Action role playing game Final Fantasy 16 gets its second paid DLC, The Rising Tide. It’s a meatier experience than Echoes of the Fallen, adding new story content, locations and a brand new Eikon, Leviathan. Here’s what you should know before its worldwide launch on April 18th for PS5.
Mysidia
In The Rising Tide, players venture to a brand new region, Mysidia, described as a “sanctuary for those who know where to look” and a “lost oasis” that the Blight hasn’t touched. As showcased at the PAX East 2024 panel, it’s a lush, vibrant region with dense forests, waterfalls and a part of the ocean in suspended motion. Wonder if that has anything to do with Leviathan? There’s also a new town to visit, ruins – including a section surrounded by a magic dome – and more.
Shula
Of course, players won’t traverse the new region alone. Shula joins Clive on his quest, wielding an axe and matching his height. Little else is known about her, aside from wanting to rescue Leviathan’s Dominant, whom she has a connection with, but the developer did hint at some tragedy in her past.
New Sidequests
Side quests were a bit…lacking in Echoes of the Fallen, never mind the criticism they faced in the base game. The Rising Tide will feature about ten new side quests, the developer confirmed to Famitsu, and some of them even utilize Chocobos.
New and Returning Enemies
A new DLC means new enemies, but RPG fans will also encounter a series staple – Tonberries. These aren’t the cute little lantern-carrying, knife-wielding creatures, though – they look more sinister and menacing. There’s also King Tonberry, who towers over the player and wields a giant sword. Other enemies like Northern Wolves, Eddies, Wily Wolf Traps and more also exist to beat down.
Leviathan Boss Fight
As revealed many months ago, the major boss fight is against Leviathan, the Eikon of Water. The fight is “especially challenging” and “really different” from previous battles. It’s billed as a “final hurrah” for Ifrit, though what that could mean remains to be seen, especially considering the base game’s ending.
New Eikonic Abilities
Leviathan isn’t just there for show – it also provides several new abilities. Its Eikonic Feat is Serpent’s Cry, which turns Clive’s arm into a serpent that dishes out long-range damage. These include abilities like a laser that detonates in an area and a ground slam bringing two rows of water projectiles to crush an enemy. Perhaps the best is standing in one place while Clive fires off several projectiles in a machine gun-like fashion.
Tidal Gauge and Active Reload
The Leviathan abilities function differently than other Eikons, relying on a Tidal Gauge that must be reloaded. One neat addition is an Active Reload mechanic. If you time it right, you can briefly gain unlimited ammo. It’s a cool addition and, based on the PAX East gameplay, synergizes pretty well with existing abilities. Oddly enough, the PlayStation Blog also teased another power that Clive would inherit aside from Leviathan, but we’ll need to wait and see for ourselves.
Kairos Gate
The story and side quests aren’t the only new content in The Rising Tide. It also features a new endgame activity – Kairos Gate. Available at the Arete Stone after finishing the base game and The Rising Tide scenarios, it sees players battling through 20 stages (known as Circles) that increase in difficulty. There are several boss fights to clear, and new materials and weapons are found after each stage. It also supports leaderboards for the competitive-minded
Enhancements and Boons
When clearing a Circle in Kairos Gate, you receive points for Enhancements and Boons. The former requires EP and permanently increases Clive’s maximum HP, Defense, Attack Potency and Eikonic Ability Potency for the mode. However, you also have options to increase the duration and potency of Boons. Boons require BP, and while only lasting for a brief period, they provide powerful perks.
Post-battle HP Recovery will increase the amount of HP restored after completing a Circle. Precision Dodge Slowdown extends the slowdown from a Precision Dodge by 0.3 seconds and stops the Technical Gauge from depleting for five seconds. There are also boons for increasing Aerial Attack damage, score bonuses from Eikonic Abilities and much more.
Secret Boss
Of course, that’s not all, as those who achieve an S rating for each stage of Kairos Gate will unlock a secret stage with a secret boss. Not much else is known, but it’s allegedly an “insane” boss in terms of challenge. The Knights of the Round, perhaps? One can only hope.
Increased Level Cap
To help accommodate these additional challenges, the DLC will also raise the level cap of the Story and Action-Focused Modes, and new game plus mode. The former will go from level 50 to 60 while the latter goes from level 100 to 110.
Playtime
There’s good news for those skeptical about The Rising Tide’s playtime, especially with how short Echoes of the Fallen was. Back in December, the developer confirmed to Famitsu that it’s ten hours long. Given everything we know thus far, it seems like the ideal length for story DLC.
Free Update with Quick Complete, Skill Sets
Those who don’t purchase The Rising Tide will also have something to look forward to. A free update adds essential quality-of-life features like Quick Complete for teleporting to a quest giver to wrap things up and Skill Set for saving up to five sets of Eikonic Abilities and Feats to switch between. No more having to manually rearrange everything, though it only works outside combat (like gear loadouts). Some adjustments will be made to Abilities and Accessories, while Photo Mode will receive new Tone and Screen Effects.
Epilogue Quest
Interestingly, the journey doesn’t end after finishing The Rising Tide. The developer confirmed that an Epilogue quest becomes available after both DLCs are complete. While it serves as a way to thank players, the developer believes they’ll respond with, “Oh, it was like that,” whatever that could mean. Whether it’ll wrap up all of the loose ends in Valisthea is the real question.
Final Final Fantasy 16 DLC (For Now)
Regardless of how good The Rising Tide is, that’s likely it in terms of Final Fantasy 16 DLC. Regarding interest in additional DLC, the developer told Game Informer, “That’s a difficult question. My honest answer is, ‘I don’t know at the moment,’ but at the same time, the possibility isn’t entirely zero. I don’t want to bar any real possibilities at this time. The reason is that we did spend a lot of effort […] and time creating this game […] and we put a lot of cutting-edge technology into this game.”
There’s also the fact that the team wants to take on “a new challenge and move on to a different project – maybe it’s a completely new game, perhaps in a completely new form of entertainment. I feel like, ultimately, that might be the best route for not just the players, but for us as well, too. But again, to reiterate, the possibility of more DLC content for Final Fantasy 16 is not zero.”
The developer also wanted to avoid a Final Fantasy 15-style situation where two DLCs were cancelled. “There were parts of the story you couldn’t get unless you played the DLC. That is something that, from the beginning, we didn’t want to happen for Final Fantasy 16,” they told Noisy Pixel.
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