Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers[lower-alpha 1] is the third expansion pack to Final Fantasy XIV, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and PlayStation 4. It was released on July 2, 2019, two years after Stormblood, the previous expansion. Like its predecessors, Naoki Yoshida served as director and producer and Masayoshi Soken composed the soundtrack. The expansion pack was released as a standalone product for current players; for new players, the "Complete Edition" that originally launched with Heavensward was updated to include all expansions including Shadowbringers.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Collector's edition cover art depicting a Dark Knight on a horse, carrying a girl in white
Developer(s)Square Enix Creative Business Unit III
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Naoki Yoshida
Producer(s)Naoki Yoshida
Designer(s)
  • Naoki Yoshida
  • Nobuaki Komoto
Artist(s)Hiroshi Minagawa
Writer(s)
  • Banri Oda
  • Natsuko Ishikawa
Composer(s)Masayoshi Soken
SeriesFinal Fantasy
Platform(s)
ReleaseJuly 2, 2019
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Shadowbringers takes place on the First, a parallel dimension that has succumbed to apocalyptic collapse. Players are transported to this world and embark on a quest to restore vitality to the ruined land. They are joined by old comrades who have been trapped on the First, as well as Emet-Selch, an immortal villain who aims to harness the First's desolation to trigger a mirrored calamity on the player's home world. Emet-Selch accompanies the player, confident in the success of his plan regardless of the player's meddling. In addition to adding new areas, the expansion pack increases the level cap, debuts two character classes and two playable races, and introduces the ability to explore dungeons with non-playable "Trust" companions.

Shadowbringers was well received upon release and earned nominations for "Expansion of the Year". Critics praised the story as well as the game's accessibility to new players, both of which were focuses during development. In December 2019, Square Enix announced that the title had reached a cumulative total of 18 million player accounts. As with its predecessors, major content patches were scheduled for every three months. These updates expanded the main story, added new features, and premiered secondary storylines including a crossover written by Yoko Taro that features characters and elements from Nier: Automata and the Restoration of Ishgard, a long term campaign to rebuild the embattled nation in the aftermath of the Dragonsong War. The third major content patch had its release delayed by two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gameplay
Main article: Final Fantasy XIV § Gameplay

The gameplay and quest structure of Shadowbringers largely match that of its base game. As with many MMORPGs, players interact with each other in a persistent world that responds to their actions. Classes, which determine the player's abilities in combat, were adjusted in various ways including an increase in maximum power level to level 80.[1] The changes, comprising new abilities and streamlining of old abilities, were intended to make the experience of playing the different classes more distinct.[1] In response to feedback, tank classes no longer suffer a damage penalty when tanking enemies.[2] Combat resources such as magic points were rebalanced to increase ease of ability use.[3] Two new job classes were introduced as well—Gunbreaker, a tank class that wields gunblades, and Dancer, a ranged damage dealer class that wields chakrams.[4] Gunbreaker was inspired by the gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII.[5] For Dancer, the team was inspired by folk dances from around the world with an emphasis on "encouraging allies" with dance.[6] These jobs begin at level 60 with their own storylines. The development team prioritized a new tank class to balance the number of main and off-tanks and a new ranged damage dealer because there had previously only been two. They refrained from adding a new healer class in order to maintain game balance between the three existing healers.[4]

In Shadowbringers, a player may choose to explore a dungeon using "Trust" companions rather than other players. These Trust companions are allies in the story and have unique dialogue depending on which combinations of characters are selected.[7] The programming for Trusts was adapted and modified from the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII. The development team expressed aspects of these characters' personalities through their behavior in battle.[8] The Trust system was designed to support players who are unfamiliar with online games, alleviate the need to wait for other players to explore dungeons, and aid in gaining experience points for additional classes.[5][9] The quest system was also adjusted for the latter purpose. Side quests in Shadowbringers scale to the player's level automatically. Role quests for the different combat, crafting, and gathering classes teach aspects of these roles while expanding on the story and history of the First.[3]

The crafting and gathering systems were renovated over the course of Shadowbringers and its patches with the goal of making them more accessible to new players.[10] Redundant abilities were changed or removed and the estimated effects of actions were added.[11] The centerpiece of this system renovation is Ishgardian Restoration. Within the narrative, crafters and gatherers collaborate on a massive public works project to rebuild a residential district of Ishgard that was destroyed in the Dragonsong War.[12] This multi-stage project unfolded over the course of several patches and provides rewards to beginners and experienced builders alike.[13][14] The Diadem, a large open world area that premiered in Heavensward, was reconfigured as the location where materials for the reconstruction effort could be gathered.[15]

A variety of other systems also received updates in Shadowbringers. Blue Mage, a new "Limited" job introduced in the previous expansion, received a major extension.[16] Unlike other jobs, Blue Mages learn new spells by witnessing enemies perform them. As a Limited job, they are restricted from using the normal party matching system.[17] The update adds rewards and titles for challenging high tier bosses with full parties consisting solely of Blue Mages.[16] A new alliance-scale player versus player (PvP) mode called Onsal Hakair (Danshig Naadam) premiered with the expansion. In this mode, players join the tribes of the Azim Steppe in mock battles to prepare for the annual Naadam.[18] The gameplay involves capturing control points to increase the team's score.[19]

Plot

Setting and characters
The main characters of Shadowbringers, clockwise from top: Minfilia, Crystal Exarch, Urianger, Alisaie, the Warrior of Darkness, Alphinaud, Y'shtola, and Emet-Selch; Thancred (center).
See also: Final Fantasy XIV § Setting, and Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood § Rebuilding two nations

Shadowbringers takes place on the First, one of many alternate dimensions that were split from the Source, the primary dimension in which the rest of the game is set. Eons ago, the Source was shattered into multiple dimensions, called reflections, during the Sundering, the result of a battle between Hydealyn and Zodiark in which the former won. The Ascians, a group of powerful mages led by the survivors of the Sundering, seek to revive Zodiark by "Rejoining" each reflection, causing the reflection to be destroyed and resulting in an apocalyptic event known as a "Calamity" on the Source. On the First, Ascians manipulated this world's Warriors of Light into eradicating the Darkness, which tipped the plane's elemental balance too far towards the Light. This unleashed an oppressive Flood of Light that bleached the land dry and decimated the population. Minfilia, the Oracle of Light and one of the player's confidants, halted the Flood by sacrificing herself during the events of Heavensward. The remaining people struggle to survive in the aftermath and are beset by sin eaters, monsters that prey upon life force and transform their victims into more sin eaters.

Norvrandt is the only remaining continent that has not been consumed by the Light. It roughly corresponds to the region of Eorzea on the Source and its locales are reflections of similar areas on the Source.[6][20] Lakeland is home to the Crystal Tower, a gleaming edifice that appeared 100 years ago shortly after the Flood. The Crystal Exarch is a wise mage who leads the Crystarium, the town that developed at the foot of the tower as a fortification against the sin eaters. The people here cooperate to survive in this post-apocalyptic land, sharing expertise in agriculture, medicine, and self-defense. In Kholusia, Eulmore stands in contrast, its wealthy residents living in indolence and luxury as they await the world's last days. Its leader, Lord Vauthry, has built this paradise on the backs of slave labor, forcing the poor refugees at its gates to compete for the privilege to serve. Dwarves, the First's counterpart to Lalafell, also live in the mountains of Kholusia where they make their living as miners and blacksmiths, though they are considered Beastmen in this dimension.[6] The Seven Sisters cliffs were used as visual reference for Kholusia.[21] The Rak'tika Greatwood is home to the Night's Blessed, a religious faction that shields itself from the everlasting Light under the forest's canopy. Their religion developed in the years after the Flood and foretells of Warriors of Darkness who will dispel the Light and return night to the sky. The region's architecture was inspired by Angkor Wat and Mesoamerican civilizations.[21][22] Il Mheg is a magic-shrouded land where the fae folk live—pixies, fuath, nu mou, and amaro. They have taken residence in the fallen structures of the former Voeburtite Kingdom, which was wiped out in the Flood. Finally, Amh Araeng is the desert where Minfilia halted the Flood; massive waves of crystallized Light litter the landscape. Beyond it lies the Empty, a desolate expanse left in the wake of the Flood that covers the majority of the First.

In the lead-up to the expansion, the player's allies—members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn—are sent one-by-one into comas by a mysterious force. In total, Alphinaud, Alisaie, Thancred, Y'shtola, and Urianger all succumb to this illness that appears to have taken their souls, leaving their bodies intact. These tragedies occur just as hostilities between the Eorzean Alliance and the Garlean Empire begin escalating again. The empire has restarted production of Black Rose, a chemical weapon that paralyzes the body and stops all vital functions, and prepares to retaliate against Ala Mhigo for their war of independence during Stormblood. Meanwhile, Emet-Selch, an Ascian who engineered the founding of the Garlean Empire, accelerates his plans for destroying the First. He longs to restore his lost civilization by reviving Zodiark. As an original Ascian whose soul was not split during the great Sundering, he does not consider living beings on these shattered dimensions to be truly alive and therefore has no qualms about eradicating them in the course of his quest.[23]

Story

Shadowbringers opens as the player—an adventurer blessed by the Mothercrystal known as the Warrior of Light—is transported bodily to another world. The Crystal Exarch introduces himself and brings the hero to the Crystarium to explain the situation. He is behind the Scions' condition, victims of an incomplete spell intended to summon the Warrior of Light to the First. Whereas the player is free to travel back and forth, the Scions' souls have become trapped in this dimension as corporeal spirits. Time flows inconsistently between worlds; Thancred, the earliest to arrive, has been here for over five years as a result. The Exarch warns of an impending calamity on the Source if the Light on the First is not extinguished. He bids the hero reunite with the Scions who have been searching for a way to do the same. Ardbert, leader of the this dimension's Warriors of Light, discovers that the adventurer can see him. Over 100 years have passed on the First since Minfilia returned him and his compatriots to this world to halt the Flood. Since then, Ardbert has wandered Norvrandt as a shade, bearing witness to the effects of the Flood but unable to interact with anyone until now.

The player first collects the twins, Alphinaud and Alisaie. In Kholusia, Alphinaud charms his way into Eulmore to find out about the nature of its prosperity. In the deserts of Amh Araeng, Alisaie works hospice at an outpost caring for victims of sin eater attacks. They are euthanized shortly before they transform into sin eaters themselves. With the twins in tow, the adventurer rushes to save a Lakeland village under attack by sin eaters. They defeat the Lightwarden commanding the attack and its Light flows into the hero's body. The Exarch explains that ordinarily this would transform the target into another Lightwarden, but Hydaelyn's blessing protects the hero from this effect. With the Lightwarden vanquished, the night sky returns to Lakeland and citizens begin to whisper of a prophecy foretelling the arrival of Warriors of Darkness who will quench the Light. Vauthry is furious and sends his general, Ran'jit, to demand who is responsible for returning the night. The Exarch rebuffs him and aids the player in rescuing a young girl named "Minfilia" from Ran'jit's custody. This Minfilia bears a striking resemblance to the adventurer's old ally; a woman with flaxen hair and Minfilia's power has been reborn over and over in the First since the halt of the Flood. Thancred had been pursuing Ran'jit as well and they escape with Minfilia to Il Mheg.

In the land of the fae, they find Urianger who explains that the fairy king, Titania, has become a Lightwarden after defeating the one that threatened Il Mheg. The newly minted Warrior of Darkness gathers the necessary items to break the seal on Titania's castle to confront them directly. In defeating Titania, night returns to Il Mheg and the fae folk drive out the Eulmoran army who had been pursuing Minfilia. Before the Scions can continue in their quest, Emet-Selch appears before them and proposes a deal. As an immortal Ascian, he is in no hurry to complete his plan but he insinuates that their goals are aligned and he could offer assistance or knowledge in exchange for the Scions' cooperation. They reject the offer out of hand and continue to Rak'tika Greatwood to link up with Y'shtola. The reunion is tense as the Night's Blessed with whom she stays are mistrustful of outsiders. They explore ruins of the Ronkan civilization and discover a tribe of ancient protectors of the wood who had been tasked by the last emperor of the Ronka to await the Warrior of Darkness. They help the Scions find the Lightwarden of the region and put it down. Emet-Selch returns to explain the true nature of Hydaelyn and Zodiark: they are primals summoned by his lost civilization that caused the Sundering.

With three Lightwardens defeated, Y'shtola worries that too much Light aether has accumulated in the Warrior of Darkness' body: her altered sight (from her near-destruction in using the Flow spell at the end of A Realm Reborn) was unable to recognize the Warrior when they first arrived in Rak'tika because of the Light aether they had already absorbed, and the imbalance is only increasing. The Scions decide that they need the original Minfilia's advice. They travel to Amh Araeng where Minfilia halted the Flood and she appears before them. She entrusts the rest of her power to the young Minfilia and tells her to be her own person. The young Minfilia is given the name Ryne to differentiate herself. With her newfound power, she locates the Lightwarden who had been hiding in an abandoned mine. They defeat it and proceed to Eulmore where Ryne senses the last Lightwarden resides. Vauthry has brainwashed the populace by feeding them food made from sin eater flesh. He reveals that he is the last Lightwarden—Emet-Selch infused its power into him as a fetus. He has the power to command sin eaters and explains that this is why he opposes efforts to restore the night. The Scions defeat Ran'jit but Vauthry flees to the summit of Mt. Gulg. With the help of freed citizens of Eulmore, the Crystarium, and Amh Araeng, they build an enormous golem to carry the Scions to the peak to confront Vauthry. They defeat him but the Warrior of Darkness fails to contain the combined Light of all the Lightwardens. The Exarch appears and attempts to save the adventurer at the cost of his own life, revealing himself to be their old companion G'raha Tia, but he is stopped and kidnapped by Emet-Selch, who escapes to the Tempest to complete his plan.

Ryne manages to halt the sin eater transformation but its concentrated power causes the endless Light to return to Norvrandt. The Warrior learns of the truth behind the Exarch's nature; hailing from a future where an Eighth Umbral Calamity succeeded in killing most of the Scions and their allies, including the Warrior themself, and resulted in an age of endless war, denizens believing in the legends of the Warrior of Light banded together to avert their fate and see their hero live, awakening G'raha within the Crystal Tower and converting it into a time machine with theories left behind by Cid Garlond. The Scions pursue Emet-Selch to the depths of the ocean where they discover that he has created a simulacrum of his lost civilization, Amaurot, underneath the waves. Emet-Selch treats the player with a vision of the collapse of Amaurot and declares that he is willing to sacrifice all of creation to restore it. Ardbert rejoins with the Warrior of Darkness–the two having learned that before the Sundering they had been a single individual–to defeat Emet-Selch once and for all. All of the First's Light is consumed in the battle, leaving the adventurer safe from its corrupting effects, and they re-unite with the Exarch before returning to the Crystarium.

Returning home

With the First no longer in imminent danger, the Exarch turns his attention to finding a way return the Scions to the Source before their comatose bodies waste away. He enlists a nu mou mage named Beq Lugg for assistance in this endeavor. Meanwhile, the citizens of Eulmore debate how to move forward now that Vauthry is gone. The rich patrons agree to share their wealth in order to create a more equitable society. An engineer named Chai-Nuzz is elected mayor after he demonstrates leadership in finding ways to restart Eulmore's economy. Back on the Source, Raubahn and Gaius update the adventurer on new developments with the Garlean Empire; during their absence, Gaius and Estinien journeyed to the imperial capital to investigate Black Rose, only to witness Zenos reclaim his body and kill the emperor, plunging the Empire into chaos. However, the Empire has begun deploying new Weapons on Eorzea. In the First, the return of night has inspired the people to rediscover the history of the Flood and the original Warriors of Light. At this moment, Elidibus, the Ascian Emissary, appears wearing Ardbert's corpse. He awakens the citizens to the Echo and commands them to follow in the footsteps of the Warriors of Light by doing good deeds. The Scions are suspicious of his motives but cannot in good conscience oppose the will of these newly minted samaritans. They instead return their focus to research into aetherial transportation as a means to return home. Their plans are cut short when Elidibus makes his next move. During the adventurer's confrontation with Elidibus in the phantom Amaurot, Y'shtola deduces that he is a primal fragmented from Zodiark, and has been fostering faith in the legends of the Warrior of Light to strengthen himself. He later attacks the Exarch and Beq Lugg to gain the ability to control the Crystal Tower and summon spectral Warriors of Light from other shards. Elidibus takes on the form of the first Warrior of Light to confront the Warrior of Darkness, but is still defeated, while the Exarch succumbs to overuse of his power in the process and fully crystallizes. The Warrior returns the Scions to their bodies, and journeys to the Crystal Tower in Mor Dhona to awaken G'raha—now infused with the soul and memories of his Exarch self–who formally joins the group on future adventures. Meanwhile, Zenos, having taken the imperial throne with the aid of the rogue Ascian Fandaniel, plans his reunion with the Warrior.

Following the Scions’ return to the Source, they learn that in the wake of Garlemald's war of succession, the Eorzean Alliance devoted resources to opening peace talks with the beast tribes. Alisaie uses this as an opportunity to find a cure for primal tempering, and finds success with a tempered kobold child. In Limsa Lominsa, the Scions aid Merlwyb with a dispute involving a dissenting pirate faction and eventually cure the kobold patriarch of his tempering. Mysterious towers begin appearing across the world; at this point, Fandaniel reveals himself and declares his intent to recreate the apocalyptic collapse of Amaurot in an act of omnicide-suicide, while threatening to raze cities across the Source with the draconic entity he dubbed Lunar Bahamut should Zenos's desires be denied. The Scions decide to investigate the towers while Krile and Tataru begin their search for Estinien to combat Lunar Bahamut.

Development

Planning for Shadowbringers began in May 2017, about one month prior to the release of the preceding expansion, Stormblood, with a "scriptwriting retreat" involving producer and director Naoki Yoshida and the main scenario writers, Natsuko Ishikawa and Banri Oda.[24][25][26] The process for developing an expansion involves laying out the progression from main game to expansion in detail and categorizing these elements so that developers would not get confused between patch content and expansion content which were being created simultaneously.[25][27] Expansions for Final Fantasy XIV are designed to compete with offline RPGs in length and content.[28] For Yoshida, the theme of Shadowbringers is "challenging expectations".[28] He wanted to challenge the assumption that "Light" equates to "good" within the story and challenge the development team to deliver an expansion that could surprise players.[5] The Trust system subverts the expectation that an MMORPG must be played with a group. Finally, Yoshida challenged players to compare Shadowbringers to main numbered entries in the Final Fantasy series.[28]

Another focus during development was to make the game more friendly to new adventurers. The Trust system was designed to help people who are primarily familiar with offline RPGs and other Final Fantasy games to practice multiplayer content without the pressure of other players.[9] The new Dancer job was intended to be easy for beginners to pick up as well.[28] The team made adjustments to older quest rewards to help new players catch up to their friends playing Shadowbringers more quickly.[25] Moreover, the "story skip" and "level boost" items introduced in Stormblood were updated to allow access to Shadowbringers directly.[29] Ishgardian Restoration and the related changes to crafting and gathering were an effort to make these systems more accessible.[10] Finally, the New Game+ feature and streamlining the A Realm Reborn quest line together improve new players' experience at the start of their adventure. The development team reworked aspects of these quests, removing portions of some and eliminating others entirely, to improve the pacing without damaging the story. They also implemented flying gameplay in these areas.[30] New Game+ allows players to replay expansions and quest lines that they have already completed.[10][31]

Yoshida instructed the writing team to fulfill three requirements with the expansion story: a story that takes place in the alternate dimension of the First, entails becoming a "Warrior of Darkness", and involves adventuring together with the Scions—to take advantage of the newly developed Trust system.[24] The idea to return to the Warriors of Darkness and Minfilia on the First occurred shortly after the release of Stormblood. The writing team felt it was the right timing after wrapping up the liberation of Ala Mhigo.[32] They also connected it to G'raha Tia and the Crystal Tower storyline from A Realm Reborn.[33] On the First, the environment is drowning in Light. Multiple teams worked to deliver this effect of "heavy and oppressive Light" without it feeling insufferable.[21][15][26] The art team adjusted color balance to avoid it getting washed out or make the various environments look too similar.[26] The sound team designed a "halation" sound effect that plays in areas overflowing with Light. It manifests as an ambient sound with high and low frequencies that is intended to evoke a sense of uneasiness and suffocation.[15][34] Another challenge in designing the First was setting it apart from the Source world; the different teams needed to consider how 10,000 years of diverging history would impact its culture despite featuring the same races of people.[26][35][36]

Tying into the broader theme, Shadowbringers challenges the assumption that the history written by the victors is "right".[37] In this vein, Oda was inspired by Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together to create a more complex story.[25] On the First, Dwarves are considered a "Beastman" race, unlike on the Source, which is an example of how the politics of victors influence the interpretation of history.[6][38] Ishikawa and Oda wanted to give players a better sense of the Ascians' perspective and motivations, since they had heretofore been enigmatic.[25] They chose Emet-Selch to convey this because of his connection to the Garlean Empire's founding. His personality draws influence from Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Oda was careful not to make him too similar to Ardyn Izunia, the villain of Final Fantasy XV.[39] Emet-Selch explains his history in order to humanize the Ascians and help players to understand their goals.[25] Ishikawa wrote Emet-Selch as a character whose actions are "monstrous", yet his background makes him "relatable on some level". She enjoyed evoking this tension and ambivalence in the audience.[40]

Two new playable races were released alongside Shadowbringers—Viera and Hrothgar. The Viera are based on the leporine race of the same name from Ivalice video games and the Hrothgar are based on the leonine Ronso from Final Fantasy X.[41] Players are only able to select females of the former and males of the latter to use as avatars. Yoshida explained that resource constraints prevented the team from adding all genders to the two races, chiefly the need to redesign and adjust the enormous library of existing equipment to fit with the new character models.[4] Within the fiction, male Viera and female Hrothgar are extremely rare and generally seclude themselves from other societies.[42] In choosing these two races, the development team wanted to address the audience's "overwhelming desire" for Viera as well as increase the variety of body types available with the "beastly" Hrothgar.[4][6] As this was likely the last opportunity to add a new race to the game owing to the cumulative costs of implementation, the team decided to only introduce one gender of each to satisfy both of these goals.[4]

Yoko Taro wrote the scenario for "YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse", a series of raids based on Nier: Automata.

As with Stormblood, Shadowbringers features a number of guest collaborators to assist with the design. The first is Yoko Taro, who wrote a scenario based on Nier: Automata for this game's large-scale raids.[5] Yoshida enjoys working with outside creators because they provide a different perspective and can challenge the development team to try new ideas.[5] Yoko's producer Yosuke Saito suggested the collaboration near the launch of Nier: Automata in 2017.[43] Players inundated the team with requests for Nier-themed costumes, but Yoshida wanted to wait to create a more thorough and in-depth crossover.[2] In "YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse", the adventurer joins the Dwarven twins Anogg and Konogg to investigate an archaeological dig site swarming with machine lifeforms. They meet an android dressed in white named 2P who aids them in defeating the machines. In addition to the story, this series of raids borrows game mechanics and character models from the Nier games as well, the latter contributed by PlatinumGames, the developer of Nier: Automata.[44][45] As Yoko is known for deleting the player's save data at the end of his games, he jokingly threatened to delete all player and server data for Final Fantasy XIV at the end of the Nier crossover story.[44][46] Another guest collaborator is Tetsuya Nomura, who was invited to contribute character designs for the "Eden" raids, inspired by the creature from Final Fantasy VIII.[47][48] He received story and lore notes but had free reign to interpret them how he wished.[28] Yoshida considers Nomura's designs to be an "essence" of Final Fantasy and desired his work to be represented in Final Fantasy XIV.[6]

Early access to Shadowbringers began on June 28, 2019 for people who pre-ordered the game with the full release on July 2, 2019.[49] To facilitate graphical enhancements, active support for 32-bit Windows operating systems and DirectX 9 rendering libraries ended with the launch of early access.[9][50] To promote the expansion, Square Enix filmed a commercial in which Tom Holland undergoes strength training to become a Warrior of Darkness and his roommate, Hannibal Buress, complains that such training is unnecessary to play a video game.[51] An Xbox version of the game was announced in November 2019.[52] Yoshida explained that his primary requirement for the Xbox release was cross platform interoperability with the PlayStation and PC versions.[53] In addition to delaying the release of Patch 5.3, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Square Enix to cancel events at PAX East 2020 in Boston, Final Fantasy XIV rock concerts in Tokyo, and the North American portion of Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2020 in San Diego.[54][55][56]

Patches

The development team schedules the release of a major update approximately every three months. Each of these free content patches includes a continuation of the main scenario as well as new raids, features, trials, and dungeons. Minor patches that come in between major updates focus on quality of life improvements. With Shadowbringers, Yoshida reallocated resources to facilitate the development of new types of content (e.g. Bozjan Southern Front, additional trials, etc.) by reducing the number of dungeons added in patches.[15][57] As with previous expansions, Square Enix plans to release five major patches for Shadowbringers over the course of its two-year content cycle.

Patches and expansions
Patch Title Release date Notes
5.0 Shadowbringers[58] July 2, 2019 Weekly limited content was not made available on the expansion's launch day in order to allow players to enjoy the story at their own pace. In the Eden's Gate storyline, released two weeks after launch, Thancred, Urianger, and Ryne recruit the Warrior of Darkness into restoring the global wasteland surrounding Norvrandt, the Empty, using the powers of a being believed to be the first sin eater named "Eden". They take control of it, only to be attacked by a mysterious figure, and summon different versions of Leviathan and Titan to restore water and earth aether to the Empty. Following the Warrior and Ryne's departure from the Empty to recuperate, Thancred and Urianger discuss the figure calling herself the "Oracle of Darkness".
5.1 "Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty"[18] October 29, 2019 The main feature of this patch is the first YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse raid, The Copied Factory. The dwarven twins Anogg and Konogg recruit the Warrior to investigate a dig site near the town of Komra and awaken an android named 2P. An adventuring party led by 2P investigates the ruins beyond the dig site and confront another android named 9S, who has taken control of the machines. Upon defeating 9S, 2P shuts down, while the twins take a comatose 9S into their custody. It also includes content such as an Ultimate tier battle, The Epic of Alexander; an Extreme trial against Hades; Blue Mage updates; a new PVP map, Onsal Hakair; Ishgardian Restoration phase 1; New Game+; and Pixie beast tribe.
5.2 "Echoes of a Fallen Star"[59] February 18, 2020 The main feature in this patch is Eden's Verse, in which the Warrior of Darkness and their group, now accompanied by Oracle of Darkness, Gaia, return to restore the remaining elements to the Empty. After defeating different versions of Ramuh, Ifrit, and Garuda to restore lightning, fire, and wind aether, Ryne offers to summon Shiva into herself to restore ice aether, only to lose control but is stopped by the Warrior and Gaia. Players return to Ala Mhigo in the Sorrow of Werlyt storyline, and are recruited by Gaius to destroy the first of the Ultima Weapon-based prototypes, the Ruby Weapon, only for it to turn into a manifestation of Nael van Darnus. Upon destroying the Weapon, Gaius learns that an orphan he once raised perished piloting it, and that his foster children are now serving under the reformed VIIth Legion. In the Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr storyline, players journey to southern Ilsabard to aid the Bozjan Resistance in recreating legendary weapons while learning the truth about the Meteor Project. This patch also introduced the Qitari beast tribe quests, more Ishgardian restoration, and ocean fishing. [60]
5.3 "Reflections in Crystal"[61] August 11, 2020 This patch was delayed two months by COVID; the development team was back to 90% capacity by June 2020 via remote work.[62][63][64] The main features of this patch include a revamp of A Realm Reborn's questline, flying in A Realm Reborn zones, and the second YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse raid, The Puppets' Bunker. The adventurer and the dwarven twins are betrayed by 2P, but are saved by another android named 2B. An adventuring party pursues the androids into a crashed installation called the Bunker and defeats 2P. While the Komran citizens debate on what to do with Anogg and Konogg, 2B leaves with 9S to continue her mission, and Anogg runs away out of guilt. The Sorrow of Werlyt storyline continues in this patch; Cid and Gaius enlist the adventurer into liberating an imperial-controlled town housing the remaining Weapons by having them pilot a mecha called the G-Warrior. After destroying the Sapphire Weapon guarding the town, Gaius resolves himself to destroy the Ultima Project and save his remaining children. Additional features include Unreal trials to update old fights; Dwarf beast tribe; Ishgard Restoration phase 3; Bozjan Southern Front; and a large upgrade to both the Free Trial and the Starter Edition.
5.4 "Futures Rewritten" December 8, 2020 The main feature of this patch is Eden's Promise. Following the Scions' departure from the First, the Warrior, Ryne, and Gaia discover that life has not yet returned to the Empty, prompting them to summon a different version of the Cloud of Darkness to restore dark aether. In doing so, they inadvertently free the Ascian Mitron, who was transformed into Eden following his defeat by Ardbert's hands, and had been calling out to Gaia to reawaken her memories as his partner Loghrif. After surviving Mitron's trials, he forcibly fuses with Gaia and declares his intent to create a utopia where time has no meaning. He faces the Warrior directly and is defeated, separating Gaia from Mitron and finally restoring the elements to the Empty. With Mitron's demise, Gaia is free to live as her own person without Ascian influence. The Sorrow of Werlyt storyline continues in this patch with the Emerald Weapon trial; Gaius discovers that the Emerald Weapon was moved underwater to Eorzea, and requests the Warrior's aid in destroying it. Upon destroying it, Gaius and his companions free one of his children, Allie, and learn from her that the VIIth has a fourth Weapon, the Diamond Weapon, and that its legatus Valens van Varro plans to usurp the imperial throne with it. Additional features include the final phase of Ishgardian Restoration, Blue Mage expansion and update, and Save the Queen continuation with the Delubrum Reginae raid.
5.5 "Death Unto Dawn" April 13, 2021

Music
Main article: Music of Final Fantasy XIV

Masayoshi Soken composed the majority of the expansion's score—over 50 tracks—in addition to his duties as sound director. Nobuo Uematsu was not able to contribute due to health concerns.[43] As such, Soken was in charge of writing the main theme, "Shadowbringers".[35] He wanted to defy expectations about making another orchestral title track. Consequently, "Shadowbringers" is the first main theme in the Final Fantasy series that uses guitar as the lead instrument.[65] Soken's favorite song from the soundtrack is "Tomorrow and Tomorrow", sung by Amanda Achen-Keenan, which serves as a reflection of the main theme.[15][66] The two songs have similar introductory phrases but "Shadowbringers" is in a minor key, whereas "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is in a major one, symbolizing the diverging paths that life can take.[34] Ishikawa explained that the latter is about passing the torch to another generation. The perspective of the singer is intentionally ambiguous and could plausibly refer to many characters.[40] Soken used tracks that were rearranged from earlier expansions as opportunities to train junior members of the sound team.[65]

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Original Soundtrack features music from Patch 4.4 through to the expansion, totaling 88 tracks. The album was released by Square Enix on September 11, 2019 on Blu-ray disc and includes a code for an exclusive "Wind-up Suzaku" in-game pet.[67] Fran Soto of Hardcore Gamer praised the dark atmosphere and "modern sound" of the soundtrack, including the lyrical flourishes of "Shadowbringers".[68] Justin Olivetti of Massively OP preferred "Insatiable", the boss battle theme, for its "pulse-pounding beat".[69] In her review of the game, Heather Alexandra of Kotaku commended Soken's versatility and ability to heighten story beats with his music.[70] She singled out "Neath Dark Waters", the theme for Amaurot; the metronomic tick-tock in the background counts down to the doom of this civilization.[65][71] Caitlin Argyros of RPGFan likewise noted this piece as an example of Soken's gift for rearrangement. She also enjoyed the recurring motifs from the "Shadowbringers" main theme throughout the soundtrack.[72] A fan favorite track was "Civilizations", the daytime theme for Rak'tika Greatwood; its main lyric "la hee" became an infamous earworm in the community.[73]

Reception

Shadowbringers was the highest rated Final Fantasy title since Final Fantasy XII in 2006.[84] Many critics regarded it as the best Final Fantasy story in years,[40][82][85] with some considering it a contender for best Final Fantasy game.[70][72][79][80][83] According to review aggregator Metacritic, it received "universal acclaim" for both PC and PlayStation 4 versions, based on 25 and 18 reviews, respectively.[74][75] Out of 46 reviews on OpenCritic, 98% recommended the game, with a top critic average score of 91.[76] Square Enix disclosed in an investor report that the expansion contributed to the company's increased net sales, operating income, and paying subscribers.[86] Two million players joined the game in the first six months since the expansion's launch in July 2019 for a global total of 18 million.[87]

Virtually all reviewers extolled the strength of the story and writing. Chris Carter of Destructoid and Steven Messner of PC Gamer called Shadowbringers the "Avengers: Endgame of Final Fantasy XIV" for the way it pays off storylines from previous expansions.[77][80] Mike Williams of USgamer observed that a central theme for Shadowbringers is "how people grow and twist in times of great despair". He pointed to the contrast between the altruistic cooperation of the Crystarium and the selfish hedonism of Eulmore as possible responses to a dying world.[82] Julia Lee of Polygon compared Eulmore to the class divides physically represented by the plates in Midgar from Final Fantasy VII.[88] A number of critics observed parallels between the First's Flood of Light and the creeping yet catastrophic effects of climate change.[23][71][81][89][90] Heather Alexandra of Kotaku lamented that economic inequality would likely lead to slave-driven enclaves like Eulmore in the real world after a climate-related collapse. She further linked the "unchecked energy of creation" that destroyed Amaurot to human ingenuity's role in causing the climate crisis.[71]

The characters of Shadowbringers earned kudos as well, particularly Ardbert and Emet-Selch. Kyle Campbell of IGN said Ardbert "stole the show" while debriefing the hero after each mission.[79] Natalie Flores of VG247 felt that Emet-Selch was a true foil to the main character and that the writing for his character was a high water mark for the series. She commended scenario writer Natsuko Ishikawa for balancing him as a sympathetic villain without justifying his reprehensible supremacist beliefs.[23] Messner called Emet-Selch the "best Final Fantasy nemesis since Kefka".[80] Alexandra appreciated the "adversarial" but "genuinely playful" dynamic that he brought to the group.[91] She attributed part of his appeal to his voice actor, René Zagger.[92] However, she criticized the use of fatphobic tropes in the depiction of Vauthry.[71] The voice cast overall was well received.[79][80][82] Many reviewers also enjoyed the immersive quality of Trust companions' dialogue and preferred to explore dungeons for the first time using Trusts as a result.[70][83][88]

Another focal point of praise was the game's friendliness to new players.[88] Despite its connections to past story beats, setting the expansion in a new world allowed the writers to reintroduce existing characters.[93] Ricardo Contreras of Waypoint compared Shadowbringers favorably to the new player experience for Destiny 2.[93] Multiple commentators looked to the Trust system as valuable, both for aiding new and experienced players in learning mechanics and for improving wait times for dungeons.[70][78][79][83][88] Daniel Tack of Game Informer and Leif Johnson of PC World cautioned against buying the paid "story skip" and "level boost" items, instead recommending players to experience the story for themselves.[78][83] However, Contreras appreciated the onboarding tutorials that accompany these items.[93]

Critics took note of the game's setting on another world. The region of Il Mheg was commonly used as an example of the expansion's diverse color palette; Lee said it "doesn't look like anything else we've seen in Final Fantasy XIV".[80][81][82][88] Williams likewise complimented Lakeland for its "vibrant purple forest that leads to the magnificent crystal tower at the center of the Crystarium".[82] Carter considered Amh Araeng too similar to other desert areas in the game but agreed that the rest of the new regions were impressive.[77] Gameplay reception focused on the new jobs and the pacing. Between Gunbreaker and Dancer, the latter received far more plaudits.[70][79][81][82][83] Campbell remarked on the synchrony between the job's theming and its gameplay, calling it "as exciting as it is full of utility".[79] In contrast, Williams opined that Gunbreaker lacked a defining feature and did not "particularly excel in any one area".[82] With respect to pacing, Tack and Messner both criticized the use of "fetch quests" but felt that the narrative hid them well.[78][80] Alexandra found some parts of the story dragged, such as Amh Araeng, but the high points far outweighed them.[70]

Reviewers considered Shadowbringers to be the culmination of Final Fantasy XIV's redemption arc, from its disastrous 2010 launch to its rebirth to now.[70][79][83][88] Despite largely following the "formula cemented back in [A Realm Reborn]", Carter enjoyed the consistency and said the game is "arguably the best it has ever been".[77] Johnson called Shadowbringers a titan of the MMORPG genre that "towers so far over its contemporary rivals that it drowns them in its shadow".[83] During the 2019 awards cycle, it won "Best MMO" from RPGFan,[94] as well as "Best Expansion" from PC Gamer and Massively OP.[90][95] IGN and PlayStation Blog named it "Best Ongoing Game".[96][97] RPGFan also awarded it "Game of the Year".[98] Japanese fans voted Emet-Selch as the sixth greatest Final Fantasy character in NHK's Grand Poll.[99] In 2020, it won the Famitsu・Dengeki Game Award for "Best Online Game" and the SXSW Gaming Award for "Excellence in Multiplayer".[100][101]

Notes
  1. In Japanese: ファイナルファンタジーXIV: 漆黒の反逆者（ヴィランズ） (Hepburn: Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn: Shikkoku no Viranzu, lit. Final Fantasy XIV: Jet Black Villains)

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