right away Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker very popular you can’t buy it anymore. To prevent overloads and server crashes, Square Enix had to pause free trials and new sales to keep the game steady after an unprecedented spike in popularity. in this summer. Between that and the global shortage of materials to add more servers, it might take a while for players to experience it. However, if you have an active subscription and are trying to get through the long queue, you are one of the lucky few to experience something truly special. For everyone else: wait there, it will be well worth the wait.
FFXIV is unique among MMO where its story focuses heavily on rushing to prepare for the late game raid, though that’s also great. After 10 years of reboots and expansions, Endwalker is the final chapter in the saga of the opposing gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark, and after the stellar Shadowbringers were highly anticipated. Terrible towers have appeared around the world ushering in an apocalypse known as The Last Day, so you and your Scions colleagues set out to stop it.
In my time review is underway, I mentioned how the story starts off a bit slow while setting things up, but is just getting started, and holy hell will bring that. All my previous doubts are forgiven as the game takes you in some really unexpected directions, delivering some great emotional punching. It really makes all the actors proud. After facing trouble in Garlemald (the source of frequent conflict and villains in previous expansions), you’ll discover a larger, darker conspiracy and embark on a journey of adventure. program that takes you past the moon.
There are certain story beats that leave me heartbroken and gasping for some foreshadowing of how far Endwalker has come – all put together wonderfully.
It also brings back a lot of plot points and the characters from A Realm Reborn neatly give all your favorite actors a chance to shine without just being incentivized for fan scores. There are certain story beats that leave me heartbroken and gasping for some foreshadowing of how far Endwalker has come – all put together wonderfully.
However, it also means you’ll miss out on a lot of the experience if you’ve skipped any of the previous expansions – playing through them all is a must, and if you haven’t played in a while, you should do a little Google upgrade to get the most out of it. In particular, you really need to play the Crystal Tower and Omega raid series and all the stories associated with them. But when all the stories up to this point have been so good, it shouldn’t be difficult to keep up.
Admittedly there are some pacing issues – some missions are oddly long overdue, and the sneaky parts, while commendable for trying to mix things up, can be frustrating because they don’t work very well in an MMO. Baddie Zenos’ bow is also a bit disappointing – his antics feel unnecessary to everything else going on. Oddly though, these little stimulants and slow-movers do give you a little mental relaxation to process some seriously dramatic moments. I can definitely feel the heat of the tears trying to escape on my face and the sweats on my palms due to the sheer intensity and pay off in certain moments. Thavnair and much of the fifth zone (no spoilers here, you really need to play it) are personal highlights that I continue to think about after stopping playing.
Tying all the stories together is the absolute genius of Soken’s musical score. Characters from previous expansions will appear in versions of the soundtrack from that expansion that are combined with the current one along with classic Final Fantasy themes. The moments were foretold and accompanied by the perfect timing of the previous theme lyrics. Again, I don’t want to spoil too much but the way both Zodiark and Hydaelyn are presented throughout the track is phenomenal. There’s a lot of hope in his music – the soft twinkles in the dark moments really make you feel like your Warrior of Light is emerging for the occasion. And all of that during his battle with cancer is an absolutely incredible achievement. Endwalker’s soundtrack is truly a masterpiece.
On top of that, Endwalker also increased the level cap to 90, added two new jobs, and updated all pre-existing jobs. It was fun to see my laser-crystal Nouliths zooming around me in battle like a healing Sage, and although starting at level 70, it’s relatively easy to get if you’ve had any prior healing experience. I’m not exactly like the scythe-wielding DPS Reaper, but that’s very much a matter of personal preference as it’s currently at the top of the damage charts. Most of the other work has been streamlined a bit to make room for new abilities with the level cap raised – I’ve been happy with the slightly easier Monk maneuver and the explosion of power. unexpectedly strong in the rotation of the Dancer. Summoner has received a huge rework that players seem pleased with (mine is still only level 18!), but while the size of the beasts brought into battle is impressive, they have can partially fill a distracting battlefield.
The trust system that allows you to run dungeons with a group of NPCs is also profitable and well worth the effort the first time you tackle them one by one. In particular, if you run the story dungeons level 87, 89, and 90 with members of the cast, you will get more out of the story. It really helps to make everyone feel like they’re a better part of your team doing it, even if it takes a little longer than doing it with other players.
After you’ve finished the main story, there’s still plenty to keep you busy including extreme versions of the two trials, two more level 90 dungeons, hunts, and an added 8-player raid series recently named Pandaemonium. There is currently only the ‘normal’ version of the raid so everyone has a chance to equip before the ‘Extreme’ version drops in January, but getting a little more Lore on Ancients is a distraction. welcome. Between that, crafting and collecting to create all the hundreds of new items and upcoming seasonal events, there’s plenty of content for you to browse through the upcoming patches and wait to see if Square Enix brings FFXIV to where.
Endwalker isn’t quite as immersive in terms of experience as the previous Shadowbringers expansion and certainly suffers from some pacing issues, but it’s still a must for Final Fantasy fans and exceeded all my expectations. . It also displays its age graphically now ( meme attest to it), but if you love the main FF games and still haven’t tried this MMO, then you really need to fix that (when the game goes on sale, of course) because you’re missing out. a game. of the best FF stories of all time. A genuine one must play despite its flaws.
