Square Enix pulled back the curtain on two major Final Fantasy 14 announcements at the Berlin Fan Fest today, unveiling the Bastion as the first new tank job for the Evercold expansion and confirming a Final Fantasy 7 crossover raid series called Beyond The Lifestream.
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The Bastion was teased months ago through director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida's signature shirt hint, which showed Rhitahtyn Sas Arvina, the shield-wielding antagonist from A Realm Reborn. Fans speculated the new job would revolve around Gunshields, and the Berlin keynote confirmed those suspicions. The Bastion will wield Skyltborg weapons and serve as a Main Tank, joining the restructured tank role system that splits duties between Main and Off Tank configurations.
Yoshi-P explained that the Bastion comes equipped with a range of physical and ranged attacks, alongside defensive spells for party members that reduce incoming damage. The job is designed so every Warrior of Light can enjoy the content, fitting into Evercold's broader combat overhaul aimed at respecting player time more than previous expansions.
The Berlin Fan Fest also delivered the Beyond The Lifestream crossover, an eight-player raid series split into three tiers across the Evercold expansion, starting with update 8.01. The series will span normal, savage, and a new intermediate difficulty tier introduced next year to bridge the gap between existing difficulty levels.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation lead Naoki Hamaguchi took the stage alongside Yoshi-P to discuss the collaboration. "The core members of the team from the Final Fantasy 7 remake series are all heavily involved in this," Hamaguchi said. "This is something that I guarantee both Final Fantasy 7 fans and Final Fantasy 14 fans are really going to enjoy."
The crossover story is penned by Motomu Toriyama and the FF14 scenario team, with supervision from original FF7 writer Kazushige Nojima and remake trilogy creative director Tetsuya Nomura. When asked which FF7 characters will appear beyond Cloud and Sephiroth, Hamaguchi teased, "Who do you guys wanna see?" hinting at further reveals in the coming months.
In a lighter moment, Yoshi-P revealed that the iconic Gold Saucer from Final Fantasy 7 will be placed inside the FF14 Gold Saucer, complete with a four-player typing minigame called Keybound Brawler arriving October 28. "Everybody has a keyboard, right?" Yoshida joked, referencing the infamous Diablo mobile announcement.
Evercold marks Final Fantasy 14's next major expansion, introducing two new jobs alongside a complete combat overhaul. The Berlin reveal builds on announcements from the North American Fan Fest, where the Bastion was first teased and Yoshi-P outlined the expansion's goal of better respecting player time through streamlined systems.
The Bastion and Beyond The Lifestream crossover represent significant additions to Final Fantasy 14's evolving endgame. With the Evercold expansion approaching and player interest surging, Square Enix is clearly positioning the MMO for its next chapter with high-profile collaborations and accessible new content.
Final Fantasy 14: Evercold launches next year. For more on the Berlin Fan Fest announcements, visit the official Final Fantasy 14 Lodestone.
