My First MMO: Tet's Eorzean Adventures [FFXIV]

[The Twilight Mexican]

Everyone kept going on about ShB being so good and blahblah it was honestly almost annoying. With how everyone was raising my expectations surely it would not be possible to meet them, like when Heavensward slightly underwhelmed when it was "just" a 4/5 instead of the 12/5 I had expected from all the praise I read
Probably my own fault for letting my expectations run so high.

But for Shadowbringers?

Been following this thread all these months just for this right here.

 

[Tetsujin]

Honestly the best thing ever is the Trust system and would love to see it expanded upon even more going forward. First time through a dungeon now I am inclined to use Trust as it just makes sense, you go in and clear the obstacle with the characters you've been traveling with and who are involved in the story of the place. They all have dialogue inside relating to the place.

Having an in-game reason why we're clearing content with other random adventurers is also dope.

Agreed, really made it feel like a proper FF party. Not having to wait to get into a dungeon is also a bonus

 

[Theozilla]

One incentive for leveling your trusts up is that you can also switch the glamours of your scion party to their Heavensward looks.

 

[ForceStealer]

I am still partial to HW!Y'shtola. (And I still don't particularly love that they got exact duplicates of their ShB outfits back in the Source. I get that they'd keep their new abilities from their class changes, but those appearances spoke to their...separation, to me. The unique lives they wound up having in the First, if that makes sense. Seeing them back in the outfits they had been in when they left, would have given me, I dunno, it would have emphasized that we got them back, imo. And then they could have new getups that align with their new classes in 6.0)

 

[Tetsujin]

Leveling trusts seems like a dreadfully boring affair though. I get they probably wanna incentivize people to play with others instead since it's still an MMO after all but still.
You have to play Holminster like...three times? For them to even gain a level. And it takes about half an hour with these guys every run.

 

[ForceStealer]

Yeah I never ran a single dungeon with Trust after the story, lol

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I am still partial to HW!Y'shtola. (And I still don't particularly love that they got exact duplicates of their ShB outfits back in the Source. I get that they'd keep their new abilities from their class changes, but those appearances spoke to their...separation, to me. The unique lives they wound up having in the First, if that makes sense. Seeing them back in the outfits they had been in when they left, would have given me, I dunno, it would have emphasized that we got them back, imo. And then they could have new getups that align with their new classes in 6.0)

To me, keeping their ShB outfits emphasizes that those separate lives aren't forgotten or separate at all. =) Also, they're just cooler.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Welcome to the end-game!!!

Glad you liked your time with Shadowbringers! Here's to the next patches and expansion!

 

[ForceStealer]

To me, keeping their ShB outfits emphasizes that those separate lives aren't forgotten or separate at all. =) Also, they're just cooler.

At least in the case of Y'shtola, I disagree

And I don't think they should be forgotten, indeed I think they should get new gear that corresponds to the classes that they assumed in the First. Even if it's clearly inspired by their ShB outfits works fine, but giving them the exact same outfits diminished that whole angle that we were working hard to bring their souls back, rather than their bodies, for me.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I don't know, I really dig the angles for interpretation of this.

They were there for quite some time after all. It would be peculiar if they didn't picture themselves as they were when they were there as just ... who they are now.

And besides, they had to come back or they were going to die. They didn't necessarily want to be done with that place.

 

[ForceStealer]

It's still kinda, "really?" that they got everything EXACTLY the same. I know the what's-her-face pixie gave Tataru descriptions...but all of those FF-ass accessories for Thancred? A staff that Y'shtola can make glow just so?

And though they were invested in the First, I think they all would have come back to their lives/responsibilities in the Source. Thancred would have stayed, but Ryne probably would have talked him into it anyway

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Most of the Scions were on the 1st Shard for over than three years... Without the WoL around. The 1st Shard is... very much a part of who the Scions are as people now. All of them took several levels of badass and maturity during that time. It's... honestly really funny watching the Scions go up against Emet-Selch at the end of Shadowbringers and then seeing them in 2.0. They've grown a lot as individuals.

Y'shtola, at least, has gone on record as wanting to find a way to traverse the rift herself. Specifically so she can come back to the 1st Shard and continue studying it. She certainly isn't done with the place. Thancred will probably be asking the WoL to send messages back and forth to Ryne... and I can't see the Crystarium people not wanting the WoL to take messages back to G'raha.

 

[Tetsujin]

I kind of appreciate the amount of unique motion capture that was going on in that final 5.3 scene. The heavy usage of canned mocap animations/emotes often makes cutscenes feel stiff and holds the presentation back. I understand it's a reaction to 1.0 being very high budget in that regard and that weighing down everything else but I always thought it'd be nice if at least the odd scene here and there gets unique animation.
So them doing that here pleases me.
Little flourishes like Y'Shtola moving her hand across her staff and the fingers all animating individually and stuff, it's awesome. It's kind of par for the course for a lot of AAA games these days but here it's a rare occurence so it's extra appreciated.

I was doing the Sorrow of Werlyt sidestory and that one imperial dude pours himself some milk and I'm just like "LOOK AT YOU GO, ANIMATORS"

I prefer Y'Shtola's HW outfit too tbh, Thancred is an upgrade although he did go back to the generic character creator hairstyle again

I kind of thought it's weird that the twins are back in their HW outfits but seeing as they get new threads in Endwalker anyway I guess it makes sense. Really digging Alisaie's red jacket in that trailer. Hope she doesn't start quoting poetry or something.

edit:
Idk maybe it's just me but this cutscene track:

can honestly fuck off forever
I feel like this has been playing every second cutscene or so in every expansion and I'm super tired of it. Get some new cutscene music pls

 

[ForceStealer]

You'll see posts of mine all throughout the main XIV thread bitching about the lack of new cutscenes music. I was extremely pleased that Shadowbringers FINALLY introduced some new ones, because by the end of stormblood they were seriously driving me crazy

 

[Theozilla]

Still in regards to diversity of music, you can't complain *that* much when FFXIV holds the world record for the “Most Original Pieces of Music in a Video Game” (and that was even before ShadowBringers came out) https://novacrystallis.com/2017/02/...guiness-world-records-frankfurt-fan-festival/

 

[ForceStealer]

I shudder to think what that must mean for WoW's cutscenes

 

[Joe]

I shudder to think what that must mean for WoW's cutscenes

WoW has a single cutscene about once every two years. It doesn't really care to draw you into the story.

 

[Tetsujin]

"Ms. Ritter? I loved you in Jessica Jones and wondered if I could maybe have an autograph..."

 

[Tetsujin]

Right, I meant to write something here since last week.

Eden raids. Wtf was up with the final boss having 40+ boobies.
Apparently it was designed by Nomura? Well tbh I'm all for him actually getting to design weird creatures again. Meanwhile for Gaia he just copied Krysten Ritter and put her in a goth dress apparently.

Also, that ending had massive gay vibes for Ryne and Gaia imo
I mean they re-enacted the FFVIII ending which was between two lovers
There's even a rainbow colored crystal and stuff
They are holding hands on the promo art for the patch
Eden more like Gay-den am I right

Nier raids were cool too, that Weight of the World boss music arrangement, hnng
Can't wait for the last one, it better feature some version of Birth of a Wish.
As for the actual story, I was hoping the cutscenes would have more Nier stuff and less dwarf stuff tbh

Posing with 2B because we're visor buddies

So outside of the Bozja storyline (after my last experience I did not dare go into Delubrum Reginae yet ) I'm now fully, actually caught up with all the major side content as well as main story stuff.

Time to finally retire this thread =<

Any last words, comments or thoughts? Speak now or forever be silent.

 

[ForceStealer]

Apparently it was designed by Nomura? Well tbh I'm all for him actually getting to design weird creatures again.

I logged in for the Free Login Campaign the last two days as you had actually passed me . Finished out the 5.4 MSQ and the interim Nier story. And agreed on that FF-ified Weight of hte World remix, so good.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Can't wait for the last one, it better feature some version of Birth of a Wish.

I keep waiting to get that one for my Orchestron... 3rd Raid had *better* have it.

 

[Tetsujin]

I logged in for the Free Login Campaign the last two days as you had actually passed me .

 

[Alex Strife]

I remember being kind of proud of overtaking you, Tets, when I started playing at the end of last year. Then followed your progress excitedly for the past few weeks!

Then I had to leave the country and my PS4 behind for work and even though I'm up to date with the MSQ, you're doing stuff I haven't and the roles are reversed again.

It's the circle of FFXIV, I guess!! (can't wait to be back home and play)

 

[Shademp]

Tets, you've managed to regularly accomplish something that most people struggle to accomplish even once: Make me care about somebody's experience playing FFXIV.

The screenshots you post are absolutely beautiful and the way you describe your journey is engaging and comedic. Very well done.

 

[Theozilla]

Right, I meant to write something here since last week.

Eden raids. Wtf was up with the final boss having 40+ boobies.
Apparently it was designed by Nomura? Well tbh I'm all for him actually getting to design weird creatures again. Meanwhile for Gaia he just copied Krysten Ritter and put her in a goth dress apparently.

Also, that ending had massive gay vibes for Ryne and Gaia imo
I mean they re-enacted the FFVIII ending which was between two lovers
There's even a rainbow colored crystal and stuff
They are holding hands on the promo art for the patch
Eden more like Gay-den am I right

Okay so the Eden's Promise boss having oodles of boobies isn't just Nomura making a "weird design", it's actual a multi-layer reference to both Mitron's true name being Artemis, and more FFVIII references, specifically Ultimecia without Ultimecia being the boss herself.

The Eden's Promise is almost assuredly designed after the various statues of Artemis/Diana, who in addition to being associated with the Moon and the Hunt, was also often a fertility goddess, here are some of the well known statues of Artemis/Diana.



Pretty similar to the Eden's Promise boss right?

And then the FFVIII reference comes from the fact that Ultimecia's name may have been a incorrect transliteration of her Japanese name, and it would have been more accurate for it to have been Artemisia, another connection to Artemis and Mitron.


The boss design actually has quite a lot of thought and meaning behind it.

Also apparently the French version of FFXIV implies that when Mitron/Artemis was originally alive as an Ancient, despite their most recent form being male, when they were an Ancient they were apparently a woman.
So more support of Gaia likely being intended to be read as a lesbian/wlw.