The Seventh Umbral Era Looms! Let's Play FFXIV

Eh, page just flipped over so it'll be fine for a little bit, but yeah- the image loading gets REALLY nasty at times when theres too many posts with the maximum amount of images, so being able to make a buffer between updates with comments would also be a good solution if you could inspire more people to talk.

It's not an issue with low-definition games, but with screenshots this size, it really tears up my laptop.

Incidentally, do you plan on doing any mechanics updates? There hasn't been one for awhile now.

Sijce the beta test starts a week from Monday I was trying to rush through story content, but I've still got a ton of shots for side content. I guess the beta won't get too spoilery until they open up the full world though, so maybe I'll slot something different in next time.

So yeah, falling behind on updates between all the snow storms here so I'm going to plug on with the story updates. If people have questions about any of the particular mechanics or the world at large I'd be more than happy to answer them in a mini-update, though.

3/7/2013 - Doing the Bad Guy's Work For Him (Again)



It seems that some kind of strong winds are attacking a small village in the Black Shroud and we're to go investigate.



Its purportedly the work of another primal, this time Garuda. Before we can investigate we have to check in with Louisoix in Gridania.



Unlike Ifrit who seemed content to brainwash people and live in peace up in the mountains, Garuda is prone to more...aggressive tendencies.



Also unlike Ifrit, she's built enough energy up to come and go as she pleases anywhere in the realm. Could this be the influence of Dalamud at work once again?



Of course its my job to once again recruit a posse to go kill another god.



Showing up to the Quarrymill, I conveniently arrive in the middle of another attack.



She makes some comments about being "the wind" while flipping the local villagers about.



Garuda also insinuates that someone is funneling her and the crystals' power to awaken "the other." To who or what she's referring is unclear at this point.



Eventually she gets tired of playing with the villagers.



And leaves, laughing maniacally all the way.



I do manage to collect a stray feather.



The villager manages to spit out some words of warning before dying. Shame I didn't bring a conjurer for a cure spell.



Returning to Louisoix, even he doesn't know to what Garuda is referring to about another summoning.



Handing over the feather I collected, Louisoix fashions another gate key to reach Garuda's inner sanctum like he did for Ifrit before.

The battle itself is kind of out in the middle of nowhere in Coerthas, the area to the north of Thanlan and the Black Shroud.



Before that I spend hours rounding up a group to face Garuda down. Its really a joke how bad the search functionality of the original game was.



The battle takes place through some kind of rift deep within the mountains.



Upon entering, Garuda descends from the heavens.



Complete with primal heels. Ladies have to stay fashionable.



She's looking quite a bit more monstrous than her previous appearance in FFXI.



Garuda freaks out and whips up a whirlwind.



Completely surrounded by wind, there is no escaping this battle short of death.



She's finally ready to throw down.



Garuda Battle Music

This boss fight is really balanced for a group of level 40s, so maxing out with 8 people all at/near 50 was probably a bit much. Like usual, not a whole of strategy being this level.



I at least do my part as a Bard and throw down a Ballad (MP regeneration) for the mages.



Otherwise I spend my time raining death from the skies at her.



And then she dies.



She stares to the moon and screams as she fades out of existence.



The battle party. My brother, Laharl, is the little dude immediately to the left of my character.



Once again Nael van Darnus shows up to more or less congratulate us on killing the primal for him.



Seriously. Even though Louisoix told us to do it, its exactly what the Garleans (or at least van Darnus' regiment) wanted.



He then talks shit on the gods of Eorzea, saying that they are dead to the people and there is no longer a need for them.



Then he turns his ire from the gods to us in his bullying.



Long story short, "my moon is going to kill you all."





Really, it seems like van Darnus is only keeping us around so he can see me robbed of my spirit before he takes my life. And then he...wanders off.

Heading back to Louisoix, we inform him of the fact that the crystals' power was being funneled into Dalamud.



It seems that if this is the case, for whatever reason, it means that Nael van Darnus has more or less gone rogue and is going against the Garlean empire as a whole's desires.



Once again we have to consult Cid on the matters at hand.



The front desk attendant at the Grand Company is pretty impressed that I was able to get Cid to come when called for. Is it really that impressive? This is like the tenth time I've had to interact with him.



Cid wouldn't have settled for anything less than me, I guess.



It seems that the moon is on a collision course, but that much already seemed obvious?



It seems the moon is no moon, but rather a man-made creation from ages past. The city that Cid's father was working in 10 years ago vanished from a failed attempt to call the moon back.



I think the answer to that one is pretty obvious isn't it? Aren't you supposed to be a genius?

Before taking his leave Cid informs me that Raubahn wishes to meet with me as well.



He's pretty impressed with my records so far.



As well as the company I keep!



For whatever reason he questions my motivations.



He even draws his blade.



He was just fucking with me, though. No big deal. You'd think the head of Ul'dah's military forces would be more careful than to goad an ally into a potential attack, though.



Raubahn speaks to me about the coming war, and about an Eorzean Alliance that existed in times past to face a great threat. It included the three primary nations, as well as the Dragoon capital city of Ishgard. The capture of Ala Mhigo drove the alliance apart, though, rather than being an event to rally together around.



He asks me to be a champion to the cause of reinstating the Eorzean Alliance. You're given a choice here, but its really a false choice if it wasn't obvious.



With that, the mission is done.



I also receive my usual rewards.

Next time: Return of the Black Wolf

3/21/2013 - The Black Wolf Bares His Fangs



After the last mission I've been named the Ul'dahn emissary of the Eorzean Alliance.



Of course the Ul'dahn people see this as nothing much more than a chance to come out on top after the alliance has dissolved. Or at least the desk attendant at the Grand Company does, despite the fact that the Garlean forward base is situated in the region just north of Ul'dah.



Before I do anything I've first to meet with the leader of Gridania and the alliance (because its always Gridania for everything for whatever reason) and hear the terms of the Eorzean Alliance.



Yeah, I'll be sure to stick it to those hippies.



Yeah, its me. Its always me.



So it seems that the forward base not only is fairly near Ul'dah, but also houses the lunar transmitter we've been looking into previously. Ul'dah intelligence is pretty lacking if they were able to build a base, build a transmitter and begin pulling down Dalamud over 6+ months with no one noticing.



It seems the individual reconnaissance on the base has been unsuccessful and is what has prompted this uneasy alliance.



The Garlean forces in the forest previously must have been coming from Ala Mhigo as well. The game was pretty vague about its location previous to this.



"Boo hoo, we can't fight the poor Garleans without your help strong foreigners. We're too busy doing everything the forest elementals tell us to do."



And Gridania has what to offer to complement the ships and gil of the other nations?



OK, food and what's left of their army? I guess it'll have to do.



I accept her letter and am ready to return it to Raubahn. But first I've got to speak with Cid again.

Cid asks what I think of the alliance, but I respond that its the Flame General's decision to make.



With that he urges me back to Ul'dah as well.



Returning to Raubahn, he immediately agrees to send a scouting party to check out Mor Dhona, the imperial base. He's not nearly as enthused by the Gridanian suggestion that Ul'dah pay for the impending war, though.



Raubahn gives me his response to the initial missive, that he expects all nations to be equal partners and share the burden of the war. I'm to take this to the leader of Limsa Lominsa and get her input on the matters at hand.



Despite pledging to Ul'dah, it seems like I'm doing the exact same service for Merlwyb as I did Raubahn.



"She asks too much!" she cries, same as Raubahn before her. She even asks my opinion on the situation in the exact same way.



Rather than return her missive to Raubahn, its off to Mor Dhona because of some mysterious message left by an unknown Ul'dahn messenger!



It was Cid (of course) who summoned us here, and I'm to investigate a crashed Garlean ship nearby.



There are a few (pathetic) Garlean soldiers guarding the wreckage, but they are easily dealt with.



Conveniently, the schematics weren't damaged in the crash.



Also, weren't in the wrecked portion of the ship that fell off a cliff.



Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn!

Its Gaius Van Balesar, aka the Black Wolf, back once again. Previously he was busy murdering dudes during my Path of the Twelve missions.



He goes through the usual imperial prattle.



He does give us the choice of how to die, though. How nice.



He does appreciate the fact that Van Darnus' plan to end the primals is working well. Rather surprised that he uses the word "primal" rather than "eikon" like the rest of the Garleans.



What he doesn't appreciate, though, is the impending drop of the red moon. He's one of the few that seems to think that there's more to it than just a falling rock.



He sees how the moon has imposed some sort of changes upon Van Darnus. He suspects that Cid is the only other to notice it at this point, though he's sure the Garlean emperor will notice in due time.



Surprisingly, Van Balesar actually encourages me to stop Van Darnus' plans for Dalamud.



Kurow looks less than enthused about his coming trials.



Cid believes that the ship came down by Balesar's own hand, sabotaging from within what he sees as a betrayal of the emperor.



Not only that, but the plans he allowed to drop into our hands were the lunar transmitter schematics as well. The enemy of my enemy is my (at least temporary) friend I suppose.



Now back to Gridania, to use what I found here to convince the Eorzea Alliance to form instead of bickering about management.

Returning to Gridania, I find Thancred speculating about meteor and Cid's motivations.



His weird sense of humor and optimism persists.



All the pertinent story NPCs are gathered for Kan-E-Senna's inspiring speech.



It ends up being rather pessimistic, though.



At least until Cid arrives to shake up the party...



...along with Mewlwyb...



...and Raubahn.



They both seem to have changed their stories after the recent events.



Despite the others more or less outright saying yes already, Kan-E-Senna asks again.



Both leaders make mention of how I swayed their respective dissenters with my actions.



The leaders draw their weapons and unite them in a gesture of the alliance.

So jealous that Mewlwyb is the never-implemented musketeer class that uses guns.



The rejoicing is quickly interrupted by a messenger that informs the alliance that the Castrum Novum lunar transmitter seems to be complete and is broadcasting its energies skyward.



Cid calls to me and more or less tells me its my responsibility to go take care of this, despite the alliance.



It seems my next mission will be to break into the heart of Castrum Novum to destroy the transmitter and save all of Eorzea. No biggie.



I hope you're right Cid.



Next stop, Castrum Novum!



But first, my reward.

Next time: The best music in the whole game

4/12/2013 - To Turn Back the Falling Moon



Our next mission is to do something about the lunar transmitter in the imperial base Castrum Novum. Rather than fill me in with the details here I'm dispatched to a field base first.



Arriving at Jagged Crest Cave in Mor Dhona, Ryder informs me that my objective is to break into the base and destroy the transmitter. Sounds simple enough.



This is the route to the transmitter (the big X), though the alliance's map is far from complete. The purple area to the right is the cave I'm currently in.



In addition to the enemies on patrol, we must also take into account that the many gates open and close on a timer and that means there are times when we might literally have our backs against the wall against the imperials.



And with that, I've accepted the mission.



The commander mostly just fills me in on details that were already in my quest log, about minimum party size and level.



Then its back to town for 2+ hours of party formation that I'll spare you the pain of.









Castrum Novum music

Returning to the gates we get a little introductory cutscene before being allowed to move forward. This area has my favorite music track of Uematsu's in Final Fantasy XIV.









There is also a cutscene in regards to the particular mission. We see a few NPCs facing down the huge force of Garleans at the front door of the area. I can only imagine how bad it is on the inside.

The glowing light pillars come on when the gates are opening. Its best to ignore battle altogether and run for your life than attempt to contend with the marauding hordes.



The interior is filled with even more soldiers, wolves and the occasional magitek robot.



The main strategy involves running into safe zones that the players had discovered, where you're far enough away from spawn points for monsters to lose interest and wander off rather than team up and eat our faces.



It means you spend a lot of time standing around awkwardly in corners.



Another gate is open! Go! Go!



Eventually we break through the three gates to the interior where the lunar transmitter awaits.



Heading inside.



Lunar transmitter sits here, exposed in the center of the base.



Kurow seems...pleased?



Of course, breaking the threshold of the room brings the big red magitek guardian to life, as well as the trio of shield transmitters to protect the main one.



United We Stand battle music

Basic strategy is to have one tank beat on a shield thing while another kites the big robot around the exterior circle of the arena. Other DDs take down the imperial soldiers that enter occasionally.



Taking out a shield transmitter will transfer all of the big robot's hate to the second tank (in this case, me) and the DDs and other tank can focus on taking out the main transmitter. This song and dance continues for a bit until the main transmitter is destroyed.

This is me hauling ass around the circle.



I make the mistake of focusing on a second shield transmitter (which causes more soldiers to spawn) and kind of...fuck up the whole first attempt for the whole group.



And then our pile of corpses gets unceremoniously dumped outside. Thanks to FFXIV not having a reraise spell it means that we all have to make the trek back through Castrum Novum all over again as well.



[1+ hour later]

We had one guy in the group that got lost and it took forever to get him to the transmitter fight again.



Round two goes much better. So much so that I more or less forgot to take pictures of it.

And with that, the threat of the lunar transmitter is no more!





Or not?



It seems it was Nael Van Darnus (not really a surprise) that blasted my party.











More posturing about the Seventh Umbral Era and how awesome its going to be to purify all these heathens.



He looks to Dalamud...







...and begins to receive its power directly.

He blasts the remnants of the lunar transmitter, unconcerned of the consequences.

















Van Darnus gives himself up completely to the will of Dalamud, and goes forth to meet with whatever force lies within. They really play up the Sephiroth style imagery here.



And with that he leaves, once again leaving us alive, thinking himself far beyond our retaliation.

Returning to Ul'dah, Cid is pleased that the lunar transmitter is gone despite the fact that that seems to have had little impact on our situation.



The next question is this- who or what is influencing Van Darnus via Dalamud?



Cid leaves the search for Van Darnus to Raubahn while he and Louisoix plan the next step for the alliance as a whole.



Raubahn has more or less the same thing to say, adding that I should merely work on whatever Cid and Louisoix tell me to.



Mission complete!



And the reward!

Next time: Clipping the White Raven's Wings

5/1/2013 - The Final Showdown



Arriving at the Immortal Flames headquarters, it seems that they've had some luck locating Nael van Darnus' base of operations. Before I run off after him I'm supposed to meet up at the usual spot in Gridania.



It seems his base is in the mountainous region of Coerthas, in an area near where the ancient Allagan civilization once was.



My immediate goal isn't to confront van Darnus, but rather just to gather some intel on what's up.



In Coerthas, Dalamud is as imposing as ever.



A small regimen of Eorzean Alliance troops has followed me to the scouting location.



And then, suddenly, fiery death rains down from the red moon!



The camera cuts away to a suspicious series of floating islands.





Nael van Darnus rides upon it, spouting more zealous nonsense.



More and more meteorites fall from the sky.



All that remains of the Eorzean Alliance party is smouldering, scarred earth.



One of the perimeter scouts appears and shoos me back to Gridania to fill in the bigwigs like usual.

Raubahn is rightly shaken by the situation, but doesn't hesitate to send me out to kill van Darnus.



Cid is worried that this all seems to line up similarly to how the Allag research facility disappeared ten years prior.



The then promises that his personal airship, the Enterprise*, will have no trouble breaking through the hail of meteorites and dropping us off at van Darnus' doorstep.

*As seen here.



Hours later after gathering a party of randoms + my brother...



Arriving in Gridania, Cid confronts me about my motivation, praising me once again for my resolve so far.



We're given a choice here, but like usual its a false one if we wish to continue.



Already done dude.







And off we go!

Cid drops us off and then continues to fly around the perimeter, waiting for us to finish the fight.



It doesn't take long for van Darnus to notice our arrival.



Other players really have a big problem with letting others enjoy the game's story. I know there's a time limit on the fight, but if you nearly run out of time there's a bigger problem with your strategy than spending the couple minutes absorbing the whole reason for playing.







Van Darnus is totally off the deep end at this point.



Nael van Darnus phase 1 music

Video

And the fight begins proper.



The gist of the strategy for phase 1 is to station one black mage on a high platform to take in incoming meteorites. A single tank takes the brunt of van Darnus' attacks, while everyone else huddles in a group to the side to avoid his dash/teleport attack. If 3 or more of the meteorites hit the ground its an instant loss party wipe of 9999 HP all around.





Phase one goes more or less smoothly.









And therein lies the difference between the White Raven and the rest of the Garlean empire- he's interested in purifying the land rather than conquering it.











And for that he offers up his body and soul completely to the will of Dalamud.

So first I hide behind the chat box in the prefight groupshot.... then I disconnect in the midphase section... I remember this fight... I never got credit for it

Nael van Darnus phase 2 music (really weird)

Phase 2 is...less fun.



Meteorites take us out pretty quickly. Probably didn't help that half the people skipped ahead so stuff started falling before everyone was through.



A retry with this group ends up more or less the same.



So then I (regrettably) leave my brother behind to join up with a group that is one spot short of taking him on. This group has multiple people with relic weapons (the strongest in the game at this point) and stands a lot better chance of finishing that the previous mish-mash.



Regardless, its still a tough battle.



Eventually van Darnus runs off for a bit, leaving two golems on the floating platforms. These platforms are generally where you toss one or more black mages to take out the meteorites so dealing with them quickly (usually by sleeping them if I remember correctly) is a must.



Sometimes I had to step in to take care of meteorites as well.



And then we still die!

We were so close the last time, though, that a rematch makes quick work of him.



Ending (in video!)

Van Darnus drops his gunhalberd, the fight is won.



When he attempts to retake his weapon, he begins to emit a red glow much like Dalamud.







He reaches out futility before falling and exploding into dust.



With van Darnus gone, though, the seal holding this land aloft fades and begins to fall.



Thankfully Cid shows up in the nick of time, promising to ferry us to our "victory parade."



The land mass falls into the (mostly abandoned) Coerthas hillside.



And our heroes fly home, satisfied that they have stopped the coming disaster.



Cid seems pretty optimistic about our future, but it seems that old Louisoix isn't so sure.



Arriving at the Lotus Stand almost every even somewhat important NPC in Eorzea is there to congratulate me.



Despite saving the world, I still take a knee in front of the world leaders.



Raubahn knows what's up, though.









Everyone celebrates until long into the night.



And then I get a reward.

Next time: Cid was Wrong

Is Darmus the last boss (so to speak) of the old content or is he just the end of this plot arc?

Well, there's some optional raid-style bosses in dungeons, but they don't have any kind of storyline attached to them. Like this:



Van Darnus was probably still harder, but I never beat this guy since everyone was in the raid for the job specific artifact gear instead of the boss drops.

Just a note- Van Darnus' 9999 damage mega attack is foreshadowing for what's to come!

5/15/2013 - Twelve Protectors of Eorzea



I'm halfway there?



It seems that defeating Van Darnus has done nothing to stem the deteriorating stability of the lands.



It seems that Louisoix has some kind of last resort plan in mind, though, and has asked for my assistance by name.





It seems that for all our victories we've accomplished absolutely jack and shit. The moon Dalamud continues its descent unabated and Eoreza is still more or less screwed.



For my final mission I am being tasked with stirring the ancient deities themselves in a last ditch attempt to stop the meteor's fall.



Louisoix is convinced that the strength of prayer will be enough to save us.



Rather than simply pray to the twelve, I must instead venture to 13* mostly out of the way and inconvenient locations to pray directly to their primary altars.

*One of the deities is a twin, but has separate altars.



This is really the only chance we've got left. :/

Thankfully, the first altar (Nophica) is rather close to where we are already. To complete the objective, I have to use the /pray emote while targeting it.



After praying, some NPCs from the Gridanian storyline show up to give their two cents on the whole ordeal.



They're pretty convinced that this will work. But then again, pretty much this whole game is full of optimists.



She does at least mention one helpful thing, about how Nald'thal is a twin deity with individual altars.



One down, twelve to go!



My next goal is through less than friendly territory. The local malboros are in the mid to upper 70s in level (level cap for players is 50).



This is Althyk's altar, and Kurow's guardian deity.



Thanks to it being my guardian deity I also get a free ring!



Its got crappy stats, though.



The next destination is also through hostile territory, but at least they're of a level that I could fight if I had to.



Thankfully its not the case, though. This marker is for Byregot.



The next marker is in one of the shanty towns in Thanlan, outside of Ul'dah. This marker is for Rhalgr.



The next is just kind of out in the middle of nowhere. This one is for Azeyma.

In Ul'dah proper, at the Thaumaturge guild, is the first part of Nald'thal's markers.



The second is also there.



This triggers the requisite meeting with the local quest NPC, Thancred.



Thancred seems pretty amused that I was once a god killer and now asks gods for their assistance.



He assures me that these gods are no different than the primals, in that summoning them would surely drain just as much or more aether from the land and destroy things.



Doesn't really matter if the alternative is being smothered under a falling moon, though.



Thancred is optimistic about the whole thing, though, and claims that the source of his confidence is my actions up until now.



And another down!



Off to Coerthas, I find the altar for Ishgard's favored deity Halone.



It brings a...less than welcome guest.

"Hey, hows it going!"



He's quite friendly for being the leader of the opposing evil empire's forward progress.



Kurow is, unsurprisingly, not so happy to see the Black Wolf.



He does at least give me props for taking down his rouge rival in the Garlean empire.



It seems that Van Darnus' troops are not convinced of his falling, that he still remains alive in Eorzea.



They're even feeding false reports back to the empire of Van Darnus' accomplishments.





The Black Wolf is convinced that war with Van Darnus' remaining forces is inevitable, and that all its going to mean is that both sides will be crushed by Dalamud's fall.





He is convinced that I can somehow stem the tides (again), though, and leaves me to my quest.

The next altar is also in the middle of nowhere in Coerthas. This one is for Menphina.



Oschon is cleverly hidden on a random cliff face.



Off to Limsa to pick up Llymalen.



Limsa Lominsa's local quest NPC smells ceruleum on me and knows immediately that I had a run in with the Garleans. She's impressed that the Black Wolf has decided to stick around and observe the proceedings rather than run home to his forward base in Ala Mhigo.



Y'shtola is convinced that the Garlean forces will be somewhere in the southwestern area of Mor Dhona (still), where the forces of aether in the land are at its strongest. This is also where Dalamud is said to be falling.



Yes, I'd much rather choose to be conquered than incinerated.



Another one down.



Next is Nymeia, outside in La Noscea.



Then its off to terrible Mor Dhona.



There are a few enemies on the path to the final altar, but I can outrun them.



And now I pray to the altar of Thaliak, the same altar at which Cid and Van Darnus had their showdown in one of the previous flashbacks.



Louisoix and Urianger show up right when I pray to my final deity.

It seems that my work here has done at least some good, according to Louisoix.



There is still the problem that Van Darnus' troops are holed up in the best location for summoning the gods' support.





All that's left now is to rally the troops and clear enough enough space for Louisoix to save us all.









Urianger makes reference to the same poems of portending doom that he had earlier, but with a more optimistic ending.





As usual, my place is at the front lines of whatever is going on at all times.



And thus ends the scripted portion of FFXIV. There is only one update remaining!



The final altar awakens.



I unlocked a hard mode non-canon fight with Van Darnus, but yeah right, like I'm doing that.





I also got a (now unobtainable) achievement and a goofy reward to go with it.

Next time: End of the World