Final Fantasy XIV's latest expansion, Dawntrail, features a substantial amount of cutscenes, almost rivaling the previous expansion, Endwalker. According to data compiled by Cyberfunk3 on Reddit, Dawntrail includes 21 hours and 7 minutes of cutscenes. This is a notable increase compared to earlier expansions, making it the second-longest after Endwalker, which had 23 hours and 37 minutes.
A breakdown of cutscene lengths for each expansion is as follows:
Release Day MSQ | Time (HH:MM) | Patch MSQ | Time (HH:MM) |
2.0 ARR | 09:45 | 2.X ARR | 09:30 |
3.0 HW | 08:15 | 3.X HW | 08:19 |
4.0 SB | 11:33 | 4.X SB | 08:59 |
5.0 ShB | 15:28 | 5.X ShB | 12:58 |
6.0 EW | 23:37 | 6.X EW | Estimated* 12:00 |
7.0 DT | 21:07 |
This analysis was carried out using the game's auto-scroll function at +5 speed, providing a comparative view of cutscene lengths across expansions.
In terms of cutscene duration per quest, Dawntrail averages about 12 minutes and 40 seconds per quest. This is nearly double the amount of time players spent watching cutscenes in Stormblood. Despite both expansions having a similar number of quests, Dawntrail's cutscenes are much more extensive.
Release Day MSQ | Total Quest Count | Time in Cutscene per Quest (MM:SS) |
2.0 ARR | 160 | 03:34 |
3.0 HW | 94 | 05:16 |
4.0 SB | 122 | 05:40 |
5.0 ShB | 106 | 08:45 |
6.0 EW | 108 | 13:07 |
7.0 DT | 100 | 12:40 |
Players should be prepared to invest significant time in cutscenes while progressing through Dawntrail's story. The completion of the main story itself takes around 47 hours (according to howlongtobeat.com), with a large portion of this time spent watching cutscenes.
Not only has the length of cutscenes increased, but the quality has significantly improved too, with more dynamic cinematography, enhanced animations, and better action scenes. Players will notice that their characters are more prominently featured, justifying the time invested in the character editor.
Source:
If you enjoy my Final Fantasy news, be sure to follow xEzNaFF on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Threads, Reddit, Tiktok, or Youtube so you never miss future updates!
-⚡Xe⚡
Comments