Final Fantasy 14's next expansion, Evercold, was officially announced during the recent Fanfest, and the implications for the game's future are massive. After years of a stagnant formula, Square Enix has promised significant overhauls to reimagine what this MMO can become.

However, the developers are moving cautiously to avoid repeating Star Wars Galaxies' tragic fate. While new "Evolved" job designs are coming, players will still have access to the original mechanics through a specific toggle.

Learning from Star Wars Galaxies' Tragic Fate

During a Q&A session attended by PC Gamer's Andrea Shearon, director Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) revealed that the decision to keep old job designs available was heavily influenced by the history of another MMO. Yoshi-P explicitly cited Star Wars Galaxies' tragic fate as a cautionary tale for the development team.

The reference points to the 2005 "New Game Enhancements" (NGE) update, which aimed to modernize the game but ultimately stripped away its signature complexity and charm. This era of the game saw:

  • A massive loss of unique professions and non-standard roles.
  • Widespread player criticism following a major expansion release.
  • A wave of player departures that eventually led to the game's shutdown in December 2011.

"I actually really liked Star Wars Galaxies and its game design, but they—for the betterment of the gameplay experience, and they were doing it for the players—took an existing system, and they just changed it to something entirely new, and players did not take that very well," Yoshi-P stated. He noted that many in the community still refer to it as a "very tragic incident."

The "Evolved" vs. "Reborn" Job System

To prevent a similar backlash, Square Enix is introducing a "reborn" mode toggle. This allows players to access the original job designs, ensuring that legacy content like older raids remains playable and balanced. While maintaining two different sets of over two dozen jobs presents a significant design challenge, it protects the familiarity players have built over the last 15 years.

The "Evolved" redesigns aim to streamline button counts while providing much more unique, bespoke identities for each role. We have already seen glimpses of this shift in Dawntrail with jobs like Viper and Pictomancer. Some of the radical changes coming to the Evolved system include:

  • Paladin: New defensive cooldowns that allow for counter-attacks similar to a parry.
  • Dragoon: An ultimate attack featuring a massive 90% damage reduction while active.

Yoshi-P emphasized that because players have spent 13 years (since A Realm Reborn) becoming accustomed to the current system, he could not justify removing it suddenly. "I knew that I didn't want to just suddenly remove what we've been used to. And that was my decision from the start," he explained.

While balancing these two distinct systems will be difficult, the direction is clear. Square Enix is finally embracing experimentation, and even if the transition is messy, the potential for a revitalized Final Fantasy 14 is incredibly high.