FFXIV Shadowbringers - Ending Cutscenes (Spoilers!)

[@JuicerJames]

Below is the customisation options I used for the WoL/WoD from the current in-game cinematics, courtesy of garlondtools searching for Ardbert, who has blue eyes and a lighter hair colour. You'll see what I mean: Race, Hyur Tribe, Midlander Gender, Male Height, 50 Muscle Tone, 50 Skin Color, 2, 3 (from top left, down 2 and right 3) Hair Color, 6, 8 (from top left, down 6 and right 8) Face, #5 Jaw, Type 1 Eye Shape, Type 1 Iris Size, Large Eye Color, (this is one of the top bar grey colours, I do not have access to see which number it is, please compare with image if that's okay Eyebrows, Type 1 Nose, Type 1 Mouth, Type 1 Chin stubble is up to you, as there's no full stubble to select from that we see in the trailers. Hair type as well is also up to you, but this would be the newest hair added. Voice is also up to you but I personally go with #4 Hope this helps :)

[@OrochiMarcio]

I was going to say, thanks for doing it with the "default" WoL! As much as I love my Au Ra and how it looks, I always wanted to see this with the "original" one, and wasn't prone to spend cash on two Fantasias just to see it! (Also, shame on SQEX, for not giving Hyur players proper stubble, while it's available in the Benchmark) haha ^^'

[@azurelancer1038]

How did you get his beard

[@petrus9067]

Your profile picture kinda looks like WoL/Meteor too xD

[@gfsdfsdf6546]

For future refference, with the endwalker benchmark, we can see that Meteor's skin would be 3-3 instead. alongside having another shade of brown for his hair, which is correct here, it's the only difference he has with Ardbert

[@pablol5162]

I love how through the whole game Emet always walks all hunch until you finally beat him and then he walks tall, the weight of his shoulders were lifted, its pretty genius attention to detail if you ask me

[@leonides1527]

Best way to fix back issues is throwing an axe through the persom

[@Fiyahzz]

or it's just the standard ascian model they switch to lol

[@EternalFellows]

Stand taaaaallllllll

[@jackjohnson8305]

Nah they just used the Ascian body model and slapped Emet's head on it its not as deep as you're insinuating

[@jackjohnson8305]

@@Mk-it6cr Theres literally no proof that they made him not hunch on purpose yet people keep throwing it around like its actual canon

[@winterfoxcloud]

"The victor shall write the tale and the vanquished become its villain" Emet was literally an amazing quote goldmine. Rest in Piece you marvelous psychopath.

[@thomastaylor2342]

That split second when Ardbert meets his party again legit brought a tear to my eye.

[@AoRArchAngel]

I'm going to miss the nightly talks, but I was so happy to see he reunited with his crew.

[@fame9870]

That’s the scene that made me break down into tears lmfao

[@GlobalWarmingSkeptic]

I figured it was gonna happen but it didn't make it less of a moment.

[@Lightfire398]

And you know what I noticed? His axe is clean. Up until now it's always been covered in blood. But now it's clean of blood. Clean of his sins and failures. He's found his peace.

[@lenlimbo]

@@Lightfire398 He is also younger, without the three days beard he sported through all Shadowbringers

[@splatinum837]

Emet one of the best antagonists in franchise history. Top 5 forever.

[@burtwonk]

It never ceases to amaze me how well timed the Shadowbringers theme is with the lead up to the Hades fight. Chills every time!

[@metalmilitia89]

When Graha appears and the slams the staff. It's so good.

[@Winchester1979]

The cutscene is choreographed to the music from the first user input (before the music starts, when you go "What, all by myself?" or "You know I can!") to the second user input ("I challenge you" or "It ends today!"). I've never tried it, but I would not be surprised if the music will be "stuck" on the "home, riding home" bit until you pick an answer and then adjust the timing so that Emet Selch always starts transforming to "we fall". Also, many of the boss fights are literally choreographed to the music, where the mechanics are timed and will happen on a set schedule which the music is written around.

[@N3rd_House]

"Let expanse contract, eon become instant! Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call!" CHILLS, LITERAL CHILLS

[@monsterfurby]

The most epic lampshade ever hung over a game mechanic.

[@miikaeatsbagels7320]

Knowing it’s your friends being summoned is crazy! Sooo perfect

[@stephanchromy8391]

"Heed my call!" Everytime after that scene when I use duty finder

[@Achridian]

I’m gonna use this in my D&D campaign at some point, it’s such a good line

[@MizukiYumeko]

@@AchridianI'm writing the Dying Gasp for 5e if you're interested!

[@mithiwithi]

Attention to detail: Thancred does *not* join the rest of the Scions in forming a Blade of Light at 21:58, because he cannot manipulate aether. His role in the final defeat is to shatter the auracite so that the shards can be embedded in Hades' form.

[@mathy9408]

Attention to detail 2: Hades say to "cast aside titles and pretense" and when the battle starts Hades introduction shows just his name and no more instead of like it does with other bosses all across the expansion. No titles at all.

[@silverandy100]

Love how they gave him the Gunblade class too. He's supposedly not able to use aether at all and Ninja's deffinetely use aether for some of their Ninjutsu so he uses the infused cartridges for "spell" effects.

[@ricardorodriguez8497]

@@silverandy100 - and it was Ryne, and now Y'shtola, who infuse them for him :) And, if taken into a Trust without Ryne he can't use a handful of the Gunbreaker skills that require cartridges ! They're just so good at telling at cohesive story.

[@Lv28fighter]

@@ricardorodriguez8497 whelp time bench Thancred

[@JapanFreak2595]

@@Lv28fighter and he still manages to be the most badass

[@Trick.Sparrow]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the cutscene where you return to the Crystarium is the only time we see Ardbert carrying his axe without the bloodstains. He sacrificed himself, giving everything he had to save the world, just like his friends did so long ago - and so he is finally able to forgive himself, leaving behind the guilt he's carried for a hundred years.

[@StabYourBrain]

Nah, my boy just threw away his relic by accident mid step three and had to redo it while we swam back to shore lmao.

[@TFfan665]

today I learned that the Bravura Atma doesn't have a bloodstain on it... LOL I always assumed that the blood was always how it looked, it was fitting for the Warrior.

[@lenlimbo]

@@TFfan665 The Bravura Atma has the bloodstain. It's the Bravura the one who lacks it.

[@Kalakauai123]

great job at looking like the main character.

[@Enzor2011]

if only they would finally make that beard available...

[@Shizzors]

@@Enzor2011 i think next patch will have facial hair

[@cactoman]

@Kozuki thats dark knight a tanker job :)

[@kyle013100]

@@Shizzors Welp no new facial hair.

[@rockinpenguin]

he used a fantasia for that vid : he's actually a lala with banana hair

[@Esty568]

"His homeland lost to memory, through eons did he strive. Dark masks he wore, fell plots he hatched, to keep vain hope alive. Until the end, that fateful day, when shadow clashed with light. True name revealed, his dying wish: Remember us as we fade into night." I got chills when the minstrell made this poen about Emet at the end and also like, that he says he feels it's not his place to tell this man's tale, but he will try. Somehow he still makes it sound so perfect.

[@amsaa91]

Ardbert: *appears in a cutscene* Me: *starts crying*

[@ricardorodriguez8497]

Did you finish 5.3!? My heart burst at that scene

[@TheKizz20]

He deserves all the happiness in the world and I’m so glad that even when you bond with him he’s still there. Walking to his friends in the end and with what happens in 5.3 I cried happy tears. He’s my favorite character and my favorite hero

[@petrus9067]

I MISS HIM SO MUCH 😭😭

[@supremeoverlord0]

When G'raha stretches his hand out to the portal and it gets rejected, my heart breaks just a tiny bit.

[@Neo-Midgar]

Damn that cutscene with Ardbert just before the final battle where you speak with his voice hits differently when you share a face.

[@felain_]

It hits different in another way when you're playing a cutesy female catgirl and Ardbert's voice comes out, suits so much better with same looks as him ahaha

[@WalkerRileyMC]

Canonically, in spite of what people screech about and cling to, Derplander is what the WoL and Azem look like. And Ardbert and Derplander look alike. Ardbert is what the canonical WoL should look like. So it makes sense.

[@euugato12]

@@WalkerRileyMC I always burst out a laugh at "Derplander" 🤣

[@fierytigergaming8112]

@@felain_ Bad idea to read that with a mouth full of pepsi, lol

[@uhltide3]

No matter what anyone says, this expansion; let alone it's ending; will forever be one of the best from any MMO. Possibly the best, cause no matter how many times I come back to this, I still get chills and tear up a bit.

[@TheReckoniing]

Its Predecessor will always be the best. Long live FFXI and its spoils. (FFXIV)

[@bargaintuesday812]

Well that's not exactly a large pool of competition there...

[@uhltide3]

@@bargaintuesday812 Not a large pool? You talking about MMOs?

[@bargaintuesday812]

@@uhltide3 Yeah, most MMO stories are trash and are just there because they have to be. XIV's is really good though, good enough to even be a single player game.

[@uhltide3]

@@bargaintuesday812 SWTOR, ESO, WOW, FFXIV, ArcheAge, and Guild Wars 2 all have good storylines. I consider that a lot of MMOs, but I guess it depends on what one considers to be a lot.

[@Xaveze]

16:21 always gives me chills. Every damn time.

[@woodenmetal2977]

20:22 WoL: "Hey, Catman, I don't think your spell worked. Where are those champions from beyond the rift?" Graha: "I don't understand. I know their queue windows popped up. Why did they not answer?" Emet: "Probably AFK. Sucks to be you, shitheads."

[@RAIZ0R1211]

"we fight as one!" so GOOD!

[@LaCeiba1924]

I prefer the French. “Well, then... I offer you my soul. Take it.”

[@davidalex0607]

Did anyone notice the quality difference in the cutscene after the final boss compared to the rest of the game? Like how the camera moves and how smoothly the characters move as well, I hope that becomes a more common thing later on cuz I absolutely loved it.

[@eivarden]

the engine isnt "designed" to do that "normally" so they have to use a lot of work arounds. it wont be too common, but will crop up time to time id assume.

[@zennok]

We're finally coming to the end of the tech debt that PS3 support forced on the devs. Hopefully as time goes on they can continue to upgrade the engine so that we have more and more of this

[@marajango]

3 months later and I still tear up at 16:19

[@the_other_jackal]

“I could not well leave matters half finished!” The exact moment I fell madly in love with Graha. He’s such a ride or die.

[@VegettoTico2648]

32:53 omfg Urianger just DEAD on the left side lmfao

[@joshuapaige5728]

Cesar Andres lmfao I didn’t even notice that

[@Voice_9_Heart85]

Dang me too!😂🤣👏

[@leonides1527]

XD OMFG I JUST NOTICE HIS BODY HAHAHAHA!! poor urianger. He should've walked on the water

[@MilkAndSugar16]

I don't see him 😑

[@mch5546]

There is finally someone that is a worse swimmer than alphinaud xD

[@Rakka5]

A toast to Ardbert, the greatest Warrior of Light that has ever lived.

[@millis6054]

Here here, may he and Emet-Selch never be forgotten as amazing characters.

[@bunstoppable2960]

I was SO happy for Ardbert in this scene! After everything he went through, he (in a way) got to deal the final blow to end it all!

[@segafan1316]

I really thought nobody used the promotional warrior of darkness

[@potatonugget5629]

segafan13 If they gave Midlander a proper beard more people might use Hyur

[@nslater1388]

I do. It just fits with everything they set up.

[@midlanderhyur6035]

I also do play with the derplander minus the beard (which I wanted so bad). It was very specific. I started ARR with the hairstyle same with Ardbert's then changed it depending on what the derplander was sporting and even using the same job like he did in the next expansions (I tried my best to level up my drg for heavensward, sam and monk for stormblood and drk for shadowbringers). It might look weird but I do want to feel like I'm the protagonist in the game (MSQ at least lol)

[@JapanFreak2595]

@@midlanderhyur6035 I did the same thing more or less. Though my hyur was was my own thing.

[@AlaskanGhost]

I stayed up until 5am on a work night to finish this quest, that bit where Ardbert speaks through the MC gives me chills every time!

[@calimantis]

Emet Selch is such a great example of a good villain. You come to understand his motives and his plight and can sympathize with him wholeheartedly and even feel for him and his loss, but he still remains wholly opposed to you and will see ambitions made complete no matter the cost. I legitimately teared up when he said "remember that we once lived" and gave you that half-smile before he faded away.

[@Shakzor1]

Yeah, this kind of villain is the best one. You just understand their very plausible motives. He lived for god knows how long and just wanted his home, friends and family back. If we Were to play his side, we would have also thought "those were great villains"

[@mithiwithi]

My interpretation: He had spent eons stifling his conscience, trying to persuade himself that all the people he sacrificed, and would sacrifice, to bring back his people and his world weren't really people, all so that he could justify what he intended to do. All his work with the Scions in the latter half of the ShB storyline, I think, is an indication that there was still a shred of his conscience left - what was left of his sense of morality spurred him to give mortals one last chance. At the end of the Amaurot dungeon, he'd managed to stifle it once more, to convince himself that he was exterminating vermin rather than committing genocide - only for the WoL/D to get our Heroic Second Wind and prove him wrong about mortals once and for all. I guess I give him credit, most of all, for not whining and complaining with his last words. He could've gone out with some kind of This Cannot Be, or complain that we didn't deserve to win. But instead, he accepted that he was done for at last, and asked for the only mercy he could reasonably hope for.

[@swagikuro]

oh cmon lol he's okayyy at best. sympathize with him wholeheartedly? he's willing to sacrifice civilizations to get his back. sure, the cards dealt for him and his people suck, but that's absolutely no justification for the actions of the ascians. it's pretty silly if you think about it seriously. it's not bad, but i wouldnt call it an example of good writing.

[@Wolf99555]

@@swagikuro i don't think a good villain is wholey sympathetic, i think Emet-Selch straddles the line perfectly where he's good enough that you get why he does what he does but isn't so good that you just wish the story was about him. it seems silly to me to think a villain has to be whole-heartedly sympathetic in order to be written well

[@swagikuro]

@@Wolf99555 im not saying he's badly written beacause he's not easy to sympathize with, im saying he's badly written cuz his motivations are pretty stupid lol. thats like native americans deciding to kill every man ,woman and child because they were here first. he's not a bad villian, bad faar from something id call well written.

[@Kalslice]

There were people who didn't do crystal tower, so they weren't able to make G'raha cry. Can you imagine?

[@Ren-mv7pz]

Wait fr. Isn't a requirement for ARR msq?

[@FTWhaleLord]

@@Ren-mv7pz crystal tower wasnt mandatory until patch 5.3, plus people pay for story skips that boost them to shadowbringers lol, so that becomes optional content for them that way

[@fefnireindraer144]

God Tia is such a badass. He BETTER be taken back to us to the source, whether by merging with his younger self or whatever. I dont care, we ARE taking him back >.>

[@Pink_Sinthetic]

Well, he cannot merge with his younger self. He's already McGuffined his own existence overall. On one hand, he could come back and be find because the younger G'raha is trapped in the tower, and he will "always" travel back to the past. But they've also played with diverging timelines, so the G'raha in the tower would never have to go to the past because the 8th Calamity would never occur. Or the Tower would simply be pulled into the past at the required time as a cosmic requirement. Realistically, since that all happens too far in the future for them to have to justify it with anything more than a "that's odd", they could do whatever. But since he's rather a ruler of the Crystarium I don't really foresee him leaving. More likely he stays on the First. I don't think they would have the First rejoin after all the work we did to prevent it. But could you imagine how good that story would be if they did? lol

[@mithiwithi]

Minor point about Miqo'te names: "Tia" refers to him being a non-breeding Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te, and his first name G'raha means "Raha of the G tribe". Of course, he's badass enough now that if the necessary bits haven't turned to crystal, he could easily become the breed-sire of a tribe, and then he would be G'raha Nunh. And then again, if he's stuck on the First after all, none of that naming stuff is relevant, because it's as foreign to the Mystel as it is to you or me.

[@jomykelhepler9493]

I bet you’re happy af now, prophet!

[@XiasIV]

Aged well

[@XiasIV]

@@Pink_Sinthetic Your comment aged poorly

[@HawkinaBox]

LMAO "Heavens...heavens take me. **Passes out**"

[@AdeptKing]

The moment the Shadowbringer theme kicked in during the cutscene I just knew something epic was going to happen.

[@juanramos4322]

Finally, someone who is not a potato or rabbit.

[@JuicerJames]

Tried to be as WoL authentic as I could, minus the trailer stubble

[@juanramos4322]

@@JuicerJames You did a good job. It's just hard to take this amazing scene seriously with lalafels and skimpy characters.

[@kyero8724]

@@juanramos4322 Not all Viera wear skimpy stuff. I'm on Balmung and I hardly see it there even. You're just generalizing on internet memes. But yea Lalafells ruin everything.

[@zFerAresz]

@@juanramos4322 Im a Miqote, but her face of courage makes everything look serious when neccesary.

[@ozzma287]

🙄 God forbid people play the new race or something... not all are thot Vieras...

[@ExceedProduction]

It still freaks me out how much power the old people had, the Amaurotians. Emet-Selch build a CITY by himself out of thin air, conjured incredible magicks and entire scenery just because he wanted to. Truly, what are we shattered fragments to argue with such overwhelming power? And it is told the old people were a lot smarter and lived nigh forever. Unworthy, we are.

[@Longlius]

And yet the Amaurotines destroyed themselves and, when push came to shove, chose subjugation to Zodiark over freedom.

[@ExceedProduction]

@@Longlius Did they, though? We do not yet know what caused the catastrophe of the Final Days. From what Hades said, it wasn't their fault, that they were victims. Obviously the truth has got to be something else but we don't know yet. And if faced with total destruction, I think subjugation over freedom is the wrong choice, it was subjugation over death. That being said, I don't think they were aware that Zodiark could temper them, as they had never before summoned a being of such immense power; something that eclipsed them. I would say there were caught off-guard by that ability.

[@saintgeekSG]

Well, the real enemy is probably whatever the hell caused that sound that made ascians go crazy with fear.

[@TheAuthorgal]

@@saintgeekSG This conversation hits harder after Endwalker.

[@limyongsteffen890]

"This world is not yours to end... This is our future. Our story." - Ardbert in Shadowbringers. "It ends this day. One way or another, it ends."

[@GetterRay]

The other dialogue option is better because after being tested by Emet-Selch all expansion you finally throw it back at him and challenge him to prove that he's worthy.

[@GetterRay]

@Timothy Clark Yeah, and its lame in comparison. Saying that your battle is over is so generic, while the other one is specific to your relationship with Emet.

[@monsterfurby]

Interestingly, a relevant person in Endwalker adds: "You will not end our journey. That is our answer! The answer of all lives on Eitheirys, past and present!"

[@OkamiG15]

@@GetterRay I don’t know, I feel like saying “one way or another” is sort of important thematically, since the whole expansion has basically been about showing the different perspectives on the Ascian conflict. And Emet’s dialogue about how whoever wins is the hero and whoever loses is the villain ties really nicely into that dialogue choice, sort of acknowledging that there are two ways for this to end, “one way” or “another.” I feel like that dialogue choice highlights the theme of duality nicely.

[@GetterRay]

@@OkamiG15 Nah, Emet is testing your worth, you have to assert that you are worthy, not give a wishy washy answer. That's not what Emet is trying to get out of you, he's testing conviction in this scene. And if you look at what happens afterwards, Emet is not framed as the villain of the story at all, he's framed as one of the heroes. The overaching theme of how the WoL solves his problems is explained by I think Alphinaud later on: Its to understand someone's motivations but neither condemn or condone them. You fight Emet and Elidibus and understand their motivations, but in the end you still put them down because its the ultimately right thing to do. And in way, asserting yourself is the only way that Emet can understand YOUR motivations. And that carries on to how the WoL deals with both Meteion and Zenos in Endwalker.

[@Vermillionx]

Everything about the ending of this expansion left me feeling incredibly satisfied and happy with Shadowbringers as a whole. This is, in my personal opinion, the best expansion this game has seen yet and I will be honest; I didn't think they could top Heavensward. There are so many things I could point out about this entire ending but I would be here for ages talking about all the small details which only add to the impact this ending brought. I don't want to type a novel on this but I certainly could. There is one scene in particular thought that hit me pretty hard. And While I am sure it hit others hard too, it wasn't the scene that stood out the most. The ending when G'raha Tia is talking about the Warrior of Light while he opens the portal for him to go home truly made me feel the admiration he has for the Warrior of Light. He doesn't have to say anything for us to know that he is more than relieved with the result of all those years of unending suffering to ensure that his message was delivered successfully to the one person G'raha Tia knew would be able to overcome any and all obstacles. That all of it was worth the wait. And to add to that scene, he talks like he himself is not even a fraction as important. And while some of that may ring true, G'raha Tia has done exactly what he thinks he was incapable of doing. In the last line of that scene, he calls to G'raha Tia of the Source; "Do you hear me, G'raha Tia? This is no time for sleeping." This particular line fills me with questions. While the former of the question suggests that he is speaking to the G'raha Tia of the Source, it could also be interpreted that Crystal Exarch is, in fact, not G'raha Tia and/or even possibly doesn't consider himself G'raha Tia. (I personally don't put much thought into, and strongly disagree with, the suggestion that he isn't who he says he is but it should at least be considered no matter how improbable) This is also what leads me to suggest that G'raha Tia of the Source is to be woken and join in the fight alongside the Scions. It's even hinted to us in the newest Post-ShB quests as they are going to need G'raha Tia's blood to get all of the Scions safely back to the Source and Crystal Exarch ain't looking great right now. I am definitely looking forward to see where the story goes from here. There is one small issue with this Theory and it conflicts with the Crystal Tower raid story if you do the Main story before the raids. It would be crazy to lock G'raha Tia in the tower if he has already been awoken in the MSQ. I reckon they will probably make some reason for it all to make sense should they decide to move in that direction with the MSQ. TIME WILL TELL :P

[@IceyFoz]

30:43 Poor Alphinaud xD at least he actually made it to shore on time :p

[@Edos512]

poor alphinaud?!!! and what about urianger?they don't even worry about him... he'll appear sooner or later ...

[@chrisbad726]

@@Edos512 he does actually make it. A quick sec before the scene transitions, in the bottom left corner you see him wash up.

[@MA-yu2ss]

@chrisbad726 at 32:54? Is that Urianger?

[@kura4062]

@@MA-yu2ss On the left, yes.

[@sylvierose2799]

Atleast he still alive

[@gentlemanned5757]

Weary Wanderer - you've no fight left to fight, no life left to live. -- A phrase spoken in the Shadowbringers trailer

[@commentsforthealgorithm]

*sees Ardbert* "ONE BRINGS SHADOW, ONE BRINGS THE LIGHT 😭🎶"

[@Fain255]

Absolute masterpiece. Story, direction, music, visuals, and of course, gameplay. All 10/10. Even after 3 years of playing this, I get chills watching the cutscenes.

[@UmbreonMessiah]

Seeing Ardbert next to the Warrior of Light....suddenly puts a lot of theories in perspective.

[@Ferodra]

This moment when your silent protagonist suddenly starts talking during one of the most important cutscenes. I screamed when this happened

[@WalkerRileyMC]

THE best ending cutscenes ever. No goddamn way to top this. I hope I'm proven wrong but goddamn I just don't see it happening.

[@krayte5120]

bro i said the same thing about heavensward standing on the bridge with nidhogg. then it did. and its generally accepted that stormblood was the weakest of the 3 expacs, and lets be honest it was far from weak >.> this games too good

[@krayte5120]

@Timothy Clark I have no idea how you are able to live your life with that negative of an attitude... no one said it isn't worth playing, to the contrary they said "this was beyond amazing, they've achieved perfection." Don't be a dick

[@crusherjoe8519]

Yoshi-P: please keep Natsuko Ishikawa as the main scenario writer for Final Fantasy XIV. She has done an amazing job with the Shadowbringers expansion.She writes fantastic antagonists/villains, including Emet-Selch and Elidibus in Shadowbringers, and Yotsuyu in Stormblood. The great Masayoshi Soken, of course, will remain the composer for the game.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

Hi, it's me from the future, playing EW. I was so wrong.

[@monsterfurby]

After playing EW, I still agree with this. EW's ending was *almost* as good as Shadowbringers (the music direction in that last area and that final walk, holy crap), but a lot of it felt like they had to work really struggle to find stakes to escalate to and ways to make it emotionally and personally interesting. It's really hard to match something as emotionally relatable as Emet-Selch's, Ardbert's, and Elidibus' storyline, and while the finale of Endwalker was beautiful, it was missing that particular sense of tragedy for me to consider it on par with Shadowbringers.

[@FurtherProof]

35:20 was so great in-game, sharp cut to black and then credits. good shit

[@legotrekker]

Only slightly embarrassed that I bust out crying right there. Everything that had come before was so beautiful, and my character was wearing a big wide-brimmed hat that hid her eyes and when it cut to black and started the music it was all that I needed to feel the emotions of the entire last third of the expansion hit me all at once. Honestly this expac was so good I don't know how they're going to follow it up.

[@Twocoolman115]

I can’t but wonder what happened with the kid. Did the WoL/D tell the kid the truth, did he lie, say nothing, say something else? And I can’t help but think the kid is Ardbert’s descendant or something.

[@legotrekker]

@@Twocoolman115 I like to imagine that the kid is now the only person to know the WoL's full story now.

[@Noponis]

@@Twocoolman115 the gesture was like a "shh, it's a secret ;)" so you probably told him nothing

[@kenzie2191]

legotrekker Same. Just finished this last night and I feel like it would be in character for my WoL to tell him everything with the condition “you can’t tell anyone.” Plus he’s a little kid so they’d never believe him.

[@metalmilitia89]

18:19 this is when we all get goosebumps. When you know you're going against Emet, the big bad so far, with the help of 7 other strangers.

[@sergiocid3688]

To have been part of this amazing story goes to among my most beloved memories as a gamer, right next to FFXI.

[@KazyEXE]

I'm excited for the Echoes of Vana'diel alliance raids next week! Ru'Aun looks so pretty!

[@wallis8288]

FFXIV storytelling > WoW storytelling

[@WH40KHero]

FF14 Storytelling >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WoW-Storytelling ftfy

[@OnLevel37]

26:26 Light Constipation can affect any Warrior of Light or Darkness. Talk to your doctor about taking Selch-span. You'll be dropping Ardbert-Axe sized light-poops in no time! Side effects might include: Silence, Random Summoning of Warriors from across time, Dizziness, Overwhelming feels for plot progression.

[@lisettmartin1004]

I got so many chills when we threw Ardbert's Axe. Everything about this expansion was a masterpiece.

[@Dwayneff]

I just did the Crystal Tower raid playthrough. :( I didn't get the option to tell Graha good morning.

[@corxiiifelinike2643]

Dwayne you have to finish the crystal tower 24 man series to get that unfortunately

[@torashiki5646]

You can do a repeat with the scene viewer in your room, just tick the "show quest progress" option or whatever before the scene(s).

[@eufonioun]

@@torashiki5646 upup

[@shiningmomostar]

Emet-Selch best Final Fantasy villain ever. He has good reasons to do what he did. He also admires the protagonist instead of simply hate him/her. When he said "Remember... Remember we once lived..." I broke into tears, he died with a smile in his face. I simply loved him. I hope they will let him come back in any way (Except for the battle vs WoL on 5.3).

[@brittanyhayes1043]

He did show hate though. He threatened to erase the WoL from existance. Not to mention wanted to kill everyone on each shard.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

@@brittanyhayes1043 Purely frustration at being countered at every turn. Up to this point, he and the rest had met almost no resistance from the various WoL. Then not just one but TWO different shards of Azem are born roughly at the same points in time, on two shards close enough to be bridged. Now he has an actual challenge when everything was just routine. He's pissed off because for the first time in a hundred hundred lifetimes things aren't going as he planned. Also being tempered by Zodiark (yes, he is, it's canon lore get over it) doesn't help.

[@ntvblue]

CHAMPIONS FROM BEYOND THE RIFT, HEED MY CALL 20:20 No one showed up.

[@SolomonsNightmare]

Sorry, must do castrum meridianum, call me again.

[@lenlimbo]

WoL: Welp, looks like I have to do this like I did Ravana or Thordan. By myself.

[@Silverman216]

My trusts are incapacitated *Waits over an hour for squad to show up*

[@kiriseraph9674]

I had a male Rogadane wearing only his underwear and a moogle head appear for me, I wonder what Hades thought...

[@33link333]

@@kiriseraph9674 That does happen now and then.

[@frawliet2738]

33:53 Oh my god my heart.

[@Edos512]

When i saw the columns of light i was hyped as F·$"$$

[@SolomonsNightmare]

Champions beyond the rift, HEED MY CALL!

[@anthonybalbachan6310]

Yooo and then our other warriors of light popped out. That was the most hype I had ever been my whole life lol

[@HandlesAreStupid2024]

My fiance and I were playing and I just started yelling "HE'S SUMMONING OTHER WARRIORS OF LIGHT!"

[@zuderack]

It was like the 8 players msq is cannon!

[@Okazaki7793]

That moment when he breaks the last shard, and everything turns black and white ...the scions looking in despair...and the Wol deals the final Blow...and the light seems so dim...i had goosebumps

[@lukethefluke7]

19:21 This was the moment every Final Fantasy fan lost their shit.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

I don't think I'll ever get the same feeling I had going through these CS ever again......if the game had ended with this, I'd have been happy.

[@masonkdodd]

now that endwalker is out, would you still agree with yourself one year ago?

[@robrobPS2]

@@masonkdodd not the op but i have the same opinion and honestly as much as some moments of EW hit harder and it def had a bigger effect on me, i think Shadowbringers is genuinely the peak of the games story so far. EW had some wild pacing that threw it off for me tbh

[@Renzuken3]

I just finished shadowbringers... and WOW such an amazing game! Very rarely can a story REALLY grip you and make you see things from the Antagonist's point of view so clearly. I found myself really feeling for Emet-Selch and the Ascians, who were just trying to restore their world to how it once was... I also felt equally torn because the new worlds that were all made from the shattering of the First, were also just trying to survive and find the peace that the ascians had achieved long before time began...The lines between what is "good" and what is "evil" really blurred here with this story as they often do in real life. It's all a matter of perspective... Emet Really did live his truth long enough to see himself become the villain. He really did believe in a greater sacrifice to restore his world and bring back his people so *their* sacrifice from so long ago would not be all for nothing. Never have I seen the villan's side in any story so clearly as with Shadowbringers! And it made the final battle with Emet all the more epic... Two ancient ideologies clashing against one another for all eternity! I dont know how but the writers for this game REALLY outdid themselves here...I have NO idea how they are going to make the next FF14 expansion top this one's deep story and GREAT lore and writing. But Lord knows I will be there to buy it day 1! this MMO really is amazing and worth the money! I always considered FF6, FF7 and FF9 as the Greatest final fantasy games...well Move over 6,7,and 9 ...Final Fantasy 14's story and characters are by far my favorite!

[@duchuyedisonvu]

"what, all by myself?" is a line that filled my heart with joy.

[@MrDerk4real]

Duty finder is cannon in this fight lol every other primal etc. Was technically supposed to be solely us. This fight gave duty finder a real in game purpose.

[@ninetailedfox579121]

It is implied that the other people with us are just normal adventurers. There's even some comment about it back in I think Prae? I think before the Nero fight he says something about us and our friends. Minfilia also tells up beforehand to gather our friends.

[@Pink5G]

NPCs do mention you should gather adventurer friends for a lot of big MSQ content even up through Stormblood

[@temi97]

Everyone in your party are adventurers, but they have the echo. Hence why you fight with them against primals else they'll just get tempered. Here though, it's cannon that everyone fighting with are other warriors of light.

[@aldairlara5582]

The Susanoo fight, one of your companions mentions they saw some of your friends followed you in boats to the far east

[@Magipaca]

The quest description for Bardam's Mettle actually sums it up perfectly. "Each must do this by themselves, of course, and so you shall...though if by pure coincidence some of your fellow adventurers happened to have made the long journey to the Far East, and simply insisted on accompanying you...surely no one would be any the wiser?"

[@Shayanzass]

If you didn't cry at 34:00, you're lying

[@WhatdidIsayagain]

30:33 for those who just came to see Alphinaud suffer from his swim-scape

[@mystic2689]

Yes I did lmaoooo

[@immortalsoldier1367]

Can we also talk about how perfectly Zeno delivers his line "Shall not do so twice!" At around 47:30

[@EX7Sonic]

Man the part where you tell G'raha Tia that it's good to see him awake always gets me. You calling him by his name was probably the first time anyone's called him that in over 100 years (not counting Urianger because he just learned his name in that flashback and didn't really know who he was before he became the Crystal Exarch).

[@mithiwithi]

If you completed the Crystal Tower raid, you get two chances to call him by name before that - the very first time you meet him in the First (which he brushes off), and again after you defeat Innocence and his hood blows off as he tries to sacrifice himself to save you from the Light overload (that time definitely affects him, but he's busy at the time).

[@Clankio]

Me as a WoW veteran playing through this part: DA F*CK IS A WOW?!

[@burtwonk]

Seeing Emet-Selch in his shadowless Ascian robe as he delivers his final line is a powerful moment. Why did it have to end like this? If you were anything else, if you could have just let go of the past, we would be brothers. 😢

[@fawkespryde9183]

"May those who walk before, lead those who walk after." Ouch.. My heart..

[@aeonise]

G'raha Tia pulling one of the biggest "cheeky bastard" moves in the game there. "We stand together", he says, right before adding a whole lot to "we".

[@redgeoblaze3752]

He's about to show Emet-Selch the ancient magical arts style of "Having more people on your team" (you see, that's a double joke, because Raha's ancestors abused cloning technology, and Selch is only one of two remaining unsundered ascians in existence.)

[@xxcrowfeatherxx2540]

5 years already?? Damn, time truly flies

[@OnLevel37]

27:55 Shouldn't that hurt.. wiping his face with that crystal arm?!

[@potatonugget5629]

RicachetX I assume he’s used to it after a century

[@supremeoverlord0]

@@potatonugget5629 Makes it sound like he's been crying for a century, lol Also, eyeballs of steel.

[@coast2coast-295]

A fellow Poster Boy MC! Same man, been Derplander since 1.0

[@receipt1227]

Do you have a pic of 1.0 derplander in game? Never played 1.0 before :(

[@thedude3065]

is that what he's called?

[@power_SERG]

23:03 a single Tomahawk saved the whole Realm.

[@mono_art143]

"one brings shadow, one brings light, when two forces joined as one, in completion there's no might, to halt their march & stop their flight."

[@AlexWaff]

"How can you hope to stand against me alone?" That's the thing - I'm never alone. Not anymore.

[@SgtDahaka]

Graha tia is the best summoner in the game. What is bahamut when you can summon 7 wol.

[@bobdravs9759]

Soo.... Graha Tia in the Source will awaken and the two of them will create a passage between worlds by linking the two Crystal Towers together

[@seyahtan24]

Seems to be the only plausible way our fellow scions can come back to the source.

[@mithiwithi]

The cosmic implications, though - could such a thing trigger a *soft* Rejoining, where the two worlds' aether gradually blends together, rather than one world disintegrating and dumping itself on the Source in a Calamitous flood? And if so, would that play into Elidibus' plans or screw them up for good?

[@WalkerRileyMC]

@@mithiwithi The Ascians want the worlds to return to how they were before the sundering. A soft rejoining arguably wouldn't 'erase' the people and races that populate the Source, which is what the Ascians want. They view the current population to be inferior and want to wipe it clean out.

[@juankmontoya820]

Emet selch smiles 2 seconds before he vanishes :c

[@rexkwando09]

He knew at that moment we were worthy.

[@FerrickAnima]

it felt like deep inside he knew his best friend was right in stopping him

[@ReaperSigma]

He knew we were who he suspected all along, he knew we have the strength to carry on. The person he knew us as is still alive in the Warrior of Light, also he was happy he could finally rest.

[@GetterRay]

"A smile better suits a hero." The line is memed to oblivion but they brought up again in Amaurot to remind you on purpose to set that moment up when Emet smiles at you.

[@huslainemaxwell9866]

i like to think that it doesnt have anything to do with him suddenly seeing us as worthy or adequate to fulfill the hopes he had or changing his mind about us. My interpretation is that he just realized it was over for him and his people and so there was no point anymore in rebuking us or being antagonistic to the heroes. His malice and aggression against us was never personal, it was just us opposing his agenda and once everything is over and his agenda is no longer possible the only thing he can hope for is that we remember him and his kind and fade away accepting that he tried all he could and there was no sense in doing anything than smiling in those last few seconds.

[@joeyyoung2952]

"My world will have no more need of heroes" Those words take on a totally new meaning after 5.3

[@GenoKiller7]

Emet selch best villain. I wanted to give me a hug at the end

[@Defitf2]

Emet selch is legit my favorite character in shb

[@william7182]

Most satisfying MMORPG story ever, where you play as the Hero, not a footman.

[@civildisorder]

TFW duty finder was made canonical.

[@DEADication86]

13:44 You've no fight left to fight! No Life left to live! (The same lines the goblin spoke in the CS intro to Shadowbringers). Is Emet-Selch also that goblin in disguise?

[@its_riley02]

Ysholta just casually drops a whole fucking meteor on his head...

[@dps_is_hard]

I like how everyone's reaction to Urianger missing is just "Meh, Frick him"

[@delosdinh]

So at 18:08 when he called on other champions, does that mean your other party members got the trial duty is just another version of you? Different shards of the original soul like Ardbert.

[@TheGoonsies]

Lol I remember when I answered his question I replied with "You know I could!" and was confused by his offering the axe. The other option makes way more sense and for a better scene xD

[@ffxfoerever]

16:21 OMFG I DIED So fkin hype Ardbert

[@SaigaTenshi]

Things went epic when the song starts

[@aeoifjapefijl]

Thanks for a clean no commentary showing!

[@cyberien8]

I don't seem to get the 3rd dialogue choice "`Tis good to see you awake, G'raha Tia." , am i missing something?

[@vanessachowjiaying4423]

You need to do the crystal tower raid and complete all of the quests

[@wim5210]

You need to complete crystal tower raid

[@cyberien8]

Thanks both for the reply. Read about it at Reddit about this as well 😂

[@andreydikit652]

I only got the third option when I played through the MSQ. But every time I played this scene on The Unending Journey, I never get the third option.

[@wim5210]

@@andreydikit652 you have to complete crystal tower quest

[@ytubeanon]

the one thing I don't like that people forget is that Emet Saulk specifically said that after he'd won he would erase every mention of our hero and people from the history books - then when he loses he says 'Remember us' and everyone is like 'oh he wasn't such a bad guy he was just defending his people' - if that were true he wouldn't be vindictive and dishonorable enough to erase us from memory which he begs us not to do

[@mithiwithi]

Well, two things: (1) Emet-Selch had plenty of pragmatic reasons to erase the WoL from history. Even if he hadn't been able to interrogate the Crystal Exarch and find out how our memory preserved the effort to send the Tower back to change history, he knew that tales of heroes have a nasty way of inspiring further rebellions. Casting the First's Warriors of Light as villains was almost certainly something the Ascians encouraged, so that they wouldn't be a rallying point against the sin eaters. (2) Emet-Selch claimed to see our kind, even the WoL, as less than people, right up until his belief was decisively refuted. And yes, that does still make him evil, but it's excuse enough not to treat the WoL with the same respect as he hoped to receive. (Incidentally, if he *did* find out about the Crystal Tower project from the other timeline, he also knew he was completely full of shit about how us "lesser" creatures couldn't sacrifice ourselves for the greater good.)

[@seralucii]

I kinda took that as he doesn't want people to remember our incomplete versions, but as our soul was in Amaurot. And creating a world which doesn't need heroes isn't a bad thing. In a world without evil (as the past seemed to be) there was no need for heroes. Most of the people don't see the WoL as a person with feelings, we just have to save them without a word of thanks. The money for quests barely cover teleport costs and the tasks we are asked to do are oftentimes downright insulting for a warrior of our standing (gathering shit, seriously?). Before Shadowbringers the only one who actually treated the WoL like a person was Haurchefaunt. That doesn't seem like being a hero was anything to be happy about

[@brittanyhayes1043]

Like same. Yall realize hes was going to genocide everyone right? Hes a evil villian.

[@dingding12321]

He was unable to be himself anymore. He gave himself to a primal literally forever ago, and that's that! Maybe in his final breath it was him in a moment of clarity asking for a simple favor...that or he really was that conceited haha. That one's definitely up for debate unless I'm mistaken. The only reason Hydaelyn's champions are different than the Ascians is because they do things specifically for goodness' sake and are called to Hydaelyn because they are already doing good things, not just because they created Hydaelyn and are insistent on it ruling over all. Ascians don't care about the "greater good"; they just care about perpetuating themselves and putting their primal into power. Really they're slaves to a power by their own making, which is the sad part.

[@ytubeanon]

@@dingding12321 did you just finish Shadowbringers?

[@DfRaid]

Who would win? Aeons of sadness and despair and the will to rebuild your old world. One axe yeeting boi.

[@Kerma7]

I legitimately think this is the first (and maybe only time) I would have been happy with this being the final patch for FFXIV. cliffhangers with zenos aside, we finally get the full picture of why the ascians are doing what they're doing and at the end of the final battle one of the top ascians finally sees us as worthy heirs before dying. The part where he smiles at you before fading away genuinely gave me chills- he realizes that by killing him with pure force of will and not underhanded trickery like white auracite or lies and deception that you're finally equal with him and can carry on the torch. If the Zenos plotlines were completely cut (because to be honest they're 100% unnecessary in 5.0) and we managed to bring tia back to the source, the only cliffhanger that would remain is what happens with the remaining ascians.

[@mithiwithi]

To be fair, there is white auracite involved here - at 21:36 Thancred shatters one and drives the shards into Hades' form. But white auracite is just a tool, a weapon that works on souls, and it's useless without the aether to drive the blow home. And with Ardbert's soul finally rejoined to the WoL's, they have the capacity to contain and wield the Lightwardens' aether as a Blade of Light. That is the key piece, that the WoL is now, if not *fully* whole, then still whole enough to stand against a fully-rejoined soul.

[@lenlimbo]

@@mithiwithi As far as theories goes, we "only" have 8/14 of our complete, amaurotanian soul, if we are truly the Fourteenth, as it looks like we are. 8/14 is still enough to completely repress and use the light of the Lightwardens and beat Emet-Selch, though.

[@meganvincent5381]

God when the music started I fucking screamed, it was so good

[@GlobalWarmingSkeptic]

For me, the greatest cutscene in gaming history.

[@raghebalsatly1417]

28:17 what is the name of ost that starts playing?

[@luke4260]

Watched it again, cried rivers again. "Remember... remember us. Remember... that we once lived..."

[@MyraAmherst2018]

35:10 just now realized that the little boy looks like young Ardbert 🥺

[@Divin3t78]

What an Xpac this was. I honestly didnt care much for the story until shadowbringers. This was well worth the time dove into the story.

[@Renzuken3]

I mean...Heavensward was a pretty amazing story if you ask me. Stormblood was eh...but Shadowbringers... Whoaa!! this story hit it out the park!

[@Lithiel]

IM PRAYING this means his other self is gonna be joining us back in the trust system. I miss him!!! 😭

[@AnaraGaming]

Me too i never tought he would die... i love Emet-Selch 😢😢😢