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

[TyrMcDohl]

Bless you, Brendt, but don't go getting yourself killed on their account.

Pipin agrees that he would likely have done the same thing in Brendt's shoes. He's heard all about Satznswys from his father, and this first meeting was not how he imagined it going.

Chin up, Alphinaud. In the days to come, it will be invaluable to have allies within Ul'dah.

And the ally that Brendt mentioned arrives!

Cid's got the Enterprise on standby, so they can go anywhere they want.

It's the last choice they have. If they fled to Gridania or Limsa Lominsa, then Ul'dah would flex political muscle to see them extradicted. As stated before by Thancred, Mor Dhona's out, because Revenant's Toll is under guard by the Crystal Braves. Coerthas is their only shot. Pipin will stay behind to position things to be ready for when the Scions can prove their innocence. It won't be difficult, however. The Warrior of Light and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are heroes of the people, and it will be difficult for the Monetarists to crush that. Alphinaud doesn't know what to say.

Arriving in Coerthas, no words are needed, and Cid takes back off.

And the two make for Camp Dragonhead.

The melancholy vibe of Terra's Theme from Final Fantasy VI is eerily appropriate, given what has just happened.

 

[TyrMcDohl]

Haurchefant says that things have grown complicated.

The Temple Knights succeeded in slaying the wyverns, but not before a lot of damage was done, and now the city is effectively under martial law. Unfortunately, nothing can be done for their request for asylum until the threat to Ishgard has diminished. However, Haurchefant bids them to take heart, as they are not without allies.

All joking aside, he says that anyone who comes looking for the Scions will be very rudely rebuffed. Ishgard's reputation for inhospitality will work in their favor. For as long as Ul'dah accuses the Scions of conspiracy to assassinate the sultana, they shall find no friend at Camp Dragonhead.

There are others here?

...oh boy.

Tataru's here!

Oh...don't cry.

Yugiri! Good to see you!

After Tataru and Yugiri met up, they headed to Vesper Bay, where they met up with Urianger. He erected a glamour around the Waking Sands, and now the place looks like an abandoned storehouse. While that is helpful, it is likely being watched, so Coerthas is still the best place to hide out. Yugiri's people are looking for any sign of the other Scions. They'll keep looking, but for now, they're going to steer clear of the Rising Stones. Hopefully, if Satznswys and Alphinaud were able to escape, so were the others. The people of Doma stand with the Scions, for their help in giving them a home away from home. And they'll work to restore the Scions' good name. And with that, Yugiri leaves to get back to work.

 

[TyrMcDohl]

I'm not going to punch Alphinaud while he's down. He screwed up, royally, no question, but I'm not going to add insult to injury. He treated the Crystal Braves, and even the Scions, as pawns in his chess game to save Eorzea. He rushed to glory he saw only in his head, but paid no heed to where he was running.

In many ways, the end of the Binding Coil of Bahamut story, and the Realm Reborn main story leave both grandchildren of Louisoix in similar places. For Alisaie, she left on a journey of self-discovery, to determine for herself what was worth fighting for. For Alphinaud, he had all of that certainty, and rode it heedlessly off a cliff. Now he must discover it once again.

Haurchefant comes in, bearing mugs of what I guess might be the Eorzean equivalent of coffee or hot chocolate. He's really a kind friend, the type to pick you up and dust you off after you've had your face punched in.

Nowhere right now, Alphinaud! We have a warm hearth, a friend to protect us, and each other. The Scions have achieved much, and it would be a shame for Alphinaud to discard it all in a fit of self-pity.

In Ishgard. Together.

 

[TyrMcDohl]

And, once again, the song of not Eorzea's people during the Seventh Umbral Calamity, but the song of the dragons bound by Allag to sustain the elder primal Bahamut, Answers, plays during the credits.

Back in Ul'dah, the handmaiden reports that all has been arranged according to Lolorito's design.

Shackled in the dungeons of Ul'dah, the Bull of Ala Mhigo waits.

Elsewhere...

The Ascians Lahabrea and Elidibus turn their sights to Ishgard, much as the Scions do.

Urianger, what the hell are you doing?

 

[TyrMcDohl]

At the Gates of Judgment, Satznswys hears the words of Midgardsormr.

Oof, that achievement though.

And with that, we come to the end of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

MY FOLLOWUP THOUGHTS:

My first time playing through this game was a bit more whirlwind than my time through with Satznswys. I had purchased the game a few months prior to the release of Stormblood, and so, a lot of my time through this game was hazy. I remembered most of the main story beats, but I was blindsided by the sheer volume of fetch questing that ended up happening. The patch story is very dense and meaty. The developers were building to this very climactic finish, and wanted to set the stage, to make it feel earned. However, I can absolutely understand the complaints that newer players have of the story feeling plodding, especially going from the end of 2.0 to this point in the main story. It will be interesting to see what revisions the development team makes with the release of patch 5.3, which as of this writing, is expected to be about a week from now. I did most of this content, save for the optional dungeons, over the course of two weeks, with most of the work being done on weekends. I'm not looking forward to the editing work that's going to need to be done, but by the time you read this, it'll all be over, and I'll likely be ready to dive right in to the expansion: Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV! Please look forward to it!

FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOLLOWUP:

I wrote this stuff back in August of 2020, and it's been a long long road getting here. I don't see myself ever really going back through ARR for the enjoyment anymore. There are some good moments, but man, what I thought would be a fun pandemic project turned into a LOT of work. I wanna thank all of you who have been reading along and providing your commentary in the thread! And with how all this has gone, don't think my enthusiasm for this project has flagged. The difficulties of me finishing this project were entirely hinged on my desire to get on to the future. The expansion content is so, so much better than ARR, and I can't wait to bring it to you!

But with all that said, time for me to announce the final vote tally and Satznswys's job for the 3.0 story, leveling from 50 to 60! As I said before, there's no need to worry about leveling up a class from even Level 1, because leveling jobs in this game gets very fast for anything that's below your highest Disciple of War or Magic job!

It was a REALLY close poll right up to the end, with Summoner and Dark Knight neck-and-neck for the longest time. But the votes are in, and with 6 votes, Satznswys will be going back to the tank role with Dark Knight! Since that job starts in Ishgard, that means this is truly the last update! All the votes for DRK will be removed, and all the other votes will remain in place for the next vote tally, which I'll elaborate on in the next thread!

Thank you all so much for reading!

 

[Cadenza]

Thank you all so much for reading!

And thank you for all the time and effort you put into this thread!

 

[Juno]

I would like to emphasize that for those of us who played 2.55 on release, we had to wait 3 months for the resolution to all of this.