Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker will be released in late fall this year, but game director and producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida has divulged more information about some new content coming in the expansion.
Endwalker will feature two new job classes - one of which is the new Reaper class. Yoshida revealed how he and his team came up with the idea.
How the Reaper Came to Be
According to the game director, whenever they brainstorm some ideas, they want to make sure that every class provides an entirely unique experience.
For a time, fans have been clamoring for a job class that uses the two-handed scythe as the main weapon. So, he and his team wanted to make that as a base and then go from there.
One of the ideas that were pitched during their brainstorming sessions caught Yoshida’s attention. What if this new class can use another source of aether other than of the player’s? That idea gave birth to the concept of the grim reaper with a scythe. He added that the process was “unexpectedly straightforward.”
To make a unique distinction between the Reaper and other melee DPS classes, players can use “voidsent avatars.” The concept here is you can unleash a string of new attacks that are only made possible with the Reaper’s kit. As to the specifics of this, the game director just said to wait for further announcements.
What About the Male Viera?
Aside from the new DPS class, fans can also expect a new playable race in Endwalker, the Male Viera.
When asked about their rationale for including the new race, Yoshida said that the notion of adding a new playable race spawned from the release of the game’s previous expansion, Shadowbringers.
The game director said that adding a new playable race is difficult because there are so many things to consider, such as how the race would look like and how current items will look when equipped.
Despite these challenges, fans were still hoping that more playable races would be introduced soon. So, he had his team come up with ideas on what they can do to make that happen. Yoshida ultimately decided to add a new playable race, albeit doing so one at a time.
Male Viera will be playable once the new expansion comes while Female Hrothgar would likely be included in a future update.
What do you think of the new DPS class and playable race? Are you excited about what’s to come?
