Greetings, everyone!
We’ve gathered the questions and answers from the latest FINAL FANTASY XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Tokyo LIVE Q&A stage event. Yoshida shared more about Evercold, including details that weren’t revealed during the Keynote presentation, so there’s plenty to look forward to! The questions are grouped into Normal, Extreme, and Ultimate categories. We hope you enjoy reading through them!
Jump to a specific section: Normal| Extreme| Ultimate
* Please note that the presentation audio is available in Japanese only.
Normal Category
Question:
If Yoshi-P were isekai’d (transported) to another world and ended up in Eorzea, what kind of job would he take up? Would he become an adventurer after all?
Answer:
The leaders can be a little irritating. I understand the politics of it, but it makes me think, ‘You lot should take a bit more initiative yourselves.’ Rather than remaining an adventurer, I would probably seize control of one of the three city-states, annex the others, turn Eorzea into a great power, and wage an all-out war against Garlemald. I would try to bring everything under my control and ultimately confront Emperor Solus. If I were going to do it, I would go that far.
Question:
Of all the characters appearing from Evercold onward, please tell us your favorite using gestures only. I’d like to play through Evercold while trying to work out which character you mean! (Please don’t reveal their name!)
Answer:
Question:
I’m currently playing Final Fantasy VII Remake. To fully enjoy the collaboration raid, how far should I play through the remake beforehand?
Answer:
First of all, thank you for playing Final Fantasy VII Remake. The Remake project is a trilogy, and its third installment will be released after our raid. Of course, we are making the raid enjoyable even for those who have not played the Remake series. However, as it is one of our company’s flagship titles and the trilogy will be completed, I would personally like everyone to play it. For now, if you play the first Remake title, you should understand the fundamentals. Start with the first game, although once you finish it, you will probably think, ‘Rebirth is there too,’ and end up playing that as well. You do not need to grind through every available content, though.
Question:
Questions about the keynote!
- Will Adventurer Activity rewards be obtainable again after the season ends?
- Will the music in the Gauntlet of Power change depending on the boss?
- How will rewards work after the alliance raid is split up?
Answer:
- We plan to provide a proper way to obtain the rewards again after a season ends. Going back two or three seasons may be difficult, so in those cases I think we will bring them back periodically in a revival-style format.
- The music in the Gauntlet of Power changes according to the boss. I’m sure everyone will get excited to hear Triumph start playing when a boss from Stormblood appears, or when you realize, “This one is from Shadowbringers!” and so on.
- The first and second halves will each have their own rewards, so everyone will not simply repeat the first half. The second-half rewards are only available from the second half. You can queue for whichever side has the rewards you want, as their reward pools are different.
Question:
What is your bedtime routine?
Answer:
I watch videos explaining the latest research announcements in quantum mechanics and cosmology, as well as preprint papers that have not yet been peer reviewed. Interpretations of the universe are changing dramatically at the moment, and I find that irresistibly fascinating. It is deeply connected to the direction of FFXIV’s next story and how we interpret it. The section involving the Ea in Endwalker incorporated several proper concepts from quantum mechanics and cosmology in a relatively accessible form. Looking ahead to the story’s larger trajectory, the things that interest me most also give me inspiration for creating things, so that is probably what I watch most often.
Otherwise, I usually play ranked Crystalline Conflict. I start off on a winning streak thinking, “Today’s my day!” then something suddenly changes, I keep losing, bleed a huge amount of rating, become too frustrated to sleep, and at around 4:30 a.m. think, “I can’t do this anymore…” That is roughly my usual routine.
Question:
Why is Hiroshi a Reaper in Evercold this time? Reaper is my current main job, so I’m delighted!
Answer:
There are two reasons. Hiroshi has grown from a young man into a mature, seasoned fellow, but we have very few jobs left that suit him, which is something we struggle with every time. It is easy when a new job fits, but Pictomancer would be a little difficult. He looks cool as a Reaper, doesn’t he? Also, Halmarut teased him, saying, “You could devour everything as well, just like that man,” (direct translation of the Japanese dialogue) while looking up at the moon. I imagine that may have stirred something within him. Various fates will befall everyone again in Evercold’s story, so please look forward to it. That is all I can say.
Question:
I can’t forget the scene in the Shadowbringers trailer where the Warrior of Light fights while switching jobs. Even if it were solo-only content, could you somehow bring that experience into the game?
Answer:
With Shadowbringers, he becomes the Warrior of Darkness. To communicate that power of darkness clearly in the trailer, we showed him using all the jobs he had taken on throughout his history and all the jobs with which he had survived countless fierce battles after being sent to the First, yet still being unable to defeat the Sin Eater and the Lightwarden. Just as he is about to be defeated, he becomes a Dark Knight and destroys it in a single blow with the power of darkness. That was how we constructed the trailer; we could not have him disengage from battle and change jobs properly each time.
That explanation is actually a clue as to why this cannot work in gameplay. It is technically possible to create, but if we did, everyone would pursue the most efficient solution: switch to this job at this moment, change to this role at that moment, become a healer here and heal once, and ask which sequence is correct. That would miss the point. If we designed it as proper gameplay content, it probably would not resemble that cinematic experience.
Extreme Category
Question:
Could you add preview images to the Modern Aesthetics hairstyle catalogs? It’s hard to tell what a hairstyle looks like from the name alone, and I once obtained an afro because I mistakenly thought it was a curly hairstyle!
Answer:
If this were limited to an inn room or another designated location, we might be able to let players preview currently implemented Modern Aesthetics hairstyles they have not yet obtained. We could consider that approach.
Question:
Could you tell us just a little about Black Mage’s Evolved Mode?
Answer:
Triplecast will be removed and replaced by a different ability. It will no longer grant three instant casts.
Ley Lines will also change. Rather than its effect lasting for 30 seconds while you remain inside it, its effect will apply to a set number of spells cast while standing within it. Instead of thinking that you must stay inside for the full 30 seconds, you could deliberately place Ley Lines, cast another spell elsewhere while handling a mechanic, use Between the Lines to return, cast twice within it, and then move out again. I think that will make it interesting in a different way.
Question:
Savage will yield individual rewards, but what happens to the treasure coffers if someone in the party has already cleared?
Answer:
We’ll go into more detail about this in the Letter from the Producer LIVE before release.
Players who don’t normally do Savage may not be familiar with how it currently works, but there’s a weekly restriction. If your party includes players who have already cleared that week, the number of treasure coffers that appear is reduced.
With the Savage dropping individual coffers, for example, I think the question is asking: if four players in the party have already cleared that week and the other four haven’t, would that mean only two of those four players get their individual coffers?
No, all four will get them. So players who have already cleared will be able to help others without affecting their rewards.
This should make it much easier to say things like, “I want to get the base raid gear, so could you help me?” Or perhaps half the party has already cleared and can say, “We’ll help you out, so let’s try for the rest of us to get it. It’s fine if we take our time.”
In the past, we approached it from the perspective that players should have to earn their rewards fairly through their own ability. But this time, since there will also be a system for upgrading that gear afterward, we’ve designed it so that players can help each other like this.
Question:
I’d like to practice PvP, so could Frontline and Crystalline Conflict maps be made available for Explorer Mode?
Answer:
It is technically possible, but there is a somewhat difficult issue. We have content servers that create many instances. In four-player content, one reserved instance is occupied by four people. If everyone could enter alone, a large number of instances would each be occupied by a single player, which could exhaust the content world capacity. Therefore, we cannot necessarily make everything freely explorable.
We would like to consider ways for newcomers to PvP to look around the maps as part of the beginner support being implemented. I have also spoken with tournament participants, who said that maps are essential when teaching beginners how to break line of sight and other techniques for improving. I would like to look into it.
Question:
I was curious after seeing Zephyr fly: can the action where Zephyr attacks while moving be used to avoid AoEs?
Answer:
When you ask whether it can avoid AoEs, do you mean that, because Zephyr is flying, ground attacks should not hit it? In FFXIV, AoEs can involve something bursting upward from below or missiles falling from above, so being slightly airborne does not avoid attacks in the vertical direction. However, Zephyr’s movement speed increases dramatically, and it attacks automatically while you move freely. During a particularly dangerous sequence of mechanics, you can move at high speed with Zephyr while its attacks continue automatically, allowing you to focus on dodging. I think it will be very useful.
I will not say what happens if you reach the edge of a map without railings, though.
Question:
Are there any plans to add dedicated storage for fishing bait?
Answer:
We have no plans to add dedicated storage. We do not plan to do so at any point, because the entire method of managing fishing bait will change in 8.0. You will no longer need to carry the items themselves. Bait will broadly be obtained in three ways: purchasing it from specific NPCs with gil, unlocking it as your Fisher level increases, and receiving it as a quest reward. Once obtained, it will be managed in a list and can be used indefinitely.
There are an enormous number of baits, so when you visit a fishing location, a function will filter the list to show only the bait usable there. A fishing-bait catalog will also show which bait you have and have not obtained, effectively providing a dedicated bait log. Thank you for waiting; bait will no longer take up inventory space.
As usual, the bait you currently possess will be collected by a certain NPC and exchanged for gil or scrips.
Question:
Are there any plans to further expand Island Sanctuary? Even just adding more rewards would be nice…
Answer:
We have received a considerable number of requests from players around the world for continued Island Sanctuary updates. We had originally discussed taking a short break, but once things settle down after 8.0, I am thinking about resuming small, gradual updates. It will take a little time, but since everyone has created and enjoyed their islands, I would like to do a little more with the content. Island Sanctuary enthusiasts, please wait a little longer.
Ultimate Category
Question:
Can the type and color of Zephyr’s familiar, Nephele, be changed?
Answer:
Nephele supports two-channel dyeing. If you give dye to a specific NPC, you will be able to dye two areas using the available dye colors.
Question:
Could you share any behind-the-scenes stories from the development of Dancing Mad (Ultimate), or any ideas that were ultimately cut?
Answer:
Kefka’s never-before-seen appearance in the final phase was based on the idea that he realizes he is a meta-level being created by Omega and deliberately uses that power to assume the form he imagines for the ultimate mage. We asked Tetsuya Nomura what Kefka would look like under that premise, and he came back with a magical wand. It was something we would never have conceived ourselves. Given Kefka’s clownish nature, it felt slightly mocking, as if he were saying, ‘This is what the strongest mage looks like, right?’ We all burst out laughing, while also getting goosebumps at Nomura-san’s brilliance.
There were originally a few more phases, but it was becoming far too long and extreme, so we removed the last one and settled on the current length.
Question:
You mentioned officially supporting the floating of housing items. Will we be able to float furnishings other than tabletop items? Ideally, I’d love to be able to float anything!
Answer:
If we are going to do it, we will do everything. The planet Etheirys is filled with aether. It may be invisible, but as Warriors of Light, you should be able to sense the aether drifting around you. Once this user interface is implemented, the power of aether will act upon all furnishings and allow them to float.
There will probably be a few exceptions. For example, moving ceiling lights to unusual positions may not be possible because of the processing load associated with lighting. Fundamentally, however, we want to let players use their ingenuity with as many different furnishings as possible.
Question:
Regarding the new weekly points: if we collect a lot, we won’t be able to carry them over to the following week, will we? It would be great if, when we can play a lot one week, we could collect some in advance for the next week.
Answer:
That will not be possible. It is a matter of human psychology: if you can save points for the following week, you feel that you have to do so. In other words, you feel disadvantaged if you do not stockpile them, and once you can see the future requirement, you feel compelled to complete it. Next week’s cap effectively becomes visible, and players end up suffering because of it. It is far less stressful to move into the next week with points still missing and think, ‘If I have time this week, I can collect what I missed.’ That is why the system is designed this way.
Question:
I’ve fallen in love with Alisaie. Are there any plans to add a dating event?
Answer:
I think imagining all sorts of possibilities may be more enjoyable. After all, there is a chance that the dating-event scenario we create could be poorly received. It might be possible to create a location or atmosphere like that, but going any further feels a bit like overstepping.
I do not want such an event to determine a character’s fate, especially when that character might one day meet their end or travel somewhere else.
Like all of you, every character continues to grow and adventure toward their own dreams and goals. I do not want to narrow those possibilities, even though something intended to be positive.
Question:
When equipping high-end encounter weapons, such as those from Ultimate duties, could their special effects also appear when using actions?
Answer:
This concerns how the game is built. Actions are not programmed or processed according to which weapon you are holding; they are designed so that the same VFX appears correctly regardless of the weapon. Creating a corresponding effect for every movement of every action specifically when an Ultimate weapon is equipped would be far too extensive. Weapon effects and character effects are fundamentally different types of effect.
We might be able to achieve something similar by making a VFX appear on the player character when they obtain an Ultimate weapon, so I would like to consider that as a future challenge.
For now, I would rather focus on extending to the character’s body what we announced yesterday for fully upgraded raid weapons, which will receive three special VFX. That would be the place, if, for example, a player wants to look like the ultimate master dragoon, to do so. To this, I would like you to let us prioritize that first.
Question:
Could the weapon-drawn idle animations be made available to all characters regardless of gender, or could new ones be added? I’d happily obtain them as content rewards or even pay for them!
Answer:
We would like to broaden the scope of action skins further, so we may consider this as part of that initiative. This is already included among the items under consideration.
Question:
Could it be… that Allagan tomestones are going away?
Answer:
Allagan tomestones of poetics will be removed. Thank you, Poetics, for 13 years of service…
Generally speaking, players will raise their level with Adventurer Activity points and earn rewards that way. However, FFXIV’s Armoury system lets you play many different jobs, and players may later want seasonal gear for a secondary job. Making all of that dependent upon Adventurer Activities would become burdensome. For situations like those, Allagan tomestones will remain as an extremely versatile currency, although the separate named varieties that used to follow them will no longer exist.
