What to expect from Final Fantasy XIV in 2026: New expansion announcement, Jobs, and more

With Dawntrail’s main story being officially over, it is time for Final Fantasy XIV to tie up loose ends while it starts teasing its next chapter. Saying goodbye to the amazing landscapes of Tulliyollal and Solution Nine won’t be easy, but Patch 7.4 is already starting the next story arc, so it’s time to see where the adventures of the Warrior of Light will take us next!

This April, the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival will be celebrated in California. This event is a celebration where fans and players from around the world gather to meet one another, but more importantly, to witness the premiere of the next expansion’s trailer. However, while we’re still months away from that, we’ve got a good idea as to what Square Enix could have in store.

The Escapist recaps

• Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail main scenario ended in Update 7.3, and we’re now entering the beginning of the next expansion.
• With each new expansion, new classes get introduced to the game, but one role in particular has been slightly neglected.
• Even though there’s still time before the Final Fantasy XIV FanFest 2026, some loose ends are yet to be closed.
• We theorize about possible places to discover and potential new allies for the Warrior of Light in the upcoming expansion.

New Jobs (Yoshi-P, please, we need a new Tank)

With each expansion, Final Fantasy XIV brings new Jobs to the table, but it’s been two whole expansions since we had a new Job for the Tank role. Since Endwalker added one DPS and one Healer, and Dawntrail introduces us to just two DPS Jobs, it seems a bit unfair for Tank mains, given that there are only four Tank jobs and a whopping thirteen DPS Jobs to choose from in the game right now.

Granted, the existing Jobs for that role excel as they are, and the usual Tank archetypes of the series are more than covered. Additionally, DPS and Healer Jobs usually allow for more creativity in terms of themes or new play styles. Still, a non-melee Tank could be interesting to see, or a proper hammer-wielding class. Who remembers the Mystic Knight from Final Fantasy V? No, you’re old.

The conclusion of the Echoes of Vanadiel alliance raids

The current cycle of Alliance Raids is still going on, but with Jeuno: The First Walk and San d’Oria: The Second Walk in the rearview, all that remains is to see the conclusion of the crossover mini-arc with Final Fantasy XI, where we get to meet popular characters from that world, like Prishe.

While Sareel Ja Ja prepares for a final confrontation, there’s still one more chapter to play, and on our side stands the character who has developed the most during this story arc, Bakool Ja Ja. The guy has done a solid 180° in personality, becoming one of my favorite characters during this expansion, and it would be fun to see him finish his redemption arc before we leave Tural for good.

New places and worlds to visit

In past expansions, we visited the First, Ninth, and Thirteenth Reflections, each one with its own story arcs and characters. However, seven of the remaining Reflections have rejoined the Source, which leaves us with three more worlds to explore. 

Furthermore, there are numerous areas in Eorzea that the Warrior of Light still hasn’t visited yet, something that Emet Selch admonishes us for not doing during the Endwalker main story. Either in or out of this plane of existence, we still have a lot of places to discover before our adventures are done!

Will the Ascians become potential allies?

In patch 7.4, the Ascians have made their return after a few years of absence, and even though we knew there were more of them around somewhere, it wasn’t until now that another one showed up again, as the timid Ascian Halmarut is introduced during your journey to the Ninth reflection.

This time, however, far from wanting to cause another rejoining, Halmarut and her partner Calyx seem to be focused on preventing a bigger disaster for all the reflections, as Fate might not be just a concept anymore, but a proper villainous force that threatens all existence. You never know with these Ascians, though, so don’t lower your guard just yet.

New mounts

This isn’t really a prediction; we know there will be more, but I just want new silly mounts. Please give me more dumb vehicles and fat cats. I need them.

With more content dropping before the Fan Festival 2026 and even more to come after that, all that remains is to wait for news, while we speculate about what the future holds for the (you knew this was coming) critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV!

Ask The Escapist