The Extremes have all been fun, i havent cleared the new one but im like almost there basically. In Endwalker i only really liked Barb but so far ive found at least one really enjoyable thing in each extreme (except maybe Zoreel Ja)
Im excited for the Deep Dungeon and Quantum difficulty, i think Quantum is really interesting. I also never did the Chaotic ARaid for various reasons so i cant comment on that
Occult Crescent has been fun, minus the very strange fate scaling. Ive been progging Forked Tower with my co-healer and thats been a lot of fun, i think the Phantom Jobs are really cool and i hope Chemist becomes a real job (Squeenix please, it could have like NIN Mudra for making concoctions)
5-8 are all AMAZING IMO. I love adds in 6, the multi stage of 7, the LB manipulation of 5 and 6. We're still progging 8, but i think phase two is very cool
1-4 were fairly safe in my opinion? Honey B and Wicked Thunder being the standouts. My static didnt like Honey B, but i think if we did a better strat for alarm pheromones (we did *gestures vaguely* good luck!) they would have liked it more.
7.X CONTENT: 8.4/10
As some context, i started raiding after the second tier of eden unlocked but before the third tier came out. I do all the EX fights for at least a little bit, and i dabble in Ultimates and have cleared UWU. I have really enjoyed this expansions savage fights.
I know the EW patch quests arent the most well liked, but it was nice. The writing team took a step back with at the very least Dawntrail, taking a mentorship role with the new team.. and while they misstepped, i like the direction they went and the story they've told
I think im excited for the story to come, for the next 10 years of Final Fantasy 14. Ive never been a hater on the story, i like Dawntrail but i know it has issues. I liked the Endwalker patch quest, i think its going to mirror the Warriors of Darkness a bit, that it was setup for later.
old person crossing the street? Things are beautiful *BECAUSE* they end.
I think this is BEAUTIFUL, and for me personally, i view death as the one instance that gives life its MEANING. Things are going to end, you are going to end. If you have no time limit, if you're immortal, why do things when in 100 years no ones going to remember? Why be kind? Why help the >>
leading to when we turn it back ON, its in a very natural, beautiful state.. showing they have finally accepted that death is a VERY natural part of life and its okay to grieve and feel sad but they keep moving, they have to, for the ones they've lost
When we turn it off, we watch as it slowly dies and becomes a desolate greyscape, again mimicking the Alexandrian's look on death.. that it sucks, and all is naut and death SUCKS and they dont want to deal with the feelings of loss.. and as the story goes on they start to kind of accept it more >>
really REALLY wanted her to). With the BAD part of the ending out of the way, the environmental story telling with Living Memory is PEAK. When we first go there its washed out by golden light, mimicking the Alexandrian's look on Death, which is that death is happy, you get to be an endless.
Her asking for citizenship to Alexandria? Makes sense, it also makes sense that they want her to be queen again.. but she should have refused, stating the reasons above. I think it was a MAJOR misstep to have her not be an adventurer, even if she doesnt join us on our adventures (even though i >>
NOW, for the ENDING. Sphene becoming Queen again was a mistake. It goes against her character arc. Eternal Sphene was a prisoner to being Queen, and most signs during the patch content point to flesh Sphene becoming an adventurer and it would make sense. She has her FREEDOM again, why not??
our jobs making an impact in the ANIMATIONS we do, us DOING animations in the first place. Ive been on the "Squeenix doesnt reinvest in XIV" train, but im SO glad that this patch proves, at least at this moment, they are investing.
all of the convocation so in my mind it makes sense. Back to the cutscene and its not 100% story related, this patch SHOWS that Square Enix is investing in FFXIV more. All of the cutscenes and custom animations are PROOF. The soldiers moving the way they do, the way Sphene3 moves >>
Im not sure if Calyx succeeded in his upload or the Ascian at the end yoinked him out, reason being he was sweating and commented that he doesnt have lungs (which i read as a "Why is this happening, i DONT have these"). Ive suspected that an Ancient is going to come back, we havent dealt with >>
but i do also like that we did it without it. The cutscene AFTER the trial.. H O L Y, custom animations based on your job, a whole fight sequence, Wuk Lamat and Sphene POPPING off was INCREDIBLE. As soon as Calyx starts his upload, i had called he was going to Ultron himself, which he DID (maybe)
I dont know if Calyx knows killing primals is our 9-5, but either way i think it works. If he DOES then he's betting on that it cant die, if he DOESNT, he's just summoning a primal to kill us. I think it would have maybe been neat to use Dynamis/Limit Break to defy his expectations >
Sphene comes into her own more here, getting her NotScholarTM book as we head back into living memory and turn it back on, first appearing kinda glitchy as we head into the meso terminal and face down Death the Primal
The dark tones are back again, we watch Geode (RIP) die unceremoniously (This is a positive) and then the party runs in as they're turning him to DUST. The funeral scene is VERY nice, and as added story telling our WoL can say no to the drink calling back to ARR
7.3 STORY: 9.5/10 BUT MINUS ONE FOR THE ENDING
As you can tell by the above line, i have THOUGHTS on this patch. Sphene being a Zoemancer (Basically a life mage) to counter the villain's (kinda) Necromancer (death mage) is NEAT AS HECK, really good "background" story telling
For the Raid story, i like that they had the WoL start helping the contestants, and i really didnt expect Honey B. to be like how she is, i was expecting kinda a brat but she's chill! and i really like that. What happened to Hector was tragic but again, i like dark things he better come back for m11
I also believe this is the patch where we use the porxie to heal the Levin Sickness which i CALLED we were going to do when we first encountered it
Its cool to explore the underkeep, and i like Calyx continuing to try and measure the WoL and.. i just dont think he quite understands :P Learning more about PERSON Sphene is nice, and i really like that we DO get to learn about who she was as a flesh person, and not just an Endless
Additionally, we get the first four raid fights, which i quite liked! I dont watch wrestling too often, just when my friends do and im in the room, but its neat! Again, dark tones which i love and also, unrelated to story, MY FAVORITE VOCALIST DID THE SONG FOR M4!!!!
7.2 STORY: 9/10
This introduces us to the villain of the expansion, the puppet master Calyx whom i quite like as a villain. It also introduces us to flesh Sphene whom i LOVE and i want to hold her hand. We ALSO get our second raid series story, which i quite like
I have to admit... whenever a new Allied Society comes out im excited to read the story.... and then whenever the story comes up i am just NOT in the mood and skip it (im sorry dont hate me)
The Alliance raid was okay! Ive never played FFXI, but it was still neat and stuff, i would like to punt whats his face (I actually cannot for the life of me remember his name).
