it also introduces fundamental changes, including significant graphical updates to character models and further refinements to the way gear is dyed. Dawntrail is clearly targeting the parts of the game that will keep players logging in every day, regardless of story progress.

This time around, perhaps planet-sized dragons won't appear on Eorzea's barbecues before Dawntrail's release, and it may not be as explosively popular as it was in 2021. But hopefully Dawntrail will break the cycle that has begun to wear down longtime players and give them the most ambitious play they have ever seen. If the new class Painter and the big new Catgirl are any indication of what's to come, Dawntrail may actually feel like a setup for another decade of FF14."