Occult Crescent, the highly anticipated latest activity from FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dawntrail arrived overnight with Patch 7.25. Occult Crescent is a Field Operations series that invites players to explore an island enveloped in a magical ward. Inspired by the Bermuda Triangle, players equip and level up special jobs known as Phantom Jobs, which give players access to unique actions and traits as they explore the field operation. Players will gain ‘knowledge’ by engaging in Occult Crescent activities, which determine how strong they are compared to the creatures on the island.Throughout Occult Crescent, players will experience battle encounters in the open field with a party of up to eight, and larger 72-player boss encounters called Critical Encounters within enclosed arenas. Once players reach knowledge level 20, they can take on a 48-player dungeon for unique rewards.
For the full rundown on Occult Crescent, please read the detailed patch notes here.
For the full rundown on Occult Crescent, please read the detailed patch notes here.
Occult Crescent is just one of the many new challenges available for FINAL FANTASY XIV players since the Dawntrail expansion launched last year. We’ve included a summary of the other key experiences players may have missed since rolling the end credits on the first part of Dawntrail’s main story, if you’re interested in providing a recap for your readers.
What’s Been Happening in FINAL FANTASY XIV since Dawntrail launched?
The FINAL FANTASY XIV story continues
Patch 7.1: Crossroads in November 2024 and Patch 7.2: Seekers of Eternity in March 2025 continued the main story questline from the Dawntrail expansion. 15 new main scenario quests have been added, with more coming in future patches.
FINAL FANTASY XI inspired Raid: Echoes of Vana’diel
Patch 7.1 introduced players to Echoes of Vana’diel, a new 24-player Alliance Raid Dungeon inspired by FINAL FANTASY XI. The first in the raid series, Jeuno: The First Walk includes elements from FINAL FANTASY XI’s hub city, Jeuno, and music from the game during battles.
Three more new raids!
Patch 7.1 also introduced a new Ultimate Raid: Futures Rewritten, and a new Chaotic Alliance Raid: Cloud of Darkness. These raids offer higher challenges for end-game players and groups to conquer as they engage in large-scale boss battles that popularised the franchise.Futures Rewritten questions what form the future of FINAL FANTASY XIV’s world would take if there were countless possibilities. In Cloud of Darkness, players traverse the boundless dark to find a voracious voidsent sovereign who sought to invade the material realm and render all to naught.
Patch 7.2 introduced the Cruiserweight Division to The Arcadion Raid series that launched in Dawntrail. After dominating the light-heavyweight division of the Ascension Arcadia Championship, players are invited to take on four more challenges in the Cruiserweight Division and also unlock more difficult ‘Savage’ versions of each fight.
Two new trials
Trials are instanced duties where players fight together against a single boss enemy. In traditional FINAL FANTASY fashion, players can expect multiple phases per boss!Two normal trials, The Minstrel’s Ballad: Sphene’s Burden, and Recollection are available. Each patch a harder ‘Unreal’ trial is available. The current Unreal Trial is Hell’s Kier.Players struggle to return the great auspice Suzaku, master of flames and resurrection, to her senses while succumbing to her mournful melody. Players who enjoyed the battles with Primals in FINAL FANTASY XIV’s base story will love these Trials.
New Dungeons
Two new four-player Dungeons are now available. Yuweyawata Field Station sees players exploring an old village to uncover the fate of it and its people. The Underkeep takes players to a royal castle, Everkeep, to battle medieval-themed enemies.
New activity – Cosmic Exploration
If players want a break from combat, they can head to the moon in Cosmic Exploration! Research and develop cutting-edge artisans’ tools, while furthering the team’s preparations for a maiden voyage to stars yet uncharted! Players on each game world work together to collect resources and complete tasks to upgrade their base camp and unlock new ways to explore. Players can even pilot Mechs in certain operations!
Each patch has also introduced new side quests, housing updates, gear, mounts, emotes and more. Oh, and this good boy to accompany you (a new minion)!
Read more about Patch 7.1: Crossroads here and Patch 7.2: Seekers of Eternity here. With so much to do, there’s never been a better time for players to jump back into FINAL FANTASY XIV!
With more than 30 million total registered players, there has never been a better time for newcomers to begin their adventures in the critically acclaimed FINAL FANTASY XIV Online saga. The Free Trial includes all content from A Realm Reborn™, the Heavensward™ and Stormblood™ expansions (and updates through Patch 4.58). Free Trial players can enjoy hundreds of hours of award-winning gameplay and story experiences equivalent to three full FINAL FANTASY titles, without limit on playtime. More information can be found at: https://sqex.to/FFXIVFreeTrial
