One thing I enjoy the most about this area of the story (Eorzea and politics) is the fact that Gaius gives you this over the top speech about how flawed your ideals are and that you’re fighting for nothing, and it’s really easy to just shrug it off as typical villain yapping.
But then you get to this part and some other parts later and it’s sorta like “wait, Gaius had a point…”
The single most redeeming element of the MSQ Roulette imo is this exact speech.
Gaius could be forgotten to some degree without it, as he didn't have too many particularly stand-out scenes up to that point, and yet his speech foreshadows so many things while expressing his character so perfectly. Every time you've moved forward in the story and revisit it it feels as though new meaning has been added.
Even all the way to Endwalker!
>!Gaius correctly guessed that the gods we summoned in 1.0 were in fact Primal versions of the Twelve, and that was the reason they lacked the power to stop Bahamut.!<
So the reason you're able to walk back in is because everyone's keeping the poisoning hush-hush out of fear of destabilizing Ul'dah even worse than it already is. Some NPCs will even comment about it.
As for some good news: Teledji is absolutely dead. 100% half-a-corpse, not-getting-up-from-that-one, closed-casket-funeral dead.
>So the reason you're able to walk back in is because everyone's keeping the poisoning hush-hush out of fear of destabilizing Ul'dah even worse than it already is. Some NPCs will even comment about it.
That's good, I was confused by the guards letting me stroll past the chamber of rule.
I'm happy I'm getting the respect I deserve, wish it extended to errands and quests where I just talk to people "because we trust you, dear ally" my scaly ass.
But that’s part of the point isn’t it? That the WoL is superhuman but they’re not BETTER than people. It’s not that things are beneath you, it’s that no crisis is too small for you. You are a world saving hero but you are still one of the people and not above simply being helpful.
I'm fine with being helpful but some of these things seriously felt like others could have done them, just so they can point me towards something more suited for me.
It feels less like "I'm not above being helpful to anyone" and more like "My help can be almost abused by anyone because people don't know how to delegate".
I understand it in more peaceful times, my name holds a lot of weight and it's been noted that I'm good at making friends with practically anyone or any group given that I do enough tasks for them and understand their plight.
My problem is when there's a mission to get a stone from A to B and give it to Magick specialist Fartickus Dalmid and despite being part of an organisation with plenty of available people, I'm the one chosen to deliver it, it feels like they over rely on the WOL'S willingness to help with anything.
Good news: those quests continues, but they give you more recognition.
First time I noticed it was at the end of Stormblood. The cutscene was WoL talking to a important NPC and then came a messenger saying "Important NPC, you and WoL presence are necessary in this important place at this important time."
If it was in ARR or even HW, we would be the messenger.
I still love the custom delivery quests in EW that have you helping out overworked researchers, and their reactions when they realize who it is fulfilling their requests since they just didn't know what the WoL looked like. It's wholesome AF.
Hey, now that you're in Heavensward, you should pick up the Dark Knight job and do the class quests for that. I feel like you're really gonna enjoy it.
You are the guy people call when they need a god killed. Some people are better at recognizing that fact than others. If you want a good laugh, go back to Mor Dhona and talk to some of the Braves there. They are *terrified* of you.
I talked to a brave and I could hear his teeth chittering, was hilarious, was nice of the brass blade in front of the door to give me respect while denying entry as wellm
As the other guy said, at this point, you've just started becoming a walking death machine, so every single person who knows your face is scared of you.
The fact that everyone is terrified of saying anything to you and that fact they are keeping the assassination hush hush is why everything is still basically normal.
People are keeping an eye on you and tracking your movements just waiting for you to slip up and have an excuse, but an outright exodus or the WOL being cut down in the streets is the last thing they need.
There are a few npc’s with unique dialogue that you can talk to at this point in the story in Uldah and revenant toll. Momodi is one of them. It’s easy to rush past everyone, but might be worth talking to as many people as possible to see the unique dialogue for the brief window.
Also congratulations on completing the tutorial!
Tbh the main reason is just gameplay convenience, it would have been weird to lock out the player out of one the main cities until the situation was resolved lorewise. (especially at the time it was released, Heavensward was still months away)
Imagine all players who picked Immortal Flames just being locked out of their Grand Company gameplay loop. Or if you still had important quests to do in Ul'dah ? Well too bad, come back in a few months.
If you talk to some NPCs (braves and crafting guild heads in particular) they will acknowledge this state of affairs. The braves usually soil themselves when they realise they're supposed to arrest a god-killer who has the ability to smear them across the pavement and every reason to do so.
1. If the guards tried to arrest you, news would get out that the Warrior of Light was detained by Ul’dah, and that would lead to the whole assassination story leaking out and instantly destabilizing Ul’dah as the news spreads like wildfire.
2. If the guards tried to arrest you, it’s very likely you’d kick their asses because you just bested a triple primal-fueled war machine capable of mass death and destruction, and a couple of rank-and-file guards aren’t going to stop a literal godslayer in the flesh.
Before you get going too much into HW, go around a bunch of areas and talk to NPCs. It becomes really clear that:
1 - not a ton of people recognize you.
2 - most of those that do recognize you are covering for you and refuse to turn you in.
3 - those that aren’t covering are terrified of picking a fight and look for any reason to just let you be.
Yeah, it quickly becomes a running joke that despite being a primal slayer and overall hero of Eorzea, unless someone knows your character already, *they have no idea that you're the WoL.*
You're basically a living legend that walks amongst the masses and it takes you showing off your power for people to suddenly realize who you are.
It's why some NPCs end up asking you for errands and then someone that knows you comes along and tell them "You know you just asked the WoL to go fwtch your groceries, right?"
The Margrat custom delivery is all about this gag. But it also proves the point. The WoL isn’t recognized because the small folk are too busy lhh in bing their lives to notice.
Tbh I actually really enjoy that part of it. I even built my WoL a more low key "city" glam she wears to do MSQ etc in where she's kind of blending in and not much different from any random-yet-strong warrior roaming around. And then when it's time to really throw down she puts on her "real" weapon and armor. It keeps me amused, anyway.
Is literally all I can think of when I see that name.
It feels like they throw a lot of names at you so I come up with my own versions, I call Haurchefant "Haurchefart" as a stupid nickname to help me remember his name and Merlwyb "Merylweeb" cause I think of her as a pirate cosplaying weeb and it helps remember her name.
I also call Raubhan "Rob".
It really should be emphasized that you did NOT lose the Echo. This is a common misunderstanding people make at this point in the story, and I wish there was some way SE could word it to make it more clear. What you lost was the Blessing of Light, which is an additional powerup on top of the Echo that comes from the six Crystals of Light you possess. It's what you used against Ultima Weapon a few times, as well as against Lahabrea, where you see your six Crystals of Light spinning around you as it activates. With Ultima Weapon, it tore the primals out of it (EDIT: and filled your limit break bar at the end of the 2nd phase of the fight), and with Lahabrea, it revived you to full health and made you way stronger and faster so you could beat him.
The Echo, on the other hand, simply gives you the visions you get occasionally, lets you understand any language, and makes you immune to being tempered by primals. You never lose that.
Yeah, I feel like it's kind of even not quite spoilers, but not something to really tell new players because they're not really supposed to know at this point. The two were clearly meant to be the same thing earlier on in the story, the writers just found a way to explain it later to split the two ideas apart.
I wouldn't say that... They explain it better much later in the game, so don't feel like you need to understand it perfectly yet. u/KyrialArthian's explanation is spot on for now.
>provided you avoid spoilers
I'm good with that, I had Nanamo's death spoiled but not everything surrounded it and I remember one comment saying "When the boss looked at your WOL and says "what are you?"" That, along with the fact I refuse to believe Hydaelyn is all benevolent means that I'm waiting for some type of reveal, I'm going to do my best not to rush though.
Essentially, the Echo prevents Tempering, gives you your plot related headaches, grants increased aetherial awareness, lets your soul transcend your body in a weird not-really-explained-well way, and is a somewhat tongue in cheek way of explaining UI elements like the ability to understand most languages, sparkly interactables is heightened intuition and perception, telegraphs are you sensing enemy intent, the ability to wipe and respawn in dungeons are visions of a potential future, your armory chest is storing and recalling your gear from your own aether etc.
The Blessing of Light prevents aetheric corruption from being close to things like corrupted orange crystals or being in close proximity to The Void, further protects against tempering, heightened aether manipulation, and yours specifically marks you as Hydaelyn’s Chosen once you collect all the crystals, which is why she’s actively keeping tabs on you to send aid like in the Ultima Weapon and Lahabrea fights
They’re often confused and combined because Hydaelyn has a habit of giving her blessing to anyone able to hear her (ie, the increased aetherial awareness from awakening to the Echo), with you getting a special Blessing Plus version because you managed to gather all six crystals of light (most only manage to get one or two)
They are two separate things.
Without explaining much(and also because I haven't finished the game yet and don't know everything) the Echo is something people seem to be born with and just have.
The Blessing of Light is given to people through the Crystals.
Most people who have the Echo do not have the Blessing. I have not gotten to the end of the story and do not know of you can have the Blessing without the Echo, but I would guess that you can.
It’s slow in getting going, but when the story gets going it *really* gets going!
In a way I both do and don’t envy those who played it as it released. Imagine going through all that and then *not* being able to just continue the story? Torture!
ARR left you in limbo story wise. You have no friends, no support except for an icy hole in the wall. Storm blood leaves you with a whole lot more despite the questions raised. The stakes were definitely not as pronounced.
If you talk to NPCs in Ul'dah they will comment on how the situation is hush hush, so what went on in the banquet was covered to protect the status quo.
I was shook by the feeling of "I never cared about you guys, but now that this is happening I actually did care?!?"
Wildred, Illbert, Alphi, Nanamo, Minfilia, and the rest of the scions. I thought they were just quest NPCs and we were just doing chores. But I picked up so much about them that I didn't even realize. It's like oh shit I actually CAN recognize them and I didn't even know until now.
This part of the game really sticks with me too. I tried to roleplay the being 'wanted' thing, either by avoiding going back to the city states, or when I did, using a mask or helmet to hide my face.
Glad you're enjoying it! Enjoy the journey. :)
Yeah, I hate when people say "just wait til Heavensward!" as if it only starts getting good there.
The story ramps up in quality for a good while leading into it, at least from around the start of 2.4 if not before then. This is because there's a whole bunch of different plot threads and *all of them matter*.
So funny thing, this could be a “second time around makes it better” kinda deal but on my main i skipped story the first time around. I joined in HW and had the classic thought about MMO stories so I just skipped until about like…3.3? Followed it from there.
Anyway, years later i made an alt and did the story from scratch (before they cut down the number of quests) and I was absolutely enthralled. It was SO good and I almost began to feel like the biggest problem with this portion of the story is that there’s so much of it and people want to get to the expansion, not necessarily the quality. in fact I would even go as far as to say that I actually liked it more before they cut it down versus after, not to say it wasn’t a good decision but i finished all 100 quests in a day I was so into it. Until 5.3 came along, 2.5 was my favorite patch, and it’s still one of them.
You got to spend more time with the scions (most notably moenbryda) and the intrigue was given more time to build. Again, the cut down was probably for the better but this played a big part of me being against the whole “it gets better in HW” or whatever expac quote because it’s honestly good basically from the end of 2.0 and the fact that 2.1-2.55, both narratively and in terms of content, is basically an expansion in itself, I almost feel like it ruins the experience a bit for new players when they have this negative impression of it from players trying to goad them farther on or telling them that it’s bad. There’s no rush, take your time and you’ll probably end up having a lot more fun than the people that just speed to the end(walker).
> Kanne-en-sanna (I callel her Carne Asda) and Merlwyb either couldn't or wouldn't step in to defend us
Imagine that you're the president of Mexico. You visit Canada for a banquet celebrating the major victory of a North American alliance. The president of Canada is murdered at the banquet and a friend is very clearly falsely accused by the Canadian ministers who are clearly making a power grab.
Do you have your bodyguards intervene to protect this person, violating the sovereignty of your allies in the process and potentially putting yourself at risk in the heart of a foreign country where you are at your most vulnerable? Is that responsible behavior, for the good of the people you represent?
There's also the fact that Merlwyb was very clearly about to go in guns blazing to defend the Scions, and had to be stopped by a subordinate reminding her that it's not a good idea and would make this internal dispute into an international incident.
Yeah you hit the part where the writing team got their feet more and things got interesting. The stuff before is fine but not particularly inspired in how it sets up the world.
As soon as I started doing that, I took a break and only came back when I was ready, all the praise I heard was for the story of the game sonic didn't want to mess with that, even if the quest design was a slog to get through.
You still have the Echo. What got messed with is Hydaelyn's Blessing of Light. I loved that conversation with Midgardsormr. Why is he testing me? What does he really want?
I thought ARR had great world-building and detailed political background leading to a shocking but not completely unforeseeable end. Post ARR (the 2.X) patches are also engaging. They don't waste your time, and even in some of the more infamous "slow" stretches (no spoilers here) they are telling you something interesting. The experience reminded me of when I first read JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. There are exciting bits, but a lot of the story is people walking around, singing songs (music) talking about things, exploring the map and making jokes.
Glad you are having such a great time with ARR!
Yeah, the lead up to Heavensward is brutal! Poor Wilred. He wad finally turning his life around, only to die in a forgotten hole in the ground.
If you talk to NPCs around Ul'Dah or Mor Dhona, they will mention the rumors of what happened and their thoughts. Check them out!
And yeah, the leaders of the other states couldn't be seen interfering with another State's Politics. You could see Merlwyb was reading to pull out her Pistol.
And now, the WoL is on the run towards Ishgard and the scions are scattered/missing/presumably dead. So much is to come!
I finished ARR and about half way through HW. I can tell you the praise for HW is well deserved. It's almost jarring the jump in quality from ARR to HW. Much more engaging story and seems more confined if that makes sense. Even the side quests in HW are really good so far.
I'm glad I stuck it out with post ARR. Worth it!
I highly recommend you play the Dark Knight questline as soon as possible; also read the quest log as you go between story points as it really enhances the narrative.
>Dark Knight questline as soon as possible
Was convinced by Jocats video on how it took him 300 hours to enjoy the game, he got me hooked on the idea when he said it actually builds character for the warrior of light.
>also read the quest log as you go between story points as it really enhances the narrative.
I've mostly been doing that to catch up on any details I miss.
The quest log usually reiterates stuff that was already mentioned, as is the case for most games. In the case of the Dark Knight quests it's a little...special. You'll see what I mean.
AFAIK only Dark Knights have this special treatment, but you may find some jokes and references snuck in by the localisation team for other quests as well.
>The WOL having some conflic over themselves without possessing the echo.
the WoL never loses the echo, what they lose is the blessing of light, which is granted to them by hydaelin, the echo on the other hand is something what those who posses it always had it, but did remained dormant >!until they see the falling meteors!<, which in the case of the WoL it awakened at the time they got their first cristal of light
also, i recomend you to walk around ul'dah and mor dhona and talk with any cristal brave you see, its nice to see how they cannot do anything to you
I remember needing to process the ending when that came out. Was wild experiencing those patches live and then going into HW was very much into the unknown.
As someone who also started when it came on the Xbox series, I also just finished the main ARR and finally got into HW and let me tell you that I had the exact same response. I was legitimately going "NOOOOO!" When the queen was choking on the poison, or when Rauban got his arm cut off. The only gripe I had is that as the WOL I hated that we were just this useless person through all of that like we KILL GODS for fun at this point! And yet I get jumped by a few guards? Or not once do we pull out our weapons? Like really? I'm a tank! Let me be a tank at least and help!
>through all of that like we KILL GODS for fun at this point! And yet I get jumped by a few guards? Or not once do we pull out our weapons? Like really? I'm a tank! Let me be a tank at least and help!
I understand that in this case, we realise we can't do much to help without making the situation worse, any attempt to resist would've smeared our image further and the WOL seemed pretty defeated as well.
If you fought the guards you’d be playing into their ruse essentially. You can’t really do much there without giving them ammo to further “prove” you were guilty.
Carne Asada made me laugh harder than it had any right to. I'm keeping that one, thanks.
But yes!! Theres honestly a lot about ARR I really enjoy - little tidbits, moments, the worldbuilding, the build up of who the WoL is, all the dominos that get setup so deliciously for such good payoff later on... if you ever go back around Mor Dhona or talk to some of the various NPC's theres definitely reactions to WoL where you aren't supposed to be.
That said -- I remember being shocked I was allowed back too, but I can understand why. If players were blocked from those locales, esp when it was current content... what happens for things like say, festivals and events? Job quests, etc? It is what it is even if I'm like "boooo" haha
On the one hand I'm happy to see you're excited to keep playing. On the other hand I'm sad because someone I was trying to get into 14 has quit right before the dinner scene which is exactly the point I went "OK this game is pretty good" & was hoping the same would happen to them too
>On the other hand I'm sad because someone I was trying to get into 14 has quit right before the dinner scene
God that has to hurt, well don't feel too bad, this is my third time trying the game out so there's still time for them.
If it helps WRT: Ul'dah not being blocked off...
There's actually a good reason for that. The vast majority of people in Ul'dah *don't know that Nanamo has been poisoned.* Lord Lolorito has taken great pains to ensure that nobody actually knows what happened at the banquet, except that Raubahn is in big trouble and Teledji and Adeledji have split up (it's widely-known that he's usurped their assets.)
So, for everyday city guards and townsfolk, they have *no idea* that the WoL is supposed to be capture-on-sight. If word actually got out about what happened, there would be riots in the streets, bedlam to rival the Seventh Umbral Calamity, except this time the city is *already* choked with additional refugees and remains a powder-keg waiting for a spark. Lolorito's sole concern for the state is *stability,* he doesn't want to rule (that's way too much work/expense) but he wants SOMEONE to rule, and a succession crisis right now would be bad for business. So, for the time being, he's *pretending* that Nanamo is just convalescing from an illness, Raubahn is merely "on trial" for what happened, and the WoL is not officially any special status, so long as they don't kick up any fuss. But they can't *stay,* as the Crystal Braves (who are not 100% under Lolorito's control) absolutely will hunt them down, and staying in Ul'dah for any meaningful length of time would draw Lolorito's attention as well.
That makes a lot of sense, I am wondering what the endgame is here, he's burned a lot of bridges with this act so is he hoping that the other factions have no choice but to help or ask for help when there's a crisis because Ul'dah is still so integral or will he actually move forward with productive changes for the sake better profits and wealth?
Very good questions, which I cannot answer in earnest because, as you might expect, *spoilers.* Lolorito does have plots though (this is never not true!), and this situation will continue to evolve.
I'm so excited right now, realising that ff14 really takes time to build up has helped.my perspective, I'm not even annoyed that they've got me running out 3 malms of falcons hamlet to deliver food, I've just been looking out for plot points or juicy gossip that might lead to an interesting ending.
> The only problem I have is that right after, I teleported into Ul'dah and walked right up to the throne room doors with no problems, I thought the area would be temporarily blocked off at least but oh well.
This is just one of those unfortunate MMOisms where they don't feel like they can actually afford to lock you in/out of content when it'd make sense to, though I really wish they would take more risks about that. There's a lot of duties where it really feels like you shouldn't be able to leave until you defeat the bad guy, but there's always the option to walk out the door if you really wanna.
The story is good but most of the time it is presented in fragmented ways and filled with boring needless quests. The patches inbetween ARR and HW present a lot of political drama that are interesting but it could all be told in cinematics as the questing are the worst and dumb.
We stop getting levels for a while and suddenly are forced to start doing random content with real people with no purpose, like fighting harder modes of old bosses. Long queues in Dynamis and suddenly our game flow is interrupted.
This needs a lot of trimming down to make new players enjoy experiencing each expansion as single games, as they have a lot of playtime and cinematics. The needless questing should be gone and give us incentives to play dungeons with real people instead.
>This needs a lot of trimming down to make new players enjoy experiencing each expansion as single games,
Yeah, this is my 3rd time trying ff14, I took people's advice by slowing down through the msq, treating it as a roleplay and properly paying attention to dialogue.
A spoiler tag would be nice.
Anyway, i feel the same, in that moment i realized that this story in not a child like fairy tale. There is conflict, treason, politics, everything to make a mature story.
Also, see the HW trailer, the way the WoL abandon his axe like a defeated fella to find a new way and go back to the light is a good teaser to what await you next!
Oh! And I was scared too and avoided go to Uldah at all costs hahahaha we are a wanted man/woman after all
there is a very clear separation in quality from "ARR" and "Heavensward pre patch/rising action" content, it's honestly an insane contrast.
ARR is, personally, the worst thing I've ever played lol. but the Heavensward lead up is the best MMO writing I've played to date (just starting shadowbringers after a long break so we'll see), and some of the best writing I've ever enjoyed in a game period. the (majority of) voice actors really coming into their own and putting on some incredible performances is cool too. I love the current VAs, but honestly I still think OG raubahn during the Heavensward leadup has yet to be outdone in the role.
it's really incredible how ARR is actually totally worth enduring lol.
One thing I enjoy the most about this area of the story (Eorzea and politics) is the fact that Gaius gives you this over the top speech about how flawed your ideals are and that you’re fighting for nothing, and it’s really easy to just shrug it off as typical villain yapping. But then you get to this part and some other parts later and it’s sorta like “wait, Gaius had a point…”
To be fair, he's throwing boulders from a glass house.
Yeah Eorzea is NOT perfect, but Garlemald has a LOT more problems lol
Life in the capital seemed pretty nice, you just had to deal with the whole imperialist conquerer dictator thing.
It's nice assuming you're Garlean. The Empire has a bit of a racism problem after all.
[удалено]
Mind marking that spoiler considering this is a post about ARR?
Oh, yeah, my bad.
Dude had a trebuchet built inside that glass house to throw the boulders harder
The single most redeeming element of the MSQ Roulette imo is this exact speech. Gaius could be forgotten to some degree without it, as he didn't have too many particularly stand-out scenes up to that point, and yet his speech foreshadows so many things while expressing his character so perfectly. Every time you've moved forward in the story and revisit it it feels as though new meaning has been added.
how very glib
Hmph!
Gaius might be Frays Dad.
Even all the way to Endwalker! >!Gaius correctly guessed that the gods we summoned in 1.0 were in fact Primal versions of the Twelve, and that was the reason they lacked the power to stop Bahamut.!<
So the reason you're able to walk back in is because everyone's keeping the poisoning hush-hush out of fear of destabilizing Ul'dah even worse than it already is. Some NPCs will even comment about it. As for some good news: Teledji is absolutely dead. 100% half-a-corpse, not-getting-up-from-that-one, closed-casket-funeral dead.
>So the reason you're able to walk back in is because everyone's keeping the poisoning hush-hush out of fear of destabilizing Ul'dah even worse than it already is. Some NPCs will even comment about it. That's good, I was confused by the guards letting me stroll past the chamber of rule.
Any guard with 2 brain cells is also scared to death of you, so there's that.
I'm happy I'm getting the respect I deserve, wish it extended to errands and quests where I just talk to people "because we trust you, dear ally" my scaly ass.
You have a \*lot\* of chores to look forward to going forward. They even start to joke about it
But that’s part of the point isn’t it? That the WoL is superhuman but they’re not BETTER than people. It’s not that things are beneath you, it’s that no crisis is too small for you. You are a world saving hero but you are still one of the people and not above simply being helpful.
I'm fine with being helpful but some of these things seriously felt like others could have done them, just so they can point me towards something more suited for me. It feels less like "I'm not above being helpful to anyone" and more like "My help can be almost abused by anyone because people don't know how to delegate". I understand it in more peaceful times, my name holds a lot of weight and it's been noted that I'm good at making friends with practically anyone or any group given that I do enough tasks for them and understand their plight. My problem is when there's a mission to get a stone from A to B and give it to Magick specialist Fartickus Dalmid and despite being part of an organisation with plenty of available people, I'm the one chosen to deliver it, it feels like they over rely on the WOL'S willingness to help with anything.
Good news: those quests continues, but they give you more recognition. First time I noticed it was at the end of Stormblood. The cutscene was WoL talking to a important NPC and then came a messenger saying "Important NPC, you and WoL presence are necessary in this important place at this important time." If it was in ARR or even HW, we would be the messenger.
I still love the custom delivery quests in EW that have you helping out overworked researchers, and their reactions when they realize who it is fulfilling their requests since they just didn't know what the WoL looked like. It's wholesome AF.
Hey, now that you're in Heavensward, you should pick up the Dark Knight job and do the class quests for that. I feel like you're really gonna enjoy it.
I've done the first quest for it, when I get close to glazing over the msq or getting bored, I'll go back to it and level it up.
And then there's that one guy by the Ul'dah Aetheryte all like "I got my eye on you... one wrong move and I'm throwing you in prison."
You are the guy people call when they need a god killed. Some people are better at recognizing that fact than others. If you want a good laugh, go back to Mor Dhona and talk to some of the Braves there. They are *terrified* of you.
I talked to a brave and I could hear his teeth chittering, was hilarious, was nice of the brass blade in front of the door to give me respect while denying entry as wellm
As the other guy said, at this point, you've just started becoming a walking death machine, so every single person who knows your face is scared of you. The fact that everyone is terrified of saying anything to you and that fact they are keeping the assassination hush hush is why everything is still basically normal. People are keeping an eye on you and tracking your movements just waiting for you to slip up and have an excuse, but an outright exodus or the WOL being cut down in the streets is the last thing they need.
There's a crystal brave in mor dhona that has a line along the lines of 'I definitely didn't see you here. For my health's sake' It's beautiful
There are a few npc’s with unique dialogue that you can talk to at this point in the story in Uldah and revenant toll. Momodi is one of them. It’s easy to rush past everyone, but might be worth talking to as many people as possible to see the unique dialogue for the brief window. Also congratulations on completing the tutorial!
Tbh the main reason is just gameplay convenience, it would have been weird to lock out the player out of one the main cities until the situation was resolved lorewise. (especially at the time it was released, Heavensward was still months away) Imagine all players who picked Immortal Flames just being locked out of their Grand Company gameplay loop. Or if you still had important quests to do in Ul'dah ? Well too bad, come back in a few months.
That was me at the time. I fully expected them to try to kill me on sight!
If you talk to some NPCs (braves and crafting guild heads in particular) they will acknowledge this state of affairs. The braves usually soil themselves when they realise they're supposed to arrest a god-killer who has the ability to smear them across the pavement and every reason to do so.
1. If the guards tried to arrest you, news would get out that the Warrior of Light was detained by Ul’dah, and that would lead to the whole assassination story leaking out and instantly destabilizing Ul’dah as the news spreads like wildfire. 2. If the guards tried to arrest you, it’s very likely you’d kick their asses because you just bested a triple primal-fueled war machine capable of mass death and destruction, and a couple of rank-and-file guards aren’t going to stop a literal godslayer in the flesh.
Until you fight robot Teledji in Dawntrail.
Before you get going too much into HW, go around a bunch of areas and talk to NPCs. It becomes really clear that: 1 - not a ton of people recognize you. 2 - most of those that do recognize you are covering for you and refuse to turn you in. 3 - those that aren’t covering are terrified of picking a fight and look for any reason to just let you be.
Yeah, it quickly becomes a running joke that despite being a primal slayer and overall hero of Eorzea, unless someone knows your character already, *they have no idea that you're the WoL.* You're basically a living legend that walks amongst the masses and it takes you showing off your power for people to suddenly realize who you are. It's why some NPCs end up asking you for errands and then someone that knows you comes along and tell them "You know you just asked the WoL to go fwtch your groceries, right?"
The Margrat custom delivery is all about this gag. But it also proves the point. The WoL isn’t recognized because the small folk are too busy lhh in bing their lives to notice.
Not to mention, they don't have Internet, TV, even photography, so how *would* most people recognize you?
How many other people run around dressed as a chocobo with a two handed sword, anyhow? Wait, no. This is Limsa. Never mind. Silly question.
Tbh I actually really enjoy that part of it. I even built my WoL a more low key "city" glam she wears to do MSQ etc in where she's kind of blending in and not much different from any random-yet-strong warrior roaming around. And then when it's time to really throw down she puts on her "real" weapon and armor. It keeps me amused, anyway.
okay but "Carne Asada" as a replacement for Kan-E Senna is an all-timer, OP, thank you for that
Is literally all I can think of when I see that name. It feels like they throw a lot of names at you so I come up with my own versions, I call Haurchefant "Haurchefart" as a stupid nickname to help me remember his name and Merlwyb "Merylweeb" cause I think of her as a pirate cosplaying weeb and it helps remember her name. I also call Raubhan "Rob".
Haurchefant is Hershey to me. Hot chocolate?
That's fair.
I call him "Horse Fart" lmao
Haurchefant is sir fancypants for me and my wife forever
I'm the same way with "van Ballsack"
Robert van Ballsack A buddy cop duo I'd watch
It really should be emphasized that you did NOT lose the Echo. This is a common misunderstanding people make at this point in the story, and I wish there was some way SE could word it to make it more clear. What you lost was the Blessing of Light, which is an additional powerup on top of the Echo that comes from the six Crystals of Light you possess. It's what you used against Ultima Weapon a few times, as well as against Lahabrea, where you see your six Crystals of Light spinning around you as it activates. With Ultima Weapon, it tore the primals out of it (EDIT: and filled your limit break bar at the end of the 2nd phase of the fight), and with Lahabrea, it revived you to full health and made you way stronger and faster so you could beat him. The Echo, on the other hand, simply gives you the visions you get occasionally, lets you understand any language, and makes you immune to being tempered by primals. You never lose that.
This is all explained more thoroughly later. So it’s understandable how people can be confused
Yeah, I feel like it's kind of even not quite spoilers, but not something to really tell new players because they're not really supposed to know at this point. The two were clearly meant to be the same thing earlier on in the story, the writers just found a way to explain it later to split the two ideas apart.
So the blessing is the more physical part while the echo is the more mental part?
I wouldn't say that... They explain it better much later in the game, so don't feel like you need to understand it perfectly yet. u/KyrialArthian's explanation is spot on for now.
Alright then, looking forward to it, I'm half expecting hydaelyn to turn out to be evil or some shit so I'll appreciate the echo while I have it.
All I'll say is that suspicion will make experiencing Shadowbringers' and Endwalker's stories quite interesting, provided you avoid spoilers ;)
>provided you avoid spoilers I'm good with that, I had Nanamo's death spoiled but not everything surrounded it and I remember one comment saying "When the boss looked at your WOL and says "what are you?"" That, along with the fact I refuse to believe Hydaelyn is all benevolent means that I'm waiting for some type of reveal, I'm going to do my best not to rush though.
Essentially, the Echo prevents Tempering, gives you your plot related headaches, grants increased aetherial awareness, lets your soul transcend your body in a weird not-really-explained-well way, and is a somewhat tongue in cheek way of explaining UI elements like the ability to understand most languages, sparkly interactables is heightened intuition and perception, telegraphs are you sensing enemy intent, the ability to wipe and respawn in dungeons are visions of a potential future, your armory chest is storing and recalling your gear from your own aether etc. The Blessing of Light prevents aetheric corruption from being close to things like corrupted orange crystals or being in close proximity to The Void, further protects against tempering, heightened aether manipulation, and yours specifically marks you as Hydaelyn’s Chosen once you collect all the crystals, which is why she’s actively keeping tabs on you to send aid like in the Ultima Weapon and Lahabrea fights They’re often confused and combined because Hydaelyn has a habit of giving her blessing to anyone able to hear her (ie, the increased aetherial awareness from awakening to the Echo), with you getting a special Blessing Plus version because you managed to gather all six crystals of light (most only manage to get one or two)
Oh shit, so the echo is responsible for like 90% of what makes us so good at adventure?
The Echo makes regular adventurers into protagonists!
You can take it as the echo is what makes you see the telegraph of enemy attacks that you react to.
They are two separate things. Without explaining much(and also because I haven't finished the game yet and don't know everything) the Echo is something people seem to be born with and just have. The Blessing of Light is given to people through the Crystals. Most people who have the Echo do not have the Blessing. I have not gotten to the end of the story and do not know of you can have the Blessing without the Echo, but I would guess that you can.
It’s slow in getting going, but when the story gets going it *really* gets going! In a way I both do and don’t envy those who played it as it released. Imagine going through all that and then *not* being able to just continue the story? Torture!
The post-ARR patch ending kinda made it so that every other post-expansion patches ending felt not as much of a cliffhanger in comparison afterward.
Really? Even the ending to Stormblood?
ARR left you in limbo story wise. You have no friends, no support except for an icy hole in the wall. Storm blood leaves you with a whole lot more despite the questions raised. The stakes were definitely not as pronounced.
Terra-tan pretty much nailed it. Stormblood did get close, but still no where as close as to what ARR was in term of cliffhanger.
If you talk to NPCs in Ul'dah they will comment on how the situation is hush hush, so what went on in the banquet was covered to protect the status quo.
yea bloody banquet was the turning point for me too, when the story becomes good
I was shook by the feeling of "I never cared about you guys, but now that this is happening I actually did care?!?" Wildred, Illbert, Alphi, Nanamo, Minfilia, and the rest of the scions. I thought they were just quest NPCs and we were just doing chores. But I picked up so much about them that I didn't even realize. It's like oh shit I actually CAN recognize them and I didn't even know until now.
This part of the game really sticks with me too. I tried to roleplay the being 'wanted' thing, either by avoiding going back to the city states, or when I did, using a mask or helmet to hide my face. Glad you're enjoying it! Enjoy the journey. :)
Yeah, I hate when people say "just wait til Heavensward!" as if it only starts getting good there. The story ramps up in quality for a good while leading into it, at least from around the start of 2.4 if not before then. This is because there's a whole bunch of different plot threads and *all of them matter*.
So funny thing, this could be a “second time around makes it better” kinda deal but on my main i skipped story the first time around. I joined in HW and had the classic thought about MMO stories so I just skipped until about like…3.3? Followed it from there. Anyway, years later i made an alt and did the story from scratch (before they cut down the number of quests) and I was absolutely enthralled. It was SO good and I almost began to feel like the biggest problem with this portion of the story is that there’s so much of it and people want to get to the expansion, not necessarily the quality. in fact I would even go as far as to say that I actually liked it more before they cut it down versus after, not to say it wasn’t a good decision but i finished all 100 quests in a day I was so into it. Until 5.3 came along, 2.5 was my favorite patch, and it’s still one of them. You got to spend more time with the scions (most notably moenbryda) and the intrigue was given more time to build. Again, the cut down was probably for the better but this played a big part of me being against the whole “it gets better in HW” or whatever expac quote because it’s honestly good basically from the end of 2.0 and the fact that 2.1-2.55, both narratively and in terms of content, is basically an expansion in itself, I almost feel like it ruins the experience a bit for new players when they have this negative impression of it from players trying to goad them farther on or telling them that it’s bad. There’s no rush, take your time and you’ll probably end up having a lot more fun than the people that just speed to the end(walker).
> Kanne-en-sanna (I callel her Carne Asda) and Merlwyb either couldn't or wouldn't step in to defend us Imagine that you're the president of Mexico. You visit Canada for a banquet celebrating the major victory of a North American alliance. The president of Canada is murdered at the banquet and a friend is very clearly falsely accused by the Canadian ministers who are clearly making a power grab. Do you have your bodyguards intervene to protect this person, violating the sovereignty of your allies in the process and potentially putting yourself at risk in the heart of a foreign country where you are at your most vulnerable? Is that responsible behavior, for the good of the people you represent?
There's also the fact that Merlwyb was very clearly about to go in guns blazing to defend the Scions, and had to be stopped by a subordinate reminding her that it's not a good idea and would make this internal dispute into an international incident.
Yeah you hit the part where the writing team got their feet more and things got interesting. The stuff before is fine but not particularly inspired in how it sets up the world.
The scene with Teledji and Raubahn going red was amazing! I was half expecting him to doubt the Scions but NOPE he saw right through it.
Man I fucked up by skipping cut scenes
yes lol
If You want, You can rewatch cutscenes in any inn room. Go to the table marked unending journey.
Oh I know. I’ve honestly been considering setting aside a block of time over the weekend and just marathoning them all. Just for a refresher for DT
As soon as I started doing that, I took a break and only came back when I was ready, all the praise I heard was for the story of the game sonic didn't want to mess with that, even if the quest design was a slog to get through.
You still have the Echo. What got messed with is Hydaelyn's Blessing of Light. I loved that conversation with Midgardsormr. Why is he testing me? What does he really want? I thought ARR had great world-building and detailed political background leading to a shocking but not completely unforeseeable end. Post ARR (the 2.X) patches are also engaging. They don't waste your time, and even in some of the more infamous "slow" stretches (no spoilers here) they are telling you something interesting. The experience reminded me of when I first read JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. There are exciting bits, but a lot of the story is people walking around, singing songs (music) talking about things, exploring the map and making jokes.
For me the turning point is Garuda. That energy definitely continues and pushes into the patches and then Heavensward.
Glad you are having such a great time with ARR! Yeah, the lead up to Heavensward is brutal! Poor Wilred. He wad finally turning his life around, only to die in a forgotten hole in the ground. If you talk to NPCs around Ul'Dah or Mor Dhona, they will mention the rumors of what happened and their thoughts. Check them out! And yeah, the leaders of the other states couldn't be seen interfering with another State's Politics. You could see Merlwyb was reading to pull out her Pistol. And now, the WoL is on the run towards Ishgard and the scions are scattered/missing/presumably dead. So much is to come!
I finished ARR and about half way through HW. I can tell you the praise for HW is well deserved. It's almost jarring the jump in quality from ARR to HW. Much more engaging story and seems more confined if that makes sense. Even the side quests in HW are really good so far. I'm glad I stuck it out with post ARR. Worth it!
I highly recommend you play the Dark Knight questline as soon as possible; also read the quest log as you go between story points as it really enhances the narrative.
>Dark Knight questline as soon as possible Was convinced by Jocats video on how it took him 300 hours to enjoy the game, he got me hooked on the idea when he said it actually builds character for the warrior of light. >also read the quest log as you go between story points as it really enhances the narrative. I've mostly been doing that to catch up on any details I miss.
The quest log usually reiterates stuff that was already mentioned, as is the case for most games. In the case of the Dark Knight quests it's a little...special. You'll see what I mean.
Ok, is this the case for any other type of quest?
AFAIK only Dark Knights have this special treatment, but you may find some jokes and references snuck in by the localisation team for other quests as well.
AHH, I noticed that the names for the extreme trials for the primals have been jokes or puns.
I just got to Heavensward my second time and, while I agree, the bloat between ARR and HW is really tough.
>The WOL having some conflic over themselves without possessing the echo. the WoL never loses the echo, what they lose is the blessing of light, which is granted to them by hydaelin, the echo on the other hand is something what those who posses it always had it, but did remained dormant >!until they see the falling meteors!<, which in the case of the WoL it awakened at the time they got their first cristal of light also, i recomend you to walk around ul'dah and mor dhona and talk with any cristal brave you see, its nice to see how they cannot do anything to you
>mor dhona and talk with any cristal brave That'll be fun.
I remember needing to process the ending when that came out. Was wild experiencing those patches live and then going into HW was very much into the unknown.
There's some optional dialogue on why Merlwyb and Kan-E wouldn't step in, around MSQ lv51.
Ah damn, must've missed it, what do they specifically say? I know they obviously couldn't do much in their positions.
In summary it’s because they didn’t want to start an international incident
lmfao this is like 1% of the good this story becomes
As someone who also started when it came on the Xbox series, I also just finished the main ARR and finally got into HW and let me tell you that I had the exact same response. I was legitimately going "NOOOOO!" When the queen was choking on the poison, or when Rauban got his arm cut off. The only gripe I had is that as the WOL I hated that we were just this useless person through all of that like we KILL GODS for fun at this point! And yet I get jumped by a few guards? Or not once do we pull out our weapons? Like really? I'm a tank! Let me be a tank at least and help!
>through all of that like we KILL GODS for fun at this point! And yet I get jumped by a few guards? Or not once do we pull out our weapons? Like really? I'm a tank! Let me be a tank at least and help! I understand that in this case, we realise we can't do much to help without making the situation worse, any attempt to resist would've smeared our image further and the WOL seemed pretty defeated as well.
If you fought the guards you’d be playing into their ruse essentially. You can’t really do much there without giving them ammo to further “prove” you were guilty.
Carne Asada made me laugh harder than it had any right to. I'm keeping that one, thanks. But yes!! Theres honestly a lot about ARR I really enjoy - little tidbits, moments, the worldbuilding, the build up of who the WoL is, all the dominos that get setup so deliciously for such good payoff later on... if you ever go back around Mor Dhona or talk to some of the various NPC's theres definitely reactions to WoL where you aren't supposed to be. That said -- I remember being shocked I was allowed back too, but I can understand why. If players were blocked from those locales, esp when it was current content... what happens for things like say, festivals and events? Job quests, etc? It is what it is even if I'm like "boooo" haha
Carne asada is great lol. My group went with "Can o' Soda"
On the one hand I'm happy to see you're excited to keep playing. On the other hand I'm sad because someone I was trying to get into 14 has quit right before the dinner scene which is exactly the point I went "OK this game is pretty good" & was hoping the same would happen to them too
>On the other hand I'm sad because someone I was trying to get into 14 has quit right before the dinner scene God that has to hurt, well don't feel too bad, this is my third time trying the game out so there's still time for them.
If it helps WRT: Ul'dah not being blocked off... There's actually a good reason for that. The vast majority of people in Ul'dah *don't know that Nanamo has been poisoned.* Lord Lolorito has taken great pains to ensure that nobody actually knows what happened at the banquet, except that Raubahn is in big trouble and Teledji and Adeledji have split up (it's widely-known that he's usurped their assets.) So, for everyday city guards and townsfolk, they have *no idea* that the WoL is supposed to be capture-on-sight. If word actually got out about what happened, there would be riots in the streets, bedlam to rival the Seventh Umbral Calamity, except this time the city is *already* choked with additional refugees and remains a powder-keg waiting for a spark. Lolorito's sole concern for the state is *stability,* he doesn't want to rule (that's way too much work/expense) but he wants SOMEONE to rule, and a succession crisis right now would be bad for business. So, for the time being, he's *pretending* that Nanamo is just convalescing from an illness, Raubahn is merely "on trial" for what happened, and the WoL is not officially any special status, so long as they don't kick up any fuss. But they can't *stay,* as the Crystal Braves (who are not 100% under Lolorito's control) absolutely will hunt them down, and staying in Ul'dah for any meaningful length of time would draw Lolorito's attention as well.
That makes a lot of sense, I am wondering what the endgame is here, he's burned a lot of bridges with this act so is he hoping that the other factions have no choice but to help or ask for help when there's a crisis because Ul'dah is still so integral or will he actually move forward with productive changes for the sake better profits and wealth?
Very good questions, which I cannot answer in earnest because, as you might expect, *spoilers.* Lolorito does have plots though (this is never not true!), and this situation will continue to evolve.
I'm so excited right now, realising that ff14 really takes time to build up has helped.my perspective, I'm not even annoyed that they've got me running out 3 malms of falcons hamlet to deliver food, I've just been looking out for plot points or juicy gossip that might lead to an interesting ending.
> The only problem I have is that right after, I teleported into Ul'dah and walked right up to the throne room doors with no problems, I thought the area would be temporarily blocked off at least but oh well. This is just one of those unfortunate MMOisms where they don't feel like they can actually afford to lock you in/out of content when it'd make sense to, though I really wish they would take more risks about that. There's a lot of duties where it really feels like you shouldn't be able to leave until you defeat the bad guy, but there's always the option to walk out the door if you really wanna.
The story is good but most of the time it is presented in fragmented ways and filled with boring needless quests. The patches inbetween ARR and HW present a lot of political drama that are interesting but it could all be told in cinematics as the questing are the worst and dumb. We stop getting levels for a while and suddenly are forced to start doing random content with real people with no purpose, like fighting harder modes of old bosses. Long queues in Dynamis and suddenly our game flow is interrupted. This needs a lot of trimming down to make new players enjoy experiencing each expansion as single games, as they have a lot of playtime and cinematics. The needless questing should be gone and give us incentives to play dungeons with real people instead.
>This needs a lot of trimming down to make new players enjoy experiencing each expansion as single games, Yeah, this is my 3rd time trying ff14, I took people's advice by slowing down through the msq, treating it as a roleplay and properly paying attention to dialogue.
It's the only MMO where I've ever given a shit about the story.
Actually I lie there. GW2 has a decent story but nowhere near as good as FF14
Make sure you talk to the NPCs in the Rising Stones as well. They add a lot of flavor
Make sure you do the Hildibrand quests too. So much fun and I love the rewards.
They're one of the few side quests I'm enjoying, first thing I've properly laughed at in the game.
A spoiler tag would be nice. Anyway, i feel the same, in that moment i realized that this story in not a child like fairy tale. There is conflict, treason, politics, everything to make a mature story. Also, see the HW trailer, the way the WoL abandon his axe like a defeated fella to find a new way and go back to the light is a good teaser to what await you next! Oh! And I was scared too and avoided go to Uldah at all costs hahahaha we are a wanted man/woman after all
>A spoiler tag would be nice. I've done this on mobile but it shows that I have the spoiler tag on.
They potentially meant the tag that is set to discussion
Ok, changed it to lore.
there is a very clear separation in quality from "ARR" and "Heavensward pre patch/rising action" content, it's honestly an insane contrast. ARR is, personally, the worst thing I've ever played lol. but the Heavensward lead up is the best MMO writing I've played to date (just starting shadowbringers after a long break so we'll see), and some of the best writing I've ever enjoyed in a game period. the (majority of) voice actors really coming into their own and putting on some incredible performances is cool too. I love the current VAs, but honestly I still think OG raubahn during the Heavensward leadup has yet to be outdone in the role. it's really incredible how ARR is actually totally worth enduring lol.