My trip to Elpis | Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Reactions [Part 3]

this part was so peak
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ 🗝
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Outro music: • Dearly Beloved (Kingdo...
Edited by: ‪@goffballz‬
#ffxiv #finalfantasyxiv #ff14 #finalfantasy14 #gaming

[@takanuva6167]

"Man will no longer have wings to bear him unto paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk" has got to be one of the hardest lines in the history of gaming. Loving your reactions and I can't wait to see the final portion! better have prepped those tissues ;p

[@smartalec2001]

It's contrasted a little by Hermes's words to Meteion: "Though I gave you wings to soar the heavens, I did not teach you how to walk the earth. So loath was I to bind another living being." Underscoring how Hermes was unable to give Meteion the perspective she would need to cope with the darkness in the world, for he did not have it himself; how little regard the Ancients have for 'walking' in this sense.

[@takanuva6167]

@@smartalec2001 ooh interesting, I never looked at it that way.

[@pcdruid]

I had somehow missed that. Good point!

[@2ndHokageSol]

I plan on getting a tattoo of her sword piercing my skin with "Henceforth he shall walk" around it. Its such a banger.

[@TwodeeTwodimensional]

That final scene with Venat in Elpis makes me emotional every time. Still the greatest cutscene they've ever made.

[@SarahKey]

it's CINEMA

[@lllOnSlAuGhTlll]

remember: As fragmented, imperfect beings, yours is a never-ending quest A Quest to find your purpose, knowing your end is assured. To find the Strength to continue, when all strength has left you. To find joy, even as darkness descents... And admidst deepest despair, light everlasting always gives me chills 😀

[@Mr.Genesis]

"I don't think i'm going to cry" ~ Answers starts playing. Its impossible.

[@JasonHubsch]

Several months before Endwalker came out, I received the devastating news that my daughter had a terminal illness. For months thereafter, I walked around saying (to myself) much of the things that emo-Meteion did in this video. But, playing through Endwalker and experiencing the constant push to continue forward even despite knowing that tragedy ultimately awaits really helped me with my own suffering and despair. Even the words that Venat speaks at the end of this video during her walk ring true today. So much so that I want to get a portrait of her with those same words underneath as wall art. They are vitally important words for anybody going through immense grief for which they are not sure how to endure. In one fleeting moment, lives come and go. Ever moving towards the unknown. And in that fleeting moment, they cry for the answer to the question: Why, given life, are they meant to suffer. To die... As fragmented, imperfect beings, yours is a never-ending quest. A quest to find your purpose, knowing your end is assured. To find the strength to continue, when all strength has left you. To find joy, even as darkness descends... ...And amidst deepest despair, light everlasting.

[@SarahKey]

Jason, I'm so sorry to hear about what you are going through. Nobody deserves that. I can't even imagine the kind of pain you are in. Your message had me sobbing. I'm sending you and your family so much love.

[@fangikun1791]

The most disturbing part about Emet refusing to accept your recollection of events, is that he KNOWS (because of his eyes if I recall) you are not lying, and it is why he's so upset about it.

[@KaedysKor]

Ya, they said several times, either in this sequence or previously, that members of the Convocation at least can _tell_ if someone is lying. So he knows completely and unquestionably that you're speaking the absolute truth. He's not rejecting your story, he's rejecting the horrifying notion of what's in store for him and his people.

[@Grognakk380]

@@KaedysKor Exactly, He is in denial the same way someone sentenced to jail is, after all he has just been told he will spend thousands of years suffering and trying to bring his world back, just to be killed by the same person telling him this. He knows you aren't lying so it is a mix of denial and hoping that there is more to the story than we know, after all someone can tell an untruth without lying if they believe it to be true.

[@behema9713]

that cutscene at the end is literally the best cutscene in gaming i have ever fucking encountered. 3000 hours of gameplay, of cultivation of this world and its characters, and that final zoom in on venat. its both terrifying and beautiful. biggest chills i think i ever got in my whole life. its so fucking peak.

[@fordv-e3c]

Play more games

[@behema9713]

@@fordv-e3c no lmao. besides let me have my own opinions. also fine if you want another choice rdr2 ending is very close second

[@magegaming5182]

Here I was thinking FFXIV was an MMORPG, when in fact it’s a photography simulator 😂

[@smolbeanruby]

the running mascara is such a mood, this part of the MSQ messed me up so badly too girl 🥲

[@greggreyes6869]

"I'm emotionally drained" we all were at that point. lmao Forge Ahead

[@ItsRinaldo]

It's funny, coming into Endwalker the player is all "Man, Hydaelyn is sus af." and by the end of Venat's Walk we're all blubbering "Crystal Mom loves us so much and endured so much pain" as we bawl and change out of our black robes into a chicken outfit.

[@JustinStrife]

Not me. I always knew she was on our side. Been playing since 2015. I looked over everything she had ever done for us, and how much free will we had. And how she always protected us. My real life mom was a POS. But Venat, will always be Crystal Mom. Always.

[@Kebin13]

The only people that tough hydaelyn was evil where smoot brained youtubers that need to justify yapping about for half an hour with each line of dialogue a character says and their parroting fans and people that never played a final fantasy game in their life before xiv, old and og final fantasy fans always knew that while hydaelyn wasn a saint and zodiark wasnt a devil, there was no way that hyadaelyn would be revealed to be a big bad and that we where its enthraled minions all the time.

[@ItsRinaldo]

@@Kebin13 Yeah, God never ends up the villain in a Final Fantasy. Lol get real.

[@Kebin13]

@@ItsRinaldo oh look, a butthurt religious nutjub, on a final fantasy video, about some moron talking sht because they no nothing about final fantasy lmao I think you should be the one to get real, lets see tue list of the 3 first vilains of the series that paved the way for many other? Caos, a demon like entity, emperor, a dude that literally died, went to hell and came back as a demon and cloud of darkness, a big demon like witch lady, oh yeah, so god like these beings are... The only actual actual "god" that we can say you kill is kefka, a godsdamn mad clown that got himself god like powers.

[@Kebin13]

@@ItsRinaldo maybe your smooth ass brain is confusing final fantasy with shin megami tensei, wouldnt surprise me to see a tourist do this.

[@cameo_bitpart5324]

I didn't start Endwalker til about a month or two after it's release, my FC said they will help me with every Trial and Dungeon, EXCEPT ONE! ONE Dungeon in particular I HAD to run with the trust system. They wouldn't tell me why, just that I would know when I get there. When I unlocked Ktisis Hyperboreia I finally understood why. Loved that moment when I found out I got to run a Dungeon with Emet-Selch, Vennat, and Hythlodaeus!

[@YunaLeow]

Quest complete: "Thou must live, die, and know"

[@brennanlable]

I don't know if there's any other game i've played that has come close to the Elpis section in Endwalker for me. so special. I love Hermes and Meteion ;__;

[@mr.mystere4999]

It was nice to stumble on to this video via YT Recommended! I hope the rest of your FFXIV journey is just as good. The thing to remember about G'raha is that he has all of the memories and soul of his future self. That's why he was able to channel the Crystal Exarch so readily. Do you remember that the CE and the Crystal Tower appeared on the First 10 years after the Flood? The CE saw the aftermath of the 8th Umbral Calamity some 200 years after it happened and then once arriving on the First had to rally the people who came to the CT in order to properly fight the Sin Eaters and build the Crystarium some 90 years before we showed up. And he'd be damned before he lets some nihilistic madman undo what he worked so hard to achieve.

[@cyradus]

That cutscene with Venat/Hydaelyn was deep. The developers used imagery to explain what Hydaelyn went through. She zipped the WoL back to our time in seconds, and then she began her walk. 13,000 years she walked, waiting for us to create our character in ARR. As she is "walking" through all that torment and strife (remember, the ancients did not have torment and strife, and that is what the random NPCs are supposed to be conveying as she walked on her journey through time). Also, each time there was a flash, and she got injured and bloody...those were the attempts, through the centuries, as the Ascians created calamities when they tried to rejoin the sundered worlds back into the source. Definitely some artistic license taken there in that cut scene, but when you think about it, it moves the game forward from Venat's time, to the moment we created our character and she as Hydaelyn, noticed our presence finally. Powerful scene.

[@Ower8x]

O there was strife and some suffering but generally they were fleeting shallow, its why Azem was a necessary seat for the convocation .... going around and basically solving problems that spring up outside of the sight of the other Members of the Convocation ... And why the oath of Emissary had paraphrasing: "sometimes you will stand with and sometimes against your fellows" before he was absorbed into the Crystal Tower in 5.3 Elidibus told us as such "Divided over the fate of the start a RARE occurrence, ALWAYS FLEETING, but not THIS time ..." But they had no experience with profound existential suffering ... nothing they could not solve with their own power ...

[@cheers2023]

Her reaction to graha coming to her room was about the same as mine, only I kept saying, "I do, I accept!" He basically told us he was going to be with us forever. That's my take, and NOBODY can tell me otherwise! 😆

[@Xagzan]

Protecc sweet bird baby Meteion. Been a year and I still can't think of any of this part without getting emotional. My Wol went from disliking Hydaelyn to adoring Venat beyond words. Wonder if any of the ancients will have reincarnations in future expansions. Not that it would be the same person, but still.

[@Xenmaru00]

all Meteion needed, was a hug. just before she flew off to the collective. for her to *know* that despite the pain and suffering and hatred and fear and loss, *love* existed. and that she was loved. We'd have still had to knock her down. but there might have been more of a sense of "show me your belief made real" and not a "fuck everything and myself too i guess."

[@Xagzan]

@@Xenmaru00 I would've given her such a bear hug she'd need a chiropractor. I still don't really know what happened to her after the final battle though. She didn't seem to remember us from Elpis, then she turns into a bird, why? Is she a sentient bird? Where's she going now?

[@Xenmaru00]

@@Xagzan so, the Meteion we met, was one of i think, at least a few hundred, if not a few thousand. We met her, as she was the contact hub for the rest of the Meteia that Hermes had sent out into the cosmos. the one we met on UT, was a *different* one from the Elpis one, as she goes "ahh, have you met one of my sisters. i dont recall ever meeting you, but i do know you're from Etherys." the Starbird form, is literally what is name is: the form she takes to fastest traverse the cosmos. and generally the form most sentient life met. As for where she's going post-game? who knows. I think the idea is that she's off on her own journey to traverse the cosmos again, but instead of bringing despair and desire of termination, like she was, she's going to be telling tales in song, of us, our journey and how we never gave up even when we may have really *really* wanted to.

[@Xagzan]

@@Xenmaru00 But they share a collective consciousness, so all of them should have the memories of the Elpis one, which means they should be able to feel like they met us before, no? If not, doesn't it make the reunion a lot less powerful? I wouldn't like that. I thought we formed a bond with the Elpis one, but what even happened to her?

[@Xenmaru00]

@@Xagzan well remember that Elpis to present day for us was like, an hour. for Her, for Venat, it was thousands of years. Combine that with it being not only thousands of years, but thousands of years of being wrapped in the collective (and growing) existential terror and desire for oblivion from *literally countless civilizations* not only shared across the mental collective but *repeatedly reinforced by the existential echo-chamber* and we get a recipe for what the Meteia Collective as a whole, turn into. The Meteion we met, is but one, and during the sequence she becomes the Goth Meteion, she acknowledges HER experiences, are going to be drowned in the collective's. One splash of color in a sea of black is enough to catch brief attention, but not if the splash of color is buried at the bottom of the black ocean. Its not until we reach UT and "defeat" her Ultimatum the way we do, does that colored rock, rise up, but as the scene before the Final Boss shows, *that one voice crying out that "hey this is wrong" isnt strong enough* to match the hundreds if not thousands of herself saying "this is the only way." But its also likely that the Elpis one may have died sometime between us meeting and friending her, and us meeting the Collective a second time. I only say that, because when all is said and done, and a single Meteion (blue) is left, she repeats her greeting, in a sad, broken, uncertain tone. And there's no "...are we still...friends?" instead its "may we please...be friends?" So ultimately, the Meteion we met, likely either died or got devoured, but her base innocence and kindness and curiosity remained, so the Meteion remaining, is exactly who she *should always be* just one that might not remember us. Cause again, even taking out the possibility of being consumed by the Collective Consciousness and removed via sheer weight of being, it was still, thousands of years. Venat remembers us, because she made herself remember, always. Meteion has no reason to remember us specifically, because we werent with her long enough to make the kind of impression that can beat not only thousands of years of universal suicidal level depression, but also the hundreds if not thousands of herself *and* the civilizations she locked into her memory, reflecting the same feelings.

[@Brozinator97]

I immediately fell in love with Meteion cause her speech impediment reminds of my sister who was born with down syndrome. It made Meteion's turn even more tragic, seeing this happy little bird girl fall into despair.

[@Dhalin]

Don't you love it when they introduce something like Argus on the moon and he knows you but you don't know him and then later on they explain why... I love it when games involving time travel do stuff like that. Also Hydaelyn's line about her promise at the very beginning and then they finally let you know what that promise was, way near the end.

[@dearilia]

HELP- the meteor shower thingy came outta nowhere!! also love your reactions

[@altaiir541]

Fun fact, Azem is literally you. Since when they refer to Azem their Gender changes according to your Player character.

[@Norbert_Sattler]

You are the first streamer I ever watched, who didn't have fog or rain, when first arriving at Elpis. Ah Argos... only allowing people to ride him, who first beat up his owner. Such a sweet boy. ^^

[@Xenmaru00]

fun fact about emerging out into Elpis for the first time: that scene is in-game. as in, whatever weather is going on in Elpis at the time, is what that camera shot will show. So if you're unlucky and stroll into Elpis for the first time and its cloudy/foggy...yeeeaaah that gorgeous view just becomes After The Long Rain In Inaba.

[@hawkblast9975]

She suffered, pain and torment for tens of thousands of years, for the world and people she loved... And we had the nerve to doubt her after everything she has done for us

[@thatoneguy9530]

elpis was an amazing story arc for endwalker. it was nice both seeing the world pre sundering and interacting with emet before.. well the megalomaniacal side took over. and then they just... tear out your heart with that last cutscene.. that quote has kept space in my head ever since. being in a bad spot during the expansion made that one in particular stick out to me. to keep looking for the strength to move foreword. and no matter how bleak or down a situation is and to remember there is always light somewhere in that darkness, no matter how hidden it seems

[@loganlocke3991]

Venat: "My blade sings!" Sarah: "I love her so much!" Venat: **cleaves**

[@LK.Cynric]

Elpis was my favorite zone, great to see you also loved it. But I cant see Emmet as he says goodbye to hythlodaeus, its so heartbreaking. Cant wait to see the rest of your journey!

[@wayne1206]

Endwalker is such a masterpiece. I can't wait to see your next 1 or 2 videos as your complete it.

[@puntacana7550]

I’ve never seen a character that looks exactly like person until now lol

[@SarahKey]

this is my favorite compliment tysm

[@glimsomnia]

i love that we both dyed our robes rose pink

[@kuronaialtani]

*Henceforth, he shall walk* And then her mirroring your stumble towards Emet in ShB while saying what she does Gets me every single time

[@omegagilgamesh]

Sarah: "Oh we're going to fight? Well I'm gonna kick your butt because I can heal myself." Venat: "But can you heal youself when you can't stand still long enough to cast a spell?" Sarah: "Well...as a Scholar, my fairie passively heals me, and I have OGCD heals." Venat: "Huh? Well, this ought to be fascinating."

[@robikkupegasus7039]

One of the most insane and amazing arcs of FFXIV, Elpis is just...a lot, and its both amazing and tragic to live through!

[@Crusina]

Yay finally uploaded and condensed!

[@cryssanie]

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself, everytime I see a video of streamer experiencing Elpis for the first time I click it and everytime I end up crying again 😭

[@mournbladexcii7275]

Yeah watching Graha pull out the Exarch aura lit a fire in me too.

[@JediMB]

I really need to watch the alternate versions of the midnight visit scene. Personally, I picked Alisaie, but G'raha's scene in this video was adorable as heck.

[@Grognakk380]

Between Garlamald and Elpis, I was an emotional wreak. Garlamald hit on a more impersonal level, like going to a 3rd world country and seeing an extreme level of poverty and the people with broken spirits, Elpis is more like finding out something really bad is happening to your friends and knowing that whatever help you offer just wont be enough. And here i thought Shadowbringers would be the peak of emotional battery, at least that had the underpinning of hope, the idea that you could save them if you worked hard enough.

[@Iriscal]

NO MORE SHALL MAN HAVE JAZZ TO BEAR HIM TO MARGARITAVILLE HENCEFORTH, HE SHALL HARD ROCK CAFE

[@omegagilgamesh]

"A flower. Yes, upon your return I will gift you a beautiful flower." It was SUCH a good decision to record two different versions of that speech. This one is so playful, earnest, and heartwarming, and the version in Ultima Thule is still heartfelt, but somber and sincere in a way that it really, REALLY drives in the tragedy of it all.

[@xenorayy]

Elpis was my favorite part of Endwalker and one of the best in the entire game in general in my opinion. As for a small fun fact for my Xenoblade comrades, Meteion and A from FR share their voice actor c:

[@Valkross9]

Endwalker's storytelling with Dawntrail's mechanical difficulty would have been perfect.

[@omegagilgamesh]

"I would have turned. I would've been one of the first to turn, let's be honest here." Well, it's in crisis that our true selves come out, and until then we really don't know how we'll deal with these sorts of things. I've known people who were extremely lazy and irresponsible, but when a crisis came up they became different people and lead by example. When things calmed down, they went back to their easy going lives. Who know, necessity might cause you to extert more control over your emotions than you've ever had before.

[@williamwall3403]

A family that turns together, stays together? 😅 Also the reason Y'shtola gets hit by the AOEs in the dungeon is because she cannot see the creatures since they have no ether for her to see Also, the realization that Argos waited on the moon for 13,000 yrs for us to ride her just breaks my heart 😭

[@ApexGale]

I love that Yoshi P just decided that however you designed your character, is effectively what Azem generally looked like. Probably minus the racial traits but otherwise their "spitting image," as Emet put it.

[@sero_valantis]

i've never heard the click of the photo mode as much as you have, what are you doing with all those photos^^

[@SarahKey]

i think it's my inner photographer

[@hardstylerockercify]

The matsya cutscene kills me every time

[@iamrayvell3052]

Walk free, walk free. . . . .

[@micaiah64]

Hi @SarahKey, is there a way to watch your entire VOD of your FF Streams?

[@SarahKey]

Yes! @sarahkeyvods

[@akio2589]

When meeting Meteion, Those who don't know: 🥹 Those who know: 😨

[@andrewmatheson238]

All the camera clicks xD

[@Noctis2525]

Do the full vods exist for your EW playthrough Sarah? :O

[@SarahKey]

Yes! They are on my Twitch and KZbin VOD channel

[@Noctis2525]

@@SarahKey Oh awesome :D I've been watching some of your playthroughs and reactions and stuff on/off for years, I hope it's not weird to say but I love how emotional you get, especially about Kingdom Hearts, and it helps me like, relive all these great moments and embrace the feelings I had when I experienced these amazing stories, it's very cathartic. Anyways, hope you have a good one and continue to be you! Hopefully we get some KH announcements at D23 next week!

[@TarundiMC]

I love how much you empathized with Hermes. I really wish they had a slower transition to madness for him because I really liked him and felt they did him dirty by making him turn "evil" so quickly. And Emet, just let Hermes hear out the bird girl before trying to take her away! Maybe Hermes wouldn't have gone down this path if he had more time to process his emotions!

[@Grognakk380]

I didn't see it as Hermes turning "evil" or going mad. More a desperate man that had one lifeline, one dream, and could see Emet about to destroy it. he made a promise to hear her out and Emet was trying to make him break it. Emet on the other hand didn't even think twice about his actions, as far as he was concerned this matter was above Hermes pay grade and only the convocation could deal with it. BAsically i think it played out exactly how it had to considering the personalities we were shown. I do agree that alot of it would have been solved if Emet just chilled and said he would question her after she told Hermes her report.

[@TarundiMC]

@@Grognakk380 I did put it in quotes, but despite his motivations, he knowingly and willingly aided in the cause of the final days, which is pretty evil in my book. He heard the story from us, he know the destruction that would be caused, so he wasn't ignorant of the consequences. He wasn't coerced. He could have argued and tried to reason with Emet-Selch, but he didn't. I liked Hermes a lot as a character, but it really threw me off how he didn't try to solve the problem with words first.

[@rivenoak]

@@TarundiMC we all bashed Hermes already, because his sundered part on the source became Amon and _Syrcus Tower_ is mandatory content. as Fandaniel he was PITA during EW content, so no sympathy from me

[@TarundiMC]

@@rivenoak Never said anything about sympathy, just empathy. They're different things. Also Hermes is not the same person as Amon, though he inherited his soul and memories. There is a strong connection between the two, but they are distinct people.

[@forgeryyy]

Venat told us to find Kingdom Hearts

[@SarahKey]

so true

[@Zerif69]

I have seen many of a girls makeups final days on this cutscene.

[@mathiasknsgaardkristensen3396]

The Social Link scene at 1:50 is so funny if you pick Estinien.

[@SarahKey]

I have actually not seen any others! I'll have to look them up

[@TarundiMC]

@@SarahKey They're all great, but if you go back and only watch one, it has to be Estinien!

[@omegagilgamesh]

​@SarahKey you may have feelings for G'raha (TBF, I don't want to meet anyone who doesn't) but Good Lord are some of the player base thirsty for Estinien.

[@Struzzylive]

Has she, not got to dawn trail? Also I see we will be fighting for who loves graha more. Actually my heart is like him in a lot of ways Oh gosh I forgot about the people fight. Oh at 1:03:55 I promise she’s not ok 👌

[@SarahKey]

I'm finished with Dawntrail, these are older videos finally being edited down for KZbin. If you're ever curious about my playthroughs, I usually livestream them on Twitch.

[@Struzzylive]

@@SarahKey I’ve been to some. I’ve tried to participate

[@SarahKey]

@@Struzzylive Cool! You definitely don't have to chat or anything, I just meant if you want to watch any past broadcasts

[@Struzzylive]

@@SarahKey sure, ofc!

[@urfhorf]

Beautiful cat btw

[@fordv-e3c]

How it came down to some random creature feelings almost ruined the whole story.

[@kissochbajslowski]

PART 4?!?!

[@SarahKey]

OH MY GOD IT'S DEFINITELY PART 3 I'M SO SORRY HAHAH i fixed it

[@kissochbajslowski]

@@SarahKey PHEW!!

[@ministabber4927]

Screenshot Sarah 🤣

[@robertrace8890]

Hi Sarah how are you? 🙂

[@AyTonio79]

OMG

[@tonberrygaming3267]

they will never top shadowbringer and endwalker

[@AdamxApple94]

I love how much you see them as companions, when I sort of view them as a more mature gay relationship, but it’s a thin line 😊

[@nothisispatrick5691]

We in Dawntrail bruh

[@SarahKey]

Yep, I already finished it! Just trying to get my backlog of videos posted. Regardless, plenty of people play the game years later so why does it matter?

[@Yvanne]

If you had posted this years ago you would've 100% had way more views. its a bit late now no

[@SarahKey]

Not posting for views. It’s fine. I’m just happy to finally share my experience.

[@williamwall3403]

Emotional vampires like me live off of these videos

[@นิติวัฒน์เติดสูงเนิน-ง6น]