At PAX East 2015, Square Enix announced that the Heavensward expansion for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will launch on June 23 in North America and Europe for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Heavensward features a new story set in the Dragonsong War, which is a thousand-year conflict between the knights of Ishgard and the dragons of Dravania. Raising the level cap from 50 to 60 for all disciplines, you’ll also find a new playable race, new dungeons and raids, new primal battles, and new mounts, including flying black chocobos, single-rider airships, dragons, and more.
Here’s more detailed information about Heavensward:
- All the Hallmarks of the Final Fantasy Franchise – Including genre-leading graphics and real-time cut scenes, an all-new soundtrack, and an immersive story experience.
- New Player Race, the Au Ra – With unique curved horns and scaled skin, the Au Ra hail from the eastern continent of Othard.
- New Jobs: Dark Knight, Astrologian and Machinist – Players will be able to master three Final Fantasy jobs such as Dark Knight (Tank) who wields a two-handed greatsword and the power of darkness, Astrologian (Healer) who use a divining deck and star globe to call on the powers of the stars to heal allies and support party members, or Machinist (DPS) who deals damage from afar by using a combination of firearms and mechanical turrets that can be deployed on the battlefield.
- High-End Raids – includes a new raid dungeon series within the mechanical colossus “Alexander,” based off the legendary boss in the Final Fantasy series.
- New Beast Tribes and Powerful Primals – Players will encounter the Vanu Vanu and their primal, Bismarck, and the Gnath, and their primal Ravana, allowing players to form new allegiances.
In a Q&A on the PlayStation Blog, Director Naoki Yoshida talked about what you’ll need to play Heavensward:
If you already own A Realm Reborn and you get Heavensward, you’ll be able to at least enter Ishgard. The new jobs added in Heavensward are not tied to the main story, so those are accessible as well. In terms of the story, if you want to enjoy the Heavensward story arc, since it’s tied to the upcoming 2.55 patch, it’s a prerequisite to have finished that content. If a player had stopped playing around patch 2.2 or 2.3, I’d recommend choosing one of the new jobs and leveling that up while catching up on the story, then transitioning into Heavensward.
Will you be playing Heavensward in June?
[Source: PS Blog]
