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May you ever walk in the Light of the Crystal! Let's Play Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
A Realm Reborn: Chapter 10 - The Masked Man Unmasked

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Welcome back, all! Last time, we defeated Garuda, only for Gaius to show up and feed her, Ifrit, and Titan to his giant robot! That sucked. Luckily, when our heroes returned to the Waking Sands, we found Y'shtola and Yda there, working on rescuing the rest of the Scions from Castrum Centri in Mor Dhona! While they start working on the plan on that end, Satznswys has some work to do for Maelstrom, and definitely not because there really isn't a place to fit this in! Getting in the Ala Mhigan spirit, she's donned some earrings with Ala Mhigo's colors. These earrings are a preorder bonus I got for Stormblood, which when worn, will boost XP gains from levels 1 to 50. However, the Aetheryte Earring works from 1 to 70, and properly gives stats for your current job up to level 70, so it's largely obselete! They do make for some nice glamour, though!

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Seems Commander Rhiki has more work from Ishgard, requesting Satznswys specifically after her exemplary work clearing Dzemael Darkhold of its voidsent infestation. Now they want her to clear an old digsite in Aurum Vale, near to where she was searching for Biggs and Wedge last time.

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Seems Aurum Vale is infested with not just noxious gas of some kind, but also carnivorous plant life.

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Whoo, that was a mess and a half! Thankfully, she came out the other side without debilitating respiratory illnesses!

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Back at Maelstrom Command, Commander Rhiki is pleased at her work, and implies that a promotion is in her future!

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"Future" being the time it takes to walk from in front of the Commander to the Personnel Officer.

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With the promotion to 2nd LT, Satznswys can now transfer between grand companies, if you were getting bored of Maelstrom.

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In addition, she's eligible to purchase a housing plot, or an apartment in any of the residential zones! However, Satznswys can already get an addition built on to the Free Company house in Mist.

In addition, with now being a fully commissioned officer, Satznswys can now command enlistees to Maelstrom!

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In standing up this new squadron of Maelstrom, Satznswys is assigned a sergeant to be her second-in-command. Now she needs some new recruits.

Oh, perfect!

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Here, we're in Satznswys' squadron headquarters, where she can issue commands to her subordinates, but first, she needs to recruit a minimum of four. As you saw, she already has three.

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By completing objectives in the Challenge Log, Satznswys will receive new requests to enlist in her squadron.

Nothing can really be done right now, not until she gets a fourth recruit, so that's it for now.

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This Lieutenant also has some new work for Satnzswys.

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Once you get to the full officer grade ranks, you can unlock the Hunt. There are daily and weekly varieties of hunt bills, with rare enemies offering a stiff challenge, but the rewards can be quite lucrative. The expansions will have their own version of this, but I'll talk about those when I get to them.

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How it works is you take a Wanted bill from your Grand Company HQ, then travel to the region where the Mark is located. The Daily bills are the generic trash enemies you've seen out in the world, but once a week, resetting every Tuesday, you'll be able to take an Elite Hunt. Satznswys switches over to Paladin with her strong Ironworks gear, as she's not a skilled enough Monk to take the challenge...not yet, as that run in Aurum Vale got her to level 49.

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The Bills that are posted on the Hunt Boards are what is known as B-rank hunts. A level-capped character for the zone can easily solo a B-rank monster. In addition to B-ranks, ther are A ranks.

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Like this chonky boy here! A-Ranks spawn infrequently, and have a cooldown timer for spawning at around a real-world day or so. At level 50, Satznswys doesn't stand much of a chance without some allies. In addition to A-ranks, there are S-ranks, which have strange and esoteric spawn conditions.

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If you're having trouble finding your B-rank, you might consider dropping a note of that in /shout chat for the zone you're looking in. By doing this, kind players might keep an eye out for you in their other goings on. Players who don't have the hunt bill get no reward of any kind for beating you to the B-rank, and B-ranks will respawn randomly elsewhere in the zone after about a minute, so the only other reason for someone killing the hunt before you get to it is pure jerkbaggery, and most players in FFXIV aren't about that.

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You don't need to report back in once you've killed a Hunt, you receive the rewards automatically. For the weekly ARR B-rank Hunts, you get 5000 gil and 100 of a new currency: Allied Seals!

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Allied Seals can be exchanged for Grand Company glamour, older tiers of Tomestone gear that have depreciated, rare crafting materials, ventures to pay your retainers, and much much more!

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I said that Satnzswys could buy an apartment, and so she does!

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Not much to speak of here, but it's a small studio apartment, and it's right up the road from the Free Company house.

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So she decides to put up some handbills that Cheemahree brought back to her. Fantastic decoration!

Oh, yeah. Rescuing the Scions. Really should get back to that.

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Glaumunt's got one part of the plan to infiltrate Castrum Centri: acting the part. So he sends Satznswys to observe them in action and learn their mannerisms. Specifically, the Imperial army's salute.

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Cid's got a bit of a wild plan. To prevent them from reporting stolen uniforms and tightening the already tight security, he's gonna build a jamming device to disrupt their communication equipment. He needs corrupted crystals to do it.

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Luckily, there's a fairly large deposit right outside Revenant's Toll.

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After scanning the crystal, Satznswys gathers enough data about the corrupted crystal for Cid to do his magitek.

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Closer to Castrum Centri, Satznswys gets in close and spies on some soldiers.

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Not bad. Completing this quest grants an emote to perform this salute, and will be needed for the actual infiltration.

Reporting back in Revenant's Toll, Cid's got the data he needs.

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Glaumunt isn't keen on seeing the salute firsthand, but figures Satznswys knows it well enough to pass muster.

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Sark Malark here has a line on some uniforms. He says buying them off the black market would invite too many questions that don't need asking, so it's the old fashioned way: incapacitating or killing a few soldiers until finding enough pieces to fit.

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Sized for a Lalafell and two Roegadyn, as Biggs and Wedge will be on the infiltration team. Man, all this sneaking and subterfuge. You know who would be useful for this kinda crap? Thancred. Where is he, anyway?

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Sark expected that the pieces Satznswys salvaged would need some tailoring and repair work, so he contacted the masters of the Weavers' Guild and Armorer's Guild, and sends Satznswys to meet with them in Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, respectively, to get things set up.

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Luckily he's willing to keep mum on the situation.

Seems Sark is a rich boy. Interesting.

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While the uniforms won't stand up to a blade, they're more likely to pass casual inspection.

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H'naanza gets to work, and off-handed mentions Sark's lineage. A merchant prince in his own right, he made a lot of coin in Ul'dah outside of his family's wealth. However, instead of keeping it rolling, he rolled his wealth into his true passion: adventuring.

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Sark vouches for the craftspeople's work, and thus, we have a disguise. He goes on to say that the bulk of Garlean forces are conscripts of conquered nations, so it won't be unusual to see a diverse mix of races in Imperial colors.

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While she was out running errands to Ul'dah and Limsa, Glaumunt hatched a plan to get ahold of some magitek armor! Sweet! He's fed the imperials some false intelligence that should bait out a magitek reaper.

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Heading out in her disguise, she finds the patrol baited out, and gives them more false information to lure the armor closer to Revenant's Toll.

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Lock and load!

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Done and dusted.

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However, seems like Satznswys might've gone a little overboard with punching the machine. Looks like it'll need a little work if it's gonna be used to infiltrate the Castrum.

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And Satznswys punched right through it with her bare hands!

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Oh.

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Biggs flings Wedge into the air!

So Biggs and Wedge will be burning the midnight oil to get this hunk of junk in working order.

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Nice touch is that the machine limps back to Revenant's Toll.

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Back in the workshop that Slafborn set aside for them, they're hard at work.

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Unfortunately, the part in question cannot be repaired. It must needs be replaced, and the imperials pushed the one currently installed past its recommended service life.

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It'd be too suspicious to attack and dismantle another reaper to get this one running, so Wedge has another idea: replacing the core with the heart of a mammet: a small toy-like mechanism that drives marionette-like constructs called mammets. Most of the wind-up minions you see out and about are mammets.

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Oh. Uh. Will this reaper be able to feel love? Wedge says that he's ordered the core in question from the Goldsmith's Guild in Ul'dah. So back there she goes!

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...Alphinaud, what HAVE you been telling people?

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No, don't change the subject!

So anyway, Alphinaud bankrolled this one, so at least he's using his assets wisely.

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When it doesn't start up immediately, Wedge attempts some percussive calibration to get it working.

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Giving the reaper a bit of a shakedown trip around the corrupted crystal, seems everything is working.

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Though Wedge notices some incompatibilities with the mammet heart and the rest of the systems when he hits on an idea.

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...I don't know how I feel about this.

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Cid explains that the servomechanism that Wedge has substituted is needed to simplify the machine's movement to allow for ease of use during combat. Otherwise every little joint movement would require input from the pilot.

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Shame, really.

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Aw heck.

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The Centurion calls for reinforcements.

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Aw yeah, awesome, Cid!

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As you might guess, you need to keep the imperials off the reaper, with Wedge calling the machine "Maggie".

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Oh boy. That second shot is unfortunate timing on my part. The reaper's camera field of view settles on Satznswys's face briefly.

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Alright, seems like we're ready to go!

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Back in the shop, Glaumunt comes by to wish the team luck. Seems he wants to get something off his chest though.

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The imperials took his family and put them in a labor camp. He hatched a plan to get them out of Ala Mhigo, but the plan went south, and his mother and sister threw themselves into a gorge rather than be recaptured. This broke him, and he himself was recaptured. He eventually escaped again. This was all about 20 years ago, and while he swore he'd take revenge on the Empire, he hasn't done anything to strike back, and he regrets that. By working on this plan, though, he's heartened.

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And so our team sets out.

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Geez Cid, you could at least clean things up here so she can change, gosh.

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Stop. Just stop.

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Pretty simple: Cid and Alphinaud cause a distraction, and Biggs, Wedge and Satznswys will make their way inside and find the rest of the Scions.

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Let's do this.

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Thanks, Y'shtola.

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Meanwhile, Livia is roughing up Minfilia in a cell somewhere in the Castrum.

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Eikons are the what the imperials call the primals. It's a loan word they took from ancient Allagan texts about the entities.

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She puts a boot in Minfilia's gut.

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And with that she takes her leave.

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Satznswys sneaks around in plain sight, trying to get information about where the others are being held.

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...Better not tell Wedge. He'd be likely to bring the whole Castrum down around your ears, buddy.

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This seems too easy.

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Yep, this seems about right.

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So, yeah, taking head counts, that's Yda, Y'shtola, Minfilia, Urianger, Papalymo, and Tataru all accounted for. Where the hell is Thancred?

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Tataru recognizes Wedge, and smartly gets back in line, trying to pretend that she doesn't.

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Wedge is a little more slow on the uptake.

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Oh boy. Here we go!

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Don't worry, Tataru. You're mostly safe now.

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Papalymo thinks what I've been thinking for a while.

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Good call, Urianger.

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Ah, heck. Better shake a leg, gang.

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So, funny story about this scene. For an April Fools Joke one year, Square Enix used the in-game engine to create a short movie to "tease" a fighting game version of Final Fantasy XIV.


I tell you what, the real meta in this game is Raubahn & Nanamo. S++ tier. Square Enix, balance your game.

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But no, it went more like this.

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Biggs works to cover Tataru and Minfilia, while Urianger busts out his arcanist skills, and Papalymo his thaumaturgy to take down these magitek vanguards. You need to seek out the field generators in the area to remove the barriers making them impervious to damage.

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Finishing that, our heroes escape, but are rapidly cornered.

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Not much commentary for this scene. It's just nice, and I wish I could show it in motion.

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"...or the masses that clamor for their implausable panaceas." Thanks, Gaius.

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Oh...right. That thing.

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Minfilia gives Gaius's warmachina a name: Ultima Weapon. A relic of ancient Allag, excavated from beneath Ala Mhigo.

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Alphinaud marks the Ascian as an overlord. Minfilia is convinced that it's Lahabrea.

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Dun-dun-DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

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Cid turns the ship to flee.

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Well, now we know where Thancred's been this whole time.

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Honestly, Alphinaud, Satznswys doesn't think it your fault. But the more important question is "How was this Ascian able to infiltrate the Scions in Thancred's guise?"

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Minfilia gets a call on her linkpearl, from someone named Krile. You can only hear her side of the conversation, but it seems that some item or another is ready for her. There's no text script for the conversation, it's only portrayed through Minfilia's voice acting in the background while Alphinaud continues his rah-rah speech.

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Meanwhile in Ul'dah, Raubahn seems to have gotten word of Ultima Weapon.

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The Admiral comes in, conferring with her officers via linkpearl.

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The Elder Seedseer is not far behind. She asks of Ishgard.

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Keep this simmering in the back of your mind for a while, dear readers.

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The Sultana enters as well.

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Raubahn, having not been at the Howling Eye, hasn't seen what Ultima Weapon is capable of.

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Nanamo lays the terms bare: surrender or resistance, but there really is no choice, since if one surrenders, all three will surely fall.

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The Scions arrive in Ul'dah.

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I dunno, Wedge. You did just kinda ditch your reaper and run away like a wimp...

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Yeah, that plan seemed to have Alphinaud written all over it. Tataru just seems to be consoling herself with her favorite song.

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You're pretty confident, Alphinaud.

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Minfilia urges Satznswys to head to the Fragrant Chamber, where the three heads of state are in council.

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Namedropping the Scions tells Bartholomew here to buzz off.

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The commanders continue to deliberate, unable to come to a consensus.

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She continues, wondering if they have the right to go to war against Gaius and his weapon, and ask the people of Eorzea to sacrifice the fledgling stability they have rebuilt over the last five years.

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Raubahn does not agree.

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But he can't refute their words either.

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Nanamo tries to encourage the others.

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Kan-E-Senna agrees with the Sultana's point.

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and, on cue...

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Hopefully this turns the tide of the conversation.

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Minfilia makes a valid point. As Satznswys saw in the Howling Eye, the desperation of those Amalj'aa and Kobolds was enough to call Titan and Ifrit to manifest there. Who's to say what might happen if the sahagin or tempered sylphs got wind of this and conjured their own gods to protect them?

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Alphinaud asks them to remember the day that his grandfather sacrificed himself for Eorzea. The generals committed their forces completely to fight back the Empire at Carteneau.

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Kan-E-Senna thinks back to those Warriors of Light.

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Nanamo is invigorated by these words, and they all share a laugh.

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The Admiral is the best, let's be honest.

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And so, the three heads of state burn the Black Wolf's ultimatum, and begin to talk strategy.

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The Sultana asks the Scions to return to the Waking Sands and await the Alliance's battle plan.

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Arriving back in Vesper Bay, not all the Scions were lost. Fellows such as Arenvald here survived, though they've all lost something dear...

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Back in the Solar, the inner circle of the Scions are preoccupied by various things, not the least of which is Thancred's apparent betrayal.

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Yda and Papalymo are, of course, arguing with each other.

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Cid is worried about how the Ultima Weapon might've been restored. He seems to have an inkling, though. "No, he didn't..."

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Alphinaud muses to himself. Then he asks if Minfilia had some sort of trick up her sleeve to inspire the leaders of the nations.

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Cid agrees to cover Thancred's post in Ul'dah.

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Minfilia says that Ascians use Crystals of Darkness to ensnare and possess mortals, at least, that's all the information the Students of Baldesion have been able to turn up.

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But where did you get this replica? Minfilia explains that she got it from the Students.

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Thancred, for all his faults, is driven.

Minfilia surmises that if they could destroy the Crystal of Darkness that he carries, he might be freed of the Ascian possessing him. Of course, Satznswys agrees.

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Huh. Okay...? Even Minfilia admits that she sees that resemblance as well.

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The people cry out for a savior.

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So, Satznswys is THE Warrior of Light of this Seventh Umbral Era. Perhaps she and the rest of the Scions can usher in a new Astral Era.

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Later, the Scions reconvene, as Alphinaud has brought tidings of the Alliance's plans: dubbed Operation Archon.

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The plan's goal is to see Castrum Meridianum fall, where the Ultima Weapon's home port is.

There are four objectives to Operation Archon:

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Rhitahtyn is said to be heading to Cape Westwind, not far from Vesper Bay.

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So Satznswys will take him on.

Phase two is to sever Castrum Meridianum from its supply lines. Maelstrom will attack Castrum Occidens, while the Lominsan navy siezes the Empire's sea base. The Adders will secure Castrum Oriens in the Twelveswood.

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Phase three, the Immortal Flames will press north to Castrum Meridanum to serve as a diversionary force. Five'll get you ten as to who's leading the elite adventurers inside the Castrum. Satznswys's goal there is to disable a magitek field generator protecting the Praetorium, a fortress within a fortress that houses the Ultima Weapon.

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Finally, after the Adders secure Castrum Centri and cut off the main railway supply line to Meridianum, the Flames will press fully into Meridianum, and allow Satznswys's unit to move in to the Praetorium and destroy the Ultima Weapon.

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Even most of the free companies of Eorzea are pledging their swords. Maybe even the Talking Tyrants, perhaps...?

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Assignments are doled out: Y'shtola, Yda, and Papalymo will liase with Maelstrom and the Twin Adders. Urianger and Tataru are assigned to work with the Flames. Alphinaud, Minfilia, and Cid will accompany the main host at Castrum Meridianum and provide intel and advise the troops on the ground.

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Minfilia directs Satznswys to Cape Westwind, and wishes her luck.

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Outside the Waking Sands, Satznswys got a quest that is an alternate way to unlock the dungeon Aurum Vale.

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...and the quest experience is 1,034 points shy of pushing Satznswys to level 50. Damn it.

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From here, you can see Cape Westwind silhouetted in the distance.

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Finally, pay dirt!

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So Satznswys prepares to head into the base around Westwind...

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And punch one enemy down to get to level 50. Later, nerds, she's got a Job quest story to complete!

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Erik is all about his latest breakthrough.

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So off to Mor Dhona with her.

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Yeah, this makes sense.

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Widargelt has made a mess of these Imperial troops. Look buddy, don't screw up Operation Archon.

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This seems...less than ideal.

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And so, seems there's nothing for it but to fight.

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Hitting Level 50 gives Satznswys access to two abilities: First, the Role Action True North. This lasts for 15 seconds, and removes all positional requirements from attacks. So Bootshines will always crit, Twin Snakes hits for its full damage, and so forth. It's very helpful when soloing, or when enemies don't like facing one direction all the time, or you are forced to move. In addition, you get two charges of the skill, meaning you can have a pretty decent amount of time to not have to be so fastidious about positionals.

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The second is Perfect Balance. This monk skill will allow you to freestyle your Raptor, Coeurl, and Opo-opo attacks in any order that you wish. You can hit three Opo-opo attacks and get up to three greased lightning stacks rapidly, spam auto-critting Bootshines, or mix them up with Dragon Kick, a skill we will learn after this quest is over. It's very useful as a burst phase, or restarting your Greased Lightning if your stacks drop.

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Widargelt, power is nothing if you can't see past the end of your own nose.

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Satznswys is fighting not just for her own selfish reasons, but for the future of all of Eorzea. Not just Ala Mhigo, not just Ul'dah, not just Gridania or Limsa Lominsa either. If she fails, then Eorzea is toast.

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Oh, so the chakra aren't superstitious nonsense any more, Erik?

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He takes a swing at Widargelt!

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Aether is the force of life in all living things. In that sense, they are all one with the world.

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Erik echoes the words that I just wrote above, that they have a duty to one another, to use their power to deliver a future full of life, not death.

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Wow. Eorzea must be on the cusp of doom for Erik to be so kind.

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Before, all that Widargelt held in his heart was revenge. The easiest, and most dangerous of motivations.

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And he removes his robe and hands it to Satznswys.

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Completing the final Monk quest for ARR gives you the skill Dragon Kick. It's a Raptor attack that deals more damage from the flank, and grants a buff called Leaden Fist. This buff lasts for 30 seconds, and doubles the potency of your next Bootshine. So you'll want to alternate Dragon Kick and Bootshine during your Greased Lightning loops.

So, Satznswys has come a long way from that carriage trundling into Ul'dah. She's battled gods, lost close friends, navigated political intrigue. Now comes her greatest challenge yet: stopping Gaius van Baelsar's twisted ambition to unite Eorzea under his boot heel with the force of an unstoppable ancient weapon at his beck and call.

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But now that the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are back, Satznswys feels no need to hide behind the guise of the warrior monk. When she faces Gaius and his Ultima Weapon, it will be as an honorary member of the Sultansworn.

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And bearing the Ala Mhigan spirit of the Fists of Rhalgr on her earrings.

Next time, Operation Archon begins.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
A Realm Reborn: Chapter 11 - Operation Archon

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the final chapter of the Seventh Umbral Era portion of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Previously, Satznswys infiltrated Castrum Centri, gave a magitek reaper armor a soul, rescued the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and made ready to begin Operation Archon. So let's get right in to it!

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Satznswys battles her way deep into Cape Westwind, in hopes of taking down one of Gaius van Baelsar's lieutenants, Rhitahtyn sas Arvina.

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So, I know I've been doing a video for all these instanced party duties, but I'm not doing one for Cape Westwind.

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Simple matter is look at the time stamps for the start of the fight that I took, and then the end. This fight barely lasts a minute. But don't worry guys. You're gonna get all the video you can stand later.

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For Rhitahtyn himself, the reason he backs Gaius is that he sees his people as having been uplifted by their conquest. This is pretty much insane.

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Elsewhere, Alphinaud is pleased to hear of Satznswys's victory. Thus, Operation Archon has begun.

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...oh heck.



Meanwhile, in Castrum Meridianum...

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Yeah, that happened.

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Gaius seems egalitarian in his outrage at Rhitahtyn's death, concerned that the late praefectus' men abandoned someone they possibly saw as inferior.

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At news that the Lominsan fleet is blockading routes by sea, and Castrum Occidens is under attack as well...

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Back in Western Thanalan, Satznswys is directed to head north to Camp Bluefog and inspire the troops at the front lines in preparation for her own sneaking mission into Castrum Meridianum.

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First step in raising morale: stabbing lizards for delicious meat!

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Morale Improved!

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Next, Sergeant Cracked Fist wants Satznswys to carry a message to each of the watch towers on the way to to the forward command area, at a ceruleum refinery halfway between Camp Bluefog and the Castrum.

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Lieutenant Edelstein here directs Satznswys to check in with Raubahn.

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He asks her to give a few of the greenhorns a pep talk.

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Even the good Lieutenant could do with some encouragement.

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Next, he asks Satznswys to thin out some imperials that are looking to flank the front lines as they push north to the Castrum.

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Raubahn is glad for the support, but the time has finally arrived.

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He gives his Big Inspiring Speech before the final battle.

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Minfilia has her input, that their diversity in their upbringings, their various walks of life, are their strength. Only by uniting against this common foe will Eorzea be reborn from Bahamut's fires.

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I'd say Alphinaud acquits himself well in inspiring others as well.

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And, with that, it's time for the battle of Castrum Meridianum to begin.


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Raubahn is glad that Satznswys came back, but it's time for her to bring this to an end, and directs her to an airship dock back at the refinery, where Cid has parked the Enterprise.

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Maggie! You came for her!

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As I alluded to in the video, Gaius is not dead. He stands amidst the wreckage of his base of operations, his occupation of Eorzean land crumbling rapidly.

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And so ends the story of Gaius van Baelsar.

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Satznswys has an image of the Echo, and Hydaelyn appears to her.

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She cautions that this victory is but a temporary setback for the Dark One that the Ascians worship, and that it will take vigilance to preserve the peace that Satznswys is fighting for.

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The Grand Company forces report that they have withdrawn from Castrum Meridianum.

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The Admiral worries for Satznswys. Cid repeatedly attempts to contact her on linkpearl.

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The Seedseer asks Cid if evacuation via the Enterprise is possible.

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Minfilia offers a prayer...

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And it is heard!

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Punch it, Chewie!

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Some time later, on the shores of Lake Silvertear...

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Alphinaud reflects on what has transpired with Thancred, as well as the events that lead to this day, as the voice actor credits roll.

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And, so, the Eorzean commanders address the troops.

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I really cannot sum it up better than how the three commanders of the Grand Companies have said things. An Eorzea united can stand against any darkness, be it from Ascian or Empire. But it's going to take hard work, and sustained effort on all three nations' part to keep the peace. Removing aggression toward the tribes of Eorzea. Coordinating with one another. Perhaps even opening up relations once again with their neighbor to the north, Ishgard...

Or to the East, their oppressed neighbors in Ala Mhigo...

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"The Seventh Astral Era is come!" they say in unison.

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And thus, to the song that ended the Sixth Astral Era, under the blight of Bahamut's Calamity, Answers, the credits roll.

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In addition, after the game development staff roll, there is a second credit roll, given to the players of the original Final Fantasy XIV, those Warriors of Light who kept faith in this game, that allowed Square Enix, Naoki Yoshida, Masayoshi Soken, Christopher-Michael Koji Fox, and so many others to take a failed game, destroy it, and build something new and beautiful from its ashes. The story of the Realm Reborn transcends the game's lore, and into gaming history.




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The Echo. Satznswys's friends vanish from sight.

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A deafening roar.

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-------------------------------

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Satznswys returns to the Waking Sands to a rousing ovation from all the friends she's made since joining the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

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So, the merchants are, in truth, triplets!

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And so, we give a regard to a lot of the people who helped Satznswys get to where she is now.

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The Scions are also, understandably, overjoyed with her efforts.

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Minfilia has dread tidings, though, alluding to the events of the Seventh Umbral Calamity just five years ago. The event that claimed Archon Louisoix's life. As the Ascians alluded to in the aside, Bahamut stirs...

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Completing The Ultimate Weapon grants you a key that will allow you to summon Maggie, your magitek reaper friend, as well as a fantasia potion, just in case you got bored with your character's appearance along this long journey.

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And I'd say that's a good place to end things!

I'm gonna go ahead and call the polling for Satznswys's job during the Seventh Astral Era content portion of A Realm Reborn for Dragoon! So, next time, Satznswys sets her sights on Gridania and the Lancer's guild!
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
A Realm Reborn - Interlude: The Eye of Nidhogg

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Welcome back to the Let's Play, on the new boards! It's been an indeterminate amount of time since Satznswys and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn destroyed the Ultima Weapon, ended Gaius van Baelsar's ambitions, and brought about what people are fast calling the Seventh Astral Era. Though many people saw Satznswys on the battlefields of Northern Thanalan, not many know the Warrior of Light's face, merely her reputation. That seems to suit her just fine, with her humble apartment in Mist.

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Today, however, her road takes her to Gridania, to the Lancer's Guild. Donning simple workman's attire to easier blend in with the crowd, she enters to speak with the receptionist.

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Just as enlisting in the Gladiator's Guild or Pugilist's guild, it's as simple as hearing a bit of a history lesson of how the guild came to be, then heading over to speak with the guildmaster.

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Her disguise can only carry her so far, however, as Ywain here can clearly see that she's got some combat training under her belt. However, he's not going to allow that to interfere with his own training, and says the only way to learn is from the ground up. Sensible and practical.

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Lancers' armor occupies a tier of protection between the light armors of a Monk, and the heavy armors of a Paladin. This gives them a freedom of movement, while still guarding vital areas. In game terms, Lancers and Dragoons have a class of armor all to their own, named with the "Maiming" adjective in the equipment name, as opposed to the Slaying armor for Monks and Samurai, and Fending for the tanks.

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In addition to handing Satnswys a spear and a new batch of hunting log targets, he gives her her first job to familiarize herself with a spear's use: killing critters!

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Setting up my action bar, Satznswys is ready to begin!

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Her first attack is True Thrust, a pretty basic attack that just deals a solid hit. Dragoon's combo kit will grow, all starting off of True Thrust.

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At Level 4, Satznswys gets Vorpal Thrust, which combos off of True Thrust, and, as you might imagine, deals more damage if done so.

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Satznswys takes out a few more hunt log objectives to get her to level 5 and ready for the next lancer quest.

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On the way to report back in, Satznswys drops by the Carpenter's Guild. She's something of a novice craftswoman, and is able to easily craft the basic gear of a fledgling lancer for herself. She's only going to be crafting herself better and better spears as she gets used to them, though, since up to level 15, gear doesn't really matter, and once she hits 15, she'll be able to use the Hall of the Novice gear.

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She crafts herself spears usable up to the mid-20s, so that ought to do just fine.

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Back in the Lancer's Guild, Ywain has further work for her: drawing out River Yarzons near a waterfall in Central Shroud to teach her to keep her head against multiple foes. Ohoho, if only he knew how many enemies she's tanked all at once.

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While working on that in the field, she gets to level 6, and gets her first off-global ability: Life Surge. This forces the next GCD attack to be a critical hit. For now, you want to use this with Vorpal Thrust for its higher potency, but there is another, higher potency skill later that you'll want to adjust to using Life Surge for.

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Here's the A-rank for Central Shroud, Forneus. Like the one encountered in Coerthas, you don't want to be taking them on all by yourself unless you're severely overleveled and overgeared, to at least end-game Heavensward.

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Knocking out a few more hunting log entries in Central Shroud gives her enough XP to get to level 8, and grants her Second Wind. I won't be going over all the role actions again, as Dragoon shares all the same role actions with Monk.

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Back at the guild, Ywain wants to teach Satnzswys resolve, and sends her out to a haunted tomb. Cool!

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Oh boy!

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Working on a few more FATEs and finishing the hunting log gets her to level 10, and her next role action: Leg Sweep.

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Back in the Guild, seems like there's a commotion!

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Oh boy...

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Oh, I think she could take him. Wouldn't even need a spear to do it. Just give her those steel fists.

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He charges suddenly at Satznswys, stopping short with his pike ilms from between her eyes.

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Uh, Ywain? You gonna tell us what that was all about?

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Guess not.

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His next task is to send her out to the exact place where she just completed that FATE. Whoops!

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Boco does get a little overwhelmed up there with the monsters for the quest, plus the monsters that just roam around in the area, but Satznswys wins out in the end!

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Oh, good. We're not in town. She'll knock you off this rock with her bare hands.

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Wouldn't categorize the encounter as pleasurable, but you do you, buddy.

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Seems he's pulled a bit of a prank and moved the real Stone of Courage to another location.

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Seems like she's fallen victim to a "no real Scotsman" situation, and that Foulques thinks that Ywain is coddling his students.

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Back in Gridania, Ywain is not pleased with these events. He tells her not to pay attention to Foulques. Courage cannot be forged in the midst of great danger, he cautions. I dunno, battling Ifrit did do a lot to build her resolve and composure.

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I grab my husband and he does the Aleport Shuffle for a while. Hitting level 12 grants the Bloodbath Role Action.

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Up to level 15, and she can finally wear some battle gear! This is the Brand-new set from Hall of the Novice.

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Back at the guild, Ywain tells her that Foulques showed up, declaring all of the people here craven cowards. Seems this was too much for another greenhorn here, and demanded to meet Foulques's challenge in East Shroud. Ywain asks for Satznswys to see that he is not hurt.

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Right down the hill from the guild is the ferry to East Shroud.

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Obviously, Satznswys is just doing this to goad him. He praises her for retrieving the Stone of Courage from his alternative hiding spot.

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If she doesn't play along with his game, he threatens her guildmate's safety.

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He refuses to release his prisoner, and presses her to continue with his ridiculous trials.

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Not surprised this glowy is here, yeah.

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Foulques shows up to 'help'. And by that, I mean throw blinding potions at Satznswys, and granting this alpha wolf a damage up buff.

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Satznswys refuses, and Foulques shrugs, taking his leave.

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Back in Gridania, Ywain is happy that Satznswys saved the greenhorn. He continues to press his training philosophy of composure and resolve, and not rushing headlong into danger.

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He hypes up the Piercing Talon skill, but, unfortunately, it is very situational in its use. It is a ranged GCD attack that is theoretically useful if you're away from the enemy for an extended period of time. However, this causes your melee GCD combo to break, and the melee GCD combo will soon extend to 3 attacks, potentially even 6. So Piercing Talon will not remain useful for very long. Plus, when we get to Dragoon itself, Satznswys is going to get skills that will let her close the distance rather easily.

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Level 18 grants the skill Disembowel, which combos off of True Thrust, and grants a 10% damage buff for 30 seconds, similar to the Monk's Twin Snakes.

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Here's a shot of the Melee Level 1 Limit Break, Braver. As you can see, it's very reminiscient of Cloud's Buster Sword.

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Level 22 gives access to Feint.

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Bopping through a few dungeons has gotten Satznswys a little ahead of the curve in completing Lancer quests.

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Seems he's got something a little heavy, and wants to see Satznswys's skill to make sure she's ready for this.

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Three up, three down.

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Foulques, what the hell do you want?

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So Foulques proposes a contest to see if the Lancers' Guild should even remain open.

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Uh. Glad you have confidence in me Ywain.

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So, gotta collect boar tusks to presumably annoy the Lord of the Twelveswood? Okay, sure.

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She could use the boar hide for crafting anyway.

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Here we go...

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Wham!

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Ywain chides Foulques, and offers him a place at the guild, despite all he's done.

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Folques refuses.

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Wasn't planning on following him, boss.

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After debriefing back at the guild, Ywain wants Satznswys to speak with some experienced lancers. First is Maethomi, in East Shroud.

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Okay, seems legit.

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Whack whack whack.

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He sends her to see Buscarron! It'll be nice to see him again!

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Seems to be all business, not even acknowledging that time that Satznswys rolled a drunkard out of his pub.

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This fellow has Satznswys kick over a bomb's nest! Exciting!

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Nothing too exceptionally dangerous, with her gear. At this point in the game, Lancers and Monks share the same type of gear, so it's helpful that I didn't get rid of all that monk stuff after leveling it! All I have to do is craft the weapons.

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Hitting level 30, we're ready to graduate to something greater.

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But first, seems Foulques is up to some bad business.

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He's left bait for her.

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Looks like Foulques has left this guy tied up to be food for these beasties.

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He says that to bother would be a waste of time, as the Wood Wailers probably already have him in custody. That doesn't seem likely though...

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Here's the Maggie, or magitek reaper mount in action, that we got from completing the 2.0 MSQ. It actually plays a cover of Terra's theme from Final Fantasy VI, specifically the opening staff roll during the march toward Narshe.

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Alright Foulques. You've been a jerkhead for a while now. Time to settle this.

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The theft was made public, and was turning public sentiment against the Lancer's Guild, and so he confessed. He thought to bring his accomplices in as well, but they all kept silence, so he alone took the blame.

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I mean, it doesn't really justify what you're doing.

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He claims to be the greatest lancer who ever lived.

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And just like that, it's over.

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In the end, Satznswys overwhelms him, and his paranoia and madness pushes him to the edge of the cliff, and he slips, plummeting to his death.

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Ywain wants to just put this matter to rest, and get on with guild duties. Given what Satznswys has confronted, he forgoes the trial he had planned, and declares Satznswys a fully-fledged lancer.

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Lance Charge is a pretty simple 90 second cooldown that increases damage dealt by 15% for 20 seconds. Ideally, you'll want to land a Life Surged Full Thrust in this window. The cooldown windows are as such that you'd get one Life Surge in the Lance Charge window, and one outside it.

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Seems Ywain already has an idea of something to push Satznswys's strength.

In the past, it used to be that in order to undertake the quest to obtain a job stone, it required the player to get to level 30 in the base class (lancer in this case), as well as level 15 in another class. For example, when I was first leveling and playing through the MSQ as my main character, Reynn, I had to get Thaumaturge to level 30, and Archer to level 15 in order to get access to the quest that unlocked Black Mage. It was a strange requirement, but made some sense, given that a lot of off-global cooldown skills were made to be shareable with other classes. For example, Rampart was a skill originally only available to gladiator and paladin, but with the cross-class skill system, other classes could use it as well. Gradually, over time, with successive updates, these cross-class skills were phased out with time, being replaced with the Role Action skills we have now.

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Anyway, Ywain gives Satznswys the gist of the state of things with Ishgard, stuff you as the reader will already be familiar with.

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Apparently, Gridania wanted to send the Wood Wailers, but that was rebuffed. Apparently this is a sensitive matter, and they want someone not tied to Gridania by oath or allegiance. So Satznswys is tapped to go.

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This scenery seems much more approriate for the Maggie mount.

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Arriving at the Observatorium in Coerthas, Satznswys meets her point of contact. Alberic is a knight of Ishgard. Apparently, he's out here searching for a relic called The Eye, which was stolen from the Holy See. The culprit is said to be in the area.

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He gives us the name of the thief: Estinien, a dragoon of Ishgard. Alberic wants Satznswys to investigate on his behalf, as an Ishgardian knight would arouse Estinien's suspicion.

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He asks Satznswys to hurry and find him, and to keep this under her turban.

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Nothing noted south toward the Twelveswood.

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So he's likely still in the region. He says he spotted a plume of smoke from a cave to the east on occasion. Seems as good a lead as any.

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There's a campfire here, for sure.

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Satznswys's apparent quarry leaps from a cliff.

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He puts his spear away.

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And he's off, just as suddenly as he appeared.

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Alberic seems concerned by Estinien's words. He decides to tell Satznswys the whole story. The Eye is something special. It holds the power of a dragon, which it bestows upon a chosen soul. Those chosen thusly are given the power to fight the Dravanian dragon horde on equal footing. Such a person is given the title Azure Dragoon. A place of honor and prestige even among the elite dragoons of Ishgard's knighthood. Estinien is that Azure Dragoon, and Aberic was his teacher. He holds himself accountable for Estinien's misdeeds, and needs to recover the Eye, but he cannot do it on his own.

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This is the first time in Ishgard's history that the eye has resonated to more than one person at a time.

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And just like before, equipping the Dragoon crystal grants Satznswys the power of the Dragoon, and its first and most basic skill: Jump.

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Jump is a leaping ranged off-global attack that causes your character to leap high in the air, and strike down rapidly. It can be used every 30 seconds, and should be. This attack represents the first time we've seen an attack with significant character animation that forces the character into a locked position during the animation. This is called "animation lock" by the playerbase, and forces you to remain in the same place for a large number of animation frames after the attack is finished. You jump, and then return to the position you jumped from. Later, we'll get jumps that will reposition the player. As for the danger that animation lock represents, think about a basic fighting game setup. You throw a fireball, and the opponent jumps over it, and delivers a jump kick to your character's face while you're still recovering from that fireball animation. This is a similar situation with Dragoon's jumps. If you're not careful, you could end up locked in animation while an AOE resolves. This is why one derisive nickname for Dragoons is "Floor Tanks", as their jumps will cause them to die. In previous Final Fantasy games, Dragoons that jump would confer to them a temporary immunity to attacks, but there is no such grace in Final Fantasy XIV. Dragoons are just as vulnerable in the air as they are on the ground.

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Level 32 is a role action: Arm's Length, the knockback resistance ability.

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Level 35 is a quest with a skill attached! Alberic gives Estinien's backstory: among the dragoons to carry the title Azure Dragoon, Estinien is widely regarded to be the best, apart from the original Haldrath Dragonseye. Sending Satznswys, novice as she is, after Estinien would be a suicide mission, so training will be in order. But first: a history lesson!

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Arriving at the Promised Land, Thordan and his people began building a bridge to the spire that would eventually become the Holy See. However, the great wyrm Nidhogg attacked. Thordan charged the dragon and was pushed into the chasm, not by the dragon himself, but a traitor, his mind poisoned by the wyrm. Haldrath took up Thordan's lance and attacked Nidhogg, and the two entered a fierce struggle. It ended with Haldrath landing a blow on the wyrm's face, prying one of Nidhogg's eyes out of its socket. Nidhogg, diminished and gravely wounded, fled. This Eye is the selfsame Eye that Estinien has stolen, and the Eye that resonated with Satznswys. Even removed from its owner, it can exert control over the hearts of mortals. It tried to corrupt Haldrath, but he was too strong for it, and thus, the first Azure Dragoon was born.

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As long as Satznswys holds fast to what she believes in, the power of Nidhogg has no sway over her.

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Roger, boss!

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All the way down!

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Done and dusted.

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Satznswys definitely has the potential to be Estinien's match, and he sends her off to continue training and developing her strength as a dragoon.

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Elusive Jump is an off-GCD skill that causes you to leap backward from the direction you're facing when you use it.

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This is about the distance of 15 yalms to Alberic. As you might guess, it's useful for getting away from an AOE. Many dragoons also use it when getting ready for a pull on a boss, and face away from it so they can use Elusive Jump and leap to the enemy and get started that much quicker, avoiding the need to use Piercing Talon altogether.

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At level 40, Alberic decides to continues to tell of Ishgard and the Azure Dragoons' history. He asks Satznswys if she thinks this ancient story is true, or myth that has been embellished over centuries. Few see dragons outside of the regions of Coerthas, Abalathia's Spine, and Dravania, though Satznswys has, in La Noscea, specifically around Brayflox's Longstop. And he confirms that Nidhogg is very real, with Ishgard itself being attacked eight separate times during their long war by the great wyrm himself.

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Now he moves on to more recent events. Twenty years ago, Nidhogg awoke and started to slaughter villages all throughout Dravania. Other dragons awoke as well, adding to Nidhogg's vast horde. Alberic bore witness to all this, but had no time to mourn. He chased Nidhogg all over Dravania for what seemed to him an eternity before he finally caught up with the wyrm. For three days and nights, he battled the dragon fiercely. Seeing this a battle of attrition, with his own strength depleted much more quickly than Nidhogg's, he wagered a single strike to Nidhogg's empty eye socket. The wyrm lashed out in agony, smashing Alberic to the ground. He thought himself dead, until Nidhogg fled.

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Estinien was an orphan of one of these many villages destroyed 20 years ago, the sole survivor. He took the boy in as his own, caring for him, and training him as a dragoon when he was old enough. He bore the guilt of failing to protect Estinien's parents, and considers himself a failure as a father, as he has now up and stolen Nidhogg's Eye from Ishgard. Though the wyrm sleeps now, it is possible that Estinien's usage of the Eye could cause Nidhogg to wake again, and start the cycle all over again.

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Can do, boss!

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Done and dusted. Doom Spike is the first hit of a 3-hit AOE combo, but unlike previous AOE attacks we've seen, Doom Spike and its combos hit in a narrow line in front of you. You'll want to ensure that you've got enemies along a line while you're mashing it. And you'll be mashing Doom Spike a lot, as you won't be getting the next part of the AOE combo until level 62.

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Next milestone is at level 45, for another story from Alberic!

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Or instead, a message from Estinien! Alberic is, naturally, very hesitant at meeting on the rogue dragoon's terms.

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At a big crystalline crater in Boulder Downs, they come face to face with Estinien. Alberic asks Estinien to knock this nonsense off, because if he keeps using the Eye, Nidhogg is likely to wake up again.

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Oh. Shit.

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He says that a premonition came to him from the dragon within. He felt Nidhogg's rancor from Alberic's wound he dealt 20 years ago, leading him to attack Ishgard immediately. Estinien's plan was by removing the Eye from Ishgard, Nidhogg would be drawn to it instead of the Holy See, and to a remote place, sparing innocent casualties.

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Dragons live long, and their grudges last a commensurate amount of time, and every time Nidhogg comes back, he gets stronger.

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Estinien surmises that the Eye choosing two Azure Dragoons in one generation means that it means for the two of them to work together.

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And yep, this is the level 45 quest, so it must be artifact armor time.

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Heading back to the Observatorium, Alberic is somewhat of a mind to just hand his old armor over and call it a day, but drachen armor isn't just a plain set of armor, its power comes from the dragon blood it was smithed in, resonating with its wearer's soul.

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Deeper in!

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Deeper still!

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Checking back in with Alberic, he directs her to a gravestone near Steel Vigil, he's pleased with Satznswys's work, and he has a little more for her.

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He confesses that the power of the Azure Dragoon did not leave him, but he forsook the power of his own accord. By opening their mind to the dragon spirit within, it grants great power, but it comes at a price: an easier susceptibility to the will of dragons exerting control over them. When Alberic plunged his lance into Nidhogg's eye socket, his eyes met the wyrm's solitary eye, and he felt a wave of emotion not his own. They threatened to overwhelm him, drowning the man and leaving a dragon in his place. And so he purged himself of the power that Nidhogg's eye bestowed.

Not even Estinien knows of this, but he cannot be kept in the dark for any longer. He recalls his and Satznswys's recent encounter with the Azure Dragoon, saying that his desire for revenge and protecting Ishgard being one and the same could lead to his nasty end. He means to try and convince Estinien to purge himself of the powers Nidhogg's eye grants, just as he did.

He says she must earn this power by proving herself against the dragons whose power she would unite with her own.

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And so, she heads back north with the whistle again to a cliff near Camp Dragonhead.

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Done and dusted!

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He says that the fifth piece of drachen armor is potent, to the point that past Azure Dragoons have found themselves wanting when attempting to wield its power, himself included. He thinks that her strength may be able to handle it.

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Nah, no way that happens.

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Spineshatter Dive is a 60 second cooldown jumping attack that, unlike the Jump you unlock at level 30, does not return you to where you initiated the jump at, and it will place you right next to your target. You're still subject to the same kinds of animation lock I described before, so be careful.

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Few more level-ups, and Satznswys hits 50! True North is the same role action as Monk, but the first real prize for hitting 50 is Chaos Thrust. This combos after Disembowel, has a rear-positional bonus, and deals a damage over time effect! Very nice! So against a single enemy, you're going to want to do True Thrust-Disembowel-Chaos Thrust, then True Thrust-Vorpal Thrust-Full Thrust. This will ensure all your timers keep maximum uptime.

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Looking sharp in that Mythrite set for dragoons!

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Checking in with Alberic, seems he's received a message from Estinien, urging her to join him at Steel Vigil. Nidhogg is on the move! No time to attune to the drachen mail he was planning on giving her, it seems.

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The battle is joined!

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Oh. This doesn't seem good.

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Seems Estinien already knows about Alberic's purging of the dragon within.

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The Eye of Nidhogg has shown him the truth. Why does Satznswys not believe that completely, hmm... "A truth so damning as to undo a lifetime of trust." Yeah, Estinien, you might wanna do a little fact checking, considering the source of where you got this info.

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Even the archbishop is in the dark about this! Interesting.

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So it looks like a duel.

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Here we are. Born to be kings.

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With the Mythrite gear and high-tech Garlond Ironworks power behind her spear, this is not a difficult fight for Satznswys.

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...I swear to the Twelve, if I see a giant robot silhouetted in the moon with a Darth Vader wannabe, I'm turning this LP right around.

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Oh geez, this IS a Grahf from Xenogears speech.

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Uh, Estinien, you might wanna cool it.

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Oh no.

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Oh wow.

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And Estinien is gone without a trace.

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Back in the Observatorium, Alberic is a bit humbled, the Dragoon soul crystal shining more brightly for Satznswys than it ever did for him. Seems she's surpassed him, Satznswys having drawn the drachen mail of Haldrath out of the crystal itself.

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Seems that Nidhogg's threat is passed after having defeated Estinien. There are a lot of questions here, but the answers for this will have to wait.

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And as for Estinien, Alberic thinks he is still out there somewhere. As he felt that voice of Nidhogg with Satznswys, he heard another voice, lamenting the rift that divides men and dragons...interesting.

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Dragonfire Dive is an off-GCD jump attack that, like Spineshatter Dive, will put you right next to the enemy, but this one hits in an area of effect around the target as well.

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Looking very fly in an alternate version of the artifact armor for Dragoon. This set is the Wyrm armor, which is a gear set that is upgraded to item level 90, higher than the base artifact armor you get for completing the job quests at item level 50. You get a coffer containing the i-level 90 pieces and a belt for completing the level 50 quest as well, which is a good starting place for the rest of the 2.0 endgame, as well as the 2.x endgame, as placeholders until you can afford Ironworks gear with tomestones.

And that's gonna do it for today! Next time, Satznswys learns a little bit about the MMO end-game lifestyle: grinding for cool glowy weapons! Oh, and also the primals are back, and stronger than ever.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
Just bumping this thread to remind y'all that the above post is a new update, and that until I finish uploading posts for the rest of ARR, I'll be taking a poll for what Satznswys will be rolling going in to Heavensward!

After wiping off the previous votes that put Saznswys on Dragoon for the 2.x content, our current standings sit as follows:

4.5 votes - Summoner
2.5 votes - Ninja
2 votes - Dark Knight
1.5 votes - Black Mage
1 vote - Dragoon/Astrologian
0.5 vote - Scholar/Red Mage/Samurai

Keep in mind that the partial votes are for when someone says something like "I want either Scholar or Summoner" or something to that effect.

It occurs to me that I've never shared her Lodestone page, where you can see her gear and other stuff, including her level progression![/QUOTE]
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
I'm reasonably certain I already voted over on Olde TT, but I'm still on board for Summoner!
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Let's Play! Last time, Satznswys learned how to fight with a spear and became a dragoon! She also met this guy named Estinien, who went crazy with some dragon powers, using the eye of some dragon named Nidhogg, and I'm sure this is never going to come up again.

Please note that I completed all of the A Realm Reborn patch content on Satznswys prior to the release of Patch 5.3, so the posts to come may not necessarily reflect your experience. Part of the reason why I wanted to do this was to see how it compares to the main scenario pruning that came with that patch. I also did things slightly out of order from how I'm going to post things. So please, forgive me any continuity errors that might crop up, such as EXP level or quest log info.

Today is very light in the way of story. Instead, I'm going to show you what life can be like when waiting for new patches to roll out. Server maintenance starts on Monday nights, though in the case of particularly meaty patches, Square Enix might run a 24-hour maintenance window, running all through Monday. But generally, early in the morning on Tuesday, patches will be complete and the servers will be turned back on for players to go berserk on the new main scenario quest, raid content, and other side amusements.

For the release of expansions (the X.0 patches), Square Enix has given players who pre-ordered the expansion an early access weekend. This serves as both a pre-order bonus, and an attempt to mitigate a huge server overload with players all on one day. However, Naoki Yoshida's design philosophy is that he doesn't want your life to be consumed by this game. He wants you to feel comfortable with taking a break once in a while. He also wants you to enjoy the story. With that in mind, the raid content that would come out with the X.0 patch (in ARR's case, Binding Coil of Bahamut) will be delayed two weeks after the main launch. This also gives the developers time to observe players running the content at level cap to see if there are any balance issues that need to be addressed prior to the release of the raids, such as potency or cooldown adjustments. For example, in the 5.01 patch, which is the patch that started the Shadowbringers raid series, the devs reduced the MP cost on some healer spells, and extended the duration of the Dragoon's Disembowel buff.

So how do they get data to make these kinds of decisions? Well, they do include some level cap content from the get-go, and that's what we'll be showing off in some part today: a dungeon, and, more importantly, souped-up primal fights!

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We're starting things off with a job from Nedrick, outside the Waking Sands. Seems he's got a line on a great weaponsmith. Rowena in Revenant's Toll has the deets.

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Ah, Gerolt. So we already dealt with his apprentice, for upgrading Satznswys's Ironworks gear, but now it's time to deal with the man himself.

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Gerolt is cantankerous, and a bit of a drunkard, but he can forge powerful weapons, called relic weapons. These are upgradeable weapons that are long-term projects. Each time you complete a step, you'll increment the item level of your relic a bit. They peak at Item Level 130, comparable to Augmented Ironworks weapons. Each expansion has a relic quest chain, and players are more inclined to do these things for glamour purposes than making competitive weapons.

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The first thing he has you do is retrieve the timeworn relic from a dangerous part of the world. For Curtana, the Paladin Relic, that's deep in Amalj'aa territory in southern Thanalan.

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Since it's in such awful shape, he'll ask you for a new base weapon to reforge it from. In this case, he wants a particular type of scimitar, melded with grade 3 materia. This will differ for each relic, of course.

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TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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He needs to do some further work on the weapon, and needs a particular material to do it with. This opens up one of two 8-player trial duties. One of which is the dhorme chimera in Coerthas. I'm not going to put a whole video up for what is effectively a short fight against the last boss of Cutter's Cry, though it was somewhat challenging back in the early days of ARR.

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Gerolt hops to it.

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Of course.

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We're gonna leave that one to rest for a bit, for today, Satznswys's work takes her back to the Waking Sands.

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Nedrick's got some work for Satznswys: a fortress in South Shroud called Amdapor Keep, built sometime in the Fifth Astral Era.

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Seems our old friends, the Lambs of Dalamud from Tam-Tara Deepcroft, have set up shop here, making a mess and summoning voidsent creatures.

The video below shows Satznswys going in to the dungeon as Dragoon, but I had a lot of issues getting it recorded, and that's another part of the reason why I decided to get all the ARR content down, I was just sick of looking at Amdapor Keep.


All done, and Satznswys got the glyph Rowena needs.

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All in a day's work, Rowena.

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Gerolt's having trouble making heads or tails of the tome Rowena found for him, and so he sends Satznswys off to slap some Amalj'aa in West Thanalan around while he wraps his head around the book. You have to score these kills with the unfinished weapon.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Phew, all done.

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Gerolt isn't, however, and sends Satznswys off to test the blade's mettle against a hydra, in Halatali.

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Like the Dhorme Chimera, I'm not going to do a video for this one either.

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Pretty quick and easy.

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Gerolt sets to work. Next he's gonna need some bits from the primals, but not the weak baby versions that Satznswys took on before, but primals even more suffused with aether and faith.

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Life is slowly settling back to normal at the Waking Sands. Thancred is eager to get back out in the field.

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Y'shtola's thoughts are the expenditure of the grand companies' forces during Operation Archon, and that the tribes might conspire to take advantage of this lapse of strength to summon their primals once again, now that they are released from the Ultima Weapon.

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Minfilia calls a meeting of the Scions. Seems that Y'shtola's fears are well founded, with the Amalj'aa, Ixal, and kobolds all working to call their gods once again. Papalymo says they've all obtained a large supply of crystals.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Minfilia confirms this, with Thancred suggesting that with their gods trapped by Ultima Weapon, the tribes shifted to obtaining as many crystals as possible. And, of course, since the grand companies' resources are depleted from Operation Archon, they turn to the Scions.

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Thancred takes a moment to thank her for saving his life.

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Urianger will be our point of contact primarily in dealing with these matters of stronger primals. Seems the Amalj'aa are first on deck, and he tells her to check in with Thancred.

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Now, the pun game has been in effect since the start of the game, but this is where it starts to kick in to high gear.

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Thancred confirms that the Amalj'aa have summoned Ifrit once again. While he would love to take the field with Satznswys, the Students of Baldesion have recommended he stay benched for a while in matters concerning primals.

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Yeah, that would be bad, considering what he told Satznswys way back when she first defeated Ifrit. Instead, he will fall back on his secondary specialty: infiltration and information gathering. He tells Satznswys to check in with the Immortal Flames in Ul'dah. He also recommends that she assemble a team of her most trusted allies.

On the flip side, Satznswys could just take whoever she gets matched with in Duty Finder.

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Commander Swift at Flames HQ puts things in no uncertain terms that Ifrit's back, and badder than ever.

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Scraping together a bunch of salvaged aetheryte shards, they have put together an aethernet like the main cities, or the kobolds in U'ghamoro. Satznswys is going to use this aethernet to get to the Bowl of Embers, where she fought Ifrit once before, as a prisoner.

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Traveling out to Little Ala Mhigo, the road to the Aetheryte in the Amalj'aa stronghold of Zahar'ak is a treacherous one. Once upon a time, this road was very dangerous, with character level caps only being 50, or 60, meaning the enemies will still aggro on sight. If you were mounted and trying to blitz through without fighting enemies, and they did land a hit, there was a high chance they'd hit you with a status effect, Limp, which would reduce your movement speed. This is no longer the case, and as long as you're moving at speed on a mount, enemies cannot catch up to you, and will 'leash' to their spawn points eventually. Or, with the release of patch 5.3, you can now just fly over all that mess.

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Deep inside Zahar'ak, Satznswys finds the kitbashed aetheryte.

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In order to complete the MSQ, eventually, we're gonna need to do this and primal refights for both Titan and Garuda as well, plus we can get the white-hot ember Gerolt needs to continue working on Curtana, so best to just knock it all out now. I'm going to simplify matters a bit and combine all three of these re-fights into one video at the end.

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Returning to the Waking Sands, Papalymo's got Satznswys's next job lined up. And, oof, that pun.

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As you might guess from the quest's title, Garuda's ready to go, and with her amplified strength, punching through the Howling Eye with the Enterprise isn't going to work this time. So it's to the aetheryte plan, just like Ifrit.

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Checking in with the Twin Adders, Commander Heuloix gives Satznswys the intel she needs to get into the Howling Eye: another kitbashed Aetheryte in Natalan, in Coerthas.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Natalan is due east of Camp Dragonhead.

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Use your map carefully to traverse the maze-like stronghold, and eventually, you'll find your way through to the aetheryte.

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Unlocking any two Trial battles, which encompasses these hard mode fights against the primals, or the two Relic Reborn fights, will unlock Trial Roulette. Much like Leveling or Guildhests, these are a daily source of bonus XP and tomestones for helping other players knock out duties.

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Back in the Waking Sands, Y'shtola's already set to go for Titan.

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The kobolds, having a vast network of caverns and tunnels, could easily hoard crystals, with nobody being the wiser. And sadly, in the time since Y'shtola and Satznswys used the aetheryte near Camp Bronze Lake to travel into the Navel, the kobolds have disconnected it from their network somehow, leaving the only option to head into the heart of U'ghamoro and use one of their main aetherytes there. Y'shtola warns that Titan has grown in power since their last encounter, now significantly stronger than Garuda was before.

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Commander Rhiki has the details, but like the two primals before, suffice to say you'll need to go deep into the kobold's stronghold and attune to their aetheryte network to get into the Navel.

And now, the video with a few talking points about the Hard Primals!


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Having collected bits from all three primals, Gerolt's ready to work...once Satznswys fetches the oil he needs, crap. Forgot about that. Luckily, a quick teleport over to Revenant's Toll is enough to solve it really quickly.

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NOW Gerolt is ready to work.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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And that's that! A sword and shield fit for a paladin!

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There are other upgrade steps you can take, that take lots of time, and lots of poetics. And make Curtana even more glowy, have fancier names, higher item levels. I won't be going through all of this, because it is fairly time consuming. I'm just doing this for glamour purposes.

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And yeah, Estinien's spear did look pretty sweet. This'll get done in the background.

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Thanks for the craft assist, Reynn!

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Actually, I lied. For a few more poetics, after obtaining your first purple-background relic weapon, you can spend an additional 3 Thavnairian Mist, purchasable with Poetics from Revenant's Toll, to upgrade the relics into their Zenith form.

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In addition to being 10 item levels stronger, they now glow!

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There are a total of 10 relics to pursue, one for each of the ARR jobs: Paladin, Monk, Warrior, Dragoon, Bard, Black Mage, Scholar, Summoner, White Mage, and Ninja. Future classes do not retroactively get weapons for relics from a previous expansion. For example, there is no relic quest for Gunbreaker, as that is covered by Shadowbringers' relic story, but that's something to be covered another time. That's all for today, bit of a short one, but I figured that you need to knock out the Hard-difficulty primal fights anyway, so I decided to do the first leg of the relic quest to briefly give an introduction to what the relic quests in Final Fantasy XIV are like. To be honest, even with all the nerfing the quest has received to make it easier, there is still a lot of RNG involved in completing some legs of the quest, and it's generally only advised if you're looking for some unique weapon models for glamour options. Future relic quests have their ups and downs, but I'll talk about those when we come to them.

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PS: My ridiculous husband decided to help finish things.

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Fists shaped like coeurl heads are cool and all, but, yeah, bare fists.

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So Satznswys has been working on her crafting in the background, and she now has her crafting classes all above level 40, which means that, for the rest of A Realm Reborn, she can self-repair her gear!

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One really nice fringe benefit to leveling your crafters is you can repair any piece of gear up to 10 levels higher than the associated crafting class. Satznswys, for example, has weaver up to level 40, meaning any weaver-crafted piece of gear, up to level 50, she can self-repair with a piece of dark matter. Why is this useful?

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It repairs your gear to up to 199% condition, meaning you can go for much longer without having to repair.

That's it for today! Next time, we pick things back up with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and what's been happening with them, since they're the heroes of Eorzea now.

----------------

The current vote count for Satznswys's Heavensward job:

3.5 Votes: Summoner
3 votes: Dark Knight
2.5 votes: Ninja
1.5 votes: Black Mage
1 vote: Dragoon, Astrologian
0.5 votes: Scholar, Red Mage, Samurai

Taking votes until I post the final update.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Not gonna lie, I'm getting increasingly tempted to download this game just to see if it runs okay on my computer, backlog be damned...
 

Juno

The DRKest Roe
(He, Him)
Not gonna lie, I'm getting increasingly tempted to download this game just to see if it runs okay on my computer, backlog be damned...

You don't have to download the whole game to get an idea of how it will run, there's a benchmark you can download here that will tell you how your PC performs with it.
 

Gaer

chat.exe a cessé de fonctionner
Staff member
Moderator
Note that the PS4 version runs very well (the Stock PS4 will drop many frames in the overworld, but is 60fps in instances, and the Pro drops some frames but not as many), and that all versions play together on the same servers to boot.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Note that the PS4 version runs very well (the Stock PS4 will drop many frames in the overworld, but is 60fps in instances, and the Pro drops some frames but not as many), and that all versions play together on the same servers to boot.

Alas I don't have a PS4, otherwise I'd probably just go with that so I don't have to worry about hardware specs as much.

You don't have to download the whole game to get an idea of how it will run, there's a benchmark you can download here that will tell you how your PC performs with it.

Oh, that's handy, thanks for the link! Let's see now...

[one test later]

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Oh, that's actually much higher than I thought it would be! Granted I cranked all the graphical options down to their lowest settings but still, not bad! Hmm... I think I'll wait a while before hopping in just because I have other stuff going on, but I guess I'm excited to eventually play for real!
 

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
Don't forget, if you sign up for a new account you can play up to Lv60 for free. Some features are restricted, like market boards and such, but otherwise that's a huge chunk of content for nothing.

A question about the relic weapons, though, is it possible to save the glamour of each step of the weapon, or revert to it?
 
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Juno

The DRKest Roe
(He, Him)
Don't forget, if you sign up for a new account you can play up to Lv60 for free. Some features are restricted, like market boards and such, but otherwise that's a huge chunk of content for nothing.

A question about the relic weapons, though, is it possible to save the glamour of each step of the weapon, or revert to it?

Near Gerolt there's a guy who will sell you a glamour version of each stage of the weapon you have unlocked. It has no value as an actual weapon, but you can use it to glamour over your current weapon.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
Quick light update today, but this is something that is timely, and fascinating!

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Satznswys is heading through the upper decks of Limsa Lominsa, when she happens upon this scene. Instead of the regular city music, there is a haunting, echoy version of Answers in the area, plus a very familiar-looking Lalafell, looking like the White Mage Lalafell from the Realm Reborn trailer.

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What...is the Rising?

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The streets are decorated with somber scenery, and the night skies filled with vibrant fireworks. The solemn atmosphere and bright lights above may spur others to reflect on the doom portended by Dalamud. By doing this, one may give thanks for the present, and muster hope for a brighter tomorrow.

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Oh, interesting! Satznswys books passage on an airship to head over to Ul'dah immediately.

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Arriving in Ul'dah, Satznswys sees the same decorations all over the Ruby Road Exchange.

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This must be the stained glass in question!

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Satznswys meets this Mi'qote artisan, J'bhen, who made this beautiful stained glass, and is more than eager to talk about what it depicts.

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To quell the masses, Nanamo Ul Namo took to the streets with a guard consisting of only seven subjects, for they alone had the courage to stand with their sultana. She addressed the rabble.

"Heed me, my beloved citizens! The realm lies upon the brink of the Seventh Umbral Era. Yet so long as we live, we must not forget our compassion. Now is not the time to take from your neighbor, but to proffer him the hand of succor."

She was determined not to let the city that the Immortal Flames, the Eorzean Alliance, and all those adventurer champions who became known as the Warriors of Light of the Calamity, to throw their lives away in vain, only to come home to a city that was tearing itself apart. The people laid down arms, and set about healing the wounds they had inflicted on the city. Those that did make it home from the battlefields of Carteneau found their home peaceful, and every bit as they left it.

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J'bhen says that's why he crafted this stained glass art for the Rising festival, to remind the people of those difficult days after the Calamity. He then asks Satznswys for a favor: he's asked a wandering minstrel to give a recital as part of the display, and he wants a good crowd turn out. So he wants Satznswys to help spread the word.

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Satznswys hands out some fliers to passers by in and around the Gold Court of Ul'dah.

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On the Sapphire Exchange road, Satznswys runs in to J'bhen and an acquaintance of his, a moneylender named Astin.

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Oh dear... J'bhen asks Astin to consider lowering his rates and forgiving some of the debt.

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He reluctantly agrees to extend the line of credit for a week, and walks away.

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The other fellow walks away. J'bhen says that such things are a fact of life in Ul'dah, a bit ruefully, given what he's been busting his hump to commemorate for the Rising festival.

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Many debtors might borrow money without the intent of paying it back. It's a cycle that he despises.

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They both grew up on the streets of Ul'dah, and he's the only reason J'bhen is where he is today. Astin has a talent for business, able to make gil hand over fist.

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He puts all of these feelings into his art.

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J'bhen says that he didn't ask Satznswys to help him advertise his display only to load her down with sob stories. It's almost time for the minstrel's recital.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Oh, where's the glass?

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That's...not good.

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Satznswys makes a fun suggestion. J'bhen says that's an amusing idea, but not what he had in mind. Instead, he could use some help reassembling the pane and repairing it.

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While he goes to fetch some adhesive from the Alchemist's guild, he leaves Satznswys to assemble the broken pieces in their original state.

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This is certainly a mess, but not an impossible task.

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Done! So, talking about the artwork itself, I'm sure you already recognize two of the people: Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo and her loyal now-retired retainer, Papashan. The hooded lalafell are the five heads of the Thaumaturge's Guild, and what of the long-haired Lalafell? Well, that would be Raubahn's adopted son and current vice-commander of the Immortal Flames, Pipin Tarupin. It makes sense that Raubahn would have left someone in charge of defending Ul'dah when he went to Carteneau that day.

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Satznswys and J'bhen set to work on putting the glass display back on the stage.

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A few years ago, J'bhen was helping Astin with one of his ventures as an art dealer, and he was working on transporting some cases of stained glass. One slipped, and the sound still echoes in his mind of shattering glass.

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That's why he's not overly upset by the children's accident. His way of following Astin's example. He asks Satznswys for one more favor.

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He thinks that if Satznswys were to approach Astin, he might be more inclined to listen.

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Off she goes!

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He already knows of the display, and wonders why he sent Satznswys instead of telling him personally. Satznswys explains, and he understands, that J'bhen is a sentimental sort, but that sentimentality also serves to inspire his art.

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Astin wanted to earn enough money for the both of them, so he'd be free to pursue his dreams, and be a safety net in case J'bhen needed some help if he fell on hard times.

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He says he'll try to make a discrete appearance.

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TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Astin comes along.

He repeats Nanamo's words from that day, and suspects that while the message was for all of Ul'dah, he feels that it might've been directed at himself. He considers a change of career in light of this.

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Astin proposes going back to the art dealer work, and working together with J'bhen to find buyers for whatever work he comes up with, instead of being forced to take commissioned work for the pretentious buffoons of the Ul'dahn nobility. He asks the young artist if he's willing to go into business with him, setting aside the fact that he was a moneylender up to this point.

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J'bhen is all on board.

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He says that the wandering minstrel wanted to have a word with Satznswys, saying he's got a gift for her.

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This guy normally hangs around the Seventh Heaven of Revenant's Toll, but for now, he's lingering in Ul'dah for his recital. I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but the Minstrel composes ballads and songs of the Warrior of Light's exploits, such as her victories over the primals of Eorzea, or the Ultima Weapon. These songs have an almost supernatural quality to them that seems to transport the listener to the events of those days, with all the excitement and embellishment that an experience troubador might add to the story. In practical terms, this is where even higher-difficulty battles against the primals come from: these embellishments and stories from this guy.

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One chord is enough for Satznswys to trigger the Echo.

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So...who are you?

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...Yes, this is Naoki Yoshida, the lead producer for Final Fantasy XIV. It is heavily implied that the Wandering Minstrel is actually the producer's alter-ego. As for what this is, The Rising is set on the anniversary of Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch with A Realm Reborn, and, as I've said on multiple occasions, this wasn't a simple undertaking, to completely destroy a game in order to save it. And, so, the developers created this seasonal event to commemorate not their accomplishments of turning a failed MMO into one of the largest in the world, seven years later. They couldn't have done it without the love and support of the fans, both those who stuck with the Legacy 1.0 and the patch series, like TheSL, and even newer players like myself. I, myself, have not let my subscription lapse ever since I started playing in the late winter of 2017, a few months before the release of Stormblood. This game has become such an integral part of my life, with all the friends I've made along the way, from those early days when my character, Reynn Mcdohl, was a novice thaumaturge tooling around Ul'dah, to now, when I'm recounting all of Satznswys's adventures, both those behind her, and those still yet to come. I'm incredibly grateful to Mr. Yoshida and all the rest of the development team, especially now in the pandemic crisis.

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I'll just let his words stand for themselves.

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A round of applause from the assembled Sultana's Seven.

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Back in the waking world, the minstrel shares another song with Satznswys.

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He sings of stories that have been told...and of stories that have yet to be told.

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Ooh, fireworks!

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Satznswys receives a duplicate of J'bhen's work, which she puts up in her apartment.

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Also, now, in Ul'dah, there is a very familiar-looking woman, dressed like our Antecedent in her younger days.

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She sells a collection of special seasonal fireworks.

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And large bottles of wine that exist solely to be sprayed like the end of a Formula One race.

This time, Satznswys got a good look at Dalamud in the Echo. Next time, she'll begin to unlock the secrets of what happened that day, five years ago (from the game's time reference, not the real-world seven years that Mr. Yoshida just reference), when Dalamud fell from the sky and unleashed the elder primal, Bahamut, King of Dragons.

As a bonus, here's a picture of Naoki Yoshida at a FanFest event prior to Shadowbringers' release, in the Gunbreaker job's artifact equipment.

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TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
Welcome back to the LP, everyone! Last time, Satznswys got introduced to the wonderful world of the relic grind, said "Nope!" to that, and left Gerolt to his cups, but not before snagging a couple of sweet weapons out of the deal.

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Sitting in the lobby of the apartment building, she gets a contact on her linkpearl from Urianger, saying that he wants to speak to Satznswys at the Waking Sands, and will say no more on the matter until they're face to face. After receiving a demonstration from Nero tol Scaeva about how insecure linkpearl technology can be, the Scions are loathe to discuss sensitive matters over it these days.

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He says that the Scions were unsure about how to respond to the roar they all heard that day on the shores of Lake Silvertear, when they received word from someone. This person asked for Satznswys's aid directly, to meet them in Wineport.

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Why all the mystery, Urianger?

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It turns out to be Alphinaud's twin sister, Alisaie. Indeed, Satznswys has seen very little of Alisaie ever since the three commanders of Eorzea's grand companies gave their memorial service speeches, commemorating the 5th year since the battle at Carteneau. She's heard of Satznswys's exploits second hand from her brother, and the other Scions, of killing Gaius van Baelsar, and destroying the Ultima Weapon. It's that kind of strength and courage that will be needed for what she has in mind.

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Apparently, Dalamud's fall caused all kinds of instabilities beneath the continent's surface, opening up new caverns and pockets. There's one nearby, beneath Castrum Occidens. Apparently, Occidens was built in an out of the way location for no other reason than for Gaius to perform research on these caverns. While Satznswys was out vanquishing primals, Alisaie observed a peculiar wave pattern, coinciding with each time she took down Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. The origin of the waveforms came from underneath the Castrum.

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This ain't good. Alisaie thinks about her grandfather, Louisoix. His efforts to contain the primal Bahamut failed, and he disappeared with the King of Dragons. Alisaie wants to know exactly what went down on that day.

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She is loathe to ask others for help, but she feels that this might be biting off more than she can chew, and is wise enough to seek aid now.

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And so, the two set off for the caverns beneath Castrum Occidens.

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Here, at the edge of a precipice is a large formation of corrupted aether crystals. Seems good a place as any to start the search.

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Checking back in with the Maelstrom private that Alisaie is working with, she arranges for transport into the cavern.

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This unlocks the first tier of the A Realm Reborn's raid series, the Binding Coil of Bahamut. The way that the raid series' work is that, for each expansion, there are a series of mini-dungeons or fights, culminating in a challenging boss encounter. There are three tiers per expansion pack. Future raid series will prune this back to just the boss encounters, but I'll get into that later. This first tier is broken up into five separate instanced duties, designed for two tanks, two healers, and four DPS players. However, one significant problem with the Binding Coil of Bahamut, and the raid tiers that come after it in A Realm Reborn, is that there is no duty roulette associated with it. The only way is to either build a party with Party Finder, or just queue for it and hope you get lucky.

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Yeah, more than 30 minutes. That's usually a sign for "You're not getting in this."

I'll be honest with you. The only real way these days to explore the Coils of Bahamut is to go into the duties unsynced, with a few of your friends. If you have 3 or 4 friends who are willing to help, then you can knock the whole series of 13 turns out in a couple of hours. And you really should try to knock this story out, because there's some really good and important story here.

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I'm going to be covering this and all the future Raid tiers a little differently. Instead of showing a video for each duty, I'm going to cover the relevant story that happens within, and then conclude the writeup with sort of a podcast discussion with our resident raiding expert, Gaer, and possibly other guests. Like before, in duties like Titan or Garuda Normal, there are cutscenes within the duty itself, delivering snippets of story as we go.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Heading down into the cavern, Alisaie marvels at just how enormous this cavern is, scarred by a fallen piece of Dalamud.

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She asks about the corrupted crystals, if Satznswys is familiar with them. Of course, she has run all over Eorzea looking for the correct aspected crystal with which to get close to the primal Garuda.

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Alisaie recaps information that you might've already gleaned: Dalamud was an orbital station built by the ancient Allagan civilization to imprison the elder primal. The sattelite, when it fell, caused grievous wounds to the planet, that will be healing for a long, long time hereafter.

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In between a crevice in the crystals, Alisaie spots a marvel: an Allagan defense sentry that is still operational after centuries, and having survived the crash to the planet. She guesses that the Garleans meant to scavenge and reverse-engineer the technology from this shard of Dalamud.

Doing battle with the ADS sphere can teach the High Voltage skill to Blue Mages. There's actually a whole series of achievements to earn by clearing this content with a party of all Blue Mages, in addition to the other primal fights and raids.

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Through the security panel, Alisaie and Satznswys' team discover something incredible: a formation of corrupted crystals that is unmistakably shaped like a wing.

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Alisaie that it's not just crystals, but the wing of Bahamut himself. She explains that Louisoix sought to imprison Bahamut once again, by calling on the power of the Twelve. However, Bahamut was too much for this power, and broke free. The strange thing was, instead of continuing his rampage, Bahamut vanished with out a trace...until now.

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Alisaie is very puzzled. Did her grandfather triumph that day, or is there more to the story than what's been told in taprooms? They press on.

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*spooky noises*

The trash mobs are nothing worth speaking of, except for the golems, which are generating barriers keeping you from proceeding further.

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Done and dusted.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Satznswys and Alisaie travel deeper, and encounter another series of Allagan security nodes, that you might've already recognized as something similar to an enemy in Final Fantasy IV.

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Deeper yet, the next challenge before Satznswys is what is coloquially known among the playerbase as The Jumping Puzzle. This instance consists entirely of stepping on jump pads and a few trash monsters. The only objective here is to get to the bottom, there are no boss encounters. Thankfully, this was limited to just this turn.

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Next up is an elevator fight. You might recognize some of these enemy models from Final Fantasy XIII. Well, that's by choice. Since a lot of enemies in Final Fantasy XIII have a future-ish aesthetic, the developers of this game chose to associate that aesthetic with the Allagan empire. This won't be the last we see of this stuff, by any means.

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At the bottom of the elevator shaft, Alisaie and Satznswys step out on to a strange rock formation.

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Geez, Bahamut was huge. The Answers trailer never really gave a good sense of scope, at the sheer scale of the red moon, or its prisoner, but this should give you an idea. Again, Alisaie puzzles over why a primal could maintain its form in this manner. That would seem to put an axe to the idea that Bahamut diffusing into the world's aether is what caused the changes to the realm. It seems that they're coming out of this expedition with more questions than answers.
 

TyrMcDohl

The Goofiest Hrothgar
(He/him)
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Satznswys and Alisaie seem to come to the end of the line. The wyvern that she battled had a device around its neck, of Allagan make, used to enslave the creature to its master's will. Likely since they're long dead, the creature went berserk. Alisaie muses that this kind of tech would be worth a lot to Ishgard, but it could easily be turned against the Holy See as well. It would make sense as to why Garlemald is down here. If they had the capability to enslave dragons, they'd have a formidible force at their beck and call.

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Whatever she did activates some kind of mechanism, and the great panel opens...

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DUN DUN DUNNNNNN

There is the unmistakable thrum of a heartbeat down here, the source of which is this crystal just below the elder primal's severed (?) neck.

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She doesn't take the thought that her Grandfather died for nothing very well.

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She implores that they beat a retreat. Better to make sure what this all means before just recklessly trying to smash this thing's giant head.

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As they're about to leave, Alisaie spots something in the distance.

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Uh? Could it be?

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GASP.
 
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