Leak reveals details of the new class in Final Fantasy XIV’s Evercold expansion By Beatriz
8 min read
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The gradual reveal tour for the ambitious “Evercold” expansion for Final Fantasy 14 continues to generate great anticipation among fans. Enthusiasm is growing both due to the significant changes to the MMO’s gameplay and the character customization, which promises to be the most detailed among all expansions, keeping the community engaged for the Fanfest final in Tokyo, Japan, in October.
However, one of the most debated topics at Berlin Fanfest was something that otherwise went almost entirely unnoticed at the event. For those who follow the discussions about “Evercold” and the information released in the two main keynotes so far, conversations about rumors regarding the ranged physical DPS work that will be launched with the expansion probably have not gone unnoticed.
I dare say that this is the main driver of excitement for the Tokyo keynote, in addition, of course, to the pre-sale and launch dates for the expansion. This work has the potential to be one of the most anticipated in the entire game, especially as Yoshi-P and his team are moving away from legacy work. However, all the speculation may not be exactly what it seems.
Visna attracts attention amid Bastion’s spotlight at Berlin Fanfest
For the audience present or online, the first part of the Final Fantasy 14 Fanfest Berlin keynote was dedicated to Tank’s new work, Bastion, which will arrive with the “Evercold” expansion early next year. Bastion, deservedly, had its moment to shine as one of the most visually unique Tanks in the game, standing out alongside the Paladin as the other designated “main tank”. There is no doubt that many players will try it out during the main questline of “Evercold”, regardless of any criticisms, as every established work deserves a fair chance.
Despite Bastion’s striking entrance during the extended trailer for “Evercold”, the public was more intrigued by something that preceded it and which, until now, remains unexplained. Positioned atop the first airship in the trailer, a young Miqo’te named Visna (according to Yoshi-P) is initially seen manipulating a luminous tool or weapon.
The scene focuses on the tool in his hand before zooming in to show an armored falcon-like pet playing with it. Then, Visna appears to accidentally cast a water rune spell with the tool. Again, the image fixes on the symbol projected by the spell, which to me resembles a bird in flight. Opinions on social media about this symbol are varied and mostly inconclusive, but there is more to consider.
This whole sequence with Visna could very well be a clue to “Evercold’s” highly anticipated ranged physical DPS work, and much of the internet seems to agree with that. The general consensus points to something like a Falconer, although other possible names, such as Hunter or Ranger, have been mentioned. Additionally, Final Fantasy 14 music composer Masayoshi Soken likely helped the community connect the dots at a subsequent developer panel. However, part of this scene in the trailer could also be a “red herring” of sorts.
The focus on Visna and her tool or weapon is likely intended to confuse players, at least in part. In other words, she is not the actual mascot of the work in question. The tool she holds and the water rune that appears as she tries to ward off the bird may simply refer to her personal occupation aboard the airship Naglfar. Although Yoshi-P avoided revealing too much about her or the story, he did say that she will be an “important character” in “Evercold.” It’s basically at this point that the topic of Visna and her actions in the scene was abruptly closed.
However, the hawk that bothers her certainly remains a central point of discussion, as it was clearly shown for a reason. The scene ends with him abruptly flying off the screen, as if there is more to be revealed about him. Perhaps flying to return to its handler, whoever represents the job at hand. Throughout Final Fantasy 14’s history, jobs have traditionally been displayed by the Warrior of Light or one of the Scions. Dawntrail featured newcomer Krile brandishing the Pictomancer job, while WoL revealed Viper, so that could be the case here. Or maybe “Evercold” is about to break that convention in some other way. For now, players will have to wait until the end of October to find out.
Composer Masayoshi Soken reinforces fans’ suspicions about new work
While the trailer left speculation up to the community’s imagination, there was something composer Masayoshi Soken revealed during the Sound Design panel later that day that all but confirmed the rumors surrounding the possibility of Falconer being the mysterious DPS job in “Evercold.”
During the panel, Soken and lead sound designer Go Kinuya presented a kind of fun quiz to the audience. This involved playing several audio snippets of Final Fantasy 14 gameplay, giving the audience a chance to guess where or what they were from.
While this was innocent enough in itself, the session delivered some sonic surprises towards the end. For now, pure speculation, the first piece of audio resembled something magical being conjured. This could certainly come from anything, given Final Fantasy’s love of all things magic, but the final sound was much, much more revealing.
As shared online, including on Reddit, the sound in question was clearly a bird’s scream immediately followed by a physical attack. The audience appeared very confused and remained largely silent after it was played, evidently trying to process what they had just heard. However, the moment didn’t last long, as Soken and Go Kinuya then dropped something equally unexpected. It turns out that both sounds were from the new ranged physical DPS job, and Kinuya joked aloud that Soken “accidentally” revealed it before Tokyo Fanfest.
Of course, Soken seemed far more excited than concerned, even as he was jokingly “dragged” off the stage by “security” for his antics. The biggest takeaway here is that Yoshi-P and the team evidently wanted to help the community piece together what they saw in the trailer and what they heard at that panel, to finally unveil the work before its official reveal in Tokyo. Subtly teasing the second work while revealing the first is nothing new on the Fanfest circuit, but the way they approached it this time is definitely different from the usual “look at Yoshi-P’s shirt” trick. They did that in Anaheim, but clearly wanted to change things up this time.
Whether they anticipated fans getting this close with their indirect hints remains to be seen, but it definitely seems like the community is already well informed about this one, just like they were with Bastion in Anaheim.
Would the Falconer class be a practical choice for Final Fantasy 14?
In the event that the job is indeed Falconer (or whatever name variation they choose), it raises the question of how practical such a job would be in the Final Fantasy 14 gameplay setting. It would also be a somewhat ironic choice considering we’re about to receive the Beastmaster, albeit as a limited job, in Dawntrail patch 7.56 in September.
However, I sincerely doubt there would be any practicality issues for a Falconer job, which, by all accounts, is a “pet class”. That is, a class or job where the core of your damage is dealt by a summoned pet companion of some kind, while also supplemented by your own DPS using the provided weapon. This two-pronged ranged DPS style system seems a little more unique, as it would likely prioritize ranged damage from both the pet and the handler. However, both melee and ranged damage could play a role, and it’s something we simply can’t predict one way or another until the Tokyo Fanfest presentation.
As for the zookeeper’s weapon, community speculation seems to favor a wand (which would be in line with the caster-like sound effect played on the dev panel) or a whip-like contraption. After all, it’s a ranged physical DPS job, and magic-based jobs are usually in their own category. Again, Visna’s appearance in the trailer with whatever she had in her hand could very well be a “red herring” situation, and the job setup could end up being something totally unexpected (although everything else has essentially already been pretty much verified).
Either way, a Falconer would definitely be a practical choice for the game, and an exceptionally unique one. Pet classes aren’t a new concept for MMORPGs, but Final Fantasy 14 is certainly overdue for one anyway, as the Summoner’s place in that category all but disappeared years ago.
Can work still be something different than expected?
At this point, given the evidence and speculation accumulated since Berlin Fanfest, I’d say it’s quite unlikely that ranged physical DPS work is something else entirely. Of course, before the Fanfest circuit concludes in Tokyo this fall, that certainty isn’t absolute.
The unlikely scenario would be work that simply wasn’t shown in the teaser trailer, but that would leave the sound effects played on the Sound Design panel up in the air, so to speak, and Soken and Kinuya’s intentional lack of secrecy rendered useless. That just wouldn’t make much sense from a strategic standpoint, and Yoshi-P likely orchestrated these cheeky hints about the job himself.
Granted, this pretty much puts to rest previous rumors about the job being something similar to a traditional Corsair, which was a good assumption in and of itself. After all, sky pirates and airships go hand in hand in the Final Fantasy universe. However, there is also the small possibility that the work combines theoretical insights about Corsair and these new hints about Falconer.
A gun-wielding sky pirate (or perhaps a crossbow) with a bird companion could very well be the direction they take, combining the themes and aesthetics of two legacy Final Fantasy classes and fusing them into something new. After all, Yoshi-P noted that they are abandoning strict legacy classes as of “Evercold”. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t take elements from the franchise’s beloved or more neglected legacy works and turn them into something new for the MMO. Falconer may technically harken back to Final Fantasy 5’s Ranger, for example, but that doesn’t mean Final Fantasy 14 can’t put its own unique spin on it.
