FFXIV Lore- What it Means to be a Monk

Sorry to all the Monk fans for waiting this long, but I finally made it and now it's all yours. Time to show the world the might of your training and fists! Also this is my last job video until Square Enix comes out with more publications. I wish I could call up Yoshi-P for more lore but I can't, sorry.
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Disclaimer: The MMORPG known as FinalFantasy XIV Online as well as all its related publications and merchandise are owned by Square Enix. I have no claims to it.
Primary Sources:
Video Games-
FinalFantasy XIV Online
Publications-
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume I
Encyclopedia Eorzea Volume II
Alternative Sources:
FinalFantasyXIV, The Lodestone/Sidestory
FFXIV, Letter from the Producer
Published FFXIV Brand Art Books
#ffxiv #monk #jobs

[@rampant1apart]

Huh, I didn't know that the fist weapons for a monk really were optional in lore. It makes me feel better about glamouring my Monk to always look bare handed.

[@JamesW609]

Emperors gloves is the best MNK glam

[@Castersvarog]

Honestly the only thing that bothers me is the unsheath animation, it clearly looks like it should be pulling some kind of weapon out. Otherwise though, love the fists of the fiend, looks amazing

[@AvengerofWarcraft]

Up until you remember that most of your foes can either slice your arms off or bite on them and use their own jaw strength to forcibly rip them off your body. At least, there are tonfa weapons to mitigate that.

[@Winter_RainVT]

Have you seen the tonfa weapons or glove weapons? Those are my favourite, like the level 70 AF weapon or the ShB relic stages.

[@rampant1apart]

@@AvengerofWarcraft I mean...we also are shooting them a lot with guns and bows and we can shoot fireballs out of hands and we use stuff like gunblades. I wouldn't sweat those details like that too much like this game was a gritty, lethality focused combat simulator.

[@latelotus]

It is very interesting how different jobs utilize aether. At first they seem like competing theories, but I noticed similarities as I watched this series. The explanation of the chakrams reminds me of a BLM cycling through astral fire and umbral ice. I honeslty thought the MNK would use aether similar to how a DRG does. But instead of propelling jumps they propel strikes. I was quite wrong.

[@SynodicScribe]

Aether is amazing, and has the capacity to explain just about anything!

[@thisissomebullshit3012]

before Stormblood I think(?) You were required to learn the basic of (up to lvl 15) thamaturgery in order to unlock the monk class.

[@teeswaga]

@@thisissomebullshit3012 wait, I remember having to level up a Lancer to level 15 before I became a monk.

[@mr.international2778]

One thing i appreciate in the monk story which isnt delved into the other vanilla jobs is that pugelists aren't considered inferior to monks. Quite the opposite really. Pugelists are more a MMA style of fighting compared to the rigid forms of a monk which is why WOL was a bit ahead of widargelt who was a monk all his life as they can harnes aether to form chakra like a monk but their base fighting style is that of a pugelist.

[@williamedward1666]

Dragoon/Lancer also gets into that a little.

[@nicholashenrich3275]

The fact the the light, umbral, chakram unlock an ability that controls the internal aether (Perfect Balance) and the unlocking of the shadow, astral, chakram unlocks an ability that allows for huge attacks (Masterful Blitz) makes me think that many cultures on the source had the same association of umbral light and astral dark of the first. The same relation of darkness with astral aether is further supported with jobs like Dark Knight and Black Mage. The fact a group of Sharlayan scholars would be surprised by this shows a lack of study more than the uniqueness of the viewpoint.

[@exploder717]

As an initial Monk Main, Those last words struck a chord in my heart, Teach. a Fantastically informative video as always. Cheers!

[@mikoto7693]

I’m considering starting a new character soon and Monk is one I’m thinking of. Warrior, Paladin, ninja or perhaps black mage or red mage.

[@DoktorWieg]

Monks, and martial artists in general, have always been one of my favorite class/job in RPGs. For one, they're one of the rare class through which their power thematically improves primarily through their training and mastery over their bodies instead of better weapons and armor. I know that the game mechanics require better gear to be competitive but where any other job would gain from better lances, swords or axes, a monk would only need to further their mastery to become more powerful. They become the weapon because unlike other arts, they exceed what people would consider the normal limits of their bodies. Then, there's the concept that the guy who looks like a peasant will actually end up kicking your ass before you realize they've moved. Where most arts of war requires a weapon for dealing damage and armor to soak it, monks simply make sure they aren't there to be hit and strike back with precise control of their weight, balance and momentum. It also means, at least thematically in some settings, that Monks are one of the classes that require the less equipment upgrades to be effective as they simply develop into something greater naturally and anything other than mere cloth or maybe even light leathers might limit them. What they represent tend to vary greatly depending on the setting or game they're featured in : sometimes, they're simply religious figures that uses their mastery of their body as an expression of their faith, others will move past the mere concept of martial artists to something beyond human (D&D in particular has monks become "Outsider" subtype at high level, meaning they're not even mortal anymore but something unbound to reality). Sometimes they use their Chi/Ki like magic but instead of diving into books and rituals, they simply muster their inner chakra to the point they can 'cast' it out. FFXIV's monk feels like a mishmash of a lot of different types of martial arts, from japanese martial arts to chinese. I can see things like stances and forms combined to create their own flavor and how their Riddles are used as a form of conducting their aether in a specific manner as needed (Wind for speed, Fire for power, Earth for toughness). If a Black Mage is a master of destruction through exploiting the ambient aether around them, Monks are their polar opposite by being masters of destruction through exploiting their inner aether through their martial arts.

[@Frostfang_Piglet]

THIS REPLY!! You just explained why I love Hand to Hand combat over any weapons. Asmongold really needs to see this comment.

[@DoktorWieg]

@Greyson Midori Totally; I mean, it is pretty clear that each region has at least one real world culture being made part of it, if not more. And seeing how they meld together and were made into their own thing is always delightful to explore. Some themes even surface more vividly than others. For one, I'm sure Othard was a delight to make for the FFXIV team since it was basically putting their own culture in the game as explorable in Stormblood.

[@TomiIslam33]

True also live monk and at first site also love spiritual...

[@user-pi8pi3wj7h]

this is an amazing way to put it, I've been pondering how monks translate their aether through opening chakras and how the way they use it differs from other classes. I hope SE follows through on expanding and giving flavor/narrative to the blitz abilities, I want to know the lore on how they connect with the rest of the Monk's powers.

[@ek9750]

​@@Frostfang_Piglet asmongold won't see this because then he will know that we are more badass than a big buff dude with a giant ass sword

[@Winter_RainVT]

I was wondering why my monk title given was "... Of the 14th chakra" but this and now with endwalker adding the Nadi and Beast chakra system to combat, its so clear now. Great work on this video!

[@YUXKE]

Praise be to our lord and savior Rhalgr. May he continue to grace monk’s damage numbers for patches to come. Jokes aside, as a veteran monk main I’ve been looking forward to this vid for awhile. Thanks for putting this together for us to enjoy!

[@savvivixen8490]

Yays! 💕

[@Arcano_doce]

I just really love these videos. I get so hyped to play a given class after watching them I can hardly finish up house chores! Seriously though, thank you for making these, it's truly entertaining, delightful content!

[@SynodicScribe]

And I'm more than happy to keep making these videos! ^^

[@mikoto7693]

I’m really happy to be learning the lore of FF14.

[@dianauwu1312]

I really respect any organization that can worship a god of destruction yet preach restraint and peace at the same time

[@SynodicScribe]

Indeed, to hold power in your hands and choose not to abuse it sets saints apart from the rabble.

[@kriscubero6778]

Don't forget, put it into practicality

[@kriscubero6778]

Have you ever thought of that the old, native (comes from Etheirys) jobs like Monk, Black Mage, White Mage, Dancer, Bard etc might have an unsaid (as in not told by official sources yet like in-game) connection to the Ancients (Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, Venat etc.) since their playability in Endwalker?

[@SynodicScribe]

I mean. Seeing as most are sundered souls from the life stream. Yeah, I'd say every civilization has an unspoken connection to the past.

[@the_exegete]

White Mage and Black Mage at least were very likely to have been introduced to the world by an actual unsundered ancient. Summoner too certainly. Maybe Scholar. But then again all of the base classes those jobs build on in the game represent all those principles being rediscovered by people on their own. Especially in Eorzea channeling aether for various effects is inevitable. Someone will always rediscover it.

[@mikoto7693]

@@the_exegeteOne of my favourite aspects about some of the job classes is how the WoL is rediscovering it.

[@TheAgr08]

Leveling up Monk right now, so I'm watching this with a lot of the quests fresh in my mind, and it's great!

[@cicisstormshelter1076]

Great video. I loved the Monk's quest line. :)

[@Kodiie]

Gotta to say Widargelt non involvement in stb was the biggest disappointment

[@neitherlink6612]

If you’ve done the Aglaia raid you’ll know the bigger disappointment…

[@aerofell7936]

I'm not sure if I've ever commented on a KZbin video before, but I just wanted to take a second to let you know how much I enjoy and appreciate your content. I played World of Warcraft for most of my adolescence and was always so fascinated with the lore. The KZbinr "Nobbel87" was always my go to source of WoW lore; however, upon switching to FFXIV a few months ago I've had a hard time finding someone who is akin to Nobbel for final fantasy lore. That is until I found your channel. I've watched almost, if not all of your videos so far and am always looking forward to the next one. If there ever comes a time in the near future where I have the disposable income to dedicate to your patreon I would be more than delighted to do so. Keep up with the amazing content! P.S. As a monk main both in WoW and FFXIV, this might be my favorite video of yours thus far :)

[@SynodicScribe]

I'm humbled that you'd express yourself to me then! I'm glad I was able to do Monk justice since your all had to wait so long for this video. xD

[@aerofell7936]

@@SynodicScribe The wait was worth it I assure you

[@sagemouse3207]

I love all your content. FFXIV lore has become a fascination of mine and you make it so easily obtainable

[@ekki6820]

Thanks to your lore videos, its been a hell of a task deciding what job I want my character to main. And I mean that in the best possible way.

[@bolladragon]

I’ve been building my WoL to be a gadgeteer type character for a good while now, her quirk being that she’s quite frightened by using too much ambient aether after learning that her magical skills was of the same type that caused the flood. Seeing that monks are all about manipulation of their own aether in the safest way possible is actually /exactly/ the kind of lore I was looking for in picking her melee job for role quest content. Quite excited after watching this. (also loved the little narrative at the beginning!)

[@TrystLyonesse]

Another good one for that kind of background, is definitely Red Mage, if you ever wanna use a caster! They were founded in such a way as to use their own Aether, rather than Ambient. Coming from a Red Mage and Monk main~

[@mikoto7693]

@@TrystLyonesseI was about to type something similar!

[@user-ow6kq1ll9l]

Great videos about jobs! Can’t wait to see a video about Blue Mage, its history and implications.

[@hckngrind24]

Another amazing video. Thank you for your work!!

[@SynodicScribe]

I'll keep working hard on these!

[@mikoto7693]

Since starting Stormblood I have a new appreciation for monks. Ala Mhigo and Rhalgr’s Reach. Damn you Zenos.

[@widecrusher7100]

Love your stuff, you really deserve to be more popular

[@SynodicScribe]

The trouble is I dunno how to reach more FFXIV fans other than making more videos. Guess people aren't really talkin about me yet. But I'll do my best regardless! ^^

[@Kitsune10060]

for many years I've waited for Monk to 'feel' fun to play. Every expansion, every major tweak, i would hop over to it, play it for a while, cap it for the expansion, see how it felt. always disappointed. until now, in Endwalker. Turns out what always felt off to me was it's lack of real direction, because now, it's as fun to play as I've wanted it to be since ARR.

[@HollowiiMarz]

Well done! Have always loved melee dps classes and the first time I tried monk I was really surprised at how natural and enjoyable it was for me!

[@Mugenryujin]

Finally, Monk! So awesome. Thank you!

[@inuclearpickle8628]

Ty for the monk video love the job

[@Wanderingsage7]

Love the art

[@micahlindley7515]

I do too. Especially the designs of the monks at the start. I think it's cute.

[@averageplayers5288]

Amazing video, the series reminds me of VaatiVidya’s lore videos but less sad

[@SynodicScribe]

Vaati's passion is big source of inspiration for me. So that is a deeper compliment than you know. Thank you so much!

[@lukecaverns]

I’d love for you to make a video on the biomes of FF. I’ve never played it but I love looking at & learning about the environments in video games-it makes me wish I was there. You’re channel is amazing dude. The branding, the consistency, the well written content & so on. You’re killing your view-to-sub ratio as well.

[@kriscubero6778]

You kinda wish you were there but you wouldn't if you were native to Etheirys gets isekai'd to our world.

[@SynodicScribe]

Thanks for the compliments buddy! Happy to provide as much content as I can!

[@DuskShadowclaw]

@@kriscubero6778 to be completely honest my headcanon for my WOL is he was Isekaid from the Destiny universe when an antimatter generator blew up in his face. as this was the game I turned to when I quit Destiny. I loved the character I had made and wanted his adventures to continue.

[@sirephlyrrian6242]

can't wait for the rest of the classes, lore daddy

[@xeaduulix]

He's already done every other class, save for the newer ones like Dancer, Gunbreaker, Reaper and Sage.

[@SynodicScribe]

Lore daddy? So it begins....

[@FeralShadow]

Great video

[@acgearsandarms1343]

I think there’s an unsaid reason why the Monk clothes are so loose and unrestrictive. They work up quite a sweat whether training or fighting. I just hope for any Monks who received their first robes remember to consider washing/repairing it before putting it on.

[@Gefnir]

I very in depth recounting of this particular disciple of war. I know it’s you’re job as a scribe to record such detail, but I get the feeling you have much more experience with this discipline. Mayhap you trained in this art before picking up the claymore?

[@SynodicScribe]

Honestly, I was a DRG/SMN before becoming a full time Dark Knight. But I always have a blast playing Monk because of how fast and fluid its kit is!

[@Gefnir]

@@SynodicScribe oh cool a fellow wielder of the spear :D as well as the claymore! Now I gotta know is your favourite healer SCH? Because if so then we have the same mind set

[@SynodicScribe]

@@Gefnir Healer is actually my worst role so I usually played White Mage because of how much more simple it is than the others. xD

[@eli4505]

I LOVE that intro at the beginning. Made me wonder if those two opposing figures were from their respective Light and Shadow sects?

[@kriscubero6778]

Say, was that story from the beginning official? It was really neat.

[@SynodicScribe]

Nope. All the stories at the start of my are original creations of my own writing.

[@spiegel487]

If at all possible we gotta get a video on the mad king. Thanks brother.

[@SynodicScribe]

Honestly I'd do an entire video on Ala Mhigo at that point but I see what you mean. I'll put it in the pipe line!

[@featherfox6700]

What about Monks purposefully training in aether-suffused areas to help open their Chakra points? Doesn't this cause them not only to drain from the land around them, but also cause the land to be tainted so other monks can't repeat the process until the land as healed? Or is that not part of a recorded cited source?

[@SynodicScribe]

Imagine the chakra gate as a flood gate and your aether is the water. Their training forces them to fight so hard that the water pushing against the flood gate forces it to open, allowing more water to flow than usual. Same goes with ambient aether. By meditating in placed where your gates are smothered by dense aether, the gates are encouraged to open when you're in the proper mindset.

[@ubiwrongcomeatme3452]

NGL, thought that duel was gonna end differently.

[@XieronDraxin]

I think I speak for all Monks when I say: Abolish All Claw Weapons

[@mytheos4286]

I love your videos.

[@SynodicScribe]

D'aw, thanks my friend. ^^

[@shybard]

Sign me up! This sounds like a discipline I could really embrace.

[@pulgle]

amazing

[@gokuthehedgehog100]

I've been waiting for this! *clears throat* Sorry my inner Akihiko is showing. Great video though. As a monk main, this does put a smile on my face.

[@natwon633]

11:35 Lore on how the Monks use Aether (don't mind me putting this personal time stamp here)

[@susanne-marieshepard7249]

you got me to try out monk

[@mikoto7693]

Heh, I’m going to do Sage because I’m a healer. Already a Sch (and Smn), Whm and I’m working on bringing Ast up to 80 (I’m still working through Shadowbringers) but there’s a way to go yet. So sage will be unlocked when I have time. I want to try Gunbreaker because I want to try a tank class, it starts at 60 and when fighting as Thancred I unexpectedly really liked how it worked even as a gimped version of Gnb. None of the other characters have caught my interest. And honestly I do want to try either Dancer, Samurai or Ninja but I haven’t figured out which one yet!

[@notahero8487]

Praise the cannon job of the WoL on endwalkers

[@hasseo195]

I waited for this. Sad, that the monks attacks dont have the same impact ingame, as, it has in the trailers.

[@nogitsune4452]

Lol, can you imagine if we did though? If we're talking like, water flying, rocks crumbling, animals skittering, air bursting with every punch...? And that's before we get anywhere close to using Phantom Rush. Conceptually, monks are terrifying by level 90, they arn't even using weapons, they can do all that in the buff. Would make for an awesome single player game though, just be that powerful and feel the entire world crack, splash, sway and react to every strike you make?

[@lohcantfail]

they had elemental damage that cost mp back in 1.0, when that was still a thing. Well pugilists, since we didn't have jobs.@@nogitsune4452

[@sleepydruid100]

"Meditation and abandonment of oneself." Sound like playing monk to me. xD

[@MegaMustafa1234]

My most favorite DPS job because of, you know, Waifu 😏😏

[@benjaminfinlay829]

It seems to me that Rhalgr is a god of destruction and forbearance.

[@Paul_Red]

Love monk

[@kfavorite9447]

….'scuse me while i go binge play on Monk ewe

[@cheers2023]

I love being a monk but wish I was faster.

[@RandomLord1992]

Will you be doing a Blue Mage video soon? Would love to learn more about them

[@SynodicScribe]

I could. But honestly there's not a whole lot to discuss. What we learn in the Job Quest really was all there is.

[@RandomLord1992]

@@SynodicScribe that's a little sad. Blue Mage has always been my favorite job. Was hoping there would have been more added to lore or anything to the job

[@SynodicScribe]

@@RandomLord1992 Blue Mage's problem in FFXIV, as far as the lore is concerned, is two fold. One, the Job literally just sprang into existence. It's been around for like less than a year or two in the lore. Two, it's a meme job, which means the Spells School's background hasn't really been explored in the publications that much. I agree though, it's a shame to see the story squandered like that.

[@lohcantfail]

I wish they had gone the path of XI's blu, that shit was dark :X@@SynodicScribe

[@MinecraftMartin]

Do physical muscles contribute anything to a monk's prowress? I know the answer is probably not, but my head is trying to deal with being a physical combatant who looks like a book nerd. Somebody please reassure me that body size and muscle mass mean nothing from a lore perspective lol

[@SynodicScribe]

Actually, yes. While aetherial empowerment can make someone seem stronger than their body suggests, the muscles in question still need to be strong and conditioned to withstand such power. If an untrained person with weak muscles tried to pull off what a Master Monk does, their body would rip itself apart from the strain.

[@hasseo195]

Can i follow the code of the sith as a monk?^^

[@SynodicScribe]

That would be more of a Dark Knight's speed. lol

[@dullahandan4067]

Kinda bugs me how the Eorzeans claim to follow certain gods but then don't support what they stand for. Monks worship god of destruction. Which they show by defending the weak and building large complex orders. Ishgardians claim to worship the goddess of war. Which they show by desperately hoping for a lasting peace. Just pick a different god that fits your values better!

[@lohcantfail]

It fits, destruction is part of the cycle of creation, one requires the other.

[@Reverse_Hood]

You sold me on the monk, they are like actual martial monks rather than stupid anime nonsense