Dawntrail Review (patch 7.0 of FFXIV)
This review will focus solely on the main story content released with patch 7.0 of FFXIV.
In 2021, Final Fantasy XIV managed to achieve the almost impossible feat of providing a satisfying ending to an MMORPG’s main storyline with the release of Endwalker. However, as the developers at Square Enix’s Creative Studio III (formerly Creative Business Unit III) had stated prior to Endwalker’s release, the story would continue well beyond the conclusion of the Hydaelyn/Zodiark saga.
The herculean task of starting off the new era of FFXIV’s story falls to the newest expansion, Dawntrail, which is set on the hitherto unexplored continent of Tural, appropriately referred to as “the new world.” This time, the story follows a colorful cast of both new and old characters, the most prominent of whom is Wuk Lamat, a young woman trying to live up to the legacy of her father, the king of Tural, while competing in the rite of succession, the winner of which is set to become the successor to the throne. Joining her is the Warrior of Light, as well as a handful of familiar faces from the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and Wuk Lamat’s childhood friend, Erenville, the friendly gleaner introduced in Endwalker.
(The rite of succession sees our heroes traveling the vast landscapes of Tural.)
After traveling the cosmos and saving the world at the edge of existence in Endwalker, Dawntrail promises a return to more grounded adventures, similar to FFXIV’s earlier expansions, which it delivers on in more ways than one. For instance, the level of worldbuilding in Dawntrail is arguably on the largest scale we’ve seen since the base game, A Realm Reborn. In addition, the rite of succession functions as an excellent framing device for a series of smaller storylines consisting of grounded adventures, allowing the player to experience a sense of exploration that had sadly been pushed to the background in tandem with the increasingly high stakes of the previous saga. Of course, this is not to say that Dawntrail has no significant stakes, as even though the expansion starts off relatively slow, the latter half of the expansion drastically increases the pacing and sets up a lot of interesting pieces for the future.
It’s hard to discuss the story of Dawntrail without first discussing Wuk Lamat, as she is effectively the main character throughout most of the story, for better or worse. On one hand, having the Warrior of Light reduced (for the most part) to a side character with much lower impact on the narrative than usual for most of the expansion could feel jarring to many players. However, it does create a fun dynamic where it feels like the Warrior of Light functions more as a seasoned mentor rather than the hero of this particular story, which narratively makes sense, given that realistically FFXIV’s protagonist is basically a walking god at this point. The good news is that whether you love or hate this new dynamic, Wuk Lamat is an exceptionally well-written character, almost deceptively so, as she appears quite simple on the surface, much akin to characters like Luffy from One Piece or Ichiban from the Like a Dragon series. She is as boisterous and brave as she is kind and caring, and much of her journey focuses on balancing these traits with the immense responsibility that comes with being a candidate for the throne of Tural.
(Wuk Lamat holding a taco.)
Of course, Dawntrail isn’t only the story of Wuk Lamat. Aside from the Warrior of Light, she is joined by the Leveilleur twins, Krile Baldesion, and the aforementioned Erenville. Krile and Erenville, in particular, both have deep personal ties to Dawntrail’s story, both of which are linked to discovering the fabled city of gold, which just so happens to be the ultimate goal of the rite of succession.
The following section contains spoilers for the main scenario quest of Dawntrail
Dawntrail explores themes of family, legacy, and loss, with the initial and final halves of the expansion complementing each other neatly by providing alternate perspectives on its main themes. These perspectives do not necessarily reaffirm its messages but rather challenges them. An example of this would be Wuk Lamat’s character arc throughout the first half of the expansion, which focuses a lot on her learning about connecting with people through culture, and that peace is achieved through understanding and acceptance, only for her newfound beliefs to be directly challenged in the second half. Although the pacing can be a bit awkward at times, the writing throughout Dawntrail is consistently superb, all the way down to the side quests. The final zone especially features some extremely great storytelling, even exploring ethical and philosophical ideas in a way that is reminiscent of games like Nier Automata.
While Dawntrail is an overall great experience with several story elements that stick with you well after finishing it, there are two major things that stood out to me as huge missed opportunities. One of these is the setup during the rite of succession, where Thancred and Urianger are on opposing teams, which on paper sounds absolutely thrilling. However, aside from exactly one slightly antagonistic interaction during one of the early dungeons, they effectively function as allies throughout the entire competition. I personally found this disappointing as I’d looked forward to seeing some friendly competition between the Scions, and what sort of schemes Thancred and Urianger would cook up to try and combat or stall the WoL. Sadly, this was not to be. However, it wasn’t all bad as Thancred and Urianger’s interactions with Wuk Lamat’s brother, Koana, were some of my favorite scenes in the expansion.
(Like his sister, Koana experiences his own personal journey throughout Dawntrail.)
The other thing I’d describe as a missed opportunity has to do with the omnipresence of Wuk Lamat throughout Dawntrail. Aside from a very short interlude around the middle of the expansion, she is always at the forefront of the plot, which makes perfect sense since she, as mentioned earlier, is effectively the main character. However, the downside of this is that she ends up overshadowing the rest of the cast, most egregiously Krile and Erenville, both of whom deserved fully fleshed-out arcs but were unfortunately pushed to the side for most of the story. They do luckily both get their moments during the final zone, as well as some smaller ones throughout the expansion, but for the most part, they unfortunately felt like afterthoughts. The good news is that aside from these two things, I honestly can’t think of much else to criticize about Dawntrail’s story, aside from some minor nitpicks.
End of spoilers
As for the more technical and complementary aspects of Dawntrail, there are a few things that should be mentioned. First of all, the new graphics update looks gorgeous. It retains the art style and aesthetic while making the world and characters of FFXIV look much smoother and more detailed. Every single texture looks less jagged, and the updated shading and lighting make the world feel more alive. The grass and foliage improvements also make for some very beautiful scenery when going back and forth between the two million FATEs you have to complete to get the new Bicolor Gemstone mount.
It would also be remiss of me not to talk about the music, although in truth, there isn’t much to say. Soken and his team have once again nailed it, delivering the same level of emotion and excitement that the music of FFXIV has come to be known for. From the moment you set foot in Tulliyollal and hear its jazzy night theme and upbeat day theme, both of which beautifully complement the bustling seaside town’s feel and aesthetic, to the moment you reach the final zone and are hit with what has possibly become my favorite zone theme in the entire game, you know your ears are in good hands.
(FFXIV’s new hub city, Tuliyollal, sits at the eastern coast of Tural.)
Finally, it seems relevant to mention how smooth the launch was this time around, especially compared to Endwalker’s release. Aside from the first few days, there was little to no queue to get into the game, and even the queue on those initial days was nothing compared to Endwalker’s five to eight-hour queues. Basically, everything within the game ran perfectly from the start, aside from one really huge but also very funny bug in one of the ARR raids, which was thankfully fixed fairly quickly. Viper and Pictomancer, the two new jobs, also released to almost universal praise, and after hanging up my spear and playing through Dawntrail solely as Viper, I can safely say that it’s the most fun I’ve had with a combat job so far. Although, I don’t have all jobs at level 100 yet, so take that with a grain of salt.
In conclusion, Dawntrail is an excellent addition to an already stacked MMORPG experience. It has some awkward pacing here and there, especially in the beginning, but even the slower paced initial hours are a narrative treasure trove for lore fanatics and people who’ve been missing the sense of more grounded adventures. Additionally, the slow and meticulous start is what enables the latter half to reach the highs that it does, especially during the final zone. I think that whether you’ll truly love Dawntrail mostly comes down to whether you’re willing to accept a supporting role for your WoL this time around or not, but in any case I expect that long-time FFXIV fans will find it a satisfying experience nonetheless.
Overall, I believe Dawntrail deserves a solid 9/10 rating. Initially, I was leaning towards an 8, but the experience of the final zone as well as the ending elevated it to a 9 for me. Considering that its immediate predecessor was the climax of a decade-long storyline, Dawntrail excels as an engaging narrative reset and sets the stage for a promising next ten years in the world of FFXIV.
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