Last night, the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival keynote presentation was held, and revealed what's being added to the game in the forthcoming expansion pack, Shadowbringers. These include a new job, a new playable race, and much, much more.

But first, an extended cinematic trailer!

Shadowbringers whisks players away to Norvbrandt, which is the only place that still exists inside The First. 12,000 years ago, the battle between Hydaelyn and Zodiark shattered the world into fourteen shards. Now, it is the Warrior of Light's mission to restore darkness to the realm, as right now it is a land of eternal day, and unveil the conflict that has split the world into fragments. As for what's become of the invading Garlean Empire and what has brought the Warrior of Light to The First to begin with... well, you'll just have to play the game to find out, won't you? Fret not, as Square Enix has said that the upcoming Patch 4.56 (due out on March 26th) will clarify a few things.

The first town you'll visit in Shadowbringers is the new hub zone, Crystarium. This place is home to the Crystal Tower, a place erected by the Allagans. The first area in the expansion, adjacent to Crystarium, is known as Lakeland. In this alternate version of the Source's Mor Dhona (the Source being where the main game currently takes place), no Battle of Silvertear Skies took place, and the land thrives. The people here believe in the legend that the Warrior of Darkness will save them from the light. There's also another new town called Eulmore.

The new job coming to Shadowbringers is the Dancer. The Dancer is a ranged DPS class that uses throwing weapons, and has no associated class. The job becomes available at level 60, and the quest chain begins in Limsa Lominsa.

Also being introduced in Shadowbringers is a new male-only race, the Hrothgar. The Hrothgar are beast-like in appearance, and are known as the Ronso (!!) in the First, Hrothgar being their Source name. Similarly, the Viera are known as the Viis in the First.

There's also a new Primal being added to the game: Innocence. A new high-end raid called Eden is also being added, with character and boss designs being created by Tetsuya Nomura. One such character is the hammer-wielding Gaia, pictured below.

A few more details coming to Shadowbringers before we log off: there's a Trust system being added to the game, which allows players to bring certain story-centric NPCs into dungeons with them (Thancred, Y'sholta, etc.). There's also the First's version of Lalafell, which are known as Dwarves: they're a race of miners who are experts in metallurgy. The Holy See of Ishgard will have a storyline taking place over the course of the 5.0 patches. Last, but not least, there are vicious creatures called Sin Eaters that are invading the Thirteenth shard, which the player will encounter.

For more new screenshots from Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, check out our updated gallery. The expansion will launch on July 2nd. Stay tuned to RPGFan for more info.

• Nova Crystallis

• Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Screenshots