Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy XIV Evercold's second new job during the Tokyo Fan Fest, a physical ranged DPS job called Zephyr. It's a pretty big deal in more ways than one. The last physical ranged class was Dancer back in 2019's Shadowbringers, and Zephyr uses a pet, the first class to do so since Square Enix changed Summoner's kit back in 2017's Stormblood expansion. (Beastmaster is a limited class, so it doesn't count.) Zephyr didn't get quite as much attention as the Bastion job did during the Berlin Fan Fest, but the short job trailer still has a lot going on in it.
The class uses a small, but deadly crossbow as its primary armament, and as you'd expect from a bow-based ranged physical DPS, you'll be firing off arrow volleys in various stylish forms for the basic attack chains. Things get a bit more interesting with some of the other skills, though. The trailer shows a charged arrow shot that looks like it lands with an aether effect, and another charge that seems to add elemental affinities to the arrows.
Then there's the bird, or Nephele, if you want to use its proper name. FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida presented a bit of the Nephele's lore during the presentation. It's a bird that worked hand-in-hand (in wing?) with hunters in The Fourth's harsh Ilsabard mountain range, and in battle, that bond manifests itself through a range of party support buffs.
Yoshida didn't say what those buffs are, though the trailer showed the Nephele carrying the Zephyr around the battlefield with a glowing ring before dropping the fighter off and launching the ring at a monster. Like Bastion, Zephyr will only use Evercold's new Evolved combat system, though Square Enix won't outline what that looks like until a future Live Letter. It'll start at level 90, and the initial quest is in Gridania.
Final Fantasy XIV Evercold launches Feb. 23, with early access beginning Feb. 19 for those who pre-order the expansion.
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