A Particularly Pathetic Paraphrasing of FFXIV Heavensward (Big Spoilers)

The sequel that maybe one person asked for.
For those that follow me closely you know that it takes a while to make videos that require many clips so this one was a bit of a large project. Don't expect a Stormblood video for a long time.

[@MorbingusDingus]

If you do more of these. More of these will be on your channel.

[@GriziDaWiz]

Every 60 seconds a minute passes in Africa.

[@geraldchee8147]

People die when they are killed

[@thegrandpotato217]

If you then you will

[@goobermcboogerballs1420]

Truer words have ever been spoken.

[@krykry606]

Write deep and deep it shall be written.

[@KventinDorvard]

I remember when i was watching Haurchefant's death scene for the first time I caught myself thinking that that scene could be very weird if I entered the Vault as a healer

[@_Pikahiiri_]

I did enter it as a healer the first time. It was hilarious thinking "Y'know, I could be healing you right now. I have Benediction."

[@hydrangeandarkknight6218]

I was Paladin and was like, "Haurcefant, I know you a team player, but I could've taken that hit and still be alright." But yeah, I kinda felt bad about not feeling bad about this scene

[@solotort2872]

it's frustrating at every npc death that you witness as a healer... i mean Bueller Bueller anyone have res? I DO I DO!

[@squidpaladin]

as someone who did enter the Vault as a healer, this whole scene pissed me off.

[@AgathaASR]

When the wound is too stron you can't just heal people And and interesting thing is that this attack on the EX fight blcks any healing(just a curiosity, dunno if applies to story since it's the EX version)

[@imoney139]

Hearing Shiva edens theme sent me into cardiac arrest, keep making more!

[@T.O.Wallee]

I watched your first part of the ARR. Man I just love your standard of humor that makes the story much more interesting to watch. subbed

[@catacombboy]

I feel it's important to point out that by the point Aymeric hits on you and stumbles through inviting you to a drink, just about every player probably thought "yep, his ass is dying" despite him already having survived an assassination attempt very recently. It goes to show how HW did a decent job of making the player afraid to grow overly attached to any one character as it was very possible they could be taken away at a moment's notice. A great point I feel is occasionally overlooked, which you did touch on in this video, is that starting with the events of the bloody banquet the hero is finally shown they simply cannot save everyone. In the events of HW you end a thousand year war, unite the nations for the first time in centuries, defeat the big bad dragon while having that dragon's dad chastise his kids and introduce you as their new step-mommy, and maybe rescue a sleeping princess or whatever; all the while, you're being humbled by your many failures. Both Haurchefaunt and Ysayle died to protect YOU, the literal DEFENDER OF EORZEA. You failed to stop incidents at the sight of the peace meeting TWICE, one orchestrated by man and another by dragon. Your track record as defender and peacekeeper suddenly starts to look really spotty. Getting to rescue Estinien, the hemophiliac with a heart wearing sharp pointy armor, is a great way to end the entire dragonsong war arch; because not only has the player grown more fond of him, but you get to see those around you (Alphinaud in particular) begin to grow attached to Estinien in their own unique ways, making saving him feel all the better. Not to mention using Thordan as a target to vent the WoL's frustration at their recent failures was a great framing for the 13v1 slaughter you enact on the knights of the round. Thank you for taking the time to read what has likely been more writing than George RR Martin has done in the last few years.

[@xanmontes8715]

Your George R. R. Martin tidbit absolutely killed me. Made me cosplay as Haurchefant, in fact.

[@nicholaslongaker7065]

Keep making videos, they're awesome! Not enough quality content out there surrounding ffxiv. Love watching your vids. Will spread the word.

[@charlottesice1401]

but how do dragons and people, you know, do the do

[@Bangaruh]

Lubricant and yoga.

[@nenaw.3935]

Take it with a grain of salt, but supposedly dragons don't reproduce like that. So...they don't do the do. At all. It's a kindergarten relationship - hold one claw and kiss the (face) cheek.

[@Xenmaru00]

@@nenaw.3935 i mean, in the end Hrae DID Eat Shiva...in the literal sense... Who'se to say just before that, he didnt eat her in a different sense...

[@AmySay]

OH YEAH I DIDN’T FEEL A LOT WHEN HAURCHEFANT DIED EITHER! It’s to the point where in my mind, my WoL was never close to him, and is less “mourning a close friend who died” and is more “dealing with survivors guilt because someone who didn’t have much to do with the war was killed instead of her”.

[@diegomacias5872]

I actually thought Haurchefaunt was cool. I got attached since ARR; heck d he even helped us when we needed it the most with us labeled as traitors. I only felt more when playing HW he became a true bro. I wanted to see him live to experience the new ishgard we would have built together. When he died saving my life i actually yelled his name in disbelief. My man-dude-guy-bro-friend was really gone. Was really emotional and drove me for vengeance against the Pope.

[@Elerigo]

*sounds of Light Rampant*

[@o0Azure0o]

I don't appreciate being called out about my Antitower runs... 10/10 video otherwise.

[@gamingxl6760]

Antitower for minfellia and 6 memory for relic. relatable

[@huntsman0865]

"Doing the most realm reborn thing you can imagine." Fighting titian?

[@margotrosendorn6371]

Ishguard has wares if you have coin

[@Kasaaz]

Huh... it really is the other lung...

[@Pyrhos]

As a PLD, my only thought during the Haurchefant moment was: "Bruh what are you doing? I have Hallowed Ground!"

[@DekkarJr]

bruh where do i get that dress!

[@MegaSasuke21]

but is Jaylin there?

[@hobbyistkeita]

Pretty sure there's 4 noble houses in Ishgard, but no one cares

[@GaleGrim]

ARR rezd FF14 and then heavensward healed it's hp.

[@RudolvonStroheim]

Thanks for making this boring asf expansion that made me quit for a year and a half until late Stormblood, more entertaining than it ever was.

[@Anddroiden]

about the poisoned food, yeah WoL don't trust random beverage or food anymore after that last drugging. You see WoL turning down drinks and food multiple times after this.

[@michaelpowers6855]

I never even realized that, that's pretty cool

[@michaelk9279]

@@michaelpowers6855 One of my favorite moments was when the WoL and Aymeric were having their little dinner date and the camera focuses on the servant pouring tea for an uncomfortably long amount of time, as if the WoL still has PTSD from the Nanamo incident.

[@Kenionatus]

@@michaelk9279 I really assumed Aymeric would get poisoned there.

[@CyanPhoenix_]

why accept food from strangers when you have 999 eggs in your pockets :P

[@megamage911]

@@Kenionatus Fr, I was tense as shit expecting some GoT level betrayal there with the servant poisoning him or some shit xD

[@Lynmaru_]

Ysayle's reaction to moogles is still my favorite part of their little road trip

[@YukiIjuin]

So... fluffy

[@msaag5490]

And in that moment, I begged that she lived and be a Scion. And then SE came from the heavens, placed their hand on my shoulder and said this "No."

[@cygnusereve4779]

I too was charmed and hoped that she lived.

[@triplecastsleep1924]

For Ysayle, primals are strengthened by prayer and aether. The first time you fight her, she's surrounded by a massive stockpile of crystals, and her most devoted followers, in a holy place. When Ravana fights her, she has none of that, while Ravana is freshly summoned, inside a giant mountain full of hardcore zealots and stolen crystals. Then, the third time, she takes an entire broadside from a warship similar to the one that killed Midgardsomr.

[@Mir_Teiwaz]

I dunno how common this is, but when I first met Haurchefant I actually thought he was going to stab me in the back. He was *way* too nice and it wasn't until he died that I realized he was just a really nice person. I can't say his death hit me as much as it apparently did for a lot of people, but I still felt some tears when his ghost showed up to help me pull Nidhogg's eye from Estinien.

[@Isissa125]

fun fact, in the japanese script haurchefant has a massive boner for the WoL and is nice to you because he's a fanboy (who gets sweaty thinking about watching you beat people up)

[@Isissa125]

there are several lines where he comments about quivering with excitement imagining you fighting a dragon, or wants to see your glistening muscles after a training session. boys got it bad.

[@lukoscreyden]

Finally, someone else who saw Haurchefant as really suspicious. I did not trust that boy at all. In hindsight, I DO really like him and its easier to see his attitude as sincere now, but yeah, he came across as way too nice for it to be honest.

[@stars-and-clouds]

Yeah we're so used to shit people when someone nice comes along we're like "what do you want."

[@Sneedboy]

Hey hey, Chair people. Kovfefe Kween here. 5,000,000 gil has been deposited to your Retainer

[@charlottesice1401]

$50 pay up

[@Some__Guy]

I HATED how they just threw the eyes away. NO! STAB THEM! MAGIC THEM! Lock them away at the very least! Don't just toss them off the fucking bridge! Especially not on the same side, RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, FOR ANYONE TO JUST GO DOWN THERE AND FIND EASILY!

[@Tohlemiach]

My biggest question is how the fuck no one thought to make a plan for what to do with them if they actually did manage to pry them off of Estinien. Really bad character writing to just make them all braindead for the sake of forcing a plot point.

[@VioletShinobi]

I know you were kind of joking at that part. But I don't think Hrasvaelgr gave his eye to Nidhogg because he wanted to start a war. I remember thinking during that part that if one of my brothers was dying and ripping out one of my eyes and giving it to them would save them I totally would. He just lost his Sister like 5 minutes ago, so I think he was just desperately trying to keep his brother alive too. Also yeah, he probably didn't give a shit about mortals anymore either at that point XD.

[@YukiIjuin]

Yes Hraesvelgr explicitly states that he did not want to see his brother suffer, so he lent Nidhogg the eye.

[@lowercase_bread]

i screamed at the "HEY HEY PEOPLE" lmaooo

[@PlaceBotox]

It was uncanny and I am wholly convinced they are the same person

[@msaag5490]

Oh 100% I was for sure they were the same person at that point.

[@Dymonex]

Local man mispronounces "Dravania" for almost 23 minutes.

[@jamiestwrt]

Rly? How should ot be pronounced?

[@iPlayOnSpica]

Ser "Eyy-meric"

[@Yume03]

I get your point about Haurchefant’s death, but for me it was very impactful and I actually cried and felt off for a few days after that MSQ moment... had to stop doing quests for a few days to process... but it does have all to do with how important Haurchefant was to our character than who killed him. Haurchefant is basically the only character in the game who saw us as a person and actually worries about our safety despite being impressed by our strength and capabilities, it doesn’t make him believe we’re invincible. Estinien has that too a bit, but Haurchefant was the first who acts that way with us. Rip best boy ❤️.

[@__juniper]

I felt the same... I was leveling a dragoon the other day and had to go to Camp Dragonhead, so I got super excited for a second.. then I remembered he wouldn't be there anymore :(

[@alanhegewisch4486]

I look forward to the Stormblood video next week. Honestly, my favorite recap video of HW. Love your style, hate your absolute lack of tears, you cold-hearted bastard. Master Matoya/10

[@WingedGlider]

Fortemps, Durendaire, Dzemael, and Haillenarte; four houses, my dude

[@SirRagamuffinKing]

"Yote" is an underrated past-tense form.

[@Zakrovik]

Is this video sponsored by the members of the monetarists or the syndicate?

[@solotort2872]

It was nanamo....

[@MetalMaidenDeth]

Gonna have to point out a pretty substantial thing. You say that ARR literally nothing happens and i know you aren't being serious, but also ARR explains pretty early on via Milfina that every echo is different, like WoL's versus hers, and later in the plot mikoto's.

[@ctgooni]

Channel is so good imma go run 20 runs of Aurum Vale!!

[@7hammerkirby]

I'm glad I wasn't alone in not being too affected by the Haurchefant thing. I think you had a good idea there, would have been better if Thordan did it himself somehow. I remember being at the final battle and thinking "let's avenge my bro", but realizing I wasn't even sure which of the knights did it.

[@Sneedboy]

As cool as Haurchefant was, I wasn’t actually terribly affected by it. I was just focused on icing the fuckin Pope haha

[@MrLightlike78]

I believe it was evil popes right hand man, evil Blondie macgee that got Haurchefant. I was affected by it, I had that flood of memories of all times he showed up to fight alongside us as shit was going down. From when you first meet him in ARR, his support post ARR- saving emmanelain in cloud sea, the crap that went down in foundation itself...He showed up, he had our back and then gave his life to save our own. A true knight to the very end. Ysayles death scene though....meh. shoulda learned to duck, idk.

[@Xenmaru00]

i was just mad they killed my damn Simp. Like, you know how few MALE ones i end up with in the games i play?! Finding a good, loyal, bro-coded, Male Simp in a game for me is like hatching a shiny female Torchic! WITHOUT any shiny boost item!

[@yehndor]

I hated that cocky blonde chucklefuck that got him. Even before it happened.

[@ArchangeVie]

Tbh his death didn’t effect me much but his father’s reaction to it did, grief is always a feeling that will make me sad

[@bucca2]

Actually, I think you being upset about the way Haurchefant’s death was handled doesn’t take away your humanity. You cared enough to want a better scene for him.

[@RyukoAru]

16:36 PTSD Light Rampant

[@Irimu_]

The "annoyance overwrite my humanity" applies to basically all of HW for me.

[@Tohlemiach]

I'm continually shocked at how this doesn't happen to more people. "Humanity" is such a bad excuse for bad writing, but it seems like this whole community falls for it time and time again.

[@Irimu_]

@@Tohlemiach Yeah it's pretty bad. Especially now in endwalker where everything is just vague "humanity".

[@TheNunya000]

I know the "Ysayle-turning-into-Shiva-got-weaker" thing was mostly a joke just to lead up to lol!E8...but I think it actually makes plot sense she got progressively weaker? In the 2.4 Shiva fight, her summoning was powered by crystals collected by the heretics, and the prayers of the heretics. So of course she was at her strongest. When Ysayle fought Ravana, she was able to use (some of) the crystals collected by the Gnath, but there was no source of faith for Shiva except for herself, which in comparison to a freshly-summoned primal with all of his followers right there made Shiva piddly weak. When she came to help WoL and co. break into Azys Lla, I think the only crystal she had was her Crystal of Light from Hydaelyn, the source of her Echo. While I'm pretty sure it's a powerful crystal, it's only one and it's basically critical to her survival as the host of Shiva -- it shields her mind from primal tempering (which has to be extra risky when you're the HOST of the primal) and it gives her enhanced physical (aetherial??) strength for her body to survive hosting Shiva. With all of that given up just to summon Shiva, the primal that Ysayle summoned at that point was likely incredibly weak and unstable, since there wasn't enough aether to sustain her without Ysayle using up all of her own power/aetherial resources. (pls no explanation about E8 I just started SB I only know E8 coz of the suffering memes) also love your description of Ysayle and Estinien's dynamic it's absolutely true and it was so fun to watch lol

[@Cneq]

"Hey hey people" Really starting to believe this SsethTzeentach alt's and attempt at being a mmo tuber lmao

[@Elidan1012]

09:19 was that a SsethTzeentach reference? :D

[@msaag5490]

Or, they may be the same person?

[@charlespaape2258]

My male waifu or husbando so far in this game is always Ser Aymeric. To bad Ishgard wasn't made a grand company.

[@haziqtheunique]

For some reason, I'm really tickled by the line, "the Final Fantasy XIV-equivalent of a goomba..."

[@koopakape]

God, I know ARR's story is mostly pretty generic setup and HW's is way way better, but I can't even pretend I'm not a little put off from these vids by just how MUCH you go out of your way to shit on ARR. Like, it's so bad that even a person who agrees with the general gist of your feelings about it can't even stand it. Tone it down a bit frankly

[@furen4962]

Honestly, Heavensward events did nothing to push forward the story as a whole. They introduced new characters but really, it's nothing too crazy in my opinion. SB and ShB are way better overall.

[@Umbrellify]

maybe, but i really enjoyed it. also, endwalker theories (big shadowbringers and omega raid spoilers incoming) dragons are canonically extraterrestrial beings and they also don't seem affected by ascians, the shards/amaurot. but can still temper other dragons. as shown by our interactions w them in heavensward / post shadowbringers. so in the end it's still all setup

[@Zuhri69]

Heavensward 3.3 is peak FFXIV but by god, Haurchefant's death is really, honestly, overrated. Like, yeah. Its sad, but by god, its not even the saddest part in the story.

[@Tohlemiach]

If that's peak FFXIV, then I kind of want to just quit now, because all of Heavensward post 1st round Nidhogg was dog shit.

[@Zuhri69]

@@Tohlemiach then quit. It’s definitely not for you

[@tree-ot9576]

oh god E8 Shiva

[@Joeyfield0]

as soon as he said "the forth time" I laughed, and then the memories came back and realized my mistake just in time to see Shiva again

[@kokayinewsome9308]

Pretty sure CID is in Ishgard to meet the Machinist guy.

[@LordPlagus777]

You're like the Casually Explained of FFXIV. I love this shit. More please. I skipped everything until Shadowbringers.

[@FloNess1]

Imagine being a healer and then haurchefant gets stabbed, not instantly dead, but dead enough so you can't heal, or resurrect him like you do in the Titan fight with Dragoons all the time

[@Irimu_]

Now that I think about it "biggest Chad in Ishgard" doesn't actually say very much

[@michaelk9279]

Yeah, not much competition. Ishgardians are all racist, Catholic zealots, and, worst of all, French.

[@hostiletwink]

the random homeless kids in t shirts care that youre in ishargard, they throw snowballs at you LMAO

[@kingdomofthesaintful]

Everyone swore to me that Heavensward was the best piece of media ever written. I found ARR to be a massive slog and so I had my expectations set fairly high. It's a competent story but a 9/10 rating feels way too high to me. You seem to have liked a lot of the same points as me, but have forgiven a lot more of what's bad with the story. The constant harkening back to ARR's mediocre plot was a major hindrance every step of the way. I just hated how the self-contained Dragonsong plot got waylaid time and time again because of dumb ARR bullshit like having to assemble back the crew or go find Kahn-e-Sanna to have the world's lamest attempt at comic relief be a moment in the plot. I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the Haurchefant death moment to be an absolute dud that made me feel nothing. It was also near around the point where I got bored of the game and dropped it. After that moment it feels like the entire Dragonsong war plot veers off to the side and crashes into a wall as you go explore the cloud region to go deal with something completely unrelated to the actual plot of the expansion, and by that time, other things in the game had become way too much of a bother for me to really stomach playing any longer. Overall the Dragonsong plotline was good enough to keep me going for a while longer - were it any weaker I'd have probably dropped the game sooner - but if that's the highest point in this game's story as some people seem to believe then this game really peaked at mid. It's a competent story if you take it on its own merits but it didn't warrant more than a 6/10 for me. Granted, ARR I would rate at a 2/10, so it's a big improvement.

[@Mr0901]

What i understood Estinien didnt turn into real Niddhog, just some shade like some sort of primal, like its just the anger of Niddhog made physical

[@eatherjourneyman8357]

Not necessarily, that was still niddhog, but he has been fighting and hating for so long that nothing was left of him but his violence and hatred. Meaning he may as well be a primal of dragon hatred like bahamut.

[@pforgottonsoul]

i actually ran antitower 12 times because i had the brilliant idea to try and do two relics at the same time.

[@darkzerothe1]

You poor bastard

[@pforgottonsoul]

@@darkzerothe1 that was nothing compared to doing the 120 fates.

[@yomilemondragon1721]

Haurchefants death didn't get to me because he sounds like Stewie from Family Guy. There, I said it.

[@Ryan-pg6wp]

"House ForTWAHH" bruh I'm dying

[@izaac05]

Oh wow!! Had to actually pause the video after Big Black Chocobo.

[@jacobkern2060]

Much like how pee is stored in the balls of humans, the soul is stored in the eyeballs of dragons

[@renno2679]

Oh I'm glad someone else thought that Haurchefant dying wasn't that sad. I hear so many people saying they cried over that, and how it was the most memorable, and I just don't understand that... I barely knew him. If he was there from the beginning (ARR), and did a lot of solids for us, then maybe. Moenbryda was with us shorter than Haurchefant, but I was a lot more sad about her death.

[@SuccubiPie]

I had it spoiled for me because people would not. ever. shut. up so I thought he was boring in comparison to all the over hype.

[@ur3sh11]

Hraesvelgar granting the WoL his eye to end the war just as he gave it to Niddhogg to start it

[@HattyCat0-0]

that wind joke with cid was perfect lol xD

[@lorenzopliskin1384]

so zouken is midgarsorm einstinien is saber to be alter the archbishop is kotomine haurchefaunt is lancer tataru is fujinee hilda is rin for best thighs ravana is archer for unlimited blade works

[@nichow13]

these are pretty good bc my memory is trash pls keep going! would love to see something abt the normal/alliance raids after the main story

[@jamesstewart7784]

I absolute lost it when you called Matoya a waifu

[@jamiestwrt]

Decent name bruv

[@michaelk9279]

Is he wrong, tho?

[@svafnir9074]

nice The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference

[@sietsezandstra8531]

What fucking hat is that with a veil I need it desperately

[@juliepeterson6599]

That HHGTTG reference... i like it. Picasso.

[@Endlessfin]

Very good video, it’s a shame it’s not a 40min video

[@doctorgears9358]

I can't say I even remember Thancred ever using magic in the first place

[@michaelk9279]

I think it’s implied that pretty much everybody has enough connection to the aether to do at least a tiny bit of magic. To the point where one of the defining traits of Garleans is that they’re one of the few races who can’t.

[@cannoli2442]

Another good video as always my friend

[@voidahl1667]

sseth but for ff14, Nice

[@kokayinewsome9308]

People told me Hauchefont was gay or bi and in love with the WoL. I played that part of the saga thoroughly and I didnt see that.

[@unseensounds]

house forTEMPS

[@paulkuiper5410]

I love how Takenyan Speed looks like a runway model everytime she appears as an Astrologian to steal the show

[@jamiestwrt]

Arr was indeed Turrrrrbo trash ngl. HW is very naise i like!! Hauchef0nt!!

[@leerroyjennkiiinnss6541]

Subscribed for the "Hey, Hey people" Sseth will forever be my spirit animal.

[@kokayinewsome9308]

Nidhogg essence and ether is in the eyes so that how he takes you over. They're the source of his magic and longevity.

[@yea9008]

wtf ffxiv sseth

[@TalysAlankil]

i am so glad that someone else doesn't care for haurchefant's death lmao

[@yourik.1260]

i laughed so hard when i found out they made minfilia a actual godess xD

[@buttapotato1233]

Except the fourth time we summoned Shiva we beat her in one try

[@Ashen78Yx]

Yeah i didn't really care about Haurchefant dying

[@passel5953]

Doing antitower right now and i feel called out

[@IgjapoCR97]

"Thancred is back but he can't use magic anymore." Wait wait wait. He used to be able to do magic???? I legitimately do not remember this dude being able to do that

[@hahahahtrevor]

Everyone can do magic to some degree unless you're Thancred (cuz of ARR shenanigans) or a Garlean (whose bodies are physically superior due to being from the bitter north but genetically lack the ability to use magic...mostly)

[@RagnellAvalon]

He can cast Cure in most of the ARR quests where he fights alongside you.

[@fencingfireferret1188]

yeah he was basically a rogue before they were playable jobs, which tapped into aether for some of their abilities including stealth

[@Umbrellify]

he canonically can't teleport anymore either iirc.

[@R.-.W]

It was Y’stola using Flow, it damaged his ability to access his own aether. It’s why he was stuck in the wilderness for so long, he can’t even teleport anymore. Flow legit was a dangerous magic, Y’stola lost her sight, and he lost his magic. It’s nice there was actual consequences for using a ‘forbidden’ magic in universe.

[@Helbereth]

I'm nor sure how seriously to take this.

[@aube2577]

Probably gonna be a joke-oh shit

[@bloom62169]

sup Seth

[@AwkwardBird]

words

[@dazzlemasseur]

Thank you for the video

[@Diogodsr]

Great vídeos!

[@mcdoogle_robotman]

Harken to me, Heavensward was indeed good.

[@danielgalvez1115]

Haurchefant's death was the stupidest thing to me because Estinien, *THE* strongest dragoon in the game (unless the WoL is a dragoon, but then this becomes even worse), is standing right next to us and could easily pop the airship which will carry away the pope (I can't remember his title now), but instead Haurchefant and WoL decide to charge across themselves. It was INCREDIBLY contrived, especially considering that exact thing happens to US hundreds of feet in the air during the post-Shadowbringers MSQ. Ysayle's death was also stupid because she didn't have to fight to the death, freezing the airship was enough and dying for the cause was wholly unnecessary... and yet she did anyway. Ugh. It doesn't hurt their characters, but it hurts my opinion of the writing, especially because Heavensward was really good as a whole.

[@haziqtheunique]

Sometimes, the writers don't know what to do with a character, so it's easier to kill them off than to find a way to make them meaningful to the plot once they've outlived their initial usefulness. It's not an issue specific to XIV tho, it's a common writing problem with works that feature a lot of characters coming & going. Plus, it could be worse. Minfilia has been useless the entire time, and instead of finding a way to make her important, they literally turned her into God.

[@danielgalvez1115]

@@haziqtheunique Ugh... I guess something had to be done with Ysayle since she was a primal, but Haurchefant could have just been around. It's not like any of the rest of the Fortemps family have been particularly relevant to anything since Heavensward, yet none of them are DEAD. It feels... cheap. Also the thing with Minfilia is she wasn't made into a god, she was made into a mouthpiece for a god, and that was actually nice because she went and finally did *one* useful thing before dying. That was fine with me. Also also, friendly reminder that Moenbryda entered the Scions, helped us devise a means to kill Ascians, and promptly died. THAT was whack.

[@Xenmaru00]

@@danielgalvez1115 Well you gotta remember Ysale probably _wanted_ to die. Her world was shattered, her hopes dashed, her life made meaningless. To her, at least. She did what she could to help, she pushed it all, but when it came down to it, she wanted to _die_ doing something like her hero, the woman she thought she was the reincarnation of. You also have to take into account that Primals have their own will as well. Shiva may have been directed and colored by Ysale's beliefs, but Primals are just that, primal. They will follow generally, the effective essential desires of that which calls them forth but they will also do their own thing just as strongly. Take when the Kobald child was the trigger for summoning Titan: that fight, Titan is crying and screaming like a child, calling for parents that dont exist _for Titan_ while flailing around and fighting you like an overstressed child throwing a tantrum. Ramuh was summoned by fearful callers who were afraid for their Forest, thus was imbued with the wish to protect said land, but as Ramuh himself was Wise as well as Powerful, he was more than willing to speak with us, before deciding to test us to see if we were capable of protecting the forest in his stead. Shiva was very likely summoned with the drive to "defend the Warrior of Light" mixed with Ysale's background depression and desperation, therefore, did not stop until she was defeated, which in this case, was too much for Ysale to handle, and led to her death. Shiva wasnt tasked with following the WoL, just defeating the Garleans, therefore, put all her effort into doing just that. it might also help that she was summoned likely _less powerful_ due to the lack of mass amounts of crystals, or an energy source matching that of the required crystals. That Ysale was able to summon her against Ravana was literally because of the mass amounts of crystals, and she only got whupped cause Ysale is _not_ a primary combatant. She can fight, but she is in no way as experienced as a being like him, let alone the WoL. So her summoning of Shiva against the Garleans in her last stand, was probably a weaker version. you can even see Shiva panting and barely keeping it together before the final detonations hit her. So very likely, in the end, it was more a combination of Ysale having accepted her coming end, Shiva being tasked during the summoning with not stopping till the Garleans were destroyed, and a lack of crystals to grant Shiva more total power, which would include durability on top of better Aetheric control; that led to Ysale dying as she did. Hauchefant though i totally agree was a bullshit death. He could have tried stepping to the side and just lost an arm or something...

[@danielgalvez1115]

@@Xenmaru00 Your explanation would put a neat bow on the whole thing, but it's implied throughout the story that Ysale is in control of "Shiva". That power is manifested through Ysale and the other heretics' belief in Shiva, but in the end, the primal Shiva is being channeled by Ysale... It is Ysale. I'm pretty sure that is the case, anyway. Especially considering... uh SHADOWBRINGERS RAID SPOILERS DON'T READ PAST IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED SHADOWBRINGERS YA BIG BOOBOO HEAD When Ryne transforms into Shiva and we fight her, it's said that she lost control, which would imply that she at one point, however brief, HAD control. So I think it can be assumed the original Shiva was the same.

[@danielgalvez1115]

@@ArisaPD ... Alright, that makes me feel a bit better, cuz that would contribute to her fragility in Shiva's form.

[@ReksNuadiah]

For me, I was never super close to Huarchefant. I liked him, of course, but his sacrifice didn't rip me apart. I've been pretty numb to losses in my life - a lot of whom were "family" by a stretch and who I at least was acquainted with, and unfortunately for the scene, Huarch fell into that as well. ... What ripped my heart out and tore it apart was Edmont's mourning, because... Besides how good and painful the scene is, I can relate to it well. Almost three years ago now (in August) - the day AFTER my birthday, my dad passed away in his sleep. Natural causes - he was a heavy smoker and drinker, and had heart problems, so we still don't know what it was. I have had a pretty... Complicated relationship with him, so while arriving at the hospital only to hear he died on the way there hurt, _nothing_ hurt like seeing my grandmother arrive and ... Break down like she did, mourning the passing of my dad and uncle - that she outlived both of her sons. I can stand loss relatively well on my own... But seeing other people in pain breaks me in two.

[@andres2080]

Literally nothing in this DLC impressed me, shit is so full shonen anime tropes that i can't pretend to like it This together with the terribly designed missions made the experience so fucking bad for me. Even the big reveal about the truth of the dragonsong war (even thought i think it was ok) was still within the realm of boringness I liked both Estinien and Ysaele for the same reason as you, and i didn't give a fuck about haurchefant as well, he didn't receive any sort of character development for me to care about him Hell, 99% of the cast is one-dimensional and boring. Also killing nidhogg in one of the patches gave me the closure i wanted, but then again Ysaele and Haurchefant appearing to "give me strenght" was so lame, honestly that made me crack up

[@Tohlemiach]

Finally someone else lol. I feel so gaslighted by how "great" people said Heavensward's story is. It is the most boilerplate JRPG cockamamie assclownery I've seen in a good while and people think it's something to *recommend* to people. It's not even a good FF story, for fuck's sake, and FF stories are usually very meandering and do very little already to keep a cohesive narrative, despite how much I enjoy many of them.

[@gachagameplayer2143]

horsefart scene did the same to me, I cannot stop laughing at it maybe because such plot is too old school to watch and Ive watched it 1000 times in other stories, talk back to the scene itself, its just impossible for that accurate spear from 1000 meters away one shot horsefart and leave us untouched, too accurate, just kill him another method :P

[@rubize]

this taught me what happened during the dragonsong arc not gonna lie, i totally skipped every cutscene to get some gil from a wager

[@rubize]

i didn't get the gil though :(

[@mcdoogle_robotman]

@@rubize it's okay...but....pray return to the waking sands.