%20Is%2075%25%20Off%20at%20The%20Home%20Depot.png "High Tech Skelly (and Its Big Dog, Too) Is 75 Percent Off at the Home Depot")
Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, Dawntrail, arrives this summer alongside the game’s first graphical update. As such, Square Enix has released a new benchmark software to let PC players test how well their machines will handle these new bells and whistles while getting a small head start on Dawntrail.
Available as a free download for Windows, the benchmark software uses playable characters and actual maps to assign a performance score to your PC. This will provide a peek at the new graphical update, which spruces up the game with enhanced textures, shadows, material qualities, and other elements. You can download the benchmark here.
The benchmark includes a character creator for players to craft a fresh hero ahead of Dawntrail’s launch. It also includes access to the new female Hrothgar race. Existing characters can also be imported into the benchmark, and the appearance data from these characters can be imported into the full release of Dawntrail on Windows.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail launches on July 2. You can learn more about the expansion here. The game currently has a crossover event with Final Fantasy XVI that runs until May 8
