Final Fantasy XIV Gets New Info on Stormblood Expansion, New Data Center, Male Bunny Outfits and More

DualShockers

By Giuseppe Nelva

Published Mar 11, 2017

Final Fantasy XIV Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida announces a new North American data center and answers questions from the fans about the future o the game.

During a panel at PAX East, Final Fantasy XIV Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida hosted a panel in which he answered questions from the fans.

Below you can check out a recap of all the details he shared.

Yoshida-san mentioned in jest that he hates Cleric stance for healers, but if it was removed, people would be mad, so it's going to stay through the battle changes coming with the Stormblood expansion. That said, healers are supposed to heal, so they should focus on that.
The weekly restriction on Alexander Savage and Dun Scaith will be removed.
Maybe, if we get to go to the lands of Sharlayan in the future (Yoshida-san joked saying that it could come in 6.0 or 7.0) we might get to wear their iconic goggles.
Crafters and gatherers will also get adjustments in their skills and actions with the level cap increase coming with Stormblood. There won't be new gatherer or crafter classes in the expansion.
Enochian is going to be changed to become persistent. This is not final yet, and there will be more information coming in the future. The team intends to explain the changes to the battle system and classes before the expansion is released.
In the new city of Kugane you will be able to climb to very high places, but it's very difficult to get there.
The team is working on updating the eternal bond feature (the in-game wedding), and it could come in version 4.1 or 4.2. Information on this will come later.
The team is working on a Krile outfit for the Mog Station.
There will be future seasonal events that will involve dungeons.
The male bunny outfit is done for Hyuran and Roegadyn, the team has been working on the other races, but since they have been focusing on Stormblood, work is on hold for now. Yoshida-san mentioned that he checked the one for hyuran, and it's pretty sexy.
Developing a portable orchestrion-pod is a good idea, but it would require a lot of work by the sound team. That said, Yoshida-san will talk with them about it.
There isn't a plan currently to add set bonuses to raid gear, but the team might look into it.
In Stormblood characters that did not had much spotlight time in earlier parts of the story, will get more screen time.
Mannequins or racks to display your weapons and armor in your house will be implemented in the 4.X series of updates.
Including more density of super-challenging raid content might be difficult unless the team is increased in size. Striking a balance between challenge and accessibility is not easy. That said, the team is looking to add content for those who already cleared the raids. More info will come at a later date.
Square Enix is going to move and upgrade the North American data center to a new one equipped with the latest gear, to provide the best possible service. The move will happen in the middle of May before the launch on Stormblood. A forum post with an explanation and dates will come soon.

If you want to see more about the Stormblood expansion, you can check out the latest trailer, and some rather awesome screenshots.

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood will release on June 20th exclusively for PC and PS4, with the PS3 version of the game getting discontinued. PS3 users are eligible to a free upgrade to the PS4 version, and you can find out how to get it here.

Incidentally, DualShockers just interviewed Yoshida-san at PAX, so we have more information coming very soon. Look forward to it.