Final Fantasy XIV Artbook Commentary Details Designs, Plus A Look At The Relm Minion

The newest Final Fantasy XIV artbook, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | The Art of Ishgard – Stone and Steel –, recently released in Japan. Thanks to a post on reddit, we get a look at some translated commentary from the book, as well as screenshots of the adorable Relm minion that comes as a redeemable code along with the artbook.

Here’s some of the commentary from the book, giving us a little information regarding the concepts and ideas behind the gear, characters, and enemies in the Heavensward expansion.

• Y’shtola’s new outfit is more modern-looking because the Sharlayan have their “own sphere of culture.”

• The Gnath were modeled after the Urutan-Yensa from Final Fantasy XII, but with more insectoid and Samurai-like features.

• The Astrologian Esoterics gear was designed with mostly female characters in mind.

• Additionally, the Monk Esoterics gear was inspired by Yang from Final Fantasy IV.

• The design for the Paissa enemies called for eyes that never seemed to focus on anything.

Here’s a couple of screenshots that give us a better look at the Relm minion in-game.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | The Art of Ishgard – Stone and Steel – artbook is available in Japan. The English version of the artbook is set to release in February 2016.