A month on, Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's endgame outshines its story

It's been just over a month since Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail launched, and waves of players have finally hit the endgame. The journey to get here had a few dips along the way—I gave the expansion an 80 in my Dawntrail review, which puts it lower than other expansions—but the beauty of Tural is shining through and providing an excellent setting for the endgame's dungeons, raids and maps. 

Yak T'el, Urqopacha and Shaaloani in particular stand out as some of the best zones in the entire game, with landscapes and towns that feel lived in. The cenotes and dense undergrowth of Yak T'el are appropriately mysterious and I'll never tire of that transition from bright sunlight above the trees to darkness and glowing flora when you dip beneath the forest canopy. Likewise the distant peaks of Urqopacha that reveal themselves only on sunny days are breathtaking, and as much as I disliked the story in the Wild West of Shaaloani, I can't help but be drawn back to it as the vibes are perfect.

I've never felt the need to go back and complete every sidequest unless I'm doing it for some EXP, but Dawntrail is different—its worldbuilding is so strong that I want to go back and explore all of the little details of each settlement and their differing lifestyles. We may have another 2-3 years before FF14's next expansion, but Tural makes for an excellent place to spend all of that time in.

While we wait for the first patch to start revealing what's next for the Warrior of Light, the endgame is off to a good start with two level 100 dungeons, two extreme trials, a new treasure map and the first tier of the Arcadion eight-player raid series. What sets Dawntrail apart is how challenging and inventive all of these activities have proven to be. 

The Arcadion raid series only launched a few weeks after Dawntrail, but is already the most joy-inducing set of raids in the entire game. The whole set has a wrestling theme that sees you lured in by a suspicious lalafell promoter to face off against an increasingly ridiculous set of wrestling-style personas. From the more traditional fighting of Black Cat who yeets players across her arena, to a bomb-infused heel who takes performance enhancing drinks and knocks out the referee, it embodies that sense of overkill performance that only wrestling has. There's even an announcer who comments on how well you dodge things or how you get knocked out. It's all so over-the-top, and that continues into the fight mechanics.

The second boss, Honey B Lovely, is a starlet who transforms into a giant bee and utilises poisons to charm you to death. She's developed a bit of a following thanks to how perfectly pitched the ridiculousness of her persona is—she's also one of the more challenging fights, putting you through a mess of love bombs to dodge to make sure you don't become enthralled by her.

And that's just the normal version of the fight for fans of the story and gear. Those after Dawntrail's toughest challenge will be facing the Savage version, which amps things up even more. It also made for an exciting world race finish with only 21 seconds between the two top teams. Who knew Final Fantasy and WWE could work so well together?

If that's a little too strong for you, but you still want a challenge, then the extreme trials pitch things just right, layering in more complex mechanics to the Valigarmanda and Everkeep fights and rewarding you with wing mounts. The execution is tough, but they make for a great place to start cutting your teeth on trickier battles and earn yourself some really pretty weapons while you're at it.

There's still loads of endgame content to keep you busy even if you're not into high-end bouts, with the two additional dungeons taking you through a run of Cactuar-inspired enemies, and to a haunted theme park that sees you attacked by a ferris wheel. Oh yeah, and you'll need to fight a spectral tea cup ride for good measure. It honestly feels like all of Dawntrail's best ideas and energies have gone into the endgame.

You'll also have some long-term achievements to aim for, with some mounts locked behind tokens gained from gathering and fighting in Fates across all six of Dawntrail's zones. While the raids may eventually lose their novelty, achievements like these will keep people coming back as their efforts are rewarded. The diversity of challenges will help players expand into other areas of the game, such as crafting and gathering, to experience even more of what FF14 has to offer.

Sometimes it's the simple things that really stick with you, though. After you've unlocked flying in each zone you'll be able to find two special Fates that will earn you either a mascot squirrel in a top hat costume or a Capybara mount, but expect to spend ages waiting for them to spawn. I ended up waiting 'just five more minutes' for six hours in Shaaloani, but it was some of the most fun I've had in-game in ages—partly thanks to it being one of my favourite areas in the game, with lots of interesting nooks to explore, but mostly it was the people I encountered while doing it. 

Perhaps it's just the relative newness of it all that has people hyped up, but I think it also reflects how well Dawntrail nails that atmosphere of excitement, pushing you to explore and go on adventures in spite of its flaws. There's a positivity and camaraderie to even the most dreary of waits—I've even seen strangers making co-ordinated pyramids out of Alpaca mounts together. That enduring sense of hope and embracing the unknown together is what makes FF14 what it is today.

Dawntrail has one of my least favourite stories from FF14, but it also has my absolute favourite endgame so far. The emphasis on exploration and its strong sense of place makes for the perfect backdrop for inventive raids and adventures. I can't wait to see where the upcoming patches take us next.