How Does This Game Keep Getting BETTER?

[@Rakka5]

I honestly cannot get tired of this game blowing away every expectation of WoW players. And the craziest part that this content of Heavensward was available to play since WARLORDS OF DRAENOR.

[@Windupchronic]

And it's free. Which is crazy.

[@GamingDualities]

is that why the game lack social and PVP updates? doesn't have chat bubbles (you only look at chat box whole day which sux), no smaller nameplates aka text font size option, voice chat, good 4v4 Arena style map like Heavens Arena from the King's Avatar animation, no frontline popout sound notification, outdated combat and subscription model, convoluted login/register system (cant even use afna at launcher reset password confirm email box), no blue mage in PVP, lack of innovations such combining already good PvE elements with PVP such as open-world raid bosses where players and guild fight to contest said bosses? compete for the boss. they could drop epic mounts o exp/gear tokens which could be a great alternative to story leveling. new players cannot share their content on ffxiv reddit... doesn't change the fac the game has 500 ms animation lock + 2.5s global cd tab targeting combat. 20 years behind. they thought they will fix the combat by adding crazy animations, but that also just cluttered the game. mybe they could lower global cd to 2 second but anything lower hard because crazy animations. but the core problem si still there. tab targeting combat. not even hybrid action combat with skillshots and dodges. elt alone true action combat like Smite, Vindictus r the Kings Avatar animation. WoW TBC, for example, ahs bunch of instant casts too but only 1 second global cd. also wow tbc has chat bubbles and voice chat... ffxiv only has emotes and chat box. and it sux watching into chat bo whole day that get spammed. it is not socially itneractive. or actually good 4v4 map like heavens Arena from the Kings Avatar or open-world raid bosses where players and guild could fight to contest them....or ability to tame open world monsters as your mount....innovate....more PVP events/rewards/mounts, combine PvE and PVP elements... and ffxiv community often mix competitive spirit and rivallry with toxicity

[@fancywire7606]

@@luisasventa6749 Ok. Have fun!

[@Rakka5]

@@GamingDualities Damn, that's a lot of words. too bad I'm not gonna read them. edit: stop giving the troll the attention they want fellas

[@DirtCheapFU]

@@GamingDualities I would never tell anyone to join FF XIV for its mess of what was supposed to be pvp.

[@JackgarPrime]

"Zenos seems like quite a fella." That's definitely one way to describe him!

[@toothyboreman]

Well he is your best friend. A little too clingy though.

[@ru3487]

He scares me a little..

[@Justaguywithglassesok]

@@toothyboreman my.... nnnnngh *heavy breathing* FRIEND

[@DrakengardGirl]

Zenos the #1 husbando

[@eastbow6053]

When does he say it?

[@menty6633]

We got him boys.

[@Rakka5]

You either get filtered by ARR or become a walking advertisement for the Criically Acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV with an expanded Free Trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.

[@aster4jaden]

"One of us! One of us!"

[@chiefsoap]

Was there any doubt!

[@RPGfanatic1996]

Another one bites the dust. :3

[@Zombifi3r]

Now get him to do the Hildebrand quests

[@SyndicShadow]

"Heavensward is the best narrative I've played in an MMO" Shadowbringers: "Hold my dancer chakram"

[@leosabat4636]

while in high heels that gives extra points

[@aramisdoucett9090]

I love ShB but HW is still peak ff14 in my opinion. It’s close… maybe even

[@SyndicShadow]

@@aramisdoucett9090 You know, it's weird... HW didn't really do it for me. Felt like a pale imitation of something out of Tactics. SB was really good and also seemed like FF14 really defining its own style, especially musically

[@Kaziri_Kestrel]

@@aramisdoucett9090 for me 5.3 did it... it was so impactful and had me wanting more and the trial at the end... my goodness that was a fight

[@lissaguillet3754]

Right?! I was really happy with Heavensward. The Ala Mhigo portions of Stormblood felt kinda rushed and mediocre but the parts in the east were great. But Shadowbringers hit me like a ton of bricks and really solidified the mythology going on here. Just great content all around.

[@belld.s5276]

The Aymeric dinner had a lot players feeling a certain type of way xD. And its funny bc Thancred calls it out later lol. "It must be love-"

[@Adair92ar]

Seeing my character all paranoid about getting roofied was just *chef's kiss*

[@luc1ferous]

Servant 'Would madam care for some wine?' WoL 'Nope, no thanks, learned that lesson already thank you very much!'

[@StarGazerTom1991]

@@luc1ferous lmao this was exactly how I was feeling during that scene.

[@RuneGrey]

@@luc1ferous It helps to show that your character has been effected by everything that happens. You lose people, you've got these tiny paranoid hickups that show up from time to time, and you've got some serious regrets and hangups by the time everything is said and done.

[@jonathanborba9280]

@@RuneGrey It's super apparently in the Shadowbringers choices through all the patches. Some of them are sarcastic to the absurd, or even dark seriously dark if you think about them, but it honestly makes sense. You're just stuck in your role now. No backing out, you know you are to important and after seeing so much, it definitely feels like there's some apathy in caring about the small things. It certainly gives you the choice to call it out that way even if you go do it anyways.

[@jaeusa160]

@15:25 Nero is one of the game's most underappreciated characters. In ARR, he's just "that jerk who spies on us, shoots his own unbelievers, and cries like a jealous baby over Cid". Crystal Tower takes him away from the Garleans, and brings him into direct contact with Cid, where we get to explore his own motivations better. And, ultimately, when given a bit of trust and respect, he does repay it with some heroics at the end of Crystal Tower there. And I will leave aside anything beyond that, but he's a character who went from bad puns and baby tantrums to one a lot of players really like.

[@williamlesmana3046]

as expected of cid's husband

[@mr.mystere4999]

Umm, Nero only killed one guy. And that one guy was an Eorzean spy who could not keep his trap shut. Livia is the one with the guns.

[@Kassilphe]

Nero is a lovable asshole and - just having finished Omega raids - I know he stays that way :P He's still not over his jealousy over Cid, but the baby tantrums evolve in sass so even better ^^

[@Chibi-Luka]

*"Sloppy!"* Man the editing for this vid was a real treat for me! It was a lot of fun and I can tell the editor had just as much fun!

[@dafire9634]

Sloppehh *ptsd flashbacks*

[@falkreon]

same, I'm enjoying the game, and enjoying watching him be excited about the game, and enjoying watching the editor poking some good natured fun at him being excited about the game. It's a layered experience here for sure

[@Calvados656]

Now I cant read that word without hearing it in Ilbards voice lol...

[@tlpineapple1]

I actually love that dungeon and that fight. I played it about 12 times in a row for moogle tomes as tank, but boy does that sloppy sound horrible

[@wisdom_save]

FER ALAMHEEGOH

[@OutlawViIe]

I'll be 100% Transparent with you Michael. Several years ago I would come to your channel for the niche, interesting things you'd share. I tried the minimal UI + gamepad + dynamic cam in WoW because of those videos. I took up many addons and tried them out based on your recommendation. But I started to notice a trend, of you becoming more and more negative. Sometimes I felt you were justified, other times it felt like you were reaching for the click bait. I unsubbed one day when I noticed there was a stretch of 2 months where every thumbnail and talking point was negatively charged. Pass some years and I too eventually became frustrated, angry, my opinions were constantly negative; until I blew up one day. I said screw Blizzard, fuck this I am tired of being lied to and sold on those lies and broken promises, just to have the rug ripped out from under me and my time disrespected. And I was a casual, guildless, pugging M+ 10-15's daily player. I gold farmed, mount collected, transmog farmed and more, the ultimate casual. I unsubbed from WoW. I moved to XIV after a friend of mine did, ironically at my suggestion, and he seemed to be having such a good time. So I figured I'd take my own advice and swallow that pill. It's been a year and some weeks today, and I have a wildly different outlook on MMORPG's, their community, and a new appreciation for MY own values. I now know that putting myself through what Blizzard was doing for so long, was an insult to myself. I should have left a LONG time ago. XIV gave me my self respect back, and I now enjoy gaming again. I stand my ground on my values and I value my time as well. All of this is a set up to say, I've seen that change happening in you too. I see you getting happier, more excited, more positive; it all reflects in your mood and tone with your videos and frankly, it's EXCITING to see! I hope XIV gives you your vigor back, and you can find that joy in the MMORPG genre to it's full extent like I did and channel it into the rest of gaming. And yes, even back towards Blizzard. Stand your ground and say "No this won't do" but also remain present and ready to offer good advice like you'd been doing for soo long before it was destroyed by lack of faith in them. Glad you're back, and I'm going to resub. Cheers mate Also Matt is doing a bang up job and so is everyone else, good work!

[@katiekaliber]

When i started reading this i was like 'why would they feel the need to tell them this?' and then i read further and this is actually an extremely wholesome comment. It's good to see a lot of the wow content creators break free from their negative prison. It's a shame it had to go like this but i'm glad a lot of people are opening themselves up to less toxic communities, they genuinely seem to be happier. Crazy how much influence a game and their community/dev team can have on a person.

[@CorpusInsanus]

It's almost scary how close your comment comes to my experience this last year. I was right there too, after the end of BfA I had it with WoW taking every bit of lore I was invested in and defiling it right in front of me (end of Berserk 1997 vibes if you catch my meaning). If you'd told me years ago that a video game I had scorned while huffing my copium would have the tremendous positive affect on my life both in game and out, I'd have laughed. I'm not laughing now, I'm smiling.

[@Caursten]

This OP shares a lot of the signs that other people that have made the jump to FFXIV have experienced. I haven't played WoW since a little after Draenor came out. I saw what Blizzard was doing and I walked away from them before it got really bad. It's been really nice seeing all these people rediscover the joy that can be gaming. What Yoshi-P and his team have built in this game is simply amazing. I started playing FFXIV in 2015. I stepped away for a bit but I've been back and playing since November 2018. The game just keeps getting better and better. The FFXIV team actually listens to us. They make changes that make the game better. This game has an amazing future. Endwalker is the end of one story and the beginning of a whole new one and that excites me more than I've felt in many, many years of playing games.

[@blakecheboygan]

Amazing how good hobby life gets and how quickly your general temperament improves when you get rid of the abusive partner eh?

[@sosayweall_jpg]

I also identify with this. I did re-sub for TBC classic, just to play with some friends, but i've enjoyed the game immensely and it runs narrative circles around wow. it's also really the first FF game i've invested this much time into. I played some of the early playstation titles as a kid but never really got into them. i was more about zelda and mario back then. I can't wait to see his reactions to SB and ShB

[@Tubleorne]

Oh, you love Alisaie? You will love her even more later. She's my favorite Scion. Oh, you love the dynamics between Cid and Nero? Do the Omega raid series. Thank me later.

[@TheJukeboxzero]

Agreed.

[@yoshiiscool2002]

The bromance between cid and nero really needs to be higlighted more. I loved it in the omega raids.

[@kiriuxeosa8716]

Dude every raid needs to be done even if it doesn't feel direct it needs to be done

[@aeonise]

And then there is... Mood Alisaie between 5.3 and 5.4. I just cracked up at that sequence.

[@adambaker4590]

@@Aaron.Arcanum Is this in-game or an outside resource? Have a link or anything?

[@CunkGungler]

He's gonna flip his lid in Shadowbringers haha. Heavensward is great, stormblood is good, but shadowbringers stands so far above the rest of the game its utterly staggering. In the very last area of shadowbringers, when the slow music hits, its a truly magical moment

[@TheMistressMisery]

And when he realizes that ALL the expansions are ONE story, with offshoot stories, he's gonna lose his shit LOL

[@Wickedstarhunter]

I really love that we all started ShB with the feeling it’s as good as heavensward and then after the patches released realized it’s even better.

[@Epicspacecow]

Man i just had to pour me a stiff one after the 5.3 end fight when the snap was happening. Man that just hit me like a fucking truck.

[@crzyfetch]

Hope so cause i just started it and its pretty boring still 🤣

[@gonoki888]

@Retinal Scan I can understand if you're still in ARR rn. The game battle is still super slow (2.5s GCD is hell when you only have so few skills, but it's not the problem later on), the stories still got quite a lot of errand quests. But yeah, ARR is a huge filter for ppl coming from other MMO especially WoW who's not really about stories but more about battle/combat.

[@btlax123]

One of my favorite details is as you are having dinner with Aymeric, the WoL is reflexively cautious of receiving alcohol after having now gone through two traumatic incidents. I did not expect a lore related tweak for the WoL of all people, really amazing stuff

[@S3Cs4uN8]

Not so fun fact: the WoL canonically has PTSD from the whole Crystal Braves fiasco and all the people they've lost along the way.

[@mortredpta]

the Wol also refuses a bottle from the tutorial NPC later in Shadowbringers.

[@trial_with_an_error9687]

@@S3Cs4uN8 The WoL has PTSD period, and I'm honestly happy they went through with giving them the characteristics of someone suffering from PTSD, even the weird changes to the Primals in Eden reflect how memory can be shuffled and mixed through trauma. Our WoL has been through some shit.

[@S3Cs4uN8]

@@mortredpta They also refuse a bottle in the end-cutscene to the Ananta Beast Tribe questline as well.

[@siegfriedchulainn88]

I love the “don’t skip cutscenes” meme yet players who experience the game finally understand why we push players not to skip cutscenes. Yea some go a bit overboard with it. But in all not skipping is very important

[@neretilderem7029]

I gave up watching them in HW when every cutscene was about every character painfully slowly nodding for 3 min. Had to force myself to start watching them again in Shadowbringers, only worth it because of Emet... what a great character.

[@siegfriedchulainn88]

@@neretilderem7029 don’t get me wrong some cutscenes especially in ARR are horrible. Even early heavensward can be hard if your not hardcore into story. I find myself sometimes like “ok let’s go I don’t care here” but then you end up skipping one that is actually going to be important. I kinda skipped past the CT cutscenes back on ARR 8 years ago so when something happened in ShB I actually didn’t connect it. And again those that demand everyone watch all cutscenes are extremely annoying.

[@bouldaa]

@@neretilderem7029 LOOK AT ME 👁👁

[@neretilderem7029]

@@bouldaa /nod/

[@igcometa]

@@neretilderem7029 I think I can respect that opinion. Anyways, you can watch it again in New Game+. 😉

[@Tsuna_SoulSilver]

"You're not allowed to kill him!" I felt that too Belluar.

[@JackgarPrime]

They already took Haurchefant from us, taking Aymeric as well would have been too far.

[@Snorlax9]

Tbh that part could have been written better, perhaps they didnt want to make it too long, but making him wounded and then come back like nothing happened is a bit awkward still, Dragonsong war is good af.

[@Graficcha]

Same. 'If they freaking take Aymeric from us I will riot, don't you freaking dare' was going through my head the whole time. Storming the church and suddenly being under time pressure while he's holding the fort, still injured, legit got me running around like a headless chicken when I couldn't find the last prisoner with rising 'oh shit oh shit oh shit nooooooo if I fuck this up he dies'. This game, man. Feeling like narrowly managing to rescue a drowning puppy over a heap of pixels.

[@seekittycat]

So many streamers I watch just goes "I WILL QUIT THE GAME IF AYMERIC DIES" I think that's why they brought him back asap like no no everything is fine lmao

[@Eonaltus]

Theres one small detail about Illberd i noticed when leveling an alt… when you first talk to him for a quest, he’s already sitting there with a sinister grin. The detail in this game is on point.

[@pezdispencer113]

When you first meet him, he says he'd rather cut off his own arm than betray a friend.

[@jessekroes2027]

also when you receive the quest “traitor in our midst” the image on the quest acceptance menu is an image of ilberd

[@Fade2GrayOG]

Iberd is so interesting. He's very much a villain in your narrative but he accomplishes everything he set out to do and you're the one who gets all the credit in the end.

[@CrispBaker]

He's low-key the most important character in the entire world and he was introduced in the ARR patches that everybody whines about

[@alexanderbrown2682]

Big true here. Ilberd was a hero to his people. He turned into a demon so that his people had a fighting chance and will be forgotten or condemned for all of history, instead of the martyr he truly is.

[@toothyboreman]

@@alexanderbrown2682 Just because his actions ultimately led to good things happening, doesn't justify the shit he pulled. He helped with the whole Nanamo fiasco, cut off his best friend's arm, and sacrificed hundreds of his own people to summon a primal on par with Bahamut (that same primal being used to almost kill you later in Stormblood). Ilberd might think he's a hero doing what must be done, but he is still very much a bad person, and rightfully deserved to be condemned as a villain.

[@jaeusa160]

Ilberdo played a dangerous game. If Garlemald's own political messes weren't so abundant, such provocation could've easily seen Eorzea crushed and the yoke of the Empire grow even tighter. Fighting ONE Legion, of FOURTEEN, brought a divided Eorzea to its knees in 1.0. On a similar note, Rhitathyn (aka the Cape Westwind guy) was a heroic champion of his troops, and he died as a heroic sacrifice to try to buy time against an implacable killing machine: you. It's easy to just see the enemy in a fight as an annoying roadblock.

[@alexanderbrown2682]

@@toothyboreman I'm not saying his actions were good, I'm saying his intentions were good. A person can be wrong and think they are right and that is the beauty of this story. I'm glad we had that interaction. I hope you are well.friend around the world

[@xialians]

When Ardbert's voice cracks I can feel it in my heart the despair and desperation.

[@danielwestbrook963]

This first time I experienced the final act with the Warriors of Darkness in Heavensward, I was actually brought to tears, however small, because of Joe Dempsie's voice acting. Not only is he not in the game for very long, but you're also basically being lore-dumped on, having your mind blown, so it would be very easy to get wrapped up in all that and almost distracted by the information coming your way. But the way he says "we did everything right, everything that was asked of us. And still, *still*, it came to this" broke my whole heart with its raw, despaired-yet-defiant intensity. I was glad to see you single Dempsie's VA work there out because it truly is something special and sells the whole arc and sets the stakes despite the player not exactly understanding the full scope of what's happening. Happy to see you enjoying the game so much, and still. Hope it continues for ya. Despite the flack it gets, I think Stormblood is a real treasure and I look forward to seeing what you think about the next leg of your adventure.

[@princessjello]

@@Aaron.Arcanum same

[@zirilan3398]

@fumanchu168 The thing with StB is that when we XIV-players say StB is bad compared to HW or ShB we actually want to say HW is an 8/10, StB is a 7-7.5/10. Also a lot of people like the classic high fantasy-settings more then the more logical based Sci-Fi/Fantasy you are met with in StB. I think people will give Endwalker a bit less credit than it deserves because of the aformentioned reasons. Tbf EW also has the "Problem" to be the expansion right after ShB.

[@UrielDominican]

The thing is that you realize that they were us in their world. They did everything we are doing. I realized at that point that what we are doing might actually not be the way to go and we might end up like them. I was mind blown... And making that comparison it made me sad to think what they went through to end up like that...

[@FlynnFromTaiga]

@@UrielDominican "Don't worry , Ardbert, we will continue our fight, because we must, for the ones we could yet save". That line broke me. The transition from "they are villians" to "omg, this is what we fight for" hits hard.

[@wat146]

I really need to watch this scene (and actually all the other Ardbert scene’s) in Japanese because his voice actor is very cool.

[@aircraftcarrierwo-class]

Part of the reason why you "doing the dirty work of the Scions" without feeling like a "battle mule" is that in FFXIV, your accomplishments are heralded as accomplishments. A thing I recall happening repeatedly in WoW is that it treats you like a generic soldier. A grunt. All you do is fight and the named NPCs get all the glory and story importance. You don't matter in WoW. In FFXIV, *you are the hero* and the game makes sure to treat you as such. Part of the slog of ARR was that people *didn't* think you were the hero, and you had to prove yourself. Ifrit was chance. But beating Titan also? Earning the trust of the Ishgardians? Confronting Garuda? Now people start noticing. Even before your Big Hero Moment in the Praetorium, the movers and shakers of Eorzea have started treating you as the hero you've proven yourself to be. And throughout the rest of the game's story, your reputation only grows from there. In WoW you're a soldier. In FFXIV, you're a _hero._

[@gateauxq4604]

The WoL IS the Scions’ heavy but there are a lot of times where either another Scion or someone else will at least feel bad about asking you to risk your life yet again. The world leaders value your input; NPCs who previously are indifferent or rude now talk to you fondly and acknowledge that you helped them and their country. You still exist to the NPCs after you finish their expansion and many even follow what the WoL has been doing since they left. They may just be code but they’re very nice code and I like them very much.

[@Soress9]

Also there are times where its not just, you do this and you do that. They have it like, okay so you go gather this supply with this scion, the other two will go and collect that and we'll meet back up. They hide the fetch quest by making it look like oh well I'm not the only one fetching/killing things, the others are helping too.

[@aircraftcarrierwo-class]

@@Soress9 that is a good point too. It feels so much more like a team effort that way.

[@Wolfoso]

After Legion, the story draws your character back into the mud, when the Azerite craze started. Then, your character, a leader of the great players in WoW (mine was the Highlady of the Silver Hand), is ordered (not asked) to commit war crimes if you're Horde, with the burning of Teldrassil. I reached there and then my limit for suspension of disbelief. The Paladins, Druids, Shamans, all on board of burning something vital for the world's preservation, just because Sylvanas said so? While treating you like a grunt after saving the world, no the universe even, for the nth time? I canceled my subscription renovation, and never came back. Imagine the breath of fresh air that was FFXIV's story.

[@LizzyThePirate]

And it feels like if something happened to your character that you actually be *missed*. Like at the end of Praetorium when they're all standing there, just waiting for YOU to come out of this alive. The leaders standing there, hoping they didn't just send you in there to your death. That's when I really started to get attached to the game. And really, just the fact that even though you are the weapon they throw at the fights, they admit that they've used you like that at times and apologize! There's times where they tell you to rest, where they show concern about your character. And that's just in the game! There's other tibbits outside of the game, like the "Tales from the _______" stories. There's one where a couple of the scions are telling stories to each other while waiting for your character to arrive for tea (you're apparently late and they assume you've gotten roped into helping someone again.) The fact that (even though you have to search out of the game for it) they invite you to things outside of just scion work makes this all feel so much more personal.

[@vexhardt211]

Stormblood is a great expansion sandwiched by two arguably exceptional expansions. I love all three, for different reasons. Stormblood has most of my favorite dungeons, trials and raids. While Heavensward and Shadowbringers outshine it in story and emotion to me.

[@Outlaew]

I like to describe stormblood as "a 7/10 sitting a 9 and a 10" it's good, but the bar was just set so damn high.

[@sabate1194]

I like Stormblood it's a bit less fantasical and grounded in politics but I enjoyed that

[@SprocketAudio]

this

[@magnuscarlsson9969]

Stormblood ain't bad, It just feel slow if you go from the climax of Heavensward straight into that expansion... I remember playing stormblood for a bit when it just released and then i found the story really interesting, because it had been quite some time since the end of 3.3. and 3.5. Now when I replayed from the start and did it straight after heavensward, it just felt like i went from a High-fantasy action story into a political drama, which made stuff feel a bit "boring" and disconnected.

[@danielnolan8848]

Stormblood has better enemy design while heavensward hard far more complex class design

[@holykalli2563]

"Sure, he's only got one arm, he just uses it 5 times as hard" had me CACKING.

[@garethdavies2093]

There's soooo much secondary lore with even minor characters, that is slightly off the beaten track too. The custom delivery series (which are glorified hand in quest) that involves the little lass that takes the impromptu flying lesson from the catedral and one of the "hostile" house heads from the story line is really really good. There's random people you helped in ARR that will wave you down and thank you literally expansions later, since you know saving peoples lives is something said person seldom forgets - despite it being business as usual for the MC. It's this attention to detail that actually astounds me. They don't *need* to do that, but they still do. Makes the whole world feel 'lived in', which is very hard to do.

[@AlishN7]

Especially in DRK class quest post-SHB. Uff. But yeah, custom delivery stories are amazing and should be played! But I know Michael is not allowed by the team to do crafting at all because he’ll disappear into that rabbit hole forever XD But I look forward to him doing all that once he catches up to the story.

[@dawnway6291]

@@AlishN7 Also to add my thoughts i think stormblood might be an experiment on yellow side quest stories. cause while the MSQ has a lot of memorable moments. the ones i remember clearly was the yellow side quest chain after the aethercurrent quest.

[@CrispBaker]

And again at least one of those seemingly random NPCs turns out to be crucial to the whole game. Square LOVES pulling that move

[@Vyomesh839]

"Ishgard remembers, Warrior of Light" Said by a random Ishgardian Knight in a dungeon, yet it had so much impact.

[@CrispBaker]

@@Vyomesh839 that hit like a truck, because it REALLY tied everything together

[@bucca2]

“We did everything that was asked of us, and STILL it wasn’t enough!” is etched in my memory, especially after Shadowbringers. Ardbert, my boy 💕

[@TelvanniGuard]

His speech sounds like MMO players when their games are set to go offline.

[@nicholaswhitfield9341]

Bruh, chill with the ShB spoilers. Not that I think Bellular reads the comments for this exact reason, but still.

[@bucca2]

@@nicholaswhitfield9341 idk i don’t think the name “Ardbert” is that much of a spoiler

[@augustinandre14]

This quote has always been a looming threat to me. In most JRPGs, you do everything right and it either ends good, or good despites half the world being gone. But for them it just ended bad. *They* destroyed the world and ended up commiting suicide in a last ditch to "pretend-save" the souls of what remained (all of this is in post-HW patches, don't @ me^^). The question then is : what if it's what we're destined to also do? We who are doing everything right, getting so strong that even the Ascians think we've breached the acceptable limits back in ARR. Why would we be spared what Ardbert 'n' co went through because a tiny mistake? Just one fight too much. One bad guy you just weren't supposed to destroy.

[@samseawell]

@@bucca2 it isn't because the paladin calls him Ardbert in the same cutscene 2 lines later

[@koopakape]

I love these videos. How quickly it's gone from "huh, this game's pretty cool, I'll think about making a bit more time for it soon and upload a video once in awhile" to "YES IT'S ALL COOL VERY COOL VERY GOOD I GOTTA HURRY UP AND FINISH THIS VID SO I CAN GET BACK TO PLAYING THIS INSTANT". Going from wrangling your brain around trying to make sense of WoW's more recent updates, systems and lore, to this very strong feeling of genuine passion and enthusiasm for a game like this, we can see it in your eyes -- and it's a wonderful thing.

[@Heldemon]

Does he stream at all?

[@GuerillahTacT1kz]

You either can't get through ARR or you end up being a walking advertisement for FFXIV

[@Wolfoso]

When I faced Garuda and heard the music, I knew I was full into it and for a ride. And it only got better from there. I'm so happy I gave it an opportunity after getting burned from WoW right after Legion ended. I could've forsaken MMOs in general, but I didn't. So, so glad I didn't.

[@RandomFactor]

One thing I am going to say about Stormblood, is do the sidequests. One of the major themes to me with Stormblood is that it's about national identity and the way it overlaps with class and race, and every single zone has a sidequest chain that explores how that affects the individual people who live in that zone, who they are, what they see their role is in this changing nation and how they see it changing? It makes the conflict in Stormblood feel a lot more lived-in and robust and interesting.

[@OracleGrouse]

One of my fav questlines from Stormblood is in Ala Ghiri. About the locals and an Imperial soldier that was left behind. It brought a nice human touch in a horrible and bloody conflict

[@Xavien12]

The sidequests are probably stormbloods greatest strenghts but also one of its weaknesses. The sidequest are superb and they give you a much better perspective on the opressed people, but at the same time if you dont do them and only follow MSQ the zones can feel barebones and disconnected

[@RandomFactor]

@@Xavien12 the problem is with just MSQ you kind of just get like... two major characters who showcase what it's like to be someone who grows up in a world where the empire takes over? And then if that's it, then you get to Bozja and you see Matsuno take a crack at writing that exact same story again, and it's like....fuckin' really dude I'm not saying that Matsuno's story is BAD, but if left unsteeped in the larger story of Stormblood it feels really repetitive

[@marcieconrad9413]

So, I have been replaying Stormblood through New Game + this last 2 weeks. I have been doing exactly this. SB is an amazing expansion I now realize. If you do and unlock all the different content in each area, even the Beast Tribe has a great plotline, it feels on a whole other level. I did a random side quest that unlocked a dungeon I had never done before, and I have been playing for 4 years now. All the different perspectives and storylines really make me feel immersed in the Stormblood lore. I have enjoyed it a lot more and I have a new appreciation for the expansion that I rushed through the first time. I am glad I am getting the chance to replay SB before Endwalker. I found that doing the side quests and getting to know the people of Doma made the pacing of SB not as scattered as everyone complains about. It doesn't feel all over the place. Also...I just love Zenos. Going into Endwalker, it is nice to revisit our first interactions with him and how his obsession begins. People don't give SB enough credit.

[@RandomFactor]

@@marcieconrad9413 Zenos is great. He's a total gamer. He disenchants loot in front of the rest of the party, he picks BIS gear and leaves without commending anyone. He just wants to kill endgame content and has already decided you're in his static.

[@dagaren4444]

"Sloppy!" 17:17 Freaking gets me everytime

[@Kasaaz]

When you were talking about the Papalymo part, I think what that really does is define the difference between 'player choice' and 'player expression.' You can express yourself as the character, even if it doesn't always change things.

[@Strider_Shinryu]

Yeah, this is a really important distinction. So many people view in game choices (both in FF14 but also in other games) as something that needs to literally change the entire story or have some groundbreaking impact in order for it to be a "real choice." Not saying all of the choices presented in FF14 are as diverse as I would like them to be but they really do a pretty good job of allowing you to define how your character actually feels about something even if they aren't able to change it. Player choice in games really can just be about "expression."

[@ProsecutorValentine]

@@Strider_Shinryu People just want XIV to become an actual RPG in itself with the choice. And i'd agree with that, if it was onpar with Swtor or games like New Vegas, it would be greater than it already is. Problem is, CBU3, the devs, has no real experience on that domain, but we do know they are trying to experiment with it outside the MSQ.( such as Bozja storyline or Make it Rain 2021 at Gold Saucer..ect) So perhaps it would be a thing in the future, who knows. In the meantime the actual dialogue choice we have for interactivity with both our character and the world around them, is satisfactory and good enough.

[@TheRayzorOne]

@@ProsecutorValentine All the stories I've played with "player choice", including SWTOR and New Vegas, are completely watered down compared to XIV. Don't get me wrong those games have different narrative strenghts, but if you want to tell a good story, you tell a good story, don't let the players themselves make the story choices. Also choice is not a staple of RPGs, that's just a different branch within the genre, 99% of jRPGs have linear storylines, including the entire FF franchise, so XIV being the same has nothing to do with experience, it's literally by design, and I hope they stick to the formula, it's just better for this game.

[@misanthropiclusion]

it's weird because I feel if they put that in wow people would complain about "fake choices" but the reality is that those are in for character and player expression as you say, it's how you and you the 'character' present themselves into the world, writting something where your choices have an actual weightable impact in the broad story can only hurt the story in an mmo because of how they are structured in collectivity and that's a hard pill that players in any mmo have to swallow

[@Kasaaz]

@@misanthropiclusion Yep. The best example comes to some later characters I don't wanna spoil, but like, my friends loved them, but I was kind of mad with them about ... lets say TIMING. And I loved that it let me say so, even though they never would have, etc.

[@lelelekop]

The best part is its all inside the Free trial of up to lvl 60.

[@CrispBaker]

Honestly ending the trial at SLOPPEH (and what happened after) is a brilliant choice, you aren't gonna just stop after all that

[@ViralVenom]

Up to level 60. AND INCLUDING ALL OF THE LEVEL 60 CONTENT! WORTH!

[@FrozzenK]

So essentially you just repeated what he said at the 8 seconds of video. Impressive.

[@RPGfanatic1996]

We are spoiled and I love it.

[@petrus9067]

Not to mention crafters/gatherers, gold saucer, side story raids and all that.

[@Clankio]

The cutscene just before the final fight with Nidhogg was the moment where it finally hit me and fell in love with this game. Because my WoW brain ofcourse saw Nidhogg as FF14's Deathwing. But as you play through the story and learn that Nidhogg's rage and anger isn't because of evil forces controlling him (like Deathwing), but because of losing his sister to mortals betraying their pact and robbing her of her eyes for power. So not only did I understand and feel bad for Nidhogg, but then ofcourse came the final battle where >WE< get to slay him. No stupid kill steals from NPCs like in WoW or the villain SOMEHOW escapes. It was then where I truly finally fell in love with FF14 and that feeling has continued all the way up to now and something tells me it will continue during and after Endwalker x3

[@Kekira]

To this day I still grieve for Nidhogg. He actually SAW what they did to her. The way it was described, they butchered her and took advantage of her kind nature (I recommend going to the Lodestone and reading the side stories, there's one that goes more into Ratatoskr), ate her, and then ripped out his eyes and he nearly lost his own life. The trauma that happened that day destroyed him, the more we learn about him (there's a quest in Shadowbringers that explores him a bit more) the more we see how tragic a character he was. I always wonder what if when it comes to him.

[@PetarBladeStrok]

I'm only kinda sad that you didn't mention Haucherfant and Ysayle appearing in the end of 3.3, since it breaks many people, me included. I cried... hard. To this day, 3.3 is one of the best emotional climaxes in FFXIV, always making me cry, and 3.4 is one of the best plot reveals that happen in FFXIV. Post-HW patches are so damn good! So happy that you're loving it all.

[@xychogaming]

Have you finished all of the SHB trial content?

[@stefannedevski6760]

Dude, i was not so moved by Haucherfant's appearance but Ysayle... I was so sad when she died.. I was so much looking forward to her story with Estinien evolving... Damn ... :(((((

[@brennanlable]

you guys know these are massive spoilers right? and these comments could ruin these moments for people reading them by accident?

[@xychogaming]

@@brennanlable ....the very beginning of the video states major spoilers...the very beginning...lmao.

[@stefannedevski6760]

@@brennanlable if you have come here to see the video , you know about them

[@ladynymue]

Don't let anyone put you off of Stormblood.....it's different but I felt the story was still interesting and I get upset when the bandwagon tries to make it out to be awful. It isnt awful....there are stories I dealt with in WOW that werent told nearly as well and while Stormblood may not be my favorite, I didnt feel tortured going through it. I look forward to your summation of it.

[@aries4378]

Agreed. Stormblood is good. It gets a bad rap because it's sandwiched between Heavensward and Shadowbringers.

[@IsilmeTuruphant]

I enjoyed Stormblood, but my context for it was a bit different than most. I had two characters at the time; A grizzled highlander who was basically a middle-aged version of my FFXI character, and my main who was supposed to be his half-miqo'te daughter, who was the legitimate 'Warrior of Light'. My main I played with my friends, and kept pace with them, and when they couldn't play I would switch to my old Highlander to do stuff. I ended up levelling Dark Knight on him, which felt appropriate for an old, tired, cynical warrior who had been forgotten by the world. Then Stormblood came out, I played on my main right up until Zenos cut her down and then... my friends had to deal with work rush and couldn't play for a bit. But I wanted to play, so I switched to my Highlander. Suddenly Stormblood turned into a father's vengeful hunt for the one who maimed his daughter. Not Chosen, not the Warrior of Light... just experienced and battle hardened and not really concerned if he doesn't survive the effort. I leaned even harder into the whole 'Dark Knight' thing. It recontextualized EVERYTHING. It all worked so well with that motivation behind it that that remains how I remember Stormblood.

[@SniperKing-O]

Same here. It was a great expansion. :)

[@myth5588]

Stormblood certainly isn't bad, its just got one poorly written character and a few pacing issues, all of those issues dissappear immediately in 4.1 onwards, where the pacing is spot on and lyse actually has consistent character development that makes sense and isn't switching character traits so fast it gives you whiplash.

[@idleeidolon]

stormblood is like marmite/vegemite some people love it, some people hate it. it's that kind of thing.

[@Blitzwaffen]

Urianger's motivation is this near-martyr state where he keeps throwing himself at an issue and event accepting the antagonistic rile to see it completed as a pseudo attornment for Moenbryda and Minfillia. And I just worry about the time he does it and he can't com back from the resolution.

[@swary9045]

Imagine a scenario where he's tricked into doing something terrible because he believes it's for the good of the Scions, and we trust him unflinchingly because of his track record

[@stuffandwhatnot4401]

He has a deep seated anger over people mocking his speech patterns. He's a ticking time bomb.

[@nickh5021]

I am so intrigued by the consequences of the potential loss of Urianger. He's my favorite scion but my curiosity for where it would take the story if he were to die is just too much.

[@soulgain6724]

Im glad you said this. For a while I've felt that his slight acts of recklessness and not telling others what he was planning was his way of atoning for her death.

[@TheAnnez0r]

I felt a bit of foreshadowing in the last patch when at some point someone (don't remember who) mentions something along the lines of "How hurtful it is when someone you completely trust turns on you" and I had a thought for Urianger...Hopefully he stays our good boy

[@KhaosN7]

The drumbeat followed by the "YOOOOOOOO" is a classic part of Japanese Kabuki Theatre.

[@Froggsroxx]

Stormblood is great world building. The main body of it may feel a bit slow, but the payoff of the end and subsequent patches after are fantastic :)

[@CRAM079]

Ala Mhigo was the only crappy part about SB. All of Doma is great and the last two instances of 4.0 is great everything else is just less then HW, not bad, but not as good as HW.

[@StevenBryceWroten]

I love how people can have different interpretations of those choice moments. For me, I didn’t feel like it would be fair or right for my character to get to stay if Yda, his closest companion, couldn’t, so I chose to go. Then again, that was probably partially because I started in Gridania. Your interpretation is also totally valid!

[@javierinostroza7276]

You're right! In my case, I left Papalimo deal with shinryu alone out of respect. I trusted in his capabilities to deal with the problem by himself just as he has have trust in me many times in the past.

[@jaesaces]

The way I put it is that in FFXIV, X.0 tells a whole story, complete with a satisfying ending, then X.1 to X.3 tells a follow-up story. Lastly, X.4 to X.55 sets up the next expansion.

[@xD1RTYx]

This is exactly what Yoshida said when Breaking down the patch cycles. So you have it 100% correct with a little bit of wiggle room.

[@AwkwardThursdays]

For 3-5 pretty much yes but that's changing now. 6.1 will begin a whole new arc.

[@midnitdragoon]

@@AwkwardThursdays maybe we will have another cataclysm after endwalker 😂

[@waltwhite8126]

@@midnitdragoon Honestly I wish we had another "ARR" that solved all the issues XIV has, especially with the team, time and money they have right now.

[@zirilan3398]

@@waltwhite8126 For the most part the team is limited to the power of the Playstation. Once the Playstation 4 support drops we will have a huge tech update.

[@licite3696]

Stormblood is actually my favorite expansion, there's a lot of things that resonated deeply with me in this expansion, a lot more than with the others. Long live Ala Mhigo. Edit: Oh and don't forget to do the raids, they're important too, especially the alliance one.

[@1Invinc]

FOR DOMA!!!! I love Stormblood too.

[@ChatteringApe]

In comparing Heavensward and Stormblood, I like to say that Heavensward is like The Lord of the Rings, and Stormblood is like Lawrence of Arabia. Not in terms of being comparable in stature to those works, but just to show that there can be two works that are both very good, while still having many people who like either one and don't care for the other.

[@MikkoMurmeli]

Well said. Stormblood might be bit more of an opinion-splitter than Heavensward, but personally I quite enjoyed Stormblood, often maybe more than Heavensward. And not just because of the trials. HW had great trials, but I think that even objectively speaking, Stormblood doesn't lose on that aspect.

[@reyjusuf]

The writing for the msq in shadowbringers is better but as an overall expansion, i actually like stormblood more. Better 8 man raid, better 24 man raid, heavens on high, blue mage

[@dafire9634]

If you remove all the lyse parts,stormblood magically becomes a much better expansion

[@dafire9634]

If you remove all the lyse parts,stormblood magically becomes a much better expansion

[@idleeidolon]

stormblood is like marmite or vegemite or japanese natto -- it's a love it or hate it kinda thing.

[@shirouamakusa1826]

Watching this video, Bellular's face was as lit up the whole time as Ser Aymeric's when you pick the most-definitely-correct option during the dinner date with him. I'm glad he's enjoying the game and am looking forward to seeing his thoughts on his continued journey through the next expansions.

[@adamosborne9440]

You hit the nail on the head re: the division of Stormblood. I don't think there are all THAT many people who outright dislike it... the detractors just often see it as a step back from HW story-wise. Also... one character in particular tends to grind peoples' gears... That said.. I actually liked SB better than HW... and I loved HW.

[@tashikat9040]

My mood with Stormblood is that Heavensward was more solid *overall* and consistent, whereas Stormblood has a lot more of a difference between its highs and its lows. I will say moments in Stormblood MSQ are just as good or better as equivalent moments in HW, but the low points are lower and more numerous too.

[@kettusnuhveli]

I'll be honest, Stormblood is my fav expansion while HW I liked the least, even less than ARR... 😅

[@MsSjofn]

My thing with Stormblood is I love most of the characters in it (not necessarily as people, mind you), but the story around them doesn't especially do it for me, partly because the pacing frequently feels off to me. Stormblood has my favorite set of dungeons and trials out of all of them, though, and that should count for something!

[@GetterRay]

That's really not that unpopular of an opinion. Most people who say Stormblood is "bad" can barely quantify why. Stormblood had pacing issues, yes, but that doesn't taint the entire narrative and what it does well, character drama, it does better than Heavensward by a long shot. You can really see the beginnings of Shadowbringers in the story that they wanted to tell in Stormblood, on ground, heavily humanistic and concerned with individual struggles against a larger backdrop.

[@XenoVT]

I loved it, it’s a more political and kind of talking type of story, an adventure that has you traveling the realm to gather allies, all for a big amazing pay off at the end.

[@josephxp96]

Your going to LOVE the Azime Steppe in Stormblood and the story that goes through there. Especially with Y’shtola.

[@MarthSR]

Yep, the "savage" version of a certain 4-man dungeon, if you catch my drift! ;)

[@RubikaNC]

Going to echo the sentiments at the end of ARR but I'd seriously consider doing the Shadows of Mhach 24 mans, the Warring Triad Trials, and the Alexander raid series if you haven't already.

[@Skye_Blue]

Listening to him call that dinner everything but a date was hilarious to me. He sounds like he's having such a good time. It's contagious.

[@xychogaming]

Make sure you are doing the trial, raid, and alliance-raid storylines. Each expansion has their own and they are in-depth great storylines. You really dont want to miss those because they definitely build up towards Shadowbringers.

[@SprocketAudio]

YES - make sure to do 24 man's in each expansion, the 8 mans, and the extra trial story lines

[@kiriuxeosa8716]

Agreed do everything even the weapons stories hold significance

[@theriddik623]

Just about to finish ShB and I haven't done any. Wasn't able to find groups for it

[@Xenos_hive]

@@theriddik623 well luckily u don’t need groups they are all publicly available and can be q’d for like a dungeon and it’s ok if u die ur first time

[@ZXChris93]

Also, and this IS optional, HW onwards each area has their little storyline if you do all the side quests, which turns into a series of finale quests for that area. There's really no rewards, but it adds a little more personal and adventurous experience in each area if you like that 😀

[@forformgamer]

What I love so much about the narrative in Heavensward and FFXIV in general is the understanding it creates. Understanding the "good guys" and the "bad guys" and realising it's basically all grey and a matter of perspective. So many other games put you on one side and never let you see the others, let alone undertand them...

[@Indigenouschaos]

Because Bellular Yoshi P and his team learned from 1.0 and made 2.0 and above a gold mine. Can't wait for endwalker, and I can't wait for you to do Shadowbringers you're going to love it

[@flamingosalad3541]

Just a smile on my face hearing Bellular's enthusiasm, so much energy and joy to talk about the experience. It reminds me of myself going through the story, eagerly waiting for my friends to catch up so we could gossip about it, talk about what we thought speculate on what is to come.

[@belld.s5276]

Make sure to do Warring Triads and Alexander! Those are really great as well. I've been procrastinating on Void Ark myself sadly.

[@DiscoFinalBoss]

I finished void ark not too long ago but I haven’t done warring triad(nor coils lol) yet

[@Xenos_hive]

Void ark is the best alliance raid IMO

[@belld.s5276]

@@Xenos_hive that is only hype for me bc I thought Ivalice was outstanding.

[@Xenos_hive]

@@belld.s5276 just wait

[@itsShibuya]

@@belld.s5276 Dun Scaith (the last Void Ark raid) kicks my ass til this day and I love it

[@tango7974]

And they stitch it so well. "Random" guy you interact with and leave a positive impression with in early ARR shows up in a much later patch hearing about your achievements and leaves that impression with the community of his you visit later. And it all makes so much sense! As for a battle mule thing, the times your character does feel it, you can respond with a bit of snark. It's a community consensus that HW is so far the 2nd best story arc, so more to come. I enjoyed the change of pace of StormBlood. Also, I have the habit of talking to the people around the NPC marked for the main story before continuing it. Fun bits and pieces.

[@Lancun]

Ali-bae is amazing. One of the strongest characters in the whole group of Scions

[@ChrisMorray]

Gosetsu is one of the best characters around.

[@Adair92ar]

I love that the WoL is canonically paranoid about getting roofied at this point lol

[@BH5432]

It has legit happened to them or someone near them enough. I would be too.

[@coderpup4639]

I think its partly that, but they also know that some people don't consume alcohol for religious or personal reasons so they make it a point to never force your character to drink it in a cut scene.

[@Xenos_hive]

If my character ever drinks something that isn’t poured by myself from a sealed bottle past 3.0 the forums shall hear

[@chrisw6525]

On the note of not feeling like a battle mule. I'd say it's because the Scions treat you like a friend returning home. Not a grunt who gets a "good job now do this."

[@jackmunsey8843]

Glad you're enjoying the game, really enjoying these types of videos and looking forward to your thoughts on Stormblood and Shadowbringers (P.S. please do more stuff like that video Matt did earlier this week, it was fantastic)

[@GAMERatHEART]

Revenge of the Hoard playing during Nidhogg is one of the highlights of the entire game. How a song could capture so much weight, history, and anger is an achievement.

[@MegaCuddlesworth]

I don't know what everyone's on about when it comes to Stormblood... I loved it even more than Heavensward!

[@Goannadria]

I liken it to this: Heavensward built its heroes extremely well, and Stormblood did the same for the villains. Since you resonate more easily with and spend more time with the hero cast, HW can seems like a more complete story as you see the people you spend most of your time with grow and develop. In Stormblood that character development feels far more focused on Zenos, Fordola, and Yotsuyu, but spending so much less time with these characters can feel like the pacing is off, since their growth has to be crammed into the shorter time spent with them.

[@jaeusa160]

@9:05 Something I really appreciate is that our character gives a lot of wary and cautious glances during that dinner scene with Aymeric. 2.55 is still very much a traumatic and heavy experience.

[@jaeusa160]

@17:15 Exactly. ARR is not without criticism, nothing is, but you're going into Stormblood on a much shorter timetable than we did... and questing in the 25-30 range, the 2.x refugee and political patches, those specific pieces of worldbuilding are coming back to steer the story. Except not blindly. Yes, you're going to a new area, but the worldbuilding has given you a basis. And obviously you've seen enough of Shadowbringers info to make a connection with 3.4 stuff, to see "Hey these things are set up very directly". I remember watching all the pre-SHL info teases for Death things in WoW, especially during BFA, and it's like "Maybe these things should be MSQ and not Islands"

[@crushme2233]

I was watching your ActiBlizz video and then suddenly got the alert for this video, so much content! Great to hear your thoughts on the expansion 😀

[@realKiraMG]

In a similar way that Coils make you appreciate some moments in Heavensward way more because of the context you have, so do the Alexander (8-man) and Void Ark (24-man) Heavensward raids for later content. (And in a similar fashion , the Stormblood 8-man and 24-man raids, everything ties back in ) Glad you enjoyed Heavensward so much, the best has yet to come!

[@Kekira]

Void Ark is now REALLY important to do with how much they've talked about the 13th. I have a feeling we might take a trip there.

[@pollenus5796]

This is going to be a wild ride, super excited to see you experience this story!

[@RoseArtemis24]

One of my favourite things I've found about going back and playing through the story again on an alt is realising JUST how much was set up earlier in the story or how much is foreshadowed even a few minutes before it happens. There is *way* more than I realised and it's like a fun little easter egg every time I come across something like that.

[@seekittycat]

Congrats on finishing the free trial! Best of luck on your journey to shadowbringers. And it's ok Bellular everyone loves Baemeric.

[@elends2302]

That bit where Papalymo shatters your illusion of choice hit me particularly hard because you can see how much he appreciates you wanting to stay with him. He understands that you care, but he also really doesn't want you to die.

[@FloatingFatMan]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Stormblood, despite what so many say. It's just that it follows Heavensward... Bit of a hard act to follow really!

[@JackgarPrime]

And then its followed up by Shadowbringers, making Stormblood sandwiched between a pair of 10/10s. Not an envious spot to be in.

[@ZephWraen]

SB does have some pacing issues where it slows to a crawl a bit more than most people can tolerate. But story wise it's still fantastic, and definitely does an insane amount of necessary world building.

[@Argo.nautica]

I liked Storm blood a good bit more than Heavensward, but I know that's not the general opinion of it.

[@Varichan]

I just didn't give the slightest fuck about its characters or the region we went to, nor the empire as the enemy. Just through and through not been interested in anything that was happening and that being said i was still vastly more interested in Doma than in Ala migho...for all i cared and still care, the empire can keep that desert and lyse along with it

[@vivishii_]

eeehhh, there’s definitely stuff wrong with Stormblood, especially the way they rewrote some characters to fit them in better, but it was one of my favorite expansions side content-wise, the raids and trials were sooooooo good

[@Tonyp3]

I can’t wait to see his reaction to shadowbringers. Rarely have I gotten so sucked into a story that I can’t wait for the next patch or even the next book, but with FFXIV i have been emotional moved many times over the years. It is also one of the few games I actually preorder.

[@GetterRay]

Stormblood has severe pacing issues, especially in 4.0 with the story being split between two different continents. But the stuff that Belluar likes in Heavensward, the characters, the themes, the examination of war and how that affects societies, is really strong, if not stronger in Stormblood. Its not an unpopular opinion to say that the Stormblood patches were the peak of the pre-Shadowbringers MSQ with 4.3 being the highpoint of the story up to that point. You really need to play Stormblood to understand why people don't like it because its a pretty nuanced and complex story. Its not all bad, just parts of it are...sloppeh.

[@DonaldTurner]

so LOVE this brother. My wife and I got into FF14 in July 2020, daily players since. so RICH. I'm just here giggling watching you go through it all. it's the STORY that drives it all for me. the game play is great, but the STORY is why I look forward to logging in every day. and the stormblood hate was for us, misguided. Just finishing SB again myself, on an alt, strictly to experience the MSQ again.

[@raianabedin4300]

SB has an incredible story and dungeon/trial fights. The issue with it is that it introduces new areas and takes its time to establish them properly, which can lead to some quests being a little fetchy and/or grindy. The overall experience, however, is beautiful and the way it leads up to Shadowbringers is 10/10

[@PanamaLane]

I can't say how much it warms my heart to see everyone I have watched for years finally try the game I always knew they'd love. So glad you all got over that mental hurdle. You are going to love Stormblood, it's much better than people say, on par with HW, it just gets lowered down in people's minds because Shadowbringers is near perfection.

[@CrispBaker]

"How could boosters possibly understand what's going on??" They don't. Level boosters are notorious for quitting fast. They'll try to jump in, get confused, skip cutscenes, get impatient at the stuff they can't skip, get to 80, try to jump into raids and get their clock cleaned because they don't know what a stack marker does. Boosting is fine for alts, but even selling them to new players is probably the most self-defeating move Square does. It's a disaster. Edit: okay took that one bit out in case Bell doesn't know how Stormblood ends

[@sarthakagarwal8964]

The whole reason to sell booster is for people who have no intention of playing the story might end up sticking around if they play some endgame content. But yh you are literally ruining bulk of your gaming experience by getting the boost

[@Demonboy007]

People would say Quinn. My go-to is TheLazyPeon for maximum memes.

[@sleepythemis]

Why would you add that last bit onto the video of a guy who hasn't finished Stormblood yet.

[@milk8979]

even if they don't boost, they are going to skip cutscenes and dialogue anyways so it doesn't matter. weird behavior that you are so gatekeeping with what other people do with their OWN money and time plus with the amount of people when getting introduced to FFXIV get told to experience the story get told to not boost the people actually buying the boost is very little also inb4 "those players will be in my raids and dungeons"...okay so either teach them or leave? like its not that hard lmfao

[@DirtCheapFU]

Also, blind speeders(not really an official term, but I'm going to trademark it) are at loss too. I blind speeded through the story with boosting through the story. Then when I got to the end... and there was no more MSQ, I was disappointed that it literally feels like Im lifting up couch cushions to find exp sources that wasn't just journal spamming, fates, etc.

[@justafossil]

I'm so glad you're enjoying the content, and it looks like you're getting through it at a good pace as well! A GSHADE tip since it's an issue I had as well: you can keep your AO from showing through on top of cutscenes with a lot of spell effects or fog by using the "ReVeil" shaders and sandwiching your other settings between them.

[@thorn_lekoh]

Thanks for that comment, I had an issue with that also. AO also messes with the transparent blending on the tip of the characters' hair but I'm not sure if anything can be done for that.

[@ST18AN]

Stormblood is when they started really nailing the fight design imo. Something to look for!

[@alex--3560]

This game is a breath of fresh air. The story drags me in more and more by the day. Im at the end of Stormblood atm and it just keeps getting better and better. And the music.. aah! the music, simply amazing. 🎶 [ Former Wow player since Tbc with a narrow mind around playing other mmo's ] Love your content btw! Greetings from Norway 😊

[@lostempyrean]

Ilberd is one of the best ""VIllains"" I've seen in a long time. Him and a certain few ascians are so well written, so much so that if you were in their shoes, you would to the same as them or even worse to accomplish their goals.

[@ChainedFei]

Ilberd was just willing to pay anything and everything for Ala Mhiga, and he knew nobody else was. A true son of Ala Mhigo.

[@MarthSR]

Indeed. And I will remember them. I will remember that they once lived.

[@luc1ferous]

The way they ramp up the responses from WoL is so damned good for getting invested, especially when those choices lead to you choosing your characters personality, the cheeky lopsided smirk when you choose sarcasm has especially endeared me to my WoL... Only two weeks until Endwalker!

[@bekomon]

Without Spoiling anything while being positive about Stormblood, I personally think it has THE best combo of story dungeons, bossfights and music. On top of that it introduces some of the best characters in this entire story.

[@bendonatier]

Eorzean being such a weirdly wide but also deep world is a true boon for the rp community. You can get away with a lot of things, without it feeling like you're reaching, and tell a lot of unique stories. It's just a very good kitchen sink setting.

[@BajaBianca]

Literally??? Stormblood is really good in its own right, it just has the unfortunate thing of being sandwiched by expansions that are just even better at accomplishing what they set out. It's also generally a thing where, just like Shadowbringers wouldn't be half of what it was without Heavensward, Endwalker is shaping up to be rely a lot on what Stormblood did to set up Zenos as a great and threatening villain!

[@shizachan8421]

Stormblood was certainly better than Shadowbringers in terms of its gameplay. The Tank changes really killed the game during the expansion for me.

[@BajaBianca]

@@shizachan8421 I really only got into tanking when Gunbreaker released, so I can't really speak to what it was like before? But, as a Dragoon main who didn't really like the prospect of my opening rotation generating more emnity than my tank could consistently deal with? I was pleased as both a Dragoon and a Gunbreaker to see that particular nuisance wasn't something I had to deal with ^^ Not sure about whatever other changes they may have made around that time though

[@shizachan8421]

@@BajaBianca DRK was simplified alot from HW going to SB and then with the rewamp in ShB. Though I generally think, that removing aggro as a mechanic and tank gameplay revolving around increasing the dps stance uptime as much as possible left Tanks a bit as just being simpler dps who use some mitigation cds for tankbusters. WoW took the route, where mitigation is much more of a part of a tanks identity and each tank mitigating damage differently, which is part of a tanks dps rotation. For example Death Knights collecting runic power and spending it on Deathstrike, which is a selfheal that scales with the damage received over the last seconds. Monk for example delays part of the damage he receives in the form of a stacking dot, which he has to cleanse regularily. It makes the dps rotation more interesting, includes some active choices in many tanks and makes it feel like doing ones rotation helps you survive.

[@nicholasoutland2396]

Watching you light up, seeing you thoroughly enjoying the journey is wonderful. Thing is... it gets better every expansion. Every expansion. I'm so looking forward to your discussing the lore when you've completed the MSQ.

[@MDLeviathan90]

Stormblood is great. The poor thing is just sandwiched between two masterpieces.

[@owlamancer]

The fact that all the youtubers i watched cover Wow back in the day now cover FF14 is quite amazing.

[@BlumenCT]

Ilberd is great because he's right, they need to fight, but his way of fighting is throwing away lives. Hell the Crystal Brave he has assassinated is another Ala Mhigan! That's why I like that the conceit of Stormblood is, okay we will fight, but we'll be united and not waste lives.

[@mattkuhn6634]

As someone who was playing when Heavensward was new, I have to say that running in to what ShB does with the Warriors of Darkness stuff from HW was mind blowing. I would say experiencing this storyline, plus the Crystal Tower stuff, is about 50% of what makes ShB's story land so well. So, glad you got to experience it!

[@HoboJoe10000]

Stormblood suffers from what I call the BL2 effect. Much like Borderlands: The Pre-sequel, Stormblood is great by its own right, but it comes after something that was really revolutionary so it gets judged so much more harshly than it should.

[@tacitidesong]

Watching a Bellular video and hearing the Amaraut music instead of WoW music is so jarring and at the same time so wonderful. So glad you're enjoying this game like I and so many others are.

[@celebrian995]

Stormblood is a good expansion stuck in between two incredibly great expansions, so suffers by comparison. I enjoyed the story of Stormblood, it is definitely more political than high fantasy.

[@qiblik]

I believe he will enjoy the stormblood as much as HW or SB in the future. Why? Because he's Irish. Resisting the empire and driving it out of his homeland runs in his blood

[@KiIowatt]

I love the new dialog options for the WoL in SB and beyond. It gives our WoL a personality that we have input in crafting. It doesn't have to change the outcome of events but it adds so much to our interaction and immersion of the story. No longer is our WoL a silent protagonist standing by watching things play out with bland facial reactions. They can be diplomatic, stern, silly, etc. They become just a bit more our own. I hope it's something they expand upon in Endwalker and as we move on to the new arc. Again, it doesn't need to really impact the events themselves, just add personality to our unique WoL. And the fact that they save those choices for meaningful moments adds to their impact.

[@SeanBeanland]

"What would it have been like playing this not knowing about Shadowbringers?" Speaking for myself, I had a really hard time following the import of those events. I wasn't super clear on the lore, there was so much new to me at the time so my brain was kind of overloaded. So what actually ended up happening was that, other than vague memories of Urianger doing something nefarious, I completely forgot about that storyline. Even after playing Shadowbringers, none the 3.x stuff came to mind. Certain things in Shadowbringers left me confused because I had forgotten the prior context. Now, I'm replaying the story in NG+, and it's blowing my mind because it's like playing for the first time all over again, but NOW I understand the context and why this stuff was important. I had no idea the actual prologue/setup for Shadowbringers was done all the way back in 3.x patches. What a game, man. What a game.

[@ashlebeau9802]

I used to love to watch your videos for WoW. Even when I fell off of WoW I would watch to kind of keep up on what was going on with the game. Eventually I fully fell off of WoW and stopped really even keeping up with the world... So imagine my surprise when I saw you going through FFXIV! Welcome aboard - I'm glad to have you here, and I'm glad you seem to be enjoying yourself! Buckle up for all the things you have coming up, and I look forward to diving into Endwalker along side you and all everyone else joining us recently. I'm glad to have someone at your level of exposure driving in that going through the story is actually pretty important too. It's a bummer in the sense that it would be brutal to try to pick it up and get to Endwalker now if you skipped, but if nothing else I would tell someone to at least watch a playthrough of all the important plot points. Even that would leave some gaps and I don't think you'd get the same level of connection, but at least a new player would have some idea of what was going on 😄 I think one thing you'll find different is if you start doing crafting and gathering. I just finished leveling fishing and I won't go into spoilers, but when you go through the fishing storyline (particularly once you start getting to more recent expansions) you're like "HOW DO I CARE ABOUT THE _FISHING_ STORYLINE". I still have lots of crafting to go but I'm willing to bet it will be similar. There's all these great side stories that just make me love the world and the game so much. I'll admit not everything is of the same caliber, but there's just so much there when you start to dig in. Not to mention the devs themselves who I just love (_>) but I think it's actually turned out pretty great, and I'm so glad to have you and everyone else onboard. Lali-ho, friend o/

[@mjs3188]

About the player choice, there is one later on in some optional side content where you are given the choice to kill a character who had wronged you in the past yourself or let her die naturally from her injuries. I literally stared that damn screen for 15 minutes having an internal debate about what my WoL would do in this situation. Is she vindictive? Is she merciful? Of course once I made my choice, it didn't really matter, but it did make me sit face-to-face with my own ethics and morality for a bit. It's probably one of the most impactful things I've experienced in video games as a whole, and it was entirely inconsequential to the course of the game.

[@randomwalk1551]

I think you'll love gosetsu. He has been by far my favorite site character in the game so far. he's a character that just has a presence about him. and by far, i find, some of the most emotionally hitting scenes in the game come from him.

[@WeiWei.88]

To the haters out there: Do enjoy whatever game you are having fun with at the moment, as for the rest of us who have found something new, 14days more to go!!! Letz gooooo~

[@Ruenvale]

The final steps of faith really got to me. I shed a few tears thanks to all of the build up, and having Dragonsong playing in the background was a perfect fit.

[@shiroikami2690]

The difference between XIV's approach to the player's role in the world and WoW's approach, I think, is that in XIV your role as the Warrior of Light isn't treated like a title given to you as a way to put a leash on someone who is effectively a demigod, or an empty title. In WoW, your position is always treated like you're an incredibly powerful mercenary given figurehead command roles with no real effect or influence. In XIV, the Warrior of Light is *recognized*. You're not a political player, or a Warchief or Commander or Champion or Maw Walker. You're not being placed in command just because you're strong. You're an adventurer who gets called on by the political powers - in your capacity as an adventurer - to take on challenges that are beyond the abilities of regular soldiers. And those achievements are recognized by normal people in the world. In my personal opinion, it's the fact that your title isn't hollow makes all the difference.

[@pwnorbepwned]

You had a very good point about character choices not needing mechanical consequences. I find that when the opposite is done, where every dialogue choice a player makes could affect the game somehow, it ceases to be about “What would my character say in this moment?” and more like, “Okay Google, which choice is the right choice for what I’m going for?” And that’s honestly less fun.

[@Saber9933]

Enjoy Stormblood! It's a blast but it's unfortunately sandwiched between HW and ShB so it gets a bad rep.

[@Nekros4442]

I think Bellular would enjoy the political focus of stormblood

[@TheGoodColonel]

I think people are too used to being unconditionally on the side of your NPC friends when Lyse is being a shithead and miss the point that you're actually supposed to empathize with the people you are supposed to help, and that not all help is welcomed. SB is pretty good if you go in with the fact that you aren't supposed to like Lyse until at least 4.4

[@sebastianzavala4478]

Hien is great though, one of the best characters which is saying a lot.

[@vaidenkelsier7757]

@@sebastianzavala4478 Hien is an absolute badass. And Lyse was just growing up. Mark my words, she's going to be a BADASS later. I feel it in my bones.

[@TheGoodColonel]

I agree with you all. It's just that after spending a whole expac with Estinien and Aymeric, both of whom you are trained to love without condition as they are entirely on your side, it's weird to have to spend your time with Lyse imposing her views on peasants that just want to live in peace.

[@Omilogic]

I have been a long time fan of yours Bellular since my days of playing wow, i am so glad to see you and other content creators having a more positive outlook on things after moving to ff14, Its such a great game and its amazing to see it have such a positive impact on everyone, Hell it caused Preach to grow his hair back lol! But keep going on the story, the game gets very good, and the raid content *chiefs kiss*. You're in for a treat the further you get!

[@Mechanikatt]

Be honest: did you cry at any points during Heavensward? :)

[@frantaf]

My dream of tommorow in which need froze alone in snow. and My son. both great voice acting.

[@Dotoku14]

Stormblood is great. Its slow to start off, but as long as you keep in mind that it ramps up very fast once you get past the Ruby Sea, you'll have a blast.

[@Azmodan514]

Meanwhile in WoW... LOL, who cares?

[@RikaMasayume]

little tip, go to your room in the Adventure Guilde, there is a book where you can watch the whole story videos again, there are two video clips from the meeting of Alisale in Heavensward, one when you have played Coils of Bahamut, one when you don't have it. Alisale's reactions to the character are completely different