Final Fantasy XIV 2024 Wrapped

Final Fantasy 14’s Starlight Celebration is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing: the year is coming to a close. Before we know it, we’ll be getting an Omikuji fortune in the next Heavensturn event to ring in the new year.

2024 was a big year for FF14. Dawntrail launched, kickstarting a brand new story arc for the game, the graphical update was implemented, giving our Warriors of Light the glow up we always wanted, and as always, there was the usual range of highs and lows, drama, DDoS attacks, and thirsting over giant lizard men. Unless that last one is just me…

I Have So Many Questions About Final Fantasy 14 Mobile

The announcement of FFXIV Mobile has raised so many questions for me.

I chatted with the game’s community to find out their favourite moments, biggest controversies, and best fights of 2024. Let’s take a look at the past year of FF14, Wrapped-style!

Top Moments

1. Dawntrail Launch

The biggest FF14 moment of the year was inevitably the launch of Dawntrail. While there was mixed feedback, Dawntrail set the events of the next story arc in motion. Despite the slow start, it gave fans plenty to chew on and left us with many questions by the time the credits rolled.

Viper and Pictomancer were added, female Hrothgar finally became available, the graphical update wowed us all and had us staring at textures, and of course, we all love the increase in challenge when it came to duty mechanics, even if it means we die a lot more. Overall, Dawntrail was a win.

2. Thirsty Bakool Ja Ja Fans

When Dawntrail initially launched, most fans were not fond of the two-headed Mamool Ja, Bakool Ja Ja, and rightfully so as he’s such an ass to the Warrior of Light. But this dislike quickly gave way to something more… thirsty.

That’s right, fans went feral for the big lizard guy, and that will forever be burned into my memories of Dawntrail’s launch. Fortunately, Bakook Ja Ja turns into a loveable dork in the end, which depending on your taste, might make him more or less attractive to you. I’m not here to judge.

3. The Arcadion Raid Series

From fans becoming obsessed over one character, to the next. When the Arcadion raid was added shortly after Dawntrail’s launch, players were introduced to Honey B Lovely, prompting players to dress in their own honey-coloured bee outfits and social media to be swamped in fan art. While producer and director Naoki Yoshida might not be a Honey B Lovely fan, that didn’t stop the rest of the world falling in love with her.

But it wasn’t all about Honey B Lovely. The Arcadion was a fresh new Raid series for players to enjoy, and it continued what Dawntrail started by raising the bar in terms of difficulty of mechanics.

4. Echoes Of Vana’diel Raid

Maybe I’m biased by my love for Final Fantasy 11, but the recent addition of Jeuno: The First Walk was one of the highlights of my FF14 year, and I’m far from the only player to think so.

Not only does it deliver incredible Raid content, but it pays tribute to the series’ previous MMO, FF11, and includes so many references and cameos that it’s impossible for any FF11 player to not get nostalgic about it. I can’t wait to see more!

5. Collaborations

Whether you loved or hated the Gong cha collab and the stores selling out of the items you wanted, I have a bit of a soft spot for it as I made my family travel over an hour to the nearest store and drink things they disliked, all so I could get a digital pig.

The Final Fantasy 16 collab event was cool though. And we even had the Final Fantasy 15 event reprised. It was a good year for collabs.

Best Boss Battles

1. Sphene – Queen Eternal

Surprising no one, the big finale boss of the expansion was well received by the fandom. “The design of the whole fight is absolutely gorgeous,” one player told me, while Warrior of Light Parlora called it a “climatic end to Dawntrail”.

They’re not joking. It was certainly one of the more grueling battles in the expansion, and a worthy challenge for players to have to overcome before they could roll credits. Player Minui sums up the chaos best: “Changes of the arena layout, a shock moment due to multiple mechanics going off in quick succession as well as new mechanics […] make the fight really refreshing.”

2. The Ark Angels

Added as part of the Echoes of Vana’diel raid series, the Ark Angels that originally featured in Final Fantasy 11 were one of the bosses of Jeuno: The First Walk. One Warrior of Light said, “it was great to see them recreated for FF14” and also praised the fight for being challenging, which they said was a “welcome change” to most Alliance Raids.

Another player, May, also commented on enjoying the challenge of the Ark Angels, saying that they were “a really fun and chaotic AoE section to end things”.

3. The Greatest Serpent Of Tural

The Great Serpent of Ronka became a firm fan favourite, so it’s no surprise then that the Greatest Serpent of Tural was also well received. It was a fitting final boss to a chaotic optional dungeon that threw just about everything at players. Warrior of Light Harley said, “seeing that lil scree boy, or in this case, big scree boy, filled me with so much joy!”, while other players like Lulu praised the fun mechanics of the fight.

4. Brute Bomber Savage

All of the Arcadion bosses proved popular with fans, but Brute Bomber Savage was one of the best. One Warrior of Light called it, “A crisp fight with clear indicators, nicely stacking mechanics,” and it’s hard to disagree.

5. Honey B. Lovely

You know she’s loved when she’s mentioned more than once. That’s right, the fans didn’t just love her because of her design and cute demeanor. Her fight was gruellingly difficult. You make it past the first round in the Arcadion, only to be bested by a cute woman in a yellow dress who charms you all. Fans particularly love this battle as it’s a great mix of fun, a banging soundtrack, and challenging mechanics.

Biggest Dramas

1. Dawntrail VA And Localisers Receiving Hate Mail

The internet really brings out the worst in people sometimes, and FF14 is no stranger to that. With the launch of Dawntrail, voice actors and localisers found themselves in the firing line from vicious hate mail, prompting Yoshida to ask fans to stop.

The expansion receiving mixed reviews is no excuse for fans to get personal with those who worked on the game, and sadly, the main focus of the hate was Sena Bryer, the voice actress for Dawntrail’s protagonist Wuk Lamat. Bryer received a horrific amount of transphobic abuse and death threats, leading Yoshida to comment that the situation “broke his heart”.

2. Ultimate Cheaters

Is it even FF14 if the world first of the latest Ultimate Raid isn’t marred by cheating controversy? Futures Rewritten was cleared by GRIND, only for the win to quickly be scrubbed because a member of the team admitted to using a plugin.

Aren’t we getting a little bored of playing this same broken record now? In 2025, can we have one Ultimate Raid win that’s done legitimately without the drama of plugins and third party tools? Please?

3.DDoS Attacks

And if you’re sick of hearing about Ultimate cheaters, you’re probably even more sick of DDoS attacks. While FF14 has never been a stranger to DDoS attacks, they have increased in number since Dawntrail’s launch and we’re all more than a little tired of it now.

4. Healer Strike

It wasn’t just the slow burn and characters that players took issue with about Dawntrail. After content creator Xenosys Vex showed himself clearing the first Dawntrail Dungeon without a healer during the Media Tour, the healer community was not happy to see their roles being made redundant as a result of other roles being able to heal themselves sufficiently. This led to a strike from FF14 healers, so if you struggled to find a healer in those first few months of Dawntrail’s launch and didn’t know why, now you know.

5. Job Changes

The healers aren’t the only ones that are mad. Pretty much everyone is. At least, other than the Black Mages. Job roles are constantly getting tweaked and changed, and 2024 was no different. The biggest complaint came shortly after Dawntrail launched, when Viper was nerfed, and next up just a few months later, Dragoons and Ninjas were on the receiving end of some unwanted changes.

Players’ Favourite Moments

1. Meeting New Players, Catching Up With Old Friends

The common consensus of Warriors of Light I spoke to was that most cherished the moments they spent with others. Whether that was with old friends or meeting new people, the community is undeniably what makes FF14 what it is. One player said that regrouping with old friends after swapping servers “felt like coming home”.

2. Living Memory

Living Memory, one of the final areas of the Dawntrail expansion, resonates with fans for many reasons. For me, it was symbolic of one of the core themes of the whole expansion, but plenty of players fell in love with it for different reasons too. It’s beautiful, for one, but Warrior of Light Clia especially loved it as it gave “some closure for a tiny Scion”.

3. Shared Pain Over Rare Boss FATEs

We’ve all been there. Hours upon hours, even days, camping out for the Rare Boss FATEs and with Dawntrail adding a rather adorable Capybara mount, you can bet this was top of the priority list for many players. It’s these moments where you’re thrown together with like-minded strangers that can give the best memories. One player told me that farming FATEs for the Capybara mount was their best moment of the year as, “It was nice to see everyone cooperating for a cause.”

4. The Pre-Dawntrail Grind

Many of us had to do it. As much as I’d love to always be up to date, inevitably there were things I needed to catch up on or sort out before Dawntrail launched. Let’s face it, most of us had the worst inventories to sort through. For Warrior of Light Marcho, “catching up to the MSQ right before Dawntrail’s release” was his favourite moment of the year as it allowed him to “join in on the hype” at launch.

5. Bakool Ja Ja Becomes A Good Guy

Much like Honey B. Lovely, if they’re mentioned in this article more than once, you can safely assume they live in the brains of fans for probably a bit too much than they should. Also, be careful when Googling them.

But it goes beyond Mamool Ja thirstiness. Bakool Ja Ja’s complete role reversal was a testament to the great character building in Dawntrail. Warrior of Light Kaiser Cross said this was his favourite moment, especially as like most, he didn’t see it coming.