Final Fantasy 14 is set to expand significantly with the arrival of the long-awaited Beastmaster job and a mysterious new roguelike-style mode, both confirmed for release in the 7.5x update cycle following patch 7.5, which launches on April 28.
The Beastmaster Job: A New Limited Experience
After being announced two years ago, the Beastmaster job is finally making its debut. Much like the Blue Mage, Beastmaster is classified as a “limited” job. This means it is designed as a robust side-activity rather than a standard job for mainstream content, offering a perfect distraction for players looking to take a break from the relic weapon grind.
Equipped with an axe and shield, players will venture into the open world to capture various creatures. These beasts serve dual purposes: they aid in further collection efforts and provide tactical support in combat. Mechanics allow players to bring three tamed monsters into battle simultaneously, each granting unique abilities to dismantle enemy packs in specific dungeons and duties leading up to level 50.
Crucible of the Unbroken: A Roguelike Challenge
Alongside the beast-taming update, Square Enix is introducing a new duty called “Crucible of the Unbroken.” While official details remain sparse, the visual presentation—featuring a branching path of nodes—strongly suggests a roguelike structure, drawing immediate comparisons to titles like Slay the Spire.
Game director Naoki Yoshida confirmed that the mode will offer significant volume and replayability. “You can play to just clear, but we also are trying to implement some sort of rankings for those players that really want to go hard at it,” Yoshida stated during the recent live letter.
Resource Prioritization and Future Updates
The ambitious scope of these new additions has forced the development team to adjust their roadmap. Specifically, planned updates for the Blue Mage have been delayed to ensure the team can focus on the successful implementation of the Beastmaster.
“Beastmaster took all our resources/cost so we need to push the BLU update back,” Yoshida explained. “I know many of you have been looking forward to BLU updates, and they will come in the future, but we prioritized Beastmaster this time.”
While patch 7.5 arrives on April 28, players should expect the Beastmaster job to roll out in a subsequent “7.5x” update. Depending on the development schedule, this could land as early as June (7.51) or as late as September (7.56), giving players time to prepare for their new life as a monster tamer.
