Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion is set to launch at the beginning of June alongside a graphical overhaul that will completely redo the game’s lighting and models across every zone, and a Benchmark test is now available so PC players can put their rigs to the test.
The Dawntrail Benchmark is the first public taste of the 7.0 graphics update and while its main purpose is to see if your PC can handle the expansion’s new system requirements, most people are downloading it to see what their Warriors of Light look like with the new lighting and graphics. It turns out, that better graphics don’t always equal better designs.
Once the Dawntrail Benchmark went live, several FFXIV players took to the forums and social media to voice their displeasure with the new graphics because their custom characters look completely different now. Viera characters, Final Fantasy XIV’s bunny race, seem to have been hit the hardest by Dawntrail’s graphical overhaul.
It’s not just the different lighting and textures that players are upset about. Dawntrail’s new graphics have completely changed the appearance of facial features and markings that players have come to know and love. Lips, noses, and eyes are drastically changed compared to their vanilla versions, and with every bit of a character’s face looking slightly different, the result is an unrecognizable Warrior of Light.
Thankfully, there’s still some hope for players who booted up the Dawntrail Benchmark and were met with unrecognizable characters. The FFXIV team is still making changes through the release of 7.0 and feedback will be taken into consideration for the full release of Dawntrail. Make sure to leave comments on the FFXIV forums if you’re unhappy with the new visual changes. In the meantime, make sure to wrap up any unfinished business you have in Endwalker like the FFXVI collab.
