Square Enix is promising a major update to Final Fantasy XIV with the release of this expansion.
Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida took the stage at the game's 2016 Fan Festival to share the following reveal trailer for Stormblood; the MMO's second expansion:
Stormblood will take Final Fantasy XIV players to the military city-state of Ala Mhigo where they will face off against a new evil known simply as Zenos. This expansion is expected to focus on the game's monk class and will deal with a battle for control during which the player must help return Ala Mhigo back to Eorzean control. It should release sometime in the Summer of 2017.
When the expansion does debut, it will bring with it the game's official 4.0 update. As with many MMO expansion updates, version 4.0 will raise the game's current level cap (from 60 to 70) as well as introduce a host of new features that include:
- New primals
- An inventory system overhaul that will supposedly greatly expand and enhance the currently available item slots
- A new residential area
- A restructured skill system that will emphasize player roles
- New Jobs
Square Enix did not confirm what these new jobs will be, but Yoshida did point to his Scarlet Witch shirt when he confirmed the new jobs which some have taken to indicate that red mages will soon be added to the game. Yoshida all made intentionally vague references to new zones and areas that will affect the game's overarching storyline.
Overall, Stormblood is being treated as a major expansion that Square Enix believes will offer as much content as a standalone game. This major influx of new content means that the developers will also be raising the minimum spec requirements for the game's PC version and are highly encouraging anyone who is currently playing on a 32-bit OS to move to a 64-bit system.
Sadly, Stormblood will also mark the end of Square Enix's continued support of the game's PS3 version. The new expansion will not be available for that system and the developers have no plans to continue releasing content and updates for that version of the game beyond the point of the expansion's release.