FF14 x Monster Hunter Wilds: Windward Wilds Site Drops

Why This Caught My Eye

Square Enix has spun up a special site for Final Fantasy XIV’s Monster Hunter Wilds crossover, The Windward Wilds, landing in early October. As someone who spent an embarrassing number of runs farming Rathalos EX back in Stormblood, this one instantly pinged my radar. The last collab wasn’t just fan service; it bent FF14’s combat toward Monster Hunter’s rhythm-reading movement over cast bars, chugging mid-fight heals, and a nasty extreme grind that actually felt earned. The new site confirms we’re getting another proper “hunt,” not a throwaway event, and that’s the headline for me.

• Two-tier trial vs. Guardian Arkveld: i725 normal and i740 extreme-right in step with 7.3.
• Hope armor (both variants), Arkveld-inspired weapon models, Seikret mount, minions, housing.
• Expect movement-first mechanics and some form of self-healing, à la the Great Hunt.
• Extreme-exclusive rewards likely; the site hints more updates are coming.

Breaking Down the Announcement

The quest setup is pure Monster Hunter: “A mysterious mark bill… a Felyne client… a hearty meal of grilled meat and mega potions…” That language lines up with the Stormblood collab’s approach, which temporarily rewired expectations-less timer-dodging of AOEs, more reading the monster and reacting. Naoki Yoshida has already teased that watching Arkveld’s movement will matter more than its cast bar, so if you hated Rathalos’ tail swipes and roar staggers, brace yourself.

Mechanically, the numbers put this in a sweet spot. Normal requires item level 725, same as the 7.3 story trial and the San d’Oria alliance raid; extreme sits at 740, mirroring 7.3’s EX. Translation: this isn’t Savage and it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to be approachable by anyone keeping up with current content, while still giving extreme regulars something to chew on.

Requirements are straightforward but non-negotiable: you’ll need an active sub, a level 100 character, and completion of the 7.0 Dawntrail MSQ. The good news? The collab is a permanent addition. No FOMO countdown, no “miss it and it’s gone.” If you’re still catching up—or eyeing Beastmaster or the new deep dungeon, Pilgrim’s Traverse—this will wait.

On the Monster Hunter side, Wilds is getting Omega Planetes. It’s a smart handshake: FF14 borrows a flagship beast (Guardian Arkveld) and MH borrows a raid icon. It’s also a neat lore wink that keeps both communities engaged without feeling like a one-sided promo beat.

Rewards, Jobs, and the Big Question Marks

Let’s talk loot. The site shows both variants of the Hope armor—the starter set from Monster Hunter Wilds—and it fits FF14’s fashion game better than the old Rathalos getup ever did. I’m hoping Square Enix keeps it free of gender locks. Stormblood’s restriction was eventually lifted, and Wilds doesn’t gender-lock it either. Glam is the endgame; don’t fence it off.

Weapon models are the fun wrinkle. We get Arkveld-flavored Dual Blades, Greatsword, Gunlance, and Hammer in the showcase, posed by FF14 jobs in a way that raises questions. The Dual Blades shot screams Ninja, Greatsword looks Samurai-ish, Gunlance sits on Dragoon, and there’s a Hammer in a caster’s hands. Does that mean Warrior and Dark Knight are out of luck? Almost certainly not—this is a marketing page, not a loot table. Expect Square Enix to translate the silhouettes across the job roster in a way that makes sense, even if that means a few lore-stretching interpretations.

The Seikret mount is confirmed and yes, it appears to be its own ride, not Chocobo barding. That’s a tiny bummer for immersion nerds, but it mirrors Monster Hunter’s reality: you don’t drag your bird into a wyvern hunt. The minions are a slam dunk—baby Seikret and a floating Vigorwasp lugging a blob of heals—and the housing items hit the right notes: pop-up Wilds camp pieces, a covered storage crate, Palico-inspired training dummy, fold-out seat, and a BBQ with a full rack of meat. If you don’t spin that spit while spamming a /grill emote, why are you even decorating?

Here’s the part to watch: the site explicitly says the extreme version offers “exclusive rewards,” and it will be updated with more info later. If history holds, we’re looking at the Rathalos template—mount and a minion locked to EX, with armor accessible via the base path or augmentation. My money’s on an Arkveld mount showing up as the big-ticket EX prize. If Seikret is the standard-difficulty reward, Arkveld as the prestige mount writes itself.

Why This Matters for FF14 Right Now

Dawntrail’s main story is wrapped, and before the 8.0 hype train really leaves the station, FF14 is experimenting: Beastmaster as a limited job, a new deep dungeon promising a difficulty shake-up, and now a crossover that forces you to play by different rules. That’s healthy. FF14 needs diversions that don’t feel like a reskinned trial roulette, and hunts are great at teaching old hands new habits.

Value-wise, this reads as a win. It’s included with your sub, i725/i740 means low gear friction, and the permanent flag kills the worst kind of FOMO. The only potential drag is the EX grind if the mount drop/tokens mirror Rathalos’ stinginess. I’m fine with that—prestige cosmetics should ask something of you—but I hope the fight hits that Stormblood sweet spot of readable but punishing. If Arkveld turns into a cast-bar dance, the whole point of a Monster Hunter collab gets lost.

Bottom line: the site shows plenty, but the best surprises are probably still hidden. If Square Enix sticks the landing on mechanics and tosses a stylish EX mount into the pot, Windward Wilds could be the rare crossover that lives beyond its novelty.

TL;DR

Windward Wilds brings a two-tier Arkveld hunt (i725/i740), Hope armor, Arkveld-themed weapons, a Seikret mount, cute minions, and camp-core housing. It’s permanent, requires Dawntrail MSQ and level 100, and likely hides an EX-exclusive mount. If you liked Rathalos EX’s “learn the monster, not the cast bar” vibe, this should be your next grind.