FINAL FANTASY XIV

So, as part of me leaving FFXIV, I found it hard to be able to part without really going over the story in whole, as a chunk, and really examining and thinking on my feelings on the entire topic. I've been here for a long time. For starters, I took my trial in 2.3, back when we got a week and were only allowed to get to level 20, for reference. Yeah, we didn't even get the 2 weeks back then, yet alone the endless free trial you get today that's never ending for those players. That aside, I've had my current character since 3.3 and even since then, it's been a long and arduous journey for a multitude of reasons. But taking time to look back only seemed right. At least, before I departed from this place for the most part. Yeah sure, I'll probably come back periodically to play story stuff or join in on things I'm legitimately interested in, or maybe even at the behest of people asking me to do. But I won't be raiding savage anymore. I'm unfortunately just done. Making the time is hard.

Over the years my thoughts on FFXIV as a whole have been all over the place. For a number of reasons, story included. But, while I doubt my feelings on the community and various aspects are usually pretty negative, there's one thing that's... I don't want to say it's wholly positive, but it's definitely neutral, and not so heavily tainted by the presence of people, and that's the MSQ of this game, which I can experience alone without people being people. So yeah, as I said in the previous, this is my playthrough of the New Game + Feature. Of course, this is me taking the time to read through and truly ponder on everything, rather than having the expac rush that I'm always forced into during Early Access. So that's fun. I won't lie, speeding through expacs and patches, not only to not get spoiled by people, but to be done in time for raid & farming, is definitely something that slowly ruined this game for me. I don't super enjoy rushing. But I also don't like feeling like I have to be up at 3 am to be able to experience something without a wall of spoilers.

This playthrough is no skipped cutscenes, all voices & background music on, and English dubbed. I haven't decided if I want to do my dungeons with friends or not yet, but I suppose if people are interested in doing that, we're free to party up and do so. I decided against using my old OC to playthrough and just used my current catgirl. Truth be told, I already experienced E'dahn's story once, so I feel like forcing myself to experience it again might make me want to start skipping.

I think I'll be changing my glam & class each expac as well. Or maybe even changing stuff as I get to certain points of the story. Pretty much every class I have is at 90 anyways (Minus Viper which I didn't unlock), so no big deal. The ones I don't have leveled will get done maybe? Depends on how I feel.

I suppose you could say that doing this is my coming to terms with quitting. FFXIV is a game that, while I have my gripes with, has given me a lot over the years. I've made and loss friends. I've experienced so much, good and bad. I've met so many people. I fostered friendships, grew relationships, and parted ways with so many. And I've accomplished feats that I never dreamed I'd be able to. I went to so many different places, fought so many bosses. And for the most part I loved it all. After all, I spent 12 years here. But 12 years or not, it's time to move on. Because truth be told, this game is no longer the game I fell in love with. It's no longer the FFXIV that I desire to play. And I've come to terms with that. When even the challenges you wish to complete satisfy you no longer, and leave you feeling a bit hollow, I suppose there's nothing more to do than move on.

I don't really have an elegant way to wrap this up. These are just my thoughts & feelings on the story, as I get to experience it one last time before hanging up the towel.

Also the proofreading on this article is kinda non existent and I've attempted to clean it up and make it look less redundant (because I get very VERY redundant when I write things while being distracted) so I'm sorry if everything looks really awkwardly worded. Putting my thoughts in order has never been something I'm particularly good at. Either I go stream of conscious with my stuff or you just get slop.

Oh yeah have the full version of the thumbnail

A Realm Reborn: Part 1

Music: Serenity (The Black Shroud)

So, I want to start this section off by admitting something wholly hilarious, I suppose. When I started this character in 3.3, my goal was to get ready to become a red mage, and I assumed that, naturally as one would with a Final Fantasy title, that one would need a White Mage or a Black Mage. Being used to playing support roles, I took the path of the White Mage initially and started in Gridania. I really originally wanted to start in Limsa, but I had forgotten that my previous character, the one I took the trial with and had continued (though I deleted her due to being upset over some drama that happened back then), was also a White Mage, and that you could just pick a different job and unlock other classes later. Being far more knowledgeable about the game these days, I equipped Scholar and decided to start the new game +, seeing if it'd roll a cutscene based on job, and place me where I wanted. It... did not do that. The place you started is tied to your character. So I said whatever and started in the Shroud. Considering how I had no choice and all that.

Immediately after getting started, you are funneled off from Mother Miounne to... An archer guy who's name I've admittedly already forgotten. Galfrid or something like that. He tells you you need an item level check, which is very funny when you're replaying the game. Like really buddy? You think I'm not ready to fight?

Yeah, I won't lie, I don't blame the game considering it's "New Game +" and they can't exactly de-level you in case you need to suspend your game and what not for other obligations, but it's really awkward when you can show up in nearly full BiS for your class (as we did 1 clear and didn't get weapons for everyone), and kind of tear through literally any threat in the starter areas with ease.

Anyways, all that aside, you're immediately funneled off to your first duty. I kinda forget how fast it all goes. I realize that the starter stuff is all tutorial on how the game works, and how only after you attune to the crystal and most likely immediately ding level 4, you're funneled into the actual scenario, but it feels like so much more when you start your character, vs when you actually go to replay it. One moment you're at the starter area, the next you're sent off to a mission.

The first part of the story has you stumbling across an Ixali blade stuck in an... important stump. Yda & Papalymo stumble upon you and immediately Yda starts yapping at you, only for Papalymo to cut her off (If you don't just sit there and listen to her tell her entire story--which I ended up doing. Truth be told, it's not that important.)

I won't lie, it's bittersweet to see these two again. We already know what happens with Yda being Lyse actually, with the real Yda being gone, but Papalymo is straight up gone as well, and we see it happen. This is the only route that has this happen. Both Thancred & Y'shtola may have their issues when it comes to their current situations and what not, but only the Gridania route has scions that are straight up technically both dead, and the stand in is completely just... not really in the story. Lyse is kinda y'know, busy being a leader.

So you beat up a bunch of trees that attack you all, before picking up a blue Crystal and speaking to the Mothercrystal herself.

It's kind of surreal seeing this all play out again. I won't lie, we're so far removed from the point of the story where these elemental crystals were relevant that I straight up forgot about this. I don't know how I forgot, but considering most times we have a magic circle present or even just a crystal present in the current story, it's usually the Magical Azem Friendship Summoning Across The Rift stuff that is just... now the default for literally everything.

Anyways, that aside, after we have our vision, we learn that the Ixal are acting weird and are up to something. They suspect there's attempts to summon Garuda once more, but that doesn't happen until well later in the story, so we can put that in the back of our mind for a little bit. After all, I won't lie... I don't want to see Garuda again for a good while.

As such, we part with Yda and Papalymo and once we're back we're thanked and then sent off to immediately do chores. I get it, they're fleshing out the area, having you explore, and need to come up with filler parts for the story, as well as build up the very exciting stuff. But god does this game rely on the chores super heavily in parts of the story. And it doesn't really go away either. Well, I got used to it and all. Some of these chores can be kind of interesting, as you learn a lot of lore related to the area. These ones though aren't super interesting. Just random tidbits about Gridania and the Black Shroud.

Once we're done with our first round of chores, we're told about a ritual that was interrupted in some of the local ruins. We're told about a mysterious Shadow Man and how he tempted to thwart it all, so that the Elementals--The spirits of the forest in the Black Shroud, and Eorzea as a whole. If you've been in Eureka and gotten the EXP buffs, you've seen them--would get upset and basically run rampant until the ritual is properly completed, or something like that. So we're sent down there to rescue them all. During that we come face to face with this Shadow Man.

I won't lie, I had completely forgot about this little bit with the Shadow Man but like, just from the description of it all, I knew immediately what it was. Ascians.

So, I will not lie. I am one of those people who have never had any real love for the Ascians. Like at all. I'm sure people will see this and go "But Emet-Selch! Shadowbringers! Endwalker!" and yeah those are all valid points, and that's good writing and all. But I spent several years in this game before that where they weren't fleshed out, nor did they ever come off as well written, compelling, or even remotely interesting. For the early story, they always felt like a random plot mcguffin that was used to push the writing forward with how heavily they were leaned upon. And seeing them leaned upon so early in the game, even in parts I had completely forgotten, just was kinda eyeroll worthy. And I apologize to people who disagree with me on that because like, it really does take up until we get information in late Shadowbringers for them to feel even remotely well written. But before that, they don't really give you a whole lot of reason to care. Like yes, the set up and execution has been there for ages, and I commend them for sticking to that and really having that writing pay off, but the Ascians feel more interesting in hindsight rather than as they're executed. And yes, I get it, I am also playing this with the knowledge of later parts. So it is interesting to see how early everything was executed. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. Because a lot of the plot hinges on Ascians doing the bidding. And early on, they came off very much as "bootleg Organization XIII." That isn't to say I don't like some of them individually, but I'm not crazy about them either. It's a complex tragedy on their part, I will acknowledge that. But I'd dare to say that while my feelings on the matters with them aren't nearly as complex, were definitely yearning for something more than just "It was Ascians" in some parts of the story, because it very much feels like that's almost always it.

Either way, my feelings about Ascians aside, we dispatch the summoned golem and then we're joined by Yda & Papalymo, who properly introduce themselves and explain a little bit about what they do before we're sent back to Mother Miounne who sends us out to do more chores.

This time, it's choco-chores. No biggie. Nothing too interesting here, other than the fact that the first mention of the Tam-Tara Deepcroftshows up. You're not even really going inside, nor is anything in detail mentioned yet. You're just kinda sent to the area above ground to rescue the egg, which is being guarded by the moogle you see with Yda & Papalymo (that I admittedly neglected to mention was in that first cutscene with them), and you return it.

After that you're thanked and sent off to do another duty immediately after. That one being related to the Ixal moving in on another... important tree that I forgot the name of. There's claims of them defiling the tree or something like that, but considering the Ixal that's leading the charge mentions them taking back the forest in the name of Garuda, I'm unsure which of them is in the right. But most of what the adders say in this just reads like anti-Ixali racism. This isn't the first time these kinds of sentiments are in XIV. Races that are seen as being closer to "monsters" are commonly treated like this, and while I forget the technical names that they use instead of "Beastmen" these days, it's just everything is "Beastmen" or "Damn X" which is just...Ehhhhh...

Anyways, the Ixal were lead to come and try for a claim of this land by an Ascian because of course it's Ascians and we get a view of this guy and whatever mask this is.

I'm not great at recalling which masks are which but I can't help but get curious when I see them. But yeah, Papalymo hears the man speak of Paragons, refers to them as Ascians finally, and then proceeds to talk a bit about them. During all this, we have a kind of different interesting exchange as well.

Like, I'm not even certain how this even gets mentioned, considering at this point in the game we have no dialogue choice options and there was nothing that hints at it. Nor is there any way, outside of the echo, that our character should even know about Sharlayan, unless there's a hint that like, idk, the adventure is Sharlayan from like 1.0? I'm not even sure where the adventurers come from before they become Warriors of Light tbh. The game always left that open ended because you're an outsider to your starting town, and it never seems to hint at a place that would be default. So it's weird that we suddenly know of Sharlayan.

Anyways, we return to town and we're thanked by everyone for getting involved, including by the Elder Seedseer herself. She then asks us to be an emissary for an upcoming festival meant to thank the woods or something like that. You're told how great of an honor this is to be chosen so you're sent off to go get a mask from our good friend Timbermaster Beatin who threatens us over treating it well.

Honestly, I'm convinced Beatin isn't even that guy's real name.

At the ceremony you end up standing around on stage, seeing a crowd clamouring and looking at you, then all of a sudden in the middle of everyone looking? Elder Seedseer is just talking to you about how you have a crystal on you, and starts asking if you met the Mothercrystal. And is like, telling you about the Echo. And apparently everyone is just talking, but you're still up on stage? Honestly, it's a very awkward scene. Because it's like a huge exposition dump, but you're just... on stage. Like, is this stuff that everyone knows about? Later in the story, it implies that not everyone knows about the Echo.

Either way, immediately during all this, you have an Echo--For those who don't know, a vision of the past of sorts--about the Garlean Invasion or whatever down at Cartenau like 5 years ago, when Dalamud fell. It's pretty much everything leading up to the "End of the Era" video or so, which is based on the 1.0 closing scene. Oh yeah, if you're new here and you don't know the entire story about FFXIV and how they killed the 1.0 version and remade it, that's worth looking into. Like just trust me, it's actually one of the most fascinating things that has happened in gaming in general over a 50 or so year history, and is absolutely worth going down that rabbit hole, if you never have. Either way to loop it back to the actual in game story, it's a lot of exposition. It feels out of place if you somehow actually don't know about the entire story with 1.0 to be honest. I think this is one of those points where patching in the video, the way they dumped in the Kingsglaive Movie Exposition in FF15, would kind of help. But we all know FF14 is not good at that kind of stuff, and I don't expect them to be considering how far into the game we are.

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, here, have this:

Also yes, if you are somehow unaware of where it came from, this is where that Grandpa Fading Away gif that is used all over the place comes from. Minor Spelling Mistake Moment.

So, Lahabrea is in this batch of cutscenes and it feels a bit surreal seeing him again. Like, obviously he was going to show up. It makes sense. I mean, he's been here since ARR, and him appearing as early as level 15 makes sense. I have mixed feelings on Lahabrea at large, but I won't hesitate to say that early ARR, I kind of despise him. Or well, how he's used. Once again, very plot device-y. I'll tackle the parts that are the most offensive to me when we get there though, because we're inevitably going to get there.

With all that behind us, we wake up in the inn, and are told immediately to go check out the Lotus Stand. And then we're appointed Gridanian Envoy, with the right to travel via air across all city states.

I'll leave this section off with that. I'm not done with the traveling around the city states scenes yet, but I will be soon. Most of that will round out level 15, and then it's off to our first round of dungeons. I'm not sure how I'm going to do the dungeons yet, but like I said, maybe I'll do them with friends, maybe I'll do them with randoms. I guess it depends if people want to do stuff.

Resuming where I was, it's kinda cute how over the top they are with the little cutscene of your departure. Makes you feel so special.

During these cutscenes you're given a sudden cutaway to the Garlean Empire and the doings of Gaius Van Baelsar. For some reason, a prerendered cutscene plays here, but considering it's the events from Silverlake that were some time during 1.0 if I recall? I suppose it makes sense to a degree. Anyways it's awkwardly compressed and you can see a bit of artifacting, but it's whatever. I meant to take a better cutscene but I honestly got distracted. Either way you're introduced to XIVth Imperial Legion somewhat, but really only Gaius and Nero. Livia and Rhitahtyn are just kinda there--Especially Rhitahtyn who doesn't really seem to have any dialogue.

Music: I Am The Sea (Limsa Lominsa Day)

With that cutscene putting the Garlean Empire's cruelty on full display done, we take our first steps into Limsa. We're to meet with the Admiral, and I make my way down the lift and right into her office. She proceeds to comment on the Seedseer's desire to hold a memorial, agrees, and then starts to recount some of the lore to you, the events of 1.0 and what lead up to Dalamud's fall. I wont lie, getting a Nael Mention Jumpscare is kind of funny and amusing when you're progging a fight where you're actively going through a dramatic retelling of those events. I'm of course, talking about UCOB. But enough of that. A paper is signed in response to the Seedseer's request and sent on it's way, and so are we.

I won't lie, out of all of the 3 city state leaders, Merlwyb was the one I was most enamored with. When it came time for us to pick our grand company, I immediately chose the Maelstrom. There's such a strong appeal to everything surrounding them. I know that for the most part, yeah they're all pirates, but I suppose it just makes sense to me to want such freedom. Even if Limsa has a different reputation among the players, being everyone's favorite AFK spot, and a place to pick fights over benches, still kinda love this place and it's vibe. Well, the vibe outside of the one the players have given.

So we head to Ul'dah and we repeat similar events. Raubahn starts filling us in on a bit more lore, related to the conflict with the Garleans and how they began 50 years ago. Apparently once Solus Zos Galvus taught the people how to use magitek, they started to invade. I'm sure people much further in the story definitely recognize that name. Grandpa Troublemaker is always at it. However, in his old age, his health is failing and he's on his way out. At the moment, it seems he's named no successors, which means that Garlemald at large has taken a step back, outside of Gaius and the XIVth.

With that lore drop out of the way, Raubahn too responds to the request for the Memorial, sends off his response, and sends you out the door while commenting that he'll speak to the Sultana on the matters. On your way out, the npc hands you a bit of information regarding your next destination. Seems like Baderon is looking for an adventurer to take on a job, so you're headed to Limsa once more. But that doesn't matter as much right now, as this part formally ends what the MSQ considers "Part 1."

A Realm Reborn: Part 2

Music: To The Sun (Thanalan)

Immediately you're told to check out the Sastasha Seagrot in Aleport. You're informed that a suspicious vessel has been parked nearby at the Isle of Umbra, but they had already looked into the area and found nothing of importance the first time they looked. You're then told that maybe it's worth checking out again, and they're leaving this job to adventurers due to the amount of other things on their hands. So you're sent on your way, but not until you check out the Hall of the Novice!

Please Square, I'm in NG+ just remove the handholding parts that are necessary for sprouts.

Anyways, right after, I stroll up to the outside of Sastasha. Plenty of random NPCs around, so I went to check out what they had to say and stuff. There was a random Maelstrom guy posted there that told me if I die, that nobody was coming for my bones. Guess I'd better watch my bones then. We're also shown Avere's party as well. Avere is an NPC I have no real love for. To be honest, most of his party I can't stand. Edda's fine, for the most part. Until later. You also see another pair journeying around as well.

NPCS aside, Sastasha is your first dungeon. "Woooo" said nobody about Sastasha. While running around you run into a man named Captain Madison, who has you make chase through an entire pirate den. I've never really explored this place too often, but there's actually quite a few rooms here. There's also a place named the hole where a Lalafell promises she won't bite anymore. Upon making it through the den, you meet the captain again. You beat his ass and he tries to invoke parley. Not the first SQEX game where Parley gets brought up, and it won't be the last either.

You run through one more area and immediately after this very same captain gets slayed by a sahagin, claiming that we've sulleyed their spawning grounds. Who fuckin in this cave? They are, I guess. Actually, considering there's a place named the hole, everyone is apparently. But yeah you beat this Sahagin named Denn the Orcatoothed and immediately head back.

Upon returning, you run into Dolorous Bear's party at the drowning wench to report. Always interesting to see other parties. He basically laments upon waiting too long to attempt the quest, but says that he won't be backing down, and how he wishes that one days the bards will sing the songs of his group's deeds. After the exchange, we end up getting sent to Gridania where Mother Miounne is ready to finally toss us in the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. And we get one of our first mentions of Gelmorra in ARR. Anyways we're informed of the Lambs of Dalamud, which is a doomsday cult that's been around for about 5 years, and is apparently stirring up trouble there. Apparently the cultists worship dalamud as a god. when the moon descended, split apart, and bahamut came out, they were convinced that this was the intervention of heretics, and it's now apparently their duty to avenge him.

Tam-Tara is kinda lacking readable text bubbles, unlike Sastasha. like there's a tiny bit at the end, but I decided to sync this one regardless. Either way, you get a cutscene when they unleash Galvanth the Dominator and that's about it. The cults doings exactly are kinda left shrouded in mystery. After we finish up we check back in with Mother Miounne, who tells us she's impressed. She informs us that sadly a death occured in the dungeon though, as a group of previous adventurers had set out on an attempt to complete this job and we see... A party abusing a healer. Wow. What a fun time.

So, this is the set up for Edda's story. I remember around the time I had started playing, which was the end of 2.3 going into 2.4, Tam-Tara hard was already out and it continues Edda's story. And funny enough, when I returned to the game on a newer character in 3.3, Palace of the Dead was released, which has more lore related to all that. Funny how that happens. I'm almost haunted by Edda. Anyways, during that exchange we learn that Avere has died during their dungeon run and that ever since then she's been carrying his decapitated head around with her in a bag. Kinda unsettling, I suppose. But not as unsettling as where it ends up next! Spoilers: if you get enough Gelmorran Potsherds, you can own your own Avere head! And ride it througout Eorzea on your adventures. Yeah, they made that shit a mount. But that's all sidequests, and we're here for mainquests. So that means that after that scene is had, we're sent to the Quicksands for another job.

Once there, we're promptly told of a situation related to Copperbell mines, and how giants have taken over. Having been imprisoned for several decades, the giants are mad about the treatment towards them back 300 years ago during the thorne dynasty. They have managed to break through the rocks, and now roam the mines. Having been enslaved to work for the mines back then, they are rightfully upset. At some point they staged a revolution, but were burried somewhere deep in the mines under tons upon tons of rock for 300 years until they were recently disturbed due to the demands for building materials which caused Copperbell Mines to re-open in the first place. Miners dug too deep and the giants, with their 300 year long grudge, have been set free. Until the giants are stopped, no mining can be done which means progress on the city can't continue. We get tasked with the rather unsavory job of stopping them. Yikes.

Copperbell is an interesting dungeon, from a meta perspective at least. This is the first drastically changed dungeon from it's original version. There's a few others, but basically at some point for those who don't know, they went back and overhauled a lot of ARR & other various parts of the game in need of some care. But mostly ARR. Some quests' length is cut drastically as well. In Copperbell in particular, lighting has been overhauled, as well as rooms being cut and blocked off, and bosses mechanics being changed outright. The first boss used to come down from the top cliff area after you would beat up some mobs, but now you just walk up to him. The 2nd boss used to require being split into pieces with the use of a bomb, but now it's just dodge. I know the last boss, Gyges the Great, also has mechanics, but considering I was being lazy and just unsynced this one, I saw none of it. And I wont lie, I don't remember them, or if I've even run Copperbell since the changes.

After dispatching Gyges, you return to the quicksands and you're met with a duty. In the middle of reporting back, you happen to hear a scream outside. A merchant is threatening a refugee, claiming she stole from him. After making a series of threats and trying to force her into prostitution, we step in and dispatch the group. After that, we're treated to some exposition about the refugee situation via the echo where two merchants conveniently observing this woman buying dodo meat just happen to be dumping exposition. Either way, the woman's innocence is proven, people finally speak up, and the merchant runs off. You just so happen to run into Yda & Papalymo after such an event who prompt you to look into joining the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, by talking to Momodi.

You also run into Edda, who asks our name and tells us how much Avere looked up to us. Really awkward information to learn, yknow, knowing she still has his decapitated head in her bag.

After all that you're sent off to go on your first journey to the Waking Sands. Get used to this name, you're going to hear it a lot. Tataru lets you in and tells you to head to the Antecedent's chamber, but I won't lie, it had been a while since I had been to the Waking Sands and I decided to do some peeking around.

I won't lie, while I was expecting to see Arenvald, I wasn't expecting to see an elf who had a very similar look to someone we see much further in the future. I won't lie, she kind of jumpscared me. But I'm pretty sure that she won't be sticking around for much longer.

Either way, you're ushered in and Minfilia begins telling you about their order, and what it is they do. You're told that essentially you're in a group aimed at solving the issues of the realm, notably beginning with the Primals. This is pretty much what you're going to be doing for the most of the story for a while. Primals will be driving the plot forward up until around Stormblood, where their relevance will take a bit of a backseat. But that won't matter for a while. You're also told in depth about the power of the Echo. I think I touched on this earlier, but the Echo is basically Hero Plot Armor Bullshit. Either way, Minfillia urges you to join them, and use your powers for good. You don't get an option. You're joining. You're now Mr. Mc Plot Armor. But I suppose with the power of Primals in play, we kind of need that. IDK, it doesn't super bother me, but once you notice it, it's hard to ignore how bullshit the Echo can be, and how its kinda this convenient mcguffin type power. But whatever. This is an MMO story.

So in the middle of all this, you just get a random tangent about being able to use retainers. Basically, congrats, you get to use the marketboard stuff now outside of just buying. You can now sell. And make money. Apparently this is to convince you to join them, not that it matters, because you're not given a choice. I mean I guess you can also just not like... take the quest? But you're locked to 3 dungeons and no MSQ progress for all eternity which is like... you can't do anything. So you have to continue onwards. Pretty sure that back in the day, this is exactly where the Free Trial ended.

We start getting informed about the origins of their group in relation to Louisoix, how they all came from Sharlayan, etc. Ironic that they're telling us about Sharlayan, considering the plot seemed to imply to us that we already knew about Sharlayan, but I suppose most people weren't keeping track of that in initial playthroughs.

But yeah, we're introduced to what would normally be the entirety of our party right about now. Y'da & Papalymo we already know, but Urianger, Y'shtola, and Thancred are also all introduced. This is Thancred:

Minfilia continues on, making a comment about hoping that we'll see them all as family at some point, a comment that stings in hindsight, knowing how many of these people are no longer around in the current MSQ. Well, this won't be the first time something gets said that you look back upon and just sit there wincing. We also hear a mention of the Students of Baldesion. They'll also be relevant in the future, for a variety of reasons. Especially if you want a Demi-Ozma mount.

Before continuing the plot I decided to wander off since most of the members aside from yourself and Thancred are dismissed. Talking to the NPCs and seeing whats in order seemed a bit interesting, but truth be told, nothing too fascinating was happening. Aside from with Urianger, man is just... writing poetry or something.

Either way, you're immediately briefed of a mission. Seems that transport cargo in Thanalan was taken, and most of what was robbed was crystals, as well as a string of abductions, apparently done by Amalj'aa attempting to summon Ifrit. So we're sent off to explore Camp Drybone and check into the disappearances, before completely blaming the Amalj'aa. We're asked to check in on a merchant, who is the guy we just dunked on a bit ago, who mentions how afraid everyone is and how they wont talk to anyone while drunk out of his mind. After that we're pointed towards the church and start investigating the sister on Thancred's call after running into a Suspiciously Detailed NPC. Her innocence is proven, and afterwards Thancred's crimes against women continue. He sends ME into a den of Amalj'aa to have me investigate.

After finding a "queer leaflet" (Lesbophobia from Thancred, a classic really) in the camp, we present it to the sister who tells us how it's fake, against their teachings, and brings up missing priests robes. After that Thancred has us go undercover in beggars garments and beg for work, where we're treated to some good ol' classism from the locals. But we learn of a pond that refugees tend to gather at, before being approached by a man in said priests' clothing preaching to us about Nald'thal and... Yeah it's the merchant. He gets called out for his misdeeds, giving us a story about how he sold people out to protect The Golden Bazaar from the Amalj'aa, and then lets slip that the pay was also good, because of course that's it.

Homie legit pulls the "Don't blame us, blame yourself or god" line. Thank you, Delita.

You're told to go back to Minfilia in the middle of all this, who legit tells you "Okay, all good that you're making progress, but go learn about Materia." I really wish they trimmed these parts out of the MSQ as well. Or at least take it out of NG+ it just kills the flow of everything. Either way, you go over to Mutamix and from the NPCs you learn about the Illuminati. Yes, they're in this game. No, they're not what you think. They're goblins. They'll appear later in the story, and have ties to a major sidequest as well. We do not speak poorly about the Illuminati (of ffxiv) in these parts, as we too, worship the primal Alexander. I mean this website's url is "Ordained Motion." If you're here, your primal God is now ALEXANDER. I'm sorry. It just has to be that way.

After this, you're put back on track. You meet up with the Immortal Flames, and you attempt to stop whatever the Amalj'aas plans are. And... we're immediately betrayed. We're swarmed by a ton of Amalj'aa, then put to sleep. You wake up some time later in a cave with a ton of others. Looks like you're to be Ifrit's thralls. Queue wasn't popping so I went in with NPCs. Whatever. There's dialogue. And a lot of it. And I learned that if you do not read the cutscene fast enough, they just drop you into the instance. That would have been awkward if I wasn't with NPCs.

Immediately we're all offered up as sacrifice. Even the two traitors. Except me because I have Echo Plot Armor That Makes Me Immune and am definitely not already enthralled by Alexander. Anyways, we get to see what it's like for souls to be tempered. After this battle though, we get to learn of the unfortunate fate of people who undergo such an occurence. Once the Amalj'aa are aware that we're not tempered, they're uncertain as to why. Ifrit explains that we must belong to another god, but they cannot sense which one (or smell it, I suppose) and says that we must be among the "godless's blessed number." Which is probably a fancy way to say "chosen by the echo." Either way, with this, Ifrit attacks. This is basically your first boss fight. Not hard at all. There are scarier Ifrits out there you'll encounter in the future.

Ifrit's a funny boss to me, because every time I see him, I remember progging UWU one night and my dog going crazy in the middle of us during Ifrit phase, me trying to mute and failing, and yelling "OSCAR, SHUT UP" at the top of my lungs only to realize I wasn't muted at all, and everyone asking who Oscar was. After that, everyone just started calling him "Oscar" and when we would get to the start of Ifrit Phase with the initial dash, I'd always say "Thats my dog." Weird, I suppose. But even 10 months later, Oscar's passing still stings, and it's weird to think of how a game boss of all things is such a reminder.

Fun fact, did you know that the knockback on vulcan burst can be ignored. Arms Length/Surecast work, as well as a heavy shield. Pair it with mitigation and you won't go flying. Not really useful for the normal modes, but very helpful for UWU. But you can still do it in those modes if you want to try.

Either way after you best Ifrit, Thancred rushes in, takes care of the Amalj'aa that was about to attack you, and you escort the two criminals back to drybone before cutting to a scene of Nero and Livia on the cliffs that I had completely forgotten about. Like seriously that is not the first time I got jumpscared by Nero and yet here we are.

Pray return to the Waking Sands. We're greeted with a scene of Thancred moping about not being there to help us. Don't care, don't need him. Either way, we're informed of how primals are summoned, and the dangers they pose to the world when they're allowed to consume mass ammounts of aether, and why they turn to things such as crystals or tempering, but we're never told of the extent. If you're wondering what would happen, I'm pretty sure The Burn & The Empty are examples of this, but don't quote me on that. I just remember it being stuff about aether was involved in The Burn, and it turned into a dry desolate wasteland. Which is why the Aether datacenter is named as such because it's a dry and desolate wasteland where no totems exist. Either way, you're given a break for your deeds for the time being, but before we take said break, Thancred pulls us aside and informs us of the fate of tempered individuals--And how they're unfortunately put to death, as their only purpose from that point out is to worship primals further. He muses to himself once more, before we part ways.

I want to add on that for some reason, during this scene, Minfilia is just in the background, deciding to stare up at Tupsimati on the wall and its just so out of place. She looks like a fucking Sim, just staring into the wall and doing nothing.

For now, this is where I'll be stopping. I don't know when I'll play next, but hopefully I can get a little bit of work done between now and my next raid day, before continuing. I really just don't want to burn myself out on this game either, because while I do enjoy the story, I don't want to rush it.

Music: Salt Swept (La Noscea Town)

It's been a while, so I'm here to resume my playthrough... Right on the day my sub runs out. Of course that happens, but mostly because I put off playing until I decided to actually need to log on. And of course, now that said sub is gone, I really want to play. Funny how that happens. Oh well, I'll resub later next month, if not start of next year. Mostly because I figure it's best for me to just work on my backlog of things to do for this site before anything. With that said, let's continue.

The point I left off was right after Ifrit. Which means that naturally, all the Grand Companies were at your door, attempting to recruit you. Minfillia recalls that the leaders of each city-state are to have rememberance ceremonies for the fallen of the Calamity, so she recommends that you go off to listen to them all before making up your mind. So, off to Gridania we're sent, to see the Elder Seedseer speak once more, before continuing on to the others.

I'm going to keep commentary on all of this part a bit sparse. It's really not that interesting, as the scenes are formulaic as all hell. Each time you go to see the leader of a Grand Company speak, it's always "Cartenau was bad, because the Garleans forced us to fight and we lost men. We also have to deal with Beast Tribes. Please join our Grand Company." The twins will then show up, and Alphinaud will wax poetic while bringing up each company's misgivings, before leaving you with a rather sarcastic comment.

I remember during his proper introduction, I did not like Alphinaud much at all. The choice of voice here makes him a lot more anime as well, so he seems like a spoiled sarcastic brat. I didn't realize that when I was playing through all of ARR that he'd very quickly become one of my favorite characters within the entire game. However, you'll see the rest of that unfold much later, so I'll move on for now.

We head to Thanalan to see Raubahn's speech which really had no effect on me. I have nothing against Raubahn, but at this time and point, we really don't hear too much from Nanamo, which makes it feel odd that shes the leader and he's not. Either way, I can't help but judge a little bit, considering how they always talk about how Ul'dah wishes to be the best for their citizens, but you walk outside of the city walls and it's literally covered with refugees struggling to get by, if not straight up being abused. Not a good look, and we had already gotten a glimpse of all that anyways, right before Ifrit.

I won't lie, it's always a bit funny to me that most of the people I know always tend to be in the Immortal Flames. A lot of them mention it's the convenience of the access to barracks, with it being right across from the Aetheryte, and even less movement than the Gridanian barracks from point A to point B. But even funnier to me are the amount of people I have met that care a lot more about the story that have commented that they'd rather go with the Immortal Flames because Merlwyb is a hypocrite and a pirate, as if all politicians aren't giant hypocrites. I mean, I get it, if you're going to get into your own character's head, it's better to have a strong opinion on everything, but I just find it funny that refugees suffering is fine, but piracy is where we draw the line. I mostly comment on this because I've known more people than I can count on my hands, all of them being men, who viewed the matter this way, and I always found it quite interesting.

But I suppose I'm also viewing it through my own lens of bias, so maybe that's on me for finding it odd.

With that said, we move to Limsa to cover the last of the Grand Companies.

So there's really no contest here. Maelstrom was the Grand Company I originally pick, and seeing these speeches didn't make me reconsider my bias one bit. I know some people treat it as "Well if you like it so much, why didn't you just start there," but I started based on job. So I picked GC based moreso around what I liked. And a badass pirate captain that happens to be a woman was up my alley.

Pray return to the Waking Sands. Once there, you're put on the spot to immediately make a choice once more and handed our linkperl, before the scene cuts to Alphinaud & Alisaie at the Quicksands with their commentary.

I won't lie, this scene is honestly pretty awkward. Alphinaud makes an observation, which leads to Alisaie saying that she hated these ceremonies for not actually acknowleding the heroes of the battle at Cartenau, those being the Warriors of Light that laid their lives on the line for the fate of the realm. Alphinaud's response to this is to be honestly quite snippy and sarcastic, having a rather mocking tone. It ends on Alphinaud criticizing the 3 GCs however, but that doesn't change how belittling he sounded. At some point Alisaie says she's had enough of this grandstanding, and that their Grandfather would never stand for this. With this said, she storms off on her own. We'll be seeing her later though.

At some point during all of this, Alphinaud made a comment (one which I forgot to screencap) about things that hinted at the ongoings of their current home life. At the time, we really didn't know much about all of this, but it eventually showed up in the future. It's another bit of foreshadowing that had been in the background and wasn't touched on until way later, in Endwalker. I do find it super interesting that it's brought up as early as it was in ARR. I didn't think it'd warrant mention until they were maybe at the end of Heavensward, but no, it shows up here. I won't lie, I barely remember what Fourchenault's issue with the twins was, so I can't really commentate on it past this. I suppose even Endwalker's story was quite a while back, now that I think on it.

Regardless of all that, Halo has other things to do.

Music: On Westerly Winds (La Noscea)

During my trips back and forth between the Maelstrom headquarters and the Waking Sands, I remembered that the edge of the map near the docks in Limsa connects right to Vesper Bay. Convenient, considering Vesper Bay doesn't have an aetheryte. Funny enough, I think this is brought up later on in the story as well--To say there's a lore reason for something like that is actually funny, but there is. Still, I took the boat ride, and completely forgetting I had cutscene replays on for literally everything, it played the departure scene.

Sometimes, I forget about all the little things that exist in this game that really fleshes it all out. It's kind of fun stumbling on this all again, while I recount what my initial journeys through this realm were like. I often forget that there's shortcuts to areas around this realm, especially in places that go unvisited these days. It's really unique to see, but it's also a bit sad, considering how empty some areas are. Theres places that just don't get people going. Like yeah sure, the main hubs are usually bustling for ARR areas, but the surrounding places, even within the cities, are just kind of empty most times. It's a very different experience from something like Mabinogi for example (that being the other MMO I frequent) which usually has a lot of activity spread out within the whole of a town. XIV just has the central plaza around the aetheryte populated, as well as the marketboards, and nothing else.

We'll move on from this topic for now, and back to the story. This part is also fairly simple. We head to the Maelstrom GC Headquarters, start the sign up process and... Immediately before we can even take our oath, we're sent out on another mission. Seems like an airship sent out a stress signal after being shot down by Garlean forces. We head out to Lower La Noscea and attempt to save the two mechanics real quick.

After dealing with a handful of Garlean soldiers attempting to claim the ship, we successfully rescue a pair of Ironworks Engineers named Biggs and Wedge. They're not too important yet, but they will be later.

Once this is done, we're immediately back to the Maelstrom GC HQ where we're properly sworn in as a member and assigned our rank. This doesn't matter too much to me though, as having played for quite some time, I've already progressed through quite the amount of ranks on my own and happen to be a First Storm Lieutenant. I think there's still ranks I have to progress through, but I haven't really done it all yet, as I tend to be pretty lazy with content like this. Either way, I still have this fancy coat unlocked, and that's all that really matters. You know what they say, "Glamour is the true Endgame."

Pray Return to the Waking Sands. Despite all that's happened, we're quickly informed of a situation in the Twelveswood and sent to talk to the Adders about dealings with Ramuh. Apparently we're going to attempt to parley with the Sylphs as to ascertain whether or not they're a threat. So, we're sent on our merry way to go meet with a man in the East Shroud that has spent quite some time with them to learn of their ways.

That's right, it's time for more chores. You do a variety of things in attempt to help a former adventurer jog his memories on interracting with the sylphs. It goes by pretty quickly, but we're informed of proper greetings in the form of dancing and are given their favorite snack, milkroot. Apparently this root emits a milky liquit that, when consumed, gives you some sort of brain fog. So we're basically giving them drugs. What an entry we've been told to make.

And that's exactly what we do. We head over, we dance, we hand them over drugs, and we try to beg them not to summon Ramuh. But the sylph we talk with, Komuxio, isn't so quick to trust humans and refuses to let us speak to the Sylph Elder. So that means... More chores, yay. This leads us to gretting others, gathering items, and taking care of hostile wild life.

While out there, I found these little guys hanging around. They're Mandragoras. Very cute. I have a plush of one of them.

Another thing I noticed while I was out here doing chores was the giant Garlean Fortress you could see from off a cliff.

This is our first glance at Baelsar's Wall. That won't be super relevant for a while, but considering how close it is, it's definitely an explanation as to why Garlean forces are making trouble in the area, and why the Sylphs are scared of humans.

With the first half of our chores done, Komuxio asks us to chase down one of their friends that has wandered off into the brambles. As we follow them, they're surrounded by a group of tempered Sylphs that try to convert them, before turning around and getting more wildlife to attack us. After saving this sylph, Komuxio opens up to us. The reason they were so hesitant to let us speak with their Elder? They've gone missing after heading deep into the woods. So naturally, we're tasked with tracking them down. We're pointed in the direction of Buscarron, who will be our next questgiver as events play out.

Buscarron basically tells us that he'll keep an ear out to see if any news about the Elder pops up, before continuing on a mention of a few things he'd like to get done. So, it's off to more chores. We break up a fight real quick before being sent off to La Noscea to touch bases with a friend through returning their earring. Apparently it's a Qiqirn that he met during the Calamity that set out to make his own shop that he lost touch with. That means we're headed back to Limsa to ask around. Not long later, we're sent to Upper La Noscea, return said earring, and are roped into doing one more chore before heading back.

While doing all this, I couldn't help but notice the view of the Wanderer's Palace off in the distance. This isn't even the best view of it, as it's easier to see it in greater detail from the settlement on the other side of the lake. Another thing I noticed while flying around (but I didn't think to take a picture of) was the giant fossil in the ground that was near us. I don't even know the lore behind that stuff, so I didn't dwell on it as much as I did with the Palace. But it's all very interesting, nonetheless. We won't be heading there for a good while either, so back to the MSQ it is.

We head back to Buscarron's with the firewater prepared for him as a gift. After that, we're told to look into a wood wailer that's been possibly up to no good. We're told about Laurentius, who went from getting the cheapest things on the menu to spending coin rather lavishly as of late, and Buscarron remarks that wood wailers don't make great pay, so the sudden money struck him as odd.

So we track him down. He avoids twice, but by our 3rd run in, he tells us his story of how he was willing to swap secrets with the Garleans for good money. During this, he stalls for time, and we're ambushed.

This fight doesn't go in his favor. Buscarron sends us back up, and we're able to overpower the Garlean troops and give Laurentius a swift asskicking. After this, he turns himself in, and goes to thank Buscarron for seeing the error of his ways. Interesting claims... Keep note of that for later.

We return to Buscarron who mentions that they were finally able to track down the Sylph Elder, who had headed into Toto-rak. So we're sent on our merry way over there to report this information to the wood wailer on duty. We're told to quickly assemble a rescue team, and we're to head inside.

Music: Greenwrath (The Black Shroud)

The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak is kind of an interesting dungeon. Not in terms of what you're doing in the story, but moreso due to everything surroundingit. You see, Toto-Rak is a 1.0 dungeon. For the uninformed, "1.0" is the term most people use to refer to the original version of Final Fantasy XIV and how it used to exist back upon launch. However, that version of the game closed down, and the current version is built upon it, both literally and figuratively. I bring this up (despite having brought up some other bits related to this earlier in the article) because Toto-Rak is one of four dungeons from this era of the game. While it's definitely been changed from it's 1.0 version, and even it's 2.0 version, it still remains, even if sections of it are barred off, as seen in the image below:

Anyways, I bring this up because of the fact that if you joined during 1.0, you've seen 3 versions of this dungeon. And if you joined at any point before Endwalker's post patch, you've seen at least 2 versions of it. But the one we have now is very simple. It's a straight path forward and no longer includes the alternate routes and some of the other objectives we once had. There's also been changes to ambient lighting around the dungeon as well, but that isn't nearly as interesting as mourning the lore we've lost with 1.0's closure and the dev teams refusal to at least implement some of the Legacy quests. That means the 1.0 MSQ is essentially Lost Media to a slight degree--Replays of it exist on sites like Youtube, but it's a shame we can't experience all of this as ourselves. While yes, you can run a private server for FFXIV 1.0, you'll be missing a lot of things, such as character creation and quest data. It's essentially just a map you can walk around and make assumptions of, and that's all. Makes it even more disappointing, because Toto-Rak is one of many areas connected to Gelmorra, which we don't get nearly as much lore of from 2.0 and onward.

While going through the dungeon, it's really clear to see how gutted it is. Entire sections of mods are cut out as well as objectives being removed. It's weird for the cobweb walls to just disappear, instead of having to be manually destroyed as they once were. There's also 3 notes on the wall, warning you of the dangers of the mobs. One even brings up the spawning eggs that are no longer present at all. All of this feels really annoying to see gone, but I do understand why it happens. Truth be told, on subsequent revisits to the dungeon, I don't want to go through all that. I want to get my experience and get out. I suppose that makes people like me a part of the problem? But at the same time, I suppose modernization for an MMO as old as 14 was needed.

Once making it to the boss arena, we're met with Lahabrea once more. He's really not doing anything of import past goading us and basically saying "Oooh, you're going to die to the scary bug boy. Haha your tale ends here Warrior of Light." Obnoxious, as usual.

Either way, the boss is a giant mite named Graffias. It's pretty easy to dispatch, considering I was simply unsyncing the dungeon so I could have a look around. Normally, I think it spawns 2 adds and also has a separate tail that must be killed at some point, but that might have been removed. I don't know.

Once Graffias is gone however, the Elder who is covered in webs and such just conveniently falls from the ceiling and is freed from being trapped. They thank us for freeing them, and ask us why we're here, to which we tell them our goal was a rescue. And we're immediately given an glimpse into the events leading up to where we are now with the help of the echo.

If it's not Ascians, it's Garleans. We're basically shown how the Elder had found them in the woods and sought to spy on what they were doing. Most of this scene is just Nero complaining at his troops though and pining over Cid. Because Old Man Yaoi never rests. Not that I can really complain, but it is funny how anything goes wrong and he's immediately complaining about Cid.

We come to our senses after that, and the Elder thanks us before wandering off. So, we decide to go to the sylphs once more in Little Solace. The Elder, introducing themself as Frixio, explains how once caught by the Garleans, they were forced to run into Toto-Rak. Apparently once going there, they ran into Lahabrea, and he pretty much threatened to feed them to a giant mite. What a fun guy. Either way, Yda & Papalymo step forth, and immediately begin to parley with the Sylphs, bringing up their missive from the Elder Seedseer. Frixio confirms that the Sylphs have no desire to summon Ramuh again, and how a group of Sylphs that were advised eventually summoned him based on the fear of Garlean invaders. We're then told that as long as the tempered Sylphs are left alone, there will probably be no further incidents. With that, we're given another crystal from the elder, who leaves us with a rather ominous premonition as we part ways.

With all that out of the way, we're asked once more to Pray Return to the Waking Sands. We run into both Alphinaud handing a report, and the previous duo Biggs & Wedge thanking us. Our attention is then turned to passing remarks about the remaining primals that need to be watched out for. We're given the names of Leviathan, Titan, and Garuda as the current remainders. Minfillia also comments that if the boss of the Ironworks was around, he'd definitely find a way to make their workload more efficient, and Biggs remarks on how their boss's absence has been impacting them.

Everything having been taken care of at the moment, Minifillia permits everyone a bit of respite, and the group leaves her office. Before you part as well, you mention your run in with Lahabrea once more. However, before the two of you can have a proper conversation, Tataru is heard shrieking.

Naturally, the group runs to her aid only to find that she's face to face with a Sylph named Noraxia, who has been sent to the Waking Sands to be some help to your cause, and thus Noraxia becomes a member of your group.

This concludes part 2 of ARR, and where I naturally sought to stop for the time being.

I don't know when I'll pick up playing again. Truth be told the holiday season means I'm not going to have a lot of time to set aside for playing, nor the spare cash for my sub until I'm done shopping. So, I suppose that means I probably won't have any more gameplay until the new year. If I do decide to sub earlier, it probably will be after 7.4 finally drops, due to the latest changes to how the glamour system will work. Very excited for that, to be honest.

I don't have a lot of parting words past the fact that I took a quick picture of my character in my house before I was kicked off. So here you go. It'll be a while before I continue this article. But I don't want to make any promises on how much I'll get done, because I thought "Yeah, getting to the end of Endwalker in a month seems plausible," completely trying to forget how burnt out I was at the time. So this time, I'll play at my own pace. I might be moving servers or even data centers soon, so I'll check back in after the holidays.