Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood – #27 – Specula Imperatoris

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The Fringes are taken, now on to the Peaks!

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0:00 – Introduction

0:25 – QUEST: “The Silence of the Gods”

11:52 – QUEST: “The First of Many”

18:59 – QUEST: “Strong and Unified”

26:58 – QUEST: “Hells Open”

36:56 – QUEST: “Heavens Weep”

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Edited by Daniel Floyd

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https://lnkfi.re/pray-return

#PlayFrame #FFXIV #FinalFantasyXIV #Stormblood

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35 thoughts on “Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood – #27 – Specula Imperatoris”

  3. I want to try this game and have a few questions: The free trial says it lets you play until lvl 60. What exacly does this mean, is this the end of the base game story or is it cutting off in the middle? Are there any other restrictions to be aware of? And what happens when I hit that lvl, am I jusy not allowed to start the next story quests?

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  4. Oh my god I never realized Allisae talked abt her and Alphinaud going to see their parents here. The things I miss when I don’t talk to NPCs I don’t need to for quests sbdjabdbdjdbdh

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  6. 14:55 two zones for the price of one, yes. But also a source of annoyance to some people who first go after every wind aether current and find the compass being less than helpful when it shows the closest one being in a part of the map you can’t reach yet. (I may speak from experience)
    That’s something to get used to, starting with this expansion, cuz this will be how the three starting maps are gonna be set up from now on.

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  9. I'm sure people are gonna ask, so just to clarify that last part: Estinien named his new lance Nidhogg, so he's referring to that, not literally Nidhogg, who is still dead*. A tribute to his worst enemy, who at the last he came to understand enough to break free of, and part of whose essence still flows through his blood.

    *Reminder that while Nidhogg himself is super dead, Shinryu is still out there with his eyes, which is a large part of Estinien's motivation to be involved in the plot of this expansion. Judging by what he says after destroying the cannon, the rest of his motivation is that he is quite fond of Alphinaud, though good luck getting him to admit to that part.

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  13. As a person who is an engineer who works with pipe, if he only broke the pipeline itself, I'd say that's a couple of days worth of damage at most, especially if the engineers are scared to do the work right and willing to forgo some testing. This comes straight from the invasive thoughts about pipes after working with them for too long part of my brain.

    More seriously Estinien just carried the Gyr Ababian front on his back with zero credit.

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  18. Playfriends, we're pushing on to the Peaks! The Upper Peaks! I mean, they're in the south, but they're higher elevation than the northern Peaks. This is your spoiler free lore comment!

    5:15 – This might be the first time that the story tells Durmin to rest when it's not the end of a patch section. This will become increasingly common, because it helps serve several purposes. First, this gives clear writing breaks between story beats, allowing the writers to plan out a series of events with breaks between them. Second, this allows that same writing team to insert low intensity character building moments, helping flesh out both NPCs and The Warrior of Light (although these character beats won't change the overarching story that everyone experiences). Lastly, they serve as an important reminder to players. Just like the Warrior of Light, you're not your best when you're exhausted. Self Care is important! Have you gone outside, or stretched, or had some food recently Playfriends? Well? HAVE YOU!?

    9:30 – You would be surprised, Lyse. The gods of Eorzea are an odd bunch.

    16:00 – Playfriends, we'll learn about that ship soon enough. I won't even have to tell the story.

    20:25 – Final Fantasy has its share of big cannons in fortresses. The ones that spring to mind is FF7's Sister Ray, or FFXII's Sky Fortress Bahamut. Specula Imperatoris serves as the forward watchtower and sighting position for the cannon at Castrum Abania.

    43:00 – Conrad chooses Lyse as his replacement because she's got a bit of an outside view on things. She's one of them by blood, and has fought just as hard as any other Resistance member, but she can live her life without the occupation weighing down her every thought. She's not fighting to bring back the Ala Mhigo they lost. She's fighting for the Ala Mhigo they can become. Okay, maybe that and the fact that M'naago really doesn't want to be in charge.

    45:25 – IT'S ESTINIEN! HE'S NO LONGER THE AZURE DRAGOON! It seems he's got a little bit of Nidhogg still in his blood, but he's fully in control of his actions.

    And so passes Conrad Kemp, Commander of Rhalgr's Reach. At age 70, he leaves behind an estranged wife, Grede, who he hid in a mountain village for safety. He had no children, but in some ways, thought of Meffrid and M'naago as his family. He died doing what he thought was right: not fighting Garleans, but saving Ala Mhigans. Even if they had been trying to kill him a few minutes earlier.

    Today's bonus lore is about Ala Ghiri. Or rather, about Ala Ghiri's occupation. For a time, Ala Ghiri was no different than any other town under Garlean occupation. But in the recent months, a new officer was placed in charge. This new officer made it official policy to prevent the excesses and abuses which plagued other occupied territories. He made a point of doing right by the Ala Mhigans. And when the Alliance forces marched on the town, he ordered his men to withdraw to Specula Imperatoris without damaging the town or laying a trap. It was his orders which ensured that the locals were not endangered in the fighting, and that the town is in pristine condition. He decided his last act would be to officially surrender the town to the Alliance army. He had no idea this was part of Zenos' plan for the magitek cannon. But the officer never got the chance to surrender. Instead, he was abducted and placed in a back alley cellar by the citizens of Ala Ghiri. When the Alliance forces arrived, the locals treated them coldly, and provided only the barest of consideration to their arrival. It takes several side quests showing that the Alliance forces are there to help Ala Ghiri before any of them start to warm up. But the real key of information comes from the imperial officer himself. He eventually frees himself from his little safehouse and comes forward to the Warrior of Light. To the town's amazement, when he is brought before an Alliance officer, they simply sit down at a table in the market square and start going over paperwork. The townsfolk believed that the Alliance forces were out for blood, willing to execute any Garlean or collaborator they came across out of vengeance. What they had not considered that all of this news about the Alliance army came directly from the Garleans, and was mostly propaganda. In the end, the Alliance forces simply wish to talk to the officer and go over records of the town. Who lives there, who might have family elsewhere in Gyr Abania, what supplies are in need or could be provided. The Garlean officer, while officially a prisoner, is recognized as a good man, and allowed to remain free.

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  19. 1:07 It amuses me that Dan/Durmin complains about people walking through him… when he straight up launches a chocobo at people when he arrives. Kettle, pot, all that, yes?
    9:00 "What are they doing?" "Do they never learn?"… stuff like that, I imagine.
    10:50 Shots fired. (11:02 Return fire)
    15:08 That way is one-way, as well. Possibly fatal, even.
    15:54 Looks like a boat of some description.
    20:12 Sounds like someone's confident they can take it back, or are willing to level it.
    23:35 Normally I don't comment on anyone's undergarments… but that mess she's wearing looks weirdly complicated for the purpose.
    24:01 A lot now makes sense about the Imperials…
    28:21 Is that an armoured pug?
    31:30 So, if there's a massive cannon lurking around here, is that spinny thing that looks like radar actually some form of radar or rangefinder for it?
    33:27 Hmm, I just noticed something. Both Yotsuyu and Fordola have mentioned stuff along similar lines to this. I think I'm starting to get what kind of strategist Zenos is.
    33:51 Ha, the lever's a gunblade hilt.
    35:19 No, that's a problem. A very large-caliber problem.
    44:37 <o
    45:29 That's not ominous at all!

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  21. Hey. I'm actually still catching up on your videos but just wanted to say thank you for doing this series. Always wanted to play but I know I'm a bad player & too aware of it to do any dungeons with other players. At least now I can experience the story through you ❤ Maybe one day I will build up the courage to try again…

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  25. I feel like there are some parallels in Hien flooding Doma Castle and the Garleans firing on their own tower. Both were full of soldiers, but the castle only had "enemy" soldiers. Guess that's all it takes for one to be cunning and the other monstrous. War is weird.

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  26. 16:55 the Calamity hurled chunks of Dalamud basically everywhere on Eorzea, which resulted in eruptions of corrupted crystal. There's even a few places up above Ishgard that got hit, you can look over the edge of a boss arena in one of the Dravania dungeons and see a chunk of Dalamud.

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  29. – oh yeah, the Empire abandoning a garrison that is sitting Artillery range is not suspicious at all
    – not the evil science experiment i was hoping… either that or the horrifying side effects haven't begun yet
    – alas this is an MMO so we can't have a playable Thancreed Stealth section, Tactical Thancreed Action if you will
    – are they even aware who Lord Zenos Von Malibú even is?! their Boss thinks war is just a Hunting Sport for funsies, you really think he won't just fire at allies?
    – see? totally not a trap
    – WOOOOOOO!! Jump Man did the Jumping thing!!
    – i guess Estinien heard of this man named Dante & decided to go around naming his weapons after the enemies he has slain

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  32. If it were me, the main reason I might abandon a whole city without a fight, especially one so close to a fortress, would be because I want to tempt as many of my enemies as possible to gather there, then surround them and attack from the fortress while they're still settling in and haven't yet got supply lines secure, maybe even siege them if possible, since I probably do already have a way to get resources there. Curious to see where this is going

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  33. 23:39 And that's the sort of "info" that leads Garleans to treat non-Garleans the way that they do. Intellectual superiority has so many factors there's no real way to measure it. And as for physiological superiority, do they really think that any random Garlean citizen could match the strength of any random Roegydan or Hellsguard?
    24:52 And this guy is a mad genius. Mad in a bad way. Don't believe me? Just wait…
    26:21 Yay! Thancred to the rescue!
    44:19 And so we lose another ally, mentor, and friend…
    45:36 LOL! I completely agree. The lone dragoon needs to come help more.
    45:42 Especially when he can do things like this

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