Well this certainly is a different kind of primal encounter.
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0:00 – Introduction
0:24 – QUEST: “Lord of Levin”
12:49 – QUEST: “Levin an Impression”
22:30 – TRIAL: The Striking Tree
30:45 – QUEST: “Levin an Impression” (continued)
33:15 – QUEST: “What Little Gods Are Made Of”
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Edited by Daniel Floyd
♫ “Pray Return” by Chris Logsdon
https://lnkfi.re/pray-return
#PlayFrame #FFXIV #FinalFantasyXIV
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The Sllyphlands used to be a nightmare.
22:39 it’s like that one episode in the first (or was it second?) season of Naruto, where the three principal characters were obsessed with knowing what their team leader’s mouth underneath his mask looks like. When he eventually removes the cloth, he reveals… another piece of cloth underneath.
"Your fellow Scions will provide whatever support you require". Funny. At this point in the game, their support generally amounts to "Aw, shucks, I really wanted to help fight that primal. Shame I couldn't be there with you because *mumblemumblemumble*"
So, prior to the great post-ARR cleanup there was an additional series of quests before you confronted Ramuh where the Sylphs impersonated various Scions and you had to break their illusions to re-assemble the team. While obviously not key to the story, I am rather sad that they were cut, because they were a lot of fun.
Possibly my favourite of them was a Sylph imitating Thancred. As I recall, they were hiding, saying that they couldn't go confront Ramuh because they couldn't risk anything happening to their beautiful face. Later, after dispelling the illusion, Yda would comment that she had no idea how you could tell that wasn't the real Thancred, as the acting was flawless.
Ramuh is easily one of my favorite ARR Primals tbh. I think only surpassed by one we have yet to meet. 😀
Also, his Extreme is what taught me that not all instanced duties should be done blind or Synced. |D
Huh, Ramuh calls us "Servant of Hydaelyn"… are we, the player character, Tempered by Hyedalyn? It would explain why we cannot be Tempered by others. It might explain why the Ascians believe we would be fine with them poking the beast tribes to summon their Primals if we only understood the truth. Interesting.
6.1 already dropped eh? I didn't think we would get through Heavensward and Stormblood before they updated them, but now we might not get through the rest of ARR! Dan's got a 6.2 time limit!
So for those not following the game: with 6.1 the Trust system was added, like Dan mentioned, but there were also a large number of changes to the dungeons themselves.
The 8 person dungeons at the end of ARR? They've now been cut down to 3 4-person dungeons and 2 solo instanced fights with many changed within.
The 8 player first trial that Durmin did? Cape Westwind? The one that was ridiculously easy? It's now gone, replaced with a solo instanced 1v1 fight.
The Thousand Maws? The maze like dungeon under the Twelveswood that Durmin rescued the Sylph leader from? The one with the spider webs and puddles that slow you down? That's now a straight corridor dungeon instead of a maze, has no more slow down puddles, and the spiderwebs only clear after you clear the spiders.
One of the first dungeons in the game was Copperbelt Mines, which really only had one boss, as the other two were a gauntlet of easy enemies and a puzzle fight. Now those bosses have been completely redone.
That's just a short list of the changes. Pretty much all the dungeons and trial up until the ARR credits have been completely altered. It's a shame that you can't play those old versions anymore, but, for the most part, all the changes were beneficial to newer and experienced players alike.
Such is the ever changing nature of an MMO. Durmin's quest will always be a unique snapshot of this game's life, much like every other player's.
Ah yes, that one time they made a powerpoint presentation with the actual characters, that was funny for how serious it was supposed to be
So it sounds like you are pronouncing Levin like it is a place. Pretty sure it's just another word for lightning. And it's pronounced like how you would say levain bread. LEvin vs. leVIN.
EDIT: This also explains the pun made in the quest title "Levin an impression" 😊
Dan was talking about tempering terms and thought he was forgetting some. Turns out, there aren't many official ones!
Koji Fox, who was head of English localization in ARR, has said that in Japanese, there is just one word for tempering in general. But because the closest word to it in English was "tempered" and that had a connection with fire, there were plans to have each primal have their own term. This, however, was abandoned partway through ARR. The ones that made it in are:
Tempered for Ifrit.
Drowned for Leviathan.
None of the other primals in future expansions have a unique name for their tempered save for the [Spoiler] for [Stormblood primal].
Though it should be noted that there are terms for the tempered of some primals after this, but only are used for the beast tribe that summon the primal. Examples we've seen so far are:
Touched for Ramuh.
Mogglegaurd for Good King Moggle Mog the XIIth, long may he reign.
They usually are used to denote a faction of the beast tribe, rather than the fact that they are tempered by a primal.
Ah, Kan-E-Senna, I'm so glad you stopped declaiming everything. Mostly.
I just started XIV last night, and that news about solo play makes me very happy. This is my first MMO and I wasn't sure about the group piece to it all
Seeing that last scene with the Ascians has me having some. Spoilery thoughts. More below the cut. SPOILERS FOR ALL THE THINGS, DO NOT FOLLOW IF NOT CAUGHT UP ON MSQ UP TO 6.1 BYE.
Okay so, as of the end of Endwalker, we really don’t have any named Ascians left alive, so far as we’re aware. The original 3 unsundered were all dispatched and so is the one who took over after, Fandaniel. So what all could the remaining Ascians do now? After all, no Zodiark means no trying to bring him back and any remaining shards of him are basically inert without any left who want to do rejoinings. I could see any Ascians slain by Gaius reincarnating not unlike the one who became Gaia did, not bothering to relearn their original names or even purposes without outside assistance (seeing as Gaius never learned the correct way to permanently put down an Ascian). I realize at this point in development, the team didn’t have much of what we currently know planned, but there’s now a lot of loose threads in relation to the Ascians leftover. I really wonder how they’re going to tackle that tbh.
I just need an offline version of this game, honestly, cuz I don't have the internet required to play…
Yeah, wow. I'm only through Stormblood's main story quest and even to me that conversation has a whole new meaning now. Looking forward to Shadowbringers and Endwalker.
I do appreciate that at this point it feels like the writers were like 'ok, people weren't getting that the whole 'beast tribes are evil' thing is an in-universe prejudice, let's make it a bit clearer
"The Sages of Sharlayan" it was right there in front of our face this entire time what job was coming in Endwalker. /jk
Oh fuck I forgot this patch ends with the fucking Organization XIII ass cutscene
Some helpful context for Yda's comment at 15:50 – There were several quests removed from the main scenario at this point when they streamlined the process to remove filler. A number of Touched sylphs began using illusions to disguise themselves as Scions, who had split up to search for the way forward, in an effort to misdirect them away from Ramuh. Then, to make matters even more confusing, once the scions regrouped and realized what was happening, the sylphs began using their illusions to make the scions look like other scions. It really helped highlight the mischievous nature of the sylphs, though mostly it was just an annoyance for players, so it was cut. Yda's dialogue is an artifact of that misadventure.
Dan be careful who you call a nerd in highschool
So we're gonna put Ascians in soul gems like it's Skyrim? Neat!
"It's feeling very kingdom hearts in here"
Is basically my experience with FFXIV especially certain parts of shadow bringers
Hi this is Saiun!! It was a blast to participate 😀 Hopefully I'll join again sometime.
So the guy from a species known for brainwashing people sees fit to lecture you on the evils of your kind, while surrounded by the people he's turned into his mind-slaves. Hypocrite much?
Don't get me wrong, I know people have done a lot of bad things in this world, but it seems like the sylphs have lived in peace with the other races for a long time and are liked and respected. They should also know how much blood 'mankind' has shed keeping the Garlian Empire from taking over and wiping the sylphs out. Leviathan would, ironically, have more of a leg to stand on. His people were actually betrayed after making a deal for peace.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I feel like I could write an entire essay on why Ramuh is wrong here.
Having Ramuh's introduction be voiced adds a lot of gravitas, makes him feel impressive and intimidating. Having the dialogue be text only loses some impact.
The music in that fight was fantastic.
Love the little mishap with the snapcut.
33:33 caught me completely of guard and I love it xD
I didn't have power in my house to leave the lyrics for "Thunder Rolls" (aka Ramuh's battle theme) on a timely manner. So here!
Ula menida tula oh (Hoary Arbor, Lord of Light)
Tela omnida tula ei (Thine advent quelleth creeping night)
Ona ramuhda deme os (The wicked burn, their pyres bright)
Nola tulama tela ei (Smote by Levin's blinding might)
Soul without a name, heed my call
Sin doth stain the hearts of us all
The worm hath burrowed deep and hath grown
Soon he too shall reap what is sown
Step into the storm, know its mercy
Let the wind and the rain crash down over thee
Lightning bright, thunder bold
Guiding us forevermore
Soul fallen from grace, ware thee well
Judgment thou must face, thine own hell
The worm stirreth within, black as night
Breeding deeper sin, foul its blight
Soul, thine end is nigh. Take mine hand
All life must return to the land
Lingered hath the worm, overlong
Purge thy flesh of fear and be strong
Step in from the storm, praise its mercy
Let the sting of the rain ne'er stray far from thee
Lightning bright, thunder bold
Freeing us forevermore
Now lift thine heavy head and vanquish thy sorrow
Lightning doth strike
Thunder doth roll
Now turn thy gaze ahead and look to the morrow
Lightning shall strike
Thunder shall roll on
Oh btw the special language is Old Sylphic
CHRONICALS OF THE REALM
Ep 044
Note: About the title. I'm not sure how many people actually read this block of text anymore, but a small clerical change is in order. Up until this point, I've been titling these posts "The Tale of Durmin", so that anyone scanning the comment section could easily find the post if need be. The title itself was picked quickly and – if I'm honest – with relatively little thought put in. So I've updated the title to "Chronicals of the Realm" as it better describes the intent of these posts.
The story of Eorzea is a grand and sprawling narrative. One that, unfortunately, belies a simple telling broken up over months of individual sessions – including necessary if tragic breaks. In the interest of helping viewers remember the characters and terminology they have seen before I have taken the liberty of creating a pronoun glossary of sorts of Durmin's adventures.
A few notes before we get started (this text will be the same in every episode, so feel free to skip it in future episodes). First: And most importantly, this glossary is COMPLETELY SPOILER SAFE. I have manually built each entry from the episodes that preceded it; although I have played most of the game, I have taken every effort to just copy information from these videos. Second: This is not a story recap, most of the story will not appear here. This is just a glossary of terms. Finally: This little project turned out to be significantly more exhausting that I anticipated and while I am happy to continue, I will make mistakes. There may be missing information in these records, and I welcome any additions provided they can timestamp the text where the information came from. I also shift in and out of various tones as I get more and less tired, so please forgive these inconsistencies, I plan to slowly unify the tone over time now that 2.0 is complete.
I'll also be including fun facts about the glossary at the end of each expansion.
A little World History parallels with a line about cuisine. Because it's super interesting and a little world building that might go unnoticed:
When chinese immegrants came to America, there wasn't a lot of their homeland dishes here and what there was was expensive. So they came up with their own recipes to get as close as possible to their homeland cooking. They then started resturants to serve to their fellow immigrants.
Anyone that says "They use cats/dogs/rats" are perpetuating a racist myth certain people spread keep people from eating at their restruants. It's either tofu or actual meat chopped into shapes,
Thanks to Xiran Xhao here on Youtube for the insight. Thought I'd share it here. When world building, never underestimate drawing on history.
As Durmin faces off against the Lord of Levin, your spoiler-free lore comment will discuss patch 2.3!
Patch 2.3 was released in July 2014. With it came PvP, Syrcus Tower, and the 2nd Coil of Bahamut.
15:45 – Yda's dialogue here references part of these quests that has been cut. Originally, players would encounter sylphs who were disgusted as the Scions. I've been told that the Thancred sylph was notably funny.
Ramuh is another primal that expands our understanding of what a primal can be. We've seen that all primals so far have sought to temper new worshippers and expand their control. Ramuh does temper the sylphs, but seems to not seek total domination, and is surprisingly willing to engage in diplomacy. But even with that, this is a combat based MMO, so he challenges Durmin to a fight still.
With the conclusion of patch 2.3, we should discuss how this patch, and future patch cycles, tend to work. Starting with X.4 patches, the main scenario quests tend to begin setting up the stakes and story for the next major expansion. Inversely, the X.1-3 patches tend to wrap up the lingering issues after an expansion, completing the story. The main exception to this rule are patch 2.1-3, which don't cleanly "wrap up" ARR, and the post Endwalker patches, all of which are designed to lead into the next story arc & expansion. In addition, Raids are usually released in patch X.05, X.2, and X.4, while Alliance Raids are usually released in patch X.1, X.3, & X.5. This consistent release schedule had ensured that players can know what to expect between expansions, and the dev team has a roadmap for what items need to be delivered at what time.
And with the Scions' research, Durmin has a new objective going forward: pinning down the method to kill an immortal…
So.. I’m not the only to ask this in the comments however, is the great elemental/ the gods/ the crystal mother all just “the civilized men’s” own primal’s?
Very curious to see if the story explores these questions
With the 6.1 update, do go back and have another look at the dungeons that changed.
Today I started playing the free trial of 14.
I definitely would not if were not for this series! ♡
Thank you for all the hard work
As Durmin has finally met Ramuh in the flesh, let's go over Ramuh's creation myth and a tidbit, with minor changes to make things read just a bit more smoothly.
"While many races believe theirs to be the first sentient beings on the star, the creation myth of the Sylphs holds that the world of man was already long in existence before they appeared. The legends describe man as greedy, thoughtless creatures who brought destruction to the forest through steel and fire. Unable to escape the flames and axes, the trees reached out to the gods for succor. Ramuh, a god of man and born of lightning, used his levinstorms and levinorbs to bring life to the budding trees. Infused with the power of his lightning, the Sylphs were born as guardians of the forest. They came to dwell under the Black Shroud and its wide canopy, defending their land with the ancient wisdom of the Lord of Levin himself."
For the "god of man" part, it is thought that the Sylphs had reinterpreted depictions of Rhalgr, who is one of the Twelve and one of the two lightning-aspected gods alongside Byregot, as Ramuh. Rhalgr is the god of destruction and was the patron god of Ala Mhigo.
Ramuh is personally my favorite of the primals in ARR, being the most reasonable one of the six we have met. His comically oversized beard is just amazing to me and the best part of his or any other Ramuh's design in the other games (and IMO, a Ramuh design is good if he's half man, half beard, and another half beard for good measure.)
I'll go over the other primal creation stories at a later date, since I only recently got the idea of doing these and several primals were vanquished already.
49:53 Oh, it's the Χ-blade.
The option to play without having to party up for story-based things is very tempting. That is one of the things I hated most about MMOs back when I played some. I like doing things at my own pace, without having to conform to other peoples' standards for optimization, etc. Plus, being on the spot in front of all the other people is just an unpleasant feeling in general.
2:45 It's the bare minimum, but at least this patch has something connecting the primal to the main story. A lot of these patches feel like they're interrupting the overarching story just so they can throw a boss fight at the player.
33:35 that was a really cute joke
48:09 Didn't know that Organization XIII was part of this game
Yo that Ramuh fight song SLAPS!
41:53 Notice how he pronounced her name *Ya*'Shtola?
All of these letters in the beginning of a "sun" miqote is pronounced a specific way. But I think even in-game that's often forgotten on alter voice lines 😀
So you fought Ramuh to prove your worth so he might consider peace but it was a fight to the death? How did Ramuh still speak to you after you'd slain him?
I do question their idea's of dealing with the ascians if i got that explanation correctly…
I get that when ascians go down, they go to a sort of limbo thanks to their immortal souls ( not the realm of the dead, nor the living, so limbo ) but how does disrupting that cycle and therefor sealing their souls result in a permanent solution?
If the souls are sealed, then they can escape and cause trouble again, which makes it sound like a temporary solution instead of the permanent one they claim it to be…