This is one of those characters that Japanese fans love, while everyone else either don't get the appeal or straight up dislike them. At least most people are fond of the Shadowbringers villain.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Ultra LTTP: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. W O W (woooowwwww)
- Thread starter SirKai
- Start date
This is one of those characters that Japanese fans love, while everyone else either don't get the appeal or straight up dislike them. At least most people are fond of the Shadowbringers villain.
There's about 80 some odd quests between the end of ARR and Heavensward. It's a slog.
My daft ass at the time didn't even remotely correlate
until they used
.
Even years later with Shadowbringer the team continues to impress and make a long time old fan like me happy with impeccable homages.
Thordan and the Heavensward are the Knights of the Round
Ultimate End
Even years later with Shadowbringer the team continues to impress and make a long time old fan like me happy with impeccable homages.
Out of all the tank classes, the one that felt most distinctive compared to its peers is Gunbreaker, due to how 'active' and fast it feels. It's like playing a slower DPS with much better survivability.
I actually really like him. His unmitigated affection towards the WoL is amusing and interesting to see, hahaha.
I will give credit to the English voice actor, who does a lot with a little, IMO.
pretty sure drk got reworked no?
cant remember it was sb or shb that changed drk
I primarily play tank for raids and Dark Knight is my main. It's kind of dull to level, it doesn't really feel all put together till around 72 honestly. In the 60s you get access to the Blood Meter which is a pretty big part of the moveset, and then at 70 you get The Blackest Night which is one of my favorite moves in the game, plus the second part of its AoE rotation only unlocks at 72. So dungeons till then consist of you hitting one button mostly lol
But past that it's great fun and lenient for rotations since it's not so set in stone. Though if you want something more busy, Gunbreaker is a great choice.
The expansion voice cast is amazing. I wish they'd go back and re-record the base game with them, but... yeah, that's probably never gonna happen.
Yeah I just finished Shadowbringers MSQ over the weekend and the game really continues to live up to its reputation.
Easily the best FF game since IX for me, and if I could remove my nostalgic bias for games like VI and VII I would probably consider it the best
narrative in the entire series.
Easily the best FF game since IX for me, and if I could remove my nostalgic bias for games like VI and VII I would probably consider it the best
narrative in the entire series.
Literally this lol, we meet like the only good Ishgardians during the story, the rest are a bunch of zealous religious xenophobic assholes.
Like I remembered how much I hated these people when I did the level 60 Botanist quest and they wanted to execute a man for growing a different kind of cabbage.
I enjoyed Heavensward but the setting was not to my tastes. I felt way more involved with Stormblood's story and the people you were saving there
Tanking is actually secretly the easiest role. You're basically a melee DPS without positionals and a more basic rotation. You may find GNB more stimulating than the others though due it playing more like a DPS job with an actual burst window. Personally I like all of the tanks, but will usually run WAR because it has self-healing for daaaays.
I get you.
I thought both were great.
What boggles my mind is people sing praises for Heavensward when the first several quests in the game were some ARR quality in the sea of clouds. Really awful quests, and then you have the moogle quests in the churning mists which weren't any better.
Stormblood did have issues, maybe even more than HW, but the strong parts were as good as some of the best parts in HW.
In terms of pacing, of course SHB is the king. That game barely dragged.
Its funny when people talk about Ishikawa, it's like only SHB and Dark knight quest.
When she basically wrote the best parts in Stormblood.
Tanking does require you to be comfortable leading the way even when it's your first time, and learning how to deal with certain mechanics differently.
I agree. Stormblood is a bit disjointed, but the Doman section is great. Yotsuyu still has one of the most memorable entrances of any villain.
Stormblood has better story highs than Heavensward for sure. I think I prefer it on the whole too, but it's close. Gameplay was also definitely more solid in Stormblood. Job balance was fairly bad back in HW honestly, and had some truly bizarre design decisions. Bow mage, anyone?
One of the best things about Ishikawa's writing on the game is how well she connects everything she does. She wrote the Coerthas quests in ARR, but her first big job was Crystal Tower, a storyline that only just paid off after 7 years. And the parts of Stormblood that she wrote, particularly Azim Steppe, are being seen in a whole new context now with story revelations from 5.3.
I'm really trying to enjoy FF14, but the whole MMORPG genre just seems awful from a "respecting your time" perspective.
Like I'm trying to grind the starter quests and it already feels like I'm spending forever just walking back and forth across the map. People used to defend FF13 by saying it "got really good after 20 hours" so when I hear it's going to take me ~60 hours to get to the newer FF14 content I start to worry. As it stands I've yet to really find the carrot on a stick to work towards. I also find World of Warcraft painfully boring so maybe I'm incompatible with the genre.
The graphics and music are certainly nice though.
Like I'm trying to grind the starter quests and it already feels like I'm spending forever just walking back and forth across the map. People used to defend FF13 by saying it "got really good after 20 hours" so when I hear it's going to take me ~60 hours to get to the newer FF14 content I start to worry. As it stands I've yet to really find the carrot on a stick to work towards. I also find World of Warcraft painfully boring so maybe I'm incompatible with the genre.
The graphics and music are certainly nice though.
Maybe it's not for you. The game never really changes from going back and forth across the map though. Sure some dungeons, trails and other activities pop up every now and then. But the MSQ, most of it is just doing errands around the world.
Yup. I started right at the relaunch of FFXIV and Heavenward was the expansion that made me say, yea I'm sticking with this game for the long run. The first MMO that I've done that with.
I would agree with others that Stormblood story is pretty bad and the villain is a one note character. The only saving grace of that expansion was the raids and side stories.
As far as expansions go I'd say the general consensus is: ShadowBringers > Heavensward > Stormblood > ARR. Though you could probably swap ARR and Stormblood depending what you liked.
I would agree with others that Stormblood story is pretty bad and the villain is a one note character. The only saving grace of that expansion was the raids and side stories.
As far as expansions go I'd say the general consensus is: ShadowBringers > Heavensward > Stormblood > ARR. Though you could probably swap ARR and Stormblood depending what you liked.
The word of mouth on this game is incredible. The Internet has successfully made me feel like shit for not playing FFXIV. But I really really really don't want to pay a subscription for a game.
"I'll play it when it goes F2P" also probably won't work because I had the same thought about FF11 and then that never happened.
"I'll play it when it goes F2P" also probably won't work because I had the same thought about FF11 and then that never happened.
Heavensward may be the best expansion. Sure the Story in Shadowbringers is even better, but the overall content in Heavensward is more feature complete.
And Haurchefant: MVP
And Haurchefant: MVP
That's the main reason I never got into 14 and likely won't for the forseeable future. I played through FF11 for 5yrs and while it was a good experience overall it was a timesink I can't justify where I'm at now. I'm happy to see 14 in a better spot than the total shitshow I saw during open beta, I'm also fine not participating until there's a way to truly enjoy it in bits and pieces.
Heavensward was magical from beginning to end. I've said this before, but starting the game as a lancer really made me that much more invested in the story, and seeing Estinien transform from the prick whose ass I had to kick in job quests into FFXIV's Piccolo was a delight.
I'd agree with those who felt Stormblood was a step down, though I think the negativity is overblown. I just wasn't that engaged in the liberation of Ala Mhigo and Doma, and felt like I kept hearing the same speeches about the value of freedom over and over. I also just found the zones to be remarkably dull compared to everything that came before and after, and felt it easily had the weakest soundtrack as well.
I'm in what I assume to be the middle of the main Shadowbringers story. It's okay so far, but at least at the point I'm at in the story (second visit to Eulmore) I still find Heavensward to be more engaging. I agree that the villain in Shadowbringers is captivating though.
I'd agree with those who felt Stormblood was a step down, though I think the negativity is overblown. I just wasn't that engaged in the liberation of Ala Mhigo and Doma, and felt like I kept hearing the same speeches about the value of freedom over and over. I also just found the zones to be remarkably dull compared to everything that came before and after, and felt it easily had the weakest soundtrack as well.
I'm in what I assume to be the middle of the main Shadowbringers story. It's okay so far, but at least at the point I'm at in the story (second visit to Eulmore) I still find Heavensward to be more engaging. I agree that the villain in Shadowbringers is captivating though.
I just finished up the main part of Stormblood last night. I'm excited to get to the post-patch content but I would have to say that while I enjoyed the story a lot, Heavensward really is still the best for me. It feels a bit more personal with the small party travelling and bantering and the dialogue was top notch. The fights in Stormblood felt reeeally good though, I loved the final trial.
I hope they wrapped up Zenos by 5.5. The series always feature a new villain in the next expansion so I'm hopeful he'll be gone soon.
Trial version can get you to play for free until the end of Heavensward. No need to buy a game or pay for a sub. And Heavensward story felt pretty complete as far as its main character journey goes.
Not my screenshot but I feel like this scene captures why I loved this expansion. Someone else said it but it really has that classic RPG element of forming a party of unlikely heroes and journeying together, something ARR didn't have. In ARR you were mostly just an errand boy/girl.
MMO's weren't made to "respect your time", they were made to live with you, as you play a few hours everyday for years and still find some content to reach. In the some FFXIV community I'm surprised that people blame designers that they have nothing to do now while I'm still flooded with quests and whatnot. Most people I know who aren't heavy gamers stick to one MMO and that's it.
FFXIV is one oddball though because its story was much more widely praised than any MMO's I've seen, and its single-player approach to the main storyline made it an easier jump for someone who almost exclusively play single player game (like me) to jump in. It is the one game that is still being played by my friends who don't play any other MMO. Still it's a massive, massive time sink on a game that weren't designed to be finished. I'm about to finish Heavensward and I don't know when, if ever, I'll catch up with the current storyline and content.
This thread inspired me to give this game a go while waiting for Shadowlands to come out. Downloaded the trial, then couldn't login using my square enix account. I thought, this is weird, but ok I'll reset my pw since I must be getting it wrong. Got an email saying there was no account registered to this email address. Extra-weird, since I've been playing Avengers this very week with an account registered to this email address. Then when I tried to register a new account it said my email address was already in use.
Nah, fuck this. I haven't had this much trouble playing a game because of account issues... since the last time I tried to play a Final Fantasy game on Steam. Square Enix has a fucking awful account system and I'm absolutely befuddled why they have such a user hostile system in place.
Nah, fuck this. I haven't had this much trouble playing a game because of account issues... since the last time I tried to play a Final Fantasy game on Steam. Square Enix has a fucking awful account system and I'm absolutely befuddled why they have such a user hostile system in place.
OP
OP
I'm really sorry to hear about that. Their account system/recovery back end is totally fucked. I made my SE account back in 2013 and I'm shocked I was still able to log in.
OP
OP
Bumping this because I'm about halfway through the Stormblood main story and while it's still pretty good (I love Yotsuyu as a villain, and Gosetsu is wonderful), it definitely doesn't match up to Heavensward. SE really killed it with that expansion. That said, the jobs added with STB, Red Mage and Samurai, are both absolutely brilliant. I've also leveled up Dancer and Gunbreaker and am enjoying those a lot too.
I really like the Doma parts of StB. There's some really great character moments overall in it, even if the main story feels less grand and compelling as HW's (IMO). I think the post-game patches (4.1-4.3) are incredible though. Those are the absolute highlights for me! The trial in 4.3 was probably my favorite in the game till the most recent one in 5.3 to be honest.Bumping this because I'm about halfway through the Stormblood main story and while it's still pretty good (I love Yotsuyu as a villain, and Gosetsu is wonderful), it definitely doesn't match up to Heavensward. SE really killed it with that expansion. That said, the jobs added with STB, Red Mage and Samurai, are both absolutely brilliant. I've also leveled up Dancer and Gunbreaker and am enjoying those a lot too.
What do you think of the playable content so far? I thought the dungeons, trials, and raids felt like a big improvement over ARR/HW.
OP
OP
I've unlocked a single trial and two dungeons so far, but BOTH dungeons are excellent! I especially loved the Sirensong Sea. That said, it'll be tough to beat The Vault or Baelsar's Wall.
Also when do I get to romance Gosetsu?
Did you unlock Shisui of the Violet Tides? Optional level 63 dungeon and easily one of the most gorgeous ones in the entire game. And quite chill too.
I think Stormblood gets way too much flack for simply not being as tight as the other two expansions. It's still better than the base game by far, and a great experience judged by its own merits. Lots of great music, pretty dungeons and cool trials. Especially the optional stuff.
My biggest gripe with it is honestly how boring pretty much all of the locations related to the Ala Mhigan liberation is. Way too much sand. Crossing my fingers future expansions do not include more desert maps.
I think Stormblood gets way too much flack for simply not being as tight as the other two expansions. It's still better than the base game by far, and a great experience judged by its own merits. Lots of great music, pretty dungeons and cool trials. Especially the optional stuff.
My biggest gripe with it is honestly how boring pretty much all of the locations related to the Ala Mhigan liberation is. Way too much sand. Crossing my fingers future expansions do not include more desert maps.
Totally random, but your character is gonna have a total "imposter Spider-man" moment in Shadowbringers.Bumping this because I'm about halfway through the Stormblood main story and while it's still pretty good (I love Yotsuyu as a villain, and Gosetsu is wonderful), it definitely doesn't match up to Heavensward. SE really killed it with that expansion. That said, the jobs added with STB, Red Mage and Samurai, are both absolutely brilliant. I've also leveled up Dancer and Gunbreaker and am enjoying those a lot too.
OP
OP
Totally random, but your character is gonna have a total "imposter Spider-man" moment in Shadowbringers.
Noooo I already felt that with the main NPC in Little Ala Mhigo in the early parts of ARR haha.
Is there a reason people don't like the Ala Mhigo part of StB/StB in general? The hate I see that expansion get is real weird to me having just gone through it. If it wasn't for dragon song I'd be really confused at people putting HW over it so handidly tbh.
Lyse is boring, Zenos sucks. Every key NPC in the Ala Mhigo questline except Raubahn is less interesting than the Doma side.
Yooooo. Lyse is excellent. I do not agree at all. Zenos being garbage is fair, but evil pope isn't exactly leagues better and at least Shin Ryu is a dope fight and much more engaging than thordan.
Like I think I'd still prooooobably put HW above it (esp. With dragonsong) , but it's in no way easy personally, and considering the hate I see for it everywhere, I was expecting like ARR tier or some shit.
Last edited:
For me it was purely the setting.
I was interested in Fordola and the fake echo but that seemed to fizzle out
I main DRK and it really comes alive at 70 when you get The Blackest Night, as others have stated.
If anyone is interested in tanking and is new to the job, I'd recommend playing Warrior or Paladin as they're OG jobs and never feel like anything is missing when you're doing 2.0 content. DRK, and especially GNB, feel weird when you're playing 2.0 content. Also if you're starting your tanking life as a GNB, you're going to be tossed into level 60 queues where folks are going to expect a bit of tanking competency as well as dealing with a level 60 job's worth of actions.
DRK has the best mitigation, GNB does the most damage, Warriors simply cannot die, and Paladins have the most support.
As far as complexity...I'm not sure. I know people say DRK can be difficult because it's up there with a ton of OGCDs. All 4 require time to get good with, and mastery requires even more time. Warriors and Paladin IMO are the easiest to get into, and I'd say Warrior is probably the easiest to play at endgame at the most basic level. However, getting good with any tank job requires being comfortable with the amount of depth all four has. Paladin is deceptively complex when you start taking in your Fight or Flight + Requiescat timings relative to what the boss is doing at X% of HP.
If anyone is interested in tanking and is new to the job, I'd recommend playing Warrior or Paladin as they're OG jobs and never feel like anything is missing when you're doing 2.0 content. DRK, and especially GNB, feel weird when you're playing 2.0 content. Also if you're starting your tanking life as a GNB, you're going to be tossed into level 60 queues where folks are going to expect a bit of tanking competency as well as dealing with a level 60 job's worth of actions.
DRK has the best mitigation, GNB does the most damage, Warriors simply cannot die, and Paladins have the most support.
As far as complexity...I'm not sure. I know people say DRK can be difficult because it's up there with a ton of OGCDs. All 4 require time to get good with, and mastery requires even more time. Warriors and Paladin IMO are the easiest to get into, and I'd say Warrior is probably the easiest to play at endgame at the most basic level. However, getting good with any tank job requires being comfortable with the amount of depth all four has. Paladin is deceptively complex when you start taking in your Fight or Flight + Requiescat timings relative to what the boss is doing at X% of HP.
Last edited:
That's fair. Purely geographically, Ala Mhigo certainly isn't much to look at haha.
Not to mention they committed one of the grandest sins...
You can't actually explore Ala Mhigo as a town. After all that hype it's just a background prop. And the Quarter is a pale imitation.
I feel like this is probably the biggest issue with this game at the moment. There are tons of locations that deserve a "Doman Enclave" treatment. But I wonder how feasible that'd be, to have places looking different for everyone depending on their story progress.
We got Kugane. They can't have to full cities in one expansion!