STACK June 2017 Issue 152

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Announced at last year’s Fan Fest, Final
Fantasy XIV: Stormblood will mark
the end of support for the PlayStation
3 edition of the game, launching only on PC
and PS4. The follow up to Heavensward,
Stormblood will add new story content, two
new jobs, as well as new raids and dungeons
for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn fans to
enjoy.
You’ll adventure around the new area of
Othard – which will include the new city,
Kugane, the only port open to foreign trade
vessels. And it’ll be up to you to liberate the
city states of Ala Mhigo and Doma from the
nasty Garlean Empire – the antagonists of the
main game. In Stormblood, your player level
cap will be increased from 60 to 70, and your
inventory will get a
handy little expansion
as well.
The two new
jobs being introduced are the
red mage and the samurai. Red mages
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are ranged magic DPS attackers that are
highly mobile and dangerously proficient with
close-range attacks. Red mages can also link
multiple spells together using chainspell, and
follow those up with melee attacks, making
for a pretty deadly foe. Samurai, on the other
hand, are katana-wielding badasses that
favour melee attacks, and can store energy
within their swords to unleash special attacks.
With the two new jobs comes the addition
of swimming and diving to your kit – yeah,
really. You can even dive while riding flying
mounts in some places. Keep an eye out
underwater for some previously inaccessible
NPCs.
Stormblood will also introduce new beast
tribes, and new primals for them to worship.
One of these is the Ananta – an all-female
tribe residing in the mountains, who worship
the primal Lakshmi.
Of course, what would an FFXIV expansion
be without new raids. The new high-level
raid, The Bend of Time – Omega, will see
the return of the main story’s Omega in full
force. You’ll have to wait for the game to be
released to discover the full truth behind
the mystery of The Bend of Time. The new
Alliance raid, Return to Ivalice, on the other
hand, was developed with the assistance of
two special guest creators. Yasumi Matsuno
from Final Fantasy XII wrote the raid’s
surrounding story; Keita Amemiya the lead
boss and monster design.
But wait, there’s more. Stormblood will
feature new dungeons, as well as new
residential district Shirogane. Your player
character will have access to new gear
and crafting recipes, and you’ll
even be able to furnish your
homesteads with twice as
many goodies as before.
All this and more is
waiting for you in the
realm of Final Fantasy XIV:
Stormblood on June 20.
Those of you looking for your next Final Fantasy fix will want to check out the latest
drop of content for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Stormblood. Words Alesha Kolbe
Red mages can also link
multiple spells together using
chainspell, and follow those up
with melee attacks, making for
a pretty deadly foe
• Final
Fantasy XIV:
Stormblood
is out June 20