Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail | Hype Check

June 30, 2024

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail | Hype Check

With Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail now only a few days away, we wanted to touch base with some of our team to see how they’re feeling about the game. We’ve seen a range of media up to this point, from gameplay showcases and trailers, we’ve seen the press releases, and heard the talk, but how are we feeling? That’s where we’re bringing Hype Check into the mix; to get a gauge on what the prospective players are thinking. So here’s how we’re feeling about Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail.

Paul James

I’m yet to begin Final Fantasy XIV but with every expansion that is announced my hype for the game grows. Dawntrail looks like an absolute blast and I think 2024 will be the year that I finally jump in. The hundreds of hours that I’ll need to commit before finally getting to this content doesn’t fill me with hype, but it sounds like the quality is incredibly high and so I’m more that okay with the idea of putting the hours in. I just wish that I committed sooner than now.

Jason Hawkins

This is an easy one. I’ve got myriad thousand hours in Final Fantasy XIV, and it’s a game that just keeps getting consistently better. I truly believe it has the best story in Final Fantasy as a series. Dawntrail is the start of a new 10 year cycle, and expectations are high. Even if you don’t like MMOs, this can be played through fairly solo, and it’s got an extremely generous trial, including 2 of the expansions for free. FFXIV is amazing and I’m not too ashamed to say it.

Renee O'Flynn

Because Jason is a coward, I’m going to do it. Did you know that the FFXIV free trial has two expansions including the award winning Heavensong expansion up to level 70 with no expansions on playtime? And just in time for Dawntrail to release. As hyped as I am for this, I won’t be able to get it for a while and that makes me a sad sulky FFXIV player. Endwalker finished the ten years off spectacularly and I’m glad to see Krile getting more screen time as I adore her. If you’re an FFXIV player I don’t really need to tell you how much hype this has and if you aren’t…you just might be missing out.

Jenn Christodoulou

I was a mad FFXIV player. I played the ever-loving bejesus out of that game. So you’d think that I’d be really keen for Dawntrail, right?

Nah.

When the trailers for the last two expansions dropped I was HYPED. But the trailer for Dawntrail gives me nothing. Politics? Yawn. Lizard people? Ehhhh. No horrifying monsters roaming around slaughtering entire villages? Please.

My favourite Final Fantasy stories are always the darkest, bleakest ones, and Dawntrail looks like a return to the happier, earlier expansions than the disturbing, nitty gritty ones we’ve had recently. A nice change of pace for those that want it, but it’s not the expansion that’s going to get me diving back into my fantasia addiction.

Rob Caporetto

Not really an MMO type of person basically. I know plenty of folks for whom this is their thing, but I’ve got more than enough to work through instead of getting locked into an MMO.