Summary
Final Fantasy 14just showed off some incredible footage of the new graphics update coming inDawntrail. This new upgrade is adding depth to models, textures, and graphical fidelity that will allow players to seeFinal Fantasy 14in a whole new way.
The first in-person Fan Festival in nearly five years has revealed tons of new information aboutFinal Fantasy 14and theDawntrailexpansion. This next major update adds an exciting new continent full of challenges and mysteries, two new jobs, an increased level cap, and several system updates.
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Among these, one of the mosthighly-anticipated features ofDawntrailis the graphics update. First introduced nearly two years ago,Final Fantasy 14showed off the progress it was making on the graphical improvements. During the keynote address, director and producer Naoki Yoshida revealed side-by-side footage of the original andDawntrailversions of the character models, gear, and environments. Metal shines and reflects light, faces are smooth and gorgeous, and grass and flowers are abundant, rich, and saturated with color.
Last year, whenFinal Fantasy 14first introduced the graphics update, it revealed a couple screenshots of the character models and environment changes it hoped to make. However, this new footage is leagues ahead of those early development images. It seems the new fidelity ofFinal Fantasy 14will finally surpass that of the original 1.0 graphics–which had infamously poor optimization because of overly-complicated models for games of that era.
Of course, an increase in the graphical fidelity ofFinal Fantasy 14brings with it an increase to the minimum and recommended system requirements for PC. Most computers should still be able to run the game, but players should make sure to get any required upgrades beforeDawntrailreleases next summer. The PS4 client will still work fine and will receive support for the foreseeable future, and the recently-announcedXbox Series X/S version ofFinal Fantasy 14will become available in Spring before the expansion’s release.
Dawntrailitself looks like an exciting new chapter ofFinal Fantasy 14. Marketed as the “best summer vacation ever,”Dawntrailbreaks away from the serious tones ofEndwalkerto set the stage for an expansion full of exploration, adventure, and intrigue across Tural, the continent known to Eorzea as the New World. Players can expect to learn the London Fan Festival on October 21 and at the final convention in Tokyo near the beginning of 2024.
Final Fantasy 14is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5 with an Xbox Series X version coming in Spring 2024.
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