Developer Square Enix recently announced that "Final Fantasy XIV" will have its second expansion by 2017. The "Stormblood" DLC will also mark the end of PlayStation 3 support for the game.
"Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood" was formally unveiled during the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2016 event held in Las Vegas last Oct. 14 and 15. The upcoming expansion is expected to bring in a huge amount of new content and features, which was explained in the official subreddit for the game.
The second expansion will take place in the city of Ala Mhigo, which, the developer assured, will not be desert or a wasteland. Instead, it will have a forest environment. Players will then have to get it back from the Garlean Empire, who has taken it 20 years ago. Zenos Yae Galvus, 12th Legion Legatus and de facto ruler of Ala Mhigo, will be the main antagonist.
Players can then expect the level cap to be increased to 70, for all classes, which also brings in a new job for the players. The battle system and skill system will also be overhauled to accommodate the changes related to the new level cap. There will be new places that are going to be introduced, which are comparable to the Heavensward areas.
The announcement said: "New Primals to be introduced, including known names and all-new original-to-FF14 ones. New Dungeons to be introduced with new battle and dungeon concepts to be introduced. High-End Raids to also be added, with possibility of different story depending on difficulty, with normal on odd patches, savage on even."
Square Enix also took the opportunity to inform its fans that the next expansion pack will not be available to PlayStation 3 gamers. They have noticed that the players are shifting from the old console to the current-generation console. The studio also offers a free upgrade to those who will migrate to the newer gaming system.
Square Enix mentioned that the amount of content that will come with the DLC is worth a full standalone game. A trailer was also released for the upcoming DLC.
"Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood" is expected to have an early summer 2017 release on the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. However, no exact date has been established at the moment.
