Square Enix re-recorded Wuk Lamat’s big scene with Sphene at the end of FFXIV Dawntrail

FFXIV 7.1 is here, and in addition to job changes, it quietly introduced another little tweak to the MMO – Wuk Lamat’s divisive line readings in Dawntrail’s dramatic ending

Square Enix

FFXIV 7.1 is here, and in addition to job changes, it quietly introduced another little tweak to the MMO – Wuk Lamat’s divisive line readings in Dawntrail’s dramatic ending scenes. A few savvy players noticed it after 7.1 went live, presumably after playing the newly added Minstrel’s Song version of the battle, and Sena Bryer, Wuk Lamat’s voice actor for the English dub, confirmed it on Bluesky.

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This story contains mild spoilers for Dawntrail’s final boss, so bear that in mind. If you don’t want to know who it is, go read our Dawntrail review instead.

“Keeping this a secret has been hard lol,” Bryer said in a repost. “I lost my voice the day after doing this.”

It’s not hard to see why. In the scene, Wuk Lamat confronts Sphene and tries to bridge the gap between them by saying she understands the pressure and heartbreak Sphene is dealing with. Sphene refuses to listen and resolves to keep fighting for her people, and Wuk Lamat says she has no choice but to destroy Sphene and all she stands for.

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It’s a climactic moment on several levels, capping off Dawntrail’s story and Wuk Lamat’s character growth, among other things. The new dub is intense and reflects Wuk Lamat’s emotional turmoil and, eventually, anger, and Bryer properly knocked it out of the park, so to speak. 

The original sounds more like a casual conversation, and Wuk Lamat’s pleading comes across more quietly. That’s a valid creative spin on it – except there’s kind of a big battle with a giant robot happening at the same time. 

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Square Enix hasn’t officially addressed the variable quality of Dawntrail’s voice work, but the unofficial consensus is that directors and even voice actors who’ve been with the game for years weren’t given proper context for most of their scenes. With just Wuk Lamat’s lines and nothing else to go from, it’s easy to see how the scene could come across as a pre-battle attempt at avoiding a fight and not a mid-battle interlude.

Anyway, it’s different now, and Bryer and Dawntrail fans are happy about it. If you’re diving into FFXIV 7.1 to check it out, don’t forget there’s a whole lot more going on in Tural now as well, including the FFXI Alliance Raid and new Main Scenario Quests.