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''Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward'' is the first
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
to '' Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn'', a
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(MMORPG) developed and published by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
for
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, Apple's
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,
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, and
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. It was released on June 23, 2015, nearly two years after the debut of ''A Realm Reborn''.
Naoki Yoshida , also known by the nickname Yoshi-P'','' is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer working for Square Enix. He is best known for his work on massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), mainly as director and produc ...
served as director and producer and
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...
, who had not worked on the title since the ill-fated 2010 launch of the original ''
Final Fantasy XIV ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida, it was released worldwide for Windows and PlayStation 3 in August 2013, as a rep ...
'', returned to collaborate with Masayoshi Soken on the soundtrack. The expansion pack was released as a standalone product for current players, as well as an "all-in-one" bundle containing ''A Realm Reborn'' and ''Heavensward''. The latter was the only way to access the macOS version of the game, which premiered on the same day as the expansion pack's launch. ''Heavensward'' focuses on a
millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
-long conflict known as the Dragonsong War between the Holy See of Ishgard and the dragon horde of Dravania. Players seek
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
in Ishgard after being falsely accused of murder and become involved in efforts to end the war. These actions uncover an ancient conspiracy concerning the origins of the war. In addition to the new areas, the expansion pack increases the
level cap An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
, adds three new character classes and a new playable race, and introduces flying gameplay through the use of airships and other airborne mounts. ''Heavensward'' performed well critically and earned nominations for "Expansion of the Year". In July 2015, Square Enix announced that the title had reached a cumulative total of five million subscriptions. However, the company suspended sales of the macOS version of the client that same month due to numerous reports of poor technical performance and offered refunds to those who purchased it. macOS sales resumed in February 2016. As with ''A Realm Reborn'', major content patches were scheduled for every three months, though the first one—"As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness"—was delayed to November 10, 2015, to give the development team a break after shipping the expansion.


Gameplay

The gameplay and quest structure of ''Heavensward'' largely match that of its base game. As with many massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPGs), players interact with each other in a
persistent world A persistent world or persistent state world (PSW) is a virtual world which, by the definition by Richard Bartle, "continues to exist and develop internally even when there are no people interacting with it". The first virtual worlds were text-bas ...
that responds to their actions. The biggest change to the combat is an increase of the
level cap An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
to level 60, which allows each fighting class to learn new abilities that significantly modify the flow of battle. Three new job classes are introduced as well—the abyssal tank Dark Knight, the gun-toting Machinist, and the star-powered healer Astrologian. These jobs begin at level 30 with their own storylines connected to the new setting. ''Heavensward'' features new areas which are about three times as large as zones in ''A Realm Reborn''. The reason for the size increase is to accommodate flying gameplay. After completing certain quests and attuning to the air currents in an area, players gain the ability to use new flying mounts, such as airships, in that location. Flying allows access to previously unreachable points in the terrain. Airships built by player-run
guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
also have the ability to explore floating islands for rare materials, as well as the Diadem—an open world area where players can challenge large monsters for high level gear and spoils. In addition to new dungeons and raids, ''Heavensward'' introduces three new
player versus player Player versus player (PvP) is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players. This is often compared to player versus environment (PvE), in which the game itself controls its players' opponents. The terms are mos ...
(PvP) modes. The Feast is an updated four-versus-four arena in the Wolves' Den in which players attempt to defeat other players to collect their medals. The team with the most medals at the end of the match wins. Unlike the Fold of ''A Realm Reborn'', players respawn automatically in this mode and item boxes appear periodically around the arena which provide offensive and defensive advantages to the team that breaks them open. Players who maintain a high rank in the Feast are awarded with unique gear and trophies at the end of a season. An unranked version also exists for new players which features eight-versus-eight combat. The remaining new modes are for 24-player alliances to confront other Grand Companies. Seal Rock (Seize) is a
capture the flag Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...
-style mode in which players must occupy and defend randomly spawning resource nodes from other teams. The Fields of Glory (Shatter) involves destroying objects around the battlefield for points.


Plot


Setting and characters

''Heavensward'' takes place on Hydaelyn, a
fictional planet Planets in science fiction are fictional planets that appear in various media of the science fiction genre as story-settings or depicted locations. Planet lists For planets from specific fictional milieux, use the following lists: Literature ...
with diverse Earth-like climates, focused on the isolationist
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
of Ishgard, in the snowy mountains of Coerthas. Ishgard is the northernmost part of the primary gameplay region, Eorzea. The three Eorzean Alliance nations—Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, and Ul'dah—and the Garlean Empire also appear. The Ascians, immortal servants of the dark god Zodiark, continue their machinations. Flight permits players to explore the dragon homeland of Dravania and islands floating above the Abalathia's Spine mountains. In Dravania, the abandoned and ruined Sharlayan colony has become Idyllshire, a free, democratic city founded by goblins. ''Heavensward'''s primary conflict concerns the millennial Dragonsong War between Ishgard and Nidhogg's draconic horde. Ishgardian orthodoxy claims Halone, their goddess, commanded King Thordan build a city in Abalathia's Spine. This angered the great wyrm Nidhogg, who confronted Thordan and his knights twelve. Though he and several knights were slain, Thordan's son Haldrath took up his father's spear, carving out Nidhogg's eye. Nidhogg fled, his eye becoming an Ishgardian relic, granting its volatile power to a line of Azure Dragoons. Nidhogg has since continuously besieged Ishgard and her people. The Ishgardian Archdiocese, currently led by Archbishop Thordan VII, promulgates these claims as holy doctrine. The unending war makes Ishgard isolationist in both policy and everyday demeanor; they withdrew from the first Eorzean Alliance and ignored the second, preoccupied with the Dragonsong War. It also manifests in their fanatical devotion to Halone and persecution of "heretics"--those who support dragons. Just prior to ''Heavensward'', Nidhogg awakens, calling his brood to active invasion once again. The player's character, the Warrior of Light, befriends Ser Aymeric, Lord Commander of the Temple Knights after defending against a Dravanian assault. After being betrayed during a coup in Ul'dah, the Warrior seeks
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
from the charge of
regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
alongside Alphinaud and Tataru, the only other Scions to safely escape. Nidhogg's roar prompts changes to both factions in the war; Aymeric and Count Edmont of House Fortemps open Ishgard to foreign assistance against the dragons, while Lady Iceheart grows her band of heretics seeking reconciliation. Estinien, the current Azure Dragoon, returns to hunt down Nidhogg.


Story

After the bloody banquet in Ul'dah, Haurchefaunt persuades his father, Count Edmont Fortemps, to offer asylum to the remaining Scions. The Warrior assists Edmont's sons in nearby territories. They briefly encounter Lady Iceheart, who regrets the innocent deaths in her recent assault. Returning to Ishgard, the Warrior finds Alphinaud and Tataru accused of heresy by the Heavens' Ward, Archbishop Thordan VII's
honor guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...
. Requesting
trial by combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
, Tataru chooses the Warrior as her champion, and they secure victory alongside Alphinaud. Thordan personally apologizes, and privately reveals to the Warrior that he is milking the Ascians for information, intending to double-cross them. Raubahn is imprisoned, awaiting execution for the Sultana's poisoning, but the Scions free him. They defeat the Crystal Braves in so doing, but their leader Ilberd escapes. They learn from Lolorito that the Sultana lives: he subverted Adeledji's plot, swapping the intended poison for a sleep draught. This crippled the Royalists, stopped Nanamo's abdication, slew his main rival, and consolidated his power; he claims he would have freed the Scions if they had surrendered, but they remain missing and Ilberd became a liability. Lolorito gives the antidote to Raubahn, who reluctantly spares him and aids Nanamo in returning to rule. Alphinaud suggests entreating Lady Iceheart to seek peace with Nidhogg. Estinien assists, but vows to slay Nidhogg if he refuses. Iceheart reveals she also has the Echo, which showed her the truth of the war. Born Ysayle, she took the name Iceheart after communing with Saint Shiva, who brokered two centuries of peace between man and dragon through her tragic romance with Nidhogg's brother, Hraesvelgr. King Thordan I broke this peace by stealing Nidhogg's eyes, and she seeks to restore it. As the four search for Hraesvelgr, they defeat the primal Ravana and slay Nidhogg's consort. When the group eventually finds Hraesvelgr, he reveals the "Shiva" Ysayle communes with is just a primal she created. Hraesvelgr speaks of Midgardsormr's arrival on the star. Of his seven children, Hraesvelgr, Ratatoskr, and Nidhogg settled in Eorzea. Nidhogg distrusted mortals after ancient Allag slew Bahamut and imprisoned Tiamat. Shiva had Hraesvelgr devour her, so their souls would be linked forever, paving the way for peace. King Thordan I and his knights betrayed them and slew Ratatoskr, consuming her eyes for power. Nidhogg, in his fury, slew King Thordan, swearing undying vengeance on his descendants. Hraesvelgr rejects peace, judging Nidhogg's cause just. Bereft of alternatives, Estinien and the Warrior storm Nidhogg's abode, the Aery, where they slay him and take his remaining eye. Ysayle leaves to dissuade her followers, and the Warrior returns to Ishgard to share the truth. However, the Archbishop and church leaders already know, and imprison Aymeric for attempting to reveal it. Lucia and the Temple Knights rescue him. The Warrior and Haurchefaunt try to arrest Thordan by storming the Vault, but Haurchefaunt is killed shielding the Warrior from a Heavens' Ward ambush before Thordan flees. Swearing vengeance, the Warrior and Alphinaud pursue. Cid and the ''Enterprise'' help defeat the primal Bismarck, who held the only known key to Azys Lla, where Thordan is headed, only for the Ascian Igeyorhm to steal it. Blocked by Azys Lla's protection field, the Scions redirect and rescue Y'shtola, who became trapped in the Lifestream during the escape from Ul'dah. She directs them to her mentor Matoya. With her aid, the Warrior of Light, Cid, Y'shtola, Alphinaud and Estinien breach Azys Lla's barrier. Unfortunately, the Garlean Empire's new flagship followed the ''Enterprise'' in hopes of looting Azys Lla's Allagan technology, and they attack. Ysayle, having acquired Hraesvelgr's aid, intervenes, sacrificing herself so the ''Enterprise'' can land safely on Azys Lla, an ancient Allagan floating colony. There lie imprisoned both the Warring Triad, a trio of powerful ancient primals, and Tiamat. Thordan intends to absorb the Triad's power and conquer Eorzea. The Warrior converses with Tiamat and Midgardsormr, who restores Hydaelyn's blessing. The Warrior defeats Igeyorhm and Lahabrea, killing the former. Thordan arrives, absorbing Nidhogg's eye and the weakened Lahabrea, and with their aether transforms into King Thordan, a primal powered by a millennium of Ishgardian prayer. Despite their combined power, Thordan and the Heavens' Ward are defeated and slain by the Warrior. Estinien, relieved, prepares to seal away Nidhogg's eyes, but Nidhogg's still-lingering spirit exploits this lapse and possesses him, reforming his body and escaping. The Warrior's group returns to Ishgard, where Midgardsormr warns that Nidhogg will return to resume the war. As Thordan's illegitimate son, Aymeric becomes acting ruler, and Ishgard rejoins the Alliance. In a post-credits scene, Elidibus recruits the "Warriors of Darkness" after sensing Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's deaths.


Dragonsong

The revelation of Ishgard's bloody origins splinters the citizenry into populist factions supporting Aymeric and denialists supported by Thordan's allies who stand to lose their religious influence. As Nidhogg prepares to strike again, Aymeric moves to broach diplomatic relations with Dravania, proposing a meeting with Hraesvelgr's daughter Vidofnir. The Scions reunite with Thancred, who had been lost in the wilderness after escaping from Ul'dah, and come into conflict with the Warriors of Darkness, revealed to be a band of adventurers. The party returns to find Thordan's allies staging a revolt. The Warrior of Light aids the Temple Knights in a raid on the insurgents' stronghold, during which the ringleader almost kills a hostage child. Vidofnir, who had come to warn Ishgard of Nidhogg's movements, saves the child, planting the seeds of hope for peace in the minds of onlookers. The Scions deduce that Hydaelyn transported Minfilia away from Ul'dah. Crossing into the aetherial sea, the Warrior learns that Minfilia gave up her soul to Hydaelyn, becoming her avatar. Hydaelyn explains that her battle with the Ascians' God, Zodiark, split the planet into thirteen reflections. The Ascians have so far orchestrated seven calamities to merge each shard into Zodiark and weaken Hydaelyn, which necessitated Minfilia's sacrifice. In Ishgard, Aymeric's peace overtures are opposed by Ishgardians who want vengeance against Dravania. Sensing flagging Ishgardian unity, Aymeric organizes a set of joint military exercises with the Eorzean Alliance to reignite national pride. At the conference, Vidofnir agrees to peace with Ishgard, only for Nidhogg to return and assault her; he announces that his next assault will be the last, promising Ishgard's total annihilation. Determined to save Estinien, Alphinaud, the Warrior and Aymeric go to Hraesvelgr for assistance. After enduring his trials, they convince Hraesvelgr to help just as Nidhogg launches his final assault on Ishgard. Hraesvelgr fights Nidhogg, but is defeated; he passes on his eye to the Warrior of Light, allowing them to defeat Nidhogg. The Warrior and Alphinaud remove Nidhogg's eyes from Estinien's armor and cast them into the Sea of Clouds, saving Estinien and destroying Nidhogg for good. The horde retreats in disarray, signaling the true end to the war. A recovering Estinien relinquishes his title as Azure Dragoon and departs to live his post-vengeance life. Aymeric establishes a
parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
in Ishgard led by both lowborn and highborn citizens, represented by the House of Commons and House of Lords. Though eager to leave the public service, he is quickly elected as chairman of the latter to his chagrin, and Ishgard celebrates the war's end.


The Warriors of Darkness and the Griffin

Alisaie, Alphinaud's twin sister, arrives injured at House Fortemps. She was attacked by the Warriors of Darkness, having overheard Elidibus telling them of his plot to trigger an arms race of primal summoning. During another run-in with the Scions, the Warriors reveal that Elidibus promised to help save their shard, the First, from a "Flood of Light" that has nearly destroyed it, in exchange for their help. Tracking down another lead among Ala Mhigan refugees, the Scions are reunited with Yda and Papalymo, who have joined the Resistance efforts against the Garlean Empire. They have grown suspicious of a faction led by the mysterious Griffin. The Griffin's decoy points the party to an impending summoning of Ifrit, where they encounter and fight the Warriors of Darkness. One of them reveals himself as the Scion Urianger, playing
double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
. He invokes a ritual to gain an audience with Minfilia. At Urianger's suggestion, she accompanies the Warriors of Darkness to their home world to try to save the First. Meanwhile, Elidibus hands over Nidhogg's eyes (which the Warriors retrieved for him) to the Griffin. The Griffin later leads an attack on Baelsar's Wall, the Garlean base dividing the Black Shroud and occupied Ala Mhigo. The Scions intervene and discover that the Griffin is Ilberd, who intends to provoke a Garlean counterattack so that Eorzea will be forced to liberate Ala Mhigo, his homeland. Using Nidhogg's eyes and the prayers of his dying soldiers, Ilberd kills himself to create the dragon-like primal Shinryu to destroy the Empire. Papalymo uses an ancient sealing ritual to stall the uncontrollable Calamity-level threat at the cost of his life. The Scions resort to awakening the ancient Allagan war-machine Omega. Omega battles Shinryu, ending with both being apparently destroyed. With the seal gone, Papalymo's last remaining spell also fades—an enchanted tattoo used to disguise Yda, who reveals herself as Yda's sister Lyse; the real Yda had died fighting in the Resistance and Lyse took up her name to preserve her memory. Lyse renews her resolve to fight for Ala Mhigan independence, now under her true name. With Baelsar's Wall captured, the Alliance and the Scions prepare for the Empire's inevitable response.


Development

Planning for ''Heavensward'', along with the patches leading into its story, began well over a year prior to its announcement. Naoki Yoshida, the game's producer and director, considered the expansion to be a "sink or swim" moment for the ''Final Fantasy XIV'' project, its success or failure determining the arc of the game's legacy. For theme, he decided between "Sea" and "Sky", ultimately settling on "Sky, dragons, and knights". The progression from the main game to its expansion was laid out in detail and these elements were categorized so that developers would not get confused between patch content and expansion content which were being created simultaneously. They chose Ishgard as the setting because it was teased in the original 2010 version of ''Final Fantasy XIV'' and lent itself well to the
gothic fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror fiction, horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense o ...
story they wanted to tell. The development team worked within the constraints of existing backstory and assets for Ishgard and elaborated on them. This includes a
fictional language Fictional languages are the subset of constructed languages (conlangs) that have been created as part of a fictional setting (e.g. for use in a book, movie, television show, or video game). Typically they are the creation of one individual, while ...
for the dragons which Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, the director of English localization, had created during the development of the 2010 release. The expansion was announced at the Las Vegas segment of ''Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2014'', which took place in October. Further details about the expansion were released at the London and Tokyo events, including the three new jobs, the new playable race, and the new raid. Yoshida also revealed a
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based in Europe to improve server performance for European players, as well as a service providing optional cosmetic items for purchase. Unlike ''A Realm Reborn'', the ''Heavensward'' storyline is an original story not directly inspired by previous ''Final Fantasy'' titles. Instead, it draws influence from real events such as religion-based conflicts around the world and the importance of recognizing the perspective that history is written from. The team chose to require new players to complete the ''A Realm Reborn'' story before accessing ''Heavensward'' because it provides necessary context for the player's actions. Yoshida referred to ''Heavenward'' as "the second season to a television program", remarking "you don’t watch it from the second season, you watch it from the first season so you know what’s going on". The team made adjustments to allow new players to "watch that first season on fast-forward", including increasing experience point gain and adding gear rewards to main scenario quests, alleviating the need to
grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back (me ...
to access the expansion. However, for future expansions, Yoshida has stated that previous story completion will not be a requirement. ''Heavensward'' premiered the
macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
client at its launch on June 23, 2015. The port was handled by
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. Unlike console and
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PC versions of the expansion, the macOS release was initially only available in a two-in-one bundle containing the base game and the ''Heavensward'' expansion, titled ''Final Fantasy XIV Online''. Current players of other versions of the game, including Apple PC players running the Windows PC install via Boot Camp, needed to purchase this bundle to play using the native macOS client. On July 3, 2015, Square Enix suspended sales of this version because of widespread reports of poor technical performance and offered refunds to those who purchased it. Yoshida attributed the performance problems to difficulties in transposing the game from Microsoft's proprietary
DirectX Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct", ...
graphical rendering libraries to
OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardwa ...
as well as a clerical error resulting in publishing the wrong minimum system requirements, both compounded by the hectic work schedule demanded by the release of an expansion pack. After new rounds of testing and optimization, sales of the macOS client resumed on February 23, 2016, accompanying the release of Patch 3.2. Another major focus of the expansion is to update the game with DirectX 11 support. The DirectX 11 version of the game includes improvements to water physics, light refraction in water, reflections, and visual quality of shadows and textures over the DirectX 9 client. In addition, the new client is less resource-intensive on the
graphical processing unit A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...
and may improve
frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
s. However, there are no current plans to upgrade to DirectX 12. For consoles, the development team committed to maintaining support for the PlayStation 3 client through the end of the ''Heavensward'' patch cycle. Two new categories of content were introduced during the patch cycle of ''Heavensward'', post-launch: Exploratory Missions and Deep Dungeon. Exploratory Missions are designed to emulate the feel of "first generation" MMORPGs in which players would hunt notorious monsters in the field with hidden spawn conditions. It also fills a gap in the game's content repertoire for huge-scale battles with extremely large numbers of players. However, it was not well-received at launch because of the simplicity of its battle mechanics, the repetitive nature of the gameplay loop, and the randomness of the loot drops which were not tied to skill or effort spent. Deep Dungeon is a
roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
randomly generated instance, inspired by ''
Chocobo Mystery Dungeon is a roguelike dungeon crawler video game developed and published by Square. A spin-off of the ''Final Fantasy'' series of role-playing video games, it was also the first entry in what would become the ''Chocobo'' series. It saw a Japan-only rel ...
''. Yoshida wanted to allow veteran players to party with their friends who are just starting out more quickly; as such, characters are temporarily reset to level one upon entering and level quickly back to the maximum over the course of the first 50 floors. The first section is considered casual content but reaching the 200th floor is intended as a challenge for hardcore players.


Patches

The development team schedules the release of a major update approximately every three months. Each of these free content patches includes a continuation of the main scenario as well as new raids, features, trials, and dungeons. Minor patches that come in between major updates focus on quality of life improvements. As with ''A Realm Reborn'', Square Enix released five major patches for ''Heavensward'' over the course of its two-year content cycle. The final patches serve as a segue into the story of the second expansion, '' Stormblood''.


Music

Masayoshi Soken composed the majority of the expansion's score—over 50 tracks—in addition to his duties as sound director. On the other hand, ''Heavensward'' marked
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...
's first return to the ''Final Fantasy'' series since his work on the original 2010 release of ''Final Fantasy XIV''. Uematsu composed the expansion's main theme, "Dragonsong", and Soken used it as a musical through-line which reappears at multiple points in the story and soundtrack. Susan Calloway, who sang the theme song for the original release, reprised her role for this piece. Soken emphasized the music's connection to the story as important to his composition process, ever focused on enhancing the player's experience through sound. He found that ''Heavensward''s "dark" main story is reflected in the pieces he wrote. Each locale's theme features the instruments that might be played there. Piano was used heavily throughout the soundtrack to add character to the other instruments. Soken's favorite track from ''Heavensward'' was "Revenge Twofold", a dungeon theme; it was originally intended for the Nidhogg battle but was repurposed. ''Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack'' is collection of music from the expansion pack including both the launch and Patch 3.1, "As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness". The album was released by Square Enix on February 24, 2016 on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
disc and includes a documentary about the sound production process featuring Soken. The first print run also came with a special "Spoony Bard" in-game pet, referring to the character from ''Final Fantasy IV''. Unlike the previous ''Final Fantasy XIV'' album, all of the music was new to the album, though 16 of the tracks were previously released in September through November 2015 as ''Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward -EP- Vol. 1.'' through ''3''. The album was well received by Emily McMillan of ''Video Game Music Online'', who lauded the soundtrack's "brilliant, varied, and extraordinarily fun to hear" themes. She praised the unique atmosphere of the new expansion's music, as well as its integration into the overall game's soundscape. Mike Salbato of ''RPGFan'' was impressed by the cohesiveness of the entire soundtrack, owing to the recurrence of motifs from "Heavensward" and "Dragonsong". He also singled out "Night in the Brume" as a graceful, melancholy town theme.


Reception

Critics looked to ''Heavensward'' as a bellwether for the direction of the ''Final Fantasy XIV'' project—if it would continue its comeback story that began with ''A Realm Reborn'' or if it would falter and further damage the series. Reception of the expansion was "generally favorable" for both PC and PlayStation 4 versions, according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, based on 14 and 20 reviews, respectively. ''Heavensward'' sold 47,000 units across PlayStation 3 and 4 versions in Japan in its first week, making it the third bestselling video game of the week in that region. A focal point of praise for the game centered on the story. Pete Davison of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' drew attention to the themes of racism and questioning of religious dogma as well as the dramatic arcs of characters like Ysayle, which he called "among the series' most memorable". Leif Johnson of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' felt similarly, holding it as "the finest ''Final Fantasy'' tale that developer Square Enix has told in a decade". Mike Williams of ''
USgamer Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'' took time to acknowledge the care and detail given to the side quests and commended the localization team for conveying their humor. Many outlets made note of the requirement to finish all ''A Realm Reborn'' main story content before being given access to ''Heavensward''. Davison argued that the decision made sense for the story-centric MMORPG and appreciated the adjustment to quests to make this process easier for new players. Daniella Lucas of ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' agreed, saying "to bypass 'A Realm Reborn''would be a disservice to a truly gripping tale". Johnson recognized the necessity of the story-based gate but criticized the decision to lock the new job classes behind it as well. Reviewers compared the addition of flying gameplay favorably to '' World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade''. Mike Salbato of ''RPGFan'' lauded the choice to lock flying until players had explored each area on foot. Williams echoed this sentiment, observing that it preserves the sense of exploration and wonder in the world. Lucas and Davison were more equivocal about this feature but ultimately agreed with the developers' decision. However, they all agreed the expansive new zones were a highlight of the game, with Adriaan den Ouden of ''RPGamer'' impressed by "spectacular vistas that are simply stunning to behold". Johnson took issue with a particular content gap manifesting toward the latter half of the expansion's leveling progression. Instead of completing a large number of "insipid" filler quests dealing with
moogle are a fictional species of diminutive, sentient creatures and a recurring element of the ''Final Fantasy'' video game franchise, starting with their initial appearance in ''Final Fantasy III''. They also appear in the ''Mana'' and ''Kingdom He ...
s, he opted to run the later leveling dungeons to overcome this hump. Williams and Salbato experienced a similar slow period during this midgame. Like ''A Realm Reborn'', ''Heavensward'' continues the game's strong console feature set and controller support. Lucas maintained that ''Final Fantasy XIV'' is the best MMORPG for video game home consoles, though she cautioned that PlayStation 3 players might experience longer load times than on PlayStation 4. Taken together, the critical response to ''Heavensward'' indicate confidence in the game's direction. Mark Langshaw of ''Digital Spy'' summarized that "''Heavensward'' feels like a reward for the fans who gave ''Final Fantasy XIV'' a second chance after its botched launch in 2010". During the year-end awards cycle, ''Heavensward'' won "Best MMO" from ''RPGFan'', ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'', and ''Massively Overpowered''. It also earned "Best Expansion" from ''Hardcore Gamer''. The BAFTA Games Awards nominated the title for best " evolving game" in both 2016 and 2017 award years.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Video games 2015 video games
Heavensward ''Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward'' is the first expansion pack to '' Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, Apple's macOS, Pla ...
Japanese role-playing video games MacOS games Massively multiplayer online role-playing games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games Role-playing video games Video game expansion packs Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Masayoshi Soken Video games set on fictional planets Windows games