Evercold will introduce Seasonal Gear earned via activity points and Raid Gear, upgradeable through a new interface that adds two materia slots, with gear progression driven by optimization items and weekly drops from Fierce 8-player raids and trials.

Gameplay and progression changes include an Evolved Mode for all jobs, seasonal gear progression with shared gear slots, a middle-difficulty Fierce raid tier, and Savage raids offering personal loot and enhanced melding options, with two upgrades per tier and new graphical effects on fully optimized gear.

The Evercold expansion was announced at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2026 in Japan, with a release date set for February 23, 2027 and early access beginning February 19 for pre-orders.

Pre-orders for Evercold and the Collector’s Box begin on November 4, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. GMT.

Pre-orders include Wind-Up Köttr minion and Halone’s Earring as part of new monetization and availability details.

The piece closes with standard legal notices and platform trademark acknowledgments.

New job Zephyr debuts as a physical ranged DPS using a crossbow, joined by a bird familiar Nephele, starting at level 90 and using only Evolved Mode.

Character details introduce Lagertha as Naglfar’s first mate and Baldr as the red-haired Roegadyn associated with Evercold.

New PvE content includes many dungeons, trials, and bosses, with a steady patch cadence heading toward version 8.0 and additional content like Cosmic Exploration and Phantom Weapon quests.

Evercold will feature crossovers and collaborations, including Neon Genesis Evangelion and Final Fantasy VII, plus a new Tank Job named Bastion and other features.

Director Naoki Yoshida outlined features, story direction, and gameplay changes as FFXIV moves into version 8.0 with Evercold’s launch.

The article notes over 35 million registered accounts and includes the Free Trial that encompasses content from multiple expansions.