FFXIV: catch all

Sorry, just left Goblin a few weeks ago to (re)join the GWJer FC.

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Perhaps low numbers compared to others, but I was surprised that I joined the 1000-hour club so quickly! Really sneaked up on me.

The exciting part is that there's still so much I don't know about this game.

So many Dungeons left locked

So many raids I've never done

I'm keen to try savage!

I'm going to try fishing soon

Today I unlocked hunts

Yesterday, I played some gold saucer GATES I'd not done before.

This game is massive and incredible.

All that and you’ve got not one, but two wolf fangs!

BTW not sure if this has been shared but I found it recently. 508 songs, 31.5 hours long.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6w...

Since they reduced the number of DR runs required for that relic step, and also, hell, what else was I going to do mostly locked down:

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Wow! Congrats! I just finished getting the Heavensward relic done for Dark Knight. Next I’ll probably try to get the ARR one for Paladin, but not until I have it to 80 first.

Oh wow, that's a lot of shiny!

What sort of time commitment is involved for those? I've almost finished up MSQ (the only reason I haven't, is because all my focus is on savage raiding + expert roulette). I'm not sure if the effort is worth it when I can just grab an augmented cryptluker weapon which is "good enough' for the raids I'm doing right now.

I do like that shiny though!

beanman101283 wrote:

Wow! Congrats! I just finished getting the Heavensward relic done for Dark Knight. Next I’ll probably try to get the ARR one for Paladin, but not until I have it to 80 first.

Thanks! I also did HW DRK, and have SB DRK up to the final step which I think requires doing Baldeseon Arsenal, and I'm not sure I want to go through that. I've considered an ARR relic, but obviously my main wasn't around for that, and neither was my primary DPS (DNC) or preferred healer (AST). I may eventually do BLM or SMN.

A_Unicycle wrote:

What sort of time commitment is involved for those?

For all of them, an absurd level I only attempted because I started when we were all deeply locked down. For one, I'd call it significant but doable, though I was helped immensely by some stages requiring tokens from duties I really enjoy--I love the Ivalice raids, so 18 runs of any wasn't much of a burden for me. I also started at a time before the weekly tome cap increased, so at the time, relics were actually easier to get. I'd say it's worth it to do at least your main, or whatever your raiding class is, since we could always be good enougher.

My mind says play this game again but my life says no. So much fun to be had and I don't think I've even completed ARR once.

Anyone wants to hang out in Sargatanas, let me know.
The story in this game IS AMAZING.....

WizardM0de wrote:

My mind says play this game again but my life says no. So much fun to be had and I don't think I've even completed ARR once.

Narrator: He reinstalled.

Turned out I was 2 quests away from completing ARR. Go figure. No longer have the Road to 70 buff, but then again I'm 60 heading into Heavensward as a RDM, so I'll just stick with it and be happy I don't feel compelled to level as many classes as I'm interested in while I have the buff (I got WAR and DRG to 50/54 in addition to RDM).

The feeling you get when you load in for the first time in a year is jarring. All the quests in process, the UI being screwed, the hotbar no longer configured how you like it and you forgot how to use the controller to navigate the menus.

I actually fired up a new alt on a random server and played for an hour just to get reacquainted with the basics. Yeah, old Dad over here.

The game looks FANTASTIC on the big screen from the couch with the PS5 upgrade!

Welcome back!

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Titan Savage was, by far, the hardest thing I've done in FFXIV yet. It took us 2 nights to learn it, and that was with 2 guys who'd already cleared and could call out for us.

Just...damn! What a fight! Going through these Eden savage raids has been such a cool experience. It's the most fun I've had playing the game!

Anyway! We all cheered and felt very good about ourselvelves. Yay!

Did my first vaguely current Extreme Trials this weekend, specifically Dancing Plague, Crown of the Immaculate, and Minstrel's Ballad: Hades' Elegy. Current item level plus Echo on wipes makes it easy to brute force these now, but they were still a challenge, and it was fun learning them with a friend and randos. Crown of the Immaculate was the easiest - we killed it on the first pull, and I even got the mount. I assume that's all my good luck used up for the year. Hades was trickier, and took a couple of groups. We got a bit lucky in the final run and brute forced the last phase. It was messy, but we pulled through. Good times, and it was fun trying some harder content in the game. Not sure if I'll be doing savage raiding any time soon, but it does make me more open to at least doing more Extremes in the future.

I've been trying some new jobs before Endwalker.

I've always played white and black mages, but black mage is just so punishing in savage content. I was starting to find it too difficult to keep damage up while managing mechanics since I'm quite inexperienced with this sort of content.

I've been playing machinist and it's sooo much more forgiving. While they may have the lowest overall damage of any job in the game, I'm maintaining uptime and placing very well on my static's dps charts. I overall like the theme, but the simplicity of it isn't quite my thing.

Surprisingly, I've been loving red mage. I've always heard how it's the "easy" caster to play, but it's a step above machinist so it allows for some fun skill expression along with being more forgiving to play amongst tricky mechanics. I'm just shy of level 60, but having an absolute blast! It's incredibly well designed. It just has a good feel. The dashes forward and back are so damn satisfying!

Overall I'm not sure if I'll take red mage or sage into Endwalker, but it's been a fun experiment

I main Red Mage, and can confirm it's a blast There's just enough nuance and wiggle room to make it satisfying when I really do well with the casting, but it's not overly hectic or fiddly with its abilities. Plus, free rezzes in a clutch is really satisfying, especially when it would otherwise mean the end of a run.

I'm around level 54 with Paladin. So far it doesn't really have a strong identity as a class, but I know it gets its magic phase rather late. That'll be my last tank, then I'll probably try to level Summoner (and Scholar for free). Not sure I'll be able to finish it before Endwalker, and honestly the changes coming to the job have me wondering if I should just wait until later anyway.

I've been going through New Game Plus, as I want to replay the entirety of the game's main story before Endwalker comes out. It's been 4+ years since I played A Realm Reborn, so it was fun revisiting it. The storytelling is still awkward, but being able to fly everywhere, along with all the pruning they did to the main scenario, made it go by pretty quickly. I'm now in the early stages of Heavensward, and it's still notable how much the presentation and pacing are improved over what came before.

If I weren't doing NG+ I'd likely have a better shot of leveling a bunch more jobs to 80 before Endwalker, but as it is I'm enjoying the story so much I'm okay with it.

Red Mage has definitely become my go-to DPS class (otherwise I main PAL and AST). Just finished all of Heavensward's post-game patch content this week, and slowly starting into Stormblood. Trying not to overdo it, which means I won't likely be caught up before Endwalker releases, but I should also not be burned out by the time I get there.

None of the tanks at this level really feel all that different to me (GNB seems slightly more fiddly), so I'll be curious to see how they change as I continue on through Stormblood.

I am a masochist who got everything to at least 50 and has been leveling the other classes. Partially because I am playing with both the boyfriend and a friend in Texas, so am gating my story progress based on when they catch up (general rule has been stop when we hit a duty or trial and wait for the others).

Red Mage was my only DPS jam whenever I played (with a controller, on PS4/PS5). Super intuitive, easy to setup the cross-hotbars for, good balance across abilities (single-target, AoE, heals, resurrection), etc. I dabbled in a couple of others but quickly went back.

Though I main Red Mage, Dark Knight has been the one I've been going back to since getting it to 80. Other jobs, once I max their level, tend to get dropped immediately. DRK's whole vibe (and those incredible job quests) really works for me though.

I really enjoyed my time with Dark Knight. Every attack feels so hefty!

I don't really enjoy tanking as much as the other roles, but I've definitely got my eyes on that job going into EW.

I'm still trying to figure out what other classes to play. I main as BRD, but haven't been able to get my groove on with anything else.

I don't intend to give up DRK for anything else as a main, so I'd heartily recommend it--the attacks feel great, it does have a wonderful anti-authoritarian vibe, and the only thing better than when TBN turns the big tankbuster into a 0 is when it turns the big tankbuster into trivial damage, but you get to instantly attack back for free. It would be nice to get some better self-sustaining tools, though.

I've leveled everything else to 80, so I can offer some unbidden thoughts:

GNB is the other tank I play most, it's much more hectic and furious than DRK, but a nice change of pace. WAR and PLD also have strengths, I just don't like them quite as much. Though, in the WAR questline,

Spoiler:

female characters can learn that same-sex marriages are NBD in the Xaela tribes.

RDM is a lot of fun. It has a, to my mind, unique playstyle, but it also really is unmatched in utility, so it's what I typically bring when I expect trouble. SMN has the most important bit of utility with that emergency rez, but since it's changing pretty radically, I don't think I'd recommend taking it up now, unless you want to see what it's like before the change. I like it currently, I've got a good grasp on its rotation, but I'm still excited to see where it goes. BLM is gratifying, but it can be very stressful. It's a Cool Guy thing right now is to say "Ack-choo-all-lee, BLM is the most mobile caster," but we're not talking about movement, dipsh*ts, we're talking about when you have 4 seconds of Enochian left and the boss enters a big movement phase and it will take you 3 seconds to cast Fire I because you tried a crit build. I can't wait for the change to a trait.

SAM is like being an attack dog where you have to worry about very little except your own business, it's great when I just want to get into a rhythm with some other tools thrown in. I struggle with MNK, but it's very fun to dress, and may have some of the best relic glams in the game. DRG it stressful for a while for similar reasons to BLM, but in that case you eventually get both extender combos, and by 80 you're just composing this endless combo, I love it. Every class in the game is pretty FF, but of them all I'd say DRG is FFAF. NIN has a lot of stuff to balance, but it's very unique, and the variety feels good.

I do OK on BRD, but I rarely understand how, so good thing it's your main, dee. MCH feels sort of a lot like SAM, even though it does have party buffs, but I think that's in part because it has so many other off global things being crammed in they just become part of the package. DNC is my main DPS, very proc-heavy, but everyone loves to see them. I once had a party member thank me in dungeon for the damage boost.

I avoid healing, I make poor choices when I do it, but I like AST the most, then WHM, and I still don't really get SCH.

I'm not sure why I slept on this for so long but while playing New World I realized I was craving a more traditional MMO with a good story. So I've rolled a dragon dude thaumaturge named Zappicus Stormbringer. Really digging the music and world so far, and the combat seems decent enough.

At any rate, would love an invite to the guild.

jdzappa wrote:

I'm not sure why I slept on this for so long but while playing New World I realized I was craving a more traditional MMO with a good story. So I've rolled a dragon dude thaumaturge named Zappicus Stormbringer. Really digging the music and world so far, and the combat seems decent enough.

At any rate, would love an invite to the guild.

Replied to your message in Discord but didn't get a reply from you. If you have access to the Ul'dah housing district, swing by the Free Company house at Plot 44, 1 Ward, The Goblet (Small), and apply for the FC by clicking on the placard out front. Once one of the officers are online we can approve it. Otherwise we can invite you directly next time you're online.

I'm still working through New Game Plus and finished the base Stormblood story last night. Spoilery thoughts ahead:

Spoiler:

When I first played this (3ish years ago at this point?), I know I didn't enjoy Stormblood nearly as much as Heavensward. But I moved right into the patch content, and Shadowbringers not long after, so I didn't really have a chance to dwell on it. Revisiting it now, I went into it wanting to like it, but found it to be a real mixed bag.

The new characters are all well done for the most part. I even enjoyed Zenos chewing the scenery. There are so many great women characters with different motivations and personalities. Yugiri, M'Naago, Lyse, Fordola, Sadu, and Yotsuyu have fantastic voice acting. Alisae's return added some much needed sass to the whole thing, and overall the moment-to-moment writing was really good.

The story had great moments, like the Susano fight and its buildup, as well as the final fight with Zenos/Shinryu. In fact just about all the dungeons and boss fights were a big step up in quality and mechanical complexity. They're the real highlight of the expansion. But splitting the revolution narrative across two regions meant neither one really got a chance to shine, and it was hard to feel invested in either. They established Ala Mhigo's plight back in 2.0 (and 1.0 if you played it), so it would have made sense to me to focus on that. They seeded the stuff about Doma starting with the 2.x patches, but it was never a place you had a reason to feel invested in. A lot of the quests between big story moments tried to get you to sympathize with the people of both, but it didn't really resonate. The lead-up to Stormblood has a massive fight between Omega and Shinryu, but neither is seen again until the very end, when Shinryu is revealed to have been captured by Zenos without explanation. It's just.. very odd.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to revisiting the patch content and seeing again how everything is tied up thematically. Plus, I'm really hyped to get to Shadowbringers and play it again. Soon!

re: Stormblood.

My own progress has definitely slowed down, and it is in large part because of reasons you mention:

Spoiler:

It's really hard to care quite as much when I'm playing yoyo between these two nations. I've reached the Susano trial fight, and I loved the introduction of it, but getting there has taken longer than I feel getting to the first trial in Heavensward did. I've been forewarned by an occasional fourth player who joins my group about Stormblood, so not shocked or dismayed. At least it is still stronger than ARR, though I really don't understand Lyse or why I should be quite as invested in her as a Scion that mostly seemed to be comedic relief before this. I hope her storyline pays off, but there was a lot of sudden info dump with her that didn't really endear her to me in a way that a slower burn could've I feel?

Aeazel wrote:

re: Stormblood.

My own progress has definitely slowed down, and it is in large part because of reasons you mention:

Spoiler:

It's really hard to care quite as much when I'm playing yoyo between these two nations. I've reached the Susanoo trial fight, and I loved the introduction of it, but getting there has taken longer than I feel getting to the first trial in Heavensward did. I've been forewarned by an occasional fourth player who joins my group about Stormblood, so not shocked or dismayed. At least it is still stronger than ARR, though I really don't understand Lyse or why I should be quite as invested in her as a Scion that mostly seemed to be comedic relief before this. I hope her storyline pays off, but there was a lot of sudden info dump with her that didn't really endear her to me in a way that a slower burn could've I feel?

Spoiler:

Yeah the Lyse thing is so strange. I didn't mind her more serious turn after Papalymo's death and turning her attention to Ala Mhigo. I can understand that, and it's not a bad bit of character growth. I particularly enjoyed her voice acting, as the actress did a good job delivering a mix of uncertainty, belligerence, and upbeat certainty when required. What I don't understand is why they added the "twist" that actually she's a completely different person from whom we thought, that all the other Scions knew this, but nobody felt the need to tell our character up til that point. It feels like a pointless bit of drama, to the point that I still wonder if I'm missing some extra backstory or something to make it make sense.

My hope is that there will be things introduced in Stormblood that somehow pay off in Endwalker. Considering how interlocking and seamless ARR, Heavensward, and Shadowbringers feel in both plot and lore, Stormblood right now feels a bit like an extended side quest awkwardly hanging off to one side.

Still want to emphasize that it's better than the vast majority of storytelling in ARR, and there's a lot of stuff moment to moment I liked. It's just the plot itself that really dragged.

Agreed. There was too much back and forth in Stormblood. But I'm suspecting Endwalker will be a bit of the same, considering the three main areas they're opening up...

beanman101283 wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

I'm not sure why I slept on this for so long but while playing New World I realized I was craving a more traditional MMO with a good story. So I've rolled a dragon dude thaumaturge named Zappicus Stormbringer. Really digging the music and world so far, and the combat seems decent enough.

At any rate, would love an invite to the guild.

Replied to your message in Discord but didn't get a reply from you. If you have access to the Ul'dah housing district, swing by the Free Company house at Plot 44, 1 Ward, The Goblet (Small), and apply for the FC by clicking on the placard out front. Once one of the officers are online we can approve it. Otherwise we can invite you directly next time you're online.

So I realized that I couldn't join the company as a free player so I bought the ultimate bundle. I've submitted a request as Zappah Stormcaller. And yes I rolled a Viera.. don't judge me!

sometimesdee wrote:

Agreed. There was too much back and forth in Stormblood. But I'm suspecting Endwalker will be a bit of the same, considering the three main areas they're opening up...

I wonder how much of that will also depend on people (from my perspective) seemingly really liking Shadowbringers? I don't think Stormblood would bother me quite as much if I hadn't just come off the high that is Heavensward.

Spoiler:

Did manage to take care of the Susano trial and level 63 dungeon yesterday, which felt good, and was engaging. I'm really enjoying the dungeon and encounter design, which was already pretty great in Heavensward.

It's going to be very interesting seeing the evolving reaction with Endwalker. I remember the collective, dawning realization among the community in those first few weeks that Shadowbringers was something really special, and that collective hype has only grown in the 2+ years since then. I've been watching/reading interviews with Yoshi-P today and he's said that they aren't putting pressure on themselves to somehow "surpass" Shadowbringers, and that Endwalker isn't intended to be "Shadowbringers 2." Instead they're just trying to make it as good as they can. Despite that, I think people's expectations for Endwalker are pretty sky-high, and if it turns out to be merely pretty good instead of a 15 out of 10 game, I'll expect a lot of whiplash and angst before folks calm down and figure out how they really feel about it.