At the 2023 London Fan Fest, Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida said that the Dawntrail expansion would focus more on group play than Endwalker, which comparatively emphasized solo play during the conclusion of the Hydaelyn and Zodiark story arc. In addition, Yoshida said that Dawntrail would continue the trend of Final Fantasy 14 paying tribute to past Final Fantasy games within a given expansion.