FF14 7.56 just gave us a first taste of Evercold, with a new special site
January creeps ever closer, and with it FF14 Evercold, the next expansion in the ongoing tale of the critically acclaimed MMORPG. It’s a fresh start in a lot of ways – from taking a full step into the ‘Godless Realms saga’ to the introduction of a completely new combat style, Evolved Mode. Our adventure starts much earlier, however, because next week brings FF14 7.56, the final patch of Dawntrail, and an update to the game’s ‘special site’ suggests it’ll give us our first glimpse of a major new character.
Our Final Fantasy 14 journey in Evercold is set to take us to the Fourth, a Norse-inspired world where giant ‘realmships’ carry cities through the sky over a frozen wasteland. Along the way we’re naturally going to encounter a whole new cast, and while I’m probably most excited about the Köttr, who are basically dwarven cats, another big mystery is the young, pink-haired Miqo’te girl. In the trailer, she’s seen perched on the edge of an airship, where she inspects a magical tool and clashes with a giant bird.
Game Director ‘Yoshi-P’ teased that this character is called Visna (or perhaps Visne or Vysna, as we weren’t shown an official spelling), and that’s a very intriguing name. It’s both the name of a legendary shieldmaiden from Scandinavian literature, and an Old Norse word that translates to “wither” (‘visne’ in modern Norwegian) – which ties into Halmarut’s proclamation of “the great withering to come.” Whether that’s deliberate foreshadowing or happy circumstance, it appears we’ll be getting our first impression of Visna during FF14 patch 7.56.
The latest update to the special site shows an image of Visna, magical artifact in hand, as part of the second half of the Trail to the Heavens MSQ. The accompanying text reads: “The Solstice – a rejoining of the reflections guided by nature itself. Still reeling from Halmarut’s proclamation, the Scions waver over how to face the looming calamity. Yet even as they falter, a path leading to horizons unknown opens before them…” This isn’t too unusual; the final patch of Endwalker was where we first met Wuk Lamat and set up the framework for Dawntrail, so it would make sense to have someone from Evercold take center stage here.
The image makes it hard to tell where Visna is, and of course her appearance in the Evercold trailer is no guarantee that she’s a native of the Fourth, and not simply another character from the Source who happens to come along on our adventures. To dip more expressly into recent story spoilers, while we now have the means to travel between reflections, and have been told that the Fourth is going to play a key role in what’s to come, we don’t yet know exactly how we’ll get there. Perhaps Visna will help in that regard.
There’s more to look forward to in patch 7.56 as well. We’ve got the launch of the Beastmaster and its accompanying new activity, the Crucible of the Unbroken. This new ‘limited job’ will see us capturing all manner of classic Final Fantasy beasties to fight alongside us, Pokémon style, in a roguelite-inspired mode. You’ll also be able to summon your companions in town, so get ready for Limsa Lominsa to look a lot busier.
FF14 patch 7.56 releases on Tuesday September 8. There’s one more feature to come after that, too, as the new Gold Saucer update and Keybound Brawler minigame are set to arrive on Wednesday October 28. The first set of typing tests and rewards are all themed around Final Fantasy 7, so expect plenty more Tifa and Barrett cosplays as the year comes to a close.