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Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker |OT|

finally finished the MSQ, and it's indeed a moving experience whole way through. there are some stuff here and there that I don't care too much but overall it's just an amazing ending to the whole story from ARR to this. so much fan service and small call backs to previous stuff. I'll probably do a NG+ down the road to go through everything again (ok, maybe not ARR stuff :messenger_grinning_sweat:).
 

Faust

Perpetually Tired
Staff Member
I need the OST. I wish Square would just release the damn thing already so I can spend 70 dollars after shipping so I can have it on my phone!
 

Kumomeme

Member
FF14 fans: Heard for years this game is amazing, I haven't ignored it, but I've always been turned off by MMO's... But I can't keep ignoring the endless praise.

My question is: How accessible is the game? Is it solo friendly? Is it grindy? How difficult is it to just play the main story scenarios? Is the game overtly complex?

I'm starting to get really curious...
the game despite having a MMO label but actually play similliar to single player RPG. think of it as RPG first, MMO second. think of it as a final fantasy game that has multiplayer element added later.

How accessible is the game?
the game is one of MMO newbie friendly out there. also casuals friendly. it is easy to get into and play. the game started slow which is helped newcomer to the game and genre learn about the system. lv1-35 basically tutorial phase and story, dungeon content kick off starting there. it also has great controller support. lot of pc player also end up play using controller. U.I is very customizeable too.
Is it solo friendly?
yes. very much. you can do all hundreds of hours storyline content solo without need to socialize, join guild or forming parties. like my point above, it is play similliar to single player RPG. infact, majority of time you spend is doing quest solo. except you would encounter other player roaming around on cities and map which is can ignore. there is also lot of solo instance quest where you fight npc and stuff. the rest is like dungeon run and boss trial is must be done with other player but there is auto-match making system where will put you in que, grouped you and will automatically disbanded after duty run. you likely wont meet same player again. there is A.I system replacing player on 3rd expansion above. but no need to worry, the community is really friendly and less toxic. most of them understand if you are new player and screwing up. if you meet someone toxic, that is very minority experience.
Is it grindy?
no. almost no grind in this game. you wont find player killing monster on field 24 hours. you gained exp is by completing quest which is much like single player rpg. just do main storyline quest, you would level up nicely with no need to worry of lack of level. even if you over level up, the dungeon or trial has level synce feature at first place.
How difficult is it to just play the main story scenarios?
really easy. just do the quest. think of it like how you play skyrim. main storyline dungeon and trial also not hard. you can even 'forget' this is MMO and play like single player quest driven RPG.
Is the game overtly complex?
no at all. you might be feel 'confused' watching the gameplay video. well depend on content. the complex here is on the dungeon and boss trial mechanic. most of it should be not hard except extreme or savage trial above which is for hardcore player. this content is optional.

the combat basic mechanic just revolve around variation of evading circle AOE(dont step on it) and regrouping when there is stack marker thats all. from there lot more creative mechanic but you should has no problem to understand those stuff. there rest, as long you know your job rotation and your role, should has no problem at all. there is very less META in this game too compared to other MMO.

overall the game nicely catered to casuals player. lot of player play just only for storyline alone and stop simply subbing after that.

just think of it like Xenoblade Chronicles or Dragon Age: Inquistion. lot of similliarities here.

my advice playing the game is, dont rush, take your time and enjoy. also base game ARR is bit slog so you would get rewarded once you starting first expansion Heavensward which is one of the best FF story out there. the quality, dungeon, quest(less fetch quest), voice acting etc all skyrocket from there.
 
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YukiOnna

Member
I need the OST. I wish Square would just release the damn thing already so I can spend 70 dollars after shipping so I can have it on my phone!
Same. FanFes 2023 is also going to be emotional with Keiko doing the piano arrangements live.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Really? But Trial 2 EX looks easier...

Everyone royally jacks up the spread AOEs. You have to really talk positioning before the fight, because even 1 person messing up can kill 2 or 3 people. In Trial #1 if you mess up it tends to just kill you & not others lol
 

wvnative

Member
The game is quite accessible and it's easy to level. There's usually stuff like server wide EXP boosts for low population (although now... lol) and EXP Boost Earrings up to a certain level cap if you grab the LE to make life easier, but even then the EXP has been adjusted so that you are leveling from Main Scenario Quests to the cap of each expansion IIRC or close to it and if not you can jump into the Duty Roulette and grab some bonus EXP for running old content.

The Main Scenario is this games bread and butter so if you're just wanting to play that then absolutely go ahead although if you get addicted, you may find yourself doing a lot of the side stuff anyway. Dungeons, Trials and Raids are done with other people, but Shadowbringers and Endwalker allows you to do Dungeons with NPC's and it basically got a lot closer to a single player RPG in those two without spoiling too much. The game is not that difficult at all, there's a gradual increase in how mechanics are handled but they're quite forgiving even for optional Extreme versions. Of course there are still features and things that are MMO like because it is an MMO, so it's entirely up to you.

That said ARR (2.0) is a bit of a slog, but trust me it's worth going through. That's the only time and the pay off is worth it.

I think they suspended sales and free trial temporarily though, so you might not be able to get in?

I'm pretty much the same as you. Don't like most MMOs. Basically as long as you never change classes, you never have to grind. The story quests basically give you enough XP to carry you.

However there are other ways to level so if you do want to experiment than you'll be fine if you want to, you can.

The game is absolutely solo friendly. I pretty only play with my AI chocobo which gets me by. There are times when you need to party up, but it's a painless affair. The game has a great matchmaking feature and the community is generally pretty friendly.

The main game isn't hard at all. Story dungeons and bosses are kind of easy. There are harder versions that unlock, but they're optional. I've only dabbled in those and they're tough but not overwhelmingly so. Honestly if you're looking for a challenge this isnt the game for you. It's pretty low stress.

The main draw for me is the story and characters. The writing is dense. This game probably has the most story out of any game I've ever played by a long shot. It's pretty great stuff. Does a great job of balancing hype bombastic moments with quiet character moments, as well as moments where the game pulls back and let's the world tell a story.

The characters are fantastic. So many characters that I've come to enjoy and love. And I'm only halfway through stormblood so I a ways to go.

One can happily play from lvl 1 to whatever the level cap is given the expansion they own. Unless things have changed since I have been away, you may need to occasionally have to queue up for a dungeon, but given the way Square Enix has designed the queuing system you won't have to wait long to find a group regardless of your level. The only barrier to advancement in those cases will be gear score, but if you proceed through the leveling content you'll get plenty of gear thrown your way so it shouldn't be an issue.

Enjoy! Best MMO on the market right now IMO.

Goddammit guys, your all saying ALL the right things...


How does buying it work? Am I gonna have to buy the game + each expansion + the monthly fee?

That is an investment...


I do still feel a bit intimated, when I see gameplay videos on YT I just see a clusterfuck of icons on screen and it looks kinda nuts

But I thought Xenoblade 2 would be a nightmare but I just finished it and once I figured out elemental orb stacking i actually had a ton of fun despite it having a ton of design issues.

How long is each story expansion if you B line it? If I go solo, is there a certain class i should go for or are they all viable?


Is "Endwalker" actually the end of the story or will there be more?
 

YukiOnna

Member
Goddammit guys, your all saying ALL the right things...


How does buying it work? Am I gonna have to buy the game + each expansion + the monthly fee?

That is an investment...


I do still feel a bit intimated, when I see gameplay videos on YT I just see a clusterfuck of icons on screen and it looks kinda nuts

But I thought Xenoblade 2 would be a nightmare but I just finished it and once I figured out elemental orb stacking i actually had a ton of fun despite it having a ton of design issues.

How long is each story expansion if you B line it? If I go solo, is there a certain class i should go for or are they all viable?


Is "Endwalker" actually the end of the story or will there be more?
When it's available again you can just buy the Complete Edition which contains all the expansions up to Endwalker now and it's 59.99.
It also contains free 30 days, which you can at least reach Shadowbringers by if you commit to the game for the month a bit. That way you only pay the 12.99 sub fee once. They encourage you to unsub and come back if you get burnt out so never feel obligated if you want to take a break though

What you're probably seeing is from Level 70-90, lol. Don't worry it's a gradual increase and you won't be doing anything crazy at Level 10 or 15.

Each Expansion is a full fledged mainline FF. So expect at least a 30-40 hour story if you focus on nothing but that. Endwalker has more volume though and it completes the first saga started back in 1.0. 6.1 will begin a new adventure/saga so a lot more to come. There's an expansion every 2 years so 7.0 should be in 2023 with Fan Fest 2023.
 

wvnative

Member
When it's available again you can just buy the Complete Edition which contains all the expansions up to Endwalker now and it's 59.99.
It also contains free 30 days, which you can at least reach Shadowbringers by if you commit to the game for the month a bit. That way you only pay the 12.99 sub fee once. They encourage you to unsub and come back if you get burnt out so never feel obligated if you want to take a break though

What you're probably seeing is from Level 70-90, lol. Don't worry it's a gradual increase and you won't be doing anything crazy at Level 10 or 15.

Each Expansion is a full fledged mainline FF.
So expect at least a 30-40 hour story if you focus on nothing but that. Endwalker has more volume though and it completes the first saga started back in 1.0. 6.1 will begin a new adventure/saga so a lot more to come. There's an expansion every 2 years so 7.0 should be in 2023 with Fan Fest 2023.


Holy shit
 

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
But I thought Xenoblade 2 would be a nightmare but I just finished it and once I figured out elemental orb stacking i actually had a ton of fun despite it having a ton of design issues.

How long is each story expansion if you B line it? If I go solo, is there a certain class i should go for or are they all viable?
They're probably all viable. I've only really played as Bard and Machinist, which are both DPS class.

I'd maaaaaybe consider not going as a healer class, but honestly you'd probably be okay with that too.

This game is much easier than Xenoblade
 

YukiOnna

Member
Yoshi-P did a Q&A for Chinese Fan Fes (and they also revealed a new mount for CN stores)

Here is a summary:
- MSQ Roulette will possibly get huge changes for Patch 6.x and beyond and they will share details soon
- Improvements to Guild Leves will come at a later time, not in the cards right now
- Yoshi-P wants to continue Ryne's story
- Will visit Garlond Ironworks Company proper if the story focuses on them again
- Eorzea Encyclopedia Vol 3 is in the works and will cover 5.0 and 6.0
- Asked about a female WoL for trailers and said he use the question as a reference since he's planning the 7.0 Trailer right now
- Food is imagined based on what the citizens may eat in the region. Yoshi-P will let the development team know CN fans want Chinese based food
- The reason SE WoL gets older in trailers is because it's basically in real time and he likes the idea of your character growing with you
- Eventually would like to do a monster/field guide but there are several hurdles before that. He knows its requested a ton though
- Close contact emotes are difficult, but they are planning race specific emotes
- They want to make spectate content feature available for everything but need to make sure people can't cheat

From FFXIV Reddit Discord iluna minori and miuna
 
Just finished the Normal raid series. First two were pretty easy tbh but the last two were surprisingly tricky for Normal content. The fourth one was especially mean with the amount of misdirects lmao, but it was fun to progress through.

That said, I'm disappointed that the raids are unvoiced yet again. I thought the raid tease at the end of Endwalker was implying this time would be different, but alas...

Edit: I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the required iLevel for the raid (565). I guess it is higher than usual, but I don't think it's unreasonably so. I haven't even touched the EX trials yet and I still met the requirement
 
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wvnative

Member
Few more questions friends...

1. Pretty sure it is but just to double check, it is indeed cross play across PS4, PS5 and PC?

2. Does the PS5 version have any significant advantages beyond image quality? I have a PS5, but I physically cannot use a dualsense controller, and Sony started blocking the Cronus on newer PS5 games, so I've been using my PS5 as a glorified PS4, I can bypass the restriction with remote play but its a pain in the ass...so if there isn't a huge advantage I will just play the PS4 version

3. Are quests either properly marked or gated off per expansion? Don't wanna accidentally skip stuff or do stuff out of order
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Few more questions friends...

1. Pretty sure it is but just to double check, it is indeed cross play across PS4, PS5 and PC?

Yep. Also you can use a keyboard/mouse on playstation or use a playstation controller on PC. Its all the same game, same players.

2. Does the PS5 version have any significant advantages beyond image quality? I have a PS5, but I physically cannot use a dualsense controller, and Sony started blocking the Cronus on newer PS5 games, so I've been using my PS5 as a glorified PS4, I can bypass the restriction with remote play but its a pain in the ass...so if there isn't a huge advantage I will just play the PS4 version

PS5's main advantage over PS4 is load times which are significantly better. Image quality and performance don't get a huge boost on PS5; the native 4K 60fps mode on PS5 still has suboptimal performance and has yet to receive a dedicated patch.

3. Are quests either properly marked or gated off per expansion? Don't wanna accidentally skip stuff or do stuff out of order

No chance of you skipping stuff; the main story is a linear set of quests. Important side quests will have a + plus sign next to them if you wanna get more out of the story & gameplay and you can do those alongside the game.
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Requirement is easy to meet for the raid. Just farm a Moonward set and get a lvl 90 Dungeon ring. Easy 569 right there.

And you can get there in a day with Trusts. Bypassing congestion entirely.
 

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
3. Are quests either properly marked or gated off per expansion? Don't wanna accidentally skip stuff or do stuff out of order
To clarify on the below answer, as they said this game is extremely linear. Everything is gated behind the main story, including regions. You can't sequence break. The game also always tell you what the next main story quest is in the top left corner. This game basically is not open world oddly enough. You go to specific areas as the game wants you to.
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
The holiday event must be live, because the queue is over 2,900 at 10:30 PM on a Tuesday xD

Y2Cle8i.png
 
Was the pizza emote limited or something? Ended up never getting it...
The fine print said to allow up to 2 weeks for code delivery, but it also said there was limited quantities available AND first come first serve...


I put my order in early on Dec 10 (the day after the promo started) so if you ordered before that then it's possible it's still on its way, unless the 'first come first serve' thing is a lie

Edit: someone wrote a news article about the situation lol
 
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YukiOnna

Member
The fine print said to allow up to 2 weeks for code delivery, but it also said there was limited quantities available AND first come first serve...


I put my order in early on Dec 10 (the day after the promo started) so if you ordered before that then it's possible it's still on its way, unless the 'first come first serve' thing is a lie

Edit: someone wrote a news article about it lol
Thanks for the info. I ordered mine on the 15th so I think I'm screwed...

I don't understand how a digital item is limited stock.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
The raid was fun. I like that its going for its own thing rather than just FF <insert number> fanservice. I love the fanservice but XIV should have its own identity too. My favorite fight is the LITERAL SEWER LEVEL, doing the spreads is fun & its got that double tank stack so I actually have something to do as a co-tank.

Word on the street is we'll probably fight Beelzebub since the raid is vaguely FFII related and Beelzebub is of course hell/demonic related.
 

95mellow

Member
What's the fastest way to level up an alt job these days? I'm 90 on RPR but I'm thinking of becoming a masochist and rolling SCH.

Am I right in thinking that I should hit level 15 with FATEs and Hunting Logs, then PoTD thereafter?
 
What's the fastest way to level up an alt job these days? I'm 90 on RPR but I'm thinking of becoming a masochist and rolling SCH.

Am I right in thinking that I should hit level 15 with FATEs and Hunting Logs, then PoTD thereafter?

that sounds about right for the starting levels. until u get to 50 and open up MSQ roulette, the option is rather limited. but think of it this way, at least if u level SCH, u get SMN up as well.
 
What's the fastest way to level up an alt job these days? I'm 90 on RPR but I'm thinking of becoming a masochist and rolling SCH.

Am I right in thinking that I should hit level 15 with FATEs and Hunting Logs, then PoTD thereafter?
You probably don't even need FATEs for the first 15 levels, especially with rested XP and XP accessories. Just follow the Hunting Log until you can't anymore and then PotD it up.

As a SCH there's also an alternate lazy method to leveling with AI dungeons via Grand Company Squadrons (link for those that don't know about it), because SCH's fairy can handle most ARR healing by itself. Basically all you have to do is drag your squadron from pack to pack, and let them do the grunt work while you watch a movie or TV show in another window lol. That said, Squadrons are NOT a fast way to level (it's basically the same as spamming dungeons) - but like I said it's a lazy option, and has the added bonus of ranking yourself up in your GC which unlocks various things, including the new "lootboxes" they teased before EW came out.
 

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
You probably don't even need FATEs for the first 15 levels, especially with rested XP and XP accessories. Just follow the Hunting Log until you can't anymore and then PotD it up.

As a SCH there's also an alternate lazy method to leveling with AI dungeons via Grand Company Squadrons (link for those that don't know about it), because SCH's fairy can handle most ARR healing by itself. Basically all you have to do is drag your squadron from pack to pack, and let them do the grunt work while you watch a movie or TV show in another window lol. That said, Squadrons are NOT a fast way to level (it's basically the same as spamming dungeons) - but like I said it's a lazy option, and has the added bonus of ranking yourself up in your GC which unlocks various things, including the new "lootboxes" they teased before EW came out.
Did they add more ranks to the GC in Endwalker?
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Got mommy's ilvl 580 weapon. Every now and then in party finder you find a group of absolute badasses who STEAMROLLS the boss while having a fun chill vibe to boot. Last night was one of those times. We farmed that bitch like it was our life's calling :messenger_sunglasses:

If I want to try Savage I'll probably have to find a static though, won't I? Hm.
 

95mellow

Member
What's the fastest way to level up an alt job these days? I'm 90 on RPR but I'm thinking of becoming a masochist and rolling SCH.

Am I right in thinking that I should hit level 15 with FATEs and Hunting Logs, then PoTD thereafter?
I went mental, and now I'm a BLM main. My IQ has grown by 15 already.
 
Bloodwhetting on WAR is so OP.
WAR has been OP since ShB with Nascent Flash but most people were too stuck on the flavor of the month expansion Gunbreaker that they didn't notice lol
Edit: and just to be clear, I'm not criticizing anyone for picking Gunbreaker over Warrior. Its popularity is just the nature of new jobs, right?

It did receive a nerf for healing during bosses, though. It used to scale the healing based on your damage (I think it was 50% of damage? It was pretty crazy), so if you saved it for your Inner Release window you could basically heal your entire health bar and then some. Now it's just a flat 400 potency so it's still amazing for dungeons (if you pull big... which you should) but weaker against bosses.
 
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Faust

Perpetually Tired
Staff Member
Pandaemonium was a lot of fun! Boss Fights 2 and 3 were a pain with LFG though. Its sad how many people can‘t tell right from left.
 

MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
The thing with Warrior is that it's self sustain is broken. You can coordinate your raid to just let the Warrior use Holmgang and they can heal to full with Chaos attacks under RI/NF/BW since they force crit heals.

You can drop to 1 HP and go right back up all by yourself.

If you wanted to you could probably solo dungeons and bosses that don't have a DPS check.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Been going after triple triad cards now, mostly in order. In 150 deep. Some of them look like they will be a nightmare (Varis Extreme) but otherwise its surprisingly not been some kind of otherworldy grind. Course I prolly jinxed it...
 
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