Dawntrail's Ending Hit Me Hard (I cried)

They almost had me there in the first half of Dawntrail I'm not gonna lie, but I knew they'd hit those emotional highs eventually and this finale did not leave me disappointed! I'm extremely excited for what's coming next in the post patches and future expansions.
THE GROUND WORK IS OFFICIALLY SET. LET'S GET TO REFLECTION HOPPING.
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#ffxiv #reaction #dawntrail

[@Theheadless1858]

With so much hate being heaped on DT’s flaws, it has been difficult to find a stream to watch that mirrors the joy I felt going through it. Thank you for providing that 😊this was very enjoyable.

[@OriginalMiqote]

This!! ♡♡

[@Chibipayne]

Our favorite bun is gonna become a beastmaster and be part of the beastmaster quests, just you wait!

[@Alissandre_Iskander]

I have a feeling this is going to happen, as well.

[@TerenceLight]

Become a beastmaster? Maybe. Factor into its quests? Not unless they want to lock the job behind Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, Endwalker, and Dawntrail.

[@WayTooLateTV]

Terrabellum, my Mom "rejoined the lifestream" the MORNING of early access... it was... much to get through zone 6 when I got there. I had friends vehemently warning me off...

[@gothicshark]

The Milala are Lalfell from the source, the 3rd set of V&C dungeons was set on an Island where the local Lalafel people vanished during the 5th umbral calamity.

[@SarahExpereinceRequiem]

Galuf Baldession was a party member in Final Fantasy 5. His granddaughter Krile Maya Baldession (traditionally translated to Krile Mayer, literally Maia in Japanese) was also in the game.

[@IsilmeTuruphant]

It isn't plainly stated, but those who have done the Dark Knight lvl 60-70 quests know we've touched on these themes before. The whole idea of draining the life force of the living in order to recreate the dead from their memories. A part of the WoL went down that road, and had to be stopped. Which also leads me to wonder if there's a link there? The Key bearing Azem's mark, the Dark Knight crystal taking our aether and manifesting it's own version of Endless that worked on the same principals... I wonder if this will all link back to some final story of Azem in the Final Days?

[@supermix8181]

Living Memory made me into a sobbing mess. The message of this zone hit me so hard. After I finished this place, I drove over 13 hours so I can say the things I wanted to say to my grandma, but never had the courage to do. I encourage you all to tell those close to you how much you love them, before it's to late.

[@Theheadless1858]

Someone compared Living Memory to Ultima Thule. Última Thule teaches you to find the way forward so the music and area come to life as you progress. Living Memory on the other hand is about letting go, and so the music becomes faint and the area less alive as you progress through it.

[@Glazdon]

I think what I love most about Sphene's character and "motivations" is that it's incredibly similar to Hades. The key difference is that she is a program trapped and bound by Preservation and the original Sphene's need to protect and maintain Alexandria and the Endless. She never had the capability to choose and acknowledge the fallacy that is the foundation of the Endless. Even at the end she knew that she was helpless against this. It's really quite tragic and mirrors Elidibus as well at the Seat of Sacrifice, fighting for a cause that they blindly believe in because there simply was no other option to them.

[@TarundiMC]

I saw those connections too, but interestingly for me that detracted from her, because it was like we've explored these themes before and with a more entertaining villain. And Zoraal Ja felt like a less cool Zenos with daddy issues. Stand alone I think I would have enjoyed them, but because it felt like retreading story beats it fell a bit flat for me. I think I'm one of the rare people that actually enjoyed the first half of Dawntrail more. I do think it was a wasted opportunity to do more with Zoraal Ja, because all though the first half he was a mystery, what was on his mind, what secret plans did he have? What would Sareel Ja's role be? Turns out, nothing because he was offed unceremoniously and Zoraal Ja was just big mad about not winning the contest.

[@Glazdon]

@@TarundiMC Ultimately I'm not surprised by the beats of Dawntrail. Square is trying to lay the foundation for a new story arc and bridging that with more familiar themes helps players settle into a new setting and new characters easier. I expect the next expansion will diverge much more in terms of what kind of conflict we'll have to work through. Funny you should mention Zeno's though, cause I feel like Zoraal Ja could have really used that "Your purpose in this life must be gleaned by you and you alone" conversation. Was Zoraal's character squandered? Maybe, but his path through the expansion is understandable and feels natural to me. He was raised to be the next ruler of Tural, Gulool Ja Ja's only and miraculous blood heir, and the immensely powerful leader of the Landsguard. To him and many others in the country, he was the natural choice and expectation to be the next Dawnservant. His failure as a claimant is utterly devastating to who he is and who he is supposed to be. Every expectation and plan that he's had leading up to his ascension to the throne is shattered with the single word "disqualified". Everything after is ultimately an act of desperation in the endless attempt to prove that he is worthy of the very identity that he was raised on and that he himself believed.

[@TarundiMC]

@@Glazdon For sure it makes sense, but making sense isn't necessarily enough to make it interesting though. I was just a bit disappointed because they were teasing that he had some interesting motive that he was hiding, but it turned out to be straightforward and simple. Endwalker Zenos was interesting. Stormblood Zenos, which having simple motivations was at least a legitimate threat to us, and was the first time we really had that archetype in this game, so it was different. I think if the presented Zoraal Ja as less mysterious in the beginning I probably wouldn't have felt mislead, because part of it was I felt lead to expect something deeper that didn't get delivered. If they went with, that was his motivation all along and gave us the player more chances to empathize with him, that would have worked better too.

[@silvernode]

I love watching your play-through. You always notice something subtle that I never noticed. I hope you enjoyed Dantrail for what it was, it certainly had its problems but all in all I had fun and still am.

[@pokemondude45]

It was cool of them to get Papalymo's va to voice Krile's dad. Its just fit.

[@acgearsandarms1343]

Krile has her mother’s hair and her father’s eyes. Sad she didn’t get the time she wanted but she got her answers and closure.

[@SetekhTia]

I lost my mom to cancer when I was 19, so everything surrounding Cahciua absolutely destroyed me. If someone showed me a simulation of my mom that was that realistic and then told me I had to delete her, i doubt I could do it

[@sakuram69]

I loved this expansion. They literally opened endless doors of possibilities for us going forward. It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping Erenville will be our BST NPC. It suits him.

[@RoyvanG]

21:24 Actually it's a FFV reference. Krile in FFXIV gets her name from Krile Mayer Baldesion from FFV.

[@msaag5490]

I swear, this zone was my personal Ultima Thule. The story beats, the atmosphere, what Living Memory stands for and the many minor interpretations it can also have just utterly wrecked me. I think this is the first game where I cried, walked away for a bit to do errands, came back, and everything just making me openly weep again within minutes. Hot potatoes did this zone wreck me.

[@mcbiohazard892]

Speaking of your Kenough shirt, did you know the Japanese VA for Bakool Ja Ja is the dub voice for Ryan Gosling's Ken in the Barbie movie? :V

[@Rhysmore]

whoa! such a fun fact

[@torashiki5646]

Why does NO ONE notice that the Key creates the Azem symbol lmao. They literally put them almost in the same shot for a reason.

[@TheKidThatWas]

Don't worry Jessie Cox definitely noticed if you wanna see someone freak out over the key

[@terabellum]

I freaked out in editing but completely missed it even though they made it like the size of the entire screen when showing it, hahaha. I'm just gonna blame being overstimulated by everything preceding it in one sitting. 😅

[@vhbeelz3896]

Interesting theory about Hydaelyn guiding Krile to the Source, as she surely would have been aware of the goings-on during the calamities. I’d like to point out how Hydaelyn herself told us our Azem Crystal responds to fervent prayer, which would go some way to explain how Preservation’s electrope plan worked without them knowing HOW. All those people gathered together around Azem's Relic, having used electrope to solve every problem before, thinking “electrope will work, electrope will work, electrope WILL work” is what made the gate open in the first place. Excited to potentially explore other shards!

[@ygnizemcenia6059]

Spoilers "According to the stories told to Kalika by the island's former caretakers, the earliest known settlers arrived during the waning of the Fourth Astral Era. However, at the onset of the Fifth Calamity, otherwise known as the Age of Endless Frost, these settlers vanished, leaving behind the great shrine which housed the statue of the Speaker. Dubbed the "forgotten people" by those who came after, their mark upon Aloalo would endure, but their identity remains shrouded in mystery." - an entry from the Variant Dungeon Aloalo Islands. The Milalas are indeed native to the Source.

[@SpellboundTutor]

I am so happy you managed to get to the end. God, I would adore a FFIX playthrough from you after this while Dawntrail is still fresh in your mind.

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

12:07 My FC was joking that she's going to be stuck to us like glue because we just keep stumbling over interdimensional portals. "No Y'shtolla, you don't need to come with me, I am not going to find a portal to the first in the shower!"

[@sylvosane]

I really loved the Living Memory story too, it hurt :( Btw if you ever want to fly around Living Memory and check it as it was, reminder that New Game+ works for it too Flying around Living Memory as it used to be was an experience, such a beautiful area Looking forward for 7.1 Post-Dawntrail story

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

15:20 Someone didn't do their variant dungeons. 🤣

[@maddievision]

56:25 notice anything in the sky? 🤔

[@dapoiboi8360]

Oh yeah ma food just got delivered too 🎉 👏

[@bransonchic678]

Congrats on beatinng base dawntrail love watching ya! I cried at the ending too. I love the alexandria dungeon it was the begining of ff9 ! Hopefully, you can share with us when you tackle the new aracdion raids their super fun ❤

[@serisothikos]

When that symbol popped up on the key I lost my mind. e: every single time I've done the final trial, I've had to healer lb3 the ultimate. Every. Single. Time. Very proud of your group for not needing that!

[@aquaauraelezen]

Excellent! The Kenough sweater returns! 😂 Omg I didn't think you'd include the Bene G react!!! Lmao The rest of the MSQ was quite the ride. My favorite dungeon is the one before the Trial.

[@sherrij5566]

Less than 5 minutes in and I’m cryingggg😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@VincentOcyris]

By the time i shut down the forth terminal I was a sobbing mess.

[@Triateyal]

I hit this questline within a month of my mom's death anniversary and it was difficult to get through.

[@ther3xz673]

this was, in my opinion, a perfect start.

[@thegamesheplays]

Fun little fact, Krile's parents are voiced by Papalymo/Jullus and Hilda 😍

[@castoputa]

Oh god that is making me cry even more!

[@kayleelives]

I was doing full body ugly sobbing for two hours straight and came back to do the final fights the next day lol

[@GamingFoodie]

It's finally time to watch BeneG's latest video about the ice cream scene

[@OriginalMiqote]

I 1,000% cried so much.

[@WhywolfSenpai]

My 1 weird hang up with the whole Krile soul density thing is that, since her parents describe the Milala story of fleeing an ice calamity as an ancient legend, we can safely assume that Krile and her parents were born in Sphene's reflection. Given that people on the Source are born with dense souls and people on reflections are not, we can pretty much assume that each world either has it's own version of Aetherial Sea where souls return to or they return to different portions of it that don't mix together right? Hydaelyn at one point mentions moving Minfilia's soul between the Source and the First so I'm inclined to think it's the latter. Why then is Krile's soul as dense as those on the Source when she wasn't born on the Source? We know by Ardbert's existence that race and gender aren't constant between the lives of a given soul, so were the Milala, as descendants of the Source, the only ones with bodies that could handle the density of a 5x (4x?) rejoined soul? Does Krile just happen to be the recipient of one of the souls of the original Milala refugees? I'm undecided on whether this feels like a plot hole or a key point that we can assume a lot of big picture understanding from.

[@theprideling]

Even then she would have missed out on a rejoining or two, making her soul slightly less dense than the average person from the source.

[@WhywolfSenpai]

@@theprideling Also that! The interesting thing about that to me is if she and a shard of her were coexisting on a reflection, what would happen to the shard of her soul from a rejoining that she missed? Is it just tossed into the Aetherial Sea on the Source? Does it find it's way to her regardless? Does it join to her once she enters the Source? Is this a kind of edge case where there could hypothetically be a shard soul reborn on the Source in parallel w/ their main soul?

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

@@theprideling Not really. She was on the source for the 7th rejoining so she only even theoretically missed out on one rejoining. Given that Hydaelyn was said to actively aid in the rejoining of souls with the living during the calamities it is entirely consistent that she would have rejoined the Milala's souls with the shard from the 9th after death and before rebirth.

[@Wingedspace22]

Azem’s key. I am so curious about it!

[@Bayleaf6399]

So the dancer questline song you heard is actually from FF9😅

[@Ladyrhan]

The entirety of Living Memory feels like a follow up to G'raha's speech to Sir in Ultima Thule. He himself, who has fused his soul with another, struggles to determine what makes him HIM and if he's no longer himself or some amalgamation of himself and the Exarch. He questions whether it's the memories (we forget), the body (it chances every day), or the soul (reincarnation eliminates that). And every one of these aspects is discussed in relation to Solution 9 and Living Memory. EW posed the thesis statement and DT gets into the body of it. Your own thoughts, I feel, is the conclusion. OR that could very well be the exploration of future expansions. Especially with us leaning towards more knowledge of Azem.

[@NalaLeaf]

Babe wake up new terra msq video

[@NalaLeaf]

If you were keeping up with the screenshots and concept art the team was releasing prior to dawntrail's release, the final boss of the final dungeon had it's artwork shown and a ton of people were theorizing it was going to be a trial boss but it ended up being a dungeon boss. Seeing the boss in the dungeon shocked me lol

[@whitemageoflight4485]

i can't with Krile's parents after "that" beneg video :v

[@tsuribachi]

10:50 Since the Echo is, as Elidibus revealed, remnant of the power of the souls that were once the Ancients which can be awakened by the vision of falling stars which harken to the memories of the Final Days, the power should be dormant in those with such souls until something trigger them, upon which they can hear Hydaelyn. It its possible that, having extensively studied souls, Preservation noticed something about Krile's soul, even if they have no idea what it is. 17:31 /lethimcook

[@25xxfrostxx]

Someone didn't do their variant dungeons! I really have a lot of problems with Cahciua. She basically went out for cigarettes for extended periods repeatedly. She was terribly self centered and they didn't address that (her whole final monologue is all "I, me, my" with zero thought that she never spared a moment for her son that was the only one of them that would be carrying the emotions of the moment forward. I felt terrible for Erenville for a lot of reasons. That said, their last scene did get me. I've lost a parent and while I didn't get to say goodbye, a similar conversation has played out in my head.

[@theprideling]

Yeah it’s a bit messed up that Erenville never got to be angry with her. He just had to accept her selfishness in the end and even pledge HIS life to what SHE wanted. Idk the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth… I hope they address it in the patches.

[@reverse_aquamath]

She has her father's eyes and mother's hair.

[@reverse_aquamath]

Also, am I wrong in thinking Robor is voiced by Papalymo's VA?

[@agavadamn]

@@reverse_aquamathIt is! I noticed it was as I went through myself. Same with Papalymo, Tansui, Jullus, and many others.

[@amUusTV]

I'm giving you a like simply for the first 3 seconds of the video

[@amUusTV]

YOU SAW THE VIDEO TOO BLESS LETS GOOOOO

[@theprideling]

Congrats on finishing the base patch! It’s a wild ride for sure! At times bumpy but definitely worth the price of admission by the end. And it’s so cool to watch someone who can appreciate the latter while being aware of the former. I’m so curious what you think about the key after you finally noticed the Azem symbol!

[@tngdragon]

Terra - your take on DT was the same as mine - I REALLY enjoyed it overall. It had several cringe moments that are easily forgiven (pacing and the jarring use of Smile) but overall it's wonderful. I do have to ask though, seeing as though you missed seeing the Azem symbol on the key - when you did finally make the mental connection - what was your reaction?

[@mcbiohazard892]

Also Alexandria is my favorite final dungeon in all of the expansions. I love the BGM so much.

[@siencrosse3400]

krile's outfit and her name maya is a ff5 reference one of the best ff games

[@MrMusicmaster300]

Who knew we needed asmr ice cream eating

[@MurakumoMoon]

FF5のクルル(Krile)の両親は彼女の生後間もなく行方不明になっている つまりFF5でもクルルは両親の愛を知らない だからこの出会いはCreative Studio 3からクルルへの贈り物なんだと思う

[@hkoizumi3134]

Nice timing, it's my lunch time.

[@RaideDuku]

You can't bring back the past by sacrificing the future. If the WoL had a nickel every time they had to teach this lesson, they'd probably have a small handful of nickels at this point. And it doesn't get any easier.

[@Oribune]

I think Krile still might be from a shard, but her aether fortified from Venat. Just seems odd they'd warp from the source to a shard to the source again.

[@emceen8566]

Krile is from a shard, but she's of a race of people who were from the Source (the Milalla/Lalafell).

[@JustJoe24]

49:40 what didn't he notice :O did I miss something, that specific shape meant something?

[@thegamesheplays]

It's Azem's symbol from their crystal (in the Azem crystal shade of orange, no less).

[@kayleelives]

Are you going to do videos for FF16? I played it back at the PS5 release, I’m ready to watch everyone enjoy it on PC.

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

Lala hugs have existed the longest FYI. You need to do the Scholar storyline.

[@ruepel15]

terra you have to watch "Thank you G'raha! Very cool! | FFXIV Animated" XD

[@silvernode]

This is the first thing I thought of when I opened the video. It is an understatement just how important it is to watch.

[@wolfair]

you might wanna finish the video before commenting. classic youtube comments xD

[@GirthCheck]

Terra cried?? There's no way that's so unlike you 😂

[@lens_hunter]

Spheeeeeeeeeene

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

I'm curious about the other media you have consumed that makes you find the Endless to feel alive. It is the very contrast to other media that makes the endless feel so flat to me. I can't recommend the Safehold series by David Weber enough as a contrast.

[@terabellum]

If you're okay with horror, definitely check out SOMA. Also, an episode from Black Mirror called San Junipero (S3E4) is a delightful watch for what is usually a very dark series.

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

@@terabellum Graphic horror isn't my thing. But I'll try to check out that black mirror episode.

[@BloodKitten_]

the only complaint i have about dawntrail, some of the early MSQ could have been diverted to sidequests, wuk as a character is like another protagonist as opposed to a main character, she was better at the second half when she took a bit of a backseat. also, the english VA for her havent done a consistant preformence (well, kinda consistant in normal, normal but angry, normal but pretanding to yell, and so on.), and other EN VAs sound a bit robotic to me at times. (its okay to critiesize voice actors, and coming with "you are probebly transphobic" as an excuse is just an attempt to deflect valid feedback)

[@emceen8566]

I think Wuk Lamat's VA was better on some of the angry lines than they get credit for, but I will agree that one last monologue during the final battle was straight-up a bad read. I don't think you're transphobic, but you also can't deny that there ARE some people out there who have been transphobic about them. My problem with the early MSQ was that some of the things should have been solo duties rather than cutscenes. But as for WL being a protagonist, that's kinda how the WoL would like it from time to time - we know from the DRK questline that they're sick of being the one who does all the work all the time!

[@mattp994]

Hi Terraifyoudontknowme

[@Ren99510]

I think Smile is a good song, but they used it improperly. It fits as the ending song for sure. The chorus-ey moments could be better, but the more melodic single voice is nice.

[@glennjames5705]

Bro please consider playing the halo series

[@castoputa]

It seems that for many of us, this final zone was deeply personal and resonates with the horror of losing someone you couldn’t bear to lose. In ten years of playing and crying at this ‘game’ so much, this broke the record. Thank you for your playthrough, it’s been a highlight of the ffxiv experience for me since you have done it ❤