Summary
Final Fantasy 14’s next Alliance raid is going to be a huge crossover withFinal Fantasy 11. Though this is the third timeFinal Fantasy 14is crossing over with its predecessor, it will be doing so in a much bigger way than before.
The second Fan Festival forFinal Fantasy 14just revealed tons of new information forDawntrail. Players learned about the Viper, thefirst of several new jobs coming toFinal Fantasy 14, and got another good look at the graphics update coming in the expansion.
During the keynote for the convention,Final Fantasy 14also revealed the subject of the 24-man Alliance raid for the new expansion. Titled Echoes to Vana’diel, this new raid series will give players a glimpse ofFinal Fantasy 11–theoriginalFinal FantasyMMOwhose launch predated evenWorld of Warcraft. Few details are known about what characters, bosses, and locations will be involved, but players can expect the first raid to launch inDawntrailPatch 7.1, and the second and third to come in 7.3 and 7.5 respectively.
This is technically the third crossoverFinal Fantasy 14has had withFinal Fantasy 11. The first, Burgeoning Dread, was a small event that awarded a Shantotto minion, and only ran in 2014. The Maiden’s Rhapsody, a larger event originally celebratingFF11’s final expansion, ran in 2015, and gave Iroha’s iconic armor as a reward. This event repeated in 2017, 2020, and again in 2022, but as an Alliance raid, Echoes of Vana’diel will be larger, evergreen content, rather than a small, limited-time event.
Fans can’t wait to see whatFinal Fantasy 14has in store for them in Echoes of Vana’diel. ThoughFinal Fantasy 11never had a population as huge asFF14, the venerable MMO has a dedicated fanbase that still plays to this day. Many current and formerFF11players now playFinal Fantasy 14, so this new Alliance raid promises to be a love letter to these fans.
Final Fantasy 14crossed overwithFinal Fantasy TacticsandNieR: Automatain previous Alliance raids, both of which may give players an idea on what to expect inDawntrail’s collaboration withFinal Fantasy 11. These raids were enjoyable, and provided opportunities to get iconic outfits from previous games, all while melding the lore of the two worlds together successfully for the most part, so Echoes of Vana’diel should prove enjoyable–even if players know nothing aboutFinal Fantasy 11.
Final Fantasy 14is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5, with an Xbox Series X/S version launching in Spring 2024.
