FFXIV Endwalker preview: 4 big changes to expect

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn’s fourth expansion is Endwalker, and Inverse got a hands-on preview of the new Jobs, locations, and dungeon that come with it.

These impressions are based on a pre-release build that’s still undergoing changes, so anything you see here is subject to change before release (and may contain spoilers).

Both Reaper and Sage start at level 70, so you should have a good deal of experience with FFXIV before you start playing. That’s a good thing because both will take some skill to play well.

The Reaper fights with a giant scythe and uses their bond with an otherworldly avatar to power their attacks.

Like the Reaper, the Sage balances multiple resources to power their abilities. They use weapons called Nouliths (essentially magical laser-firing drones) to attack enemies and heal allies.

A resource called Addersgall generates over time in combat, much like the White Mage’s Blood Lillies. It can be spent to power healing and barrier skills.

Addersting is generated by using an ability to create an empowered barrier around an ally then letting the barrier be destroyed. It’s used to power offensive skills like an area-of-effect laser blast.

In Endwalker, you’ll find it easier to keep combos going, since actions like ranged attacks no longer break them. That frees up lots of Jobs to be more flexible in combat.

Some classes have had major reworks. The Summoner is losing all of its damage-over-time abilities but gaining the ability to call in Primals (like Ifrit and Garuda) for support.

There’s also level 90 gear to look forward to, which riffs on old armor sets while adding new twists to their designs.

Thavnair is a gorgeous new setting, with brightly painted buildings and the imposing Tower of Zot dungeon looming in the background.

Dancer mains should feel right at home here, as Thavnair is where the Job was canonically developed.

Though not as pretty, Garlemald is the more interesting location for its story implications. In Endwalker, you’ll be picking through the rubble of Garlemald, which is overrun with rogue machines.

Old Sharlayan serves as a hub city in Endwalker. Like Thavnair, it’s been mentioned a lot in FFXIV, but this is the first time players will set foot there.

Endwalker’s entire main story will be available at release, unlike previous expansions which left some content for later patches.

Story content wasn’t available in the preview build, but we at least know that Garlemald is in for rough times, and the first dungeon includes a trio of summoned Primals that should be familiar to old-school Final Fantasy players.

Director Naoki Yoshida tells Inverse it wasn’t until the launch of Stormblood in 2017 that the team began to consider ending the current story. Up until then, he says, they weren’t even sure how many more expansions they would get to make.

He likens FFXIV’s expansions to seasons of a TV show, saying he didn’t want the story to lose its impact by being stretched thin for too many years.