The programming for Trusts was adapted and modified from the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII. These Trust companions are allies in the story and have unique dialogue depending on which combinations of characters are selected. In Shadowbringers, a player may choose to explore a dungeon using "Trust" companions rather than other players. They refrained from adding a new healer class in order to maintain game balance between the three existing healers. The development team prioritized a new tank class to balance the number of main and off-tanks and a new ranged damage dealer because there had previously only been two. These jobs begin at level 60 with their own storylines. For Dancer, the team was inspired by folk dances from around the world with an emphasis on "encouraging allies" with dance. Gunbreaker was inspired by the gunblade from Final Fantasy VIII. Two new job classes were introduced as well-Gunbreaker, a tank class that wields gunblades, and Dancer, a ranged damage dealer class that wields chakrams. Combat resources such as magic points were rebalanced to increase ease of ability use. In response to feedback, tank classes no longer suffer a damage penalty when tanking enemies.
The changes, comprising new abilities and streamlining of old abilities, were intended to make the experience of playing the different classes more distinct. Classes, which determine the player's abilities in combat, were adjusted in various ways including an increase in maximum power level to level 80. As with many MMORPGs, players interact with each other in a persistent world that responds to their actions. The gameplay and quest structure of Shadowbringers largely match that of its base game.
Main article: Final Fantasy XIV § Gameplay
The third major content patch had its release delayed by two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These updates expanded the main story, added new features, and premiered secondary storylines including a crossover written by Yoko Taro that features characters and elements from Nier: Automata and the Restoration of Ishgard, a long term campaign to rebuild the embattled nation in the aftermath of the Dragonsong War. As with its predecessors, major content patches were scheduled for every three months. In December 2019, Square Enix announced that the title had reached a cumulative total of 18 million player accounts.
Critics praised the story as well as the game's accessibility to new players, both of which were focuses during development.
Shadowbringers was well received upon release and earned nominations for "Expansion of the Year". In addition to adding new areas, the expansion pack increases the level cap, debuts two character classes and two playable races, and introduces the ability to explore dungeons with non-playable "Trust" companions. Emet-Selch accompanies the player, confident in the success of his plan regardless of the player's meddling. They are joined by old comrades who have been trapped on the First, as well as Emet-Selch, an immortal villain who aims to harness the First's desolation to trigger a mirrored calamity on the player's home world. Players are transported to this world and embark on a quest to restore vitality to the ruined land. Shadowbringers takes place on the First, a parallel dimension that has succumbed to apocalyptic collapse. The expansion pack was released as a standalone product for current players for new players, the "Complete Edition" that originally launched with Heavensward was updated to include all expansions including Shadowbringers. Like its predecessors, Naoki Yoshida served as director and producer and Masayoshi Soken composed the soundtrack. It was released on July 2, 2019, two years after Stormblood, the previous expansion. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers is the third expansion pack to Final Fantasy XIV, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and PlayStation 4.