As per request, the point of this thread is to discuss information and topics relating to Stormblood over this long 6-8 month wait. We will be getting a lot of information over the following months and rather than have multiple threads pop up for each topic, it is better to conglomerate it into one thread here.
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/stormblood/
Things we know are going to be added/changed in Stormblood according to NA fanfest:
- Expansion taking place in Ala Mhigo, with the goal of reclaiming the territory from the Garlean Empire: "Can Ala Mhigo break free from two decades of Garlean oppression?"
- Zenos Yae Galvus is the main antagonist, the 12th legion Legatus and the de facto ruler of Ala Mhigo. Meanwhile, the player's Warrior of Light will team up with the Ala Mhigan Resistance.
- More missions will involve traveling with companions, like the previous expansion Heavensward.
- Monk will be the featured job class for 4.0, though the expansion will also include new jobs as well. How many jobs is unclear.
- Along with new the jobs will come a new level cap of 70 (up from a mere 60), and new combat actions for all jobs.
- Stormblood will include a revamped battle system that regroups and categorizes abilities shared by roles (DPS, Tank, Healer, etc.) rather than sharing them by jobs as in the current system.
- Further changes include: Getting rid of unused and ineffective actions to help casual players manage the tons of abilities, and a revamp of the UI for more visible cooldown timers.
- The expansion with contain "sprawling new areas" that will be at least equal in size and number to those of Heavensward — "A full, stand-alone game's worth of content," according to Yoshida.
- All new Primal boss fights, "challenging" new dungeons, and new high-end raids designed based on player feedback.
- While the new jobs have not been revealed, Yoshida was wearing a "Scarlet Witch" shirt on stage, meaning that Red Mage is likely one of the new jobs for Stormblood.
- Perhaps the biggest news, based on audience response: The player's item inventory will be expanded. It's going to be an "extreme" expansion which will require a lot of work on the server infrastructure to expand player's inventories. The item expansion will be rolled out over time to make sure the servers can handle the strain.
- There will be a fourth residential area.
- All expansion areas will be accessible by flying mounts and will affect the main storyline.
- Yoshida says the company hopes to move away from 32-bit PCs, meaning Stormblood may be exclusive to 64-bit Windows systems.
- PlayStation 3 support will be phased out. "We really want you to upgrade," he says.
- They are considering adding hard raid content in odd numbered patches, similar to Second Coil Savage for raiders who want a challenge.
Source with my own edits/additions based on my attendance of NA fanfest.