FFXIV: Dawntrail Final Boss & Ending Explained (In Detail)

, the most recently released expansion for , is a new episode in the game's ongoing story but also marks a new beginning. The first expansion to release after Endwalkerconcluded many of the game's longest-running storylines and plot threads, is something of a reset for , lowering the stakes from the previous expansion's universe-ending threats to focus on a more down-to-earth adventure in the unfamiliar continent of Tural. However, while the expansion starts as a relatively simple adventure, the later parts of the story leading into the ending might not be what players expect.

The premise of at the start of the expansion's story is relatively simple as the Warrior of Light and a few of their companions (Alphinaud, Alisaie, Krile, and Erenville) are enlisted by Wuk Lamat to help her ascend to the throne of Tural's Dawnservant — a role for which she has to compete in several trials, with the overarching goal of finding Tural's fabled and elusive «city of gold.» Complicating matters, though, are the other candidates for the throne, which include Wuk Lamat's adopted brothers, Zoraal Ja and Koana, as well as the two-headed tournament champion Bakool Ja Ja.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is a change of pace for the popular MMO, but it's a refreshing expansion at this point in its decade-long lifespan.

For around the first half of, the story revolves around the Rite of Ascension, a series of trials devised by the current Dawnservant and Wuk Lamat's adopted father, Gulool Ja Ja. The Rite tasks her and the other contestants with journeying to meet with the various different peoples of Tural, to undergo trials and learn their cultures. Here, the game starts to set Zoraal Ja up as a major villain, establishing him as someone who aims to instigate war and contrasting him against the more peaceful Wuk Lamat and Koana.

Eventually, after visiting the villages of Tural's various peoples, Wuk Lamat and the Warrior of Light succeed in Rite of Ascension, defeating a projection of