Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Finally setting foot into Ishgard should be grand

Final Fantasy XIV’s new expansion, Heavensward, is giving players the chance to finally step into Ishgard the land has been closed off since the MMORPG’s beginning. Final Fantasy XIV’s storyline has been building to what’s behind Ishgard’s gate.

However, Square Enix isn’t just giving players a new place to explore; it’s also adding plenty of other new content. Heavensward introduces a storyline involving the Holy See of Ishgard during the thousandyear Dragonsong War. The area definitely holds a high-fantasy vibe; expect plenty of dragons and majestic lands. Floating islands (an homage to Final Fantasy VI) are scattered about, and you take to the skies via mounts to reach them. So far, Square Enix has shown off dragon, chocobo, and griffin mounts for the expansion.

Heavensward also adds options like a new playable race called the Au Ra. If you’ve been playing, you might have seen a cloaked character that’s part of this race. The Au Ra hail from the eastern continent of Othard and their features consist of horns, scaley skin, and tails. If you want to change your race, a fantasia will be available in the in the collector’s edition; otherwise, you can purchase it for ten dollars.

Three new jobs also make their debut in Heavensward the dark knight, astrologian, and machinist. The dark knight functions as a tank, wielding a two-handed greatsword and harnessing the power of darkness. The astrologian is a healer who can use a deck of cards and star globe to tap into healing and support powers. The machinist allows you to use firearms and mechanical turrets to hurt the enemy from afar. You’ll also be able to form new allegiances. More primals based off of Final Fantasy summons are in Heavensward. The Vanu Vanu tribe’s primal is Bismarck, while the Gnath have Ravana. Fans have been acquainted with Bismarck since Final Fantasy VI, but Ravana was created specifically for Heavensward.

The level cap has been raised from 50 to 60. Most of the content in Ishgard is in this range, so if you’re not there yet, now is the time to get there before launch. New raid options also exist thanks to mechanical giant Alexander; you actually fight him from the inside. For instance, one section of the raid occurs in his arm, another is in his chest. Another big change is having “normal” and “hard” options for raids. Hard mode will function on the same difficulty of past raids. While the story content of both modes is the same, you’ll get better gear and items for playing on hard.

Square Enix has been listening to feedback, incorporating as much as possible into the expansion, such as the different raid difficulties and a firearm class. Let’s hope that Heavensward is everything fans have been waiting for. After all, those gates to Isghard have been closed for a long time, teasing what’s behind them.