[Megathread] Final Fantasy XIV

[TheFirstOnes]

Saw the Complete Edition was 25 dollars. Bought that shit instantly.

[Leyre]

I think they fixed it that current granting quests get the blue ? icon that all quest which unlock sth. have.
So no need to google.

Open world current locations are straightforward enough.

now thats more like it, thanks

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I'm very confused by it.

I dislike how Limsa has effectively ditched piracy altogether. Pirates are pretty cool and a standard trope in high fantasy when it comes to seafaring nations, though the game seems to be branding it as something unwelcome and better left in the past.

Yeah. The interesting stuff about Gridania and the will of the Elementals that leads to certain stuff being banned, and the duskwrights and mooncats, and the interesting Ul'dah stuff like the wrestle for power between the Sultana and the Syndicate, and the slaves, etc, has all been quietly forgotten.

Well for the first one I think you can understand it. Piracy is not a sustainable form of economy. Especially if most of the world is your allies. You can go all piracy fuck yeah and all that, but let's be realistic.

The piracy and Merlwyb's secret police were what made Limsa interesting. Without it, Limsa just becomes another nice happyville state, just with a lot of merchant sailors and fishermen who CLAIM to be pirates, but don't actually do any piracy.

[Wangming]

Yeah. The interesting stuff about Gridania and the will of the Elementals that leads to certain stuff being banned, and the duskwrights and mooncats, and the interesting Ul'dah stuff like the wrestle for power between the Sultana and the Syndicate, and the slaves, etc, has all been quietly forgotten.



The piracy and Merlwyb's secret police were what made Limsa interesting. Without it, Limsa just becomes another nice happyville state, just with a lot of merchant sailors and fishermen who CLAIM to be pirates, but don't actually do any piracy.

Again, that is not sustainable. Funny thing is, a lot of new people want to be pirates. It is mostly the old guard who realized that those times are gone. Cross your fingers for Merlwyb to croak it in Endwalker. Her absence might cause Limsa to succumb to anarchy and be more like Booty Bay. Now it is kinda like Kul Tiras.

As for the politics in Ul'dah. For one thing, they can't play the same old song for long. For another: Ala Mhigo and Doma have been taken back, so refugees can go back home. Teledji is dead while Lolorito still needs to play nice cause I'm sure Raubahn is just looking for an excuse to cut him in half as well. There is not much politicing to do. Especially when you have more pressing concerns. The politics and backstabbing moved to Sharlayan cause they are the only ones remaining who didn't join forces against the Telophoroi.

[Granyala]

The piracy and Merlwyb's secret police were what made Limsa interesting. Without it, Limsa just becomes another nice happyville state, just with a lot of merchant sailors and fishermen who CLAIM to be pirates, but don't actually do any piracy.

Afaik, they can still pirate against Garlean Ships, no?
I do wish people would stop romanticizing Pirates so much. They are merciless criminals that cause a lot of harm and suffering for petty personal gain.

I think focus has shifted away from all these minor issues due to the same fact it did in WoW: one world ender after another.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I found these "minor issues" more interesting than the end of the world plots.

[Granyala]

I found these "minor issues" more interesting than the end of the world plots.

I think good story needs both.
The large overarching threat that facilitates/accelerates actual, lasting change and the small things that flesh out the world.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The large threat doesn't need to be an end of the world scenario. It could be two countries at war (stakes are one country being conquered or eliminated, deaths of key leaders/common folk and ruination of the land), or a country in the middle of a coup, etc.

[Katchii]

The large threat doesn't need to be an end of the world scenario. It could be two countries at war (stakes are one country being conquered or eliminated, deaths of key leaders/common folk and ruination of the land), or a country in the middle of a coup, etc.

For the majority of FFXIV, that's been the case.

ARR was Eorzea vs Garlemald, HW was Ishgard vs Dragons, and Stormblood was Doma+Ala Mhigo vs Garlemald.

There were undertones of Ascians throughout, but they were never world ending threats until now...at least not world ending threats for OUR world.

Shadowbringers is the first expansion where the threat was a world ending one.

[Merie]

Where the heck are all the other sundered Ascians these days? We're down three paragons and 2 sundered ala Eden's Promise. After Fanny and ourselves that should leave 4-5 ascians left on the Convocation. They might not be as strong as Elidibus or Emet Selch but surely they wouldn't agree with Fanny to just abandon the rejoining and destroy everything. Or would they? What the hell are they doing while the world is burning?? Have they accepted death? This needs to be addressed before they close the book on the ascians for good.

[Wangming]

Where the heck are all the other sundered Ascians these days? We're down three paragons and 2 sundered ala Eden's Promise. After Fanny and ourselves that should leave 4-5 ascians left on the Convocation. They might not be as strong as Elidibus or Emet Selch but surely they wouldn't agree with Fanny to just abandon the rejoining and destroy everything. Or would they? What the hell are they doing while the world is burning?? Have they accepted death? This needs to be addressed before they close the book on the ascians for good.

I guess they are on the other shards now. They might show up in Endwalker. But if we put a definite end to the Hydaelin and Zodiark arc they might not pose a threat anymore anyway.

[Katchii]

Where the heck are all the other sundered Ascians these days? We're down three paragons and 2 sundered ala Eden's Promise. After Fanny and ourselves that should leave 4-5 ascians left on the Convocation. They might not be as strong as Elidibus or Emet Selch but surely they wouldn't agree with Fanny to just abandon the rejoining and destroy everything. Or would they? What the hell are they doing while the world is burning?? Have they accepted death? This needs to be addressed before they close the book on the ascians for good.

Remember, Gaius has killed a few too given that he has their masks on his belt. Not sure which ones those are though. I'm sure they'll be discussed or touched on in Endwalker.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Where the heck are all the other sundered Ascians these days? We're down three paragons and 2 sundered ala Eden's Promise. After Fanny and ourselves that should leave 4-5 ascians left on the Convocation. They might not be as strong as Elidibus or Emet Selch but surely they wouldn't agree with Fanny to just abandon the rejoining and destroy everything. Or would they? What the hell are they doing while the world is burning?? Have they accepted death? This needs to be addressed before they close the book on the ascians for good.

Probably waltzed off after all of the Unsundered died.

Fanfic explanation for what they did:

Spoiler: 

You are just some farmer on some random shard. You were putting the tools away in the shed and about to go inside your house to relax with your wife, Felicia, when all of the sudden, some guy in black robes teleports in front of you. He calls you "Altima", a name you have never heard of before, and shoves a crystal into your hand. Your mind is flooded with memories of an ancient world and fragments of a prior life long ago. You somewhat feel a sense of nostalgia, a sense of loss. The guy in front of you calls himself Elidibus, and says "come with me Altima, we shall save our brethren". Unthinkingly, you agree, (due to your recency bias of having just gotten emotionally overloaded with memories of friends and loved ones from long ago). He gives you black robes and whisks you away to some conference room in the Aetherial Rift.

In the Chrysalis, you get to meet the other Ascians. A man walks up to you and introduces himself as Nabriales. You greet him. He excitedly tells you about his plans for a rejoining. Something seems off. He seems... excited? Excited about destroying an entire world?

And then it hits you. You start coming to your senses. "What am I doing here?" you ask yourself. You are with 12 other guys you don't really know. Oh, Elidibus says your comrades with them, and the memory crystal gave you a sense of camaraderie with the other Convocation Members in the past... but you have nothing in common with these people. The three Unsundered leaders are fanatical about restoring some old world and continually insist that everyone is a brother here. But when the Unsundered aren't around, the other 9 Ascians reveal their true nature. About half of them are psychopaths and serial killers who only want to use their newfound powers to go on murder sprees. And the other half of the Sundered seem to be rather unenthusiastic and quiet... almost as if they aren't really into this whole "kill untold numbers of people to bring back people I don't know" thing.

You think back to your wife Felicia, remembering how you wrapped a blanket around her as the two of your watched snowflakes gently fall in the winter, holding a warm cup of soup in your hands...

After the meeting concludes and the Unsundered teleport away, you decide to teleport back home to your wife's side. You enjoy your dinner and go to bed. You wake up, intending to work on the farm... when you remember Elidibus. You remembered the fervor with which he spoke... and heard of all of the things he and the other Unsundered had done. Heard of Emet-Selch's unfathomable power. Head of Lahabrea's terrible schemes. "What if they think I have betrayed them?" you thought. It shook you. You hurriedly teleported back to the Chrysalis, just in time to welcome the arrival of your Unsundered masters.

"Greetings Elidibus!" say half of the Sundered Ascians enthusiastically. The other half - including yourself - can only weakly parrot the lines, as if it was a chore. Elidibus doesn't seem to notice. And so it becomes routine, showing up on time, if only to keep the Unsundered from coming after you.

"Altima" said Elidibus. "You will go to the 4th Shard and prepare it for rejoining."
"Aye" you said weakly.

You teleported to the 4th. A medieval world. You watched farmers work in the fields. Men like you. Men with families, like you.
"I can't kill these people!"

At the next meeting, Elidibus asks for a progress report on the 4th.
"Still working on it."
Emet-Selch spoke up. "Do not be hasty, Elidibus. You know how long it takes for these things to be ready. Decades, centuries! Our work requires patience."
You sigh in relief.

Years pass. You continue stalling for time, but you fear that eventually... all it will take is just for one of your fellow Ascians checking the 4th out of curiosity, and then it all comes crashing down. Your wife Felicia can see your anxiety whenever you return home. Until one day, Ascians start disappearing. First it was Nabriales, and then it was Igeryohm, and then Lahabrea. You hear that there is someone called "The Warrior of Light" who has been slaying Ascians. You and the other unenthusiastic Ascians can only hope that whoever person is, that they get rid of these other madmen.

One day, you teleported into the Chrysalis, expecting to report to Elidibus. You, Halmrut, and Tom (his Ascian name was Deudalaphon, but he preffered to go by what he considered his "real" name when the Unsundered weren't around) waited for hours.
Elidibus never showed up.
Halmrut spoke up. "Is he... gone?"
Tom let out a cheer. "YES! Finally! We are free! Woo!"
Tom promptly teleported away, going back to his toy workshop on the 8th.

You teleport back to you farm. You open the door.
"Felicia... I'm home."

THE END

I hope Altima, Halmrut, and Deudalaphon are relaxing and living the good life.

Remember, Gaius has killed a few too given that he has their masks on his belt. Not sure which ones those are though. I'm sure they'll be discussed or touched on in Endwalker.

He had 3 black masks and 2 red masks on his belt. That means he killed 3 goons, and only 2 sundered. Without White Auracite, he wouldn't have been able to permakill either of the 2 sundered Ascians. However, Elidibus and Emet were very busy during the events of 4.3 through 5.3, so I doubt that they raised up any other Ascians in the mean time. Maybe the other Sundered attempted to do so.

[Hyral]

I'm sure we will get there eventually. But we still haven't seen Meracydia or the New World, so there is plenty to explore on Hydaelin. Plus all the shards that didn't get destroyed yet.

For EW I am excited, but worried. I trust Natsuko Ishikawa to write good stories for characters that seem uninteresting now, but I really don't feel the struggle with everyone surviving everything. Hell they missed the obvious chance for a Freaky Friday flip when we brought back the souls of the Scions. I won't leave till Endalker especially not for WoW, but for me this is a last chance. I am huge on story. It is a make or break for me. And if I don't feel that the literal end of the world is a threat I will lose interest.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing Meracydia in EW, and I'm super excited for the New World, I want to see how they portray all the cultures because if we have a New World continent I think they will do it like Othard and just have a few zones exemplifying some countries/cultures and being south american I'd love to see their take on it.

I'm sure there is a possibility EW can turn fannydanny and others around and be interesting, I'm just not holding my breath for it. The end of the world so far has felt rather like just an inconvenience. The SB/ShB transition had my heart pumping way more than this.

- - - Updated - - -

I just started playing and have a few questions:

1) How does transmog in this game work? I've read about it, and it seems vastly inferior and more cumbersome than WoW. The options are way better obviously, but there's no "collections" where you just get something and have that look forever. For instance, I've been vendoring low-level gear while leveling. But it seems that I needed to keep that gear if I want to mog it by dumping it into a closet? Which has limited space? So basically like void storage from Cata? If only it were just as simple as you loot the piece, you have it forever as an option.

2) When does the leveling get interesting / fun? I know people say ARR is a slog, but man...the classes are super slow. I'm ARC level 20, and I feel like I have almost no abilities. And from reading, it doesn't seem like FF14 classes really have any "utility" / flavor abilities - every ability is just damage or healing and is meant to be used. There's no Eyes of the Beast, Ghost Wolf, Demonic Circle like abilities. Also, doesn't seem like any classes really have any mobility - don't see anything that is the equivalent of Charge / Fel Rush / Heroic Leap / Grappling Hook / Roll.

Also, 99% of quests seem to be just "go here, give this person this". Does the game ever evolve beyond that in terms of quest design? I know it's ARR, but if this is the majority of the game with just some additional perks down the road, not sure if I can stick with it.

1) Transmog, which is called Glam, is as bad as you think it is. You need to storage the item to create glam plates to apply to armor sets or carry the piece around with you and manually apply the appearance. It's like WoW's before the collections tab was created and we still used void storage. It doesn't seem like it's going to get better any time soon.

2) The game is mostly a JRPG, the MMO part is an afterthought. If you want to enjoy it look at it as playing through a traditional Final Fantasy game where you'll just kill some random encounters and move from place to place watching cutscenes and learning about the world and story and doing side quests for lore and glam, oh and minigames, as per FF tradition lots and lots of fun minigames. This is not a WoW clone despite it's looks and control set up. As for the jobs they are really strong on class fantasy but have no class flavour. That means the abilities you get, the job quests, the lore behind them, really really good, but it's just a coating. When you use your katana abilities you feel like some high fantasy samurai, but that's as far as it gets. The flavour you want from WoW is not there, there's no utility besides some jobs being able to res and some other jobs having raid wide buffs. The range classes get slows and roots but they are never used, casters get CC but it's also never used, melee jobs get stuns which can be used some times but rarely matter and tanks interrupts, which do matter. Again this is just a JRPG with multiplayer attached to it, it's not WoW style MMO.

[Dartz1979]

i do love my yshtola she always keeps me safe such a very good waifu... remember to always use her in trust instance runs she's the best caster.

[Wangming]

I have a feeling we'll be seeing Meracydia in EW, and I'm super excited for the New World, I want to see how they portray all the cultures because if we have a New World continent I think they will do it like Othard and just have a few zones exemplifying some countries/cultures and being south american I'd love to see their take on it.

There is a chance for that sure as we are still missing one more zone. But I think the mistery zone will be on the Moon as well. I guess we shall see. And yeah the New World has lots of potential. Maybe we could even get a blue mage into the main cast.

[Merie]

Probably waltzed off after all of the Unsundered died.

Fanfic explanation for what they did:

Spoiler: 

You are just some farmer on some random shard. You were putting the tools away in the shed and about to go inside your house to relax with your wife, Felicia, when all of the sudden, some guy in black robes teleports in front of you. He calls you "Altima", a name you have never heard of before, and shoves a crystal into your hand. Your mind is flooded with memories of an ancient world and fragments of a prior life long ago. You somewhat feel a sense of nostalgia, a sense of loss. The guy in front of you calls himself Elidibus, and says "come with me Altima, we shall save our brethren". Unthinkingly, you agree, (due to your recency bias of having just gotten emotionally overloaded with memories of friends and loved ones from long ago). He gives you black robes and whisks you away to some conference room in the Aetherial Rift.

In the Chrysalis, you get to meet the other Ascians. A man walks up to you and introduces himself as Nabriales. You greet him. He excitedly tells you about his plans for a rejoining. Something seems off. He seems... excited? Excited about destroying an entire world?

And then it hits you. You start coming to your senses. "What am I doing here?" you ask yourself. You are with 12 other guys you don't really know. Oh, Elidibus says your comrades with them, and the memory crystal gave you a sense of camaraderie with the other Convocation Members in the past... but you have nothing in common with these people. The three Unsundered leaders are fanatical about restoring some old world and continually insist that everyone is a brother here. But when the Unsundered aren't around, the other 9 Ascians reveal their true nature. About half of them are psychopaths and serial killers who only want to use their newfound powers to go on murder sprees. And the other half of the Sundered seem to be rather unenthusiastic and quiet... almost as if they aren't really into this whole "kill untold numbers of people to bring back people I don't know" thing.

You think back to your wife Felicia, remembering how you wrapped a blanket around her as the two of your watched snowflakes gently fall in the winter, holding a warm cup of soup in your hands...

After the meeting concludes and the Unsundered teleport away, you decide to teleport back home to your wife's side. You enjoy your dinner and go to bed. You wake up, intending to work on the farm... when you remember Elidibus. You remembered the fervor with which he spoke... and heard of all of the things he and the other Unsundered had done. Heard of Emet-Selch's unfathomable power. Head of Lahabrea's terrible schemes. "What if they think I have betrayed them?" you thought. It shook you. You hurriedly teleported back to the Chrysalis, just in time to welcome the arrival of your Unsundered masters.

"Greetings Elidibus!" say half of the Sundered Ascians enthusiastically. The other half - including yourself - can only weakly parrot the lines, as if it was a chore. Elidibus doesn't seem to notice. And so it becomes routine, showing up on time, if only to keep the Unsundered from coming after you.

"Altima" said Elidibus. "You will go to the 4th Shard and prepare it for rejoining."
"Aye" you said weakly.

You teleported to the 4th. A medieval world. You watched farmers work in the fields. Men like you. Men with families, like you.
"I can't kill these people!"

At the next meeting, Elidibus asks for a progress report on the 4th.
"Still working on it."
Emet-Selch spoke up. "Do not be hasty, Elidibus. You know how long it takes for these things to be ready. Decades, centuries! Our work requires patience."
You sigh in relief.

Years pass. You continue stalling for time, but you fear that eventually... all it will take is just for one of your fellow Ascians checking the 4th out of curiosity, and then it all comes crashing down. Your wife Felicia can see your anxiety whenever you return home. Until one day, Ascians start disappearing. First it was Nabriales, and then it was Igeryohm, and then Lahabrea. You hear that there is someone called "The Warrior of Light" who has been slaying Ascians. You and the other unenthusiastic Ascians can only hope that whoever person is, that they get rid of these other madmen.

One day, you teleported into the Chrysalis, expecting to report to Elidibus. You, Halmrut, and Tom (his Ascian name was Deudalaphon, but he preffered to go by what he considered his "real" name when the Unsundered weren't around) waited for hours.
Elidibus never showed up.
Halmrut spoke up. "Is he... gone?"
Tom let out a cheer. "YES! Finally! We are free! Woo!"
Tom promptly teleported away, going back to his toy workshop on the 8th.

You teleport back to you farm. You open the door.
"Felicia... I'm home."

THE END

I hope Altima, Halmrut, and Deudalaphon are relaxing and living the good life.

Dude, get into writing. Seriously.

[infinitemeridian]

So because FF doesn't have an equivalent to WoWhead, or at least datamining of upcoming expansions, do you guys always get a bunch of unmentioned QoL improvements / features that aren't mentioned on the front page of the expansion or in the interviews / reveals?

For instance, when the expansion drops, could people suddenly find the glam dresser now holds up to 1000 items? Things like that.

[Wangming]

So because FF doesn't have an equivalent to WoWhead, or at least datamining of upcoming expansions, do you guys always get a bunch of unmentioned QoL improvements / features that aren't mentioned on the front page of the expansion or in the interviews / reveals?

For instance, when the expansion drops, could people suddenly find the glam dresser now holds up to 1000 items? Things like that.

Well we have dev blog posts and live letters so we pretty much know everything save for story stuff and fight mechanics. Granted even the last zone and the name of the dungeons is considered story stuff.

[infinitemeridian]

Also, can I play the same account on both ps5 and pc? And can I have separate HUDs for them or do I have to change every time I switch? Is the game hard to play on a controller?