Get All The New Details From Fan Fest Japan Including Zephyr, Fierce Raid &

Fresh details on Final Fantasy XIV Evercold have been revealed by Square Enix during Fan Fest Japan. We got a ton of details, both good and bad, that has some fans excited but also a little bit confused over some of the massive changes planned.

First off, Square Enix unveiled a full trailer; previously, the publisher broke down the trailer into three parts during each Fanfest, with the final one having This gives a tease to each location, but we got to see more of Visna and Baldr! Plus a character that is very familiar if you’ve been playing the game long enough.

The release date has been officially delayed until February (which for personal reasons is a bit of a shame!), but if the game needs more time to be worked on, then that’s understandable. The release date for Early Access is February 19, 2027, and the full launch is February 23, 2027. Preorders will open up on November 4, 2026.

Fly like a bird!

The new physical job, which was teased in previous patches during Dawntrail, is the physical ranged job: Zephyr. Just like Bastion, which is the new double shield tank that was announced recently, this job will start at level 90 and can only be played in the new Evolved combat mode. You will need to visit Gridania to unlock the job. The job comes with a pet called Nephele, which is a bird that will do combos with you.

It’s also been revealed that you will be able to use the dye system to customize the colour of your Nephele, and it will have the two tone dye system, which will help make it feel more unique to you. I hope we get more custom options for Summoner in the future!

Some New-Old Characters? Who Is This Mysterious Woman?

If you have kept up with the most recent MSQ, then we know that Alphinauld and Estinien will be joining us during Evercold. But also we learned more about Zephyr, Visna. From what we have experienced so far, she seems to be a community loved character.

The trailer also teased a new character called Baldr, who will be the Bastion tank job. I personally love his outfit, and he looks incredibly stylish. He is the leader of the realmship Hringhorni, which is the ship of fire. One major factor to consider: we arrived in this realm due to thinking of Ysayle, whom we lost a long time ago. In the trailer we saw a character named Lagertha, who also goes by the name Rime Blood, and has a striking similarity to Ysayle.

We also got to see new images of Halmarut and Calyx, who are already a key point of the story, especially with what seemed to be teased during the most recent patch about Halmarut, who may originally be from the 4th shard?

Ships ahoy! Locations abound

Elsewhere, we also got a ton of information on different realms; due to the story, mortals have moved over to the ships, as the planet itself is too harsh to live on. As such, they are split and on several different ships, and if you have seen the story, they are unable to visit other ships, so they are limited to the location they are born on.

Square Enix had already showcased Naglfar, Realmship of Water, and Hringhorni, Realmship of Fire at previous fanfests. This time, we got a preview of Sessrymnir, the Realmship of Earth. We caught a glimpse at exploring both above-ground areas and below-ground mining caves, which seemed to be filled with crystals. In addition, the development team also mentioned large, complex magic rituals. I do wonder if this is how the materials reappear, as it would be strange for a ship to basically have unlimited resources when it’s floating in the sky.

We also got to see Skiðblaðnir, the Realmship of Wind, which had the cute Kottr, and we got to see their lovely village. I can see this new allied society as a fan favorite, and I am hoping we will get an outfit based on them. Beyond that, fans got a look at Hjartadunur, which Yoshi P said after finishing MSQ you should make sure to check out every location.

Also, after complaints that the previous expansion, Jump Puzzles, was too easy, the development team confirmed they have added new Jump Puzzles that are even more challenging, including an ultimate jump challenge.

Pick Your Own Adventure

One of the key changes announced during Berlin Fanfest was that the story can be done in different ways; you will start at A, but you can do B/C/D (terms used as examples) in any way you want. Also, NPCs will have different dialogue based on your choice.

For the dungeons, enemies now feature the new Auto Content Balancing feature, so even if you are a higher level, they will be scaled up to you. This is different from the previous level sync feature, which would make you go back down to that level. This means you will have access to all your high-level skills.

Not A Battle Pass, But A Season Pass!

In a previous fanfest, we got to see the new season pass, which will be a weekly reward structure versus the previous daily one that we have had for so long. You can also stack these, so if you do miss a week, you can go back and do it without worrying too much. The team then revealed that the UI background will change depending on your location, though on a personal note, I hope that, like adventurer plates, we can set a background of our choice in the future.

The expansion will be split into seasons; each season will last two patches, though as there are normally five in total per expansion, the fifth patch will perhaps just have one extended season.

The Combat Has Evolved

The new Evolved mode job system has been finished for all jobs; this system will make it slightly easier for controller players as it shrinks the number of buttons you have. The new jobs will only have access to this evolved system. They are now working on the balance for this system before the launch. Players can easily swap between Evolved and Reborn. Though not confirmed in the live letter, it looks like you could see who was in which mode from the party menu, which is something to think about going forward.

You will now be able to share your IVL with all your jobs once the job has reached the level cap, which is 110. So, if you are a White Mage main, then swap over to a different job to help out a friend or because a party requires a different role, or just simply to learn the role, you can sync the gear. You will lose any materia benefits and some other things, so getting gear is still more optimal, but this will help with swapping for fun.

Glamour it up!

Berlin Fan Fan also revealed that certain actions, such as return, will allow players to customise the visual effect and animations. These can be obtained as rewards, while limited at launch; more are planned in the future.

One of the big things coming up in Patch 8.0 is that we can expect the colour picker for eye, hair, and skin tone; improved customisation for eyes and lips; the addition of eye shadow; and face paint layering. Version 8.1 will also add racial feature toggles, and to demonstrate this the team changed Au Ra Horns, while coloured contacts will also be implemented that allow for easier Iris colour customisation. The future live letter will showcase this, along with the benchmark, in early December.

Explore, Discover & Enjoy

During a previous fan fest, Square Enix mentioned World Raids, though we still have no details on this feature. The studio also mentioned that more information will be showcased later, and that it will arrive in 8.x and not in the base game.

One of the best things from the mobile version that never arrived here was the Auto Move function. This is still being worked on and has no date yet, but as someone who gets lost very easily, I cannot wait to see this get added into the game. Talking auto features, there will be an auto mount feature that will put you back on the mount after talking to an NPC or gathering nodes, though some things will cancel the mount, such as swapping zones.

Also, there are several store mounts that increase your movement speed. These mounts are often used at launch because you have to unlock level 2 movement normally, but starting with Evercold, if you own one of the mounts, all the mounts you own will have the level 1 movement speed bonus. I would like to see one of these movement speed boosts be added to the game, though, as they are currently all locked behind microtransactions.

It’s A Bit Of A RUSH

Square Enix also confirmed the name of a new type of that was previously teased. This will be called Fierce, and is a step between normal and savage. While the developers mentioned that it’s slightly easier than Extreme Trials (which I’m not really sure if I like) it should be around the same if not slightly harder than Extreme if you want folk to get into Savage. Fierce will help with gear upgrades.

Alliance raids also get split into two different raids per floor rather than one lengthy boss fight. This is, for time and again, something I am not a fan of, but I will judge once the expansion is out next year. Evercold and future alliance raids will be like this, and rewards will be the same as previous alliance raids.

New savage alliance raids have also been added, although technically they aren’t really alliance raids as they are limited to eight players (however, Yoshi P chuckled that the name makes sense!) These will be released around the same time as the alliance raid; it will be roughly the same as 3rd-floor normal raid savage fights.

One of the best announcements was the Gauntlet of Power. This is a unique 200-boss rush that you can join with either a group of friends or find randomers to join your group, and pulls from all the different bosses in the game. If your friend hasn’t taken part in these encounters howevr, then that boss will not be used in the rush. Furthermore, each time you defeat a boss, you can vote to continue or end there; if one person votes no, then it ends right away. While we know it will grant EXP, but actual rewards were blurred out at the time.

Gearing Up, It’s Changing

With the new season pass (not the battle pass), you’ll be able to earn seasonal gear for free, along with the traditional raid gear. Since this information, we also learned that crafted gear will return, though we have no details on this yet.

Seasonal gear is designed for the average player; you gain points from doing things such as PvP, dungeons, raids, etc., which unlocks gear that can be shared across all jobs. This means, for example, when you get the chest piece, the sub-stats will swap based on caster or melee-based role. You can gain them from the UI, rather than from an NPC. I wish this was optional, as exploring the world to visit the NPC gave something to the game rather than having everything be UI-based.

Seasonal gear can be upgraded once per season, using specific items. These items, like previous raid gear, will be time gated but eventually become easier to unlock over time.

One big change to Raid gear is that now, every player will get their own unique loot. Previously loot was rolled on, and tradition was DPS first, then tanks, then healers, but with this system, even we poor healers will be able to get week-one loot. Just like relics, you can change the sub-stats on the relic to whatever you want, though for most this will be critical/direct hit, as it will be an illusion of choice.

Unlike previous raid gear, you will be able to upgrade it twice per season. Plus, there’s the addition of the Materia slot function to the raid gear; an item from the season pass will be used to add the advanced materia slots. Just like season gear, this will become easier over time.

In addition, you will be able to add unique graphical effects to the weapon; you can select one of three different effects to make the weapon more personal. Mored details will be shown at a future live letter. There was an original mistranslation saying all three effects can be on, but Yoshida clarified this wasn’t the case.

The Final Fantasy VII raid series, Beyond the Lifestream, will launch in 8.01, which is normally two-three weeks after the launch of the game; Savage will release slightly after this. Fierce, which is actually a little easier, will be released a week after Savage. The team want to preserve the world-first race the community does, such as the one hosted often by the lovely FrostyMog (thank you again for allowing me to do commentary on the most recent world-first race). Keep in mind this schedule could change in the future.

There’s a lot more details to cover such as duty support with two friends, chocobo dungeons and much much more is also coming to Evercold in 8.x. Though I have some issues with the updates, such as the Alliance Raid change, I can’t wait to try it out for myself .

The post Final Fantasy XIV Evercold Delayed To Feb. 23, 2027 – Get All The New Details From Fan Fest Japan Including Zephyr, Fierce Raid & Split Alliance Raid appeared first on PlayStation Universe.