FFXIV Fan Fest Berlin 2026 Reveals Evercold Expansion’s New Bastion Job

Square Enix has used Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest Berlin 2026 to reveal a deeper look at FF14 Evercold, the next major expansion. The showcase centered on the first new class for the expansion—Bastion—and a wide set of system changes aimed at making progression more flexible, expanding endgame options, and adding new ways to customize your character’s look and actions.

Release window and availability

Bastion: the new Evercold tank job and how it plays

The expansion’s first newly shown job is Bastion, a main tank built around swapping between close-range and heavy-artillery weapon forms. The job uses dual gunshields that flip around on the arms to change between a clawed melee mode and large triple-barrel cannons called the Skyltborg.

Square Enix also confirmed that Bastion will be a main tank for the new Evolved Mode and will be available exclusively there—players will not be offered a classic-style Reborn Mode option. Bastion content begins in Limsa Lominsa and starts at level 90.

In terms of lore, the combat style traces back to the Northern Empty. The region of Aerslaent has long been protected by the Bastions, who have studied the Skyltborg for generations. Alongside offensive capabilities, Bastions can provide protection for the wielder and allies through both defensive and curative boons.

The Fifth Firmaments: Realmships become the backbone of Evercold

Much of the expansion’s time will be spent on The Fourth, where civilization lives on enormous floating vessels called Realmships above a now-frozen world. These vessels are referred to as The Five Firmaments, and each appears to be elementally attuned.

Yoshida also pointed to the identity of the “Far Wanderer,” confirming it becomes the new identity for the Warrior of Light.

Exploration and scale were emphasized through the specific Realmships shown. Naglfar (Realmship of Water) features wide open fields and a distinctive white-and-gold building shaped like a giant head resembling a snake or dragon. It also hosts the first hub town, Falgarthr, and includes newly previewed music—though Yoshida stressed that the presented track is not the final theme and that Lead Composer Masayoshi Soken created it in a single night for the demo.

Hringhorni (Realmship of Fire) is described as enabling travel across diverse biomes even with frost below. Yoshida said the new zones will be the same field size as prior areas or sometimes even larger, while limiting deeper in-game looks to avoid giving everything away.

More flexible MSQ routes, with limited auto-balancing

While the main scenario quest remains central, the team is considering broader ways to proceed. Instead of the traditional early two-way split, Yoshida said progression will be more non-linear: after a shared introduction, players can complete three zones in any order, and this flexibility extends beyond introductory quests to include dungeons tied to each region. The paths then reconverge as the story accelerates.

Because this can create wider level ranges, Square Enix plans limited auto-balancing for “certain” missions and instances. Enemy and duty difficulty will scale based on a player’s current state, and Yoshida acknowledged potential concerns before asking players to trust the approach. Gear reward delivery is also being adjusted to account for the variance in progression.

Character screen upgrades, action skins, and cosmetic controls

A new character screen is coming as part of CS3’s push for more customization and ways to showcase your Warrior of Light. Yoshida also highlighted the ability to reflect a capped job’s item level to another job at max rank, designed to help players jump into endgame content on additional classes.

The keynote also confirmed that Character Action Skins are real and will be earned as rewards. These are new animations that can be assigned both to job-specific actions and to more general actions, letting players attach personal flair to actions like teleporting. The team will expand options over time and noted that some “lost” actions are expected to return as skins.

Square Enix clarified that swapping action visuals will not change performance: changing your character’s action won’t affect DPS, only what the team called “emotional DPS.” Action skins will begin with general options in 8.0, then job-action skins arrive in 8.1 after early limitations due to animation workload.

Starting in 8.1, players will also gain toggles to disable certain face-related cosmetic features. Yoshida said items like Lalafell and Viera nose shading and Miq’ote warpaint will be enabled by default to match lore, but will be optional. He also confirmed that Au Ra horn styles can be set independently from face shapes.

“Ever-evolving” plans: World Raids, travel assists, and duty support changes

Yoshida described a system under development called World Raids (with the name possibly changing before completion), framing it as part of “ever-evolving content.” Additional ideas discussed include automatic travel to quest destinations and route markers to help navigation toward objectives, though Yoshida indicated it may not launch with Evercold.

Duty Support is also set for meaningful improvements. The first step begins in patch 8.1, where players can form dungeon light parties using two players and their Chocobos. Then in 8.2, the breeding system for Chocobos is planned to be fully overhauled, introducing new uses for Gysahl Greens and new commands.

A new raid difficulty between Normal and Savage

For eight-person raids, Evercold will add a third difficulty tier positioned between Normal and Savage. Yoshida cited participation rates—85% of players complete Normal raids, while only 14–20% finish Savage—creating a “large difficulty and reward gap.”

The new difficulty is intended as a “stepping stone,” described as roughly equivalent to or slightly below the level of extreme trials. It will award a new type of season gear designed to provide more gradual upgrades, slowly approaching Savage-level power. Yoshida also said Savage veterans can skip the middle tier if they prefer.

The raid theme is confirmed as a Final Fantasy 7 crossover titled Beyond the Lifestream, spanning all three difficulty modes and across three wings consistent with a standard raid series. Naoki Hamaguchi, director of FF7 Remake, joined Yoshida on stage for the reveal, framing the crossover as a “united front” for the franchise’s next chapter.

FF7 update at the Gold Saucer and upcoming Evangelion details

Beyond the raid series, Square Enix also announced an FF7-themed update to the Gold Saucer on October 28. It includes a new typing-based multiplayer minigame called Keybound Brawler.

The initial reward set is based on outfit themes associated with Barrett and Tifa, including a minigun fashion accessory.

For players hoping for more on an Evangelion alliance raid, Yoshida indicated that further information will come at Fan Fest Tokyo. An extended trailer also announced guest artist Mahiro Maeda, known for work on Evangelion 3.0 and Mad Max: Fury Road.

Same-region matching testing begins October 12

Square Enix will begin testing same-region player matching starting October 12 in Japan. If testing is successful, trials will expand to North America, Europe, and China. Yoshida asked players to participate to help refine the remaining details.

Next steps: more Live Letters and additional details

Beyond the presentations shown during the Berlin event, Square Enix said additional Live Letters are planned in coming months to cover announced features in more detail—specifically including the new raid difficulty tier. Yoshida also joked that the topic might take “four hours” to explain thoroughly.