Endwalker is a Spectacular Conclusion | A Final Fantasy XIV Retrospective & Story Recap

Bit of a stretch to put "retrospective" in the title but hey! This is a look back at Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker's main story. It's a great ending to a 10-year story, but there's a couple of stumbles on the way. Then there's what many consider a filler arc in the Newfound Adventure storyline and the setup for Dawntrail.
Check out the full series here: • A look back at the mai...
This whole thing came about as I wanted to go back through the story in the run up to Dawntrail's release. FFXIV's entire 10-year long story arc surrounding Hydaelyn and Zodiark came to an end with the fourth expansion, Endwalker, and I wanted to take a look back and see what it did well, and where it could be improved. This retrospective series is based on a more casual perspective of someone playing the game as a (mostly) single-player JRPG, as opposed to going over every aspect of the MMO (which would take SIGNIFICANTLY longer!). So here it is - the grand finale! Let's revisit Endwalker in 2024!
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:33 Journey Across the Seas
19:30 A Fallen Empire
34:42 To The Moon
45:20 The Final Days
53:58 The World Unsundered
01:11:37 The Mothercrystal
01:21:20 To the Edge of Creation
01:39:20 Newfound Adventure Arc
02:11:52 Dawntrail Setup
02:17:39 Outro
#FinalFantasyXIV #FFXIV #Endwalker #FinalFantasy14 #FinalFantasy

[@DynaChris]

Hey everyone! Thanks everyone for all your support on these videos! This one took a bit longer than I expected it to, but here it finally is! What do YOU want to see in Dawntrail (and future expansions)? ❤

[@25xxfrostxx]

Honestly, I know a lot of people would complain loudly, because people love doing that, but I would like us to encounter a few more ascians. Now that we have fleshed out who the ancients were, it gives a lot of room to flesh out the remaining sundered convocation members. Now that Emet Selch has suddenly stopped answering his emails, they will be in a position of finding their place in the world and determining what type of involvement in its future. There are a lot of opportunities there, particularly if they're helpful rather than adversarial. I also want to see Meracydia but unless it turns out to be a surprise in late Dawntrail, it looks like I'll have to wait a few more years. The return of the final missing first brood dragon and the fact that we're on good terms with all of the remaining dragons has got to go somewhere cool.

[@Tolly7249]

Jobwise I'd love to see Geomancer and Chemist from some of the earlier games, even though I was extremely pleasantly surprised by Pictomancer. Storywise I'd love to do more of what it looks like Dawntrail is doing and explore the world that Emet-Selch challenged us to see. I fully expect we're heading into another multi-expansion overarching story, and that's great, but let's do a bit more light-hearted and character-driven stuff along the way. I think everyone needs some big breathers after ShB and EW ripped our hearts out.

[@FallzVentus]

I think you're forgetting that we told Venat about our ENTIRE adventure. She knew how things were supposed to go to the moment we meet her in Elpis. So her not telling us about Meteion is literally her maintaining the timeline so things go as they are supposed to.

[@rigormortex7568]

But it also make the characters journey useless. We never had a say in any decision because we gave Venat effectively a how to guide for world saving. But this also makes venat a mass murderer because she does know what Emet and all the other unsunderd will do and how much death and suffering they will bring and still says "well they have too be there" and in that regard doesn't even give all these people reborn a fair chance of living because they are destined to be pawns in this big plan and will die be rejoining.

[@NeroLucifarious]

​@@rigormortex7568thats just it. Stop seeing things as right or wrong, its various shades of grey. Killing an animal is wrong. Killing an animal to survive isnt. You could argue circles around that till the sun dies but never arrive at a definitive answer.

[@thomasderosso5625]

Zenos: "Was it good for you, too?" DynaChris: "Eh, you're mid." Zenos: "...Shit." [dies]

[@25xxfrostxx]

An interesting side note on Zenos' name change; The Garleans would have received their language and much of their culture from Hades. That thought gave me a laugh when I realized that the strongest word for a traitor and betrayer of the nation and its people, Viator, was the Latin word for Traveler. I guess he really was still mad at Azem after all those years.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Emet-Selch: I’m not angry about Azem for abandoning us when we really needed him to help us solve the issue of the Final Days. Also Emet-Selch: calls people in Garlean who are exiled “traveler” like Azem’s title was Also Emet-Selch: carries around Azem’s memory crystal in secret Also Emet-Selch: is befriending the Warrior of Light whom he suspects is a shard of Azem but is contingent on him having the power to absorb light like an Ancient once could and is ready to dismiss him.

[@jeanschyso]

@@iantaakalla8180 sooo he's a tsundere?

[@iantaakalla8180]

Honestly, he might as well be - a platonic tsundere, mind you, but is basically one.

[@Thederpyguide]

I think Zenos is great in endwalker, he's not really supposed to be a grand rival here I feel instead he's a reflection (for lack of a better word) of what the WoL could be like, he's a sad lonely man who refuses to take steps to make friends and help others which would help his own wants even, a fight with you, he's a version of the WoL who is selfish and unable to recognize his own flaws making him a great foil to show the growth of the WoL as a person and a hero. Zero reflects this as well as she's a version of Zeno who did learn to accept and give help and grew into someone who could stand next to the WoL as a true friend. I really was impressed with the explanation of his character through these two ideas throughout endwalker!

[@the_dark_soul_of_man]

I still love that the number of seals on/chunks missing from Zodiark matches the number of shards that haven't been rejoined.

[@sciguy98]

The Endsinger isn't our final boss, we're HER final boss and she failed her DPS check and hit OUR enrage.

[@DynaChris]

Our enrage has good music 😛

[@MissKashira]

I feel like EW redeems Zenos as a character. My issue with him in Stormblood is that we don't have a conflict of interests. SB was an expansion about politics and Zenos doesn't care about politics. Both the WoL and Zenos spend most of the expansion attempting to cause a rebellion. We're one convo away from being allies. However in EW Zenos is finally relevant to the theme because he is *an answer to the question.* You have this guy who cares about one thing in the entire world and so he dedicates his entire life to achieving that goal. Then he dies, comes back and dedicates his entire life to achieving that goal - again. His answer to what to live for is "whatever you want." It's your life, do what you want with it and if you want to dedicate it to a single battle, that's your decision. He even has a mini-arc when Alisae points out to him that if what you want to do requires the cooperation of another person, then you have to consider their goals for them to consider yours. She basically taught him the power of friendship so that he could get his fight to the death. 🤣

[@Lulink013]

I've never played Paladin during the MSQ so maybe I can't relate, but I think G'raha Tia being a paladin in that one fight is great because he's imitating the greatest hero he knows: the WoL.

[@commiekittiessaymao]

I've been watching your entire FFXIV collection in the lead up to Dawntrail to hype myself. I just wanted to thank you for making such a thoughtful, insightful and well-crafted retrospective into the FFXIV series. I know it'll be useful for future Adventurers starting out their journey in Eorzea. And just for the record, you're correct in your assertion that Stormblood *is* the most underrated and wrongfully disliked expansion of them all, as well as my personal favorite. ;)

[@Dairkun]

Happy to find yet another who loved Stormblood. ❤

[@commiekittiessaymao]

@@Dairkun who doesn’t like a good war story?!

[@SuperSnivMatt]

Still very early into the video but just got to the part of Thavnair with Vrtra, and I’m so glad when people talk about how good of a character he is. Being part of the first brood who was divided on humans, and the only one of the Brood to not have his own horde. Because he saw his people as the ones he guides and cares for, even when they don’t even know he exists. He’s one of my favorite characters ever from how complex and sweet he is despite being a giant dragon who is near ageless

[@DynaChris]

Yeah it's such a nice change of pace after the likes of Hraesvelgr and Nidhogg. And the whole Varshahn thing is fantastic. Probably Endwalker's most interesting character tbh.

[@xuto2693]

Vrtra I think is a deeply under appreciated character and I was so glad he had such a big role in the .X stuff.

[@Tolly7249]

Vrtra's amazing and his 6.x storyline is just heartbreakingly good. Even before then I really really liked him, now he's a character who I care for deeply.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Honestly, in a sense, Endwalker is Vrtra’s story. Not entirely, mind you, but it is a story in which the two main problems are Vrtra’s problems.

[@Precaricat]

Zenos is a better fit this expansion as he acts as foil not only to the Warrior of Light/Hydaelyn, Meteion and Fandaniel. In answer to Hermes question about what gives life meaning: Fandaniel: Nothing, so let the world burn. Meteion: Nothing, and so everyone would be better off dead to avoid being faced with that painful reality. Zenos: Nothing, so we are all free to pursue our desires - let nothing stand in our way. Warrior of Light/Hydaelyn: We all do, each and every one of us. Its up to us to decide the answer for ourselves. Zenos is a hedonistic nihilist. The closest to a breakthrough he gets is when he finds something (fighting the WoL) that requires considering something other than his own desires, which is why Alisaie's comment impacts him so profoundly.

[@professeurgideere5856]

He is also kind of an illustration of misunderstood nihilism, or rather, a missmatched followup (ie "there is no intrinsect meaning, ergo we can make our own meaning to life" twisted toward desires.

[@SapphWolf]

I took Zeno to be the dark mirror to TWoL. In storm blood we were there to kick Garland ass. Zenos is appropriately then, in charge of stopping us, but he doesn't care about his comrades and leads primarily through fear, not loyalty like we do. By Endwalker were dealing with an existential, supernatural threat and are simply concerned with helping others. All others. Zenos is, therefore, completely self obsessed only interested in getting his rocks off in one last, big, climactic battle against us. So he is simply biding his time until we're no longer distracted. He's even willing to help a little if it will expedite his fight with us. However him being our dark mirror means there's at least part of us that does long for a good fight and does secretly really want to fight Zenos again. That all of our heroics aren't entirely selfless. Part of us lives for the adventure, helping people is just an added bonus. Finally giving in to his request and giving him that final epic clash he's been jonesing for felt like us accepting that part of ourselves. Which dovetails nicely into Dawntrail. Us embracing our need for adventure and battle and heading off to lands unknown! At least that's what I got out of his character that is.

[@Tolly7249]

I've always liked that Zenos is so divisive and so open to interpretation. Some people see him as an edgelord. Some people see him as a violent nihilist. Some people see him as an abused child who carried on the cycle. He's all of these things and more and that's what makes him so memorable. (And also, in my opinion, makes Alisaie's little verbal bitch-slap so fucking amazing. She cut right through his crap and forced him to think about things he didn't want to.)

[@sciguy98]

I found myself indentifying and empathizing with Zenos a lot, especially with years of thought and contemplation on his character. He spent his whole life chasing a fleeting feeling and the only way he found to chase it was through aggression and domination and taking for himself. But in the end, he yearned for a connection and acceptance that was denied to him because of the nature of his pursuits. And, well, chasing a goal or feeling or acceptance or connection but doing it in a self-destructive way is something I only realized I had been doing after a lot of therapy, lol. His final question to the WoL haunted me for a long time. Was this life a gift or a burden? Did you find fulfillment?

[@zaheela]

I never understood why people are complaining that the post msq quests are filler… I remember when we first met ardbert and his group back in heavensward post game everyone felt that was filler or “pointless”…. And then shadowbringers happened…

[@thomasderosso5625]

One of my favorite things about Zero as a concept is that (I forget where) it's implied/stated that the avatar a Reaper bonds with is their reflection on the 13th. So the WoL's is the 13th shard of Azem, and Zero is the 13th shard of *Zenos.* (If anyone reading this is confused by her gender, keep in mind that Ardbert is a male hyur no matter what the WoL is.) So through the Endwalker postgame, we're helping a portion of the weirdo stalker who considered us his friend to *actually* learn about friendship and become a better person.

[@Tom-Pendragon]

That statement is just a theory, we can see that golbez is our "shard".

[@thomasderosso5625]

@@Tom-Pendragon What suggests that Golbez is the WoL's shard?

[@guilhermecardoso2365]

I think it's durante is zeno's shard actually

[@Tom-Pendragon]

@@thomasderosso5625 When your get a echo flashbacks you see it from his POV. Which is weird, since that is absolutely not normal + he shares characteristics of azem.

[@ExileTwilight]

@@Tom-Pendragon I like to point out a certain echo scene from Shadowbringers when people mention this as proof.. Now don't get me wrong, I think Golbez being our shard is entirely plausible, but the echo is no proof one way or another.

[@FiendDrow]

As someone who got absolutely stonewalled by Hein in FFIII, and by proxy took offense with the existence of Amon at the end of the game and in the Crystal Tower raids, Fandaniel's reveal literally made me jump out of my chair! Also congrats on getting all these videos out before Dawntrail, it's been a blast going through these!

[@DynaChris]

I completely forgot his name changed for XIV. FF3 was a tough one! I'll never forget how annoying Garuda was back then...

[@the_dark_soul_of_man]

*Graha Tia is now accompanying you* Proceeds to do anything besides what the quest is.

[@tidus08]

I'm a big fan of long form content. Please keep up the great work!! I can't wait to see what else you make!

[@livingreverie5951]

im gonna miss the log in screen better buy some sunglasses cause to put simply "OH MY GOD MY EYEEESSS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

[@DynaChris]

[ insert that one Louisoix gif here ]

[@livingreverie5951]

@@DynaChris I will say as a mention that should've been giving Zenos some flack is his line when he meets you against the Endsinger "I had assumed you would be above something so banal as despair. Am I mistaken?" Man respects you So Highly that the Endsinger, the literal End of the World and representation of Despair itself, is seen as Below you in being such a threat. You gotta hand it to him as your hypeman your combat fueled literal simping mad hypeman

[@star20alpha]

I love adding these FAST FACTS type things, so here's a couple for ya! The ship ride at the beginning to Sharylan is actually a recreation of the scene that would play if you started at Limsa ALL THE WAY back in 1.0. Also the scene of the pure Primals appearing in the pillar of light then flying out ALSO goes back to one of the FIRST trailers for 1.0(Original lore was Midgodsommer's death was what actually created the Primals, that was later quietly retconned going into ARR) Lastly, the praying poses the Scions take when they're bringing us back for Victory Lap against the Endsinger is also the same poses they took during the "End of An Era" trailer that was the final cutscene released for 1.0 In attention to detail stuff, who all shows up when you're doing your call for aid actually DOES change depending on what side content you've done. Like the sky pirates only show up if you've done that questline, and I've learned that you'll get callouts if you've finished Eureka and the Borza Resistance questlines, and they even added dialogue if you've finished Sorrow of Wyrlet also. I also just want you to know, this was an EXCELLENT ride to see all this story get recapped before Dawntrail releases. I subbed after your video, and I eagerly look forward to whatever your next projects, either in this franchise or elsewhere, you decide to do.

[@DynaChris]

I noticed the Bozja and Eureka stuff too. There's quite a few Eureka mentions throughout. Also Gaia shows up in 6.5 if you've done the Eden raids. All this 1.0 stuff you and others keep talking about makes me wanna play 1.0 though 😂 And thanks for sticking around! I plan on doing more FFXIV stuff and other FF stuff (possibly 11 considering how many people have shown an interest) in the near future, but who knows after that 😅

[@bluedog4248]

This was one of the best recap series on youtube for everything up to DawnTrail! I can't imagine the amount of work it was but an amazing job!

[@JurassicPancake]

endwalker is such a breathtaking experience. rewatching the scene in this video with matsya running had me on the edge of my seat even though i already knew it all ended well, and obviously the final walk was a powerful moment for everyone. i really got into ffxiv around november last year, and basically binged it until i reached the end of 6.55 in january because i was so invested. i dont mean to make myself sound super tough or anything but even though video games can make me feel powerful emotions i rarely find myself getting into full on tears over them, however hearing the voices of all the characters i'd come to love over those few weeks and months pat me on the back and give me the strength to push forward was a LOT. had me sobbing! every time i think about it i can only imagine how the people who'd been engaged in the world of ffxiv for years must've felt enough about me and paragraph aside though, you've gone and made another great video as always! there were a ton of things i hadn't picked up on going in, such as the deal with varis' limbs and the fact that the entire expansion was a huge ff4 tribute (never played it 🤫). this series has been a great joy to watch as well as a great refresher of the story and other things surrounding it so far, and a new entry to look forward to every week has made the final leadup dawntrail much more bearable, so thank you! that being said, with only a week and a half to go until early access, onward to dawntrail!!!

[@DynaChris]

As I said in the video, the walk at the end is one of those absolutely perfect moments ❤ And thank you for watching the videos! I'm still kinda shocked so many people have enjoyed them lol

[@leohillmann6717]

I was actually happy with the manderville weapons finally you got the weapons just doing your normal thing instead of get 20 of each thing by grinding in a thankless task.

[@seboulol]

The parts where you gather all the people you met along these years are so satisfying!

[@SventFulgur]

Absolutely loved this series! Thank you so much for these videos! As a Paladin main, I was excited to see Raha take our role in the cutscenes as it further cements how much he's been following our lead in order to protect everyone, and it felt really cathartic for him to step up while we're away. The duel in Elpis was one of my favourite moments in the whole expansion due to PLD, WHM, and DNC being my mains for each role at the end of Shadowbringers so seeing her use all the abilities but stronger had me gushing the whole fight. Lastly, I felt Hydaelyn's final test of strength was a perfect resolution, as at this moment, she is the last of the ancients so this double as testing our strength of will and finally letting her return to the star. Venat may be long gone, having sacrificed everything for Hydaelyn's summoning, but the symbolism shines through. So disheartening as it was in the moment, it felt right that after all she's suffered that she may finally be able to rest and let us (the new generations of lives) make our own path.

[@ExileTwilight]

15:15 (ish) It's good to have confirmation that CC Amon was a clone but.. I had already made the assumption when I first did the CC raids that all the enemies in there were clones or voidsent more or less, leading to two jokes I tend to tell during those raids xD

[@kitsunehanyou09]

If you plan to do a retrospective on FFXI and its expansions, I'd gladly watch it as someone who has never played it before!

[@DynaChris]

It's in my *very* long backlog for sure!

[@Tolly7249]

Jullus is one of my favourite characters in FFXIV. He's understandably standoffish and hurting when we meet him, he slowly opens up when he realises we genuinely mean to help, he lets himself be vulnerable... And then of course it goes straight into In From The Cold, which is the single most traumatic experience I've ever had in a video game. All of my love for the devs setting you up for that gutpunch without you even realising it. Endwalker genuinely has a lot of the best storytelling and quests in the game. Sadly it does feel cramped in places, and you can definitely see why they were seriously considering splitting the expansion into two. I'm glad Dawntrail is shaping up to be a much lighter and sillier adventure; the Warrior of Light needs it after everything they've been through!

[@StartouchArts]

The fight against Hydaelyn was the highlight of the expansion for me. Being able to fight with ALL the Scions in a trial was so good. I actually had a really hard time with it, an hour-long slugfest against her. But god damn that whole hour I felt like I was truly being tested, to prove my mettle if I am worthy enough to save all of creation. ....Just ignore Alisaie backflipping away from everyone with a stack marker at the last second and getting absolutely fucking slaughtered by Akh Morn. Funniest moment I had playing FFXIV; I had to take a moment to get my wheezing out of me.

[@DynaChris]

Alisaie did nothing wrong 😜

[@Frostshocker]

Definitely consider doing something like this for 11 if you decide to go through it, would also be a good opportunity to give people a "quick start guide" of sorts so they have an easier time getting it going if they decide to do it too. Appreciate the videos and hope you have a good time with dawntrail in a week 👍

[@gooman2]

I caught it within 20 mins?? I'M LOCKING IN TO YOU BROTHER

[@Reycied]

I'm continuously surprised at the vagrancies of folks' reactions to parts of the story. You find the quests where you help the Garlean survivors dull, whereas I found them interesting and...in a way, harrowing. The devs, I feel, did an amazing job of depicting a populace spoon-fed state propaganda their entire lives. Of COURSE Eorzeans are rapacious barbarians, who will steal your land and enthrall your mind--it's what you've been told every day for years, with few (if any) voices of reason to advocate for a broader view. It also gives us a look at the Garlean people as PEOPLE, rather than a faceless multitude of jackbooted thugs. They're not bad people, they're just hungry, and cold, and scared. Honestly, it kinda warms my heart that so many people have such different reactions to different parts of the game. The patchwork of the fandom is as beautiful as it is varied.

[@Reycied]

Also, that bit with Matsya and the baby makes me absolutely SICK with worry every time I watch it. I KNOW it's going to be all right, but the masterful atmosphere always gives me that little sliver of doubt.

[@CrazyLmNic]

I have been waiting for this one 🔥🔥🔥

[@The4thHorsemanIT]

Even though the post EW is a bit weak even if still interesting view of the 13th makes me proud as an italian to see all these "Dante's Inferno" Demon names mentioned here: Cagnazzo (the Mongrel), Scarmiglione (the very ruffled), Barbariccia (curly beard, yes it is a male demon in the poem), Rubicante (the flaming red) as well as Farfarello (bragger) and Ciriatto (fanged pig). Since then I found out that even Calcabrina (frost stomper) from Antitower and Graffiacane (dog scratcher) from Eureka Pyros are from the same book which greatly represents my culture and somehow has an influence even on the other side of the world.

[@professeurgideere5856]

Also, about Mastya's scene : it happens right after the battle in Thavnair, where we saw a child being turned into a monster, then nuked to nothing. That means, at that time, the usual plot armor than children (or, especially here, babies) usually have it obviously void. Suddenly, that scene turns from tense run toward a village that will end for the better to something uncertain.

[@DynaChris]

Poor kid, getting stepped on like that...

[@theshadowstrike6]

Really enjoyed this expansion and the heavy Final Fantasy 4 themes, especially in the post-game msq. They pretty much relegated Zenos to the equivalent of Swiper from Dora the Explorer though, I was also kind of annoyed every time he showed up 😅

[@odiechan]

My only gripe with the lopporits is that the pacing they’d set up with the story up until that point was faster and much more dramatic. While I’m very familiar with Final Fantasy games, the tone and pacing shift very much jarred me out of enjoying anything to do with the lopporits.

[@jereboy2005]

I'm glad you pointed out what you liked and didn't like of the expansion. I also am not a fan of the 11th hour villain pull they did with Zodiark and Meteion, I did not like her very much. And I was so over Zenos in stormblood having him around throughout the whole expansion just dragged it down. But it was still a satisfying conclusion thankfully. And while I didn't get teary eyed or cry, I am jealous of others who felt that much emotion at the final walk. It still gave me little chills at how it felt hearing all the old voices from those ghosts. The patches really did feel like filler. Perhaps we'll come back to them one day. But thanks for dutifully doing this recap. It's been a great resource to get my mind back in, even though I started playing with endwalker so the old msq isn't even that far removed from my memory. I'm excited for Dawntrail to be my first expansion I get in at the start with everybody else! And I'm curious to see what else you have in store for the future!

[@Raoul9753]

I love FF14, but i am still not over the fact that the big bad at the end was the twitter bird in her emo phase...

[@Lulink013]

I loved your 5 videos! Thanks for giving us all this trip back memory lane! I'd love to see you tackle the raid and trial series from the various expansions like you did for ARR. Alexander, Omega, Werlyt, Rabanastre... I'd love to hear your take on those!

[@Tom-Pendragon]

timestamp: 56:37 G'raha traveled to a parallel world, in the past, he didn't save his timeline, his timeline is still moving on. Which is why he stilled remained after avert the 8th calamity of light.

[@robbaskerville253]

My WoL has never been a Paladin. Go for it G'raha.

[@teldarin7557]

I saw Endwalker's Zenos as a great foil to Hermes and Meteion. Both parties basically have the same belief, that life is ultimately meaningless. But the way they act upon that personal truth is what matters. Meteion and Hermes despair at the thought of life not being worth living and want the suffering to end, but Zenos' personal answer is hedonism. If life doesn't matter, why not have some fun with it, while you can? And this is why I really like his pursuit of this "spark", this fleating moment of meaning in his life. It's by no means a healthy outlook on life, but in a strange way the perfect antithesis to Meteion and her song of oblivion. The Endsinger being undermined by this last solo duty is kind of the point, if you ask me. This final stretch is not about Zenos or the Meteia, but the WoL. We get a final reminder of our long journey in our way to Meteion and during the Trial with a combination of all boss themes. Hell, the music that plays in her second phase, while we curb stomp her, is *our* theme song.

[@cheffdonty]

I've got pretty much the opposite take on Zenos. I thought that dude was a total waste of writing effort in Stormblood but I really started to love him after he clawed his way back from the dead in his singular obsession

[@DynaChris]

I know mine's not a popular opinion but he just fell flat for me. Problem is he doesn't really DO anything after Stormblood that makes him interesting to me. As I said in the video, anyone else could've convincingly killed Varis, and we already had Gaius & Estinien going after Black Rose. The rest, Fandaniel could've done. Maybe if Zenos absorbed Zodiark like he'd planned, it would've made him a bit more interesting, cos then he'd be way stronger and actually feel like a threat, rather than a bothersome fly you need to swat.

[@MegaVbnz]

Thank you for this walk down the memory lane. Your company was most enjoyable!

[@DynaChris]

Glad to be of service 😁

[@Teknoflow]

I came back to the game this week, intending to leave the 6.3 to 6.5 grind to do as I took pictures with Viper, but when I saw you had your video ready I had to get that stuff done yesterday, because your videos are top notch. Well presented opinions as always! Beautiful work.

[@DynaChris]

Glad I got you to get best archfiend Rubicante taken care of :p

[@JJBCrimsonKnight]

2 of your points about the time travel bits have been explained or make sense when things weren't done differently. First off with G'raha Tia. He actually splits off from his timeline when he came to ours to try to prevent the rejoining. That's why he doesn't just disappear like he thought he would at the end of 5.0.(There is a short story that goes over what happens to the timeline he is from). As for Venat not telling us about Meteion, if she did, then there would be no reason for us to go to the past and tell her about future events. This would mean she would no longer have that knowledge, causing a paradox. It would also be pretty boring story-wise cause that would be a 2nd time that it just so happened that our timeline is the one that is safe specifically because of other people intervening .

[@Tarrot]

On Time Travel: There are 4 examples of time travel forward and back shown throughout the game. One is the Alexander raid, where minimal spoils, has multiple examples of time travel in it where it is a closed loop, where things from the future impact things from the past to cause the future things. One is in Bozja, where Mikoto's Echo in effect sends us to the future, where we learn what is going to happen, and then in the past, with this knowledge, take actions that enable the future vision to happen, even against our will. This is, like Alexander, a closed loop. One is Elpis, where by Argos, we know that we had to have done the actions in Elpis to have befriended Argos to ride him on the moon. We break basically every single possible rule of time travel in Elpis and nothing changes. This is a third example of a closed loop, and basically implies that no matter what, we can not break the loop. The 4th example is the G'raha example, which is the one example of time travel that doesn't fit a closed loop. But, G'raha has a special thing no other instances have: Omega. Omega, as shown by his raid series, has the ability to go across dimensions, as he can summon from other FF games. There is a reason the device to travel through time incorporated both Omega and Alexander, since Alexander could time-travel, but they needed a stronger way to do so. Of note, the world where G'raha came from still exists, and there is a short-story on the FF14 website from Migarsormor's perspective on defending the world G'raha left. Which means there's a version of the FF14 world where Zodiark isn't killed. And where the Convocation potentially achieve their goal. My pet theory is that this will be the "final" expansion of 14, when they want to shutter the game.

[@BleydTorvall]

Regarding the seeming inconsistencies in time travel that were pointed out at 56:11, there appear to be two different forms of time travel that we've been introduced to at this point, which appear to have separate rules. Back in Heavensward, the raid series which you didn't cover since it was optional, involved a time traveling primal. That primal's form of time travel did seem capable of altering timelines without running afoul of the paradox of creating a timeline where such time travel would never happen. When the Exarch traveled back, it was shown that such technology was being utilized in conjunction with that of the crystal tower, and so changes could be made to the timeline. However, the method of time travel being used in this instance appears to be separate and not based on the same technology, thus having different rules. At least that's my take on the situation, and how it would make sense.

[@sageata_verde]

Graha is the only scion that can take on any job. if you put him in trust and you are a pld, he can be healer. it works for him since he is technically over 100 years old at this point, he is way above us as knowledge and skill, but doesent want the spotlight since he idolises us. he merely mimics us.

[@FubukiShiromiya]

In Japanese, “Sir” the Omicron leader is called Master This is one of many subtle changes that were made because of western cultural sensitivities.

[@danbagon924]

Been loving these videos so far! Dawntrail coming out soon means this is unlikely anytime soon, but I would love to see you covering the stories and give thoughts on the myriad of side content FFXIV has to offer in the future too. Either as shorter videos or collections based on expansion, it would be cool to see you cover the individual trials, raids and alliances series in each expansion and their story impact on both past and future expansions, notable side quest chains and tribal quest lines that build the world further, optional dungeons and the likes. It's been great to revisit these stories through your videos right before Dawntrail, but there is so much of this game that's easy to overlook or miss, even in the side content, that when looking back is like seeing things under a whole new light. I would love to see those explored again and introduced to more people.

[@DynaChris]

I would like to cover more of FF14's content in the future, for sure. The Stormblood and Shadowbringers raids and trials are high on the list! Part of me wants to go through FF11 for Dawntrail's alliance raids, so I might do a video that covers the relevant parts of 11's story as well as the story of the DT alliance raids. We'll see if I can stomach 11's gameplay first, though 😛

[@danbagon924]

@@DynaChris Lowkey would love to see that too, I wanted to try XI but between the archaic systems, old support, and possibility it wouldn't even run on my PC, it's a hurdle. Having your style of coverage showcase the story would go a long way for many people in a similar camp to mine I'd bet.

[@Thederpyguide]

​@@DynaChrisbeen playing xi for the first time recently and it has some fantastic stories in there I'd love to see them covered too!

[@Lulink013]

@@DynaChris Actually yeah, having callbacks to other games pointed out and explained in your videos has helped me see another side of EW and the CC. FF XIV is my first FF game (not counting Crystal Chronicles) so I'm bound to miss lots of references.

[@robbaskerville253]

Endwalker patch content was the best of the whole series. Also the Zeos fight was the most epic thing ever.

[@professeurgideere5856]

The second part of the last dungeon (before Meteion) is not trapped in "an infinite cycle of war", it's a civil war between an authoritarian empire and a rebellious force, and the empire creates a "peace keeping" robot that turns against them as well. Which makes the gatherer quest quite distasteful by making a "both sides bad" point later.

[@SageofLight777]

I don't know if I'm in the minority or not, but...I really feel like the final fight with Zenos should have been optional, especially since he does tell us flat out that he won't come after us if we turn our backs on him. Man helps trigger a multidimensional apocalypse, and he gets rewarded for it because he did a little self reflection. That just never sat right with me. On the topic of your videos, though, I've enjoyed my time with them, going down memory lane with parts of the game I haven't played in a while. I appreciate your effort in making them.

[@DynaChris]

I can agree with that tbh. Dude says he won't follow, so let us tell him no 😂

[@TheSpazKaz]

Oh thank god, someone who thinks the same as I do about Zenos. Over blown, over hyped, no idea why I'm supposed to care about him, honestly hate how he shows up at the end. I don't understand his story at all, it was so stupidly pointless. Yet almost everyone slathers and drools over him. The amount of Reaction videos I've seen where people hate the dialogue options when he reappears as Shinryu because there's no option to say "omg yes I luv you!" is frankly mind blowing. The only part I enjoyed was the mindjacking thing, because he was FINALLY doing something so interesting and horrific, I loved crawling my way after him, to try to save my friends. But then... he never does it again. Never even mentions it. What a waste of a potentially fun plot point.

[@TheInterplanetary]

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed refreshing and reflecting here. Thank you

[@xiaocheng6643]

"Unfortunatly, this part suffers from a pretty big plot hole..." No, it doesn't. In the first place, Hydaelyn had barely enough energy to reach out and seek a proper conversation with the WoL, meaning, the whole of ARR and way into the Heavensward patches, she had no option to tell us. Had she at that point spilled everything through Milfilia, Stormblood wouldn't have happened the way it has (or at all), since you can bet the WoL and everyone else in that space would've set out to stop Ilberd's plan before the attack on the wall even happened. This in turn might've doomed the first while Emet and Elidibus changed gears... yaddayaddayadda... Even had she told the WoL what's going on only at the beginning of Endwalker through Krile, it might've prevented them from visiting Elpis, thus creating a time paradox where Venat never learned about any of this in the first place, thus creating yet another alternate timeline of potential doom. When dealing with a time loop like this, you can't just have one character spill the beans in advance, because it changes everything that comes after and makes the future unpredictable.

[@ernesielta]

19:51 cat loves food yeah yeah yeah

[@Gunthersby]

I thought Zenos was great. He showed up as an overwhelming threat which drove the player character into greater heights until besting him as a light party and then a full party. He finds himself alive the same way an Ascian does, and uses his second chance to drive himself to much greater heights in order to challenge the PC again and once more revel in the only thing that ever felt real; to risk it all in a desperate bid for survival by fighting to the death, a reflection of what the player does too, in which he permits himself to be manipulated by the destructive Fandaniel because he doesn't care what happens to the world, only that he gets what he wants, and believing that what he's doing will drive you to him. He realizes eventually, thanks in part to Alisaie, that helping resolve obstacles will get him what he wants, becoming more of a true friend than ever before. It's not strange to me that he's only gotten stronger, and we're not the only ones capable of growth. And the final battle after beating giants and gods being a man your own approximate size, that feels right. I still think Zenos was great.

[@steakdriven]

I liked most of the post patch content. The only real letdown was the end of the myths of the realm raid series

[@professeurgideere5856]

I just realized... the blasphemies are Rhinoceroses. (Ionesco)

[@tropicalkitsune5131]

1:23:00 The lopporits are the ones summoning, using the beast tribes as a guide.

[@ExileTwilight]

5:20 my guess is that it was essentially a hidden tutorial for the stealth duties. A bit weird still (and I really dislike the stealth duties xD)

[@FFF12321]

SHB is great but EW is something else. SHB is a fantastic FF story, but EW feels like just a great story. The scope of EW (in a narrative sense, not an in universe stakes sense) through it's exploration of the meaning of life is what elevates it from SHB which has little to nothing to say on topics outside of FFXIV itself. It's that thematic richness in EW and how amazingly it is woven into the fabric of the entire expansion (well at least the 6.0 MSQ) that sets it above the other entries and that's on top of how EW successfully retconned so much of the early XIV content into a cohesive whole, at least IMO. Ultimately, EW's entire raison-d'etre from a thematic standpoint is to provide the Answer to the question posed in Answers - why, given a finite life, should we continue on? All of the characters and scenarios in EW address that question - the Sharlyans (and the Ancients) do it out of a sense of duty and care for their fellow man and risk their personal relationships in that service, the Garleans have to find a way forward when their nationalistic home crumbles leaving them without that pillar to base their identities on and move on by connecting with others, the people of Thavnair are heavily inspired by Buddhism and as such present the Answer the game wants to give (which is later re-iterated by Venat in the ancient times) as life is suffering but suffering is not all life is and that is worth experiencing. Then you have characters like Zenos who argue life is for pursuing one's own goals and other antagonists varying flavors of nihilism where they cannot find their way and fall to existential dread. We're given so many "character building" scenes because that is what the game wants to tell us - that those moments are why we keep going and why we should fight to ensure more of those moments can happen, even if it means we have to experience injustices and despair too. All of that isn't just present in the cutscenes either and it really makes the final dungeon a stand out experience. That scene where the final Global Citizen pushes the button is harrowing and made me so incredibly sad to imagine that choice being the one you'd want to make. From a presentation standpoint, EW has the highest highs - the cutscene after Elpis focusing on Venat in the FInal Days is the highlight of the game as a whole for me and masterfully ties together everything. The final zone and its integration of the changing music leading up to the Endwalker section still tears me up sometimes just thinking about it. The attack on Lakeland in SHB has a similar narrative purpose as the Vanaspati segment in EW, but the EW section makes it so much more intense (I legit thought they were considering transforming the baby the first time through!). But then you have the beautiful moments too - showing Hermes that it's OK to feel negative emotions too, talking with Venat about the joys of travel and whether or not it's been worth it, giving Jullus a cup of soup. Everything hit just right. Great content, I'm looking forward to DT! FORWARD!

[@MissKashira]

56:52 Actually it makes sense. G'raha went back to change time thus caused a split in the timeline. When we go back we don't change time, the events we experience is how they've always happened, we just weren't aware of that, so there is no way for us to change time because our presence and actions were already part of history. While it is odd to have both an split timeline and a closed loop in the same story as people assume time will work by one rule or the other, we have a split timeline inside of a closed loop. Synodic Scribe explained this in one of his videos and I didn't believe him until I played Endwalker.

[@chuckstronggtx6863]

thank you for such an amazing series of videos! these have been amazing and I will probably rewatch every single one a few months from now. Are you interested in doing a similar video for the story of the alliance and normal raids? I feel like those have improved a lot too and would be fun to watch a retrospective on them. I know there's a lot of people who skip them bc they have no voice acting.

[@DynaChris]

I've got a few ideas for those, but it'll be a little while cos I wanna cover Dawntrail next :)

[@yeagercomics]

Ooh please do check out 11. I played through it in 2022. So its very doable and very interesting.

[@sageata_verde]

its the grandfather paradox. she had to do it this way because she knows that it happened this way, if she changes anything, things would be different. its classical time travel done right!

[@brendowego]

Please do FF XI. I would love to see your story breakdowns, as I played a little back in the day, but I never got far enough to actually hit the story.

[@karurosu4121]

i just need to mention it now as you were talking about Zenos. Thank you i thought i was crazy when people said that they absolutely adored zenos in this expansion i was so fucking confused. the final scene is cool yea but my god his entire arc till the end feels useless beyond belief. In stormblood he was atleast something but here he is just that one annoying friend asking you for a pvp match while you are doing story

[@nexmeles8023]

I am not sure how last minute the Endsinger was added, there's musical queue in the Alexander and Omega raids that give some clues that something cosmic wasn't right with the universe. She might have been nit the inital idea, but it seems like the plan was to have something otherworldly be the ultimate issue! That being said, I loved this series! Thank you!

[@DynaChris]

Oh, I meant "last minute" in terms of her being introduced late in the overarching narrative. She does get a lot more buildup than certain other last minute FF villains :p

[@nexmeles8023]

@DynaChris Ah! Makes sense! Apologies for my Misunderstanding then! And certainly, I feel the two biggest offenders are Ultimecia from 8 and Necron from 9. Certainly Zeromus and COD are up there too but I can almost give a bit of forgiveness there considering the standard of game writing at the time.

[@DynaChris]

@@nexmeles8023 It's a weird tradition the series has kept up, that's for sure!

[@nexmeles8023]

@DynaChris It's an odd tradition, but not one I might if it's done well. I feel like 14 did it better than it predecessors, since it was really building to the idea that not even the ancients knew what was up, they just did what they could to save things. It wasn't exactly like mind-control-nested-dolls like ff4, or the... literally out of Left field Necron from FF9. At least there was a bit of mystery to the actual problem. The Hydaelyn plot hole though... I have to put that with Thancred's eyes, and a few other things. Even the best stories aren't going to be perfect... but my god this was ride and a half. I'm so eager for Dawntrail!

[@Tolly7249]

I noticed that little leitmotif making a reappearance too! God there's so much incredibly clever musical work going on in ShB and EW. Soken has legitimately been fighting off *cancer* and writing some of the best music I've ever heard in my LIFE. Close in the Distance from Ultima Thule can make me cry just hearing it, that's how beautifully he weaves his themes into the story. Man's an absolute genius and I hope he lives a long and fulfilling life.

[@hickknight]

Ahahaha... FFXI... the other MMO. Good luck on that one. For me personally, I can't wait to play Dawntrail, strap 2 swords to my back, and go to town. As for this series, beautifully made. And I'm happy that while you make criticism, it's positive on the whole. Being surrounded by pessimists sure makes me one of those people. As well, it also provided a different perspective on the story. I do hope you go on to side quest content, stuff like the shadows of Mhach, Ivalice raids(where we first see a Viera, Fran), the Sorrow of Werlyt and so much more. I wonder how you end up retelling those stories. I also wonder what else you are going to do, whether it's still inside FF as a whole or also outside of it into gaming as a whole. Can't wait for your next video.

[@DynaChris]

I've been that kind of pessimist before and it *sucks.* I don't really follow many FFXIV content creators but I see no end of negativity from long-time players and it's really sad. I mean, yes, the game has its issues, but there's nothing that drags the overall experience down IMO. But yeah I have plans for some of the raids atm but it'll be a little bit before that happens cos I wanna focus on Dawntrail next. And there's other FF games I wanna revisit and, in the case of 11 and 16, play for the first time, so I might as well make videos on them while I'm at it! I have an obscenely long RPG backlog as well (NieR, Xenoblade, Octopath, the Dragon Quest 1-3 remakes when they come out, to name but a few) so I'm considering branching out into some of those, if only so I can have an excuse to actually play the bloody things 😂

[@hickknight]

@@DynaChris all of them games I have played and never finished. I don't know why, I just kind of give up on RPGs generally. Probably me needing grinding because I always have the wrong ideas as to how to tackle content. That's infuriating. But I'm looking forward to it.

[@nicolasblanchart7429]

Have to say, I really enjoyed this video serie, you did an amazing job ! I watched them as I finished all the extensions as a way to look at what I had accomplished in game and a good throwback on the stories and plot point of previous expansions I must say that, even though I completely understand your views on Zero and why some players really enjoyed the storyline, it really didn't work out for me I found Zero to be a walking talking cliché at best and not in a good way Her fedora tipping was infuriating for me, and I fought the urge to skip the dialogue/cutscene every time she touched that damn hat ! Didn't really find her look to be appealing or interesting at all, or her monotone voice, although some og her scenes scenes were legitimately funny and I found the obvious Cecil story arc replacement as a less than subpar call back to FF4, where the bosses and dungeons were really good ! Not ruining the EW experience in any way, but I really found the Zero arc to be bland unfortunately, even if I understand the appeal It's not my jam I guess

[@DynaChris]

Yeah the hat-tipping was a bit silly. Nowhere near as obnoxious as a certain Dawntrail character's one recurring gag, though...

[@AquaShibby3000]

Yes, absolutely yes do FFXI

[@ItazuraP]

Meteion did nothing wrong. 😗

[@DynaChris]

Is that you, Hermes?

[@draochvar9646]

I mean ... Yea. It's not her fault Hermes made her insufficient to the absolutely inane task he foisted upon her. As Hades said: "No Hermes, you RUINED a perfectly good familliar. LOOK AT HER! She as anxiety!

[@HourglassKeradon]

... is it bad that I want to see you cover the Hildebrand quest series? 😅😊 Anyways, excellent work and looking forward to more.

[@DynaChris]

Don't tempt me ;)

[@DeadSpaceWing]

​@@DynaChrisYou're the only gentleman that can!

[@steakdriven]

Bro, if you ever choose to do that I will fucking voice act every line of Hildebrand dialogue for you

[@JinzoMask656]

If your planning on doing FFXI...all i can say is good luck, that shit is painful. I played that instead of WoW back in the day and it was like EQ all over again, heard its easier now with trust system, but still the absurdly long travel times and classic combat are really hard to get into.

[@Dogman415]

Honestly, the end of Endwalker.0 is what sold me on Zenos

[@coolrocksounds]

Amazing series, what's your next project friend?

[@DynaChris]

Dawntrail, then likely other FF games. Heavily considering FF11 cos of the Echoes of Vana'diel raids in DT :)

[@coolrocksounds]

@@DynaChris OH BOY I would love to see a breakdown like this of FF11!

[@Animus_Altia]

The only real gripe I have with this video is how you complain about Hydaelin never just telling us about Meteon. If she had, we never would have needed to travel back to Elpis, and things might have happened so drastically different that the present may have changed. And if she had told you but still had yoy go to Elpis, that also would have conflicted because she knows the you that she met back then learned of the cause of the Final Days at the same time. You knowing and still going would also have changed the present.

[@carlb1874]

what hair style does your character use?

[@DynaChris]

The one I used for base Endwalker (and the previous videos) is one of the standard ones, and the one I swapped to for the patch quests in this video is called Ambitious Ends, which you can get from Mount Rokkon currency (or buy on the market board).

[@carlb1874]

@@DynaChris ty

[@DotOgg]

10th

[@ExileTwilight]

26:30 Linkpearls..?

[@DynaChris]

It's not a linkpearl - the dialogue box and his voice would be different. Dude is so stealthy he's literally invisible 😂

[@ExileTwilight]

@@DynaChris I could have sworn there was a linkpearl sound.. but I'll have to re-examine it I guess.

[@alieremainsalie6469]

Venat was so ready to propose that we were a time traveler because she recognized the magic that she /must have done so to other people before/ like any time she gets a whiff of a ward that reminds her of her own she must start accusing the person wearing it of being a messenger from her future self and refuse to believe that they aren't

[@draochvar9646]

Considering it's her Aether all over you, I think she has good reason to be so open about the idea.

[@starseed28]

"But its main scenario was a close to a perfect end to the tail of hydaelyn and zodiarc as we could possibly have hoped for. Leaving no big plot threads unresolved." Right away, from the very beginning I wonder if you and I played the same expansion lol. Cause, false and false lol

[@DynaChris]

Can't think of any major plot threads that weren't resolved tbh. And "as close to perfect" doesn't equal "perfect" - I don't think CS3 could've done much better in terms of making people happy with it :)

[@starseed28]

@@DynaChris As long as you don't think about it too hard I guess its ok. But imo, as a legacy player, they did the entire story, and Hydaelyn esp, very dirty.

[@tenjiechin]

I'm ready for the story to take a backseat to have a bigger focus on gameplay instead

[@livingreverie5951]

Well they put it simply “This is a Final Fantasy Game first, MMO second” Story is going to always Be the main focus, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they make an expansion have the story be simpler and let us be more hectic with gameplay stuff

[@TFalconwing]

You're playing the wrong game if that is what you want.

[@tenjiechin]

@@TFalconwing nah

[@tenjiechin]

@@livingreverie5951 Yeah, I agree, FFXI was the same way. Having the story be the focus is fine and dandy. But when they stop adding Eureka-like content, or actual relic quests, or abandon new content the expansion it came out in, JUST TO FIT THE NARRATIVE, that's when I have a problem. Because at the end of the day, it's still an mmo.

[@darongaro]

Bro takes the time to retell the whole story, and then skims over Zenos's importance to the themes of this expansion. I get its YOUR retelling of the story, but that really sucks. I've watched your entire recap of the story and this is the only part that bothers me. Scoffing off Zenos as a nothing character. When he is so much more. He's a reflection of the WoL, a man who should be in the most despair and yet finds his hopes in fighting you. A man who felt alone in this world till he found you. And in the end had to learn to compromise with others to get what he wanted. Having to make a deal with Krile to get to you. Having to team up with you to finish off Endsinger. All to fulfil his life goal. 10/10 videos, thank you for the hard work summarizing the story.

[@NockLegacy]

Endwalker story was so bad… like the final days was cause by tweeter? The threat of the planet itself dying because the use of ancients magic was so interesting! But hey, a little birdie became sad and now everybody has to die I guess. Sure she was made with poor directions, but again why bringing a new character that is so lacking in the global narrative of ff14? The final day also only hit Thavnair and Garlemald (which is barely impacted anyway), it was so dissatisfying. Seriously, with labyrinthos, we walk, talk about lemon, play hide and seek, eat a burger in Sharlayan WHILE we are told that people are dying outside. Maybe, I don’t know, we could have help them? I guess it was too crazy too ask. It’s not like in the CGI trailer we saw alisaie in the noscea fighting monsters, right? Wait a min… Hydealyn sunder the world by choice. It was not a secondary effect from sealing zodiark. What this means to us? That she believed her people incapable to change. Yes we see her asking her people to stop sacrificing themselves, but like they thought it was the planet itself that was dying, not tweeter! They didn’t know the truth, she didn’t say a word, never try to make a better meteion to stop the last one, never try to send or build something that could protect the star from dynamis. If her people goes crazy with the dynamis, why not sunder everyone, that way they could use it to an extent, but hey, only if they don’t panic, otherwise they DIE. Guess being affect by dynamis is not too good, welp. It was so easy for Venat to just say, well the warrior of light is alive in the future, so I guess sundering everyone is the only way. Like this is so a crazy mentality. It’s like saying, welp with the rise of the seas in our world maybe the humans should be able to breath under water. Welp let’s kill everyone to make a new race capable of that! Like no??? The moon… how would it have work, seriously? If dynamis is everywhere and meteion is chasing everybody, sure that a moving moon WITHOUT A ETHEREAL SHIELD would survive, right? Speaking of the moon, after killing Zodiark, we are told that the finale days are coming, like SOON. So why do we waste time by changing clothes and eating carrots? I mean the writers decide that it would be a good idea to make us run to Zodiark, warn us about what was coming, and tell to waste our time because we needed some calm before the storm, which I get, sometimes stories need to breath, but like not with the final days!!! It was the only expansion where thoses breathing moments were completely out of space. Such a game breaker, honestly. If for the biggest threat ever we eat carrots, what next? Also Zenos… how I am suppose to believe is gonna stay dead? At the end of stormblood, he dies. But he comes back because of is new super echo that gives him a red eye. Great! Surely we need to remove that ability from him first, otherwise he will come back, right? NOPE, he died because.

[@TFalconwing]

I have some issues with this view of the narritive, but I do want to highlight that unless somebody comes along and finds Zenos on the edge of the universe, he has no way to revive himself by jumping i to a new body. Likewise, there is no Ascian to reanimate his corpse either. It's about as statistically impossible for him to revive as you can get. Additionally, if Zodiark is providing the aetheric shield to ward against Metion, surely the moon he is trapped on is just as shielded, no? It would be odd for his power to not surround him directly.

[@NockLegacy]

@@TFalconwing yes the moon was protected with Zodiark, but he died, thus no more shield for the moon.

[@NockLegacy]

@@fredy2041 I mean I was invested from arr to shb, but Endwalker was such a let down. It should have been 2 expansions, though I understand the team wanting to wrap up to story, Endwalker just feels rush to a point where many people will start questioning the narrative. Like was the sundering the only way, why not creating a new and better meteion, why the final days are treated so nonchalantly (eating burger in sharlayan??). The purpose of zenos? Except being the platform for the last boss, he’s story was lacking. The whole moon ship idea. Dynamis in general. The scions being fine with what Venat did. Like come on in shadowbringers, Alphinaud said to Emet something like : I understand you suffering for the lost of your world, but you can’t just undone millennials of our history, we deserve the right to live, stop the rejoining! But hey, Venat using the sundering to exterminate her people to make a better one, ON HER STANDARDS is fine, right Alphi? The ancients didn’t deserve to live we are way better anyway. They were panicking because of the final day? Too bad for them. SUNDERING. If the writers wanted to make us accept the sundering like an inevitable act, at least make sure there’s no other solution, because why not a better meteion? Why not. Also how does Graha timeline work anymore? The warrior of light dies, graha from the future goes back in time in the first to save it and us. But then in Endwalker it was a timeloop all along, the warrior of light was destined to go back in time and meet Venat. But he died in shadowbringers. The whole point of shadowbringers is that the original timeline of graha still exist with the WoL dead in it. But hey I guess that too was a part of the timeloop because why not. Seriously the more you look at any story point of endwalker you can fin a plot hole. It just feels like the story was write but nobody has look a it after this first writing to see if maybe, I don’t know, for the conclusion of the story we won’t accept genocide like it was greatness. I would have loved to love endwalker, but from the beginning ff14 was sold for it’s story and I was invested, now I just thinks about endwalker and I feel sad.

[@NockLegacy]

@@fredy2041 well that’s a kind answer. I’m just explaining why I feel Endwalker was not perfect to me, I’m not saying I’m right and everybody else is wrong. I’m saying that there some plot elements that were made poorly, maybe the writers themselves didn’t see them, but ff14 is a story driven mmo, so by those elements being there, of course I feel disappointing! I’m just sharing my experience here, not making a tantrum like you said.