FF14 First Impressions of Shadowbringers
I’ve played WoW for over 15 years but given the state of WoW right now and the lack of content, some of my friends convinced me to try FF14. So I’ve been documenting my FFXIV first impressions, showing my journey through FF14 and giving my feedback along the way.
Throughout I will be comparing FF14 to WoW and references the differences between the two. Obviously, I do have some bias, but I will try and keep an open mind all the way. This will contain spoilers for FFXIV Shadowbringers, areas, character and main story and will also discuss optional content along the way.
Apologies for the delay on this video, I’ve been pushing real hard to get ready for Endwalker that its been hard to edit the longer videos, will be back to normal now. Thanks for your patience!
The post patch content for Shadowbringers did not disappoint, it brought hype, it brought multiple layers of sadness, all delivered in an amazing story!
I was super anxious about Zenos and Empire going into Endwalker, but after playing through 5.55 and watching the trailers and I’m sooo excited for the direction they’re taking him and fandaniel!
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0:00 Intro
1:44 Post Patch Begins
7:40 Heroes Gauntlet
9:20 Seat of Sacrifice and Cry
14:05 Shadowbringers is Over
17:35 Sorrows of Werlyt – WOW
24:30 5.4 MSQ ODD
26:25 Eden Raids
33:00 5.5 MSQ HYPE
38:20 Shadowbringers Outro and EW Plan
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Everyone is talking about the spider-verse but no one is talking Garuda-verse. smh
Wow. I watched you from your first video back when you were doing a daily series of arr. I can't believe you're done! The game really sunk it's claws into you haha it's been great watching you enjoy it 🙂
That conversation with Hythlodeus is actually touched on again…. During the Azem thing.
That is explicitly telling you that YOU are Azem. At least the sharded reincarnation.
That is why Emet-Selch helps you in the phase transition.
30:47 Oh, you are NOT prepared for The Extreme.
The Seto bit is not sad at all! It's the poignancy of a happy reunion that gets you.
You still have Strength / Dexterity / Int and mind in your equipment. Direct hit, crit and so on are basically "sub stats". I haven't played WoW since cata, but I remember it being quite similar to reforging maybe.
I think Seto gets to alot of ppl as it reminds them about pets/animals and the unconditional love and companionship you can receive from them.
And about the last Eden fight, the primal skill combos are the easier part of the savage fight.😨
big fat tacos, big fat tacos, big fat tacos
Fandaniel gives me STRONG Kefka vibes, and I hate him so much because I am so very IN for that.
E9-12 is still current at the time you made this recording =p since you said you were wondering what it was like when it was current.
I was wondering if this one would be coming out! You've already touched stuff I haven't so I'm looking forward to seeing them for myself!
Seto was the real deal. The story of the loyal steed who never stopped believing in or defending his master even when Ardbert and his companions were villified by the world…..
….it just hits in the feels 😭😭
The people that had issue with the solo instances are the same ones who will stand in aoe, die, then blame the healer for not healing them.
I don't think Zenos changed a lot. It's just that now he got a little more screen time to facilitate his character better, or his motives, tho he still is not fully explored.
Relly good. Your only missing the Nier raid series.
Always loved Zenos. BTW he has been the same since his introduction, all he has ever cared about was fighting someone strong and doing things that will lead to a crazy fight with someone strong. in other news, i honestly don't understand what was confusing about materia. its the very similar to WOW with substats but a little more direct. In WOW you were building intellect, agility, or strength depending of your class{the same in ffxiv) and you had Crit chance(the same), haste(skill speed or spell speed just homogenized), versatility(the same as determination), and mastery which does a different thing depending on class and specialization. The only thing different with FFXIV is piety for MP regen in fights for healers, tenacity for tank mitigation, and direct hit which is just bonus damage sometimes. It's all super straight forward and basically the same in every MMO or RPG that has stats on gear.
now imagine we now need to wait a few months for every patch now. Wait until you get to Savage Eden whenever you have the chance.
Counting down to Endwalker. Not sure if the World Data Center travel is available at 6.0, but I’m still excited.
See you all Warriors of Light in two days!
The role quests are going to be important which is rough because of having to have extra roles levelled. The only good news from that is that Bozja is very good for that from 71-80 and has a decent story as well. You’ll get caught up I’m sure 😉
Zenos was such a refreshing break from the, "Always winning," trope in video games that I appreciated him from the get-go. I loved the weapon collecting, and the spoiled prince is a fun aspect of his character as well. Welcome to the moon!
I love Zenos! Sometimes it's nice to just have a straight, uncomplicated villain, and I'm also an unabashed fan of the "dear friend" angle. Emet is my favourite character in all of XIV because that deep, rich villain type is the type I adore the most, but having that foil in Zenos provides a wider variety of encounters and situations. Zenos and Fandaniel also make for a great odd couple, and I'm excited to see where we go with them in Endwalker.
"I'm glad it happened, but I'm really sad it's over, and I don't want to leave." I think you just described living, Marty.
Oh yeah the Savage raids are fun. Not… all of them, there are a couple less fun ones in the mix, but in general.
The final fight of each set has a secret Savage-only phase (or more like a whole second half of the fight. And they're all great. Like, I'm kinda sad the one in 12 isn't used in the normal mode as the actual final boss (but also not really, because it's such a cool secret phase). The one in 4 is in contention for my favorite raid fight in the game (specifically the Savage-only phase, the part that's similar to Normal isn't that great imo). Hope you can get to try them at some point!
I thought that Eden started off super interesting. It was kind of a role reversal. We kind of became the Ascians here. We were summoning primals, claiming that we had to summon them to save the world.
And for 5.3… I think it comes down to how much of a Final Fantasy lore/fan you were. I thought 5.3 was the peak of Shadowbrigers and found Hades pretty boring of a fight. Eleidibus and all of it, was just such a love letter to Final Fantasy as a franchise. And the Eden raid, the entire thing, was a giant love letter to FF8 😀
I progged e12s when it was current. It was very difficult to get through. The mechanics hit really hard, the Shiva and Titan phases are vastly different. There's also a savage only phase after you beat the Eden boss.
And there aren't add phases like there are in the normal, but there is both a "statues" phase and "lions" phase. And they are a pain in the ass.
When it comes to Zenos, I always thought he was boring. But he needed a Fandaniel. I wouldn't like Zenos or Fandaniel alone… but them together? Pretty great.
I loved the final solo duty…. But I have never done a healer at that point and I struggled when I was playing Urianger
In my opinion, the MSQ wasn't really meant to be binged. I feel like you're suppose to let it sink in between patches and launch. That kind of explains why 5.3 hit you harder after you have given the story a bit time. From now on, you're on the same boat as us. You'll experience the game just as the veterans has since the beginning. I myself can't wait.