Endwalker doubles down on the JRPG melodrama that Shadowbringers leaned into. Story wise, it wraps up nearly every plot thread from the last ten years, with a few notable exceptions clearly being set up for future expansions. I loved how it all wrapped up, but some folks still prefer Shadowbringers overall.
The 6.1 patch introduced the new NPCs for running dungeons for the 2.0 dungeons, and subsequent patches will expand that feature for Heavensward and Stormblood. That’ll be done piecemeal over the course of this expansion cycle, so you’ll have to wait for those. A big theme going forward is making the game even friendlier for solo play. They just revamped the 2.0 end dungeons to play better, and work with the new NPC system. A graphics overhaul is slated for the next expansion. So there’s a lot to look forward to.
Otherwise the game is still bursting with content. People do still run Palace of the Dead, along with Stormblood’s counterpart Heaven on High. We’re getting a new one of those sometime this expansion. The new raids and trials are a lot of fun, and so far this expansion they’re leaning into original stories instead of crossovers with Nier or Ivalice like the last couple expansions. The PvP rework is really fun, and the new mode is addictive. Before PvP was something I tolerated for the easy daily EXP. Now it’s legitimately fun on its own.
I've been playing a lot of Crystalline Conflict PvP lately. The combination of insta-queues and matches that are just a few minutes long make it easy to play "just one more match" repeatedly. I've played matches as Red Mage and Gunbreaker. Red Mage in particular seems pretty powerful, though it can be tricky to get your combo off before the other team reacts. Gunbreaker doesn't seem as immediately strong, but its Limit Break can stun anyone caught in it, which can come in handy in clutch moments.
They've significantly streamlined every job for PvP, and everyone gets a unique Limit Break that you can use fairly frequently. It makes it relatively straightforward to try just about any job and take it for a spin.
The other nice thing is that chatting with your team is limited to canned messages, which cuts out just about any potential toxicity. I've actually been playing Ranked mode because there doesn't seem to be any downside, and I don't have to worry about someone getting salty in party chat.
I definitely recommend checking it out if you've ignored PvP up to this point. It seems like they've finally come up with a competitive mode that has some real legs to it.
Any unlock required? Does it give you job exp like other pvp modes?
You need a level 30 job, and go to the Wolves Den PVP area to unlock it. If you’ve never unlocked PVP, there should be an unlock quest from your Grand Company. The new mode does give EXP for leveling, along with Tomestones of Poetics for 50+ jobs, and current endgame Tomestones for level 90 jobs. The EXP for leveling per match feels roughly analogous to doing a level-appropriate FATE.
Would anyone be interested in starting a newer character or leveling a new job? I’d love to come back but feeling a little intimidated since I only made it into the 20s. Interested to see how fun the low level solo dungeons are.
There's a bunch of us in the GWJ Discord's MMO channel who play and are happy to run stuff with you. We have the occasional group events as evidenced by this thread, but otherwise we're around to answer questions or help however we can.
I continue to be put off by the Shadowbringers story content. Is it out there, what happened that caused them to go from kind of realistic, grounded material (say, reclaiming Doma and Ala Mhigo) to goofy ass magic frog people made from drowned souls?
I know there’s always been some goofy stuff but the balance seems so off. As a big fan of the base game and first two expansions, Shadowbringers is really… well, I’m skipping a lot of cutscenes, sadly. Sorry to repeat this but it’s super striking.
Shadowbringers is where the more background story of Hydaelan, Zodiark, and the Ascians' motivation moves to the fore. It's basically typical JRPG escalation: now that all the geopolitical situations are established, the "true" powers behind the villains (Garlemald Empire) is revealed, and you start getting a real understanding of what's actually going on in this world. It's also where the game really starts fleshing out the Scions.
It's only going to get wilder from here. Endwalker doesn't really make sense story-wise without the foundation Shadowbringers lays, so while you should play however makes you happy, maybe focusing on characters like the Crystal Exarch and Minfilia will give you something a bit more personal to relate to in the midst of all the interdimensional nonsense going on.
It's only going to get wilder from here.
Understatement of the year right here.
Thanks. Edit: To be a bit more precise, I actually really like the Scions and the interdimensional politics. I could do without the menial tasks for pixies and Nu Mou and frog people and whatever the hell else in between, I guess is my issue.
I’m also having a job conundrum. Anyone here experienced with Dragoon?
I’m at level 73 and don’t seem to have a job gauge? Playing on PS5 btw. I have mirage dive and it sounds like using that twice is supposed to activate Life of the Dragon, which turns Geirskogul into Nostrand, but Life of the Dragon is not “lit up” on the Trait screen, and doing Mirage Dive never seems to activate anything.
Edit: just realized this is probably because I forgot that job quests exist ;(
Heh yeah, don't forget your job quests. In Shadowbringers in particular you'll also need to do a set of Role quests before you can finish Shadowbringers' story. You can find those in the Crystarium, in the bar area next to the inn and the market boards. They make the Role quests in Endwalker optional, but I still had a lot of fun doing them.
I can see getting annoyed with the pixies section of Shadowbringers in particular. I found the area beautiful, and the Nu Mou gave off 80's fantasy movie vibes to me which I enjoyed. Also reminded me a bit of the 8 and 16bit FF games. But there's no denying the pixies themselves can be hard to love, and if the aesthetic doesn't work for you, there's not much you can do about that. The main story will move out of there starting around level 74 in the MSQ quests.
I actually found one of her videos and have been watching on and off a bit. Can’t watch at work on in earshot of the wife XD
I actually found one of her videos and have been watching on and off a bit. Can’t watch at work on in earshot of the wife XD
I was going to ask if you're in one of those marriages where one partner isn't respectful of your gaming, but then I actually played the video... :cringe: I might not be able to watch with audio on, within earshot of *me*!
Edit: I just watched the whole damned thing. "May Yoshi-P have mercy on [my] soul."
yeah it’s more about shame than her feelings
I’m most of the way through Rak’tika now and it’s been the best of the expansion so far.
LA-HEE!
That was a funny video!
LA-HEE!
Helluva song.
Edit: cleared out my inventories tonight. Had full inventory, two full retainers, 90% full armory chest, full saddlebag. Went from about 900 items down to about 75.
Feels good man.
Inventory management is the true endgame.
I've been leveling Summoner lately. Got it to 60 today. It's interesting that, moreso than many of the other jobs I've leveled, the job quests seem more directly tied to the specific abilities your character unlocks. I imagine that makes it difficult to tweak and update the job as time goes on, which makes it even more impressive to me that they managed to basically redo the job from scratch for Endwalker and still have it make sense with the job quests. Even at level 60 it's pretty brain dead, but that's true of most jobs these days. I'm thinking once I finish with Summoner, I'll finally unlock and try Black Mage. That'll finally be all the magic jobs unlocked and leveled. up.
I’ve been meaning to try new SMN. Brain dead isn’t a bad thing for me as I’m not amazing and simpler jobs seem better suited for controller.
My highest jobs now are WAR and DRG at 79, MCH 78, WHM at 75. I like to have one of every category leveled. WAR and DRG are set but everything else I’m undecided on.
I gather healers at large are displeased? I’ve always loved WHM but it does feel kinda simple now. I’ll probably mess with Astro and Sage.
I've got WHM leveled but I don't know what healer mains are feeling these days. 6.1 tweaked a bunch of jobs so maybe folks are happier now?
Looks like the new Ultimate raid has finally been cleared. If I remember correctly this took longer than the previous two did for a world first. This is content I have zero interest in touching, but it was exciting for the community to watch over the last week. It'll be interesting how much longer it takes for other groups racing to complete it.
How does one even start a job from the beginning? I have some jobs that are partially leveled, but I don't know how to "do" them. How you you even learn how to learn?
I usually find a training dummy to start learning my rotation. Then i'll find some level appropriate mobs or FATEs to practice some more. After that I start leveling using daily roulettes, hunts (either the class hunt log or the daily hunts available in the expansions), and level appropriate dungeons.
Hey if anyone wants to do some low level dungeons hit me up this weekend! I just re-upped and will have time later this week to play.
How does one even start a job from the beginning? I have some jobs that are partially leveled, but I don't know how to "do" them. How you you even learn how to learn?
If you're wanting to level a job you've already unlocked, you simply equip the appropriate soul crystal in your inventory, then poof you're a "whatever," you'll have those abilities you have access to at the level, and experience you earn will contribute to the progression of the job (unlocking abilities as you go). Just want to make sure to save the set of equipment you were using on your main one before equipping other stuff with more ideal stats you might have lying around in your inventory.
If you're wanting to unlock a job for the first time, this is done at a NPC in one of the main cities, which will also start the job's primary quest line. Here's a site that lists where each NPC is to start whatever you're interested in.
Yeah, I meant to learn rotations, not to unlock the abilities. I want to learn how to learn how to learn how to do things right, not just how to level up. I forget if we have dummies at the FC house.
Hey if anyone wants to do some low level dungeons hit me up this weekend! I just re-upped and will have time later this week to play.
Mother's Day will be super busy, or else I'd take you up on it. How's your availability on Friday?
My go-to training dummy location lately is in Thavnair just outside of the first town you arrive in. This link has the list of all overworld locations though.
Yeah, I meant to learn rotations, not to unlock the abilities. I want to learn how to learn how to learn how to do things right, not just how to level up. I forget if we have dummies at the FC house.
jdzappa wrote:Hey if anyone wants to do some low level dungeons hit me up this weekend! I just re-upped and will have time later this week to play.
Mother's Day will be super busy, or else I'd take you up on it. How's your availability on Friday?
Oops, totally misread that - sorry! I haven't played a ton of different jobs, but for the ones I wanted to learn I always found WeskAlber's Youtube Channel to be just the ticket as far as leveling/skills/rotations go.
I do what Beanman does, while also stumble through some roulettes, and also refresh myself with WeskAlber's guides--as I told my friend (who was a patron briefly), he's got one of the worst nerd voices imaginable, but his information is solid.
I’ve leveled astrologian to 75 and am really liking it, but sweet god is it a lot of buttons for a controller. I’ll manage, but only barely.
I’m finding the tank jobs kinda boring at this point but I do like tanking. Torn between warrior and gunbreaker.
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