Board 8 > FFXIV ENDWALKER FINALE unmarked spoilers topic (FULL 6.0 SPOILERS)

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DoomTheGyarados
12/07/21 12:29:33 PM
#1:


Hello friends. This topic will not have a single black bar in it, full discussion of endwalker stuff here.

I will wait for someone else to join me though, then we can get cracking.

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Sir Chris
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 12:42:29 PM
#2:


Still not done but sneaking in without reading anything for the end here:

Emet - "Bruh we can keep making expansions forever you got no idea. Here's a list of like 5 maps, a couple raids, and one new continent at least. "

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DoomTheGyarados
12/07/21 12:59:37 PM
#3:


UshiromiyaEva posted...
Still not done but sneaking in without reading anything for the end here:

Emet - "Bruh we can keep making expansions forever you got no idea. Here's a list of like 5 maps, a couple raids, and one new continent at least. "

Yes. All of that is true. I laughed out loud.

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Sir Chris
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DoomTheGyarados
12/07/21 1:37:57 PM
#4:


Also I saw a lot of the stuff surrounding the final dungeon coming but didn't mind not being truly shocked and then a big ole fucking dragon just going "so this is the little bitch huh? let's fuck her up together" was like, blowing my mind. I thought he may have something to do with everything but not like that lol

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Sir Chris
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Not_an_Owl
12/07/21 1:44:02 PM
#5:


The day before early access began I made three predicitons:

1) By the end of 6.0 Hydaelyn and Zodiark are both dead, with at least one of them being the boss of the final trial
2) Zenos will be alive at the end of 6.0 because there is no god
3) Alphinaud will get a fakeout death scene a la Thancred vs. Ranjiit

1 I was two thirds correct, 2 I whiffed on (but am very happy I was wrong!), and 3 was technically correct but failed to hit the full scope of Ultima Thule. Still, I will take being over 500.

I guess I'll start with what I thought was the weakest part of the MSQ, the first half or so of Elpis. So many monologues, so many "go here and watch a cutscene" quests with so little action happening. In retrospect I get it - they had to introduce Hermes and Meteion and get you to sympathize with both of them, or the last third of the plot doesn't work. Still, as it was happening I felt like the plot had slowed to a crawl and really wished something, anything interesting would happen. It picks up once you meet Venat, and once Meteion starts freaking out and you have to chase her down I was back to fully invested.

(Also if you didn't do the 87 dungeon with trusts oh my god what is wrong with you)

Just about everything else hit near-perfectly to me. The Garlemald plotline did an excellent job of showing how fascist indoctrination produces a society that always needs an enemy and is constitutionally incapable of trusting anyone outside of that society. It's another section that can feel drawn out but had to be that way to show just how entrenched the fear of the outside is in the Garlean zeitgeist - at multiple points Jullus clearly knows that what he's ordered to do is morally wrong, but he does it anyway because any Garlean is clearly more trustworthy than any outsider, and to disobey his orders would be admitting that everything he was taught was wrong, that he and his entire society had spent their entire lives being wrong. It's a very human response, even if I did feel frustrated seeing him go through it.

Speaking of human responses, one of the things I loved most about Shadowbringers' MSQ was the moments of downtime, when you would go back to your inn room in the Crystarium and chat with Ardbert. I was thrilled to see those moments of rest continue into Endwalker, ranging from the lunch you and the gang have after the 81 dungeon to the final time heading through Sharlayan to hang out with your friends the day before the ship launches. It helps to flesh out these characters as people to see them doing completely normal shit like having dinner with their colleagues, inadvertently falling asleep reading, or being nervous about meeting their friend's mom over tea.

And of course, that quest was perfectly placed to do maximum emotional damage.

I cannot talk about Endwalker without mentioning how utterly perfect Ultima Thule was. At first there's the sense of adventure, of going somewhere utterly foreign where no one's been before to save the universe, which is gradually replaced by confusion after Thancred disappears, then fear and horror when Estinien goes too, and creeping dread once Urianger explains what's going on. From then on it's all just twisting the knife planted in your heart - G'raha making you promise to go on another adventure with him before his sacrifice, the walk up the crystal with the twins as they reflect on what's happened, the Nekropolis, and my beautiful elf children giving their lives so I could keep going. The forced slow walk up the last slope, passing all the ghosts of your past was one of many times the MSQ made me tear up.

And then you arrive, and Meteion tells you you haven't gone far enough, you have no more comrades left to sacrifice and it's all hopeless... except she clearly doesn't know about Azem's crystal. I don't even have the words to describe how much I loved the next sequence - Emet-Selch and the flowers, the last dungeon, sending the newly-revived squad back to the ship to face the final boss alone, the FF4 reference of their prayers giving you the strength to win... it's all so brilliantly done.

My only quibble with the last section is Zenos. He is in my opinion the single most boring villain FF14 has ever had, and ever since he was first revived in post-Stormblood I've just wanted him to die. I don't even hate or dislike him; I'm just exhausted by his perpetual boredom and homocidal yandere routine. So to me, the duel after the last trial felt anticlimactic. I wanted nothing more than to just go back to the ship and leave his edgy ass there at the end of the universe while I go party with my friends. I'm glad they resolved that plotline, but really I just wanted him to go away and leave me alone.

Finally, I must say that Soken absolutely exceeded himself with the soundtrack. Every single song on the OST was fantastic, from the gentle piano reprises of the expansion themes to the bombastic boss battle music. It's all phenomenal, and if he hadn't already I feel like Soken has solidified his claim as Uematsu's successor.

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DoomTheGyarados
12/07/21 1:48:31 PM
#6:


I will discuss more but in terms of Zenos... I think his ending was one of the only ones that hit right for me of the possible endings for him. Like, if he had absorbed something to be the super big bad I would have just sighed. I find it amazing that a big old dragon shattered reality and was like "bitch I want my fight." Like it is absurd but in such an amazing way to me. Also I didnt love him but I felt like EW with him stealing your body for a bit got my attention on the "oh I am going to fuck you up" scale.

I didn't think he was boring here.

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Sir Chris
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 1:54:31 PM
#7:


Still not reading.

FUCKING ZENOS

BIG FAT TACOS

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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 1:56:55 PM
#8:


Oh this is a fucking MELODY of the ENTIRE GAME

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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 2:25:31 PM
#9:


Well I'm sure fucking glad that last phase was a victory lap because it'd be really hard to play while crying.

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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 2:48:07 PM
#10:


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Isquen
12/07/21 2:56:28 PM
#11:


Tracking for later.

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Dels
12/07/21 3:49:22 PM
#12:


i actually like zenos more like this

before, he was just a boring evil psychopath with nothing relatable, just evil. not an interesting character in any way.

so the fact that this expansion he was much more awkward and fit into this weird role after 83 where he was just sort of... skulking about as you did important plot things, and just awkwardly tries to get your attention and acts super cringe and has no role in the plot...

it's more interesting by default somehow LOL

i think they tried to go for a certain angle with the whole "admit it... you're like me... you also crave battle and new experiences..." thing, which was sort of meta trying to play on the fact that you, the player, like it when your main character fights stuff... but it sort of falls short, because in-universe, in terms of the real story, no, it's very easy to imagine that your character is just a truly good person who is only fighting to help others.
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 3:50:25 PM
#13:


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Dels
12/07/21 4:00:17 PM
#14:


i'll try not to piss people off by talking about all the parts i hated

but i agree garlemald's story was really strong, as was everything in elpis, and the whole final area's theme and emotional climax was nice (though i hate half the party members so their "sacrifices" meant nothing to me)

god i could rant all day about how much i hate g'raha tia

oops i'm doing it again
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DoomTheGyarados
12/07/21 4:07:39 PM
#15:


G'raha is my favorite scion haha.

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Sir Chris
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 4:07:45 PM
#16:


Unlocking the post-game dungeons now.

As I said in the other topic, FFXIV pretty clearly the greatest game.

Or at the very least one with the best story and characters around, especially now. Teared up so much. Not so much the traversing Ultima Thule stuff since that obviously wasn't going to stick, but it all still worked, and then once you actually get to the Graha part and after it just starts SLAMMING.

Certainly nothing else in Final Fantasy that can come even remotely close.

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Dels
12/07/21 4:09:36 PM
#17:


DoomTheGyarados posted...
G'raha is my favorite scion haha.

at some point you will have to tell me why. i literally can't imagine it. as far as i can tell he has zero personality and zero character development beyond "i like my friends" "i like adventures" "btw did i mention i like my friends"
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Dels
12/07/21 4:10:05 PM
#18:


whatever i'll stop lol i'll let y'all enjoy the story
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 4:12:25 PM
#19:


MAN am I glad they keep the lyrical version of Ultima Thule playing indefinitely.

I kind of wish the launch trailer didn't spoil it.

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Dels
12/07/21 4:13:39 PM
#20:


i was surprised when i teleported back there after the story

it's... certainly a choice!

i feel it will be weird when we do hunt trains lol. it's so dramatic.
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 4:15:09 PM
#21:


Yeah not surprised the post game dungeon queue is kind of rough.

Anyone else done either of them yet? Going into Stigma Dreamscape now.

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Dels
12/07/21 4:17:50 PM
#22:


i've done both. they're both pretty cool. honestly they went all-out with all the dungeons, just the best in terms of aesthetic and even variety, like so many dungeons have 3 completely different zones in them.

and smileton's visual design is just super impressive.

my favourite is the beginning of the elpis dungeon, that sand/snow thing with the giant spiraling tower is so sick
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 4:46:02 PM
#23:


Dungeons completely blow away every other expansion. One of the only issue I had with Shadowbringers was it pulled a bit in the middle and the 75/77 dungeons were totally whatever. In Endwalker, the first dungeon is OK but it just gets better and better from there.

Just finished The Twinning 2.0, the other one just popped.

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Dels
12/07/21 4:47:41 PM
#24:


haha, malikah's is actually like my favourite dungeon. qitana is up there as well, i wish they re-used the miniboss concept since its way more interesting than trash packs, but there were zero in EW sadly
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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 7:49:54 PM
#25:


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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 10:02:17 PM
#26:


I'm honestly just so interested to see where it goes from here. A restored Meteion being on Etherys will definitely come up in the future. I'm also SO invested in Pandaemonium's story, while before it was easily the thing I was least invested in.

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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 10:38:06 PM
#27:


I want to see a showcase for the last 3 dungeons weapons and gear, literally nothing but accessories dropped for me through all 3 so I'm mega curious as to what the aesthetic is.

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BK_Sheikah00
12/07/21 11:13:45 PM
#28:


So I'll say this. I think the split questlines at the start of the expansion were better in Shadowbringers. I also think everything surrounding Amaurot was better than the Dead Ends. My problem was that all the sacrifices lost impact when you know they have to be around for the level 90 Trust. Especially when the launch trailer had shown the scions in an area you hadn't been yet (which turned out to be the final dungeon).

That said, the lore of all the civilizations in Ultima Thule, and the last climb was amazing.

All three trials I absolutely love. I liked the duel with Zenos at the end. Dungeons 83, 87, 89 and all the 90s are all pretty fun too.


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UshiromiyaEva
12/07/21 11:18:54 PM
#29:


BK_Sheikah00 posted...
So I'll say this. I think the split questlines at the start of the expansion were better in Shadowbringers.

Agreed. Was kind of in a slight down feeling that this was going to be maybe a little worse than Shadowbringers, mainly for the Labyrinthos side which is pretty whatever. After that though it's all steam ahead, though, I think it's crushed it.

Also the 85 Dungeon was good too! It's just not part of the complete upward slide of every other dungeon. 90 > 89 > 87 > 83 > 85 > 81

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Not_an_Owl
12/08/21 1:35:42 AM
#30:


UshiromiyaEva posted...
I want to see a showcase for the last 3 dungeons weapons and gear, literally nothing but accessories dropped for me through all 3 so I'm mega curious as to what the aesthetic is.
The expert dungeons only have accessories. They're meant to fill out the parts of your gear the artifact armor doesn't.

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UshiromiyaEva
12/08/21 1:39:05 AM
#31:


I meant the MSQ dungeons, it was just super bad luck there lol. Don't know about The Final Days, though, since it's 90, but The Alitisphere and...the Level 87 one I need to memorize the name of.

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Dels
12/08/21 2:00:42 AM
#32:


UshiromiyaEva posted...
Agreed. Was kind of in a slight down feeling that this was going to be maybe a little worse than Shadowbringers, mainly for the Labyrinthos side which is pretty whatever. After that though it's all steam ahead, though, I think it's crushed it.

Also the 85 Dungeon was good too! It's just not part of the complete upward slide of every other dungeon. 90 > 89 > 87 > 83 > 85 > 81

I actually preferred the Labyrinthos side. I thought the whole "sneaking around, trying to uncover a conspiracy" angle was neat. Bunny boy was cool too, it was pretty cool when he called you out on the frog thing.

god, the dungeons were all so nice

i'd say... 87 > 83 > 90 > 85 > 81 > 89

actually, 90 was really good, but 83 was just super exciting, and that whole final area with anima in the background waiting for you.

89 was the only one i didn't really like. idk, haven't done it a second time yet, maybe i'll change my mind.

man, i am holding out hope that there's a minstrel's ballad anima. it would be unprecedented, but you never know - the past two expansions have had a bonus trial, including an ex version of a solo duty, so....
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Dels
12/08/21 2:03:31 AM
#33:


i just took a look and saw someone claim the 89 dungeon doesn't have gear either

this... would make sense considering the story gives you free lv89 artifact gear anyway.
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UshiromiyaEva
12/08/21 2:06:38 AM
#34:


That would also be disappointing since the aesthetic of those dungeons is so good!

I haven't seen any of the 86+ crafted gear though since I don't have any of them over 82 (leveling botanist first, but have been gaining levels all over the place for days from grand company turnins), so maybe there's something there to make up for it.

Fuck, I'm so used to all this stuff just being out there for me, I joined during 5.4 for God's sake.

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Dels
12/08/21 2:07:57 AM
#35:


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Dels
12/08/21 2:09:08 AM
#36:


and yeah, no 89 gear in the database, just artifact
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Dels
12/08/21 2:09:51 AM
#37:


also, when you're at the market board, there's a box where you can change the level shown up to 90, so you can see all the crafted gear
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trdl23
12/08/21 2:41:42 AM
#38:


Aight, so. Not in a mood to write a ton on any one topic so I'm gonna do these rapid-fire.

First off: Endwalker was very good.

Second off: God I wanted to like it so much more than I did.

Zones:
Labyrinthos was super cool conceptually, but it was such a slog in both halves. The pacing was atrocious. Thavnair was significantly better in its two halves.

Garlemald was absolutely incredible and was by far the most consistently powerful zone in the expansion story-wise.

Moon was super cool as an idea but the pacing dragged way too long during the loporrit parts.

Elpis was fantastic strictly because of the characters and how pretty it is. I didn't even care that the pacing was bad (which it was) because I was too enamored seeing the people Hythlodaeus, Emet, and Venat really were before millennia of pain and/or sacrificing themselves changed them. Emet's VA deserves ALL the money.

Ultima Thune was another thing where it was fantastic conceptually, and both Thancred and Estinien's disappearances jolted me. I got numb to it immediately afterward since I knew none of this would stick, and I didn't feel nearly the same connection to my allies as I did throughout Shadowbringers -- except, surprisingly, Estinien. Maybe just because of novelty? The way in which the sacrifices were undone, though? Shocked the hell out of me in the best ways.

Dungeons:
-Zot and Babil had fantastic bosses. Zot looked great but was horrible to play through after the first time, but maybe that's because I'm so bored of generic imperial enemies after grinding through Bozja. Babil was better only because of your non-trust allies (specifically Sadu and Magnai) being so great, and the third area was perfect in its creepiness.
-Vanaspati was Holminster Switch 2.0. Thankfully, Holminster Switch is one of the best dungeons in the entire game, so I was absolutely down for a reprise of it. That one trash pull with the matanga mother and her children fucked me up.
-If you didn't Trust the level 87 dungeon, what the fuck is wrong with you? It's easy as hell but I adore
the aesthetics and concepts.
-Level 89 dungeon was great. Rhitatyn finally got his time in the limelight, however brief. Really wish they hadn't doubled down on the dogshit translation that made Livia's characterization awful back in ARR though.
-The Dead Ends were fascinating conceptually and I want to try it with a bunch of different Trust combos to see how dialogue changes. However, there wasn't nearly the same emotional resonance as the Final Days of Amaurot or even Sohr Khai were.

87 > 89 > 85 > 90 > 83 > 81

Gameplay:
I appreciate that even dungeon bosses are no longer fucking around. You've gotten to this point in the game, you don't get easy-peasy orange circles anymore until shit's about to go off or there's another weird gimmick happening.

Why won't Trusts AoE yet, dear god.

Every single solo duty is fantastic.

Characters:
  • All Scions: Not much growth here, but that wasn't the point of the story. Everyone's hit their peaks by now. It does cause less attachment for me, but that's because this isn't an adventure story; this is a disaster movie.
  • Urianger: Deserves special mention for somehow still getting better every single xpac and not being a scheming bastard for once.
  • Estinien: He didn't grow much on-screen but it was cool seeing how he's changed from when we had him around consistently in HW. I'm impressed they kept him edgy and brooding while still making him snarky and fun. He's so good with Alphy.
  • Fandaniel: God damn he sucked until he retroactively got better. Him being Amon did explain a ton, but by the time he got better I was bored of him; he felt different from Hermes, who I liked a ton.
  • Hermes: I can appreciate a villain whose main problem is they care about everything around them too much. Everything is ultimately his fault, but he still wasn't evil per se; like I said, it's a disaster movie, and the problem is the disaster itself more than the person who inadvertently caused it for understandable reasons.
  • Hythlodaeus: Why is this man so unreasonably pretty? Why is his trolling so amusing?
  • Emet: I was terrified that they were going to bring him back after he went out so well in ShB and ruin him as a result. I couldn't possibly have been more wrong; I loved seeing his grouchy true self and how much he genuinely loved his people and friends despite that demeanor.
  • Venat / Hydaelyn: Surprised and glad she really was benevolent in the end. She had this shit sorted and knew what she was doing from the start, and I bought it!
  • Meteion: Just kind of "whatever" - she's not a character beyond your first meeting her, she's a cute, tragic plot device. That is kind of the point I suppose, but it's hard to get invested in her as the villain compared to all the previous xpac villains whom we came to know somewhat intimately.
  • Zenos: I'm gonna break from you all. Zenos was AMAZING this xpac, and it's entirely because of how static he was. He is this constant whimsical menace, and his "ethos" is always consistent. He makes exactly one minor change in his entire mindset that blew me away. The "what if I did have a good reason" speech was incredible. He ties in so well with the true theme of the story, too. The final duty was such a satisfying conclusion to it all - reminded me of Gurren Lagann in the best ways. I am so glad I was wrong about him.
  • Fourchenault / The Forum: I was so, so ready for these fuckers to be evil or at least greedy and self-centered with an "only Sharlayan should be saved" mindset, but man am I glad they really were good guys in the end.
  • Vrdra: Best dragon. So refreshing to see a leader who truly loves his people from the very start.
  • Matanga Head Alchemist (it's 2:30 am and I can't remember her name): Best elephant, I want to hug her forever.
Trials:
  • Zodiark: Wow, this one was crazy hard for a first trial. The twisty thing took me longer to understand than I care to admit. It didn't feel very "epic" despite the stakes, but I guess that was the point looking back.
  • Hydaelyn: Trust Trial! I loved the callbacks to the Venat solo duty. Not super difficult but tons of fun and great spectacle.
  • Endsinger: Not as satisfying early on compared to the other two, mostly because she came out of nowhere by comparison; we only even knew she was a thing starting in level 87. Executed well, not super gripping. The victory lap at the end felt fantastic even if it was trivial. Great callback to End of an Era.


Best part:
  • s u p p e r: This is the best solo duty in the entire game bar none. It was so genuinely creepy, between the leadup to it, what would happen if I failed, and then getting stuck in this shitty body where we have to scamper and scavenge and sneak instead of powering through like our usual badass selves.


Conclusion:
The story is quality, the gameplay is great, but the emotional connection never hit me like Heavensward and Shadowbringers -- or even Stormblood patchquests -- did with the exception of the Garlemald portion. I didn't cry once, and I wanted to. Maybe I should have taken my time more? The glue just felt sparse, which made the bad pacing in many parts that much worse. The story bit off way more than it could chew. Good thing what it bit off still tasted great in the end!

ShB > HW > SB patchquests > EW >> SB 4.0 >>> ARR

Edit - epilogue:
Man, remember when Amon was a braindead 3rd boss of a super easy A-raid who was known for having a funny hat and watching newbies die for failing to get behind an ice boulder?

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UshiromiyaEva
12/08/21 2:59:32 AM
#39:


It's kind of wild seeing that ShB patch stance since it was pretty openly said to me by many people when I was getting to them that 4.1-4.3 is the worst part of the entire game.

And I don't agree with that really, though some of the story stuff there is just flat out embarrassingly bad. In fact, I would say Yotsuya just walking out of her room TWICE is probably the single worst piece of writing in the entire MSQ, total amateur hour shit. Honestly if the trial itself wasn't so good I would put 4.1-4.3 below ARR from an MSQ standpoint.

4.4 and 4.5 are great if course.

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UshiromiyaEva
12/08/21 3:00:51 AM
#40:


trdl23 posted...
Edit - epilogue:
Man, remember when Amon was a braindead 3rd boss of a super easy A-raid who was known for having a funny hat and watching newbies die for failing to get behind an ice boulder?

Feel bad for the chatlog of first timers going through Syrcus. With 24 people you bet statistically at least one of them is going to be at least an indirect little shit about it.

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trdl23
12/08/21 3:04:41 AM
#41:


Yotsuyu is handled pretty poorly (and in one respect with disgusting cowardice from the writers) because they put into two patches what should have been one, but it's a strange instance where the concept, the leadup to the finale, and her VA work is so good that it makes up for how they bungled a lot of it.

Fordola and the 4.4/4.5 stuff is so, so good though.

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DoomTheGyarados
12/08/21 4:23:02 AM
#42:


Okay so now that I am back up for the day, Endwalker is by far the best expansion of FFXIV to me and concludes the best game story ever and it isn't even close.

The end sequence was just amazing. I knew the sacrifices weren't going to stick but that was not the point of that sequence at all, it was the fact that everyone was willing to do so just so you could forge ahead that made it so good. All of the dialogue in this section was just on a supreme level. Hope vs Despair made for a thrilling final theme.

I know we didn't meet the end boss until level 87 but in reality we've known about the end days for a long time, so that didn't bother me much. I thought the Endsinger's story was done well and I felt for her - as well as the many stars who faded into the dark, unable to continue on. It felt like a deeply personal story to me but told across the universe. I feel the people writing this struggle with these concepts themselves and to me it was told beautifully.

There are too many highlights, but Garlemald was obviously fucking amazing. The quest where you save the baby and our elephant boy is trying his best not to give up hope and then DRAGON TIME was incredible. What an amazing moment.

All of 87/89 dungeon was top fucking tier. So much stuff to unpack in both. Loved 90 although it was more of a 'neat' dungeon rather than some of the other, better dungeons. Loved the variety though.

We literally beat Fandaniel 3 different times this expansion and I am here for it.

Also Supper. SUPPER. What a god-tier duty. The dread, the knot in my stomach...

Moon bunnies are so amazing, Livingway's VA is just way too cute. Toad quest was amazing. Just a lot to process. Urianger getting hugs brought me to tears.

The cutscene following Elpis... her bloodied form was so well done. To know that yes, she had your back the entire time and how much she sacrificed... and for there to be a logical reason for sundering and why it literally had to happen to stand a chance.

Emet is love still. I am glad they did him well.

I feel like ShB for me had a lot more down time in hype than this expansion. Still loved it, of course, but a couple of those areas dragged much more for me than any part of Endwalker. I played them all this past six months so everything is still very fresh for me.


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UshiromiyaEva
12/08/21 4:34:44 AM
#43:


Agree on every front. So much content I will never forget. So many moments and characters small and large.

And, like, I'm NOT trying to downplay Shadowbringers at all...but I am never gonna care about the Rak'tika dudes, or the Mining Town stuff. The whole middle of ShB is, well, middling, it's the beginning and the end that's so strong. NOT a problem here, at least for me.


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DoomTheGyarados
12/08/21 4:38:40 AM
#44:


Yeah the beginning here involves the stand off with the forum which was fucking amazing. Like yeah the investigation isn't thrilling but it is damn interesting.

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DoomTheGyarados
12/08/21 4:51:38 AM
#45:


Also we now know the names of all 14 seats, which I found interesting.

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trdl23
12/08/21 5:09:36 AM
#46:


DoomTheGyarados posted...
The quest where you save the baby and our elephant boy is trying his best not to give up hope and then DRAGON TIME was incredible. What an amazing moment.
I should have touched on this but I got character limited. Man, this was incredible. My heart seized when I saw the black dust swirling around the baby, and then Matsya too. I adore Vrdra.

DoomTheGyarados posted...
The cutscene following Elpis... her bloodied form was so well done. To know that yes, she had your back the entire time and how much she sacrificed... and for there to be a logical reason for sundering and why it literally had to happen to stand a chance.
Another thing I should have highlighted. I appreciate that everything fell into place when there were so many ways it could've felt like an ass-pull.

One question that's irked me: How the hell did the recall-teleporter get to us at the end of the final Zenos duel and its aftermath? Did Meteion go back and toss it to us?

UshiromiyaEva posted...
I am never gonna care about the Rak'tika dudes, or the Mining Town stuff.
The dudes at Twine I get; the trolley part is definitely the low point of the story. But really, not Rak'tika? The funeral the Night's Blessed gave someone I never even met nearly had me crying. Runar is a sweetie and super capable besides.

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DoomTheGyarados
12/08/21 5:14:20 AM
#47:


Yeah there's just way too many highlights and I think processing it will make EW seem even better tbh!

I think the only thing ShB 5.0 has over EW is "Take it. We fight as one." with the music starting.

but as a whole I think I take EW's pre final trial cutscene over the ShB's one.

and then bonus Zenos duel which I fucking loved. Like look yeah he isn't the most compelling villain but... he isnt the villain. He's just a dude who wants to be your rival. And he did villain shit so you'd notice him. Then he did hero shit when he thought that would work, and it did.

Like I admitted to him "yeah, I like a bit of a fight" and the SMIRK on the WoL is so good. Also I am a Sadu cosplayer basically so that helps.

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trdl23
12/08/21 5:21:04 AM
#48:


There are endless great moments! I got hyped a ton. It just was way too choppy in between them, and my investment wavered too much. I hope you're right that I'll look more and more fondly as time passes, though. Marathoning it might have done me a disservice.

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DoomTheGyarados
12/08/21 5:22:43 AM
#49:


Yeah it did, because I felt the same pull too. Of "ergh I dont like this quest" and then I remember... wait, it's like one quest in a super long journey and I am grinding hard" lol

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trdl23
12/08/21 7:05:10 AM
#50:


One final note:

Soken is a god among gods. Holy shit. Forget being Uematsu's heir -- I think he's surpassed his master.

That is all.

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