Final Fantasy XIV released Endwalker at the end of 2021, and since then, the seeds for the game’s future have been planted. Dawntrail, the fifth expansion for the long-running MMO, is the product of those seeds. It takes players to a Mesoamerican-inspired Tural, also known as New World.

Publisher Square Enix recently provided a small preview of Dawntrail, and I could explore it, including the new dungeon and two new jobs in the new expansion. In addition, I could discuss other goals of the development team with game director Naoki Yoshida.

Based on the feedback from some preview players, Dawntrail will be an exciting and deep expansion for Final Fantasy XIV.

Summer Vacation

There is a running joke in Final Fantasy XIV that just when everything seems to have settled down and Warrior of Light is ready to rest after saving the world, another conflict begins to emerge and prevents players from taking a well-deserved rest. The same is true for Dawntrail, which will pull players to a brand new map. But game director Naoki Yoshida told us directly not to worry, and to think of Dawntrail as Warrior of Light’s summer vacation.

Tural is the new continent that appears in Dawntrail, and it seems to be the perfect place to spend a summer vacation. Because it is located in the tropics, it looks very warm. Many of Tural’s cultural inspirations come from Mesoamerican countries, such as Mexico. And it will be released in June and July, just like a real island summer vacation.

The development team also promised to introduce a lot of interesting new plots, including but not limited to the tournament storyline that everyone will be very interested in. Although the preview version I played only saw a small part of the interaction with the people of Tural, it looked like a part of the real Mesoamerican continent!

Latin American Culture

Throughout the conversation, we talked about the inspiration for Dawntrail. Naoki Yoshida told us that during the long period of Latin American immigration, Latin Americans have spread all over the world and formed their own culture and language in each region. Dawntrail and Tural are two completely different cultures because the creative team wanted to explore a place that had never been explored before.

Naoki Yoshida said that before creating a new culture, the team had conducted detailed research on Latin American region in order to give players an immersive feeling in the game. Of course, Naoki Yoshida also understood that players wanted to see tacos in the game. He smiled and said that considering that food is a cultural carrier with a large differentiation, and adhering to the key strategy of understanding, tacos were not added to the game.

When we wanted to ask Naoki Yoshida and his team if they were excited about exploring a culture beyond their scope of authority, he shook his head and refuted it. He emphasized that the team did not think that Final Fantasy XIV’s research on Latin American culture was to absorb different cultures for some kind of quota.

Instead, Naoki Yoshida wants players to think of him and his team as a magician who can conjure up more fantasy for players, and hopes that players can see his love for Final Fantasy universe. He has shaped Final Fantasy XIV into what players like time and time again, because he obviously puts the feedback of Final Fantasy XIV community first. Because of this, the preview version of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail has received unanimous praise.

In addition to the cultural research, Yoshida and his team are most proud of how they handle the food of each culture. As he said, food is the touchstone of any culture, and the various towns and villages around Tural, such as the center of Tuliyollal, will have their own food, which differs from each other.

So don’t expect to find the same dishes or exports that you can get with FFXIV Gil in Urgopacha that you can find elsewhere. This shows that the team at least took the time to make sure the many differences in Latin culture are represented throughout Tural. Incidentally, the names of every place on Dawntrail are very Latin American.

Summer Jobs

Besides some of the above updates, Dawntrail also offers players brand new jobs to apply as they take on Tural’s new challenges. These jobs are melee DPS Viper and ranged DPS Pictomancer. They are so different both visually and tonally that it’s hard to believe they’re in the same expansion.

Viper has a roguish, swashbuckling pirate vibe. If you have seen the Dawntrail trailer before, you have seen the Warrior of Light’s stand-in wearing Viper’s costume. The Viper isn’t just complicated by her gimmick, it’s also complicated by her extensive equipment and skills. Her weapon starts out as a one-handed weapon, but later becomes a double-edged sword.

See More: What Quality Of Life Updates To Expect In FFXIV Dawntrail?

Things That Don’t Change

While the preview has a lot of new gameplay and quests, the main event-a lone dungeon-remains the same. Players shouldn’t expect too much from it, but it’s still an exciting quest.

You’ll have three boss fights in Dawntrail, each with its own set of mechanics that you’ll need to master to survive. The first fight is relatively simple and requires you to use dodge in order to survive.

There are also some comprehensive changes to Final Fantasy XIV’s graphics, which make Final Fantasy XIV more beautiful and more visual fidelity in version 7.0. All things considered, Dawntrail is becoming a promising extension.

This is not only a big step forward for the game and its team but also a huge step forward for Final Fantasy XIV development team. Now all that’s left to do is see if Dawntrail can successfully give players the best summer vacation possible when it arrives on July 2, 2024.