It’s no secret that Final Fantasy is one of my favourite franchises (lets not talk about FF16 right now though, I currently have no desire to finish it) and I wrote a few years ago now about my experience playing FF7R when it first released on PS4. Fresh information has been streaming through about the highly anticipated FF7 Rebirth coming in February 2024 so I thought not would be an excellent time to refresh my memory on the gameplay of FF7R and finally get around to completing the Intermission Yuffie episode. I’ve still got Crisis Core Reunion to play and with no knowledge of Crisis Core whatsoever I feel I need to give that the attention it deserves to be completely up to date with everything and ready for whatever FF7 Rebirth throws at me.
Spending dedicated one-on-one time with most party members really helps you get to know them as you play FF7R.
I’ve played through the game again and it’s brought back many treasured memories of the countless replays of the original and the amount of times I did actually play through FF7R on the PS4 and then again on the PS5 when I got that version for free. I did quickly become pretty engrossed with FF14 not long after getting the PS5 though so everything kind of got put on the back burner. Now I’m kinda waiting for Dawntrial and have played through several Trails games I thought revisiting FF7R to get caught up again would help reinvigorate my excitement for the release of Rebirth in February. And I am SO excited for that game.
I’ve now completed FF7R again on PS5 and will be taking advantage of the chapter selection mode that becomes available after completing the game for the first time to grab a few more PS5 trophies. I’m halfway through the Yuffie episode too and have Crisis Core Reunion ready to go after that. I feel a lot better knowing what I do know about FF7 Rebirth and that the second installment of the games is going to take us exploring all the way through to The Forgotten City. The announcement trailer showed some of the Weapons which look glorious as I knew they would. Fighting them in FF7 was a pretty spectacular moment, and the sidequest in FF14 showing the Weapons (and getting small PTSD after my first EX trial in FF14) and getting to fight them alongside friends was a cool moment. I can’t wait to see how the Weapons will be utilised in FF7R whether that’s in Rebirth or the installment that follows. If we are keeping the R theme will it be FF7 Revelations or something?
Ah Reno – the character that taught me I have a thing for red haired, snarky, JRPG men… *sigh*
FF7R made me cry, again, probably. I’m sure I cried many times the first time I played it both from the overwhelm of finally getting it in my hands to all those beautifully harrowing moments that caught my attention the first time around. I have come to realize in this playthrough just how much I love each and every character in FF7’s world. People are always pitting Tifa and Aerith against each other for being the ‘better’ female lead but I felt a real strong sense of sisterhood between the two of them. I loved that. I love Tifa’s strength and quiet resolve, I love Aerith for her compassion, kindness and optimism. They are both fantastic characters. Playing as Yuffie for the first time reminded me just how much I love her character in FF7. I ALWAYS did everything I could to get her as a party member early on in the original game to have her for as long as possible. She’s cute, angry, small and clumsy – everything I love in her archetype of character and I can not wait to see how she slots in with the rest of the FF7R characters.
I’m really looking forward to the introduction of other characters and party members through FF7 Rebirth
I haven’t finished the intermission episode yet but Yuffie and Sonon’s relationship at this point has had my laughing. Yuffie is exactly the sort of character I love to play; completely chaotic but with a good heart and doing things with what she believes to be the best intentions. You already get a glimpse of the strained relationship she has with her dad who a lot of people respect. She’s got a bright and sunny disposition and she fights like a complete badass. Strong Estelle Bright energy – an unrelated female protagonist from Trails in the Sky but that lovable hotheaded chaotic energy is exactly the sort of female character I love. Yuffie is going to bring some great energy and interactions in Rebirth. Sonon balances her character pretty well although seems to have taken the ‘big brother’ role and whilst he kind of goes along with what Yuffie is doing and saying he’s also very much muttering ‘why me’ along the way.
Replaying FF7R and reminding myself how weapons upgrade and how to use things like materia and summons alongside remembering that each party member has a unique style to their fighting gets me excited for FF7 Rebirth and the party compositions and synergised attacks to come. I’m really excited to get all the party members together and really see how the grow and develop together in this new version of Final Fantasy 7. Despite my initial reservations about the game being solely based in Midgar that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in depth or emotive story topics. The development and expansion of the starting city really deserves credit because even though some areas of the game do feel a little bit tedious, they are still done well. Playing FF7R again I knew I wasn’t excited about going through the Sewers and then the Train Graveyard again but since playing I have come to realize part of the reason I didn’t enjoy them is because you are at such a rush to get back to base at that point and it sort of feels like you’re blocked.
My replay of FF7R was enjoyable, emotional and has certainly got me hyped up for the next installment in February.
I first starting playing FFXIV in May 2021 so technically it’s been over two years since I began and my character has been through a fair amount of changes during that time. I have been through a fair amount of changes in that time in my personal life as well so it’s been kind of a mixed bag. FFXIV was never a game I was really interested but being one of the lucky few to manage to secure getting a PS5 back then and in the midst of a global pandemic I thought it would be a good idea to try.
I’ve written a few blog posts on my time playing FFXIV because in those two years this game has taken up a huge portion of my life. I’ve tried to do a lot of things from doing the obvious main scenario quests to joining FC’s to housing, crafting and raiding. Some of that has been more successful than others. The biggest difference was someone like me, a usually solo gamer that had a lot of love for other Final Fantasy games, trying to play an MMORPG. The social aspect of the game was daunting enough for me to google ‘how much can I solo whilst playing FFXIV’ and it turns out quite a lot.
Playing FFXIV as a Sprout on Louisoix
I had no idea why I ended up on Louisoix as my server of choice but I am glad that I did because it’s what has allowed me to make the friends I have made whilst playing FFXIV. Originally thinking I wanted to play as a Viera because of Fran from FFXII and finding a very limited amount of hairstyles actually lead me to creating my character as a maximum height AuRa because they looked like small dragons. She had pink hair and my starting job as an arcanist dictated my starting city as Limsa Lominsa which I have since learned has a reputation for being a place for a lot of very interesting conversations.
I knew absolutely nothing about this game at all. I was playing FFXIV on console and found the controls to be confusing. I didn’t know how to access other parts of my UI – the chat box for one – and I didn’t really know what to do. This lead to me basically opening up a lot of quests at once and becoming very overwhelmed. I thought why not try and level my character out in the wilds of La Noscea when I was quested with killing some ladybirds for my job role quest but didn’t understand how job specific abilities worked for a long time and instead would just press ‘square’ and then ‘attack’. Auto-attack damage in this game is not very good, your abilities actually make quite a difference I have since found out.
I remember one morning at about 11am I was trying to enter the first dungeon which, at the time, didn’t have duty support and I had absolutely no luck getting in to it as an arcanist DPS player. So I once again turned to google of which the answer to beating dungeon queue’s was to do so as a tank or a healer. Healing still to this day does not appeal to me and so my option was left to tank. More googling leads to ‘Marauder’ is a tank class in FFXIV which also started in Limsa Lominsa so I went back and I picked up that job and I decided okay well I guess back to levelling again which meant back to killing ladybirds. Although, not auto attacking. I did thankfully do that with my abilities.
Tanking gets you into dungeons faster but maybe learn what that means first…
I will say right now, as a non-sprout and official holder of a burger king mentor crown that I am in August 2023 a fairly competent tank. I say this because potentially some of the below will instill fear and terror as you read what I was like and that I truly understand to my very core what Tankxiety is like when playing FFXIV. I know what it is like to be put off tanking and I feel like I should offer some reassurance that, whilst I make mistakes plenty of times, I am now confident enough to tank most content in this game, that I did get better. We all, however, start somewhere and this is how my decision to beat dungeon queue’s didn’t go as well as I would have liked at first.
My knowledge of being a ‘tank’ class was literally they have more defense than others. It wasn’t ‘I should be leading the charge’ in a dungeon and taking all of the damage and excuse me but what the fuck is emnity and why do I want it? Did I do the ‘hall of novice’ quests before attempting any dungeons? No…absolutely not. I didn’t even have half of my abilities because I didn’t know they were locked behind job quests until I eventually went back to them towards the end of A Realm Reborn were I was well over level 40. I even did the unthinkable shame inducing thing of entering a dungeon without having my jobstone saved on my gearset.
There were, I think, three very specific occasions that taught me to be a better tank on my then chosen main class which started as Marauder and then specialises into Warrior at level 30. The first was the gauntlet for any sprout tank or healer known as Aurum Vale in which some very kind and helpful player literally told me how to use tank stance and what I was supposed to do as a tank in a non condescending way. The second actually was one of the things that lead me to stop playing the job and seriously looking for a DPS class to change to instead and that was being told how stupid I was for using Holmgang at the start of the fight. To which, yes, it is retrospectively a stupid thing to do. Because what I was doing was just pressing ALL my mitigation buttons on cooldown. That was, indeed, not correct.
The third occasion was when I was finally confident enough to learn how to play Warrior properly and try again after finishing the MSQ at level 80 and going on to play my favoured and main job now, Machinist -which has become a running joke to myself really I do play well enough to sometimes steal enmity and thus, tank without any of those defensive buffs, or if a tank dies, I am often high enough on the enmity list to be the next one to unintentionally provoke the boss. Anyway, the third occasion was what I fondly think of as a Warrior masterclass from someone in my free company at the time that did actually know what they were doing and spent a good portion of an afternoon helping me.
Speaking of joining a Free Company…
I have now been in four free companies since I started playing FFXIV. The first one I was in for well over a year, if not around 14 months after a randomly thrown invite way back in my ARR days. I remember accepting the invite and then seeing welcome messages popping up in the chat box which before then had been silent and kind of ignored so I didn’t know how to type in it and didn’t really ever say anything but did start seeing the same names creep up often enough that I began to get a sense of familiarity. Eventually, I think about two weeks later, I accidentally pressed the gamepad button on my controller which did get me into the chat box and I saw I was able to bring up a keyboard and did say hello and explained that I didn’t know how before and which probably made me come across very scatterbrained.
I used many a wrong abbreviation for things when I thought people were talking about things but they actually weren’t. One occasion being asking for help with DR – because I thought that meant ‘duty roulette’ not ‘Delebrum Reginae’ which is something that was relevant at the time and something people did weekly that I didn’t know about or even have unlocked. Three people agreed but it wasn’t until it clicked with someone that I wasn’t asking for actual DR content who explained to me what delebrum reginae actually was. Two of those people did stick with me and do a levelling dungeon because I was trying to get my machinist levelled enough to carry on with the main scenario quests at that point. The other person promptly left which is completely understandable but did leave me feeling pretty embarrassed.
There were several other occasions like this. I was eager to do a lot of content and events that the Free Company I was in put up but I didn’t really know how to be a competent player. I didn’t know how to play my jobs. I had not, in fact, read my tool tips. I think my incompetence but willing to join in kind of nature sort of gave people the impression that I was a bit ditzy and maybe even made people feel a bit sorry for me. The thing is at the time I didn’t know I was doing the wrong things and when someone did tell me I was horribly mortified. Eventually though I learned a lot from the first free company I was in and I did a lot of fun things.
I did current level extreme trials and I was there experiencing all the hype with everyone during Endwalker’s release. I made friends, I attended in game weddings, I was invited to social events and in game parties. I had my own in game wedding too, which was a lot of fun. My friend and I decided to gift everyone with Morbol Seedlings which involved us chasing people around the chapel to give them something no one wanted. I was able to get my first taste of savage raiding with an FC static and I will tell you savage is an entirely different ball game to other content in FFXIV. I even lead my own events as an experienced player to help other people get clears on particular content.
Leaving an FC can be a really hard thing to do…
In the end, however, I did decide to move on from that Free Company. Initially I didn’t have much of a desire to join another as by that point I had joined a different static to do savage raiding with and I was kind of content to have some time away from an FC. However, one day out in the wild I was approached by another FC leader and did decide to give it a go. I am in that free company now and have been for some months but in the interim between joining last October and now I did end up changing servers and being part of my statics FC on Spriggan for a month. I then came back with the desire to start my own FC with some friends but it just wasn’t really the right thing for me to do.
I still have that FC on my Alt so I do get to learn how to do FC workshop stuff and still have everything set up so if we decided to give it another go in the future we could do. However I ended up returning to the Free Company I am part of now and an officer in so I have a level of responsibility and do get to join in and put on my own events.
…But I hope I’ve made some lifelong friends
There are people I speak to on a very regular basis and feel I’ve got to know well. As someone that was incredibly nervous about the social aspect when it came to playing FFXIV I’m glad I have tried to make friends. What may have started as helping out over time became gradually getting to know others better and in some cases has given me a chance to find other games through recommendations. It’s been fun just hanging out in game and showing off glamour to each other, it’s been nice to just have a chat amongst the content.
So what now?
I remember the launch up towards Endwalker really fondly and reading about everyone’s theories and excitement gave me a real buzz as a first time experiencing an expansion release. With FFXIV Dawntrail now being confirmed as releasing in Summer 2024 I do feel like it would be good tidy up a few things and step back a little so I can come back into the expansion feeling a lot less burned out. I wasn’t expecting such an emotional ride both in terms of gameplay and friendships. I wasn’t really expecting any form of personal development either which probably came alongside my Autism and ADHD diagnosis alongside the friends I’ve made who have been there for me.
So for now I’m going to step back from doing savage raiding and focus on the Endwalker extremes, a little bit of older relic farming and finally getting my Master Culinarian achievement.
I have so many words to say right now that it’s hard to find the exact right place to start but I am writing this as someone that has only very recently heard of Trails in the Sky and completely new to the series but I am already feeling myself ready to completely gush about how much I have loved playing this game for the last week or so. I’ve always loved and enjoyed a variety of video games but RPG’s have been my ‘thing’ when looking for something to completely immerse myself into. I think the mix of storytelling, worldbuilding and going through a journey with a character both physically and usually emotionally has always been a big appeal so I’m always happy to listen to other people’s recommendations when it comes to these types of games. It’s also not uncommon for me to start becoming slightly obsessed with the fandom surrounding other games and actually books now I come to think of it – I genuinely worry sometimes the amount I think, talk, look at fanart etc of A Court of Thorns and Roses as an example – I suppose I can put it down to the autistic part of my brain wanting to fully consume and know everything about something when I find something I just fall in love with.
Finding New Games to Play
I have been mostly consumed by one game for the past eighteen months or so which has mostly been an enjoyable and positive experience. However for the past six months or so I’ve not found it as compelling as I once did and that’s been a source of frustration for me in a time where I’ve been lacking in focus, motivation and dealing with some personal things I’ve been dealing with. My usual methods of escapism have been alluding me for quite some time and it ended up with me really needing to take a step back from what I was doing in FFXIV – which really wasn’t very much – but I was stuck with not having much to do and no other games were really gripping my focus or attention. After I finished levelling all of my jobs in FFXIV it felt like the right time to sort of push myself into doing something else but I wasn’t really sure what. For the first time in what feels like a very long time I don’t feel like I have to log in all day every day and that I can actually just focus on doing things I want to do and at the moment I am pretty content with just doing savage raids with my static group and occasionally doing fun content with friends who are also not online as much at the moment.
I’ve written before how I was hesitant about playing Final Fantasy XIV because I was going to have to deal with other people in the social aspect of the game. Although I went in with the intention of not really talking to anyone it turns out that the social part of an MMO is something I’ve enjoyed quite a lot and getting to know other people that have not only enjoyed playing video games but have absolutely loved Final Fantasy as a series just as much as I have has been a truly wonderful experience. I’d like to think I’ve made some genuine friendships with other people and as time has gone on the conversations that started out as raid mechanic call outs, strategy planning or casually chilling doing treasure hunting have turned into hanging out just because and talking about other things we’ve played and absolutely loved. One such conversation lead to my introduction to Trails in the Sky and after listening to someone speak with such fondness of a game made me curious and lead me to purchasing it on Steam and I have not regretted that choice one little bit.
Aforementioned fun content with friends was doing the new variant dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV and finding all possible outcomes. Making friends with other video game enthusiasts thanks to FFXIV has lead to some wonderful friendships and conversations with them have introduced me to other video games that I might not have found out about before.
I’m not usually one to read lots of reviews about a series prior to playing something but a glance over the reactions on steam to the game being positive within the community – and hearing someone who I have, I suppose, looked up to and followed in the footsteps in a way in Final Fantasy XIV and therefore come to respect and appreciate the opinion of – lead to me already feeling it would be something I’d enjoy but I didn’t quite anticipate it gripping me just the way it has done. I would say I had fairly high expectations but for a game that was just under £13 it wouldn’t have been a huge loss so to speak if I hadn’t enjoyed it. However, the age of the game originally being released in 2004 in Japan meant it was going to be quite different from what I’ve been playing lately, although I did start another (and finish this time) playthrough of Final Fantasy IX in the summer…I digress, it didn’t put me off but I was told it was more of a slow burn type of game with most of the world building coming through from reading dialogue not only from the characters interactions but other pieces of information you can pick up through the game.
Being someone that has such fond memories of playing earlier text based RPG’s such as Final Fantasy, prior to voice acting being introduced in FFX and many Dragon Quest games alongside other JRPG’s a written game isn’t really something to put me off playing. On one hand reading the information helps me process things a lot more as I’m more active whilst playing whereas I can get distracted by lengthy, acted out cut scenes. However, as I haven’t really been able to focus on reading in general lately I wasn’t sure if Trails in the Sky would be a game I could fully get into but I’m glad to say that wasn’t the case at all. It’s also been nice having someone around to talk to about it as I’ve played through although they haven’t given much away at all which in some parts I think has been equally frustrating for them having to navigate spoilers.
Playing Trails in the Sky
I can only really describe Trails in the Sky as completely charming and having everything you’d expect from an JRPG but also I suppose just giving that little bit more by having character portraits full of expression during dialogue scenes. The characters you control around the maps are chibi like versions which I suppose are commonplace in older RPGs and something I’ve always found quite endearing but seeing the full scale faces and expressions has been a really nice touch and added to, not only the humour of the interactions between characters, but also some of the more touching, emotional moments. One of my absolute favourites has been reading hidden messages and references to other media from empty treasure chests.
Some of these messages have really made me laugh and I have loved the additional thought and references put into these. ‘Feed Me Seymour’ being a well loved reference to Little Shop of Horrors which I absolutely love and something I do actually quote in my real day to day life
Each character you come across has their own unique personality and way of handling scenarios and that is so clear cut in the dialogue you have and the situations you find your characters in. Playing as Estelle Bright, who is accompanied by her adopted brother Joshua on their journey around the Liberl Kingdom to become senior bracers you see this truly beautiful friendship and dynamic between the two really flourish. Estelle is exactly the sort of main character I adore; one that isn’t afraid to keep her opinions to herself but with that kind of youthful obliviousness of coming-of-age characters that I have always loved in these sorts of games and probably why I still love and appreciate YA Fantasy novels.
Estelle is not a complex character but she is flawed which is what makes her fun to experience going through the story with. She is impulsive and quick to act which sometimes gets her into sticky situations and I like that through the gameplay she progresses at a really nice pace without losing that initial charm and spark about her. She is brash, opinionated and a little hot headed in comparison to the much more collected, strategic Joshua and the balance between them is what makes the game feel so utterly wholesome. Joshua, on the other hand, is much more reserved and sometimes almost calculating although their are plenty of interactions that play out in which you see a real gentle, heartwarming side to him too. However, with the way the game begins with Estelle’s father Cassius bringing an injured Joshua home with very little explanation and a secretive past did leave me to I suppose, I wouldn’t say suspicious, but I knew that eventually his story would come out and it wasn’t going to be an easy one to witness.
Having real societal influences and themes in games feels commonplace in RPG’s and has always been something I’ve appreciated and loved.
The cast of characters throughout the game are all built with their own unique histories and styles which makes it easy to immerse yourself into Trails in the Sky
It’s pretty clear from the start of the game from a conversation Estelle and Joshua have with their mentor Schera that the trope between the two is going to be a ‘childhood friends to romance’ dynamic which is something I suppose I don’t usually like in any type of fiction or setting. I have always been an enemies to lovers trope appreciator because I think the tension between characters is always interesting and exciting to witness particularly when they’re on opposing sides to something. Their are just very few couples that have evolved from friends to more that I have enjoyed the dynamic between but I think it’s the opposing characteristics of the two of them that add to that wholesome charm. They’re also both only sixteen so the game doesn’t focus on an outright romance between the two but as people point things out to Estelle more and she starts to process feelings she didn’t really consider or had potentially brushed off before it becomes a recurring underlying theme. So not only does Trails in the Sky focus on overall character progression by playing through quests and having to do things as Bracers but also watching Estelle become more aware of herself, her feelings for Joshua and what that might mean for them in the future is incredibly sweet.
Trails in the Sky is full of wholesome content and is overwhelming charming. The world building and character interactions make for an interesting gameplay experience.
The way Trails in the Sky unfolded was such an enjoyable experience and each new town you visit just builds layer upon layer of intrigue, mystery and development for the characters and the plot. I actually found it a really nice, easy to process style of gameplay to follow and nothing felt too heavy or overwhelming at one time. You learn what’s going on at the same time the characters do and there is an option to learn more with the addition of news articles and books you can pick up and read about the world Estelle and Joshua live in. The quests include a variety of escort missions, fetch quests and combat based monster killing which adds a really nice level of diversity to the game play. The combat is time based and strategic which I tend to prefer as it gives you a little bit more time to think and plan ahead. The orbment and quartz system did take me a little bit of time to get used to but eventually I ended up with some really well balanced characters that had a mix of offensive and support spells. It was reminiscent of using Materia in FFVII a little but more complex I felt.
I’ve come away from Trails in the Sky eager to continue and start Second Chapter which I promptly purchased and downloaded ready to go as I want to spend more time in this world and with these characters unveiling what is going on. I still have many unanswered questions about events that unfolded and I really can’t wait to see what will happen next.
Having funny moments like this helps break up some of the more serious context of the plot which allows for the player to appreciate, enjoy and process the plot in a comfortable pace
Final Fantasy XIV is an online MMO available on PC and Playstation. It’s been a year since I started the game and I wanted to take the chance to reflect on some of my memories since I began.
My current FFXIV PSN playtime is 1,815 hours.
This time last year after having a PS5 for around six weeks I decided to try and give Final Fantasy 14 a try. I didn’t know what to expect other than the fact it was an MMO so there would be other players but being a fan of other final fantasy games it was one I had considered trying. I believe I purchased a multipack of all the expansions up to Shadowbringers for around £50 which included a 30 day free trial and then the subscription would be £8.99 per month. After the free trial ended I decided to preorder the next expansion, Endwalker, which was at the time due to come out in November 2021.
Avalon Lefae – My Current Favourite Machinist Glam – my chosen DPS role
Starting Jobs in FFXIV
I created my character, Avalon Lefae, as a female Au’Ra and started my game as an Arcanist as magic user has been my go to in video games. I remember googling ‘Can FFXIV be played solo’ and found that most of the game could be and everything was going fine up until my first dungeon. I’d spent all this time doing the MSQ hitting things with my book until I realised that wasn’t actually the way you should attack things and running around with my little Carbuncle murdering ladybirds only to be faced with my first obstacle. DPS queue times. Another google told me doing the job as a ‘Tank’ or a ‘Healer’ would speed things up. I knew a ‘tank’ character was one with high defence but I didn’t really know the expectations of ‘Tank’ players. I did however feel incredibly intimidated of the prospect of trying to keep everyone alive in a dungeon of players I didn’t know so I instead decided to try the class Marauderer.
After finally levelling it up enough I was able to go in my first dungeon and I had no idea what I was doing or what was expected of me. It was not good. I was constantly turning my stance on and off thinking it was an attack, I didn’t know about facing enemies away and I just made many, many mistakes. If you had told me last summer I would be progressing the current Savage raid tier as a tank I would have laughed and laughed in shock. There was however a lovely group of players that helped explain things to me my first time doing Aurum Vale which made the world of difference. I ensured my job stone was equipped as a Warrior, I kept stance on in dungeons and I was able to make my way through boss fights.
Avalon in her current WAR glam
I remember getting to Shadowbringers and really struggling as a tank still which really stopped my enjoyment of the game but it was the only job I had levelled. I originally changed jobs again and started levelling Black Mage and did end up getting it to level 61 but I was still so far from the MSQ stories where my Warrior was, I think, level 77. I became super disheartened and actually, in the end, I decided to buy a ‘job skip’ for a DPS role so that I could get closer to the point I was at in the MSQ and continue playing. For some reason I went with Machinist. I didn’t know much about it other than it had guns and I was like yep, this is the job for me. As I job skipped it took me to level 70 and with a week or so of roulettes I eventually got myself to the same level as my Warrior and was able to continue with the rest of the story.
A Thank you to my FC Solheim
I loved the story for FFXIV but what really made me love this game is joining the FC I am now, I hope to think, a valued member of. I was invited randomly at low level when wondering around La Noscea during my time playing A Realm Reborn. I remember seeing a whole host of ‘Welcome’s in the chat box appear but I didn’t know how to select the box and type. In fact the first time I did it was purely by accident and I remember saying that I had only just worked out how to type as I was on console. I still kept mostly to myself but occassionally joined in with content with others and then joined the FC discord server after asking my daughter to show me how to use it and set up my in server nickname as my ingame name.
I remember the first time I joined on voice chat was for a quick session doing the Wonderous Tales sticker book where the leader of the FC was talking through how to complete it. It was an hour or so of fun and chatting to others which I was pretty nervous about at first but thankfully everyone was nice and approachable. Over the summer I joined in with a few mount farms for others which was fun but the real turning point in how I interacted with everyone and how I got better at the game was in the Autumn. The FC were running regular events to farm the dragon mounts from the Shadowbringers extreme trials and had got to Emerald Weapon. I was nervous but finally had it unlocked and a Machinist at the right level and ilevel so I signed up to join and it was incredibly stressful.
Playing with FC members and doing fun challenges like a Min iLevel run of Cape Westwind before the changes has been so much fun
Becoming Avalon 2.0
I know my damage wasn’t really high enough compared to others and I was struggling a lot with positioning. In fact at that point I mostly played the game with the camera over my shoulder as I didn’t know how to zoom out. It wasn’t until that weapon fight that another console user told me which buttons to press and finally I could see the entire screen. It was the first time clearing a hard extreme trial and I ended up getting a mount drop too which was very cool. I then felt a little more confident to sign up with other FC events and put myself down for the next fight which was Diamond Weapon and it was horrible. We didn’t get one clear. I was so, so disheartened. I felt like I’d let everyone down because I just wasn’t good enough to be doing harder content. I stopped signing up for events and I actually didn’t log on very much for the following week. I didn’t really engage with anyone at all.
However, after a week I signed up for the next trial, The Seat of Sacrifice, and it completely changed how I played the game. Firstly because one of the other members of the team offered to show me how to play the game as a Machinist and gave me tips on improving my rotation, thus improving my damage. And as another team member said once “after that we got Avalon 2.0” and that lead me to getting all of my dragon mounts and then getting the confidence to pick Warrior back up and start tanking again.
Making fun glams is so much fun in FFXIV and I’ve collected so many glamour pieces now and changed my characters appearance a little along the way
Endwalker Expansion
The release of Endwalker was equally exciting for everyone and I remember logging in that day and getting straight into the MSQ. It was great experiencing this with the FC and seeing everyone’s reactions as they progressed. It was a lot of fun joining in for the first ex trials with the expansion with everyone and then the raids when they dropped. However, one of the biggest turning points for me was attempting the savage version of the newest raids which I am still trying to progress through now. We’ve had some set backs and changes and where I started the raids as a DPS I’ve now moved over to being the Off Tank during the raids which is a new way of doing the fights and things I’ve had to learn again.
I main Gun in FFXIV – just need to master and level Sage to have all three ‘gun’ jobs at max level
The social side of the game is something I didn’t expect to enjoy but I’ve now gained what I hope are long term friends that I spend a few nights each week raiding with. We do casual content during the day like farming fates or helping with dungeons, we get together for the new alliance raid to pick up glamour pieces and do treasure map runs for money and to do something chilled out and casual. Listening to other peoples theories and take on the lore of the game is always super interesting too and has made me look into things differently. It’s lovely having my ‘video game’ people too.
Getting Married in FFXIV
I couldn’t do this piece without mentioning my ingame wife who introduced me to more of the social side of gaming like going to parties and nightclubs in game, the stress of buying and decorating a house and arranging our very own wedding. It has been so lovely making such a good friend to do content with and learn raids and fights together. We wanted to get married because you got a mount for it and it gave you a chance to have a fun evening with friends which we did and then proceeded to do the treasure maps in our wedding outfits. It was a lot of fun.
My in game wife and I hanging out by our Limsa rock
Levelling Other Jobs
I am now, I’d like to think, a much better and more confident player. I’ve got a max level job in each category which I didn’t think would happen. I levelled all of my tanks and found a new favourite in Gunbreaker. I even levelled a healer, properly, by doing content and dungeons and can, semi confidently play Astrologian. I still love playing as a ranged DPS and with always love playing Machinist. I’ve also levelled all my crafters and gatherers, bar fisher which has been on level 87 since December. I had a lot of fun playing the new job Reaper which has become my chosen Melee DPS job. I’ve also got a few other jobs to 80 so that I can use them to do the new Beast Tribe quests when they are released in patch 6.15 – Bard, Red Mage and Dragoon.
I’ve also changed race for a little bit to Lalafell. I fully intend to go back to Avalon the Au’Ra but for now I’m happy playing as Lalavalon and will stay as a smol character until I’ve got my clear on P3S. She is super cute, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Lalavalon sipping tea serenely on the extreme raid progression bench in the Lavender Beds just outside our FC home
Finding the inspiration to write lately has been hard so what better way than to write about the thing I am doing pretty much every day of my life – The critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy XIV. Perhaps I should try better to marry my passion for writing and enjoyment of this video game a little more as I might have more to write then. Anyway, I have been playing since May and this game has become more than just a game to me lately, it’s become part of my social life, my weekly routine and, well, something to do that’s just for me. There is a lot to this game that I could talk about actually come to think of it but today I’m going to focus on the current progression route I’m doing which is savage raiding.
Avalon Lefae – my current MCH glamour
If you had asked me a few months ago, back towards the end of September if I would be part of a semi-static raid team clearing current savage content I would have 1) asked what a static was and 2) laughed and be confused. I’ve gushed before about the FC I’m in because honestly they are a great bunch of people and the ones that are most frequently online I get on with really well and that started when I joined in farming dragon mounts towards the end of last year. I have been told that during farming The Seat of Sacrifice I became Avalon 2.0 because I started playing the game better after chatting with some of the more experienced players about my rotation. Also that fight taught me a lot about different mechanics and what to pay attention to when. It’s basically when I became a good Machinist. For those that don’t know, I don’t know why you’re reading it, but it’s my preferred job to play and it’s not very complicated. Although, I was making it complicated by constantly pressing the wrong buttons. So that got fixed and then I practised and practised and practised and now I am a slightly more than mediocre machinist.
Anyway, back in December the new current raid tier Pandaemonium which is kind of like a take on hell. Literally in some ways, with inspiration from Greek mythology, which as someone that loves that kind of stuff, I find it pretty cool. There are currently four Asphodelos circles available, normal mode and, once you’ve completed those, you can unlock the savage raid tiers. This is basically the route you want to take if you currently want best in slot gear and maximum iLevel. Maximum iLevel means maximum power, and that then makes content easier to complete. Because I’ve been doing savage progression and buying new things with the weekly tomes I’ve finally got my MCH to iLevel 591 which you know what feels bloody brilliant.
Our FC team after clearing the first circle of savage
We have a static team within the FC and we are currently doing the raids as a group two or three times a week. It is fun but it’s also like banging your head against a wall multiple times and not really being able to reap the rewards because there is no guarantee you will get the clear. But the absolute BEST feeling is getting that clear, finally. Honestly, the battle high you feel afterwards is fantastic, there is nothing like it in a video game when you have been working on completing something for weeks and you get it down. I’m really glad I’m doing it with the people in the FC because we all share that same team spirit and no one makes you feel bad about messing something up which is an experience you get when you’re searching through party finder for progression parties. Having discord is really helpful for me too because I can get a little overwhelmed with having to hit stuff, look elsewhere, move and avoid danger zones all at once. Having voice communication makes it so much nicer and keeps the camaraderie going.
The first fight took me about three weeks to finally get the first clear but when I did it felt amazing. I think it was actually with a PF group in the end as potentially some of us couldn’t make it. It’s just when you see that HP getting to 3% and below and you know you’ve still got three attacks incoming and you know you’re going to get it the elation rises. We were all thrilled to beat the first savage fight after many, many hours or trying to work out Intemperence and Fourfold Shackles – two mechanics that can very quickly wipe the whole raid team if they get done wrong. I’ve now cleared this fight five times because it has a weekly lockout which means that basically you can clear it once for full rewards, twice for half rewards and anything after that you get nothing. Don’t get me wrong I am sure we will have times where we wipe and do not clear it on the first run, but, we are getting better each time.
5/8 after having to Party Find and clear P2S
The second fight we’ve been working on for about three weeks again and I finally got my clear on Sunday which was interesting because I was pretty hungover. It was another party finder group because it was a spur of the moment choice to go in and get it done. I think it was five of the normal team, our two tanks, a healer, me and my tax wife as DPS. The second fight is very different to the first because it feels like you’ve got a big arena but you actually don’t as the whole area feels frequently with water so you end up having a really narrow platform to run around for most of the fight. We have fondly nicknamed some of the mechanics bumper cars, Fake Fundamental Synergy (a reference to Omega 12 Savage – the only other savage fight I’ve cleared), and, safety nipples. The thing is when you have a fight like this that you are progressing through and trying to learn you need to have a bit of a laugh with it or it becomes a little soul destroying. Anyway, first clear for P2S and once again the five of us that were on voice chat with each other, well, you could hear the absolute joy for each other for getting it done. We still need to get the clear for the FC static team and I think we can get it down this week. Of course that means we then have to go into the third circle and that’s a fight I don’t like on normal mode let alone savage. No doubt it will prove to be an interesting next few weeks.
