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You compared Venat to Luisoiux. Personally, I think a more apt comparison would have been Venat and Elidibus. Elidibus was in fact the "heart" of Zodiark. The directive will of the primal. His death is why Fandaniel was able to pull his doomsday plot off in the first place.
Oh, by the way, there is a BUNCH kf Hitchhiker's Guide references in the final zone, even the ending to the story of an optional dungeon is a references.
I'm not sure where you got the 9/14 split from and am curious I thought we were only 2 maybe 3 14ths we've had 7 calamaties which were rejoining yes but pretty sure 1 of them was a fuckup and that the souls weren't rejoined during calamities. I'm pretty sure the only rejoining was with ardbert which is why it's such a big deal.
I don't know if you're aware, but Japan has closed it's borders to all non-Japanese people due to the omicron variant of COVID-19. Are these flights available for way into the future, when such restrictions may have been lifted?
Here is some advice for future deaths: When you accept your ressurection you get an 5 second buff that makes you invincible to all damage. The buff DROPS as soon as you use a weaponskill/ability. So sometimes it's better to just get ressurected and hold on for a bit until you get healed back full, get back into position etc. and you won't instantly die when you accept the ress.
Good point, I'd also like to add that one thing I've learned doing a bit of healing this expansion in regular duties, the healer is kind of expecting you to accept the Rez right away and they are ready to heal you up. But, by waiting to accept, they've moved onto a different priority, so you might not get healed right away if you delay accepting the Rez. I certainly don't speak for all the healers out there, just throwing out a little tip from my perspective.
I swear there are mechanics in EW that bypass this. At one point I had died immediately after being rezzed so many times that I clicked yes, threw my hands up in the air so as to not accidentally activate any abilities and immediately died again.
:) Very looking forward to the feels on the last area. Spoilers below . . . . . . . . . Everything with the dragons, ea and omicrons was fantastic. A bunch of short stories which thoroughly contextualized Meteion and her motivations.
@@AlexGelinas42069 you can also use them to level up ur alt jobs, it doesn't give thst much xp as msq or beast tribes quest does (150k xp per quest) but still can be useful
There's a idea called hedonic adaptation where you give time to the audience to adjust to the new normal after big climactic positive/negative event before ratcheting it up again. Without those plateaus on the line plot you never have room to breathe and absorb your surroundings, and eventually you just get numb to the big action and drama set pieces happening around you.
need moments of levity to release tension so not to completely overwhelm peoples emotions, which plays into the same idea. its all about balancing the storytelling.
All I've seen is people hating on that moment, but I appreciate it because it's kind of what you have to do. In that situation here, you have to take a moment and figure out and plan what to do next, look at what you have. It wasn't arbitrary padding. Plus, it had a really good scene with just you and Urianger talking, which basically never happens.
@@Boyzby And when you think about it, a moment to talk to you is also the *one* thing he never had each time he was coaxed into a secret plan, too. So not only it is a continuation of a long-standing trope, it's also the conclusion to said trope. You're actually present to provide needed input before he can decide anything for once.
Our good ol’ buddy with the purple hair and eyes said it best: “Oh come now, it’s been a gripping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It’s got it all.” *mic drop by buddy H*
The "Greetings, can you hear us" gave me goosebumps from the sheer HORROR of that scene. I was literally petrified during that entire scene. Now I want to see a pure horror game by Yoshi P
FFXVI is by yoship and i think will have a higher rating than FFXIV. so who knows! Also the Tesleen scene is apparently a TONED DOWN version from the original they had to scrap
Speaking of "jumping the shark," when we actually meet a certain character in person for the first time, she literally *jumps* a shark. I think the writers knew what they were doing.
I like that she didn’t hurt the shark. She stunned it and then when it came to its senses, she reprimanded it and sent it on its way. She’s a true gentle soul.
I'm not sure how it is with English voices, but when going on about the myriad of shark concepts he's been getting in the Japanese voiceover Hythlodaeus goes "wow, amazing! This is pointless!" which immediately reminded me of the Gravity Falls meme.
I really love how Endwalker retroactively made Shadowbringers better by expanding on SO MUCH. It's a true testament to the power of having an overall plan.
Elpis made me cry like a baby on the very first Cutscene in there, the whole Elpis MSQ was deep and emotional to me, bring me tears just to walk around there. I can't define how i loved that zone and not only for Story, it's OST and Design it's gorgeous, one of the most beautiful places i ever seen in a game 😭.
Same for me. To see even more what emet was fighting to bring back. It messed so much with me. I cried at the moment the doors were open. Such an experience.
Oh come now, it's been a gripping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It's got it all.
Bellular: "Your eyes go down and distract you with text boxes" Anime Sub watchers: "I have no such weaknesses." Edit: I was not expecting this to become so contentious. I was just trying to joke.
I just about to type that.... Gundam, macross, .... when giaint death robots are fighting, looking at the subtitles seems like an insult to the animators
Would recommend chatting with NPC's even when they don't have a questmarker on top for your next playthrough. They often have interesting insight and funny lines to say, and sometimes even bring up their worries and whatnot, especially your fellow scions. One that comes to mind is Thancred, who comments after the body-changing duty that he's *finally* not the only person to have had his body controlled by the bad guy lol, and he also expressed concerns for Ryne throughout as things grew more bleak even outside the times where he mentions so in the msq. #ThancredBestDad
the fight design is also made to learn it. first its one mechanic with an easy pattern, then its another mechanic, then it may be a more difficult pattern and then the two mechanics are combined. a lot of fights are like that or similar to it
the beautiful thing about that trailer they released is it hid almost the entire story even though it was showing us alot of different scenes (that did in fact play out just differently). it was brilliant.
As far as pacing goes: I think people erroneously conflate "slow pace" with something negative. Yes, some parts of Endwalker are a bit slower. Absolutely. But that is in no way a bad thing. Quite the contrary, I'd argue. They're *intended* to be slow, and if you don't go in with the expectation of "Everything needs to move fast and be bombastic and there need to be lots of fights all the time cause this is an MMO, so why is it expecting me to read text???" (which, in the context of this game, is really kind of an idiotic mindset to have), you'll actually come to appreciate it.
depends, some parts have a lot of build up to make a good delivery, others are just doing a LOT of world building, but that doesn't mean they don't detract from the experience a bit, specially when they start to get tiring. for me the worst offender was the second trip to sharlayan, where you need to walk in circles for hours helping people with menial tasks, and its just boring and don't really help with the impact of the next cutscene at all, its basically only there to show you the new area.
Slow pace in some parts is probably hitting people worse because of the que issue and the feeling of needing to get the MSQ done while you're in the game. Everyone already has a big rush when a new expansion comes out and having the que lingering in the back of your head while you play probably makes you feel like the slow bits of EW are just there to waste your time.
I think "slow" isn't necessarily the right word. I love slow quiet moments. For me, the parts that dragged on was everything to do with the Lopporits. I do not enjoy them as characters, and while there are some cute parts, their absolute cluelessness and the game trying to play it off as amusing and cute, rather than sitting them down and having a real heart-to-heart talk really bugged me. It's the same reason I can't stand sitcoms where the plot could've been resolved by communicating, and somehow playing that off as funny rather than tragic.
You can have fast paced and still read textboxes. The slow paced parts aren't seen as negative because of reading or lack of action. Although for what bellular has played, all the slow paced parts have had purpose and contribute to the conclusions so they're good anyway. There is a bit later on though that barely served a purpose.
The only part that felt wholly unnecessary was the Hamsa hatchery. We could have been introduced to Varshahn at any other location on the map. The Hamsa hatchery provides no lore value in itself, other than "haha Thavnarians ride these birds instead of chocobos" and the scene that occurred there with Estinien could have taken place anywhere else, too. For all other parts of the early Thavnair story, each little locale and its quests had some kind of payoff later on - the Great Work, even trying to help the young Matanga kid with his fishing sales ended up having payoff later in the story due to his former buyer being the start of the Final Days. But the hatchery just felt... pointless.
19:09 that scene,. How Vrtra saves his people and literally is hope incarnate to drive the shadows away.. that was just amazing storytelling. Even we couldn't guarantee to save the babe and he saves his people and the babe.. and ofc being a dragon even talks to the baby.. just.. amazing.. I absolutely loved that.
@@jakobtarrasericsson4295 ikr! I was like don't you dare die Matsya, don't you dare! I've never cared for an NPC that had barely a few hours of screen time more than I did with Matsya and Nidhana. And that scene with the baby would've surely ripped a hole in my heart had they not made it.
The Loporitts really did remind me of Hitchhiker's Guide. Especially when when they were so nonchalant about our world ending. Also the connection with cute creatures being incredibly smart (mice).
They most certainly had Hitchhikers Guide on their mind somewhere as there are quite a few references sprinkled throughout. Most notably you can answer 42 to a question regarding the meaning of life in a Aether current side quest. But also in the post game a somewhat more subtle, but also infinitely more enjoyable one is present in one of the quests after a post game dungeon.
when someone beat Shadowbringers: "Man, that was intense." People in EW Zone 1: "Oh you sweet, summer child." People finishing EW Zone 2, to Zone 1 players: "Oh, you sweet summer child". People finishing EW Zone 3, to Zone 2 Players: "Oh, you sweet summer child" People finishing EW Zone 4, to Zone 3 Players: "Sigh...." People finishing EW Zone 5, to Zone 4 Players: "Yeah..... I..... I don't know....." People finishing EW Zone 6: They say nothing, they just.... breathe, staring off into the middle distance. They attempt to return to the Starter cities, but.... it's just not the same now, and they know that they no longer belong in this place. Even the merriment of Starlight, and the banter of Limsa doesn't truly reach them, for they have seen the End, and carry it with them.
I don't want to spoiler obviously, but I don't feel like the ending made me a broken human being that can't see the point of it all anymore lol. If anything, it filled me with hope for new adventures xD.
TBH, looking back at Shadowbringers now, I love how Endwalker tied into that, especially the end of Shadowbringers. This was by far the most amazing story i have played in a game and it isn't even done yet
TBH, I like both of them but ShB wins in another way that it can almost be a separate game, to get the full enjoyment of EW you must really love the rest of the story.
EW feels like an extension of ShB because of the ascian stuff. More so than ShB and StB or StB and HW. Literally everyone important in ShB is still important in EW.
I really wonder how 6.1-6.3 will ramp up given the current status of the main cast... since traditionally those patches just keeps on the current story(while .4-5 sets up the next chapter). Perhaps considering It's the end of a arc, we might get multiple patches of setup going into the next arc... I don't want to speculate too much on things, but even if Endwalker crushed me at the end, I sure as heck are looking forward to the next arc.
The unanimous reaction from my friend group was, we expected zone 4 to be zone 6, we had no idea what zone 5 could possibly be, and once we saw zone 5, all bets were off for what zone 6 could be. The details we thought were important only seemed that way because they were the part we knew ahead. The mystery runs so much deeper than what we were given in the trailer.
@@eredkaiser there was a shot of wol in the release trailer in zone 6 where he's holding the azem stone in his hand, with the stars in the background. of course it was generic enough that no one could possibly have guessed it was from the last zone
Man, I've watched your videos for a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen you this happy doing a deep dive on a game. It's really amazing what a wonderful experience you can get from a team that has such a reverence and love for their own creation. From one old wow nerd to another, I hope this keeps bringing you joy.
And its good to watch his videos that from his experience rather than heard from Matt. His voice his expression his enjoyment his excitement are all totolly on different degree.
I especially enjoyed your comments around 24:20 about spoiling the end. I’m one of those people who generally isn’t bothered by spoilers because I often find I enjoy seeing how we get to the twist (set up, payoff, etc.) as much as the twist itself. I call it “reading from the back of the book to the front.”
Yeah I completed Endwalker in 4 days and honestly thought I needed every single second of downtime because the high tension times in that story are just so damn impactful :P So people who wanna get rid of the filler just make no sense to me haha. And yes that first trial I also thought like: WAIT, ALREADY!?!?
You REALLY should do all the side quests in zone 5 at the same time as the MSQ, the amount of backstory is enormous. I'm amazed in general by how good the FF14 community is at doing encounters compared to WoW. Turns out if you force people to learn they do.
No idea wtf you are talking about. Trials in FFXIV are a joke. They are not punishing what so ever, and if you think so you are just really shit at this game.
@@ovum Progging is usually seen with Extreme, Savage, and Ultimate fights, not Normal. It's like 1 in 100 when you don't clear a Normal Trial with a one shot. They are idiot-proof fights.
God the energy you have here, the fun you are having just telling this story... so jealous. I have a sub to FinalF. but I couldn't get into it will the server issues. So happy that everyone is enjoying their time in this very magical world.
This time around, music played during sad parts destroyed me. The song Flow is also an exceptional music to listen to. And also we cannot forget the song "Answer". It has been 8 years since the song was created. And we finally understand the meaning of it. That in itself boggled my mind. That's something that no MMORPG has ever done.
This so much. I made the mistake of listening to Flow on the way home from work and I had to stop listening before people gave me weird looks from crying.
18:00 - Yea, especially when you try to figure out what's going on and certain prick refuses to tell you what's up until you move some boxes of junk around. I would love to have a Mass Effect renegade button during that scene.
I'm 99.9% sure that Hitchhikers Guide was a major influence to the piece you mentioned. One of the NPCs even provides the question "What is the meaning of life", with the only appropriate answer, of course.
@19:00 Time-stamping to avoid spoilers for people reading comments, but man I was so afraid for the minor characters at this point. It's strange because you usually don't pay too much attention to characters like these, but they really did a good job getting you to be afraid and fear for them the way you would more major characters. Spoilers follow though. That sense of relief when the ones we were focusing on the most survived, that elephant lad and that baby...man lol. Good guy Estinien.
I had mistakenly thought the second trial was at 87 (since Lakshmi was 67), and was really confused by the stuff he was saying xD had to look up when the second trial was again and that made me felt dumb
All you need to do is put 2 and 2 together. It is really not that hard. I swear this player base really likes making a mountain out of a mole hill with shit.
Speaking of Douglas Adams, depending on one of your choices in zone 4 on which food to eat, there's a reference to transcending your mind and being left with the thought of 42.
in the last zone,there is a sidequest where an npc asks you what's the meaning of the universe, and if you respond "42" like in hitchhikers guide to the galaxy,he tells you that you are very cultured
this guy freaking out over the starting zones and first trial, i hope he has a fresh pair of pants on standby for that lvl 89 dungeon and the final trial
I beat 6.0 last weekend and loved every second of it. It's one of the best stories in games, asking some seriously deep philosophical questions and giving its players some serious food for thought. All on top of delivering a very satisfying conclusion to the story since at least 2.0 (I never played 1.0, so I don't know if it really wraps up anything there) and still making me excited for the future. SPOILER STUFF: I loved the change in the tone and focus of the story on the moon after Zodiark. I didn't expect it, but the Loporrits and the moon habitat let me have time to process what had just happened with Zodiark, and think about where it's going after that. And then it was genuinely funny and cute at parts. Too bad Michael didn't pick the "humm humm hummmm" option in that bit shown in the video! I got so hyped up when you "first" meet Hythlodaeus in Elpis, and he says "Hello, my new friend." He always greeted you with "Hello, my new old friend" in Amaurot, and at least for me, Hythlodaeus always stood out to me as this interesting guy who raised some questions for me. "Hello, my new friend" is just removing one word but giving SO MUCH CONTEXT for what he said in Amaurot, and paying off so well. Meteion and Hermes are fantastic villains, too. And then on top of that, they let you do the 87 dungeon with Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, and Venat as your trust allies? God, the love they show for the story and the players is incredible. Then that amazing cutscene at the end of Elpis, where you see Venat's life in Amaurot and dealing with the Final Days in the unsundered world, how it recontextualizes the lyrics to Answers, how it shows why Emet-Selch had that sudden realization about your past in Amaurot at the end of 5.0. It's incredible storytelling, so much better than what I'm used to in games. I don't even want to talk about what comes after, because Michael's spoilers end before getting to the last couple dungeons and trials, and the final zone, and it's too good to even accidentally spoil for someone.
Hard disagree on Hermes. Hermes is a stupid guy that favors his ideals instead of the lives of his fellow men. Meteion is his first victim. He could've chosen a more logical path that is stopping Meteion which at least provide the Ancients with a better chance at stopping the Final Days, and so would give us a better chance too should they fail, but no, he had to play god with the lives of his fellow men. And because of his stupidity, tragedies of almost ten thousand years happened. Disappointing from the dev that brought us Shadowbringer
@@tjongdavid1921 well it seems like the Ancient traits tbh, being stupid when they're supposed to be smart. Hermes is being stupid and I want to punch his face at that dungeon. The Ascian also ready to sacrifice all of the Shards and Source if it is to revive the people of Amaurot as well, thinking that we're lesser than them. They seem to be a race that just can't accept that suffering exist for a reason and face it. I swear even the writer think that Ancients are dumb and write them to be dumb.
@@HadeaRin The Ancients are written like children who are sheltered to be honest. They are highly intelligent but extremely naive. But eventually you have to grow up and face the real world. However, having grown up with a lot of people who were sheltered as a child reality hit hard and the Ancients chose to try and stay in their blissful dream rather than face the truth. They were so desperate to return to their paradise that they would have sacrificed themselves to oblivion if Venat had not sundered them. Whether it was Meteion or something else they were always doomed to fall at some point.
Honestly, I felt the pacing was spot on. It was like the ebb and flow of a tide to me, fast and intense bits, slow and chilled bits to allow you to relax, take in and process everything so far then up the pace again. This is meant to be the absolute grand finale, the curtain call to 10 years of story that the entirety of previous expansions have been building up to. Need a bit of both to get that ultimate flavour and experience. The rabbits are absolute god tier btw, some of the best patter in the game comes from them alone in this expansion :'D
I think the only one part I might’ve changed…when certain folks go missing for certain good causes, they should’ve had an extended period of you progressing the story on your own, no one around. To really push the loneliness, but also the determination of yourself to accomplish the task. But at the same time, those actions were necessary to proceed to the next part anyway…so maybe the way it was done was the best way.
SPOILERS Quick correction. And maybe I just misunderstood based on how you explained it but Fandaniel already, at this point, explicitly explained he is Amon and while infused with Hermes's memories he never felt nor acted as if they were his own. Not to mention Hermes's memories of what really happened with Meteion were wiped so while we don't know the details one could argue the true memories of Meteion never even passed down to Amon. Amon's personal nihilism is born from his history as Amon with the Allagan Emperor Xande. While he is a sundered shard of Hermes, this isn't a direct character progression of Hermes > Current Day Fandaniel. They are explicitly two very separate characters.
I find a lot of people take the Final Days cutscene way too literally. It was supposed to be a metaphorical journey through them followed by Venat (now Hydalaen) walking with us through history, constantly moving forward despite the pain and walking with us to the end like she promised. But some people seem to need everything spelled out to them. They were complaining about her becoming Hydalaen on her own, for example, but we know from ShB that's not what happened. The whole "I sunder us" scene wasn't meant to be taken literally.
sorry no, maybe the stuff with the black sky as she's walking and really beat up is kind of like what you're saying -- the "i sunder us" part is not a metaphor, lol
@@obj-g1732 Except we know that's not when she sundered the worlds. In ShB we know there was a group who was helping her and we know that there was a battle between Hydalaen and Zodiark that lead to the Sundering. She didn't do it solo right then and there.
How can you conclude that it "shouldn't be taken literally" when we witnessed it from a crystal of time? All of the crystals previously shown the exact same moment a certain event happened. We also experienced the exact history of Elpis through that crystal
You speaking of creating a playerbase that intuitively understands mechanics made me remember a feeling I had while playing through Endwalker. A feeling of "wow, is this really this easy, or have I just learned how this game works?" as I went through the dungeons, and being able to predict (to a lesser extent) the mechanics of trials. For the most part, this game uses the same markers and the same visuals to tell the players what's happening, and only in certain aspects does it throw a wrench into the gears to make things unique mechanically. Time stopping or the arena rotating, etc. The game trains you to not need a DBM equivalent, and it's great.
Eplis was a complete surprise when I got there and I was just delighted. I wore the glamour, I did all the sidequests, I wanted to absorb everything. Then I'm interested in hearing your thoguhts on the ending, because frankly, I need help.
This is a SPOILER timestamp: 15:45 Bellular, PLEASE tell me you ate the blue carrot. There’s a straight up reference to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in there.
Funny thing, Amon keeps saying that he lived as himself and his decisions were his own, despite he having Hermes' memories, yet his choices were verily consistent with Hermes' own choices.
What I thought was him accessing Hermes' lost memories from Kairos and not realizing they were his memories and not Amon's ideas, like excluding the week Kairos erased Hermes is thought of as a pure and good character hence 'Amon' thinks he would hate what he had become but instead he became what Hermes was heading towards with the Meteion 'corruption'.
i don't remember who discusses this (probably Urianger or G'raha, maybe someone in Elpis) but they question whether sundered souls have similar personalities and inclinations as their original. specifically stating the 'color' of the soul is still reflected in the sundered beings, like how you are constantly mentioned to be very similar in personality to Azem
Eh, not exactly 1:1 though. Reminder that Hermes’ choice was to see Meteion’s answer through to its fruition whilst doing his best to find a way to come to his own answer combatting Meteion’s. It’s part of the reason why he included himself into the memory wipe scenario, as deep down he still had some hope that there could be a better conclusion. (Maybe minor spoilers here if not past the 89 dungeon, honestly forgot where exactly this next bit shows up but it’s still a pretty natural conclusion you can make from the post-Zodiark scenes.) Amon on the other hand dove straight into the nihility, partially being influenced by his memory (or rather lack thereof) of the final days and Elpis ingrained on his soul and manifesting as fever dreams, and being influenced by Xande’s ruminations about how all the effort he made at the height of Allag eventually came to naught with his legacy basically becoming a shadow of its former self, and thus overall coming to a similar conclusion to that of the civilizations that influenced and corrupted the Meteions.
I'm actually on board with the idea that knowing where something goes and how it got there helps to make an experience better. For example, both Dune and the newest Spider-man were more enjoyable experiences upon a second viewing than they were on the first (and they were good on the first too, don't get me wrong) because you weren't waiting to see where things were going so much as seeing how they got there. It creates a better impression of the smaller details along the way, and it's part of the fun of listening to and engaging in conversation around Endwalker's story, as we find these little details that are so much fun. Especially, for my interests, on the end that there's a huge amount of extremely clever classical literature references among the Ancients that are just great!
Oh me, oh my... (A spoon swirls in a cup full of tea) My sweet summer child... You know so much already, and yet knowledge is what you lack... In all seriousness, you're theory crafting so hard and it's super fun to see, but you'll soon see what wrong asumptions you made and where things differ from what you think will happen. I can't wait for your opinion on it.
Just a quick note for a future: every expansion has 6 zones and the last one is always a secret. They showed 4 and one drawing at the fanfest so everyone knew that the Moon won't be the last 😀
Its hard for me to compare endwalker to the other expansions. The other expansions felt more like an adventure. This one is about the Beginning and the End of the saga, which happens to revolve around the universe itself, the final days, the first gods, etc. In terms of an adventure im not sure i like this more than Heavensward or Shadowbringers. But this one sure does explain pretty much everything, and also gives screen to everything you wanted to see. Meeting the ancients, sparring with venat, the zodiark trial, the dungeons sure are great, the scions and allies have good moments on screen.. In terms of production i gotta say this is probably the best thing i've played.
The pacing is 100% fine. It's a fantastic end to an epic saga. The way the wrap up all the threads and even make things that seemed kinda randomly thrown into the story in previous expansions more meaningful is just great.
Zone 5 has me convinced that Blizzard have an insider in SE. Like there is no way they suddenly start marketing 9.2 as the end of the story arc and make a zone where primordial forms of existing creatures are created. Like there are just too many coincidences
Its funny how he talks about hitchhikers guide at 16:00 because later on there is a dialogue about the meaning of life that gives the player the choice to choose 42 as an answer
People complaining about Endwalker being slow don't remember the slow parts of Shadowbringers. Like Il Mheg, or Raktika, or the second trips through Amn Araeng or Kholusia.
Its the same with heavensward too, people have been hyping the two expansions so much for years all the details get washed away. But frankly you need the "slow bits" for the crazy bits to feel impactful and settle.
"People complaining about Endwalker being slow don't remember the slow parts of Shadowbringers. Like Il Mheg, or Raktika, or the second trips through Amn Araeng or Kholusia." A writer can get away with "slow" if the characters are interesting. I found the characters in Shadowbringer's zones to be far more interesting than their Endwalker counterparts.
@@onlylettersand0to9 Respectfully disagree. I found every character, even the minor ones like Matsya and Jullus, compelling and interesting and I grew very attached to them thanks to the slow parts. And the moments in Labyrinthos that everyone hates, I loved because so many loose ends related to the Scions we've been accompanying were tied up and reinforced. The ending would not have had the impact without the moments of character-driven levity.
@@onlylettersand0to9 You dont like Matsya? Nidhana? Jullus? Quintus? Hythlodaues? Livingway? Venat? Random Thavanir villagers? Eas? Omicrons? Dragons? Even literally all the NPCs in Garlemald were good, not to mention the Grand Companies Of Eorzea who we have known since ARR
I share your feelings! I just hit max level today and have had tears in my eyes for most of the day as I played. Still no idea where its going to go. What an emotional story
Just finished Endwalker last night. Omfg best expansion so far. Never have i played a game that has so many heartfelt and wholesome moments. At one point actually shed a tear (later in the content). The writing in this game is just phenomenal. Cannot wait for you to finish. I couldnt have predicted what would have happened at the end.
The one scene where she asks you the question Hit me so deep and I think it hits all of us who have been here longer even deeper. It was unexpected. It's one simple question and it's probably one of the most important questions.
I went into this game with as low expectation as possible. I also expected this game to stab me in the heart repeatedly and take away everyone I love. I didn't expect to smile so much. And how gently this game shepherd me through the extreme dark.
man bellular, you are so good at predicting the story. It is absolutely 100% right. Do not think any further. Though seriously, good analysis and thoughts, and matt is probably even more red than ever.
24:00 is exactly why being spoiled never bothered me in the slightest as I still fully enjoy the journey. It makes me more curious to see the events leading up to it and how it turns out the way it does
for me it doesnt even matter to think it about that, because the objective wasnt to know how everything started but to know how we could stop it in this case knowing the "end" was but a path to an actual conclusion
@@Irisfantasies I mean it isn't the big reveal really that gets ruined, it's all the stuff leading up to it. You tend to figure shit out much quicker when you know the end.
I finished the msq a week ago or so and it's absolutely insane! I loved it so much! I love hearing your opinions about it but since you didn't mention the lvl 87 trust options. I knew I HAD to do that with trusts the first time and it did not disappoint. I highly recommend it even if you don't use trusts often
Eh, that’s true in a general sense, but there’s definitely exceptions to the rule. Lol I ran a dungeon with a healer who failed the same mechanic eight times in a row and kept dying no matter how much we tried to explain it to him. Our party… definitely was beginning to build some animosity there. But I agree with the sentiment. It’s just fun going through something that we’re all experiencing together for the first time, and it definitely has a very different feel than usual and really hightens the community aspect. I fought the first trial with a group of entire first timers, which I’d never done before, and it was so much fun as we all worked together piecing together why we messed up or how to better get through a section some of us were having issues with. There’s nothing quite like that feeling.
@@Zakemaster I had the same experience when trying to get the minion from the final MSQ dungeon, which still hasn't shown up once. If I weren't playing SMN, we never would have gotten through it, because the healer died to basically everything they could on the bosses.
@10:15 The counterbalance in high difficulty content is that dps checks are TIGHT. They're fair, they're well tuned, non-meta comps without 100% BIS have gotten world first in brutally hard raid tiers like E8S because the determining factor is that people play well, execute well, don't die, etc. The damage penalty for death is enough to make/break a clear at [some dps check] when hard raids are fresh. You might res spam and buy a minute or two to learn and practice, but something's gonna wipe you for shorting it on dps. One or two World First Ultimates were cleared by Pet+DOT damage while all 8 players were incapacitated for the fancy enrage animation. WoW's balance is SO off base that they could never do that. They barely even test most of Mythic at all, relying on the WF racers to beta test the encounters live really, and it's mostly a factor of nerfing/fixing the encounter enough from the live pulls to be barely clearable with good RNG.
He's not ready for the next part, and the feelz. The best part of the last zone, was that chat was going thru it with me, at the same time, and we shared our experiences. Thanks chat, you made me able to do that final push.
@8:35 That was my Trial 1 experience. There's some adjustments to figuring out the patterns for how very typical mechanics go, then we all died to the intermission because it did require a fair bit more camera adjustment than usual, then we cleared 2nd pull. I've said this before and stand by it, the way FF14 handles battle resses is MUCH better for being able to challenge players even in casual content. Even in Mythic Raiding in WoW, it's just very limited in how difficult they can make anything to execute. And they mostly rely on overtuning and excessive RNG to pad clear times since 95% of the mechanics need to be trivial to execute on their face. The content is more satisfying to progress and clear, and even lower difficulty content carries with it the same satisfaction because the game is allowed to just straight up kill you repeatedly even on a low difficulty. You have to learn and engage, not just ignore everything and target dummy the boss.
For your note of Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, pay attention to some little quest dialogue or random dialogue from non quest giving npc's. Theres actually A LOT of direct reference to that movie
@Bellular When you get ressed you are immune to all dmg and most mechs for 5 seconds as long as you don't use any skill(not even sprint), you are allowed to move around. There, now you won't die again right after being ressed, hf! :)
last area and that last dungeon made the entire expansion for me, such a masterpiece and sets up perfectly for the future of the series I get chills just thinking about it lmao 11/10 without a doubt flawless masterpiece
Ff14 has literally brought me to tears with such an emotionally well written story from beginning to end. The last time that pos WoW did that was tears of relief when I cancelled many years ago. Wow was written for boys and girls, this story has all the complexities of a well written adult novel. They have me for as long as the game is in operation.
Funny about your tip with hiding the text boxes. I generally prefer to have them on, because it helps me not miss important bits. I end up using captions for just about everything (movies, shows, games). After a while, you stop noticing them entirely (and you stop noticing that you are reading them) and just end up enjoying the content. Granted, this is likely not an issue for those with good hearing. :)
A very important thing a lot of people forget is that after respawning you have res immunity. With LB3 it is less, but normal res gives you 5-6 seconds of immunity as long as you do not press any spell/skill (sprint included). Make sure to use that to your advantage and you will not die instantly in content.
I went back and listened to answers again after watching that entire scene. The scene broke me a bit already, but then I went back and listened to the lyrics of answers. And you hear the laments in the pain in her voice and once I realized that this is venat herself lamenting for what she had done regretting wandering for years upon years if she made the right choice praying that something will come out of this praying that there will be a light of hope at the end of this tunnel, carrying on beaten and battered, to the point of unrecognizability, and seeing the pain that people had gone through for years upon years, and realizing that we are living this pain, I just lost it and bawled like a baby
You are actually immune for 5 seconds after being resurrected. It's a buff called Transcendent, it even prevents knockback mechanics from killing you iirc. (edit: wasn't sure abt the knockback thing hence I wrote "iirc" but it seems it doesn't) BUT, it goes away as soon as you use any action (moving does not remove it). So an optimal way to use a rez is to keep the transcendent effect to re-orient yourself and keep it as long as you need to survive the current mechanic, then start attacking when you're safe.
Yeah about the KB thing... I've seen people get knocked out of the arena in Paradigm's Breach because they rezzed in front of a train. Also, Transcendent also only works in most fights. If you have ever done UWU before, you'd see that if you rezzed into a phase transition, you will die.
@@jericm151 I think it's treated practically the same as a tank invul. Invuls can't let you survive enrages for instance. And regarding the knockback thing I wasn't completely sure about it but if I had to guess it's prolly cuz they just decided it's better to slap Hallowed Ground's code on it lol. Would've been nice if it prevented that but oh well.
@@Zendelxex I'm prolly wrong I suppose. I had just done doing the extreme version of the 1st endwalker trial you see, and it has a strong knockback aoe that I was rezzed into at one point. The rez animation probably ended right after the aoe snapshotted everyone's positions so it didn't affect me I'm guessing.
For the Thavnair region, the JP voice direction was a miss for me, not because it was bad, but they sound like typical Japanese. Probably could've used a regional accent instead of the standard Tokyoite one. The EN ver on the other hand was spot on with the flavour. And it was just weird hearing Matsya's super young voice in Japanese after hearing him in English.
@@Eiensakura this is the general issue with the jp va, it's fantastic and super high quality but the characterization is not nearly as strong. The faeries from the first had the same issue all sounding like your average anime schoolgirls
First time playing ff14 at an expansion launch and I loooved doing the trials blind. Cuz everyone is going blind! First trial we were down to 3 minutes on our timer. It was a blast learning the mechanics with everyone and just being so pumped up
I didn't expect the moon to be the final zone because they made such a big deal of it in the marketing and live letters. The last zone is usually kept secret for spoiler reasons, and the fact that they were only willing to show us the concept art of the second-to-last suggested that the story was going to take a very unexpected turn near the end. That said, I definitely didn't expect to be fighting Zodiark at level 84. That was definitely a surreal moment.
26:38 do you even know what happened there? At that point she already was Hydaelin! (this cutscene was the sundering of Eitherys into the Source and its Reflections)
Trial 1 boss always struck me as a pot device to drive characters forward anyway, no real depth to it really. So I loved how it was so easily scrapped so early on in the story; it's both shocking yet not at all disappointing, because I'd never cared about Trial 1 guy to any real level. So, I thought creating such a surprise twist was the perfect finale for it.
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You compared Venat to Luisoiux. Personally, I think a more apt comparison would have been Venat and Elidibus.
Elidibus was in fact the "heart" of Zodiark. The directive will of the primal. His death is why Fandaniel was able to pull his doomsday plot off in the first place.
Oh, by the way, there is a BUNCH kf Hitchhiker's Guide references in the final zone, even the ending to the story of an optional dungeon is a references.
I'm not sure where you got the 9/14 split from and am curious I thought we were only 2 maybe 3 14ths we've had 7 calamaties which were rejoining yes but pretty sure 1 of them was a fuckup and that the souls weren't rejoined during calamities. I'm pretty sure the only rejoining was with ardbert which is why it's such a big deal.
Meteion is basically twitter. I mean, she's even a blue bird.
I don't know if you're aware, but Japan has closed it's borders to all non-Japanese people due to the omicron variant of COVID-19. Are these flights available for way into the future, when such restrictions may have been lifted?
Here is some advice for future deaths:
When you accept your ressurection you get an 5 second buff that makes you invincible to all damage. The buff DROPS as soon as you use a weaponskill/ability. So sometimes it's better to just get ressurected and hold on for a bit until you get healed back full, get back into position etc. and you won't instantly die when you accept the ress.
This, I was going to say the exact same for him lol. This needs upvoting for visibility xD
Extra info, activating "sprint" will remove the invincibility as well.
Adding to Andrew! Also Jumping removes the debuff.
Good point, I'd also like to add that one thing I've learned doing a bit of healing this expansion in regular duties, the healer is kind of expecting you to accept the Rez right away and they are ready to heal you up. But, by waiting to accept, they've moved onto a different priority, so you might not get healed right away if you delay accepting the Rez. I certainly don't speak for all the healers out there, just throwing out a little tip from my perspective.
I swear there are mechanics in EW that bypass this. At one point I had died immediately after being rezzed so many times that I clicked yes, threw my hands up in the air so as to not accidentally activate any abilities and immediately died again.
Bellular: "So I'm level 88"
Everyone who knows: "he doesn't know yet :)"
:)
Very looking forward to the feels on the last area. Spoilers below
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Everything with the dragons, ea and omicrons was fantastic. A bunch of short stories which thoroughly contextualized Meteion and her motivations.
@@AlexGelinas42069 i highly recommed you doing the optional yellow quests in that zone, holy shit thats heavy stuff right there
@@ftran789 oh boy, noted. will do some of those tonight, thanks for the heads up
@@AlexGelinas42069 you can also use them to level up ur alt jobs, it doesn't give thst much xp as msq or beast tribes quest does (150k xp per quest) but still can be useful
:)
There's a idea called hedonic adaptation where you give time to the audience to adjust to the new normal after big climactic positive/negative event before ratcheting it up again. Without those plateaus on the line plot you never have room to breathe and absorb your surroundings, and eventually you just get numb to the big action and drama set pieces happening around you.
need moments of levity to release tension so not to completely overwhelm peoples emotions, which plays into the same idea. its all about balancing the storytelling.
All I've seen is people hating on that moment, but I appreciate it because it's kind of what you have to do. In that situation here, you have to take a moment and figure out and plan what to do next, look at what you have. It wasn't arbitrary padding. Plus, it had a really good scene with just you and Urianger talking, which basically never happens.
@@Boyzby And when you think about it, a moment to talk to you is also the *one* thing he never had each time he was coaxed into a secret plan, too.
So not only it is a continuation of a long-standing trope, it's also the conclusion to said trope. You're actually present to provide needed input before he can decide anything for once.
you get it.
Our good ol’ buddy with the purple hair and eyes said it best: “Oh come now, it’s been a gripping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It’s got it all.” *mic drop by buddy H*
From the moment Answers started playing until the very end of *that cutscene*, I was goosebumps all over and cried at every line she spoke.
Makes me almost cry just thinking about it. They really outdid themselves.
The additional meaning they gave the song is insane.
Best cut-scene in any game I've played.
Oh yes, definitely the best cutscene in the best area of the expansion, this is what Endwalker will be remembered for.
Yep, I tear up just thinking about it
The "Greetings, can you hear us" gave me goosebumps from the sheer HORROR of that scene. I was literally petrified during that entire scene.
Now I want to see a pure horror game by Yoshi P
FFXVI is by yoship and i think will have a higher rating than FFXIV. so who knows!
Also the Tesleen scene is apparently a TONED DOWN version from the original they had to scrap
Speaking of "jumping the shark," when we actually meet a certain character in person for the first time, she literally *jumps* a shark. I think the writers knew what they were doing.
OMFG
I like that she didn’t hurt the shark. She stunned it and then when it came to its senses, she reprimanded it and sent it on its way. She’s a true gentle soul.
Oh lordy, they proceed to go into how many concepts they have for sharks. I'm just like " No kidding? You guys are into shark week too"
I'm not sure how it is with English voices, but when going on about the myriad of shark concepts he's been getting in the Japanese voiceover Hythlodaeus goes "wow, amazing! This is pointless!" which immediately reminded me of the Gravity Falls meme.
I think it was the…
Hydaelyn Kick. Like the murals in Qitana Ravel.
I really love how Endwalker retroactively made Shadowbringers better by expanding on SO MUCH. It's a true testament to the power of having an overall plan.
And SHB already my all time fav RPG story!
Elpis made me cry like a baby on the very first Cutscene in there, the whole Elpis MSQ was deep and emotional to me, bring me tears just to walk around there. I can't define how i loved that zone and not only for Story, it's OST and Design it's gorgeous, one of the most beautiful places i ever seen in a game 😭.
Same for me. To see even more what emet was fighting to bring back. It messed so much with me. I cried at the moment the doors were open. Such an experience.
Same, I love everything and everyone there.
I think it's just amazing how they captured that feel of being in a land before time, I loved it even wore the robes
Same, Elpis is absolute an beautiful fantasy area
@@williamranzani9453 “I also object to my portrayal as a megalomaniacal madman.”
Oh come now, it's been a gripping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It's got it all.
Bellular: "Your eyes go down and distract you with text boxes"
Anime Sub watchers: "I have no such weaknesses."
Edit: I was not expecting this to become so contentious. I was just trying to joke.
So true! We have trained our eyes well to see everything happening whilst reading. It's a very handy skill to have.
Aggreed. Watching subbed animes since over a decade to i dont even recognize it anymore
I just about to type that....
Gundam, macross, .... when giaint death robots are fighting, looking at the subtitles seems like an insult to the animators
Me be hearing impaired: "Amateurs!"
@@cifercero damn
Can't wait for Endwalker New Game + Gonna replay the entire story again.
Would recommend chatting with NPC's even when they don't have a questmarker on top for your next playthrough. They often have interesting insight and funny lines to say, and sometimes even bring up their worries and whatnot, especially your fellow scions. One that comes to mind is Thancred, who comments after the body-changing duty that he's *finally* not the only person to have had his body controlled by the bad guy lol, and he also expressed concerns for Ryne throughout as things grew more bleak even outside the times where he mentions so in the msq. #ThancredBestDad
I'm also excited.
Because Windows screwed me over trying to get a screenshot, and I can't watch that particular scene because it's an intermission.
I physically need a NG+ ASAP
16:00 blue carrot have a prompt which references to "Hitchhiker Guide" and later, one side quest has reference
I did find that quest lol. Think it was a flying quest if I remember right
2nd choice's reference in that sidequest is so nicely obscured too
I also feel that the end of the quest where you unlock the final zone dungeon is also a nod to The Restaurant At The Edge of the Universe.
I wonder if that will become a Beast Tribe quest?
the dolphin minion from ocean fishing description in the minion list is a huge hitchhikers reference.
A big part of how people pick up mechanics quickly is the fact that the mechanics are consistently telegraphed across most fights.
the fight design is also made to learn it. first its one mechanic with an easy pattern, then its another mechanic, then it may be a more difficult pattern and then the two mechanics are combined. a lot of fights are like that or similar to it
the beautiful thing about that trailer they released is it hid almost the entire story even though it was showing us alot of different scenes (that did in fact play out just differently). it was brilliant.
They were SO good at taking voice lines out of context. “You’ve suffered enough” is from the END of the story!! Wild
Even the two male voices after that. Everyone was convinced they were from a certain two characters, only to be completely off-base.
As far as pacing goes: I think people erroneously conflate "slow pace" with something negative. Yes, some parts of Endwalker are a bit slower. Absolutely. But that is in no way a bad thing. Quite the contrary, I'd argue. They're *intended* to be slow, and if you don't go in with the expectation of "Everything needs to move fast and be bombastic and there need to be lots of fights all the time cause this is an MMO, so why is it expecting me to read text???" (which, in the context of this game, is really kind of an idiotic mindset to have), you'll actually come to appreciate it.
depends, some parts have a lot of build up to make a good delivery, others are just doing a LOT of world building, but that doesn't mean they don't detract from the experience a bit, specially when they start to get tiring. for me the worst offender was the second trip to sharlayan, where you need to walk in circles for hours helping people with menial tasks, and its just boring and don't really help with the impact of the next cutscene at all, its basically only there to show you the new area.
Slow pace in some parts is probably hitting people worse because of the que issue and the feeling of needing to get the MSQ done while you're in the game.
Everyone already has a big rush when a new expansion comes out and having the que lingering in the back of your head while you play probably makes you feel like the slow bits of EW are just there to waste your time.
I think "slow" isn't necessarily the right word. I love slow quiet moments. For me, the parts that dragged on was everything to do with the Lopporits. I do not enjoy them as characters, and while there are some cute parts, their absolute cluelessness and the game trying to play it off as amusing and cute, rather than sitting them down and having a real heart-to-heart talk really bugged me. It's the same reason I can't stand sitcoms where the plot could've been resolved by communicating, and somehow playing that off as funny rather than tragic.
You can have fast paced and still read textboxes. The slow paced parts aren't seen as negative because of reading or lack of action. Although for what bellular has played, all the slow paced parts have had purpose and contribute to the conclusions so they're good anyway. There is a bit later on though that barely served a purpose.
The only part that felt wholly unnecessary was the Hamsa hatchery. We could have been introduced to Varshahn at any other location on the map. The Hamsa hatchery provides no lore value in itself, other than "haha Thavnarians ride these birds instead of chocobos" and the scene that occurred there with Estinien could have taken place anywhere else, too. For all other parts of the early Thavnair story, each little locale and its quests had some kind of payoff later on - the Great Work, even trying to help the young Matanga kid with his fishing sales ended up having payoff later in the story due to his former buyer being the start of the Final Days. But the hatchery just felt... pointless.
19:09 that scene,. How Vrtra saves his people and literally is hope incarnate to drive the shadows away.. that was just amazing storytelling.
Even we couldn't guarantee to save the babe and he saves his people and the babe.. and ofc being a dragon even talks to the baby.. just.. amazing.. I absolutely loved that.
I was screaming at the screen the whole time during that cutscene:
''DON'T YOU OR THE CHILD DIE! I FORBID YOU!'
@@jakobtarrasericsson4295 ikr! I was like don't you dare die Matsya, don't you dare!
I've never cared for an NPC that had barely a few hours of screen time more than I did with Matsya and Nidhana. And that scene with the baby would've surely ripped a hole in my heart had they not made it.
The Loporitts really did remind me of Hitchhiker's Guide. Especially when when they were so nonchalant about our world ending. Also the connection with cute creatures being incredibly smart (mice).
They most certainly had Hitchhikers Guide on their mind somewhere as there are quite a few references sprinkled throughout. Most notably you can answer 42 to a question regarding the meaning of life in a Aether current side quest. But also in the post game a somewhat more subtle, but also infinitely more enjoyable one is present in one of the quests after a post game dungeon.
when someone beat Shadowbringers: "Man, that was intense."
People in EW Zone 1: "Oh you sweet, summer child."
People finishing EW Zone 2, to Zone 1 players: "Oh, you sweet summer child".
People finishing EW Zone 3, to Zone 2 Players: "Oh, you sweet summer child"
People finishing EW Zone 4, to Zone 3 Players: "Sigh...."
People finishing EW Zone 5, to Zone 4 Players: "Yeah..... I..... I don't know....."
People finishing EW Zone 6: They say nothing, they just.... breathe, staring off into the middle distance. They attempt to return to the Starter cities, but.... it's just not the same now, and they know that they no longer belong in this place. Even the merriment of Starlight, and the banter of Limsa doesn't truly reach them, for they have seen the End, and carry it with them.
I don't want to spoiler obviously, but I don't feel like the ending made me a broken human being that can't see the point of it all anymore lol. If anything, it filled me with hope for new adventures xD.
TBH, looking back at Shadowbringers now, I love how Endwalker tied into that, especially the end of Shadowbringers. This was by far the most amazing story i have played in a game and it isn't even done yet
I loved ShB but EW is much better which I didn’t find possible
TBH, I like both of them but ShB wins in another way that it can almost be a separate game, to get the full enjoyment of EW you must really love the rest of the story.
EW feels like an extension of ShB because of the ascian stuff. More so than ShB and StB or StB and HW. Literally everyone important in ShB is still important in EW.
I really wonder how 6.1-6.3 will ramp up given the current status of the main cast... since traditionally those patches just keeps on the current story(while .4-5 sets up the next chapter). Perhaps considering It's the end of a arc, we might get multiple patches of setup going into the next arc... I don't want to speculate too much on things, but even if Endwalker crushed me at the end, I sure as heck are looking forward to the next arc.
@@bigfoxki True
The unanimous reaction from my friend group was, we expected zone 4 to be zone 6, we had no idea what zone 5 could possibly be, and once we saw zone 5, all bets were off for what zone 6 could be. The details we thought were important only seemed that way because they were the part we knew ahead. The mystery runs so much deeper than what we were given in the trailer.
I thought that 4 would be 5, and 6 would be traveling into a secret area inside 4. Very glad to be proven wrong
They have always kept the last zone completely secret. We were shown art of zones 4 and 5 in the live letters.
@@eredkaiser there was a shot of wol in the release trailer in zone 6 where he's holding the azem stone in his hand, with the stars in the background. of course it was generic enough that no one could possibly have guessed it was from the last zone
Man, I've watched your videos for a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen you this happy doing a deep dive on a game. It's really amazing what a wonderful experience you can get from a team that has such a reverence and love for their own creation.
From one old wow nerd to another, I hope this keeps bringing you joy.
And its good to watch his videos that from his experience rather than heard from Matt. His voice his expression his enjoyment his excitement are all totolly on different degree.
To quote Soken and Koji, "To begin we first must see the end".
OHHHHHHHHH
Endwalker's story is a modern version of a crazy over the top 90s SNES style JRPG story. And it cannot be executed better.
This is exactly what I thought
I especially enjoyed your comments around 24:20 about spoiling the end. I’m one of those people who generally isn’t bothered by spoilers because I often find I enjoy seeing how we get to the twist (set up, payoff, etc.) as much as the twist itself. I call it “reading from the back of the book to the front.”
The one thing I’ve liked is the fact that many of these ex-WoW content creators are so invested in the lore of FFXIV.
They have been starved for lore since WotLK
@@Zieg_Games starved? nah... they just had to buy the books to understand
Yeah I completed Endwalker in 4 days and honestly thought I needed every single second of downtime because the high tension times in that story are just so damn impactful :P So people who wanna get rid of the filler just make no sense to me haha. And yes that first trial I also thought like: WAIT, ALREADY!?!?
You REALLY should do all the side quests in zone 5 at the same time as the MSQ, the amount of backstory is enormous. I'm amazed in general by how good the FF14 community is at doing encounters compared to WoW. Turns out if you force people to learn they do.
No idea wtf you are talking about. Trials in FFXIV are a joke. They are not punishing what so ever, and if you think so you are just really shit at this game.
@@shanegrayson7068 Often times, most of the fun comes in progging so I dunno why you didn't factor that in
@@shanegrayson7068 Wah wah wah "me ElItE" Wah wah wah. Thanks for the salt.
@@ovum Progging is usually seen with Extreme, Savage, and Ultimate fights, not Normal. It's like 1 in 100 when you don't clear a Normal Trial with a one shot. They are idiot-proof fights.
@@pluna3382 It's not about being elite. You literally need to be huffing paint or mid lobotomy to fail Normal Trials.
God the energy you have here, the fun you are having just telling this story... so jealous. I have a sub to FinalF. but I couldn't get into it will the server issues. So happy that everyone is enjoying their time in this very magical world.
This time around, music played during sad parts destroyed me. The song Flow is also an exceptional music to listen to. And also we cannot forget the song "Answer". It has been 8 years since the song was created. And we finally understand the meaning of it. That in itself boggled my mind. That's something that no MMORPG has ever done.
I can't do the final story dungeon... 😥
Everytime the song starts i get teared up so I find it a nightmare to pay attention while healing.😢
This so much. I made the mistake of listening to Flow on the way home from work and I had to stop listening before people gave me weird looks from crying.
I love how many times they, both directly and indirectly, drop lyrics from Answers in their dialogues. It was driving me insane.
I think Answers is older than that. Wasn't it the first song to play in 1.0 as the legacy player character reaches Eorzea?
18:00 - Yea, especially when you try to figure out what's going on and certain prick refuses to tell you what's up until you move some boxes of junk around. I would love to have a Mass Effect renegade button during that scene.
I'm 99.9% sure that Hitchhikers Guide was a major influence to the piece you mentioned. One of the NPCs even provides the question "What is the meaning of life", with the only appropriate answer, of course.
@19:00 Time-stamping to avoid spoilers for people reading comments, but man I was so afraid for the minor characters at this point. It's strange because you usually don't pay too much attention to characters like these, but they really did a good job getting you to be afraid and fear for them the way you would more major characters. Spoilers follow though.
That sense of relief when the ones we were focusing on the most survived, that elephant lad and that baby...man lol. Good guy Estinien.
So he has not done the second trial yet. I’m really curious what his reaction is going to be.
Yeah! And especially the last zone! I really wanna see him when he gets there!
@@anikaw.718 Yeah lmao Endwalker really instills the existential crisis into you, doesnt it.
especially the last zones with the EA, etc.
@@bjni Oh definitely! Endwalker took me apart and put me back together a couple of times lol
I had mistakenly thought the second trial was at 87 (since Lakshmi was 67), and was really confused by the stuff he was saying xD had to look up when the second trial was again and that made me felt dumb
All you need to do is put 2 and 2 together. It is really not that hard. I swear this player base really likes making a mountain out of a mole hill with shit.
Speaking of Douglas Adams, depending on one of your choices in zone 4 on which food to eat, there's a reference to transcending your mind and being left with the thought of 42.
There is another reference after one of the optional dungeons too
in the last zone,there is a sidequest where an npc asks you what's the meaning of the universe, and if you respond "42" like in hitchhikers guide to the galaxy,he tells you that you are very cultured
One of the other responses for that quest is a reference to Three Body Problem book
this guy freaking out over the starting zones and first trial, i hope he has a fresh pair of pants on standby for that lvl 89 dungeon and the final trial
I beat 6.0 last weekend and loved every second of it. It's one of the best stories in games, asking some seriously deep philosophical questions and giving its players some serious food for thought. All on top of delivering a very satisfying conclusion to the story since at least 2.0 (I never played 1.0, so I don't know if it really wraps up anything there) and still making me excited for the future.
SPOILER STUFF:
I loved the change in the tone and focus of the story on the moon after Zodiark. I didn't expect it, but the Loporrits and the moon habitat let me have time to process what had just happened with Zodiark, and think about where it's going after that. And then it was genuinely funny and cute at parts. Too bad Michael didn't pick the "humm humm hummmm" option in that bit shown in the video!
I got so hyped up when you "first" meet Hythlodaeus in Elpis, and he says "Hello, my new friend." He always greeted you with "Hello, my new old friend" in Amaurot, and at least for me, Hythlodaeus always stood out to me as this interesting guy who raised some questions for me. "Hello, my new friend" is just removing one word but giving SO MUCH CONTEXT for what he said in Amaurot, and paying off so well. Meteion and Hermes are fantastic villains, too. And then on top of that, they let you do the 87 dungeon with Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, and Venat as your trust allies? God, the love they show for the story and the players is incredible.
Then that amazing cutscene at the end of Elpis, where you see Venat's life in Amaurot and dealing with the Final Days in the unsundered world, how it recontextualizes the lyrics to Answers, how it shows why Emet-Selch had that sudden realization about your past in Amaurot at the end of 5.0. It's incredible storytelling, so much better than what I'm used to in games.
I don't even want to talk about what comes after, because Michael's spoilers end before getting to the last couple dungeons and trials, and the final zone, and it's too good to even accidentally spoil for someone.
Hard disagree on Hermes. Hermes is a stupid guy that favors his ideals instead of the lives of his fellow men. Meteion is his first victim. He could've chosen a more logical path that is stopping Meteion which at least provide the Ancients with a better chance at stopping the Final Days, and so would give us a better chance too should they fail, but no, he had to play god with the lives of his fellow men. And because of his stupidity, tragedies of almost ten thousand years happened. Disappointing from the dev that brought us Shadowbringer
Nothing to wrap up from 1.0. The conclusion of 1.0 was the intro cinematic of 2.0 where Bahamut wreaks havoc on the planet.
@@tjongdavid1921 well it seems like the Ancient traits tbh, being stupid when they're supposed to be smart. Hermes is being stupid and I want to punch his face at that dungeon. The Ascian also ready to sacrifice all of the Shards and Source if it is to revive the people of Amaurot as well, thinking that we're lesser than them. They seem to be a race that just can't accept that suffering exist for a reason and face it. I swear even the writer think that Ancients are dumb and write them to be dumb.
@@HadeaRin The Ancients are written like children who are sheltered to be honest. They are highly intelligent but extremely naive. But eventually you have to grow up and face the real world. However, having grown up with a lot of people who were sheltered as a child reality hit hard and the Ancients chose to try and stay in their blissful dream rather than face the truth. They were so desperate to return to their paradise that they would have sacrificed themselves to oblivion if Venat had not sundered them. Whether it was Meteion or something else they were always doomed to fall at some point.
@@NatCr3w Ooooh!!! Yes, yes, that is the words I've been looking for!! Sheltered, yes, the Ancients are totally best described as that.
Did you notice when the moon rabbits talk about calculations, the answer is, of course, 42.
Honestly, I felt the pacing was spot on. It was like the ebb and flow of a tide to me, fast and intense bits, slow and chilled bits to allow you to relax, take in and process everything so far then up the pace again. This is meant to be the absolute grand finale, the curtain call to 10 years of story that the entirety of previous expansions have been building up to. Need a bit of both to get that ultimate flavour and experience. The rabbits are absolute god tier btw, some of the best patter in the game comes from them alone in this expansion :'D
I think the only one part I might’ve changed…when certain folks go missing for certain good causes, they should’ve had an extended period of you progressing the story on your own, no one around. To really push the loneliness, but also the determination of yourself to accomplish the task.
But at the same time, those actions were necessary to proceed to the next part anyway…so maybe the way it was done was the best way.
SPOILERS
Quick correction. And maybe I just misunderstood based on how you explained it but Fandaniel already, at this point, explicitly explained he is Amon and while infused with Hermes's memories he never felt nor acted as if they were his own. Not to mention Hermes's memories of what really happened with Meteion were wiped so while we don't know the details one could argue the true memories of Meteion never even passed down to Amon.
Amon's personal nihilism is born from his history as Amon with the Allagan Emperor Xande. While he is a sundered shard of Hermes, this isn't a direct character progression of Hermes > Current Day Fandaniel. They are explicitly two very separate characters.
I find a lot of people take the Final Days cutscene way too literally. It was supposed to be a metaphorical journey through them followed by Venat (now Hydalaen) walking with us through history, constantly moving forward despite the pain and walking with us to the end like she promised. But some people seem to need everything spelled out to them.
They were complaining about her becoming Hydalaen on her own, for example, but we know from ShB that's not what happened. The whole "I sunder us" scene wasn't meant to be taken literally.
sorry no, maybe the stuff with the black sky as she's walking and really beat up is kind of like what you're saying -- the "i sunder us" part is not a metaphor, lol
@@obj-g1732 Except we know that's not when she sundered the worlds. In ShB we know there was a group who was helping her and we know that there was a battle between Hydalaen and Zodiark that lead to the Sundering. She didn't do it solo right then and there.
@@KLGChaos isnt that just what emet said? he didnt really know the real truth until he died.
@@jaqenart2653 He didn't know the truth of what happened in elpis, but he was there on the final days and remembers that.
How can you conclude that it "shouldn't be taken literally" when we witnessed it from a crystal of time? All of the crystals previously shown the exact same moment a certain event happened. We also experienced the exact history of Elpis through that crystal
You speaking of creating a playerbase that intuitively understands mechanics made me remember a feeling I had while playing through Endwalker. A feeling of "wow, is this really this easy, or have I just learned how this game works?" as I went through the dungeons, and being able to predict (to a lesser extent) the mechanics of trials. For the most part, this game uses the same markers and the same visuals to tell the players what's happening, and only in certain aspects does it throw a wrench into the gears to make things unique mechanically. Time stopping or the arena rotating, etc. The game trains you to not need a DBM equivalent, and it's great.
Eplis was a complete surprise when I got there and I was just delighted. I wore the glamour, I did all the sidequests, I wanted to absorb everything.
Then I'm interested in hearing your thoguhts on the ending, because frankly, I need help.
This is a SPOILER timestamp:
15:45 Bellular, PLEASE tell me you ate the blue carrot. There’s a straight up reference to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in there.
And there is few more later on.
Funny thing, Amon keeps saying that he lived as himself and his decisions were his own, despite he having Hermes' memories, yet his choices were verily consistent with Hermes' own choices.
He was very similar, as Amon he was sickened by the indolent, cruel Allagans.
What I thought was him accessing Hermes' lost memories from Kairos and not realizing they were his memories and not Amon's ideas, like excluding the week Kairos erased Hermes is thought of as a pure and good character hence 'Amon' thinks he would hate what he had become but instead he became what Hermes was heading towards with the Meteion 'corruption'.
i don't remember who discusses this (probably Urianger or G'raha, maybe someone in Elpis) but they question whether sundered souls have similar personalities and inclinations as their original. specifically stating the 'color' of the soul is still reflected in the sundered beings, like how you are constantly mentioned to be very similar in personality to Azem
Eh, not exactly 1:1 though. Reminder that Hermes’ choice was to see Meteion’s answer through to its fruition whilst doing his best to find a way to come to his own answer combatting Meteion’s. It’s part of the reason why he included himself into the memory wipe scenario, as deep down he still had some hope that there could be a better conclusion.
(Maybe minor spoilers here if not past the 89 dungeon, honestly forgot where exactly this next bit shows up but it’s still a pretty natural conclusion you can make from the post-Zodiark scenes.)
Amon on the other hand dove straight into the nihility, partially being influenced by his memory (or rather lack thereof) of the final days and Elpis ingrained on his soul and manifesting as fever dreams, and being influenced by Xande’s ruminations about how all the effort he made at the height of Allag eventually came to naught with his legacy basically becoming a shadow of its former self, and thus overall coming to a similar conclusion to that of the civilizations that influenced and corrupted the Meteions.
I'm actually on board with the idea that knowing where something goes and how it got there helps to make an experience better. For example, both Dune and the newest Spider-man were more enjoyable experiences upon a second viewing than they were on the first (and they were good on the first too, don't get me wrong) because you weren't waiting to see where things were going so much as seeing how they got there. It creates a better impression of the smaller details along the way, and it's part of the fun of listening to and engaging in conversation around Endwalker's story, as we find these little details that are so much fun. Especially, for my interests, on the end that there's a huge amount of extremely clever classical literature references among the Ancients that are just great!
"The next two levels are about to be madness" he had NO idea.
Oh me, oh my... (A spoon swirls in a cup full of tea) My sweet summer child... You know so much already, and yet knowledge is what you lack...
In all seriousness, you're theory crafting so hard and it's super fun to see, but you'll soon see what wrong asumptions you made and where things differ from what you think will happen. I can't wait for your opinion on it.
Just a quick note for a future: every expansion has 6 zones and the last one is always a secret. They showed 4 and one drawing at the fanfest so everyone knew that the Moon won't be the last 😀
19:51 - "Twins must be protected at all costs." - Don't worry. Writers got that covered.
Its hard for me to compare endwalker to the other expansions.
The other expansions felt more like an adventure. This one is about the Beginning and the End of the saga, which happens to revolve around the universe itself, the final days, the first gods, etc.
In terms of an adventure im not sure i like this more than Heavensward or Shadowbringers. But this one sure does explain pretty much everything, and also gives screen to everything you wanted to see. Meeting the ancients, sparring with venat, the zodiark trial, the dungeons sure are great, the scions and allies have good moments on screen..
In terms of production i gotta say this is probably the best thing i've played.
The pacing is 100% fine. It's a fantastic end to an epic saga. The way the wrap up all the threads and even make things that seemed kinda randomly thrown into the story in previous expansions more meaningful is just great.
Yeah idk why people think that every plot thread was going to be wrapped up in a high speed, fast paced sort of way :s.
Enters trial 1: Hell yeah LETS GO.
I'm 83.
Wait I'm 83?!
Also 14 has done 2 successful time travel stories.
The Crystal Tower was a six barrel Chekhov's gun sitting on the wall. And they fired all of the barrels.
Best way to play MSQ is with Nameplates turned off unless in battle, and having chat on the "Events" tab. Turns into a SP game.
Zone 5 has me convinced that Blizzard have an insider in SE. Like there is no way they suddenly start marketing 9.2 as the end of the story arc and make a zone where primordial forms of existing creatures are created. Like there are just too many coincidences
The feel and aesthetic of the zone is even similar xD
Reminds me of Microsoft rushing the first Windows out the door after seeing the first GUI Macintosh behind closed doors.
Eh, it's not that outlandish of an idea to include at the end of a story with a lot of cosmic and creation myth lore.
Its funny how he talks about hitchhikers guide at 16:00 because later on there is a dialogue about the meaning of life that gives the player the choice to choose 42 as an answer
People complaining about Endwalker being slow don't remember the slow parts of Shadowbringers. Like Il Mheg, or Raktika, or the second trips through Amn Araeng or Kholusia.
Its the same with heavensward too, people have been hyping the two expansions so much for years all the details get washed away. But frankly you need the "slow bits" for the crazy bits to feel impactful and settle.
"People complaining about Endwalker being slow don't remember the slow parts of Shadowbringers. Like Il Mheg, or Raktika, or the second trips through Amn Araeng or Kholusia."
A writer can get away with "slow" if the characters are interesting. I found the characters in Shadowbringer's zones to be far more interesting than their Endwalker counterparts.
@@onlylettersand0to9 Respectfully disagree. I found every character, even the minor ones like Matsya and Jullus, compelling and interesting and I grew very attached to them thanks to the slow parts. And the moments in Labyrinthos that everyone hates, I loved because so many loose ends related to the Scions we've been accompanying were tied up and reinforced. The ending would not have had the impact without the moments of character-driven levity.
Trolleybringers unite! :D
@@onlylettersand0to9 You dont like Matsya? Nidhana? Jullus? Quintus? Hythlodaues? Livingway? Venat? Random Thavanir villagers? Eas? Omicrons? Dragons? Even literally all the NPCs in Garlemald were good, not to mention the Grand Companies Of Eorzea who we have known since ARR
I share your feelings!
I just hit max level today and have had tears in my eyes for most of the day as I played. Still no idea where its going to go. What an emotional story
Just finished Endwalker last night. Omfg best expansion so far. Never have i played a game that has so many heartfelt and wholesome moments. At one point actually shed a tear (later in the content). The writing in this game is just phenomenal. Cannot wait for you to finish. I couldnt have predicted what would have happened at the end.
I cant wait your spoiler discussion with Matt later on, I dont mind if it going to be a few hours podcast, just love to hear it.
I recommend doing the level 89 dungeon with the trusts. I believe the dialog changes depending on who you take with you.
Only the dialogue from the Trust members themselves. I don't believe any of the other dialogue changes.
@@HanabiraKage Well yeah i'm sure that's they meant.
The one scene where she asks you the question Hit me so deep and I think it hits all of us who have been here longer even deeper. It was unexpected. It's one simple question and it's probably one of the most important questions.
I went into this game with as low expectation as possible. I also expected this game to stab me in the heart repeatedly and take away everyone I love. I didn't expect to smile so much. And how gently this game shepherd me through the extreme dark.
man bellular, you are so good at predicting the story. It is absolutely 100% right. Do not think any further. Though seriously, good analysis and thoughts, and matt is probably even more red than ever.
24:00 is exactly why being spoiled never bothered me in the slightest as I still fully enjoy the journey. It makes me more curious to see the events leading up to it and how it turns out the way it does
I slightly agree but the shock of a great scene is more worth while. Garlemand made me cry like a baby, I don’t think it would have happened if I knew
for me it doesnt even matter to think it about that, because the objective wasnt to know how everything started but to know how we could stop it in this case knowing the "end" was but a path to an actual conclusion
@@Irisfantasies I mean it isn't the big reveal really that gets ruined, it's all the stuff leading up to it. You tend to figure shit out much quicker when you know the end.
I finished the msq a week ago or so and it's absolutely insane! I loved it so much!
I love hearing your opinions about it but since you didn't mention the lvl 87 trust options. I knew I HAD to do that with trusts the first time and it did not disappoint. I highly recommend it even if you don't use trusts often
I love doing new dungeons when they are first released. Everyone understands we're doing it blind and there is no animosity when someone screws up.
Eh, that’s true in a general sense, but there’s definitely exceptions to the rule. Lol
I ran a dungeon with a healer who failed the same mechanic eight times in a row and kept dying no matter how much we tried to explain it to him. Our party… definitely was beginning to build some animosity there.
But I agree with the sentiment. It’s just fun going through something that we’re all experiencing together for the first time, and it definitely has a very different feel than usual and really hightens the community aspect. I fought the first trial with a group of entire first timers, which I’d never done before, and it was so much fun as we all worked together piecing together why we messed up or how to better get through a section some of us were having issues with. There’s nothing quite like that feeling.
@@Zakemaster I had the same experience when trying to get the minion from the final MSQ dungeon, which still hasn't shown up once. If I weren't playing SMN, we never would have gotten through it, because the healer died to basically everything they could on the bosses.
@@Boyzby I feel you there. I've sold 12 copies of the music, still no minion drop.
@@Zakemaster That is why your want a RDM or SMN for any new content. And then there is vote kick when all else fails.
you can tell how much fun your having in your tone, glad your having fun man!
Can't wait for your reaction on the last zone/map and the quests leading to the final MSQ trial ☺️
And the second trial. He hasn't gotten to it yet!
So much of his questions near the end are answered with the always best answer: Just keep playing.
@10:15 The counterbalance in high difficulty content is that dps checks are TIGHT. They're fair, they're well tuned, non-meta comps without 100% BIS have gotten world first in brutally hard raid tiers like E8S because the determining factor is that people play well, execute well, don't die, etc. The damage penalty for death is enough to make/break a clear at [some dps check] when hard raids are fresh. You might res spam and buy a minute or two to learn and practice, but something's gonna wipe you for shorting it on dps.
One or two World First Ultimates were cleared by Pet+DOT damage while all 8 players were incapacitated for the fancy enrage animation. WoW's balance is SO off base that they could never do that. They barely even test most of Mythic at all, relying on the WF racers to beta test the encounters live really, and it's mostly a factor of nerfing/fixing the encounter enough from the live pulls to be barely clearable with good RNG.
I love watching your reactions Michael. I can almost picture your brains being blown out by the finale... ENJOY EVERY SECOND OF IT!
That final Venat cutscene is more true to the promise of Shadowbringer than Shadowbringer itself was, it owns.
18:08 - The design is great. What a shame Y'shtola can't see them.
He's not ready for the next part, and the feelz. The best part of the last zone, was that chat was going thru it with me, at the same time, and we shared our experiences. Thanks chat, you made me able to do that final push.
@8:35 That was my Trial 1 experience. There's some adjustments to figuring out the patterns for how very typical mechanics go, then we all died to the intermission because it did require a fair bit more camera adjustment than usual, then we cleared 2nd pull.
I've said this before and stand by it, the way FF14 handles battle resses is MUCH better for being able to challenge players even in casual content. Even in Mythic Raiding in WoW, it's just very limited in how difficult they can make anything to execute. And they mostly rely on overtuning and excessive RNG to pad clear times since 95% of the mechanics need to be trivial to execute on their face.
The content is more satisfying to progress and clear, and even lower difficulty content carries with it the same satisfaction because the game is allowed to just straight up kill you repeatedly even on a low difficulty. You have to learn and engage, not just ignore everything and target dummy the boss.
"I'm level 83..."
Then what you doing here man! Go! Play endwalker :) you do not want this story spoiled for you.
"im in danger"
@@coltiskool Oh I was alluding to certain events that occur at level 83 in the MSQ
For your note of Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, pay attention to some little quest dialogue or random dialogue from non quest giving npc's. Theres actually A LOT of direct reference to that movie
@Bellular When you get ressed you are immune to all dmg and most mechs for 5 seconds as long as you don't use any skill(not even sprint), you are allowed to move around. There, now you won't die again right after being ressed, hf! :)
last area and that last dungeon made the entire expansion for me, such a masterpiece and sets up perfectly for the future of the series I get chills just thinking about it lmao 11/10 without a doubt flawless masterpiece
Thancred: "This is Thancred"
Ff14 has literally brought me to tears with such an emotionally well written story from beginning to end. The last time that pos WoW did that was tears of relief when I cancelled many years ago. Wow was written for boys and girls, this story has all the complexities of a well written adult novel. They have me for as long as the game is in operation.
Gonna say it:
Endwalker feels like the final disc of a Final Fantasy game from the PS era.
And it’s amazing!
Funny about your tip with hiding the text boxes. I generally prefer to have them on, because it helps me not miss important bits. I end up using captions for just about everything (movies, shows, games). After a while, you stop noticing them entirely (and you stop noticing that you are reading them) and just end up enjoying the content. Granted, this is likely not an issue for those with good hearing. :)
I was so surprised over how loooooong this story was. I thought the ending was close so many times. Game is a 10/10 for me, story is amazing.
no kidding. this honestly felt like it could have been enough story to make it all the way to 6.3 if they wanted.
He thinks he's seen the real shocking and hard hitting part of the story...oh you sweet summer child.
Yeah I'm waiting for the next video to know his reaction(s).
The Scooby Gang bit is the best part of this expansion.
The last three videos have had the smoothest ad transitions I've ever seen. What a pro
A very important thing a lot of people forget is that after respawning you have res immunity. With LB3 it is less, but normal res gives you 5-6 seconds of immunity as long as you do not press any spell/skill (sprint included). Make sure to use that to your advantage and you will not die instantly in content.
it's technically the same with LB3, but the animation is longer and eats it all :P
I went back and listened to answers again after watching that entire scene. The scene broke me a bit already, but then I went back and listened to the lyrics of answers. And you hear the laments in the pain in her voice and once I realized that this is venat herself lamenting for what she had done regretting wandering for years upon years if she made the right choice praying that something will come out of this praying that there will be a light of hope at the end of this tunnel, carrying on beaten and battered, to the point of unrecognizability, and seeing the pain that people had gone through for years upon years, and realizing that we are living this pain, I just lost it and bawled like a baby
You are actually immune for 5 seconds after being resurrected. It's a buff called Transcendent, it even prevents knockback mechanics from killing you iirc. (edit: wasn't sure abt the knockback thing hence I wrote "iirc" but it seems it doesn't)
BUT, it goes away as soon as you use any action (moving does not remove it). So an optimal way to use a rez is to keep the transcendent effect to re-orient yourself and keep it as long as you need to survive the current mechanic, then start attacking when you're safe.
Prevents dmg from the knockback yes but it wont prevent the knockback from knocking you off the platform or being run off the platform by a train. 🚂💨
Yeah about the KB thing...
I've seen people get knocked out of the arena in Paradigm's Breach because they rezzed in front of a train.
Also, Transcendent also only works in most fights. If you have ever done UWU before, you'd see that if you rezzed into a phase transition, you will die.
@@jericm151 I think it's treated practically the same as a tank invul. Invuls can't let you survive enrages for instance.
And regarding the knockback thing I wasn't completely sure about it but if I had to guess it's prolly cuz they just decided it's better to slap Hallowed Ground's code on it lol. Would've been nice if it prevented that but oh well.
@@Zendelxex I'm prolly wrong I suppose. I had just done doing the extreme version of the 1st endwalker trial you see, and it has a strong knockback aoe that I was rezzed into at one point. The rez animation probably ended right after the aoe snapshotted everyone's positions so it didn't affect me I'm guessing.
The only things it doesn't work against are instant kill aoe puddles and enrage.
15:55: there's even more hitchhikers guide references at the end of the... Not moon side level 90 dungeon
I keep the subtitles on because I use JP voices, I really don't have any issues with just glancing down to read and watching it play out.
Me too man, the JP voice acting is sooooo good
For the Thavnair region, the JP voice direction was a miss for me, not because it was bad, but they sound like typical Japanese. Probably could've used a regional accent instead of the standard Tokyoite one.
The EN ver on the other hand was spot on with the flavour.
And it was just weird hearing Matsya's super young voice in Japanese after hearing him in English.
@@Eiensakura this is the general issue with the jp va, it's fantastic and super high quality but the characterization is not nearly as strong. The faeries from the first had the same issue all sounding like your average anime schoolgirls
Bellular, look up the lyrics of Answers (the song that plays in the End of an Era/Flames of Truth cinematics).
First time playing ff14 at an expansion launch and I loooved doing the trials blind. Cuz everyone is going blind! First trial we were down to 3 minutes on our timer. It was a blast learning the mechanics with everyone and just being so pumped up
I didn't expect the moon to be the final zone because they made such a big deal of it in the marketing and live letters. The last zone is usually kept secret for spoiler reasons, and the fact that they were only willing to show us the concept art of the second-to-last suggested that the story was going to take a very unexpected turn near the end. That said, I definitely didn't expect to be fighting Zodiark at level 84. That was definitely a surreal moment.
Coming from ffxiv, I was blown away with how disastrous LFR raids went. The constant wiping to simple mechanics and all the dropouts were insane.
26:38 do you even know what happened there? At that point she already was Hydaelin! (this cutscene was the sundering of Eitherys into the Source and its Reflections)
Trial 1 boss always struck me as a pot device to drive characters forward anyway, no real depth to it really. So I loved how it was so easily scrapped so early on in the story; it's both shocking yet not at all disappointing, because I'd never cared about Trial 1 guy to any real level. So, I thought creating such a surprise twist was the perfect finale for it.
You functionally already killed him back in 5.3, what was left was a shambling corpse directed by a man driven insane by his grief and despair