FF XIV Evercold’s New Jobs Could Throw Players Back To The 8-bit Era

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With the story in Tural now finished, the game is gearing up for its next major update, the Evercold expansion, which will be released in January 2027. Square Enix has announced that Evercold will introduce two new character classes, and the expansion’s setting may provide clues about what those classes will be, potentially drawing inspiration from one of the earliest games in the series.

Each expansion of Final Fantasy 14 introduces new jobs, and Dawntrail will be no different. When it launches, players will be able to try out the Viper and Pictomancer, with the Beastmaster arriving in 2026. The Viper and Pictomancer are both powerful damage-dealing classes known for their visually impressive abilities.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold Is Adding Two New Jobs

Naoki Yoshida, the director of Final Fantasy 14, announced that the game will be getting two new jobs: a Tank and a Physical Ranged DPS. The first job will be fully unveiled at the Fan Festival in Berlin on July 25-26, 2026.

Yoshida explained that the new jobs will be completely original to Final Fantasy 14, similar to how the Reaper job was introduced in the Endwalker expansion. However, the setting of Evercold hints that the story might revisit an older Final Fantasy game – one that long-time fans will likely recognize.

Final Fantasy 14’s Setting Hints Jobs Could Be Final Fantasy 3 Reference

Players can find echoes of the original Final Fantasy 3 within Final Fantasy 13, including references to the Crystal Tower and its final boss, the Cloud of Darkness. Final Fantasy 3 was also groundbreaking for its time, as it was the first game in the series to allow players to change character classes (jobs) freely, even outside of combat.

The possibility of a conflict involving nations was foreshadowed at the end of the Endwalker expansion. It seems this new story might also draw inspiration from Game of Thrones, similar to what we saw in Final Fantasy 16. Both Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16 are developed by the same team at Square Enix.

Given the Norse inspiration of the upcoming Evercold expansion, the new character classes likely draw from the Viking and Ranger jobs in Final Fantasy 3. The Viking especially fits the Tank role perfectly – in Final Fantasy 3, and particularly its 3D remake, the Viking’s main ability was to draw enemy attacks, which is exactly what a Tank does: protecting the team by taking damage.

Final Fantasy 14

The character already has an Archer job, but it feels basic and lacks personality. They upgraded to a Bard, which doesn’t really match the archer theme. Introducing a Ranger class would be a better fit for the harsh world of Evercold, envisioning a job focused on hunting large creatures and surviving in the wild with a bow.

It’s confusing that Yoshida mentioned Viking and Ranger classes will be unique to Final Fantasy 14, since they’re expected to appear in Evercold as well. While the core idea of these classes will probably remain, they’ll likely be enhanced to fit the world of epic heroes. The name “Viking” might be changed, as it’s a real-world historical term that doesn’t quite fit Evercold. Similarly, “Ranger” could be considered too plain, and might be reimagined with a magical focus, perhaps becoming more like Druids.

The recent Dawntrail expansion showed that Final Fantasy 14 can still create exciting new classes, and Evercold aims to do the same. What makes Evercold particularly promising is that it’s also updating the game’s combat system.

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2026-04-27 20:45