Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringers expansion coming summer 2019

The Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival is underway in Las Vegas and the fans there were just introduced to the next major update for the MMORPG. Final Fantasy 14: Stormbringers is the next expansion and will launch early summer 2019.

Nova Crystallis watched the event and reported all of the pertinent details that came along with the debut of the Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringer trailer. The full recap, including the impending removal of support for 32-bit Windows and the new "World Visit" system, can be found in Nova Crystallis' thorough breakdown. A handful of the major updates coming in the 4.5 patch for Final Fantasy 14 and Shadowbringer (patch 5.0) are as follows:

Multiple new jobs
Level increase from 70 to 80
TP and MP to be consolidated into ‘MP’
New areas: the Rak-Tika Greatwood and Amh Araeng
New Primals and Beast Tribes will be added — a new best tribe will be the ‘Nu Mou’ original featured in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
Nine new dungeons coming in 5.0
New high-level raid series
New alliance raid series
End-game content for the Disciples of the Land and Hand will include the restoration of Ishgard
New Game+ will be added in 5.0, allows you to replay the Main Scenario Quest at the strength of your current progress
A new playable race: Viera

The team will be working on battle system maintenance to balance things out amid all the new changes. A new Trust system is also on the way and it will allow players to recruit NPCs to help them fight through dungeons. This particular mechanic won't replace matchmaking entirely, but will likely be a boon to those attempting to get through lesser-traveled areas at the time.

Last, but certainly not least, Final Fantasy 14 will be welcoming the legendary Blue Mage. This job will start with a level 50 cap (will expand after Shadowbringer launch), is considered "limited," and won't be tied to any Class. With it, Monster actions and abilities will be learned from fights instead of by leveling up your character. The job will debut and get an exclusive duty called The Masked Carnival in patch 4.5.

Final Fantasy 14 patch 4.5 doesn't have a specific release date, but is the next patch for the game. Along with story elements that lead into Shadowbringers next summer, players are about to get a solid dose of new content very soon. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.