Final Fantasy 14 Adds First New Exploration Zone in Five Years

Square Enix has released a major update for Final Fantasy 14, introducing the game’s first new large-scale exploration zone since 2020. The Occult Crescent, part of Patch 7.25, revives the “field operations” format last seen in Bozja five years ago and offers midcore multiplayer content with persistent progression systems outside of raid activities.

Exploration zones in FF14 are instanced areas where players enter solo but interact with others through public events and large-scale battles. The Occult Crescent adds a new core mechanic, “Phantom Jobs,” which have their own internal leveling system, work in synergy with your existing job, and provide gameplay benefits. The update launches with over a dozen Phantom Job options — including Ranger, Geomancer, Berserker and Time Mage — with more unlockable through progression and boss encounters called Critical Engagements.

Players who max out Phantom Jobs earn permanent buffs called Phantom Mastery, which persist across jobs within the zone. At knowledge level 20, players gain access to The Forked Tower, a 48-player raid available by offering a currency item called a Sanguine Cipher. More ciphers mean better odds of entry, though unspent ones are returned if not selected.

Patch 7.25 also adds Phantom weapons, Dawntrail’s level 100 relic gear, which can be gradually upgraded by completing activities in the Occult Crescent. Players will also encounter treasure hunts, event-specific currencies, new minigames and expanded NPC questlines.

The developers also implemented a large number of balance tweaks, most notably buffing AoE skills for several DPS classes, including Machinist, Summoner, Bard and Ninja. Potency was increased, and damage penalties against secondary targets were reduced to improve performance in group content.

Final Fantasy 14 originally launched in 2010 to poor reception, prompting Square Enix to rebuild the game from the ground up. In 2012, the developers ended the original version with an in-game event called the “Seventh Umbral Calamity,” during which the primal Bahamut broke free from the moon Dalamud and destroyed much of the world. The cataclysm served as both a narrative device and a real-world explanation for shutting down version 1.0. The rebuilt game, Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, launched in 2013 and has since become one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful MMOs, surpassing 30 million registered players worldwide. The current expansion, Dawntrail, launched in 2024.