Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida said during a Q&A session that some quality-of-life changes for Fisher and Black Mage are slated for Evercold. Following an executive decision to delay the expansion by three weeks, Final Fantasy 14: Evercold will arrive on February 23, 2027, with early access kicking off on February 19.
As the sixth expansion for Square Enix’s critically acclaimed MMORPG, Evercold will take the Warrior of Light and their comrades to an icy realm called the Fourth Reflection, a parallel “shard” of their home world of Etheirys. Final Fantasy 14‘s next expansion will make sweeping changes to the game’s gear progression and combat systems.
Final Fantasy 14: Evercold Reveals Changes for Black Mage and Fisher
One day after the Tokyo FanFest keynote, Yoshida responded to some questions submitted by players in advance. As translated by the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit Discord, Yoshida said that Fishers will no longer need to carry around bait in their inventories once Evercold arrives. In short, a bait list will be available that will expand as players level up Fisher, complete specific quests, or purchase them once from a vendor. Once a bait is unlocked, it will appear on the bait list and can be used as often as needed. An additional toggle that will only show which baits will work at a given fishing spot will also be available. Any fishing bait that is leftover once the expansion arrives can be traded in for gil from a vendor.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Yoshida also stated that Evolved Mode combat will see changes to the Black Mage, one of the Final Fantasy franchise’s most iconic Jobs. Following a rework in Dawntrail’s Patch 7.2 update that saw the Black Mage become a more mobile damage dealer than before, Yoshida said that Black Mages who play in Evolved Mode will notice two key changes. Ley Lines will stay on the field until the Black Mage casts an unspecified number of spells while standing within it, up to a maximum of 30 seconds. Additionally, Triplecast will be different than its current incarnation, which allows a Black Mage to instantly fire off three offensive spells with no cast time. Future details about Evercold‘s Evolved Mode will be discussed by Square Enix at a later date.
Following the reveal of the Zephyr as Final Fantasy 14’s newest ranged physical DPS Job, Yoshida said that the “Nephele” familiar that will assist players in battle could have its plumage changed using FF14‘s dual-dye system that was introduced in Dawntrail. The director clarified that dyeing the Nephele’s feathers can only be done by speaking to a specific NPC, though he did not elaborate further on what kind of colors or options will be available to players looking to try out Zephyr.
Finally, Yoshida reiterated that Final Fantasy 14‘s player housing system will soon allow players to float furniture in midair, which is currently possible via methods such as in-game glitches that can be difficult to pull off. However, Final Fantasy 14 players will have to wait a bit longer for these housing changes, which are currently planned to roll out starting in Patch 8.1 later in 2027.
- Released
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August 27, 2013
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Engine
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Originally the Crystal Tools engine, but currently it’s a custom engine using parts of the Luminous Engine.
