FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers - we answer your questions

We answer some of the most frequently-asked questions about the new Shadowbringers expansion
By Duncan Heaney

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers is out and loads of you have already embarked on your journey to become the Warrior of Darkness.

But with a new release comes new questions. So we thought it might be helpful to answer some of the most common here.

Starting with…


What level do I have to be to play Shadowbringers?

To prepare for FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers, you have to have met a few criteria.

Specifically, you need to have a level 70 Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic character, and have completed the main scenario of FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood.

Fortunately, you’ll almost certainly have achieved that if you’ve played through the expansions. If not… that actually brings us to another query…


Is it difficult to catch up to Shadowbringers if I’m behind, or just starting out?

We’re now three expansions in and there’s a lot of content in FINAL FANTASY XIV Online.

While most of it’s fun to play through, you don’t need to worry about catching up if you’re a long way behind. If you want to boost your story progression to get closer to the Shadowbringers content, you can do so by purchasing a Tales of Adventure item.

These items fast-track your job level and progression, so you can get both to the required level to start playing Shadowbringers. Simply head over here to get one:

Should I skip ahead to Shadowbringers?

Hmm… that depends.

If you have friends embarking on their journey into The First, and you want to join them, a Tales of Adventure item lets you do it. Alternatively, if you simply must play the new stuff as soon as possible, this will let you get to it faster.

But truth be told, if you don’t need to catch up with other players, and you’re willing to wait, you shouldn’t feel the need to hurry.

Heavensward and Stormblood are both packed full of fantastic quests, stories and areas that are absolutely worth experiencing. You shouldn’t let FOMO make you rush - Shadowbringers isn’t going anywhere.

So basically, it’s entirely up to you.


Can I run FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers?

Here are the basic requirements you’ll need to play the game.

Minimum system requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7 64 bit, Windows 8.1 64 bit, Windows 10 64 bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 2.4GHz or better
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX750 or better AMD Radeon R7 260X or better
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 60 GB available space
  • Sound Card: A sound card which supports DirectSound

Recommended system requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7 64 bit, Windows 8.1 64 bit, Windows 10 64 bit
  • Processor: Intel Core™i7 3GHz or higher
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX970 or higher AMD Radeon™ RX 480 or higher
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 60 GB available space
  • Sound Card: A sound card which supports DirectSound

Oh, and regardless of specs, you’ll need an active broadband internet connection. Obviously.

What’s the song in the Shadowbringers trailer?

Yeah, awesome isn’t it? It’s called ‘Shadowbringers’ and it was composed by the great Masayoshi Soken.

You can listen to it here:

Which brings us to another common question about the song:


What are the lyrics in the Shadowbringers trailer song?

A lot of you have wondered about the words spoken during the Shadowbringers theme.

Well, wonder no longer. In a recent blog on the official FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Lodestone website, Bayohne from the North American community team posted the full lyrics to the song. We’re not going to write them all out here, because it’s pretty long, but here’s an excerpt:

One brings shadow, one brings light

Two-toned echoes tumbling through time

Threescore wasted, ten cast aside

Four-fold knowing, no end in sight

One brings shadow, one brings light

One dark future no one survives

On their shadows, away we fly

They’re packed with meaning - when you’ve played Shadowbringers, you’ll definitely have an ‘ahhhh - I get it!’ moment.

You can read the full lyrics here:

What new jobs are in Shadowbringers?

Two new jobs have been added to FINAL FANTASY XIV with Shadowbringers: Gunbreaker and Dancer.

Gunbreakers are a tank class - they stand up front taking hits for the party and dishing out some serious pain in return. Oh, and they use gunblades - which are among the coolest weapons in FINAL FANTASY.

Dancers, on the other hand, use their smooth moves to hurt foes, buff their allies and more. It’s a very different way to play the game, but with the right setup, they can be devastatingly effective.


What’s the best job in Shadowbringers?

Well... there isn’t one. That’s kinda the point, right?

Every job is viable, so it really comes down to what kind of player you are. For example, some people want to keep things simple and hit things with something big, sharp and shiny - Gunbreakers, Dark Knights (the job featured heavily in the Shadowbringers trailers) and Warriors fit the bill there.

On the other hand, some like to stand back and use ranged abilities or magic to hurt or weaken enemies - they’ll likely gravitate towards jobs like Dancer, Black Mage or Red Mage.

Basically, it’s your call. But one of the coolest things about FINAL FANTASY XIV Online as a whole, is that you can change jobs quickly and easily - so just experiment and find the one you like!

There’s a great guide to the different jobs on The Lodestone - we recommend you take a look at that to help you make a decision.

Can I play FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers for free?

You’ll need to have bought the Shadowbringers expansion and have an active FINAL FANTASY XIV Online subscription to play the game.

That said, you can certainly get a taster of the base game for free! There's a free trial that lets you take A Realm Reborn for a spin. It lets play through the scenario quests and try out all the original jobs up to level 35.

Then, if you like the game, you can either get the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Starter Edition, which lets you pay a one-off fee and play through the A Realm Reborn scenario and take all jobs to level 50, or the Complete Edition, which gives you all expansions including Shadowbringers.


How can I listen to the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers soundtrack?

FINAL FANTASY XIV Online wasn’t short of great music already, and Shadowbringers adds even more amazing tracks.

As with the other releases, the soundtrack will be made available to buy - we’re afraid we can’t say when that is just yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we can.

For now, you can listen to some of the music in-game via the Orchestrian rolls.

Can I play my FINAL FANTASY XIV Online character on both PS4 and PC?

Yes you can. Any character you create with your Square Enix account can be used on PC and PS4 - provided you have purchased each platform’s version.

Bear in mind that the user interface for each platform is slightly different, so you’ll have to set up your character, shortcuts, et cetera again if you move from one to the other.


What’s the max level in FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers?

The launch of the new expansion has raised the level cap for all standard jobs to 80.

Cue cheers and confetti from long-term players.


How do I play the Nier:Automata Raid?

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers will get a new raid from the creative minds behind NieR:Automata.

We’ll have more information to share about it in the future, but we can confirm that it will be added to the game in a future patch, and you’ll need to be level 80 to do it.

Also, it’ll be very cool.

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