I absolutely loved the sheer confidence that Zenos has in you. He took one glance at a literal Anti-Spiral and deemed it beneath your power immediately. Zenos was a total Frieza till the end.
"Why's it not dead? Smh man, You've done so much shit and you're crumbling in front of Despair? Wdym I don't believe that now let's go get rid of it" It's ironic that of everyone at the end there, the only two that really believed we could do it alone were Emet Selch and Zenos lmao
That final fight against Zenos was actually hinted fairly early, back when the contingent was formed. If the Wol talks to Cirina then she mentions that her grandmother had a vision of two figures fighting among the stars and one of them was the Wol. At first I thought that was just something random but then it turned out to be very literal.
The thing is, her grandmother always gets vision hinting at later events through the games. She will always hint at later patches and content as they come up. You can visit them in the Steppe from time to time and she'll basically talk about her visions of what are about to happen around you.
@@sayi50ch "Cherish the stars, and the light they bring you in the dark. For you are a traveler, are you not?" -4.0 "Herein I commit the chronicle of the traveler. Shepherd to the stars in the dark." -5.3
My take on Meteion is this: I pity her. She was, basically, a child. A child born in what was effectively akin to the Garden of Eden. The worst she ever had to deal with was Hermes' existential angst, she'd never encountered any other painful things. Even death was just 'returning to the star' and was almost always by consent back then. Then she went out into space and saw other worlds with war, plague, apathy, extinction level events, and so on... with ZERO coping mechanisms that we might have. Whats more, she's an empath. She literally feels for people, everyone and anyone around her. She felt their terror, their grief, their sorrow, their fury... all without any way of dealing with it. Is it any wonder she wound up the way she did? Its like Emet-Selch said back in Elpis. The question itself was flawed. Hermes had unknowingly sent Meteion's sisters into an emotional minefield, and they stepped on every. Single. One. Even if she hadn't wound up on worlds near death or already dead, she would have found other forms of strife. Earth itself is far from perfect, can you imagine the kind of madness she'd encounter here? Good emotions yes, but bad ones are always so much louder...
The worst part is if you pay close attention, many of the worlds were largely stable (if close to the edge) before she showed up. Her showing up pushed them over the edge. And she is smart enough to probably understand that, but not able to handle that knowledge. So she not only had to handle all that emotional suffering, she had to do so with the knowledge she probably helped instigate their final demise. No wonder she came to the conclusion her role in the universe was to cause extinction.
@@uberpinkwarrior hell she literally pestered a society into suicide because she had no logic for what to do if a civilization had never even considered the question, so she just gets stuck in a loop and keeps asking it until they overthought it and settled on killing themselves to end the meaninglessness of it all.
@@AdamG3691 Well that and her natural affinity for dynamis probably didn't help. All that negative emotional energy? I'd be willing to bet Etheryis isn't the first planet she ushered in the Final Days of, intentional or not. Also, she says she 'took their souls into themselves.' So how much of the Endsinger is Meteion's sisters and how much is the ghosts of dead civilizations?
@@gamerbun866 I'd say MOST of the Endsinger is negative Dynamis, notice how Meteion, even when she's in full hivemind mode treats herself and her sisters as linked individuals, whilst the Endsinger emphasises being "we" even to the point that one of the Meteia thinks what the Endsinger is doing is excessive when as part of the hivemind she should be following its will, implying that even the Meteia are worried for what all of the memories of the dead are doing to themselves (which makes sense, they want to end the suffering of all things, but realise that being part of the Endsinger is now causing them even MORE suffering)
@@AdamG3691 That was my thought too. Endsinger was given voice and form by Meteion's sisters... but it was more the lost souls of all the worlds they visited using their bodies. She wasn't just possessed, she was fractally possessed. Possession by the ghosts of dead stars, all of them. o_o; So who ya gonna call then? :V
I absolutely love that the only reason Thancred was able to stay up and swing at Meteion was because of his STUPID DUMB PRETERNARUAL LUNG CAPACITY and it's ON PURPOSE. God damn, did that joke roll back around.
@@lunausagi8495 When thancred fought ran'jit on the first you see that he can handle fighting while under ridiculous bodily stress because his stealth techniques almost kill him
I always thought that it was because of the fact that Thancred is basically a cripple when it comes to Aether manipulation (since the Lifestream incident). So he's uniquely used operating without Aether (since Meteion was trying to drown everyone with a flood of Dynamis). But that note about the lung capacity is also very astute, I didn't think about it :D
Guide for the voices during the walk 1. "If you need a push, I'll be right there behind you." -Ardbert 2. "Do not despair! You are not without allies." -Haurchefant 3. "What we have sown in blood, we have reaped in suffering, and it cannot go on." -Merlwyb 4. "Upon the souls of they who have sacrificed themselves to pave the way for peace, we will never abandon our cause." -Aymeric 5. "While it is true that man succumbs all too often to anger and avarice, he may yet overcome his baser instincts through the forming of bonds with others." -Nanamo 6. "Such victories are rarely won without sacrifice. But the prize is worth the price." -Raubahn 7. "And we for our part our glad indeed to be able to welcome friends both old and new." -Kan-E-Senna 8. "Save your tears for the morrow; you may be sure we'll have ample cause to shed them, be they for joy or despair." -Hien 9. "From tragedy and sacrifice we rise to greet a new dawn." -Papalymo 10. "A future shaped by the choices we made, in ways we could never have foreseen." -Count Edmont 11. "Yet miracles do happen. So let us pray, and will our friends home." -Beq Lugg 12. "I won't stop praying until I know they're safe." -Ryne 13. "Strong art thou, mortal." -Midgardsormr 14. "Look to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others." -Minfilia 15. "Let's finish this." -Ardbert
Late to the party, but I think the fact they aren't named is in reference to G'raha's comments in 5.3 about forgetting the faces of those you've met on your journey. Even if you forget them, they wouldn't forget you, and their prayers are what give us strength to push on.
Your reaction to Zenos busting in was pretty much my feelings exactly! Dealing with the heaviness of that zone just to have the combatsexual bust in and start talking shit to a universe ending god of despair was amazing
For real. Man just busts through reality itself like the inter-dimensional Kool-Aid Man and calls the embodiment of despair itself weak and pathetic, asking you why you haven't killed it already. One of the most hype moments in the expansion.
the fist fight with zenos at the end is probably the most anime thing they ever did and i LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT especially if you pick the choice that you feel also the thrill of fighting
I'm so fucking happy they let me make that choice. The entire game I was shrieking at my screen. I want to be Zenos' friend not because I want to fix him and redeem him, but because I AM him. We both seek greater thrills, (and fight depression, even if his is on three whole other levels). I don't want him to be a scion, I want to clash with him til the end of time. He truly was my friend, who understood me in a way the scions never could.
My favorite headcanon on Zenos is that he’s your cutscene skipper friend. He just wants to fight, doesn’t care about the story or the characters, only shows up to help you through the story.
He's the player that buys a boost and skips cutscenes just to get to the raid content, except he's actually competent at it. With the added bonus of "elitist toxic shitfuck who goes out of their way to belittle everyone they come across bcs he a better player than them." And in you, he sees the Ultimate Raid that will finally fill the void in his heart.
@@Sacchi_Hikaru Nah, he skips all cutscenes and he doesn’t actually spend a single dime, his associates and colleagues as he calls them, give him all the Gil, special upgrades and all that other shit. He goes after the coolest weapons and is an absolute parse god.
giving the crybaby murderhobo his satisfaction is hardly what I'd call the best option, but I did enjoy that throughout this expansion they did give us plenty of dialogue options with him where we could express our utter uninterest / disdain for him.
Susano and Zenos would make such good friends. Toss in Ravanah or whatever his name was and let all rejoice in the glory of combat and revel while they're at it.
@@ShikenAegis Ravana is all about Rejoicing... in the glory of combat. As long as people are happy Susanoo's happy, at least that's how I imagine his character. So yeah, they'd probably get along really well Not to mention the fact that they're both like, 11/10 over-the-top personalities.
Out of everything in Endwalker, the part that honestly hit me the hardest was right at the end with Tataru running to the docks. Her words before we left were "And I'll be the first one to welcome you back" Her running to the dock and waiting for our landing was such a gosh I love our fearless leader moment for me.
I can't imagine how painful it must be to be a father of three daughters and watching Meteion go through all of this. I understand your feelings about Ultima Thule.
Considering that Zenos hasn't seen Drak since Stormblood: Zenos: "Come my friend, whipped out your Katana!" Drak: *Unsheathes gauntlets* Zenos: "What?" Drak: "Monk main actually"
Similar situation, faced him in Stormblood as a Warrior, became a monk in Endwalker. Zenos: Where is your axe friend? Me: Ala Mhigo wanted to say hello...
I respect your decision in that last zone, it 100% is supposed to be like that and kudos to the developers for succeeding, but it really is a very heavy subject matter and it is something that everyone deals with differently. Glad to see you enjoyed it, and I must admit I fanboyed a bit as I saw zenos durg appear, look at the boss we were about to fight and basically go "Is that it? THAT?!"
I can get behind your attitude with Ultima Thule, honestly. How a player reacts to the...everything there is oddly, but deeply personal, and it's not exactly a happy fun time. It's one thing to play through the zone and experience it, but showcasing all that to an audience can easily cross a line for some people. I love watching people's reactions to things, but this is a perfectly fair exception for anyone to make, I think.
Totally respect your feelings on the last zone, dude. As someone who deals with this kind of mental anguish on a regular basis, I can totally understand it's not a place many people wanna be.
I termed it 'DepressionLand - The Worst Theme Park in the Galaxy' Admission is 1-2 loved ones per park, the rides are all philosophical merry-go-rounds on the meaninglessness of existence, and the Food Court is sold out of everything FOREVER.
Yeah...having gone through it all...its something we all need to learn to overcome. Some deal with such dark depths more frequently than others...but everyone encounters it in some way
That whole zone was my Existential Crisis the video game. It took me two days just to clear it. In the end it was worth it, but damn if it wasn’t my emotions getting scoured. I’ve had therapy sessions that were less intense
When I first heard of the concept of Dynamis, I was like, "Huh, that sounds like LB power," and then the game confirms it for me. Oh fuck, more canon-lore stuff for *actual game mechanics* . I began to think what jobs are using Dynamis vs Aether, and I think I've broken it down. Aether: PLD GNB NIN SAM DRG RPR BLM WHM RDM MCH SMN Dynamis: DRK (basically what Darkside is, especially since its original incarnation actively drained MP, and we know Dynamis and Aether are opposing forces) WAR (Basically the concept of the Inner Beast, which can run amok if the emotions run too high. We know Dynamis can mess with a person if there's too much of it and they can't endure it) BRD (The Song of Oblivion is a plot point in the HW Job quests, and, at the end of it, you fight a bird-lady. Plus, Foe's Requiem also had the MP drain effect) DNC (I forgot that the job quests actually have you dance to relive the stress of people, and, in doing so, create beasts of negative emotion, not unlike the beasts of the Final Days) Possibly both: SCH (SCH's job skills have names like "encouraging words" and other things. Additionally, the White Mages of Amdepor had captured a Scholar and wondered how it was healing people without the use of Aether. They originally suspected it had something to do with their clothes, but it's possible that it was Dynamis.) SGE (I think SGE's use of Dynamis is minor as all of its skills are using a form of Aether, I think. However, SGE stones have a neat quirk in that they can sense the feelings of others and will actually choose those with a strong desire to help people due to the pain of loss. Additionally, the stone itself kinda looks like an Elpis Flower.) AST (AST uses Aether from beyond the stars, supposedly. However, we know that Dynamis is actually more prevalent in space than Aether is, not to mention Dynamis has weird properties. Fortune telling and fortune manipulation is probably not that farfetched of an ability it might have.) MNK: As pointed out to me in the comments, Brotherhood specially seems to be taking the energy of bonds from your party. I think chakra is Aether, but I'm also not sure about this. I'm putting it under both until I can be sure.
In the DNC quest line, there's a lot of emphasis on allaying the negative thoughts of people in distress, to the point that all that negativity takes form for solo instanced fights. Especially for the final lv 70 job quest. DNC is most definitely using dynamis.
in the omega raids omega is trying to pin point the exact power that you sometimes exhibit (LBing) which we know to be dynamis, (look up the scene where middy helps you out in the omega raids) he was very close to figuring out that it was dynamis that you can use to shall i say, break the limits
Hmm...kinda wonder what MNK would be then. I suppose it'd be mostly Aether but there are abilities like "Brotherhood" which seems to be powered by the bonds between you and your teammates.
That last part of final days was a doozy to stay alive through cause I was crying so much. And the fist fight at the end with zenos was so funny to watch as a black mage.
it was in that moment, that all Mage mains showed Zenos that they had mastered the most powerful spell of all. "Look at us! Bereft of our weapons, yet without such you cannot cast even the simplest of spells!" "No...I've got one spell left...one that nobody ever expects." *Zenos leaps forward, fist raised* "And what would _that_ be, my friend?!" "I cast *FIST!* "
@@Gamemaster-64 Well, cant be changed sadly. Animating different fight scenes for every single job would be a logistical and time consuming nightmare to say the least.
@@tatersalad76 ew its the people that litter the arena with their annoying pets. hope you know how others feel about how you are in battle (we can't turn your primal effects off, thanks)
Good times. I can understand not wanting to go through your reactions to much of Ultima Thule if it put you in a rough spot--It does it's job well, but that job causes it to resonate differently with different people. Hope we see a li'l more of Meteion here and there, even if it's just in bird form watching over us. Maybe have her take over narration for a while, now that Emet's more truly gone now? Now I'm sure you worked a good bit to edit this up in time to get it out before christmas day, so enjoy a good break spending time with your family for the holidays.
Haven't seen his reactions to that zone. But I felt that he more than likely had the reactions I had. The zone felt cheap, and disrespectful to the scions and their journey thus far. I honestly didn't feel a thing for that entire zone, and while the final fight kinda brought it home... many many of my friends felt the same way, that after hydaelyn everything just felt off. I think Endwalker ultimately did a good enough job with what it set out to do, but Ultima Thule droppped a 10/10 expansion down to a 7/10 for me. Still have had a ton of fun since, but yeah... That zone was repetitive, pointless and felt almost nagging in its desire to pull you down into despair. And I truly feel for all the people more easily influenced by media when it comes to these things, that zone must've been heavy to get through and depressive as all hell. For me it was another tuesday as I work with depressed individuals day in and day out.
Yeah, the 1.0 moments were there in the cs's. The ship to Sharlayan scene just before you woke up, the praying, the primals coming from the blinding light. Very nostalgic. Got me all excited because I was playing back then too and seeing it incorporated into EW made me happy.
Something that I saw mentioned, and I forget who said it, but the final area in the Lv. 90 dungeon was implied to be the world that broke Meteion. She even changes color from her usual blue back to black in the area.
What do you mean "finally"? Plenty of streamers love him. I would be extremely *_pleased_* to know which streamers don't, so if you have a list, I'm all for it.
@@ZekeRaiden I would like your list as well, if you would be so kind. Most of the people's reactions I have seen were from friends or tweets, but recorded reactions I have seen were from Zepla HQ and Woops.
@@King_of_Wishes Haven't seen many more responses to Endwalker itself yet, but Jesse Cox, Krojack, and Corey were all quite positive about him in SB/ShB.
going to ultima thule and being there was most favourite thing and the best thing during my whole journey in endwalker. i remember just breaking apart bit by bit every single time each scions 'sacrificed' themselves, putting their trust and faith in us. when it got to g'raha and the twins part, i just completely broke down in tears. i literally had to set my character to stand on the side and just started sobbing there for 20 minutes straight. my friends had to hear me sob so hard too 😭✋. however, that area specifically gave me so so so so much comfort and also lots of flashback. truly unspeakable on how much i could praise that area alone. can't wait to bring my alt to that area alone. forgot to add this in but the final trial is the best trial to ever exist. hands tf down. it's okay if it's not comfortable for you drak, completely understandable! i'm really happy you'd still enjoy it :D
yeah this story was fucking amazing start to end, and i picked the second option for the zenos fight, got slightyl different dialogue but id been wanting to do that since the bodysnatching bit. also ngl i was three seconds from dragging graha off at the end if they let me like "come on bro, made your ass a promise"
Both the fights with the Endsinger and Zenos... those are forever going to stand as some of my favorite final battles in gaming. This entire expansion was so incredible, and I'm proud to have been part of this journey this whole time. Can't wait to see you go through Asphodelos and how your run went, dude.
Me while playing when the flowers appeared: "happy and excited noises because we were able to fulfill the promise to Meteion that Hermes was unable to" Me watching this when the flowers appeared: "instant emotional breakdown and anguished sobbing because of how beautifully poignant the symbolism of us fulfilling the promise that Hermes couldn't is" then again, the ending of Supernatural has left me a little raw... so that might be a contributing factor to why that scene broke me this time around when it didn't the first time.
The teleporting device was a really nice example of Chekhov's gun. It's shown in a way where it's clearly going to be used eventually later on, but by the time it is you've practically forgotten about it because of the sheer emotion that's brought you to that point. Then it's paid off by having you use it to save the others but not yourself. I love it.
I personally hate it. The whole theme of the lesson is: overcome dynamis of despair by dynamis of hope. And our strength comes from friendship! Yet our "friends" don't get to be in the final fight. The enemy is just too strong for them to. So it's up to WoL and their 7 summoned people and also literal Nemesis Zenos to save the day, Scions be damned. Completely defeats the point of the theme when Endsinger didn't have to be so overwhelmingly powerful that she forced out the Scions in exchange for a Zenos spotlight. Which is what it is, Endsinger was the plot device so we can have Zenos helping the WoL because no way WoL would accept his help otherwise when they can count on the Scions. It was a Chekov's gun that I completely disagree with and is just a blatant plot device to force out the Scions again just like in Shadowbringers against the last stand against Emet-Selch when he just blasted everyone unconscious. It wouldn't feel so bad if the Endwalker story didn't preach that you do not have to suffer despair alone for your friends have your back and especially after the triumphant moment against Hydaelyn. The Scions all have anti-tempering wards now so how do we sideline them so our protagonist can have their epic "1v1 everyone is counting on you" moment? I don't know just make the enemy absurdly strong I guess.
@@lunausagi8495 Well, I don't agree but your opinion is your opinion and I'm not going to rail against it. That said, even if you don't like it as a plot device it's still a very good example of the Chekhov's gun principle in practice. Even if it didn't have the emotional impact on you that it did for others, which is entirely subjective and nobody can tell you that you're wrong for that.
@@MrMatsudi Objectively speaking regardless of how you or I feel about the final fight on an emotional level. You cannot tell me that "ditch Scions 1v1 Endsinger with Zenos and rando" falls in line with the theme of friendship overcoming hardship the story of Endwalker has been building up to. It just doesn't, and me being hyped for an Epic Showdown on Zenos dragon back isn't gonna change that objectively speaking. And I was quite hype for it all, doesn't change that it's a questionable decision for the final fight.
Full respect for not wanting to go through the final zone again, especially given how stressful this time of year can be. The writing team clearly meant it to be personally impactful, and the amount of strong reactions I've seen suggests they largely succeeded.
Just in time for Christmas! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your family, Drak! Your reactions were a treat, and it's so heartwarming to see that everyone so far has been so deeply moved by EW. It's been a long way, and having this arc end this way is everything I could have hoped for, personally. And don't worry about the Ultima Thule part, your wellbeing comes first! And I'm so happy to see that you've had so much fun with the final instance! I've been maining DRK since late SHB, but I've started out as a MNK and played most of the game as one. Seeing my WoL drop his weapon and go fist to fist with Zenos got me so pumped up and was SO cathartic I couldn't stop screaming. This expac really had a little something special for all of us, it's amazing. Looking forward to your reactions to Pandaemonium, and good luck for savage prep!
I was in a similar boat for that final scene. I played MNK in Legacy, switched to PLD in ARR but kept MNK leveled for my melee job and so the switch to punching was awesome. Even on a Lalafell, plate gloves will hurt if thrown into the face multiple times. Best of luck with whatever you run in game!
I think the main takeaway here is that Zenos is a true adherent of the Bro Code. I didn't think that was where they were going with Endwalker when it was announced, but it's where we've ended up and quite frankly I'm happy with this outcome
i just love Zenos after the last dungeon, not only does he take one look at Endsinger and sees her as below you and smile everytime you pick the first option before you fight him.
I love how everybody shares the same feeling to the final part of the Endsinger fight. It's the part of the fight that gives everybody goosebumps and is the "YOU LOSE!" moment to the boss.
I really like how honest you are about the part you didn't like and didn't want to put it in your video. it's nice to watch our favorite streamers react to the story and it's even nicer when they show us what they enjoyed most. Thank you for the great video. I really love you small animation for the ourtro... (but my favorite is still the one from ShB.
In the credits, I absolutely lost it. Especially where they thanked all the players, and again where in the credits it said (for me) The Warrior of Light: Nomfur Farredzasyn... bloody hell. As for zone 6... oh I was a hot mess in that zone. Broke me down hard. But the end message... this expansion seemed to pull off what therapy failed to significantly pull off for me. Bring me back a sense of hope. I have nothing but praise for CBU3...
Hey man just wanna say I love your stuff and as someone who thinks the last zone is probably one of the best things FF14 has ever done it's 100% fair you didn't want to experience it over and over again to make a vid from it. Still a great video and can't wait to see the NEST crew take on the raids!
I'm so happy to see Drak freaking out over Zenos busting through, it mirrored my own and it felt so good to see someone else be extremely happy to see him and be able to fight him.
It's not like enormous squeeing over Zenos is a rare thing...I'd even say _most_ streamers adore him. Woops is the only one I know of who has exactly the opposite opinion, and honestly it was incredibly refreshing to find ANYONE who doesn't like him.
I don't know about everyone else but I legit teared at phase 2 of the final fight. Time and time again we have saved our friends and in our time of need it was they who saved us. My heart had never felt so full in this game before I just couldn't help it. ALSO the fight with Zenos at the end was THE FIGHT I WANTED! I know alot of people didn't like Zenos as the final big bad evil guy and in a way he wasn't, but I never denied the desire to want to fight him again.
literally any bit where the main character is on their last legs, and literally gets pulled up by the channeled emotional support of their allies and closest friends, will never fail to make me tear up at least the first time i see it.
Yeah, that last zone can be really rough and hits pretty hard in the emotions department. I loved it, but damn, every time I listen to that theme, I feel like I'm gonna cry. This whole expansion has just been wonderful though and I look forward to the future adventures that will await us players.
Completely understandable to cut everything from Ultima Thule As someone that’s had my own little trek through nihilism/depression after the loss of my first partner, this zone fucked me the hell up, and the music becoming more clear and hopeful as you lose your friends just compounded it
Ay Drak to your reaction to the final zone was exactly my reaction to a point I got so stressed out I started disassociating trying to get through it as fast as possible, cause I struggle with depression and it was hitting me way too hard. So, saying it's completely valid to want to not show us those parts of discomfort.
I do not blame you for skipping all of the final area, it was very rough for each of those on that star and the conviction of those who paved the way for you towards the end. Heavy doesn't even begin to say it.
Watching this again made me just as emotional as the first time I experienced it. What a fantastic end to a long journey that's still not even over yet!
I just finished this up today, and Ultima Thule REALLY fucks with people. I was crying even though I knew at the end I could use the invocation Hydaelyn put on Azem's crystal to just bring them back even if mommy said "no." It was all worth it though, just as the story points out that the despair and sorrow is needed to reach even higher hope and joy. Endwalker truly is an incredible end to an incredible tale. I cannot wait to see where Square Enix takes us next! (Emet-Selch's rally speech was literally giving us a preview of things to come!)
After watching the twitch highlights, yeah, I can see why you wouldn't want to have that in a video like this. Amazing commentary in its own right, but mad respect for pulling back on putting it on your main channel. This comment isn't very well phrased, but I tried my best.
My two favorite parts is that I now have a head canon that Emet once held the seat of Azrm before needing to switch to better fulfill his role, and just everything about the throw down with Zenos.
When we were at the end credits. When I saw WARRIOR OF LIGHT - Eclaire De'wynter I cried again. They didn't have to do it, but they did. They made us part of the credits. And that just. Got me.
Out of every possible scenario I could have conceived, every plot I guessed at or theorized on... the idea that the last boss of Tower of Babil was a DUNGEON BOSS and not a TRIAL FIGHT threw me completely off. The first trial being what and who and WHEN it was threw me even further off. But at no point did I ever expect to go to the edge of reality itself riding on Zenos-turned-Shinryu's back in order to confront the end of the universe and silence the song that would undo creation. That wasn't even in my big ten of guesses.
I had Alphinaud give the command to launch the ship, and it was hilarious because he got so flustered. XD For as much as I hate Zenos, it was hilarious at how genuinely puzzled he was that the Endsinger was still alive when he showed up. Also, thanks to Emet-Selch hint-dropping, I wonder if the next expac will see us going to Meracydia (and Corvos in perhaps an upcoming patch), and those treasure areas being the new maps. Totally understand about the last zone. At the time, I was just so hyperfocused in the story and all the feelz that all of the other stuff going on just sort of went "woosh" over my head. Once I finished it all, though, and got to thinking about it...yea. I've dealt with depression all my life, so it just sort of hit like a sledgehammer of "hey, this is familiar". I both sort of love and hate that last zone; I love the music and that in the end the message was "hope in the face of despair", but the journey to get there was a rough one. I certainly don't fault you for not wanting to go through it again!
Thanks for the Christmas gift Drak, hope you have a wonderful holdiay, and i'm excited to see the upcoming vids with everyone. Thanks again for the content man!
I personally enjoyed it, but it does seem to rely on what your opinions on him and what your relationship with him is like. For Bellular Gaming, it broke his immersion to be forced into a fight since he felt it was contrary to how he viewed his character.
I guess I'm weird cause I turned walking on for that part after Alisae and Alphinaud so never realized the "Endwalker debuff" we got XD That endzone did hit hard even though I liked seeing two of the islands, the entire theme had me a bit choked up and the journey through it.
The music kicking in after your answer to Zenos and that smirk from the WoL... perfection. The action from the moment Z shows up until the final battle is over is 100% a trip straight to Hypetown and I will be glad to ride it again on my alt, sooner or later.
The final battle against Zenos is hilarious when you're a little caster Au Ra because at the end you're still down to fisticuffs. It's like my character dropped her book and went "NOPE. BEATING YOU TO DEATH WITH MY BARE HANDS NOW"
The fact that I put this on to watch on my second monitor while doing some mindnumbing gaming, and you actually refered to the loporrits engaging the Ragnarok as SENTAI made me SO much more excited. I don't know why learning that people know what Sentai is excites me so much but it does
I love all the little stuff they did this expansion to really make it feel like a traditional jrpg. Between having NPCs follow you around and you can have conversations with them and that last moment where you're forced to do the slow walk as you have the voices of all your comrades really sells the story much harder than you'd expect in an MMO
i dont get the "hate" for zenos i loved it that the WOL got a rival who did anything just to fight him i dont think that every villain needs a deep background with misunderstandings etc.
Gotta agree with the note about the last zone, I really appreciate what the team wanted to do with the last zone and how they wanted people to overcome depression, but it made it so hard to visit this zone again after I finished the msq. I don't even want to touch the side quests in there because they still brush on those same subjects.
man...... that final zone brought me to a real bad headspace too, but it made me feel insanely connected to the game. I cried so much, not little tears but crying as if someone close to me died. I felt like I suffered raw grief after finishing this area
I fully get what you mean with the final area. I have struggled with depression myself in the past. I’m pulling myself out gradually and when I got to Ultima Thule, I was more focused on the story alongside my mind making me nervously laugh to try and cope. Even to the point of trying to make me think of other things to distract me. Then the walk hit and it couldn’t do that anymore... And so, that’s when I started tearing up. I had also woken up incredibly early before work to finish the story to avoid spoilers so that’s likely another reason my mind was trying to distract me.
I'm so glad I saved watching these videos until I finished the msq myself. That Final duel is one of my most favorite moments I think in any game I've ever played. I was doing this fight as a paladin fully clad in white armor. I hid the helm before that fight. Kinda like a RP moment, as if it got destroyed during the last trial. It was so cool to see two opposites clash in an honorable duel. Just to boil to a fist fight between two warriors.
Honestly, when Moenbryda's parents gave us those teleporters, I had a feeling that we were gonna use them to get the others out of there, but we were gonna stay behind to, you know, kill the final boss. Didn't know how the scene would play out and all, but I knew it was gonna happen lol ^^;
Definately understand the feelings about the final zone. I'm not usually one for cutscene skipping, but if I do new game+, I know from my experiences through the zone that I'm going to skip every cutscene involving the Ea, because I hate that subject and the people that act like that is an inevitable thing.
I am glad to see someone else who loved Zenos and was as enthused as I was to fight him again. Though I will say this the part of the game that made me ugly cry was Zenos's final moments. He is/was my favorite character in the game and I was just utterly destroyed to lose him.
I really respect how you've felt in regards to the last zone Drak. I do as well. It hit me hard as I was going through it. It's like opening an old scab making the wound fresh again but needed to be overcomed and it did eventually :D The feeling made me somber and emotional but after all the things and the events unfold, I'm glad it did and I felt satisfied and uplifted as if I've overcome it somehow and moved on. That is the sort of exposition I get after the last zone :D
"I certainly did" - plotting something every hour of every day. Just because the known ascians might be 'gone' doesn't mean the plans they've put into motion are.
I sobbed like a small child the entire last zone. Not only because of my own issues, but because of the whole premise and the walk... THE WALK... T_T I loved and hated it. The last bit is just chef kiss.
So the Endsinger's design references both Unbound Zodiark from 12 and the first form of Zeromus from 4 which I find really neat. Also the part of your friends praying for you not only references the Answers movie but a part of the final boss from 4 as well. There's so many amazing references and callbacks to the previous games in this expansion and I'm fucking here for it. Hell the main themes of this entire expansion is basically the entire fucking poimt of Final Fantasy 9 which is my favorite with my second favorite being Final Fantasy 4 so it feels like this expansion was custom made for me
Don't forget to check out the Highlight Channel here!
ua-cam.com/channels/nCotrJrpJt-jIuBsz6DgoQ.html
I absolutely loved the sheer confidence that Zenos has in you. He took one glance at a literal Anti-Spiral and deemed it beneath your power immediately. Zenos was a total Frieza till the end.
If you go back to the scenes with hydaelyn her words also resonate strongly with zenos as well. He did the same thing but in his own way.
still some parts of me thinks he isnt dead he ones had beat death but i guess the chance he survived this time is pretty low
“Yo dude why the fucks it still living bro?”
@@dusakim either gone for good... or i he comes back, it won't be the same Zenos... it'll be the zenos that learns what friendship is all anime style.
same. just sitting there like "bruh..why haven't you kicked this things ass yet?"
I just love how Zenos doesn't doubt you for an instant. He just shows up and goes "Yo, why's it not dead yet?"
Well, he DOES know all about how we like to play with our food before we destroy it...
"Why's it not dead? Smh man, You've done so much shit and you're crumbling in front of Despair? Wdym I don't believe that now let's go get rid of it"
It's ironic that of everyone at the end there, the only two that really believed we could do it alone were Emet Selch and Zenos lmao
“I CAME FOR A 1V1 AND I GET HERE TO SEE MY FIGHT BUDDY CHEATING ON ME"
That final fight against Zenos was actually hinted fairly early, back when the contingent was formed. If the Wol talks to Cirina then she mentions that her grandmother had a vision of two figures fighting among the stars and one of them was the Wol. At first I thought that was just something random but then it turned out to be very literal.
The thing is, her grandmother always gets vision hinting at later events through the games. She will always hint at later patches and content as they come up. You can visit them in the Steppe from time to time and she'll basically talk about her visions of what are about to happen around you.
@@sayi50ch wait-seriously? good lord I never realized this. That's fantastic!
@@cameronmiyao6178 she even talks about your aether being different after the events of shadowbringers
@@sayi50ch "Cherish the stars, and the light they bring you in the dark. For you are a traveler, are you not?" -4.0
"Herein I commit the chronicle of the traveler. Shepherd to the stars in the dark." -5.3
My take on Meteion is this: I pity her.
She was, basically, a child. A child born in what was effectively akin to the Garden of Eden. The worst she ever had to deal with was Hermes' existential angst, she'd never encountered any other painful things. Even death was just 'returning to the star' and was almost always by consent back then.
Then she went out into space and saw other worlds with war, plague, apathy, extinction level events, and so on... with ZERO coping mechanisms that we might have. Whats more, she's an empath. She literally feels for people, everyone and anyone around her. She felt their terror, their grief, their sorrow, their fury... all without any way of dealing with it. Is it any wonder she wound up the way she did?
Its like Emet-Selch said back in Elpis. The question itself was flawed. Hermes had unknowingly sent Meteion's sisters into an emotional minefield, and they stepped on every. Single. One. Even if she hadn't wound up on worlds near death or already dead, she would have found other forms of strife. Earth itself is far from perfect, can you imagine the kind of madness she'd encounter here? Good emotions yes, but bad ones are always so much louder...
The worst part is if you pay close attention, many of the worlds were largely stable (if close to the edge) before she showed up. Her showing up pushed them over the edge. And she is smart enough to probably understand that, but not able to handle that knowledge. So she not only had to handle all that emotional suffering, she had to do so with the knowledge she probably helped instigate their final demise. No wonder she came to the conclusion her role in the universe was to cause extinction.
@@uberpinkwarrior hell she literally pestered a society into suicide because she had no logic for what to do if a civilization had never even considered the question, so she just gets stuck in a loop and keeps asking it until they overthought it and settled on killing themselves to end the meaninglessness of it all.
@@AdamG3691 Well that and her natural affinity for dynamis probably didn't help. All that negative emotional energy? I'd be willing to bet Etheryis isn't the first planet she ushered in the Final Days of, intentional or not.
Also, she says she 'took their souls into themselves.' So how much of the Endsinger is Meteion's sisters and how much is the ghosts of dead civilizations?
@@gamerbun866 I'd say MOST of the Endsinger is negative Dynamis, notice how Meteion, even when she's in full hivemind mode treats herself and her sisters as linked individuals, whilst the Endsinger emphasises being "we"
even to the point that one of the Meteia thinks what the Endsinger is doing is excessive when as part of the hivemind she should be following its will, implying that even the Meteia are worried for what all of the memories of the dead are doing to themselves (which makes sense, they want to end the suffering of all things, but realise that being part of the Endsinger is now causing them even MORE suffering)
@@AdamG3691 That was my thought too. Endsinger was given voice and form by Meteion's sisters... but it was more the lost souls of all the worlds they visited using their bodies. She wasn't just possessed, she was fractally possessed. Possession by the ghosts of dead stars, all of them. o_o;
So who ya gonna call then? :V
Drak: "Estinien heal me!"
Estinien: *Screams in Dragoon*
Ahahaha!
estinien: this floor is nice
@@ChouhouinNeko G'Raha: here, lemme help you warm the floor with your body.
"YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME"
I absolutely love that the only reason Thancred was able to stay up and swing at Meteion was because of his STUPID DUMB PRETERNARUAL LUNG CAPACITY and it's ON PURPOSE. God damn, did that joke roll back around.
Not his first time fighting in that state either. The practice in the First is coming in clutch.
@@MyVanir I don't get it
@@lunausagi8495 When thancred fought ran'jit on the first you see that he can handle fighting while under ridiculous bodily stress because his stealth techniques almost kill him
@@Nobrev Oh yeah he experienced not breathing and also literally cutting off his own life aetherical flow before
I always thought that it was because of the fact that Thancred is basically a cripple when it comes to Aether manipulation (since the Lifestream incident). So he's uniquely used operating without Aether (since Meteion was trying to drown everyone with a flood of Dynamis). But that note about the lung capacity is also very astute, I didn't think about it :D
Guide for the voices during the walk
1. "If you need a push, I'll be right there behind you." -Ardbert
2. "Do not despair! You are not without allies." -Haurchefant
3. "What we have sown in blood, we have reaped in suffering, and it cannot go on." -Merlwyb
4. "Upon the souls of they who have sacrificed themselves to pave the way for peace, we will never abandon our cause." -Aymeric
5. "While it is true that man succumbs all too often to anger and avarice, he may yet overcome his baser instincts through the forming of bonds with others." -Nanamo
6. "Such victories are rarely won without sacrifice. But the prize is worth the price." -Raubahn
7. "And we for our part our glad indeed to be able to welcome friends both old and new." -Kan-E-Senna
8. "Save your tears for the morrow; you may be sure we'll have ample cause to shed them, be they for joy or despair." -Hien
9. "From tragedy and sacrifice we rise to greet a new dawn." -Papalymo
10. "A future shaped by the choices we made, in ways we could never have foreseen." -Count Edmont
11. "Yet miracles do happen. So let us pray, and will our friends home." -Beq Lugg
12. "I won't stop praying until I know they're safe." -Ryne
13. "Strong art thou, mortal." -Midgardsormr
14. "Look to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others." -Minfilia
15. "Let's finish this." -Ardbert
Ardbert starts and ends it, as it should be. Because let's face it; he'd absolutely call to finish it at the end, if he was still there.
Late to the party, but I think the fact they aren't named is in reference to G'raha's comments in 5.3 about forgetting the faces of those you've met on your journey. Even if you forget them, they wouldn't forget you, and their prayers are what give us strength to push on.
Best humor moment? When Livingway *literally* pulls a Jeremy Clarkson with an "Oh no! Anyway..." XD
Your reaction to Zenos busting in was pretty much my feelings exactly! Dealing with the heaviness of that zone just to have the combatsexual bust in and start talking shit to a universe ending god of despair was amazing
For real. Man just busts through reality itself like the inter-dimensional Kool-Aid Man and calls the embodiment of despair itself weak and pathetic, asking you why you haven't killed it already. One of the most hype moments in the expansion.
the fist fight with zenos at the end is probably the most anime thing they ever did and i LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT especially if you pick the choice that you feel also the thrill of fighting
I just want to shake Blizzard and their "NPC's hijack the climax" cutscenes and go "See this? THIS is how you end a climactic fight!"
I'm so fucking happy they let me make that choice. The entire game I was shrieking at my screen. I want to be Zenos' friend not because I want to fix him and redeem him, but because I AM him. We both seek greater thrills, (and fight depression, even if his is on three whole other levels). I don't want him to be a scion, I want to clash with him til the end of time.
He truly was my friend, who understood me in a way the scions never could.
@@TheDapperDragon yeah thats also how my WOL works the world saving is a big part but he also enjoys the fighting
The most Gurran Laggan storyline to happen since Gurran Laggan.
He referred to me as an 'adventurer', how many people actually do that?! there is no way not to agree with him there
My favorite headcanon on Zenos is that he’s your cutscene skipper friend. He just wants to fight, doesn’t care about the story or the characters, only shows up to help you through the story.
He's the player that buys a boost and skips cutscenes just to get to the raid content, except he's actually competent at it.
With the added bonus of "elitist toxic shitfuck who goes out of their way to belittle everyone they come across bcs he a better player than them."
And in you, he sees the Ultimate Raid that will finally fill the void in his heart.
@@Sacchi_Hikaru He's the one who speedruns TEA and goes: "you know, the only problem I had with this fight that it was a little too easy..."
@@Sacchi_Hikaru Nah, he skips all cutscenes and he doesn’t actually spend a single dime, his associates and colleagues as he calls them, give him all the Gil, special upgrades and all that other shit.
He goes after the coolest weapons and is an absolute parse god.
@@Sacchi_Hikaru Zenos atleast reads his tooltips D:
"That, I can't deny."
Best dialogue choice in the game, without question.
There's literally a dialogue option that lets you call Y'shtola "Mother", I don't think anything gets better than that
The landslides....
@@KogashiwaKai ok you're right that IS the best dialogue option. And then Ryne proceeds to make said landsludes hell for new players XD
@@TOGCMelon I’m sorry, where is this?
giving the crybaby murderhobo his satisfaction is hardly what I'd call the best option, but I did enjoy that throughout this expansion they did give us plenty of dialogue options with him where we could express our utter uninterest / disdain for him.
I love that Susano is just out here living his best life.
Susano and Zenos would make such good friends. Toss in Ravanah or whatever his name was and let all rejoice in the glory of combat and revel while they're at it.
@@davidchan3781 I've always thought susanoo and ravana would get along great lol
@@ShikenAegis Ravana is all about Rejoicing... in the glory of combat.
As long as people are happy Susanoo's happy, at least that's how I imagine his character. So yeah, they'd probably get along really well
Not to mention the fact that they're both like, 11/10 over-the-top personalities.
The revelation that limit breaks are our character tapping into the power of Dynamis was pretty epic.
Out of everything in Endwalker, the part that honestly hit me the hardest was right at the end with Tataru running to the docks. Her words before we left were "And I'll be the first one to welcome you back" Her running to the dock and waiting for our landing was such a gosh I love our fearless leader moment for me.
I can't imagine how painful it must be to be a father of three daughters and watching Meteion go through all of this. I understand your feelings about Ultima Thule.
Considering that Zenos hasn't seen Drak since Stormblood:
Zenos: "Come my friend, whipped out your Katana!"
Drak: *Unsheathes gauntlets*
Zenos: "What?"
Drak: "Monk main actually"
Zenos internally hoping it doesn't come down to fisticuffs.
Similar situation, faced him in Stormblood as a Warrior, became a monk in Endwalker.
Zenos: Where is your axe friend?
Me: Ala Mhigo wanted to say hello...
I mean he had a fist fight too :P
I respect your decision in that last zone, it 100% is supposed to be like that and kudos to the developers for succeeding, but it really is a very heavy subject matter and it is something that everyone deals with differently. Glad to see you enjoyed it, and I must admit I fanboyed a bit as I saw zenos durg appear, look at the boss we were about to fight and basically go "Is that it? THAT?!"
I can get behind your attitude with Ultima Thule, honestly. How a player reacts to the...everything there is oddly, but deeply personal, and it's not exactly a happy fun time. It's one thing to play through the zone and experience it, but showcasing all that to an audience can easily cross a line for some people. I love watching people's reactions to things, but this is a perfectly fair exception for anyone to make, I think.
Even before Hythlodaeus got a face, he manages to convey his personality through sheer writing alone. I'll miss him.
Totally respect your feelings on the last zone, dude. As someone who deals with this kind of mental anguish on a regular basis, I can totally understand it's not a place many people wanna be.
I termed it 'DepressionLand - The Worst Theme Park in the Galaxy'
Admission is 1-2 loved ones per park, the rides are all philosophical merry-go-rounds on the meaninglessness of existence, and the Food Court is sold out of everything FOREVER.
Yeah...having gone through it all...its something we all need to learn to overcome. Some deal with such dark depths more frequently than others...but everyone encounters it in some way
That whole zone was my Existential Crisis the video game. It took me two days just to clear it. In the end it was worth it, but damn if it wasn’t my emotions getting scoured. I’ve had therapy sessions that were less intense
@@IsilmeTuruphant I think they may be getting ready to reopen the food court, there's a new cafe opening there!
Especially when you can see the twist coming a mile away. I get it. I see what you're gonna do. Can we speed this up a little?
When I first heard of the concept of Dynamis, I was like, "Huh, that sounds like LB power," and then the game confirms it for me.
Oh fuck, more canon-lore stuff for *actual game mechanics* .
I began to think what jobs are using Dynamis vs Aether, and I think I've broken it down.
Aether:
PLD
GNB
NIN
SAM
DRG
RPR
BLM
WHM
RDM
MCH
SMN
Dynamis:
DRK (basically what Darkside is, especially since its original incarnation actively drained MP, and we know Dynamis and Aether are opposing forces)
WAR (Basically the concept of the Inner Beast, which can run amok if the emotions run too high. We know Dynamis can mess with a person if there's too much of it and they can't endure it)
BRD (The Song of Oblivion is a plot point in the HW Job quests, and, at the end of it, you fight a bird-lady. Plus, Foe's Requiem also had the MP drain effect)
DNC (I forgot that the job quests actually have you dance to relive the stress of people, and, in doing so, create beasts of negative emotion, not unlike the beasts of the Final Days)
Possibly both:
SCH (SCH's job skills have names like "encouraging words" and other things. Additionally, the White Mages of Amdepor had captured a Scholar and wondered how it was healing people without the use of Aether. They originally suspected it had something to do with their clothes, but it's possible that it was Dynamis.)
SGE (I think SGE's use of Dynamis is minor as all of its skills are using a form of Aether, I think. However, SGE stones have a neat quirk in that they can sense the feelings of others and will actually choose those with a strong desire to help people due to the pain of loss. Additionally, the stone itself kinda looks like an Elpis Flower.)
AST (AST uses Aether from beyond the stars, supposedly. However, we know that Dynamis is actually more prevalent in space than Aether is, not to mention Dynamis has weird properties. Fortune telling and fortune manipulation is probably not that farfetched of an ability it might have.)
MNK: As pointed out to me in the comments, Brotherhood specially seems to be taking the energy of bonds from your party. I think chakra is Aether, but I'm also not sure about this. I'm putting it under both until I can be sure.
In the DNC quest line, there's a lot of emphasis on allaying the negative thoughts of people in distress, to the point that all that negativity takes form for solo instanced fights. Especially for the final lv 70 job quest. DNC is most definitely using dynamis.
in the omega raids omega is trying to pin point the exact power that you sometimes exhibit (LBing) which we know to be dynamis, (look up the scene where middy helps you out in the omega raids) he was very close to figuring out that it was dynamis that you can use to shall i say, break the limits
So my character's shadow clone and dark side are made of emotional energy (Dynamis). Huh. I'm betting the emotions are anger, depression, and madness.
IE: What I tend to deal with all the time.
Hmm...kinda wonder what MNK would be then. I suppose it'd be mostly Aether but there are abilities like "Brotherhood" which seems to be powered by the bonds between you and your teammates.
I thought it was funny, they give you that debuff to walk. But you can still RP Walk on top of that for like THE SLOWEST walk.
That last part of final days was a doozy to stay alive through cause I was crying so much. And the fist fight at the end with zenos was so funny to watch as a black mage.
Ok but are you a lalafel? It's hilarious as a lala let me tell you.
It's even more hilarious as a lala. Trust me on that. XD
it was in that moment, that all Mage mains showed Zenos that they had mastered the most powerful spell of all.
"Look at us! Bereft of our weapons, yet without such you cannot cast even the simplest of spells!"
"No...I've got one spell left...one that nobody ever expects."
*Zenos leaps forward, fist raised* "And what would _that_ be, my friend?!"
"I cast *FIST!* "
It gets even funnier when you play White Mage; you can let out all your anger from the people that had to be babysat XD
The biggest Pog in my household was definitely "At the end of everything I find you, my friend."
That fist fight with Zenos in the end must've felt extra special for you as a MNK main.
It was for me as well. Punching is our thing, of course it all comes down to it!
no mnk but I was happy we did something. they just whip out the weapon and just stands there all the other times.
@@Gamemaster-64 Well, cant be changed sadly. Animating different fight scenes for every single job would be a logistical and time consuming nightmare to say the least.
SMN also felt great because we just got the Ifrit Crimson punch attacks. And then we got to use that to beat Zenos' face in
@@tatersalad76 ew its the people that litter the arena with their annoying pets. hope you know how others feel about how you are in battle (we can't turn your primal effects off, thanks)
Good times. I can understand not wanting to go through your reactions to much of Ultima Thule if it put you in a rough spot--It does it's job well, but that job causes it to resonate differently with different people. Hope we see a li'l more of Meteion here and there, even if it's just in bird form watching over us. Maybe have her take over narration for a while, now that Emet's more truly gone now?
Now I'm sure you worked a good bit to edit this up in time to get it out before christmas day, so enjoy a good break spending time with your family for the holidays.
Haven't seen his reactions to that zone. But I felt that he more than likely had the reactions I had. The zone felt cheap, and disrespectful to the scions and their journey thus far.
I honestly didn't feel a thing for that entire zone, and while the final fight kinda brought it home... many many of my friends felt the same way, that after hydaelyn everything just felt off.
I think Endwalker ultimately did a good enough job with what it set out to do, but Ultima Thule droppped a 10/10 expansion down to a 7/10 for me. Still have had a ton of fun since, but yeah... That zone was repetitive, pointless and felt almost nagging in its desire to pull you down into despair.
And I truly feel for all the people more easily influenced by media when it comes to these things, that zone must've been heavy to get through and depressive as all hell. For me it was another tuesday as I work with depressed individuals day in and day out.
Favorite part was with Emet.... him and Hythlodaues- best characters!! Best dialog between the two!! Love it!!!
I thought it was kind of funny and adorable how we found out that Emet-Selch is just a big tsundere.
I liked the fact that Miounne, Baderon, and Momodi are all featured in the ending. For some reason that made me really happy to see.
Baderon will always be a bit important to me
Yeah, the 1.0 moments were there in the cs's. The ship to Sharlayan scene just before you woke up, the praying, the primals coming from the blinding light. Very nostalgic. Got me all excited because I was playing back then too and seeing it incorporated into EW made me happy.
Something that I saw mentioned, and I forget who said it, but the final area in the Lv. 90 dungeon was implied to be the world that broke Meteion. She even changes color from her usual blue back to black in the area.
And it broke her because her inability to let go of the question basically poisoned the civilization and they thought themselves into suicide.
Especially since it was the first world she actively took par tin killing
Final boss fight; Phase 1:
The party: Why do we hear boss music?
Phase 2:
The Boss: Why do I hear boss music?
LMAO
And of course emet has to taunt you one last time before he goes. That's just like him
(Spoilers for those that haven't watched the video yet)
FINALLY SOMEONE WHO'S REACTION TO ZENOS WASN'T IMMEDIATE DISGUST/MURDER HOBO
What do you mean "finally"? Plenty of streamers love him. I would be extremely *_pleased_* to know which streamers don't, so if you have a list, I'm all for it.
@@ZekeRaiden I would like your list as well, if you would be so kind. Most of the people's reactions I have seen were from friends or tweets, but recorded reactions I have seen were from Zepla HQ and Woops.
@@King_of_Wishes Haven't seen many more responses to Endwalker itself yet, but Jesse Cox, Krojack, and Corey were all quite positive about him in SB/ShB.
going to ultima thule and being there was most favourite thing and the best thing during my whole journey in endwalker. i remember just breaking apart bit by bit every single time each scions 'sacrificed' themselves, putting their trust and faith in us. when it got to g'raha and the twins part, i just completely broke down in tears. i literally had to set my character to stand on the side and just started sobbing there for 20 minutes straight. my friends had to hear me sob so hard too 😭✋. however, that area specifically gave me so so so so much comfort and also lots of flashback. truly unspeakable on how much i could praise that area alone. can't wait to bring my alt to that area alone.
forgot to add this in but the final trial is the best trial to ever exist. hands tf down.
it's okay if it's not comfortable for you drak, completely understandable! i'm really happy you'd still enjoy it :D
yeah this story was fucking amazing start to end, and i picked the second option for the zenos fight, got slightyl different dialogue but id been wanting to do that since the bodysnatching bit. also ngl i was three seconds from dragging graha off at the end if they let me like "come on bro, made your ass a promise"
Don't blame you at all about Ultima Thule. That place let me with some..feelings. Kudos to the writing team, but damn.
Both the fights with the Endsinger and Zenos... those are forever going to stand as some of my favorite final battles in gaming. This entire expansion was so incredible, and I'm proud to have been part of this journey this whole time.
Can't wait to see you go through Asphodelos and how your run went, dude.
Drak picked the right dialogue option with Zenos.
There were other options? I only saw one.
@@sayi50ch true.
Me while playing when the flowers appeared: "happy and excited noises because we were able to fulfill the promise to Meteion that Hermes was unable to"
Me watching this when the flowers appeared: "instant emotional breakdown and anguished sobbing because of how beautifully poignant the symbolism of us fulfilling the promise that Hermes couldn't is"
then again, the ending of Supernatural has left me a little raw... so that might be a contributing factor to why that scene broke me this time around when it didn't the first time.
The teleporting device was a really nice example of Chekhov's gun. It's shown in a way where it's clearly going to be used eventually later on, but by the time it is you've practically forgotten about it because of the sheer emotion that's brought you to that point. Then it's paid off by having you use it to save the others but not yourself. I love it.
I personally hate it. The whole theme of the lesson is: overcome dynamis of despair by dynamis of hope. And our strength comes from friendship!
Yet our "friends" don't get to be in the final fight. The enemy is just too strong for them to. So it's up to WoL and their 7 summoned people and also literal Nemesis Zenos to save the day, Scions be damned.
Completely defeats the point of the theme when Endsinger didn't have to be so overwhelmingly powerful that she forced out the Scions in exchange for a Zenos spotlight. Which is what it is, Endsinger was the plot device so we can have Zenos helping the WoL because no way WoL would accept his help otherwise when they can count on the Scions.
It was a Chekov's gun that I completely disagree with and is just a blatant plot device to force out the Scions again just like in Shadowbringers against the last stand against Emet-Selch when he just blasted everyone unconscious. It wouldn't feel so bad if the Endwalker story didn't preach that you do not have to suffer despair alone for your friends have your back and especially after the triumphant moment against Hydaelyn.
The Scions all have anti-tempering wards now so how do we sideline them so our protagonist can have their epic "1v1 everyone is counting on you" moment? I don't know just make the enemy absurdly strong I guess.
@@lunausagi8495 Well, I don't agree but your opinion is your opinion and I'm not going to rail against it. That said, even if you don't like it as a plot device it's still a very good example of the Chekhov's gun principle in practice. Even if it didn't have the emotional impact on you that it did for others, which is entirely subjective and nobody can tell you that you're wrong for that.
@@MrMatsudi Objectively speaking regardless of how you or I feel about the final fight on an emotional level. You cannot tell me that "ditch Scions 1v1 Endsinger with Zenos and rando" falls in line with the theme of friendship overcoming hardship the story of Endwalker has been building up to. It just doesn't, and me being hyped for an Epic Showdown on Zenos dragon back isn't gonna change that objectively speaking. And I was quite hype for it all, doesn't change that it's a questionable decision for the final fight.
That entire zone was just rough in many ways. It did its purpose well but damn.
Full respect for not wanting to go through the final zone again, especially given how stressful this time of year can be. The writing team clearly meant it to be personally impactful, and the amount of strong reactions I've seen suggests they largely succeeded.
Just in time for Christmas! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your family, Drak!
Your reactions were a treat, and it's so heartwarming to see that everyone so far has been so deeply moved by EW. It's been a long way, and having this arc end this way is everything I could have hoped for, personally. And don't worry about the Ultima Thule part, your wellbeing comes first!
And I'm so happy to see that you've had so much fun with the final instance! I've been maining DRK since late SHB, but I've started out as a MNK and played most of the game as one. Seeing my WoL drop his weapon and go fist to fist with Zenos got me so pumped up and was SO cathartic I couldn't stop screaming. This expac really had a little something special for all of us, it's amazing.
Looking forward to your reactions to Pandaemonium, and good luck for savage prep!
I was in a similar boat for that final scene. I played MNK in Legacy, switched to PLD in ARR but kept MNK leveled for my melee job and so the switch to punching was awesome. Even on a Lalafell, plate gloves will hurt if thrown into the face multiple times.
Best of luck with whatever you run in game!
I think the main takeaway here is that Zenos is a true adherent of the Bro Code. I didn't think that was where they were going with Endwalker when it was announced, but it's where we've ended up and quite frankly I'm happy with this outcome
Monk was so appropriate for the end.
i just love Zenos after the last dungeon, not only does he take one look at Endsinger and sees her as below you and smile everytime you pick the first option before you fight him.
I love how everybody shares the same feeling to the final part of the Endsinger fight. It's the part of the fight that gives everybody goosebumps and is the "YOU LOSE!" moment to the boss.
I really like how honest you are about the part you didn't like and didn't want to put it in your video. it's nice to watch our favorite streamers react to the story and it's even nicer when they show us what they enjoyed most.
Thank you for the great video. I really love you small animation for the ourtro... (but my favorite is still the one from ShB.
In the credits, I absolutely lost it. Especially where they thanked all the players, and again where in the credits it said (for me) The Warrior of Light: Nomfur Farredzasyn... bloody hell. As for zone 6... oh I was a hot mess in that zone. Broke me down hard. But the end message... this expansion seemed to pull off what therapy failed to significantly pull off for me. Bring me back a sense of hope. I have nothing but praise for CBU3...
Disarming Zenos at the end felt good as a MNK.
Hey man just wanna say I love your stuff and as someone who thinks the last zone is probably one of the best things FF14 has ever done it's 100% fair you didn't want to experience it over and over again to make a vid from it. Still a great video and can't wait to see the NEST crew take on the raids!
I'm so happy to see Drak freaking out over Zenos busting through, it mirrored my own and it felt so good to see someone else be extremely happy to see him and be able to fight him.
It's not like enormous squeeing over Zenos is a rare thing...I'd even say _most_ streamers adore him. Woops is the only one I know of who has exactly the opposite opinion, and honestly it was incredibly refreshing to find ANYONE who doesn't like him.
@@ZekeRaiden I'll have to go watch Woops then I guess. I can't fuckin stand Zenos lol
I don't know about everyone else but I legit teared at phase 2 of the final fight. Time and time again we have saved our friends and in our time of need it was they who saved us. My heart had never felt so full in this game before I just couldn't help it.
ALSO the fight with Zenos at the end was THE FIGHT I WANTED! I know alot of people didn't like Zenos as the final big bad evil guy and in a way he wasn't, but I never denied the desire to want to fight him again.
literally any bit where the main character is on their last legs, and literally gets pulled up by the channeled emotional support of their allies and closest friends, will never fail to make me tear up at least the first time i see it.
I can’t believe Zenos was beaten by Normal Monk Damage, but as a fellow MNK main I was all over it. What a fantastic way to end the story. 💜
Not even normal MNK damage, but a MNK auto of all things
I'm so glad that they didn't disgrace Zenos' character by making that fight anything other than what it was.
what? no mud wrestling?
I was apologizing to him for every hit i made and I know he is sexually attracted to pain, but i felt sad XD
Yeah, that last zone can be really rough and hits pretty hard in the emotions department. I loved it, but damn, every time I listen to that theme, I feel like I'm gonna cry. This whole expansion has just been wonderful though and I look forward to the future adventures that will await us players.
Scions : YOU'RE ALIVE! THANK GOD YOU'RE ALIVE!
Livingway : Oh, you're alive! Anyway...
Completely understandable to cut everything from Ultima Thule
As someone that’s had my own little trek through nihilism/depression after the loss of my first partner, this zone fucked me the hell up, and the music becoming more clear and hopeful as you lose your friends just compounded it
Ay Drak to your reaction to the final zone was exactly my reaction to a point I got so stressed out I started disassociating trying to get through it as fast as possible, cause I struggle with depression and it was hitting me way too hard. So, saying it's completely valid to want to not show us those parts of discomfort.
I do not blame you for skipping all of the final area, it was very rough for each of those on that star and the conviction of those who paved the way for you towards the end. Heavy doesn't even begin to say it.
Watching this again made me just as emotional as the first time I experienced it. What a fantastic end to a long journey that's still not even over yet!
I love that Drak and I has the same reaction to Zenos busting through dimensions
sound warning:
me: that's cute
I also yelled
I just finished this up today, and Ultima Thule REALLY fucks with people. I was crying even though I knew at the end I could use the invocation Hydaelyn put on Azem's crystal to just bring them back even if mommy said "no." It was all worth it though, just as the story points out that the despair and sorrow is needed to reach even higher hope and joy. Endwalker truly is an incredible end to an incredible tale. I cannot wait to see where Square Enix takes us next! (Emet-Selch's rally speech was literally giving us a preview of things to come!)
After watching the twitch highlights, yeah, I can see why you wouldn't want to have that in a video like this. Amazing commentary in its own right, but mad respect for pulling back on putting it on your main channel.
This comment isn't very well phrased, but I tried my best.
I think it communicates your point well enough
My two favorite parts is that I now have a head canon that Emet once held the seat of Azrm before needing to switch to better fulfill his role, and just everything about the throw down with Zenos.
When we were at the end credits. When I saw WARRIOR OF LIGHT - Eclaire De'wynter
I cried again. They didn't have to do it, but they did. They made us part of the credits. And that just. Got me.
Out of every possible scenario I could have conceived, every plot I guessed at or theorized on... the idea that the last boss of Tower of Babil was a DUNGEON BOSS and not a TRIAL FIGHT threw me completely off. The first trial being what and who and WHEN it was threw me even further off.
But at no point did I ever expect to go to the edge of reality itself riding on Zenos-turned-Shinryu's back in order to confront the end of the universe and silence the song that would undo creation. That wasn't even in my big ten of guesses.
I would like to give huge and massive thanks to the MVP in here Scribble for warning the loud noise warning!
I had Alphinaud give the command to launch the ship, and it was hilarious because he got so flustered. XD
For as much as I hate Zenos, it was hilarious at how genuinely puzzled he was that the Endsinger was still alive when he showed up.
Also, thanks to Emet-Selch hint-dropping, I wonder if the next expac will see us going to Meracydia (and Corvos in perhaps an upcoming patch), and those treasure areas being the new maps.
Totally understand about the last zone. At the time, I was just so hyperfocused in the story and all the feelz that all of the other stuff going on just sort of went "woosh" over my head. Once I finished it all, though, and got to thinking about it...yea. I've dealt with depression all my life, so it just sort of hit like a sledgehammer of "hey, this is familiar". I both sort of love and hate that last zone; I love the music and that in the end the message was "hope in the face of despair", but the journey to get there was a rough one.
I certainly don't fault you for not wanting to go through it again!
Dude doing this as a MNK feels so satisfying, especially at that last bit with Zenos.
Thanks for the Christmas gift Drak, hope you have a wonderful holdiay, and i'm excited to see the upcoming vids with everyone. Thanks again for the content man!
Funny seeing how diametrically opposed opinions on Zenos are
@@FalseNightLin hell yeah, it was a great choice.
@@FalseNightLin I hate him, but I doubt he's done. I'm betting he's returning for our 6.3 trial.
@@Inhaledcorn Now that's just being silly. Or, well, I would amazed to say the least. Not even the people who like Zenos would like that.
I personally enjoyed it, but it does seem to rely on what your opinions on him and what your relationship with him is like. For Bellular Gaming, it broke his immersion to be forced into a fight since he felt it was contrary to how he viewed his character.
Yeah you either really like him or really hate him.
The difference in reactions between Drak and Woops to Zenos showing up is something to behold
I remember watching Drak since he started playing monk, and now i get to see him end a saga as a monk T-T.
I guess I'm weird cause I turned walking on for that part after Alisae and Alphinaud so never realized the "Endwalker debuff" we got XD
That endzone did hit hard even though I liked seeing two of the islands, the entire theme had me a bit choked up and the journey through it.
The music kicking in after your answer to Zenos and that smirk from the WoL... perfection. The action from the moment Z shows up until the final battle is over is 100% a trip straight to Hypetown and I will be glad to ride it again on my alt, sooner or later.
The final battle against Zenos is hilarious when you're a little caster Au Ra because at the end you're still down to fisticuffs. It's like my character dropped her book and went "NOPE. BEATING YOU TO DEATH WITH MY BARE HANDS NOW"
There's a video from a lalafell perspective. It's even more hilarious
The fact that I put this on to watch on my second monitor while doing some mindnumbing gaming, and you actually refered to the loporrits engaging the Ragnarok as SENTAI made me SO much more excited. I don't know why learning that people know what Sentai is excites me so much but it does
2:43 dude I feel you. This whole chapter is brilliant imo, but... because of it I felt broken for at least a few days.
I love all the little stuff they did this expansion to really make it feel like a traditional jrpg. Between having NPCs follow you around and you can have conversations with them and that last moment where you're forced to do the slow walk as you have the voices of all your comrades really sells the story much harder than you'd expect in an MMO
So far Drak's the only FFXIV streamer who's actually accepted Zenos.
I accepted Zenos. Because he's freaking insane.
It's an interesting set of choices given. I must admit, I chose the same option as Drak, though all my friends chose between the other two.
i dont get the "hate" for zenos i loved it that the WOL got a rival who did anything just to fight him i dont think that every villain needs a deep background with misunderstandings etc.
@@dusakim Same, I always saw him as a version of "what if the warrior of light in all his power never found friends to fight for"
In happy spoiler cast there was like 4
Gotta agree with the note about the last zone, I really appreciate what the team wanted to do with the last zone and how they wanted people to overcome depression, but it made it so hard to visit this zone again after I finished the msq. I don't even want to touch the side quests in there because they still brush on those same subjects.
man...... that final zone brought me to a real bad headspace too, but it made me feel insanely connected to the game. I cried so much, not little tears but crying as if someone close to me died. I felt like I suffered raw grief after finishing this area
Of all the videos I have seen of people doing this I think your reaction to Zenos was my favorite by far.
I fully get what you mean with the final area.
I have struggled with depression myself in the past. I’m pulling myself out gradually and when I got to Ultima Thule, I was more focused on the story alongside my mind making me nervously laugh to try and cope.
Even to the point of trying to make me think of other things to distract me.
Then the walk hit and it couldn’t do that anymore... And so, that’s when I started tearing up.
I had also woken up incredibly early before work to finish the story to avoid spoilers so that’s likely another reason my mind was trying to distract me.
I'm so glad I saved watching these videos until I finished the msq myself. That Final duel is one of my most favorite moments I think in any game I've ever played. I was doing this fight as a paladin fully clad in white armor. I hid the helm before that fight. Kinda like a RP moment, as if it got destroyed during the last trial. It was so cool to see two opposites clash in an honorable duel. Just to boil to a fist fight between two warriors.
Honestly, when Moenbryda's parents gave us those teleporters, I had a feeling that we were gonna use them to get the others out of there, but we were gonna stay behind to, you know, kill the final boss. Didn't know how the scene would play out and all, but I knew it was gonna happen lol ^^;
Definately understand the feelings about the final zone. I'm not usually one for cutscene skipping, but if I do new game+, I know from my experiences through the zone that I'm going to skip every cutscene involving the Ea, because I hate that subject and the people that act like that is an inevitable thing.
I am glad to see someone else who loved Zenos and was as enthused as I was to fight him again.
Though I will say this the part of the game that made me ugly cry was Zenos's final moments. He is/was my favorite character in the game and I was just utterly destroyed to lose him.
I really respect how you've felt in regards to the last zone Drak. I do as well. It hit me hard as I was going through it. It's like opening an old scab making the wound fresh again but needed to be overcomed and it did eventually :D The feeling made me somber and emotional but after all the things and the events unfold, I'm glad it did and I felt satisfied and uplifted as if I've overcome it somehow and moved on. That is the sort of exposition I get after the last zone :D
Yeah, because sending an immature hivemind to explore the dark depths of the universe is definitely not going to go wrong, right Hermes?
"I certainly did" - plotting something every hour of every day. Just because the known ascians might be 'gone' doesn't mean the plans they've put into motion are.
Glad that we all picked the same response to Zenos, to return to monke
I respect it, Drak. I hope you enjoyed the rest of it though.
I sobbed like a small child the entire last zone. Not only because of my own issues, but because of the whole premise and the walk... THE WALK... T_T I loved and hated it. The last bit is just chef kiss.
So the Endsinger's design references both Unbound Zodiark from 12 and the first form of Zeromus from 4 which I find really neat. Also the part of your friends praying for you not only references the Answers movie but a part of the final boss from 4 as well. There's so many amazing references and callbacks to the previous games in this expansion and I'm fucking here for it. Hell the main themes of this entire expansion is basically the entire fucking poimt of Final Fantasy 9 which is my favorite with my second favorite being Final Fantasy 4 so it feels like this expansion was custom made for me
That scene where Emet questions what all we know of our world. Just Square telling us what's to come in future patches/expansions.