#it’s not shadowbringers or even endwalker level of great

[spadesnoir]

Oh boy people sure are divided about dawntrail msq huh

[aotopmha]

I thought about talking about Dawntrail in detail only once I'm done with it, but I just finished the level 91 dungeon and the corresponding cutscenes some of the vitriol I've seen for the story is so bizzare.

Spoilers for up to the end of the level 91 dungeon!

I absolutely love that Wuk is having such a gradual arc.

The very first encounter of the level 91 quests was great and it was just a conversation where she gains some self-awareness about her own feelings via someone else going through the same. And before then, in the previous areas, she just learned about her limits. About her lack of knowledge and skill.

I saw so much vitriol thrown at the other candidates, as well, where all I see is just a gradual pushing of the curtain.

Every appearance they have is just a little bit more of hinting at their relationship with Wuk and relationships and principles of their own.

I don't know if it is paid off, but to me it comes off as neat set-up and mystery; there are some pretty interesting nuggets with Zoraal Ja in particular to me because his demeanor and his goal contrasting.

It's the contrast and juxtaposition of all of these perspectives I'm interested in the most.

I also love that the Warrior of Light is taking on a mentor role. I didn't even fully think about it, but that's a pretty perfect role for them at this point.

And I like the friendly rivalry angle with the other Scions because I was thinking it would be odd for Urianger in particular to suddenly start being secretive again when his entire arc was about not being secretive anymore. I like that they approach the other group while still having their own principles at play.

And I'm so happy they pulled back the stakes after Shadowbringers and Endwalker, rather than trying to one-up them, since they did want to continue the story and all.

It's so rare to see this kind of restraint with longer stories especially.

Lower-stakes conflicts and character arcs can exist and I like how they are doing it here.

Learning to not fear Alpacas because of a bad experience or learning about the customs of a culture is just as much of a valid moment of growth as coming to terms with the death of a loved one.

It still makes the point about learning to respect and understand what you don't.

The Azim Steppe was about this in spirit, too, and I still think it is the best part of Stormblood. And these two lil stories are good examples of it.

In terms of true issues I have with the story so far, I think the Pelupelu area dragged on just a smidge too long, but that's it.

Do I think this is some mindblowing, revolutionary character writing?

No.

Do I see how it all could come together into something really good in the bigger picture?

Yes, very much. Especially with the tone shift in the second half.

And a lot of these characters are PoC-coded (with PoC English VAs), too.

That's a really cool bonus in my eyes!

The really strong hatred, I do not get at all.

I'm willing to bet Wuk's journey is going to be full of failure and that's where the true vitriol comes from.

(Her voice actress is also a trans woman with a "non-traditional" accent.)

She will not immediately get herself together and will be sad and self-depricating and will get seasick again and people will be mad about it because she said she won't be anymore after she got some worries off her chest.

You do not suddenly start doing better when you just say it. That's not how people work. It's a process and I am expecting one. Because getting rid of preconceptions, prejudices and a unhealthy need for validation because of messy family matters is a process.

So, I don't agree with the super extreme takes at all. It's so funny that I spent like 5 hours playing the game and having fun and then I go on social media and some act like this innocous adventure story about learning to understand and respect other cultures that drags a lil is the worst thing to ever exist.

I mean I hope everyone who hates it will get a better story in the patches or next expac or outside of FF14.

But I've seen so many and much worse stories than this so far.

[snapscube]

I played FFXIV a while ago but had a hard time getting into it at the time, and I'd like to give it another go but don't really feel attached to my previous character and want to start fresh. Do you have any advice on getting really immersed in the game? I feel like you mentioned going through something similar before it really clicked for you so just wanted to ask! Hope you're having a good day :)

ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT TIP: Take your time. Settle into the world. Create a character that you really like, and remember: it’s a role-playing game! Certain aspects and mechanics of the game you gotta do a little extra mental legwork to fully appreciate from an immersion standpoint. So roleplay! Take in the sights! Talk to NPCs if that’s your jam! But above all, pay attention to the story and the in-game tips. You don’t have to 100% understand everything right away. I sure as hell didn’t. But you’re only going to get out of the game what you’re able to put into it. It’s gonna be a long journey, so pace yourself and don’t try to rush through to The Good Parts. It took me like 2 years, no exaggeration, to get to Shadowbringers. It doesn’t ACTUALLY take that long to do the MSQ if you’re fast tracking it, or hell even just prioritizing it haha. I know of plenty of people who completely caught up with the story in a matter of a couple months or so. But that’s the beauty of it. I took my damn time getting there. I took MULTIPLE breaks, some for months at a time, and only ever came back when I was ready and the game seemed like something that would hit. And I still got an incredible experience out of it that remains my favorite game and one of my favorite stories ever. So, yknow, I would say in the early hours of the game you might find yourself a little bored or lost. Those are the moments where you want to make sure you’re playing enough that you find a HOOK for you to latch onto. Experiment with different content. Pick up as many blue quest icons as you can, the ones that unlock features & content, and see if you come across something fun. In my experience, it only really takes one or two mechanics or jobs that you find enjoyable to push you into sinking some serious time into the game. And once you’re giving the game your time, you’re likely going to realize that the game in turn really RESPECTS that time, and tries to make the most of it. A lot of features feed into each other, and if you’re enjoying something like, say, crafting really early on, that’s gonna snowball into a million other things you can do later down the road. Once you hit the point where you’ve found a rhythm and you’ve discovered what’s fun about the game to you, it’s all about the journey from there. So relax, give it your attention, and take it at whatever pace you find comfortable and enjoyable.

Here are also a few stray ideas you can take with you:

- I am one of the many who will insist that the game’s writing gets MONUMENTALLY better from Heavensward (The first expansion, included in the free trial of the game) onward. And when I tell you that the change in writing quality and the approach to appealing dialogue and pacing is nearly INSTANT, I really mean it. I would say, if you want to really understand why the story is revered as much as it is, you need to at least push through to Heavensward and see if the improvements to pacing and dialogue appeal to you. If they do, I assure you that (in my opinion) it only gets better and better from there. I can not actually express how good Shadowbringers and Endwalker’s stories are. It’s the kind of thing you NEED to experience to understand.

- There is a wonderful list I’ve linked here that will actually help you track what kinds of content you can unlock in-game based on whatever level your character and MSQ progress are at. It’s extremely thorough and if you need help finding stuff to do, this is a great resource.

- In a similar vein, the official FFXIV YouTube account has a really cute and genuinely well made/helpful starter guide series you can watch if you want some starter tips directly from the team

- Do not worry about the subscription cost for a while. I assure you, if you need to, you can get literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours of content out of the free trial. It took me over a year to get to the point of the game where the free trial gets locked off in terms of MSQ and character level, and even then I hadn’t even done like half of the available content.

My fingers hurt cause i’ve been typing this on my phone so I’m going to stop talking now :) Let me know if you have any more specific questions though and I’d be happy to answer and/or give my take on stuff! I love love love talking about this game.

[elliewiltarwyn]

for the meme!: Top 5 Jobs (ICly and/or what you prefer to play)

this was harder than I thought, considering that if I like a job I tend to bend my own personal canon to make it work in-character -- like Ellie picked up reaper because deep down she knew she wanted to go head-to-head with Zenos on his own terms. but that doesn't mean it's actually still what I prefer to play, either, so it got weird. I decided to make this about which job I like playing most in each role...though I am pretty bad at ranged and caster. and healer. I have a very obviously in-your-face playstyle, I'm pretty sure.

at any rate!

-------------------------

Tank: Dark Knight

i have. exulted quite a bit about dark knight in these answers lmao. but part of the reason i love it so much is because I genuinely have a blast playing it. It feels big and powerful, it feels risky, it really nails the feel of making yourself bleed to protect your comrades. The burst phase when you just throw absolutely everything you have at the enemy is an incredibly satisfying, violent rampage. They made it an ability to call upon your dark twin to help you in combat, and I've mentioned how much of a sucker I am for dark twin shit. Blackest Night, imo, is the most rewarding "super shield" tank ability. And post-buff, I'd argue Living Dead is the best invuln.

plus you know, everything about the entire storyline and Esteem and the image of playing through Shadowbringers in this job. it's all just so good. Immensely satisfying to play and is probably the best at fulfilling its "job fantasy" for me.

2. Melee: Monk

I always like the hand-to-hand characters or movesets in fantasy settings; there's something very appealing to me about facing a bunch of fantastic supernatural beings and just punching them in the face. That said, I actually had several false starts with FFXIV before it finally hooked me about... four years ago. Every one of those times I picked pugilist as my starting class, got frustrated by never being able to hit positionals (it was because i was using lockon. why does the lockon in this game exist lmao.), and would give up. Once I was finally properly playing, I pushed through leveling pugilist into monk and thought it was... alright, but felt incredibly high-strung, like they were putting in more effort to do the same damage. Then Endwalker completely reworked the kit.

They lowered the level requirements for the chakra moves, making them actually fun and usable long before Stormblood. They made Greased Lightning a constant trait instead of having to struggle to keep it up so your GCD wasn't ass. They added the Masterful Blitz mechanic to dial in combos that end with kickass finishers. They... didn't give it any new buttons for the actual 80-90 level range that EW covered, but that was okay because I was suddenly having way more fun working this rotation than almost anything else in the whole game. It's either tied with or above DRK for my absolute favorite to play, because it's fun, rewards skilled play, and I get to do DBZ shit and zip all over to kick my enemies into oblivion. Plus, I'm doing almost as much damage as my co-melee in my static who uses the hanzo steel of a samurai, but I'm using my bare fists. It rules.

(not really a fan of the storyline, though. hence why canonically Ellie trains with Lyse instead of Erik and Widargelt. :V)

3. Healer: Sage

I kinda feel bad that I started as a conjurer, and yet I am by far worse at healing than any other role. At least with White Mage you can kinda get away with spamming Medica II through most of the MSQ, but y'know... that's pretty boring. Pretty effective, and I'd still probably prefer WHM if I ever attempted to heal high-end content, but I'd struggle.

Sage though, I have an absolute blast playing even if I'm not necessarily being a great healer. The aesthetic rules and can pretty easily be written as magitek-y: hence, Mia canonically can use Sage even though she's Garlean and can't usually do a caster job. I love flipping Eukrasia to activate powerful energy shields, even though it also means one more button press than all the other healers to apply the DoT. I love zapping dudes with Gundam-esque funnels and having that channel heals to whoever I want, I love throwing out Physis+Kerachole before a big raidwide, or Krasis+Haima onto the tank before a buster. I even kinda love that it really encourages you to be constantly using your Addersgall pips to help manage your MP. It makes high demands kinda like monk did pre-EW, but for some reason it's a lot more fun as sage. Maybe because of all the sick twists and dramatic pointing you do while firing lasers from Gundam funnels.

I always forget Holos exists though. I have no idea why.

4. Caster: Red Mage

look, the more red you wear, the more damage you do as red mage. it's scientific. Ellie's favorite color is red, idk how obvious it is. :V

Canonically, I don't think any of my WoLs actually use this. But of the three current casters, RDM strikes the best balance for me of a complex rotation with rewarding mechanics, balancing black and white levels and trying to keep them unsynced so you can keep properly proccing your real attacks, without being overly-demanding like Black Mage or sort of basic with not much room for variations like Summoner (I'm sorry SMN mains! I do like SMN! it's really good for me when I'm having a bad brain day, which is frequent. >.>). You also get to completely save disaster runs with instant-rezzes and double heals, and then never get any comms for it! /eyetwitch

And above all else, it's stylish as fuck to the extent that I kinda wish I had the physical ability to try fencing.

5. Ranged: Dancer

Funny, I actually thought I was going to choose MCH because gun, but then I thought about what actually satisfies me the most to play, and... it's massively buffing the whole party and then just whaling on every button on your hotbar that lights up, and suddenly I understand how people get addicted to like, pachinko and such games. But seriously, it's fun, it's stylish, the rotation's easy to pick up, you get to feel good about making a buddy do mega damage, and you get to make big damage numbers yourself (I mean obviously it's because of how long it takes to activate the dances but damn it's still satisfying to see that many numbers).

I haven't remotely figured out how, but I do want Lily to canonically pick up and use Dancer. You look like you're having fun when you dance on the battlefield, and Lily deserves good things like having fun in the middle of combat.

and now you're way too familiar with how I play this game. :3 thanks for the prompt, @viiioca!!

[motheatenscarf]

Had a couple days to mull over some Shadowbringers thoughts while I fixate on housing and level up Trust party members as friends catch up to me in the story.

General musings is all.

Officially declaring that yeah, people were right, base Shadowbringers and the first like, 3 patches worth of patch content is far and away the strongest the storytelling has been in this game. It was legit good. Like, single player RPG good. And one of the better single player RPGs I've played kind of single player RPG good. A proud successor to the likes of some of the best entries in the Final Fantasy series good. It even managed to incorporate the MMO elements into the story (making your past life's entire ability being to call upon allies from afar) in a way that felt not only meaningful but on theme.

I loved Heavensward, but in a way that was like... I personally got a lot of mileage out of it, I'm sure others would vary. Shadowbringers was just legit good and I recommend it to everyone. It's... actually worth the slog of getting through through ARR and Stormblood. Stormblood admittedly isn't the... worst, but depending on your sensitivity to uh, let's call it the "George R.R. Martinification of History" in your fantasy settings, you will either be able to roll with the weak storytelling and have fun with the things that work. Or you're gonna be fucking furious and hate a lot of what's going on.

As for the last couple of patches worth of story content in Shadowbringers, i.e., the stuff that's setting up Endwalker... I'm not sure how I feel about it yet? I'm still parsing it. The stuff with the Scions is still fine and it works, it's serviceable, and I'm glad to have Estinien back, there were some fun interactions there. But the villains. Woof.

Zenos is over the top in a fun way, big gestures and waxing poetic on his intentions, grade A villain Presentation stuff. And then Fandaniel just being... every annoying stereotype about queer coded villains and not in a fun way. I think it has everything to do with the VA not being that skilled to start with and these mincing little dances that he does. He's just so fucking tedious. Asahi was already The Worst Character and then they brought him back possessed by The Worst Ascian, but kept the voice actor, and made him somehow even more offensive in doing so. Great. Thanks.

Idk. It's just such a step backwards after all the work they did with Emet Selch to humanize the Ascians and made him one of if not the most compelling characters in the game so far. They even did great making Elidibus sympathetic, if not especially gripping as a character. Time will tell if they do anything interesting with what they're setting up, but that's a couple weeks away for me at this point while my friends catch up.

[eriyu]

[ painkiller ] what is their greatest regret?

All of her cumulative experience with time travel has rid Ehryu of a lot of her regrets — things like letting the bloody banquet happen, or not being able to save one friend or another. She knows that erasing terrible things from history wouldn't necessarily make for a happier ending, and she wouldn't trust herself to be smart enough to even try and predict which ones might.

...But rather than any actions she has or hasn't taken, she really regrets not cherishing her connection to Hydaelyn more while she had the chance. 😢

She was never the devout "ooh aah Great Mother of All" type. Really, she only trusted Hydaelyn in the first place because she trusted Minfilia, and couldn't connect with her on a personal level because Hydaelyn never reached out on a personal level... until Endwalker. When Ehryu falls head over heels for Venat. Only to lose her forever.

So Ehryu can't help but look back at all the alienation and suspicion she felt between ARR and Shadowbringers with it feeling like a knife in her gut. Feeling like she wasted all that precious time and knowing that she'll never get another chance. Not even in another life. Venat is gone gone. (and Ehryu had to be the one to destroy her.)

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] The primary Savage raiding tier of Final Fantasy XIV used to be launched closing month, all over the chaos of CES 2022. And whilst that suggests I wasn't in a position to dive as deeply into it as I sought after (I used to be roughly busy), it is transparent that the entirety I beloved such a lot concerning the end-game fashion of the MMO is again -- precisely how I love it.That may sound like a possible downside with the sport, regardless that. Finally, a brand new growth would possibly purpose you to be expecting all-new gameplay methods, particularly in case you are used to different MMOs like World of Warcraft or RIFT. However as a substitute, it approach I do know precisely what I wish to do, and I would possibly not wish to burn myself out grinding out a complete new machine that I do not perceive. And for the sport itself, it implies that much more effort can pass into the raid fights themselves, and Pandaemonium - no less than its first tier - is very cool up to now. As of late's very best Ultimate Fable: Shadowbringer offers(Symbol credit score: Sq. Enix)A vintage machineIn Ultimate Fable XIV's raid loots, no less than for the traditional tier, every boss drops little tokens that may be traded for particular person armor portions comparable to a helmet, a chest piece, footwear, and so on. That is great as a result of not like different MMOs, which could have the massive raid bosses drop particular items of substances, it implies that everybody that involves the raid has an equivalent likelihood to get one thing, regardless of which task they are recently taking part in. Even higher, every boss drops 8 of those tokens, because of this there may be probably one for each and every participant within the raid. That suggests, particularly at the start of a raid's life-span, everybody will get one thing for doing the content material. That adjustments just a little in Savage, the hard-mode model of the raid. In there, particular items will drop off of every boss, along side a coffer, which can be utilized to create a work of substances for its slot regardless of which task. However best considered one of every drops when the boss is killed. As a substitute, each and every participant gets a ebook, and you'll be able to flip in numerous those books for equipment as you acquire them. So, even supposing you could have unhealthy success and do not win any rolls, you'll be able to sooner or later get the precise piece of substances you've got had your eyes on. That is such a chic resolution for divvying up raid loot that it is not truly a wonder that it hasn't modified since Heavensward in 2015. And after getting the most productive equipment you'll be able to get out of the Savage raids, you do not wish to perpetually grind content material you may no longer wish to do as a way to maximize the equipment additional - having a look at you, International of Warcraft.Whilst loot will not be chaotic, do not fret the fights nonetheless are.  (Symbol credit score: Sq. Enix)Thanks, FFXIV, for respecting my timeWhilst I could have spent as a lot time as bodily imaginable taking part in Ultimate Fable XIV when Endwalker introduced - I even are living blogged that first demanding day - I am already on the level the place I will be able to log in for like part an hour every day that I am not raiding with my buddies. And I will be able to most probably break out with no longer even doing that. It is the something that makes positive that I can most probably by no means truly burn out on Ultimate Fable XIV. The sport respects my time, and I do not really feel like I am being penalized for doing issues that don't seem to be taking part in Ultimate Fable XIV. Recreation Director Naoki Yoshida famously mentioned that he if truth be told prefers it if you happen to play the sport at your individual tempo reasonably than forcing your self to play on a regular basis, as noticed on this Reddit thread. That implies that for the primary

time, I have discovered an MMO the place I will be able to play the hardcore raiding content material that I wish to play, with out feeling pressured to play via a host of stuff that feels secondary to me. If I used to be nonetheless taking part in International of Warcraft: Shadowlands, and it dropped proper sooner than Halo Limitless, as an example, there is not any manner I'd have even began that sport. However, I stopped it this closing weekend. It isn't sudden that Ultimate Fable XIV is as giant as it's as of late. As a result of it is the first MMO I have performed in years that makes me really feel like I am taking part in a sport, and no longer paying for a tedious 2nd task. And that is the reason what will stay me coming again for each and every patch -- and purchasing each and every growth for years yet to come. As of late's very best Gaming keyboard offers [ad_2] #Ultimate #Fable #XIV #Endwalkers #endgame #just right,jackie.thomas@futurenet.com (Jackie Thomas) , 2022-01-11 19:07:40 ,

[marcilled]

I beat Endwalker

What can I say... What can I possibly say...

Final Fantasy XIV is a game that's impossible to recommend to most people, being both a prohibitively meaty JRPG as well as a MMO with a subscription fee.

Nevertheless, I am going to do it: Please play Final Fantasy XIV with a free trial up to level 60 including the critically acclaimed Heavensward expansion.

It's not going to be for everyone. But for the people that it's for... The story in this game is nothing short of phenomenal. Breathtaking, even.

It's earned its place among some of my favorite game stories ever. Perhaps not the greatest; but Shadowbringers and Endwalker solidify it into something truly worth remembering.

The heights this game soars to would amaze you to no end if all you've experienced is the base game (A Realm Reborn). The ending of ARR is honestly more like the beginning of your journey. And when it comes to its end, you'll look back on those early days and laugh.

Onto Endwalker itself; this expansion had big shoes to fill... concluding the story ten years in the making. How do you even do that? Not only did they figure out how, they made sure to stick the fucking landing.

And shining high above all else, gracing us with its immaculate splendor, is the soundtrack. The soundtrack. Soken deserves to be memorialized for ages for his work on ffxiv's soundtrack. The music in this game is almost without parallel- and it's used time and again for great effect throughout the story, especially in Endwalker. The amount of deeply emotional tracks in Endwalker... All reinforced by sampling common motifs from one another... It reminds me of the level of care and thought that went into Undertale's stellar soundtrack. Yeah I'm going there, it's just that good.

... All of this talk and it doesn't feel entirely genuine... I mean it all, of course- but what I really want to say is just how deeply this story affected me. How I'll always take these memories with me, particularly those made with my friends along the way. and how I'm now a proud mother to one very tiny lizard lady OC.

In a sentence: My journey has been good. It has been worthwhile.

[redwhitebreeze]

Okay we continue our "what my WoL thinks of the Scions" series, part 2 of 3! (spoilers up to endwalker in here)

Rasetsu considers Tataru as one of the main pillars of the Scions, he still remembers how he met that meek and apparently not so important Lalafell on the waking sands, only to end respecting her will and her talents, specially how she handles money and how she managed to keep the scions afloat. He has supported her with his all during her dilemma when she felt she wasn't enough and was more than glad to fight for her during her trial at Ishgard. Tataru has given Rasetsu a place to be welcomed back every time and clothes to accompany him on his travels (he really loves his scion traveler jacket) so how couldn't he feel grateful and appreciate our little administrator? He'll be always there for her no matter what, Tataru is a great friend and ally for Rasetsu and nothing will ever change that (also he finds her juggling skills really funny).

On the track of Lalafells, Krile is another good friend of his, he was surprised at how committed she was to the scions at the start and also respects the values from old Galuf that live on in her. He sometimes feels bad for not bringing her to adventures and sees her as a bit of an older sister, capable of teaching him new things. Imagine how surprised Rasetsu was when after the events of Endwalker he discovered that Zenos got there thanks to Krile, deep inside he wanted to thank her because if not for her, many things wouldn't have been solved, not only for the world but at a personal level.

Now for finishing this part, Minfilia. This is a tough one, since she was the leader of the Scions Rasetsu couldn't relate to her too much, she was a selfless soul and from what he saw she was no fighter but more like a figurehead, she had the best interests of Eorzea in her mind but well... The world can't be saved from good intentions alone. Rasetsu had mixed feelings about her position, he knew she was doing something as well in the Scions but since he couldn't see it directly he felt a lesser impact from it. Still, she had led the scions for long before his arrival and that was reason enough to trust her judgment. When her moment to leave during the bloody banquet arrived, he didn't feel as much as he did for the rest because 1. She was answering Hydaelyn's call and 2. He didn't have a really tight bond with her; still he held on hope to find her during the events of Heavens ward, imagine his shock and surprise when he saw her parting to save the First. Yeah, he didn't have a tight bond with her and he never really saw her direct actions but for some reason he had his full trust on her that she would manage to save that doomed world, he knew she was going to give her all and bid her farewell with a smile and the belief they would meet again. Fast forward to Shadowbringers when he discovered she died decades ago, that really shook him more than even he expected, after meeting her one final time he was happy and relieved she had that noble heart and soul and no sadness was present in that final parting. After all that he treats Ryne as a daughter because after many times of not seeing Minfilia's actions and even doubting her position before, Ryne was there as proof of her heroics and gentle soul, a tangible and impactful legacy that will last, maybe not in her native Eorzea but in Norvrandt. He will protect the inherited light of one world and try to become even a bit of the beacon she was in the other.

[rivenroad]

So this is a rough outline of some stuff that would make Endwalker... more what I wanted it to be, I guess. It isn’t particularly about how I would improve the plot and writing on a finer level, but rather a discussion of things I hoped for and didn’t get or would make the overall narrative more satisfying to me.

At this point, I very much wish it had been a lot longer, and probably split into parts - the first of which would focus more heavily on the effects of the Final Days on our star. It’s been on my mind a lot recently that 1.X did a fantastic job of slowly bringing anticipation of the impending Calamity to our attention in a variety of ways, not just the moon growing bigger but having unique NPCs and events occur in-game as well as the main quests and the eventual final day itself. I think Endwalker did a great job of highlighting the effects of it in certain places, such as the second visit to Thavnair, and we did admittedly have Fandaniel’s towers around the place for the last few months, but I think they could have pushed it much further. 

I think... I would probably want to make Radz-at-Han the hub city, and use that and Thavnair as a starting point for our journey towards Garlemald. We travel through Ilsabard, through various different places that were formerly under imperial rule and are now suffering as a result of the Final Days. I was disappointed that when the Scions travel around the world to help other nations who are struggling we don’t see even the tiniest bit of that... I think it would be really cool if even more of the towers were dungeons, with increasingly varied interiors, maybe to be more in line with the primals the respective captives are praying to? It’d still keep the overall atmosphere but prevent things from getting too samey. I admit this is a bit of a mirror of taking down the Lightwardens in Shadowbringers but that’s because that was good and rewarding and provided a great structure for the expansion!

Also, it would be nice to have Gaius actually involved in some way. It’s soooo goddamn unsatisfying that he didn’t get a part in this expansion. His in-character justification was reasonable. But it just sucks so much that he was introduced in the MSQ, the return of a MAJOR character with a SINGLE definitive aim that he claimed to be his entire purpose and then it just doesn’t go anywhere. At all. If they wanted to remove him from the MSQ, okay, whatever, but Werlyt doesn’t follow up on his supposed passionate purpose of Ascian-hunting either. I am kind of mad about that. If they don’t involve him with future plotlines like the heavily-teased Corvos then I will be even more in despair. He isn’t even a character I’m that fond of on a personal level, it’s just a frustratingly loose thread.

Anyway, as we finally get to Garlemald, shit goes down with Fandaniel and Zenos. A lot more should be made of that and the plot points raised there, the body swapping, Anima, Zodiark, going to the moon. Maybe the moon is the kind of final destination but there are more areas of it. The dark side of the moon? That kind of thing, you know. The journey and struggle to reach that point would do so much for the impact of it, instead of how rushed that entire section feels as is. I feel like it deserves to be something that takes time and effort to reach, like, the majority of the expansion to get there. The turn for the unexpected that the MSQ begins to take around level 83+ was engaging at the time when I didn’t know what to anticipate but it doesn’t feel so good when the novelty wears off.

From that point on I’m less confident about what I would like to see happen because... it gets tricky to balance with the storyline they had in mind, but here is where there would be a split and we would move on to confronting Zodiark and Hydaelyn and the actual cause of the Final Days. Perhaps we deal with Zodiark and Hydaelyn in different ways. I always thought it would be pretty cool to see them in some kind of combined fight, something a bit like Ifrit and Garuda in Eden.

And then all the other stuff that went on in Endwalker, the Sharlayan stuff, space travel, Elpis, honestly could make its own separate expansion. Easily. Dedicate some zones to actually visiting other planets... really build the connection with them so that the final result has more impact. I dunno, I did enjoy myself in Endwalker a lot! There was a lot of great stuff but the more time passes the more I just wish it hadn’t all been compressed into a single expansion. I know they don’t have infinite time and resources and it may have been the right decision for them to wrap it all up here and now so things can move on, but I can’t stop thinking about how all of it could have been even better than it was.

[voidsentprinces]

I feel like I need to reiterate this. But FFXIV didn’t hook me until Shadowbringers because all the villains felt like villains for the sake of evil. There wasn’t a clear end goal. Zodiark was a vague concept. The Ascians were all just doing evil shit without rhyme or reason beyond “for the lulz and for Zodiark.” and even Post-Stormblood Emet still feels like, “Here’s your next Saturday Morning Cartoon villain like Lahabrea. Mustache twirling, long monologues, and bare bones.”

I remember seeing him for the first time Shadowbringers like, “Oh great. Its him.” but then the expansion spends its time shaking loose the archetype they molded him into for Stormblood and gave him depth, personality, the reason. Emet-Selch is the plot device best described by himself, “A war waged without knowledge of the enemy is no war--it is mere blood letting.” And Emet-Selch was there, to give us the reason behind the Ascians. Despite the Lightwardens and Sin Eaters and Vauthry being good enough reason to fight for the First. Emet-Selch gives weight and stakes to the Source and behind the mustache twirling. Here is the first Ascian who isn’t cloaked in shadow but snarky, conversationalist, he has motive, he has machinations, he has reason, he is fanatic not to the point obsuridty like Lahabrea but to a logical point of view specific to himself.

He doesn’t want to do evil for this God we’ve been given only vague accounts of. But because he wants to bring back his friends and their loved ones and their families. The moment he lets slip that Zodiark and Hydaelyn are Primals. We know he is flawed because as we saw with Lakshmi, even if Zodiark brought them back with his immense power. They would never be the same. But he is tempered, “As is his (Zodiark’s) wont.” and cannot see beyond his nose that where the Beast Tribes have been failing so too will the Ascians.

So, Emet falls and returns to the star. Leaving his legacy to us even after giving it his all. Elidibus arrives and what was once this cryptic, bland and conniving individual who pranced around as Emissary. Is now just this tragic figure, having lose his home, his friends, and now his memories and even the reason for his purpose. But just like Emet-Selch, he presses on. So long as his now vague duty is done, what should it matter? He is Elidibus, he is Emissary. He has warred and allied with his kin. He is whatever the world requires him to be and he to falls.

It almost feels dull to go back to Zenos and Fandaniel who both come off as the same token, mustache twirling, evil for evil sake, here’s a vague goal of their plan and what it is for. Fandaniel only becoming slightly better after we meet his original body that is inherited by Amon. Zenos doesn’t grow beyond coming to understand us vaguely near the end. He still does stuff, he has to have stuff to do. But by that end he’s pretty much a “tie up loose ends” fight at the very end. Endsinger and galaxy is saved. Its pretty much like if after Luke blew up the Death Star the first time, he has to fist fight Grand Moff Tarkin. The narrative has moved on from all that.

Endwalker is still like good in a sort of “This old band has returns for a final farwell tour, they’re playing all the classics one last time.” But Shadowbringers really was when they picked up the ball and did the most work with it. After three expansions of haphazardly meandering. Shadowbringers felt like it had a goal in mind and how they would see it through. Endwalker feels like a X.X Patch for its first half and then an expansion after the level 73 Trial. That now has the unenviable task of tying up ten years of story.

But still it gave more depth to the Ancients. Not leaving them as shadows at the bottom of the sea. Giving us a glimpse of how they were in the past. How their thought process and how they operated. It gave us answers to Venat. Gave us a drop more of Hythlodaeus. Gave final victory lap for Emet-Selch and then introduced the how and why of the Final Days.

But that’s enough of my rambling.

[thevoilinauttheory]

The Great Eight

[ In lieu of the Rising event ending tomorrow - and myself, just now finishing it - I had some words I wanted to get out.

I get this type of nostalgia - it hurts, it physically hurts my chest; I feel sick to my stomach, and I just want to cry. I’ve asked others if they ever feel this way, but I’ve never gotten a yes to it.

The Rising always gives me this feeling. It’s be eight years since I first picked up XIV. Eight whole years. That’s a slap to the face, it’s been so long and it feels so short. I wish I could give people the same experiences and feeling I had for this game - the pain and happiness this nostalgia brings me. When I say this game means so much to me, it’s not an exaggeration. This game changed my life - I wish to share it a little bit with you. I touched on some of it in the past, but here I’m laying it all out. ]

[ I first started playing in 2013, when a friend recommended the game to me shortly after the game’s rerelease. They were ecstatic to have another player join them, and I owe them a lot for the experiences they gave me. My very first character was Raramlah Ramlah - she was a paladin, because that’s what I mained in WoW. I realized shortly that a tank probably wasn’t the best way to go, but also that my computer at the time couldn’t handle playing it, due to the graphics.

I gave it another shot in 2014, that’s when I made Danny Harold. He was the first character I ever got to level 50. I absolutely loved the game, when I wasn’t sitting idly for my friends to come online as I had with Raramlah; when I picked it up of my own accord. I remember I was in the hospital when I first picked it back up, when I first made him and leveled him through Gridania. But I was still going intermittedly between it and WoW. I missed the first Rising due to ignorance.

2015 comes around, and I’m in a stressful place. I just started a new job, and I’m finally able to live on my own with little issues from my disabilites. However, my apartment complex didn’t have internet, and so I’d take my laptop to Starbucks and sit there until they closed playing WoW instead. I wanted to spend what little time I had on the internet with the friends I already had grown close to.  Year 2 went on without me. But it still wasn’t all bad. Near the end of 2015, Maximiloix Voilinaut was created - and when I started up my XIV tumblr account under “ishgardianscholar”. See, I had made it to Heavensward on Danny when I found out that someone I had met through a friend was starting up a new character for the purpose of RP. I thought to myself “I want an Ishgardian character” - and rolled a new one. It was a new adventure, a clean slate, with a couple of friends I knew from WoW to join me.

Here comes 2016... and WoW had let me down. My disabilites came back full force, and I was left bed bound and reliant on partial disability from my workplace while waiting for SSDI to start kicking into effect. My roommates did little to help take care of the house we were renting, lied to me about their incomes, and forced me to use what little money I was getting to pay for everything myself. I’m short a total of 2000$ because of it. But. But. That was the best year of my fucking life. It ruined me, that year ruined my life, but it was the happiest I had ever been. Lothaire Voilinaut was first conceived and Maximiloix became my pride and joy as a character, I found the class I wanted to keep playing - I made friends, so many of them! So, so many of them! And I loved them, and I still do! I miss them terribly. If I could relive one year of my life... it would be that year. What I would give just to feel that way again - because I had never felt it since. I didn’t realize until Year 3′s Rising came around, how nostalgic just the few short times and experiences were to me. Because I was met with two things... the first song that truly captured me in Final Fantasy games (Prelude), and the first song I ever heard in the game itself (A New Hope). I cried there. Music has always hit me so hard, and I never realized just how much this game meant to me until then. This was how I knew I would stay - that XIV had my heart for good.

2017, during the release of Stormblood, I went homeless. I had wanted so badly to see my first expansion release - and only witnessed second hand “Raubahn EX”. My friends moved on without me, and I was left alone again to start playing. But I told myself already. XIV had my heart, there was no reason to go back to WoW. So I didn’t. I didn’t, and I don’t regret it. This is when I truly started playing Lothaire fully - and when I met my spouse, he became my main. I made it to Year 4, and cried just as much.

2018 - with the loss of friends, did I find new ones. It wasn’t the best time of my life, but I wouldn’t trade the memories for a thing. Year 5 came and went faster than I could blink, but that was it. I heard the music, I remembered my first Rising, I remembered all the times I had before. And I cried.

2019 started off rough. I moved across the country and had a hard time finding a place to live. I got it down, started a new job... and made it to the release of Shadowbringers. I had grown so much since I first started - and the expansion release was everything I wanted it to be, regardless of the issues that came with it (though I’ve been told that it was a far smoother release than the others). I was so excited... and I was not let down. XIV upheld its standards and presented to me a game worthy of pushing onto my friends no matter how annoyed they got with me about it (looking at you @rose-color-boy). Everything about it was a pure masterpiece, people think I’m exaggerating. But this game had done so much for me, that finally, now, I got to witness something I always wanted to. Sure, I didn’t have many friends to start the expansion with... but the story captivated me immediately. Year 6... and I cried.

2020. There wasn’t much to say about it, I was stuck inside all year and I hit a bad patch during the end of it, but... Year 7. It hit me like a truck. It gave me goosebumps, it gave me laughs, and ultimately, it gave me tears. I actually sobbed, this time. Remembering everything I gone through hurt me so badly, the nostalgia was coming in hard. But I knew, in the end, this game would always be here for me. This game had wormed its way into my heart accidentally, and yet I feel like I couldn’t live without it.

This year. Perhaps it didn’t hit me as hard - I still cried. This game means so much to me. So, so much. It hurts, it really and physically hurts how much it means to me. This game made everything in my stressful life so much easier, littered the pain with good memories. I can recall bad places I was in, and associate it with something good that happened to me in the game. 2020 - I got knee surgery... but 5.3 had just released and holy shit. My spouse got a little annoyed at me that the only thing I was listening to was the theme of that last battle (To the Edge). It helped me get through it, the pain and the misery I felt from not being able to walk. 2019 - Work was driving my depression in deep, and I didn’t want to live and continue the pain I was feeling... but I got to the end of 5.0 and only wanted more. I wanted to know what happened next. I still remember that one cutscene, how they got me attached to a minor character so quickly and ripped her away just as fast; and the first dungeon? Experiencing the Trust System, and going through this intense battle on a grand scale with the help of the friends they kept on the sidelines for so long. 2018 - My life was monotonous and I had three other people living with me in my one-bedroom apartment. One of my roommate’s ex’s was now stalking him around my apartment, and work was becoming physically taxing on my legs. But I remember how much fun I had doing maps - and the release of the Tsukuyomi fight? That whole scene there? Oh, wow, it was so bittersweet. The fight was beautiful, the music was haunting, everything about it. Not to mention the ending solo-instances and Ghymlit? The Burn? Omega? The Four Lords? As much as I disliked them (due to my computer issues), even Rabanastre was memorable. 2017 - I was homeless, forced to work a job my body couldn’t handle. I met my spouse, though. I became heavily invested with my tumblr account, doing a full re-write of it all. While I wasn’t much of a fan of the expansion itself, there were some places that really opened my eyes. Azim Steppes? So beautiful - and gotta hand Y’shtola the award for sickest burn. Then I heard my favorite piece of music, and the most nostalgic for me when it comes to SB, Skalla’s theme (Far From Home). 

Lastly, I know this has been long. But I thank everyone around me for being so supportive and kind - I may not be in a good place, but know that every good thing that happens will be associated to this moment. I’ll look back on Year 8 and go “my security was compromised, and my anxiety ran high, but there were these people here who supported me on tumblr, that kept my blog running strong”. I will remember my roleplays, I will remember the music and scenery - even now, I’m getting nostalgic about Shadowbringers, and Endwalker hasn’t even come out yet! So thank you. Here’s to year number 8 - 8 whole years of XIV being in my life. It may not have been that long for many of you, some of you, this might be your first year; hell! Some of you, it’s been longer! But know that this community has helped me so much, and I can’t wait to continue being a part of it. Here’s to the eventual tears Year 9 will bring me! ]

[mistresstrevelyan]

I am probably going to drop FFXIV

FFXIV critical stuff under the cut. These are just my feelings ofc.

Alright so, I have been playing this game for over a year now and it’s just not clicking for me.

The ARR campaign, aka the story that gets you through the first 50 levels of the game is mind numbingly boring. Fetch quests galore, no companions, no relationships beyond the Scions and even they are just...there? 

I hate that the main story FORCES you to go through grouped content. Being extremely anxious in this shit, the higher I level, the more scared I get. I am not good at flashy boss fights, my reactions aren’t fast enough and so I stumble around and get SO confused even as a DPS. Nvm trying as a Healer or tank outside grouping with my friend Jack. I was already cussed at, yelled at and told to kms in this supposedly so chill and friendly MMO bc my reaction times just arent’t cutting it bc of my joint pain.

The crafting mechanics are....rudimentary and boring.

The dye mechanics are really rudimentary as well esp. compared to ESO.

The stuff you can buy at MOG Station is so insanely priced, yikes.

The modding scene is about the most toxic one I have EVER encountered in over 25 years of gaming.

The design is too cutesy, the faces are too samey except for a handful of iconic NPCs.

Heavensward, which I was told was THE FFXIV story to just wait for if ARR didn’t do it for me, was slightly better (A couple of scenes DID get me slightly emotional) but overall I’m not all that impressed?

I’m now in the middle of Stormblood and it’s ARR levels of boring and the fetch quests are even worse.

I’m told to stick it thru for Shadowbringers, the expansion after Stormblood but this feels like a repeat of Heavensward tbh.

I did get Endwalker which is aptly named bc it will be the FINAL chance I give this MMO. I already have a gorgeous MMO and that’s ESO. I already have a great story MMO and that’s SWTOR.

I won’t miss FFXIV or my OC in it if Shadowbringers and Endwalker fail to engage me as well. But it’s a damn SHAME bc I have heard SO MUCH good about it but it just doesn’t CLICK for me. Maybe I was spoiled forever by BioWare, Bethesda and early CDPR, I don’t know. A lot of cherished friends love this game and I am so happy they’re having fun.

Maybe if I had grown up with this franchise I’d feel differently as well. But I haven’t. Here’s to hoping Shadowbringers and Endwalker will change the game for me. I also found a new nice guild with my friend Jack, so MAYBE things will get better. But so far I am highly disappointed.

[baidar-oroq]

Endwalker MSQ finished

Spoilers behind the cut:

I do not want to go through anything like the quest chain in Ultima Thule EVER AGAIN. Sure, even as each Scion sacrificed themselves (and god was that hard for Baidar to watch when Y'shtola and Urianger did it) my cynical side was going "if it goes below three other Scions, we won't have trusts for doing the Level 90 dungeon," and I'd already joked that we were going to get the Sailor Moon, series 1, ending of the Scions sacrificing themselves to get us to the end, but...it still hurt. The very end of that chain, where you walk alone through the memories of the past who talk to you, was devastating. I liked that Y'shtola lampshaded the fact that we had Azem's soul crystal as a get out of jail free card and then told us not to use it...which set up our summoning Emet-Selch and Hythodaeus instead perfectly. I loved how they basically leaned on the fourth wall and then Emet foreshadowed possible enemies and plot points before nonchalantly saying "hey dumbass this means you can resurrect your friends, chop chop."

The final dungeon...well. Amaurot was better, and I want to knife whoever thought putting yellow AOE markers on yellow grass was a good idea on the last boss. The final trial was glorious, and I loved that the last 35% was basically a free kill with our friends praying for us and buffing us with the power of friendship. Zenos showing up as Shinryu was fucking hilarious, and set up the inevitable ending where at last we got to kill that motherfucker, sorry Zenos shippers. Baidar's character arc since the start of Stormblood has been becoming strong enough to defeat Zenos for nearly killing Y'shtola, and the fact that he got to do it was great. The fact that the WoL, in the end, beats Zenos to death barehanded was some brutal, Metal Gear Solid shit (I can't wait to see that cut scene from a lala's point of view) and I'm glad the bastard's dead.

While I understood the emotion the Scions felt for the WoL sending them away and then coming back damn near dead (I was waiting for Y'shtola to say something snarky that barely hides her feelings, thinking "what will I write to make it fit her and Baidar?" when she basically cried out "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN, MY HEART COULDN'T TAKE IT." Yeah I don't need to re-write that.), it was a little vexing considering the previous two hours in game. I'd just watched all my best friends die. Y'shtola has died three times now. G'raha's on his second death. Throwing stones in glass houses there, kids.

(edit: I have since realized that the intent of that scene is that the Scions aren't mad that you sent them away: they're mad that you stayed to fight Zenos when they thought you were coming. It's subtle, boiling down to one line, but it's there.)

I am not sure where it sits compared to Shadowbringers, 5.0 to 5.3, which essentially Endwalker is the equivalent of. It dragged some (both visits to Labyrinthos) and I think tried too hard to hammer home the grim dark, everyone is suffering themes, but when it was good, it was very good, and I submit to you that Elpis is the best questing zone in a MMO ever. In fact I have no words for the feeling of awe I had when I realized the Unsundered World was an actual quest zone. That was amazing.

Anyway I am very tired and need a break to decompress. Need to grab some gear on SAM to get ready to raid because I ain't missing Pandaemonium, and I need to level Reaper, but that's for another time.

[home-halone]

So, I finished MSQ yesterday and I have some thoughts I wanted to throw out into the void somehow because I'm definitely going to forget this if I don't. It's a mixed-feelings sort of review, so.... yeah. Be warned that there's some unfiltered disdain for characters (Zenos) I'm not so fond of lol. Honestly it sounds negative over-all but I don't hate the expansion I promise lol. super LONGGGGGGGG spoiler thread

!!! ENDWALKER SPOILERS !!! Honestly, what do I even say? I don't hate this expansion but I also don't love it as much as I wanted to. There were parts that blew my mind (though I wonder if it's not because those parts of the story owe it to Shadowbringers as a strong foundation), and there were parts that made me feel a little bit like it was cheesy bordering on parody. I really enjoyed the story opening with Thavnair and Sharlayan with the "branching" quest. There was a sense of urgency and a foreboding feeling that set the tone... kind of like Kholusia and Amh Araeng. Maybe a little too much. Still, I appreciated it for what it was. Garlemald was interesting, and it was nice to finally see what it's like on the other side, even though it's been ravaged by internal conflict and tempered Garleans. Some parts felt like "see, even evil Imperialists are like us, everyone is the same in suffering!!" but I expected as much. When those bits weren't too blatant, the level of nuance lent to Garleans as citizens rather than soldiers was refreshing. AND. THE BODYJACKING BIT? That part had such massive implications, with all kinds of lore peppered about previous expansions so it fit in perfectly and it was just the right flavor of creepy and obsessive for something Zenos would do. The sheer desperation you feel as you fight and crawl your way back to your allies because Zenos mentions something ominous about your strength being from your soul or your physical form or whatever. And then. It just never comes up again???????? Excuse me?? Literally bodyjacks the WoL, no one gets harmed, injured, nothing of consequence ever really comes out of it. Not even the concept of bodyjacking came back. I thought that maybe someone would get kidnapped and swapped without us knowing, but nope, it just. Evaporates. There is so much potential there!! To make me consider Zenos a villain again!! And not just a fucking clown with 0 awareness that I don't want to fight him 24/7 because I have better things to do. What better way to grab the WoL's attention than by bodyjacking them/their loved one?? In the end, Asahi just tricks him and his role in the story just diminishes greatly. It was super embarrassing and almost a joke how he was written here vs SB. His story really should have ended in Stormblood. Honestly, this was my first major disappointment and not the last. Speaking of Zenos, I feel crazy cause I read threads of people talking about how well done Zenos was in EW and I can't help but violently disagree. The whole thing was comical and even the framing in the story called it out. Even his final appearance was just shoehorned in and he was a convenient piece to help defeat the Endsinger. The fight after the Endsinger made it WORSE. The pacing made no sense because of his presence, the story should have picked up normally after defeating the big bad, but I feel like I was forced to watch a commercial break suddenly because it's some kind of emotional paywall for the payoff of finally DEFEATING THE CAUSE OF THE FINAL DAYS, and this kid who's been screaming fight me gets his wish? You know what would've been great? He asks us to fight him and you just DENY him at the edge of creation and LEAVE. And just DEVASTATE HIM. Or even, by the same note, doing so earlier in the story and having him be consumed by despair and defeat him as an abomination. That would be cool. But no. We got. That. Fistfight that ngl my WoL would not have the time nor the fucks to give. Also, rip lalafell players who had to watch their character do that, I saw a friend's stream and we couldn't stop laughing akljflkjgljg it was such a funny vibe??? My friends and I had this really interesting idea that might have improved his involvement in MSQ, that somehow he, like Ardbert was another reflection of ourselves maybe transplanted to the Source because of some incomprehensible Ascian shenanigans. It would explain the weird draw between the WoL and Zenos, but we could be forced to fight him to finally reabsorb him. Even that would make the story flow better, because

it'd power us up. Instead of ruining post-Endsinger with a fight that's completely meaningless. The concept of dynamis, Etheirys and Meteion are great, but I'm a little disappointed that none of them was ever even briefly mentioned in ShB, or before that. Them being introduced kind of telegraphs their role in the story/Final Days. Had they been in the XIV universe in some form, it would have made for a really, really good reveal and finale IMO. It's not like they don't have a wealth of concepts and stories to draw

from either, so I'm sure they could have drawn from somewhere to make it feel seamless. But right now they feel tacked on. Though, I do really like the idea of hope vs despair, I'll admit, and despair itself being such a powerful, transforming force. I don't know how I feel about the Fandaniel=Amon=Hermes reveal, I feel like there are too many layers there, and not in a great way. I don't understand the importance of making Amon distinct, asserting he is not Hermes but actually Allagan Amon. It feels like they wanted to just add that bit, but if it hadn't been Amon, it wouldn't really.. have changed the outcome? It's starting to feel like the team had too many ideas but still wanted to play safe based on their largest success, so it became like.... SB+ShB, and in some places it doesn't work well.

Elpis, oh my god, I thought the flower would be more than just a fucking mood ring but I guess not. The place Elpis though, was an utter treat, and getting to see Amaurotine life up close was so delightful and showed us exactly how they were on a different level from say, Allagans, Sharlayans or Garleans in terms of their accomplishments. I have a newfound love for Emet-Selch, and a deeper appreciation for the tragedy of his character in ShB. Hythlodaeus as well, I became deeply fond of. Knowing the tragic progression of Hermes into present!Fandaniel was coming was heartbreaking. Although, clownery #2 was Hermes saying he wanted to become the final arbiter of mankind and then WIPING HIS OWN MEMORY. His claim ended up being for nothing because Meteion had her own plans to go ahead and grant the universe erasure so ??? Oh, and oh boy, Ultima Thule. I cried hard several times during the entirety of MSQ and this place was no exception. When Thancred simply vanished I was caught off-guard by how he was just *gone*. And everyone was saying he would be fine. I thought it was some kind of copium lmao. Then everyone else started disappearing. No way they were all going to die at this rate. They were definitely all coming back. At most I thought it would have been an Infinity War/Endgame kind of situation where the "older" Scions sacrificed themselves so that the twins+G'raha would become their successors so to speak, and lead on the next generation of adventures with WoL. So when the whole party was whittled down one by one I was kind of just... expecting they'd be back and it did not feel like I would lose them. Didn't help how many times they hinted at how they could be brought back anyway. I know it's the finale and we don't have to have grimdark edgy endings but the most desperate, dangerous and literally existence+aether-erasing threat to mankind is there. It did not feel like there were risks because of how it had been written, bc plot necessitated you to defeat the Endsinger. I kind of wish they were more blatant with the specters in the walk cause I won't lie my voice recognition is really bad and I only recognized a couple voices. Anyway despite what I wrote I enjoyed a lot of EW, and I didn't necessarily expect a second ShB and kept an open mind. I enjoyed the emotional flow of the story, and I laughed and cried (the scene with Urianger and Moen's parents destroyed me) and everything I was meant to feel, I did. These were just things that stuck out to me lmao !!! ENDWALKER SPOILERS !!!

[djgamek1ng]

My thoughts about the Endwalker/6.0 announcement stream

I had originally posted this on Twitter in a TwitLonger tweet, but I’ll also put it here. This also contains the follow up “thread” about the pure healer/barrier healer balancing (which is at the end, so if you are only interested in that, skip to where it starts with “So... I was”). OKAY, SO I'M REALLY DAMNED HYPED ABOUT THIS EXPANSION. I'm going to go point by point for things they talked about, in as much of the order they talked about things. - The trailer is really freaking cool! Personally, it is arguably my favorite trailer now and we haven't gotten the full version, though depending on the full version the Shadowbringers trailer might still win it out. The music is great, bit less rocking than the Shadowbringers one, but still fantastic. The WoL as a PLD is everything I've ever wanted from this game. It is also a FF4 reference with Cecil going from a Dark Knight to a Paladin. Seeing the twins in CG finally is also amazing. Endwalker, great freaking name ruined by its unfortunate abbreviation: EW. - Okay, so the new jobs. One is a melee DPS. Honestly, didn't expect that. Was expecting a caster, but this does silence the whole "they are going to balance the choices to be 4 each and then we might no longer get any jooooobs!!!!11!" discussion that I've seen happen, so honestly I'm okay with this. The other is our new healer, Sage. Alphinaud also job changed to it, so that is nice. - Specifically, about Sage, they made it a barrier/shield healer and will be shifting over AST to be a "pure" (regen) healer. The actions they showed look cool enough, but it is hard to judge. It is also very very very interesting that they are looking to make the raid finder actually distinguish between barrier healers (so Sage and SCH) and pure healers (WHM and AST). I will get to this point in another post, since I think it is very interesting that they are doing this. - 6.0 being the end of the major Hydaelyn vs Zodiark arc. VERY interesting that it is specifically 6.0 that is going to be the end of that and not 6.3, makes me think that 6.0 is going to be a slightly bigger patch than normal expansion launch patches in terms of story. - Higher level cap! ...I'm only mentioning it because they did. Okay, to be fair, we do see some of the new AFs and DRK's looks great, WHM's looks good, SAM's is awesome and BLM's is nice. - Finally going to Thavnair and Garlemald. Bit of a shame we are only going to Garlemald when it has been entirely destroyed, but it was to be expected I guess lol. Oh, also, new beast tribe. Matanga, the big elephant people. They look pretty cool and I'm honestly intimidated by them as a Lalafell ^-^" - Anima confirmed! Is it going to be a Terminus beast similar to the enemies we saw in the Amaurot dungeon, just as a trial instead? If so, that is really really cool. Regardless, a long overdue enemy to see arrive here! - "Challenging" new dungeons. I'm... sorry to be skeptical, but I'm guessing these are not going to be that challenging. I really hope I'm wrong and that they will provide a decent challenge, but I just doubt it. The art does look pretty though! - New 8 man raids, the Pandaemonium raids. Ascian inspired with Lahabrea of all of them being the one we supposedly see in the art. Very very interesting and I'm glad that they are moving to more FFXIV original stuff, though Pandaemonium isn't a new thing in the FF series for sure. - New 24 man raid series. Not title said, just said that it will be FFXIV original. All I gotta say: thank GOD. Sorry to all Nier fans, but I just could not care about Yorha: Dark Apocalypse. It very much feels like it is the continuation of NieR: Automata in FFXIV with little to no relevance for the FFXIV side of things (such as world building as such). Hoping the 5.5 one can make me feel different though. - New small scale PvP mode. Apparently going to be approachable by casuals? Seems like a good direction for FFXIV's PvP at the moment, since you currently need too many people to have a PvP match. - Role quests are returning. Also, ranged is now split up into physical ranged and casters. I'm... divided on this. If it means again only 1 job quest at the level cap, that is going to be disappointing tbh. If it doesn't, then I will be very glad. Also gatherer and crafting quests... uh... *stares at him only having one of each unlocked and neither are even at level 50*. Also, WAR, MNK and RDM AF art. WAR looks pretty good, MNK looks nice and RDM looks pretty neat! - Estinien in the trust system. Yup, that makes perfect sense since Estinien is basically a honorary member of the Scions at this point. Also since we have no more melee DPS in that spot, since Ryne isn't with us anymore. I will miss Ryne in the MSQ. Hopefully they have more quests for us on the First that involve her :( - Island Sanctuary. Stardew Valley FFXIV edition? I mean, I'm down for it. Especially if we can customize the place. If I'm able to get a training dummy there and teleport to that place, it will basically just be my new house and I might actually consider getting my current house demolished. - As literally everyone expected, Ishgard housing. Makes perfect sense after the Ishgard Restoration. Not personally jumping on it, as I remember the bloodbath that was Shirogane housing *shudders* - Stat squish. I'm perfectly fine with this, since smaller numbers feel more impactful for me. I'm 100% a person that sees a 61389 damage Confiteor crit and just feels nothing towards the 3 numbers on the right. They mean nothing. Smaller numbers makes smaller increases more substantial - Removing belts. Nomura's worst nightmare... Honestly, I'm just glad about the extra inventory space for main weapons arms and rings. That is the good stuff! :) - Data center travel. UH. How in the heck is this going to work? Is it only in the regions or can I go from Chaos to Primal, for example? If the latter, that is amazing and removes the need to have alts for friends in other datacenters by quite a bit! - PS5 version. Yeah, that makes sense. - Digital Fan Fest 15th and 16th of May (14th and 15th for the NA folks). Looking forward to it and to seeing the new melee DPS job being revealed! Plus a live concert by the Primals is sick! So... I was gonna make a post about the whole barrier healer/pure healer thing and how that is weird compared to what they did with tanks in ShB and how it might impact tanks in End (I don't like EW as acronym), but an interview happened and they have already confirmed tanks are not getting balanced for main tank/off tank. So I'll just sum up what I had about healers: it is a very interesting direction that I honestly think is more healthy for the game. It diversifies and focuses the healers into their type of healing, a problem AST had since it came out, where the only pieces of identity it had were its cards and the fact it could be a WHM-lite or a SCH-lite, where the second part isn't really an identity. It also confirmed that the healers aren't getting split in 2 categories in the game (like the DPS are split between melee, physical ranged and magical ranged). Just for balancing, which is good since queues would otherwise be a pain for no real reason. Also, he confirmed that content will be easier with one pure healer and barrier healer, not required. 

TL;DR: I think this is a change for the better. AST will (hopefully) get a real identity outside of “it can be either like WHM or like SCH!” and their cards.