As part of the Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LXXVII, Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and Global Community Producer Toshio “Foxclon” Murouchi revealed that Fan Festival 2023 attendees at the Japanese, European, and North American events will get the opportunity to fight a new boss named The Gilded Araya. The announcements came after detailing some of the upcoming content in patch 6.4. The boss is planned to enter the game as part of a Duty, though a date was not specified.
The Gilded Araya in Final Fantasy XIV takes the form of a feminine figure in a golden dress with multiple arms and faces, evoking Hindu mythology like previous boss Lakshmi.
The special battle encounter at Fan Festival 2023-2024 will be…
The Gilded Araya! ✨
Attendees will have a chance to try it early before it's officially implemented into the game at a later date! pic.twitter.com/Q5ox8YZNKM
— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) May 12, 2023
The North American Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival is set to run across two days starting from July 28, 2023. The UK one will start on October, 21 2023. The Japanese Fanfest will begin on January 7, 2024. Tickets for the UK and US fests were being sold via a lottery system. Stage events and presentations will be streamed online.
In a past broadcast, Yoshida and Foxclon revealed exclusive FanFest merchandise that is up for sale. Those items appeared in the Square Enix online storefront ahead of their appearances at the event.
Final Fantasy XIV is immediately available on the PC, PS4, and PS5, with patch 6.4 The Dark Throne set to arrive on May 23, 2023. The Final Fantasy XIV US Fan Festival will be held in Nevada on July 28-29 2023, the UK one will be held in London on October 21-22 2023, and the Japanese one will be in Tokyo on January 7-8 2024.
