Skip to main content

‘Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers’ to launch July 2 with Gunbreakers and Viera

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, the upcoming expansion to the Square Enix MMORPG, is set to launch on July 2 with a new class and race.

The first trailer for Shadowbringers was shown in November at the Final Fantasy XIV Fanfest in Las Vegas. There were hints that the game’s third expansion, after 2015’s Heavensward and 2017’s Stormblood, will feature a new class wielding a gunblade like Final Fantasy VIII‘s Squall. There was also speculation the the Viera, represented in Final Fantasy XII by Fran, will finally be added to the MMORPG.

Recommended Videos

The game’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida, revealed a lot more about Shadowbringers at the ongoing Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Paris.

An extended trailer for Shadowbringers was released, showing some Final Fantasy XIV characters and what awaits the crew in the expansion.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: SHADOWBRINGERS Extended Teaser Trailer

Yoshida also unveiled the Gunbreaker, the name of the new class that will use gunblades. The job will start at level 60 in Gridinia, but according to Yoshida, this may change before the release of the expansion. Gunbreakers will play the role of tanks, and are not ranged characters. There are several more new classes that will be added to Final Fantasy XIV in Shadowbringers.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: SHADOWBRINGERS Gunbreaker Reveal

Confirming the speculation, the Viera will be making their way to Final Fantasy XIV. A trailer for the rabbit-like race revealed what the Viera will look like in the game.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: SHADOWBRINGERS - New Race “The Viera”

Yoshida also announced that the new Alliance raid in Shadowbringers will be a crossover with Nier: Automata. However, the details of the raid were not revealed.

Shadowbringers will introduce nine new dungeons, as well as a new feature named the Trust System. The feature allows players to team up with NPC’s to take on missions that currently require them to be part of a group. The NPC’s that players will team up with are from Final Fantasy XIV‘s story, so they will be familiar.

Shadowbringers will be open to pre-orders on February 6, and players who do so will be able to participate in early access on June 28. Pre-ordered copies of Shadowbringers will also come with a special Baby Gremlin minion, and an earring that will grant players 30% bonus experience until they reach level 70.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
This is your heads up: July is about to be an incredible month for games
Two warriors in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.

Back in May, we were drowning in a surprising deluge of new video games. A lot of the month's best releases felt like they came out of left field thanks to indie gems like Animal Well and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Around that time, it was common to see players wondering where so many killer games came from, despite the fact that many had positive buzz coming off streams like Day of the Devs.

If you found May overwhelming, I regret to inform you that it's about to happen again in July. And I'm telling you right now so you're not surprised when it happens.

Read more
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail takes cues from Mesoamerican culture and Dragonball
FFXIV Dawntrail, Erenville looking out on the front of a sailboat

Starting a new story arc from scratch in a video game that’s been running for over a decade is a tall order -- and it’s one that Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion sets out to accomplish.

Setting sail westward and looking to the continent of Tural, the Warrior of Light and their companions seek to help Wuk Lamat, a female Hrothgar, in a contest for the right to rule the land of Tural. Dawntrail, which is set to launch on July 2 (and June 28 for those who preorder) sets the stage for political intrigue, exploration of a civilization unknown to us, and much more.

Read more
Bungie apologizes for rough Destiny 2: The Final Shape launch: ‘We’re truly sorry’
Key art for Destiny 2: The Final Shape. It shows three characters standing in front of an orange sky.

The launch of Destiny 2's The Final Shape expansion was highly anticipated by the player base, but it didn't go smoothly. Its developer, Bungie, has apologized for all the interruptions, which have included skipped cutscenes, the inability to access the game's servers, and more.

In a thread posted to X (formerly Twitter) early Wednesday morning, the team wrote out an apology, along with some explanations about what is being done to fix some of expansion's the major issues. "If connection issues have blocked you from playing or enjoying The Final Shape today, we want to apologize," the post reads. "We’re truly sorry if connection issues and instability is getting in the way of that experience, and we promise to keep working until these issues are resolved."

Read more