FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood: an overview

Are you about to start your adventures in Stormblood? Here's a taste of what to expect!
Por Duncan Heaney

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood expanded the critically acclaimed MMO in spectacular style.

It added a massive amount of new content to the game, including an epic new story, two hugely entertaining new jobs, new regions to explore and loads more.

If you’ve played A Realm Reborn or Heavensward, you may have already experienced some of the new features that were added to the game alongside the second expansion, including swimming and diving as well as the awesome Blue Mage job. But that’s barely scratching the surface of what Stormblood has to offer.

In case you missed the news, the expansion is free to any players with the FINAL FANTASY XIV Starter Edition until May 28, 2023. Be sure to claim it now if you haven’t already:

You may be wondering what else to expect when you start playing. Here’s a rundown of just some of the highlights:


The Main Scenario is about the liberation of Ala Mhigo and Doma

Following the dramatic events of Heavensward, the Eorzean Alliance has turned its attention to the city-state of Ala Mhigo, now occupied by the Garlean Empire. As the leaders discuss potential plans, the Warrior of Light and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are dispatched to venture beyond the towering Baelsar's Wall and connect with the Resistance.

It quickly becomes clear that the liberation of Ala Mhigo is going to be no easy task. It doesn’t take long before the heroes find themselves embroiled in a sweeping story full of exciting action, dramatic twists and political intrigue… and one of their most dangerous adversaries yet.

That’s all very intentionally vague, but we don’t want to ruin any of the twists and turns of this part of the story. Suffice to say, It’s an important part of the FINAL FANTASY XIV saga with a lot of memorable moments.

The epic original trailer offers another tantalizing tease of what to expect:

It introduces two new jobs - Red Mage and Samurai

A new expansion means new jobs, and FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood adds two hugely exciting options: Red Mage and Samurai.

Both are DPS jobs but offer up distinctly different playstyles. Let’s take a closer look:

Red Mage

What do you prefer to use in battle: magic or brute force? The Red Mage lets you use both.

This hybrid job relies on rapiers, red magic and impressive agility to take on foes. If you could not choose between the Black Mage and White Mage jobs, maybe you’ll be swayed by Red Mages’ ability to chain together spells and melee attacks that allows them to deal staggering amounts of damage to the enemy.

Should they take a hit themselves, they even have access to healing magic! This really is an incredibly versatile job… and enormous fun to play and experiment with.

Samurai

Samurais specialize in the katana, using the distinctive curved blade and special techniques to deliver incredible damage to foes. They utilize the art of ‘Sen’ - basically, they store energy through various techniques, and use it to unleash devastatingly powerful attacks.

If you’re the type of player who likes to focus purely on offence, this is definitely a job you should try out. It doesn’t have much in the way of support activities, but the damage potential more than makes up for that. Once you master its unique playstyle, you’ll feel you can take on any foe.


Ask the Developers

Samurai was one of the new playable job introduced in Stormblood. What was your inspiration to design the Samurai skills visually?

Shinya Ichida, Art Team Lead: We sought to create effects that would be pleasing to the eye and that players would relish executing, while not being overly flashy and retaining the refined and efficient movements of a samurai.

We wanted to make actions using Kenki look special. To this end we used red, the concept colour of samurai, and created a unified approach to colour expression that enables players to visually identify the actions as those that use Kenki. We also incorporated an aura effect that players could associate with Kenki as well.

Sen represents the stillness and movement of Iaijutsu. When we designed the motions of Gekko, Kasha, and Yukikaze, we aimed for a more realistic expression that would not come across as too ‘magical’ in appearance.

We managed to get our hands on early development sketches for some of the Samurai animations. Can you recognize these animations?


It opens up new regions to explore

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood takes you to the Far East - and new regions full of unique sights that are quite unlike anything you’ve seen in Eorzea before.

You’ll get to explore the Gyr Abania region, including the occupied Ala Mhigo and - for the first time in FINAL FANTASY XIV Online - you’ll leave Eorzea and head to a new continent: Othard.

There, you’ll traverse the Ruby Sea and Yanxia… to take your first steps into Doma - a kingdom suffering under the oppressive rule of the Garlean Empire. We wrote about its tragic history a couple of weeks ago - go check it out:


The Forbidden Land of Eureka appears

A mysterious new region surfaces in FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood - the mysterious land of Eureka.

This vast, uncharted land is coated with a thick atmosphere of aether, and where elemental properties are very important. Exploring the magical land offers a brand-new gameplay experience, with a unique levelling system in which you gain elemental EXP to strengthen your skills and harness those elements in battle. Be careful though - enemies can also use the elements and may have a few surprises in store for an unwary adventurer.

Up to 144 players can participate, and it’s worth working together because this is a dangerous land. It’s worth exploring though - you can earn some incredible rewards, including special crystals to enhance powerful Relic Gear.

Plus it’s really fun!


It introduces new Raid series: Return to Ivalice and Omega

Two new raid series made their debut in Stormblood, and they’re pretty exciting.

Return to Ivalice raid series

Return to Ivalice follows the Lexentale family - members of the Majestic Imperial Theatre Company. They are searching for the story behind the fabled land of Ivalice, and their first lead will send you into the ruins of the Royal City of Rabanastre… and real danger.

Some of these names may sound familiar to fans of FINAL FANTASY XII, and for good reason: the raid series involves guest creator Yasumi Matsuno (FINAL FANTASY XII / FINAL FANTASY Tactics) as well as Keita Amemiya - creator of the GARO television and film series!

Omega raid series

During the dramatic battle with the Primal at the end of FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward’s main scenario, our heroes lost track of Omega as it soared over the horizon into Gyr Abania.

Now it’s time to locate it… and find some surprising truths about its origins. Omega’s got some tough battles to give you, and it’s not going to take no for an answer in this thrilling and challenging raid series.

Can you supress the threat of Omega, or will it destroy Eorzea?


It increases the level cap to 70

For those of you who have wrapped up Heavensward and hit level cap, this will be wonderful news: with Stormblood, you can take your characters from level 60 to level 70!


That’s barely scratching the surface of what Stormblood has to offer. If you have or purchase the FINAL FANTASY XIV Starter Edition, you experience this epic expansion absolutely free.

This promotion is only available until May 28, 2023, so be sure to claim it quickly if you haven’t already!

Head over to the FINAL FANTASY XIV website to find out more:

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