Dawntrail is fast approaching in Final Fantasy XIV, and the developer is dropping more and more hints about the two new jobs it’ll bring.
At London’s Fan Festival, which took place on Oct. 21 and 22, game director and producer Naoki Yoshida revealed one of the upcoming jobs: The Viper. It’s a melee DPS wielding two swords that combine into one twinblade. The Viper certainly sounds exciting, but the other upcoming job is still shrouded in mystery.
It was confirmed to be a Caster DPS at the Las Vegas Fan Festival in July, but that’s all we know for now. At present, there are three Caster DPS jobs in FFXIV: Black Mage, Red Mage, and Summoner. Tank mains have to wait a few more years before they get a new job, after the Gunbreaker released with Shadowbringers in 2019.
Dawntrail is planned to launch in Summer 2024, and players can expect more information about its features over the coming months. Fans are hoping more details will be revealed at Tokyo’s Fan Festival, planned for Jan. 7 and 8, 2024.
Meanwhile, here are our theories on what the next Caster DPS job will be.
Which Caster DPS will be added in FFXIV: Dawntrail?
There are many jobs from the Final Fantasy license that have yet to join FFXIV, but alternatively, the developers could surprise us with an entirely new job instead. The Reaper, latest DPS job released with Endwalker, is exclusive to the MMO and had never appeared as a job in a Final Fantasy game before.
This could well happen again in the upcoming expansion, but equally, it could also be a familiar job from a previous Final Fantasy game. Here are our picks for jobs we think could be added in Dawntrail.
Green Mage
The Green Mage appeared in Final Fantasy XII, TCG, and several Tactical titles. This mage uses buffs and debuffs as its main combat tools, which would make it very different to other DPS jobs in FFXIV.
In other titles, the Green Mage uses spells like Protect to mitigate damage and Blind to impair enemies. It would be a caster focused on support, similarly to the Dancer and Bard. Many FFXIV players think the Green Mage is a likely addition because of hints dropped with Patch 6.5 in October, the last Major patch before the expansion.
In the last scene of the Main Scenario Quests added with the update, Krile discovers a three-leafed clover pendant, which appears to be the Green Mage’s symbol. Additionally, Yoshida gave another hint during the Fan Festival’s keynote, showing a green T-shirt with Ninja Turtles on it. Players speculated the color could hint at the Green Mage.
Necromancer
The Necromancer job appeared in several Final Fantasy games before. Like the name suggests, they use dark magic by turning the dead against the living. They can summon evil minions to do their bidding and curse their enemies with poison and other status afflictions.
This job would fit well into the current roster of casters: It’d be the first one to use dark magic, with a style distinct to the Black Mage. It could be a mix between a Black Mage and a Summoner, calling upon evil spirits and using spells to deal damage. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the Necromancer added in Dawntrail.
Time Mage
The Time Mage is self-explanatory, and its name alone is enough to imagine just how much it would add to FFXIV‘s caster roster. This job has appeared in numerous Final Fantasy titles before, and uses all kinds of abilities revolving around time manipulation.
As the name suggests, Time Mages can slow down enemies or quicken the pace of allies. They’re support-oriented casters in many FF games, which would make it the first job of its kind among FFXIV‘s current caster roster—it would provide buffs and debuffs, akin to the Bard and Dancer.
Status afflictions related to time aren’t common in FF, although some enemies can slow players down. It would be intriguing to see how Square Enix incorporates these themes into FFXIV‘s gameplay. Since the Time Mage is a staple job from the license, it makes a lot of sense for it to join the MMO.
Published: Oct 26, 2023 07:09 am