Just one guy’s impressions and experiences playing through expansion two. You probably feel differently than me. Feel free to respectfully let me know down below.
Previous parts
A Realm Reborn:
https://youtu.be/0Bo39DnBKBw
Heavensward:
https://youtu.be/Ivvr0UEjykg
You can play Final Fantasy XIV by signing up for a free trial either through Steam, the PSN Store, or at the following link:
https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/
0:00 Introduction
1:48 More of what you love
3:19 Story (light visual spoilers)
9:58 Side Stories
11:42 Community
14:29 Closing Thoughts
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Getting to see someone fall in love with something thats been a big part of my life for the last 10ish years is amazing, Cant wait to see your impression of shadowbringers
I just hit shadowbringers a couple days ago and I’m excited to hear your thoughts 😀 I haven’t finished it myself though yet
A lot liked Heavensward a lot. But Stormblood had me feeling like I was right there. The scenery, the vibe, the music, everything touched my heart
Yanxia is the region and Doma is the state in it. They are more fusion of China and Japan rather than just one or the other. If you keep that in mind it’s fine. Azim Steppes is just Mongolia inspired from what I can tell though.
IMO the premise of splitting SB into Ala Mhigo and Doma arcs is that both are rebelling at the same time and in order to successfully liberate themselves they both need to simultaneously put pressure on the Garlean empire to spread their forces thin and ally together. That’s why it’s important for you to help both rebellions. The decision to split the expansion this way makes more sense if you keep that in mind :).
I jumped into this game at launch since I was a veteran FFXI player until the game was halted then played it again in AR until I got fed up with my internet connection since I couldn't do any dungeons without disconnecting and getting everyone killed as a tank so I dropped the fame and moved on. Now three years later I get excited again for the game mainly because of YouTube video and decided to give it a second run since I got a high speed connection. Now I am hooked on the game even though I am mostly lost and don't even know if I still have a link shell or a fc anymore but I intend to go through the game at my own slow pace so thanks for making these reviews of the game it keep me excited and going. Keep it up and sorry for the rambling.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Shadowbringer. I haven't played it yet but your videos are making me want to jump back in and finish it.
Stormblood is the "Movement Phase". The focus shifts from a narrow focus on a single conflict, to the whole gameboard and the major pieces moving around to create a new world-state. The Movement Phase in any game is probably the least engaging, but is needed none the less and is interesting in its own ways. Just not in the same ways.
Stormblood is a much less personal story, but moves global events forward in a necessary way. Will it ever be the 'best' expansion in anyone's book? Probably not. But I believe in retrospect, the lower personal stakes and broader focus are needed to give the player time to come back down off the emotional high of Heavensward. It's the space the player needs to walk and stretch a bit before the story grabs the player by the heartstrings and yanks them into the depths of Shadowbringers.
And that moment to normalize and decompress before the plunge is part of what makes the trip through Shadowbringers all the better. And I think you came away with an appropriate impression for what comes next!
So… Welcome to the brink; nothing left but to take the final plunge. And a preemptory welcome to the crowd of us boarding the next hype train!
Hyped for the shadowbringer review! When do y'all think it'll come out?
Does your fc have a book club?
Honestly as much as I disliked Stormblood…
It's responsible for some of the best gameplay upgrades, it's trials were spectacular, Omega raids remain among my most favorite ones (no spoilers, but you may relive some of the all-time great moments in FF). Hell even the story was alright post-SB.
But the first half of it was just… so.. so so bad. This really is an expansion one has to look back to give a nod of a approval, but going through it – blergh.
With Stormblood (and a lot of FF14 parts in general) you have to sort of imagine that the actual populations involved are 10x as big as those on-screen. The games basically have technical limitations that prevent there from being large numbers of NPCs on-screen at once.
Just a little warning in case someone follows your advice and tries the game and joins an FC: Don't be afraid, if you join an FC and it ends up not being your cup of tea, to just abandon ship and look for another one.
My first FC was great, but some problems arose about a year later and things became a bit too much for me, so I left and joined another one. They're not ultra-hardcore players, and everyone's super nice, so we just use the FC for buffs and just to chat and make friends. Heck, if I need help, I just ask in the FC chat and most likely than not they're more than pleased to lend a hand.
I know a bunch of people that had to jump FCs for a while until they found the right one. This is not a blood pact, there's nothing forcing you to stay with them if you're uncomfortable. Ultimately, you'd want to find people that shares the same meaning of "fun" as you (be it hardcore content, grinding or just casually chatting, there's an FC for every player)
Guys seeing as shadowbringers is out, will I miss out on all the old raids and dungeons as they're "dead content"? Are they still being done? New to FF14
Stormblood is fine, but looks a bit meh after Heavensward. Shadowbringers on the other hand, that one might be the best mmo piece ever created.
someone: go here and tell these people to help us fight
wol: okay
villagers: no we dont want to fight for you heres some msqs
wol: ok
villagers: you know what? you aint bad. we'll join you
wol: ok
fondola: im bad
wol: ok
yotsuya: im hot and bad
wol: ok
zenos: lets fight
wol: ok
DOMA AND ALA MIGHO LIBERATED
Oh man, it took you this long to find an FC? I was barely lvl 15 before I joined one. And it's just like yours. I'm low level but someone is always ready to help me. One day I'll return to favour. I'm lvl 47, I'm almost through ARR.
I really wasn't a fan of the zones at all. They all felt the same.
Stormblood is amazing. People only view hw as better because it comes after ARR which is the lowest point besides 1.0.
three fourths through the video: "hey that FC manor looks familiar… wait a minute!"
I would describe SB as a okay story with some really good moments in between. For example the Tsukuyomi Trial is just absolutly beautiful and sad. It is also hard because u cant see much with all the tears that u are crying for the villain (or am i the only one who really wished that this could have worked out)
Storm blood is a okay storyline but I would definitely say it's not the best. There's definitely moment that I felt great but that was because I was in a dungeon and I was doing certain mechanics that made me feel amazing.
When it came to the actual story in the people I had to deal with I was pretty much just standing there be in like you know I can instantly end you in a second but you still want me to go and apply for this competition.
I am the hero of light in the champion of Ezaria but yet somehow these random people can be just as powerful as me as I already stopped several Calamity level entities.
Yeah that sounds extremely right. Not really. And that's what I have the issue with. We have stopped several Calamity level entities but yet all of these creatures monsters and normal civilians and that one Gothic a**** can somehow still beat us up.
And there's no in-game story on why that is I mean the race for the last guy but for everybody else not really.
My advice for going through this one take your time and don't try to rush through it yes it's extremely boring and the story might not make sense but if you rush the right you're going to burn yourself out in not enjoy shadowbringers.
But I will say definitely taken the music and the beautiful sights. I will definitely give this DLC a 10 out of 10 for music and sightseeing.
Because I've heard some of the music from shadowbringers and I will definitely say though I don't hate it it definitely doesn't sound Final Fantasy.
You'll know what I mean when you get that far
Oh I must be on your same server! I've seen your FC
I enjoyed Stormblood. It wasn't as good as Heavensward, but I didn't think it would be. Hell, I didn't think Shadowbringers would be, but damn was I so wrong. Stormblood has some awesome locations, some dungeons were good, and it had the BEST, by a mile, relic grind. I love EUREKA. Love it. I still do it. Baldesion Arsenal is a blast. Also, I loved the FFXII raid series. The music was, by far, the best in the game, in my opinion.
Within Yanxia, the names, structures, and clothing are clearly a mix of different Japanese styles (from Heian to Edo) so I'm not sure exactly why it's called 'Yanxia.' Even in the Japanese version the name is 'Yanxia.'
My thinking is that there was originally going to be another polity in the region (something akin to medieval China) that would act as a counterweight to the Kingdom of Doma but it got cut when the developers realized how much shit they'd already crammed into the expac.
Well to be fair, I think why Doma felt a little more calm compared to the Ala Mighan areas is because Doma had been under Garlean control for 25 years prior to us getting there. Not to mention when they tried to revolt they got decimated. A big part of the story there was convincing the people to even fight because they were all complacent. They just accepted their fate. Whereas Ala Migho had been under Garlean control for I believe only 5 or so years. The people there were still actively trying to fight back. I think revolution was a bit more fresh in the people's minds considering they had just fought to overthrow the Mad King Theodric (I think that was his name. Been a while since I've played stormblood lol.)
i see you changed from dragon waifu to bunny waifu this expansion