Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Vs. Endwalker - Which Expansion Is Better?

Summary

• Dawntrail marks a new journey with the New World of Tural, offering smaller-scale stories compared to Endwalker.
• Endwalker excels in character development and story, while Dawntrail's Dungeons have better mechanics and replayability.
• Dawntrail showcases improved encounter design and graphics, making it better for endgame raiders or players who prefer immersion.

Dawntrail is Final Fantasy 14's fifth expansion, and marks the beginning of a brand new journey for the Warrior of Light. After saving the world, it's time to explore the rest of it, starting with the New World of Tural, a continent to the west of Eorzea.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail - What To Do After Beating The Main Scenario Quests

Finishing the Main Scenario Quests of Dawntrail is just the first step of your journey in Tural.

Following off of the climactic conclusion to the Hydaelyn and Zodiark storyline that has been in the works since A Realm Reborn, Dawntrail offers a smaller-scale story. However, that doesn't make it any less valuable, as we'll see below. Let's compare several points of the Endwalker and Dawntrail expansions below, and decide which is better.

7 Story - Endwalker

Let's get this out of the way first. As a conclusion to a nearly decade-long storyline, Endwalker's storyline is clearly the winner here. The callbacks, attention to detail, and overall care put into the story truly reward players who have been paying attention and growing alongside the Scions since the start in the best way possible. It's not often that a story of this length ends in such a satisfying and complete way.

While both Endwalker and Dawntrail have some pacing issues, mostly by virtue of being MMORPGs, Endwalker does a better job of keeping everything tight and high-stakes throughout the length of the expansion, with the occasional fetch quest or two. That said, Dawntrail is by no means a bad story, and sets up an interesting future for the game, but nothing can beat Endwalker in terms of scale and resolution.

6 Dungeons - Dawntrail

Throughout both expansions, you'll delve into numerous Dungeons, each with its own perils and rewards. Overall, the Dungeons in Dawntrail are just a bit better than Endwalker, mostly due to their mechanics. As we'll take a look at below, the encounter design in Dawntrail is great, offering a challenging but fair set of Dungeons.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail - Every Dungeon, Ranked

New dungeons for the New World!

While the Dungeon setpieces and setting are stronger in Endwalker, they aren't as fun to replay as the Dungeons in Dawntrail. Dawntrail's level 100 Dungeons are especially good examples of carefully crafted encounters that don't get boring when grinding them for Tomestones or EXP.

Although Endwalker's Dungeons may be more memorable in terms of their place in the story, the bosses found in Dawntrail's Dungeons are sure to leave more of an impact, mechanically speaking.

5 Characters - Endwalker

Going hand-in-hand with the story, Endwalker's characters are more fleshed out and interesting overall. Ten years of character development for the main Scions culminates in a very satisfying payoff throughout Endwalker's story, and makes the final few quests heartbreakingly impactful. In The Final Day Trial, the Light the Way scene in particular only hits as well as it does because we've grown so attached to the Scions over the years.

On the other hand, Dawntrail introduces several new characters that we still have yet to see reach their full potential. While this will definitely change down the line in further expansions, for now, the characters just aren't as interesting as the ones we've come to love throughout Endwalker.

4 Encounter Design - Dawntrail

In a similar line to Dungeons, the overall encounter design in Dawntrail has been greatly improved since Endwalker. The Trials and Dungeons have fun and interesting new mechanics, and the various solo instances throughout the story offer a great level of difficulty that we haven't quite seen before.

One of Endwalker's most infamous quests, 'In From the Cold', places you in the shoes of an unnamed Garlean soldier; you have to sneak through Magitek forces and get back to your body that Zenos has stolen. This quest is extremely divisive among the fanbase, as there is really nothing else like it in the Main Scenario.

Dawntrail may not have its 'In From the Cold' moment, but quests like 'Taking a Stand', where you play as Wuk Lamat, are mechanically engaging and overall very well designed, weaving difficulty and spectacle around the necessary story beats. When combined with the fun Expert Dungeons and Extreme Trials, Dawntrail takes the point here.

3 Music - Tie

Masayoshi Soken never misses. Both Endwalker and Dawntrail have amazing soundtracks that perfectly fit the themes of their respective stories. From the ambient music that plays in each zone to the climactic encounters, both expansions are fairly equal in terms of music quality.

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You may have a preference for one zone's music over another, but both expansions have their standouts, and comparing them doesn't feel fair. So, for this category, we'll call it a draw.

2 Graphics - Dawntrail

With the graphical overhaul implemented in Dawntrail, Final Fantasy 14 looks better than ever. New textures, lighting, and details like flying Mounts leaning in the direction you turn or grass swaying as you walk through it all make the game much more immersive.

While these graphical improvements apply to the whole game, the Dawntrail zones were designed with it in mind, so they feel much more detailed and interesting to look at. Solution Nine and Yak T'el in particular are a visual feast for the eyes.

1 Conclusion

Overall, which expansion is better depends on what type of player you are. If you play Final Fantasy 14 mostly for the story, then Endwalker is the clear winner. While you'll still probably enjoy Dawntrail, it's no secret that Endwalker has a better story.

However, if you're an endgame raider and prefer fighting hard bosses, Dawntrail may be better. While we can't exactly judge this until Dawntrail receives all of its post-expansion updates, the future is looking bright for players who enjoy conquering Final Fantasy 14's hardest battles.

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