Final Fantasy 14 DirectX 11 upgrade coming with Heavensward expansion

Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn will finally support DirectX 11 when its first major expansion, Heavensward, releases later this year.

According to the latest producer's letter (thanks, D'toid), the switch from DX9 to DX11 won't apply dramatic changes.

Instead, players will note finer aspects made to the MMO's graphical quality, such as more realistic portrayals of shimmering 3D water and how light will refract and waver when hitting the water.

Players can also expect reflected lights and character reflections in "finely polished floors," upgraded screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO), improved "rugged surfaces", and more.

In some cased, the most significant difference will be an improved frame rate for those who have a GPU supporting DX11, as its not as resource-intensive as DX9.

More features which support DirectX 11 will be added in the future.

You can read the entire producer's letter through the link, and also have a look at comparison shots between the game running in DX9 and DX11.

Final Fantasy 14′s Heavensward expansion is expected sometime in late spring or early summer.