Final Fantasy XIV Online: Shadowbringers

Shadowbringers is the third expansion to Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn, and comprises the game's 5.x patch series. An enigmatic figure named the Crystal Exarch has summoned the Warrior of Light and Scions of the Seventh Dawn to the First, a world parallel to their own. Here, a cataclysmic event called the Flood of Light occurred 100 years ago, in which the balance between light and darkness was broken, engulfing the world in a deluge of corrupted light. Those caught up in the flood became sin eaters, monsters who feed on the surviving population and increase their numbers by spreading their corruption to others. The Warrior of Light—now taking up the moniker of the Warrior of Darkness—is tasked with slaying the most powerful of these sin eaters to break Light's hold upon the land. In so doing, they will save not only the First, but their own world of the Source as well, as the fate of the two worlds is inextricably linked.

Opposing the Warrior on their quest is the powerful city-state of Eulmore, which has allied itself with the sin eaters and embraces the coming apocalypse. Meanwhile, they are joined by a girl named Minfilia, the latest in a long line of Oracles of Light destined to fight the sin eaters. Presenting himself as a much more unlikely and untrustworthy ally is Emet-Selch, the most powerful of the Ascians, who claims to have an interest in helping the Warrior of Darkness achieve their goal.

In addition to its new story content, Shadowbringers' initial release increased the level cap to 80 and added two new combat jobs, the support-focused DPS Dancer and the gunblade-wielding tank Gunbreaker. Two new playable races were added at this time as well, the female-only leporine Viera, and the male-only leonine Hrothgar. Later patches would add major quality of life updates to A Realm Reborn content for a more streamlined experience.

Other major content additions for the 5.x series include Eden, an 8-player raid series in which players aim to restore the land rendered uninhabitable by the Flood; YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse, a 24-player raid series that acts as a crossover with NieR: Automata; The Epic of Alexander, an Ultimate raid for 8 players; Sorrow of Werlyt, an 8-player trial series in which players battle againt Garlean superweapons; Ishgardian Restoration, in which crafter and gatherer classes work together to restore a ruined district of the Holy See of Ishgard in the aftermath of the Dragonsong War; and Save the Queen, a series of open world instances in which up to 72 players aid the war-torn nation of Bozja in pushing back the Garlean invasion.