The next Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Dawntrail, is set to release in 2024, bringing with it a new in-game continent. With months to go before launch, you have plenty of time to go touch grass before you’re buried under another avalanche of content — or you can already start preparing for Dawntrail’s arrival.
The recent Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest in London revealed lots of juicy info about the upcoming expansion. One tidbit recently appeared in PCGamesN, which asked director Naoki Yoshida which quests players should tackle before Dawntrail. For anyone who wants to get the most out of the new expansion, you’ll want to finish these quests before embarking on the new story. Just make sure to leave plenty of time because they’re pretty meaty.
First, Yoshida points to the Warring Triad questline in the Heavensward expansion.
“In Heavensward, there is the Warring Triad quest series, and this is quite intricately linked with the Thirteenth reflection, and you get a bit more of a deep dive into the lore, and you also get more insight into the relationship of the characters,” Yoshida told PCGamesN.
Yoshida’s answer refers to the “Thirteenth reflection,” an alternate world that split from Final Fantasy XIV’s setting of Hydaelyn long ago in the game’s lore. The story of the Thirteenth has become a major part of Final Fantasy XIV, particularly in Endwalker’s post-release content, so it’s no big surprise that it will also be relevant to Dawntrail.
If you’re a long-time Final Fantasy XIV player, you’ve likely finished the Warring Triad at some point. Otherwise, you’ll need to progress through Heavensward’s post-launch content into patch 3.2. Once you’re caught up, you can speak to an NPC named Torsefers in Ishgard, to get the “Gods of Eld” quest. This will start you down the path to unlock the Warring Triad trials series, which tells the story of three feuding Primals from an earlier age. The quest includes three regular and two extreme trials.
Since these trials are from several expansions ago, it’s entirely possible to tackle at least the normal versions on your own with most characters. Just make sure you enable unsynced parties in the Duty Finder, and you’ll be able to jump in solo.
Yoshida also pointed to the Eden raids from the 5.x series.
Taking place after the Shadowbringers expansion, the Eden raids have to do with the battle between light and dark in Final Fantasy XIV’s cosmology. This eight-player series consists of 12 separate raids, each with tougher Savage variants. The series continues the story of Ryne, an ally who appeared earlier in Shadowbringers, and a mysterious woman named Gaia. Most raids in this series are based on bosses you’ve already encountered in Final Fantasy XIV but with new appearances and abilities.
To unlock the Eden raid series, you’ll have to finish the main story quests from the Shadowbringers expansion. At that point, an NPC called Anxious Crystarium Guard will appear in the Crystarium, offering you the “Middle of Nowhere” quest. This starts the storyline that will carry you through the Eden raids.
If you haven’t finished Endwalker yet, it’s recommended that you complete the Eden raids first. While it doesn’t change much, you do get a slightly altered cutscene at a crucial moment in the expansion that shows Gaia, which won’t appear if you haven’t done the raids.
Unlike the Warring Triad, you likely won’t be able to solo the Eden raids. While a few can technically be completed alone by certain classes, it’s a feat that most players won’t have access to. Instead, it’s best to use Party Finder to gather a group, which may become easier to do now that Yoshida has highlighted their importance.
And while the director hasn’t mentioned making the raids mandatory to start Dawntrail, it’s not out of the question. Players already have to finish the Crystal Tower raids to start Shadowbringers, so there is precedent for making them a prerequisite. If that happens, getting a party together with the regular Duty Finder should be no problem.
