Dusky's Thoughts On: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

DISCLAIMER: These are a series of posts I made chronicling my thoughts on the game as and when I was going through it, along with the Seventh Astral Era patches. If thoughts have been changed throughout then that's why! This will be the same for the Expansions going forward. With that being said, enjoy!

As with the other Final Fantasy games I'm going to cover XIV at some point but considering its size I've started my script substantially earlier than they others.

I figured I'd share my thoughts as I go through the expansions.

A Realm Reborn was a needle in a haystack kind of success. The original version of the game flopped largely due to the content of that original game feeling bland at best.... So in response Square Enix did something I don't think I've seen a reboot or a sequel do. Instead of disregarding its predecessor it's used as the framework for a story on a much larger scale. How is the world from XIV handled and how are the changes explained in A Realm Reborn? They fricken nuked it and killed of a number of its characters with the aftermath being an event that gave the majority of the survivors amnesia. This is the fuel used to ignite ARR's story and it's a trip that pays homage to pretty much every piece of Final Fantasy content you can imagine. We play as a traveler moving into the region known as Eorzea, which has drastically changed since the events 5 years prior. It's not long after we get settled until it's revealed that Hydaelyn, the Mothercrystal that safeguards the planet of which shares its name, has chosen us as its representative. A side effect to this is called the Echo, a force that protects the player from the influence of Primals, deities that each fight for control of Hydaelyn and her people. Along with this the player also has the ability to uncover memories during the 5 year gap.

The story very quickly makes its excuse for its playtime size thanks to how deep and multilayered the plot is. The politics of each continent, faction and town all become relevant by the end leading towards a battle on the scale of Return Of The Jedi's finale. The thing is, whilst most MMORPG's tend to lose themselves in the feeling that everything is being made up as the plot is written, here it sticks the landing. By the end of my personalised quest through Hydaelyn I felt satisfied to the extend where I'm happy to say this might be one of the greatest video game narratives I've played through. I have the fortunateness of knowing where this story is heading with its expansions but even as a standalone product I have no issues in recommending it.

Gameplay-wise the whole MMO thing might through you off but I'd still recommend it. For an MMO it's extremely streamlined, not in a detrimental way, and controller support works just as well as keyboard, I can imagine some people preferring the use of a controller. Questing is unlike other MMOs as well, in the way it's structured. instead of having a dissonance with the story because of how everything's paced the plot actually accounts for you going off and doing your own thing for a bit. Story quests aren't alienating either in the same sense that other MMOs are. Level caps are here to stop you from avoiding the side content completely but I was never urged to put real money into this game to do so. In fact the subscription is quite generous given the amount of content now available and there's rarely a point where playing through feels like a slog. There's always something interesting to do. As someone with a very large amount of time put into this game I've only just started some of the field classes like fishing and leatherwork and I'm confident in saying I'm having fun with that as well.

Even if the battle aspect of the game doesn't appeal or running around the world for some reason bores you, there's plenty more to do at the Golden Saucer and elsewhere. Wanna train a chocobo and make that your goal, yeah go and do that. Gamble your money away at the casino, sure why not. Become a cook and make gourmet meals, yup that's here too.

This is more freeing than most open world games and whilst I'm not sponsored I would recommend trying out the free trial to just mess about and see if you like it.

Said I'd talk primarily about the expansions but I figured the patches were worth talking about as well considering the continuous story along with the persistent world it takes place in, an ever changing world that changes based on where the story is at.

Spoilers for A Realm Reborn's ending coming up in 3... 2... 1...

After the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, XIV's own brand of Avengers if you will, take down Gaius and his Ultima Weapon, along with freeing the Scion Thancred from the control of Lahabrea, a member of the sinister immortal Ascians who've been manipulating the political background of the world in their favour (in a scene that rivals Sephiroth's demise in VII), our heroes are under the pressure of the three main states of Eorzea to join one them as a representative. Think of like a registration act, like Civil War except the Scions agree that remaining independent is for the best forcing them to relocate. Unfortunately the aftermath of the Seventh Umbral Era, essentially WW7, has left the world in a state of unrest and paranoia. It doesn't help that, shortly after relocating their base of operations, rumours of a Primal re-emerging have spread forcing us to check it out and discover a renegade faction of Moogles who've summoned a Primal of their own with the help of the villainess Ascians. After taking care of the Moogles the Scions finally celebrate only for more unsettling news to reach their door leading into the next patch.

Chunky story with lots of words you may be unfamiliar with but trust me when I say that the direction of this narrative after the events of A Realm Reborn is exactly what you'd want to see for a more lore intense game, and Final Fantasy entry for that matter. A world war was narrowly avoided and whilst it would be easy for the folks of this continent to just throw out some confetti it should be made clear that whilst this may be a fantasy setting it's far from a fairy tale. This is a paranoid and traumatised world and the narrative really doesn't hold back on this. A war may not be underway but the damage of the last can't be undone so easily and now with the knowledge of the Ascian's involvement, this cult of immortal beings that move in the shadows, the mental state of our heroes isn't stable. Just the relocation is an act the group fear will be seen as defiance with their only form of resolution to be to embrace that, not only forcing them to do something they know will come back to haunt them as one wrong move will lead to all three states to hunt them down but, lead this into what I would consider to be the most intriguing direction this plot could take. We've just fought alongside the political powers of this large section of the world and our next course of action is strike out independently. It's fricken awesome and I'm so excited to share where that goes in the future.

I think the let down for some people would be the variation of quests given during this patch but when you take into account that this is a free piece of content building up to a much larger story then I think it's easily forgiven. The new raids and dungeons given don't outshine what came before but they're entertaining enough to carry you through the 10 new main quests, along with plenty of lore dumps about the place on my favourite Moogles so it's a win-win for me.

There's as much to talk about as there was previously but now that the spoiler cap is off referring to events more specifically should be fun! I'll try to cobble together some footage of my misadventures as I replay these chunks of game with my fellow misfits online!

Considering this is a compulsory part of the game now I figured I'd talk about The Crystal Tower whilst using it as an excuse to discuss some things about the game from 2.0 through to Heavensward that I couldn't do otherwise.

Firstly the set up! During the events of A Realm Awoken, Cid joins the Sons of Saint Coinach, a group met during A Realm Reborn, to start an expedition to the Crystal Tower. Catching up with the group we join in. What follows is essentially an abridged version of Final Fantasy III where the player has to find the four elemental crystals along with material to cobble together four elemental fangs to tear down the barriers to the tower itself. Before entering the tower however, the Labyrinth below much me conquered. Then the take on the tower before facing a revived Xande, who's backstory is near enough the same. Following Xande's defeat we enter the World Of Darkness and take on the Cloud Of Darkness.

There's a bit more lore to it than that but if you've played Final Fantasy III you know what you're getting yourself into plot wise.

Before moving onto the gameplay allow me to address the 2.0 stuff. Back in the day, FFXIV had a level cap of 50 and subsequent material until Heavensward kept that. This meant that levelling was something that couldn't be done once that cap was met. As such quests focused on giving players improved equipment and encouraged people to experiment and learn the ins and outs of their classes as a result. I'm a big fan of this however I'm not sure that incentive is as strong as the level cap is now at 90 and newcomers will probably want their level number to shoot up with mainline quests. Finding out that the next 100 quests are level 50 alone will probably disappoint players when they find out that boosting their number will happen at a snail's pace. Personally I still like the idea of being guided into a sense of experimentation but I can see where some newer people are coming from.

As such making it into the Crystal Tower requires an average equipment level requiring people to try raids prior in order to get better items. That doesn't mean that everyone's willing to play along with others. Group raids require a certain level of co-operation and not everyone's willing to do that. When these happen it's normally a party of 4-8... So when you're dealing with 3 parties of 8 who all have to co-ordinate together and it can either be a blast or a complete mess. Thankfully I haven't encounter the latter but new people learning the ropes, especially when it comes to the Crystal Tower that utitlises a unique ruleset that you have to convey before the 23 other people make it to the entrance of the next boss. The rules themselves can change the course of a fight pretty fast and I like the modifiers during these raids however it could've very easily made the whole thing tedious. Fights that require to stand on a platform for example could feel like a block from the actual battle however when these fights can last awhile they work as a momentary pause before diving back in.

All-in-all the nods to FFIII are fun for me and the raids are a laugh with the right people with the bosses being complex enough to having to focus on the battles themselves along with what the contenders are doing. Good stuff.

Also they're wasn't a poster for it so I made one... woo!

The second major patch sees once again additional narrative content to be added furthering the story from the rather grim cliffhanger of A Realm Awoken. Which I can reveal in 3... 2... 1...

The Students of Baldesion, scholars who are close with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, have gone silent only moments after the Scions spokesperson Minfilia encountered a member of the Ascians who came with a vague notion that the Echo both Minfilia and the player possess may have abilities yet untapped.

There's a chance that the Crystal Tower has put the main story on hold for a second and I do agree that whilst the added content is always a bonus maybe leaving the plot on a cliffhanger wasn't the best especially if it came off rather urgent. Things aren't really resolved at the end of this either and I get it's to keep people hooked but I think the middle ground would be to either make the cliffhangers significant but not urgent or break away from the main cast to showcase something they don't yet know. The game has already done this with the Ascians several times so it wouldn't feel out of place, the protagonists wouldn't have a bombshell just left at their front door and player could feel a little easier when they've witnessed something fairly big before thinking "hey that big ass tower looks like it could be some fun".

Regardless it's time to continue the main narrative and, some minor spoilers for my opinions on it, I think this patch is a little too story heavy.

Refugees from Doma, a nation heavily damaged by the Garlean Empire, the primary villains of A Realm Reborn, seek to shelter and start anew in Ul'dah, one of the major cities of Eorzea. They are unfortunately refused under grounds that Eorzea as a whole is still licking its wounds from the Seventh Umbral Era. Listening to the pleas of Yugiri, Doma's leader, the Scions agree to let them stay and help rebuild Revenant's Toll where the Scions are currently based. Unfortunately trouble starts to brew as the race of Sahagin, local to Revenant's Toll appear to be up to no good. With some help from the military force of Lominsa it's revealed that the Sahagins are summoning the Primal Leviathan. The Scions, Domans and Lominsans join forces to take the Primal down and celebrate as the Domans settle into their new home. The celebrations are once again cut short as Urianger, a member of the Scions who was sent to investigate the disappearance of the Students of Baldesion, returns with dark news. The scholars home has been eradicated by a spell reminiscent of Ultima's, the beast that was used to nearly destroy Eorzea during A Realm Reborn.

All-in-all a nice compelling side story that leads into larger events ahead whilst finally giving us the iconic Leviathan along with an excuse for a team up among some older faces, mainly returning Scion members in an awesome fight scene towards the end. The Doma subplot is pretty cool as well although I do think it makes the idea of immigration here a little too black and white. The council member that's deciding vote refutes the Domans from entering Ul'dah makes the decent point that they're barely out of a World War those that seek to take advantage of the fractured state of Eorzea have begun to do so. Adding something as busy as the relocation of an entire nation might distract them and use up enough resources that they might crumble under it. This argument isn't one that's completely flawed, in fact I dare say it's one that the council as a whole, and even the Scions, should've paid more attention to as recent events have proven that paranoia runs amok mere months after the fall of the Garlean Empire. The issue here is I'm making it sound a lot more reasonable than the way the character does and as such he's called out to be an arsehole fairly quickly. The counter to this is that trust needs to be restore and the sense of unity among the three states of Eorzea needs to be reminded to its people and, yeah, I agree with that but I do wish more time was spent on exploring those themes rather than what the majority of this patch does. Which is to say that this narrative spends more time setting up the meeting between the Domans and the council of Ul'dah over anything else. I'm not lying when I say that only 3 missions out of the total 14 here are devoted to scenes where various significant characters appear to meet Yugiri, hear her tragic tale and promise to help. Okay, there is a large amount of time devoted to setting her character up but besides from the involvement of Leviathan the player's involvement is minimal at best. There is a side-story that gives the player plenty to do but I want to touch upon that with its final part much later on.

I think this patch is just fine but if people were to zone out at this point I wouldn't blame them. There's more promise with the concept of this plot rather than the execution.

The fight against Leviathan is an 8 man raid that goes by fairly quickly although the aesthetic is pretty neat.

Holy crap this was awesome. Defenders of Eorzea doesn't fall into the trappings of Through The Maelstrom in terms of being a plot dump without much to speak of in terms of gameplay, with the exception of the pretty cool Leviathan fight. Instead its narrative is evenly paced alongside it's interactive quests.

The story itself acts as a return to the main storyline with little to no deviations made. With that being said DoE acts as set up to things to come and the promises made are big. So let's talk about them.

After the near constant barrage of Primals being summoned, Eorzea is returning to the dark place it was in A Realm Reborn. As its people wait for the clock to countdown to the next attack they ask for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to step up and do something about it. For the first time the Scions come into direct conflict with the United Eorzea council, those that supposedly put aside their differences at the end of ARR to come together as one nation. With the Scions having already marked their independence and the growing threats of Primals, and with a deeper understanding of how the immortal Ascians work, there's only one thing to do when those that dictate where their military forces will go to aid turn their very own people down. Forge an army of our own. This is both an act of defiance and a way to serve as an example of what a unified Eorzea could look like and it's as awesome as it sounds. Unfortunately for the Grand Companies, the military force for Eorzea, the divide in opinions over how to help its people isn't as simple as it appears thanks to the overwhelming amount of refugees rioting, seemingly a ploy by someone behind the scenes to make the rest of Carteneau Flats into a refugee camp in order to gain access to a device in the now ruined nation of Dalamud that could end up being more powerful that the Ultima Weapon. Omega itself. Whoever gains access to such a weapon will have the ability to nuke a nation, if not more, without much effort. Whilst this disturbing news makes its rounds the Primal Ramuh has been summoned. This act is different to the others as the Sylphs, fairy like creatures who we've met before in ARR, have stated that Ramuh would only be summoned if their homeland was attacked, when it seemingly hasn't. Upon reaching Ramuh, after the Sylphs tried to mentally screw with the player, a fight breaks out with us coming out on top. It's revealed that the Sylphs have reasoned with the Primal and after demonstrating our strength Ramuh he agrees to make us the Sylph's peacekeepers. The encounter also reveals how the Ascians are able to be immortal. When someone dies in the world of Hydaelyn their Aether is recycled and reformed into new life, the Primals however, use concentrated Aether in the form of crystals to be summoned to the mortal plane. The Ascians don't operate the same. When their Aether leaves their body it returns to a place outside of that natural cycle that makes up a normal life cycle. This may however have a downside which is the possibility of their Aether being trappable as long as their Aether is still in the same plane of existence as the mortals. In the closing moments of the story we learn about a potential threat forming in the cold snowy terrains of Mor Dhona with rumours of a Lady Iceheart and her legion of devout follower preparing to do something devastating. The newly formed Crystal Braves prepare to celebrate their formation with the Scions as Minfilia notes that Hydaelyn has been silent ever since the Empire fell at the end of ARR meaning that either the world is finally returning to a state of normality or something much worse is on the horizon.

I love this plot so much. I tackles the political intrigue of the Grand Companies whilst moving the main overarching plot along and informing us with elements of Hydaelyn's lore that could be a game changer in the future. Yes it's set up but the questions asked in this story are payoffs in their own way as they finally bring this story forward hinting at something large coming up.

Quests see us deal with old and new foes alike, with plenty of variation, along with a great Primal fight, one of my favourites yet. A great continuation of what makes this game so addictive in the first place.

Another excellent entry, and dare I say the best yet. Dreams Of Ice feels like the penultimate episode of a season finale and in many ways it is.

During the internal conflict of the systems that are meant to keep Eorzea functioning and in one piece we finally learn that much of that is thanks to conspirators from within the Grand Companies' very ranks. The Crystal Braves and Domans combine their efforts to flush out a spy, Eline Roaille who's the right hand of General Raubahn himself, one of the main members of the Grand Companies' council of people. On top of this it turns out she's been working for both the Ul’dah’s Monetarists and the Heretics of the Dravarian Horde, a faction that will become much more relevant later on. As a triple agent she has been well informed of the inner goings on within the Empire, enough to report, after a lengthy battle against her, that the Emperor has been replaced with a man named Varis Zos Galvus.

Not too long after Eline's capture we hear movement of Lady Iceheart, teased at the end of the previous patch, who's been using Eline's information to use her Heretics to disrupt trade routes from Coerthas, the the South of Eorzea. Seeing as we now have our own band of warriors, the Crystal Braves are put to the test as they slowly dismantle Lady Iceheart's operations.

Speaking of which, we encounter Lady Iceheart who reveals that she's planning on summoning the Primal Shiva to put an end to the Dragonsong War, something we've been receiving more and more distressing reports about as time has gone on. For now its relevance is only a tease for things to come but know that it's a war between Ishgard and the Dravanians, hence their involvement in this plot to set them up for the future. Believing that Shiva, who was a saint that fell in love with a dragon, can put an end to the Dragonsong war, she escapes using the teleport system the player has been using up until this point, the Aethernet, but destroys the Crystal she used to teleport with in the process, stopping the player from proceeding after. A major development unfolds as Minfilia reaches out to an old friend who helps with fixing the Crystal but in the process of doing so the Scions have created White Auracite, a Crystal that can hold a vast amount of Aether of which lies the key to finally trapping a Ascian. Following after Lady Iceheart, the player plans to put a stop to her summoning Shiva only for something new to occur. Instead of merely summoning Shiva's presence, Lady Iceheart summons Shiva's essence only, giving her the power of the Primal whilst maintaining control of her will-power. After facing off against her, in which might be the most beautiful fight in the game yet, she reverts to her former self before vanishing into a portal and uttering the words of Hydaelyn to those that possess the Echo raising some significant questions to the lore of this game as a whole from everything up until this point.

As the plot closes out the Scions wonder if Shiva was a Primal that could possess mortals and lend them her power or something else. Along with this; how Lady Iceheart retained her will when using Shiva's power is also up for debate, with the Ascian's potentially being involved. Finally, with the White Auracite in hand the Scions question if it can be used to recreate a weapon that could take down an Ascian once and for all, more specifically their leader. The only thing that's certain is their next clue as to what the hell is going on lies with the Wyrmking Midgardsormr, a beast that was killed during the Garlean Empire's first assault on Eorzea and whom they believe will soon be resurrected.

The plot of Dream Of Ice definitely leaves a lot more questions hanging in the air than previous patches however the questions being asked feels like we're heading to an massive event, the size of which we have only to guess but given the events mentioned in the 2.0 patches it's teased to be on a scale Final Fantasy hasn't really approached before, and I can confirm this to be true. I like it quite a bit. It feels like the epic vibe of A Realm Reborn has returned in full force and the nods to Final Fantasy IV are something I appreciate as it means that in a way the first four Final Fantasy titles have had their time's to shine in XIV.

In terms of pacing and actually gameplay involvement Dreams Of Ice strikes a great balance even if I'd expect most players to feel a little bored at this point. Besides from Job Quests I had done all of the Side Quests I could do at this point, until I could level up again which was a ways off. Raids and the Golden Saucer were the main ways of keeping me entertained whilst waiting for the queue of Main Quests to go down. It didn't help that a fairly big maintenance patch just occurred meaning that the player base is just returning making waiting queues longer either because of the large influx of players or the complete opposite. I could be waiting for 3 minutes on one Raid and upwards to an hour for another. When you've done all you can for the time being I'm grateful that areas like the Gold Saucer exist otherwise I might've been tempted to tap out sometime ago. The community also helps as I think Final Fantasy XIV has one of the best internet communities I've experienced. Everyone's up to do something regardless of how mundane it might be, like a race around the continent or something as daft as that. It's one of the many reasons I love this game.

The fight against Shiva keeps the player on their toes and whilst their no Ultima tier fight yet it's still challenging enough to keep everyone engaged to the point where I nearly ran out of MP for the first time yet, I'm a Arcanist Summoner if anyone must know.

The finale to the Seventh Astral Era arc is split into two parts and as such I shall review them in two parts.

The quality of this patch can not be understated. It contains some of the best bosses and dungeons the game has to this point. The narrative perfectly sums up previous events in this arc so far and gives the player some much needed closure on a number of large questions that have remained unanswered so far. It feels like an end is neigh and the stakes are ramping up. With that being said I do have a few issues with the lead up to this patch.

The player would've naturally done a large number of side quest up until this point however it's only with the ending of Dreams Of Ice are there several mandatory side quests introduced. The quests themselves I have no issue with but it's giving the player no indication that these should be done until attempting to move on with the story. For those who are curious, this small questline sees us take on the Primals once more with a few additional moves and the difficulty raised. I like these fights overall but see little reason to block of content for the sake of them.

Anyways, let's get that plot synopsis underway, be aware that I will be skimping on a few details for the sake of major spoilers but I'll address them the best I can now before delving further into them in the next patch.

After the traitors found in the previous patch, there is now worry that further double agents lie, some within the ranks of the Crystal Braves after various pieces of shipment have gone missing. Our search for the potential backstabber leads us to find we find the black marketeer dealing with the good Commander Illberd is seen standing next to his dead body. He gives the excuse that one of his men struck the criminal down in self defense and orders us to deliver the goods he stole. Upon doing so Riol, a Crystal Brave, thinks that some of the shipment is still missing and leaves to investigate. Moments later we are called upon to meet Lucia, Ser Aymeric's lieutenant who helped us during the Lady Iceheart incident. We learn that a dragon's roar has gone out signaling the coming of the Dravarians to ignite a war. This in turn means that Midgardsormr has awakened and as such we have to investigate. Upon meeting with him, the Wyrmking removes Hydaelyn's blessing from us causing the crystals we collected during A Realm Reborn to darken. Midgardsormr then forges a pact with us whilst alluding to a connection he has with Hydaelyn. We go to help Moenbryda test the White Auracite in a place where, should an incident occur, no one can be hurt. Moments after attempting to use the device an Ascian named Nabriales, whom we've seen in the background of the events of the Seventh Astral Era. Upon realising that we are no longer linked with the Blessing of Light he invades the Scions' base to steal the broken staff Tupsimati, that used to belong to the sage Louisioux who helped injure Bahamut before the events of A Realm Reborn. In an attempt to stop the Ascian, Nabrailes takes the staff and kidnaps Minifilia after he wounds Moenbryda. We chase after him and take down his mortal body before capturing him using the White Auracite and using the staff to summon enough Aether to destroy him but not without a cost, of which I will discuss in the next patch. The Scions mourn as they realise that war is coming to Ishgard and dragons along with it.

There are things I've left out but they're mainly things like recaps of previous events, which makes sense considering they would've originally been released months apart. I really liked this plot as, once again, it flings things forward but for the first time the consequences are driven home. Nabriales is a great villain although his stay is short. He serves as a vessel for the player to understand a little more about where the Ascians are at with things but he's also more direct than previous members. His assault on the Scions is sudden and brutal and the with price used to take him down his existence brings home the worry of more Ascian attacks in the future. The fight against Midgardsormr is awesome as it utilises Mythril Dragons and has the player bounce back and forth between them, forcing the group to work together and prioritise their attacks. The fight against Nabriales is equally as enjoyable thanks to his numerous phases involving direct heavy attacks and large AOE attacks that forces the player to move quite a bit whilst once again working with the group to prioritise attacks. The reality of war on the horizon along with a horde of dragons on the way is both horrifying and exciting.

The length of this patch is short but it is once again a two parter I guess the final verdict not only on this patch but on the arc as a whole lies on how it ends! Next up the finale!

With the second part of this patch, the Seventh Astral Era arc is at an end. The finale to not just the last few patches but to A Realm Reborn as a whole. I thought this was fine. Don't get me wrong the story itself hits another peak here with moments that still make my jaw drop but gameplay wise the crescendo to everything that came before feels a little off. We'll get to that shortly but first the plot;

At the end of the first part we destroyed our first Ascian but only because Moenbryda poured her remaining Aether into the White Auracite. Not a moment after the Scions mourn her do we finally receive the dreaded news foreshadowed previously. Dragons have followed the call to Ishgard. Alphinaud tries to appeal to the Grand Companies only for each of the factions to turn down the Scion's and Ishgard's call to arms as their individual struggles are deemed more important. With the once feasible concept of a United Eorzea now but a dream the Crystal Braves travel to Ishgard's border to do what they can. Lady Iceheart appears at the border and destroys its magical defenses letting in a horde of dragons along with the Great Dragon Vishap. after repelling the dragon army, at the cost of the brutalisation of the Ishgardians protecting the border, all finally seems calm once more. Tataru, the Scion's secretary, wants to join the fray and takes the opportunity to train as an Arcanist only to fail shortly afterwards. She resigns to use her skills as a secretary, reasoning that she is helping in that regard. Meanwhile we're sent to help a scholar who's researching the aether flows within the Shroud only for the body of Wildred, a young recruit and reoccurring helper of the Crystal Braves, to show up. Riol mentions that divisions of the Crystal Braves have been bribed by Teledji, a member of the Grand Companies council, and Wildred had discovered this leading to his demise.

What happens next is... heavy. When being invited to a celebratory feast in Ul'dah we are diverted to find a missing Crystal Brave only to find an empty vial along with Laurentius, a recruit we picked up awhile ago. Laurentius claims he'll find the missing Crystal Brave allowing us to return to the party only for Sultana Nanamo to summon us. The Sultanate is like a monarchy for those who don't know. She informs us that she intends to use the celebrations as a platform for her to dissolve the council and the Sultanate in order to make Ul'dah a democratic republic. Her aim is to merge the class divide so Ul'dah can better help Eorzea. It's only after she reveals this that she drinks from her cup of wine which has been poisoned. Teledji falsely accuses us of her murder and arrests us.

Ser Aymeric makes the announcement that he wishes to form a treaty with Eorzea in the hopes of merging Ishgard with it.

Meanwhile Teledji's Brass Blades, formally the Sultana's, and members of the Crystal Braves being arresting and attacking the Scions one by one until the uprising is brought into the hall where the remaining members reside. Teledji throws us to the floor before announcing the Sultana's death, our accusation shortly before claiming that the Scions have bewitched the Grand Companies and Ishgard, using Thancred's time under the possession of Lahabrea as his leading example. Then, in perhaps one of the twistiest of twists, Raubahn see's through Teledji's deception and just straight slaughters him only for Lord Lolorito to reprimand him, Lolorito being one of the council members. Raubahn spares no time before launching at Lolorito only for Illberd to interrupt his attack by slicing his arm off. We learn that the two used to be allies before the Calamity however Illberd has grown tired of Raubahn's more relaxed nature. In a last ditch effort Raubahn frees us and with his one arm charges Illberd, giving the Scions time to flee. One by one, however, the Scions are divided leaving only Alphinaud, Tataru and the player left. Cid returns with his airship, the Enterprise, and sweeps us away before the Crystal Braves can. Resorting to hide within the Ishgard borders, in Coerthas, House Fortemps agrees to help the remaining Scions of the Seventh Dawn into Ishgard properly, with them outright refusing the people of Eorzea until they recognise the Scions's innocence. The story ends as the remaining members seek to do the only thing they can in these desperate times; look Heavensward.

Before playing this chapter of Final Fantasy XIV I had finished rewatching Empire Strikes Back and it's hard not to draw parallels. In a good way I should point out. I'm not trying to say this feels like it's deliberately ripping that film off but I can see where they took inspiration if they did. With that being said, yeah I liked this plot a lot. The Game Of Thrones backstabbery, yes that's an official term, is in full throttle here as once trusted allies turn their backs or outright conspire to kill each other. The best part is how believable it all is. Loloroti and Raubahn's relationship has been slipping for sometime and Illberd might've appeared a friendly face but he was always at the centre of too many coincidences, like the missing weapon shipments. Tension has been rising within the Grand Companies' ranks for a while now as well making the twist of the knife more tragic, especially when it seems that peace might finally be on the horizon.

You might be thinking, "that's a lot of plot so where does the gameplay fit into all of this?" Not well unfortunately. The main part we play through is the defense of the Ishgard borders as we fend off against the dragons in an awesome spectacle of a battle. It's just that this is the last battle of A Realm Reborn making its narrative resonance feel a little hollow. Fighting our way out of Ul'dah or against Illberd, wounding but not killing him, would've felt better. As it stands the fight itself is far from bad. It's more to do with its placement and the fact that the story ends with that as its last major battle, unless you want to count defending a scholar from some regular enemies as a major battle in which case it's far worse.

My real enjoyment out of the gameplay side of things was the last hurrah I had going around and cleaning up any unfinished quests along the way. I even tried out being a Red Mage which... I need work on but I've enjoyed it so far.

In terms of the Seventh Astral Era as a whole, it paints a wider picture than A Realm Reborn did by itself. If you want the Final Fantasy grandeur and homages then ARR has you covered. SAE presents something more mature and a much darker tone going forward. It doesn't neglect ARR and in many ways makes it vital to understanding the events to come. SAE explores the nitty gritty of Eorzea but still carries the same quality from the base game with it. The light hearted nature might be harder to find but it doesn't feel like it's too much doom and gloom, even if I miss some of the more quippy parts of ARR such as Biggs and Wedge charging into a Imperial facility.

Now all that's left is to pat the Seventh Astral Era on the head for being a good sequel story to A Realm Reborn and continuing the adventure in Heavensward!

I should probably mention that because Heavensward is a full expansion it might take me a while to get around to talking about it but when I'm done with it I will!

Adios!