May 2024
Well, I was hoping to write this at the top of the month but anytime I thought to a counter came to mind saying, “I could making progress on FFXIV right now…”. Needless to say that happened a lot. Now that I have allotted some time I can confirm… I have played A LOT of FFXIV but at least now I’m ready for the Dawntrail expansion. Bonus is I can work on other games now that I don’t need to hyper fixate as much.
Games In Progress
Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth
May Progress: Cleared Stormblood, Post SB, Shadowbringers, Post ShB. All jobs to lvl 60+
June Goals: Clear Endwalker (done), Post EW(done), All jobs to lvl 70+, relic weapons, side content clean up, and extreme/savage runs.
Stormblood continues to improve upon everything so far while introducing new mechanics, areas, and cast. First and foremost, the change to a bright and colorful Japanese Edo period style of environment is a great contrast to the grey medieval castle scenery that Heavansward located itself in. In particular, I enjoyed the villain this time around quite a bit more. The post game and side game content also receive a massive boost with the inspiration from Japanese folklore as well as collaborations with other Final Fantasy games. Some of the new mechanics/gameplay include new traversal options throughout the world as well as in game objectives that are not just kill x and fetch y. As per usual the music is great and we continue to get more character development across the board. Overall a solid expansion.
Shadowbringers… Shadowbringers was the final push I needed to get me to play FFXIV when it released. Before then I had worries that I would not have the time commitment for an MMO… Unfortunately I was right as it would be 4+ years before I finally get to make any considerable progress in this game. Luckily, I was right about this expansion. Easily my favorite so far as it not only tackles interesting plots, brings forth a change of pace in villains, but also just a whole new world for us to explore and change. In some ways it feels like an entire game entry on it’s own. To summarize, we enter a world over taken by light and now must done the role of Warrior of darkness to snuff that light out. That concept alone is tantalizing. Interestingly enough, this expansion really starts to bring all of the threads of past story arcs together and get a glimpse of the big picture that had been vacant for so long. We also get a GREAT alternative to duty finder where you can use your cast of NPCs to join you in the dungeon. Not only does this offer a more single player experience, but there is also unique dialoge and even unique interactions (though I’ve only noticed this with one boss mechanic so far) with the cast of NPCs you choose. This also reduces any issues where other players may just charge ahead not letting you enjoy the dungeon and learn mechanics on your own instead of others openly explaining it, etc. Going forward I have been doing this for both this expansion and the next and no regrets. The general scenery across the maps feels incredibly refreshing and sets itself apart from the rest… other than some desert areas anyways. Not as much of a critique as an observation but it does invest entirely into this bleak existence as it maintains a constant serious tone with little to no comic relief or palate cleansers, if you will. Though FFXIV is known for (well a lot of things) music, this one is pretty great though I did find it to wane as you hear it more and more. Maybe because there are more vocals this time around but it can become tiresome.
Favorite Jobs: Monk, Dark Knight
SB: 9/10
ShB: 10/10