Final Fantasy 14 producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida confirmed that fans have already correctly guessed one of the weapons for the upcoming jobs in the Evercold expansion during a recent Fan Festival Q&A session.
The Mystery of the New Jobs
While the development team has officially confirmed that Evercold will introduce a new tank and a ranged physical DPS job, specific details remain under wraps. Yoshida has been teasing the community using his signature T-shirt hints, but the reveal of the weapon type occurred unexpectedly when he engaged the audience in a brainstorming session.
During the stage Q&A at this past weekend’s FF14 Fan Festival, Yoshida asked the crowd for their desired weapon types. Suggestions ranged from hammers and morning stars to more complex ideas like yo-yos and whips. Yoshida noted that while a yo-yo would be feasible to implement, a whip would present significant animation challenges. Amid the speculation, Yoshida revealed: “We actually heard one that pertains to the new job. But I will not say which one it is.”
How Square Enix Selects New Jobs
Yoshida provided insight into the selection process for new jobs, which prioritizes role balance and player data. Because the DPS role consistently maintains the largest player base, the team often prioritizes adding at least one new DPS job per expansion to ensure the new content is widely accessible and enjoyable.
The process for determining the second job—whether it be a tank or healer—is more abstract, relying on an analysis of current role engagement and utility. Once the roles are established, the battle system team conducts an internal competition to pitch potential job concepts.
From Concept to Original Job
For Evercold, the team narrowed down five initial concepts for the tank role and three for the ranged DPS. Yoshida personally participated in refining these ideas to ensure the gameplay felt distinct from existing Final Fantasy archetypes.
“Looking at the gameplay, or how the job feels when you control it, was different than that of what we had in our Final Fantasy series thus far, so we decided it’s going to be a 14-original job,” Yoshida explained. The focus remains on delivering a unique experience, though the producer stopped short of further details to avoid spoiling the upcoming official reveal, scheduled for the Berlin edition of the Fan Festival on July 25.
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