Hi, I Am Justin Massongill, Also I love Final Fantasy XIV. I started enjoying five Years Back and was immediately hooked by Square Enix’s revolutionary strategy to controller-based MMO battle, Masayoshi Soken’s intoxicating soundtrack, the simple fact that I could level up every course and job on precisely the same character, and the far-reaching — yet amazingly friendly and welcoming — community.

But you’ve probably already heard the narrative of this game’s Metamorphosis into one of the most respected MMOs on the market, so I will not get into that here. What I will get into is why FFXIV’s latest expansion, Shadowbringers, catapults this fourteenth mainline entry to the upper echelons of Final Fantasy history. Put plainly: Shadowbringers is among the best Final Fantasy games .

Attempt to watch any FFXIV opening cinematic without getting goosebumps, I dare you.

The narrative of Shadowbringers sees your hero teleported to a New dimension (a Shard, at the match’s parlance) known as the First. It appears their version of the Warriors of Light did perhaps too great a job ridding the forces of darkness, and their world was all but swallowed by a torrent of unceasing, mortal light.

This premise sets some intriguing narrative stakes: while You have built a reputation for a god-slaying, regime-toppling hero back home, this new dimension’s citizens have never heard of you. This is a refreshing change of pace from the borderline deistic reverence by which NPCs usually treat you, and it lets the story play out in a more private level. Instead of simply nodding along as the story occurs around you, your character’s own desires and motivations finally are involved.

A few shots I snapped using FFXIV’s robust photo style

Have been summoned into the First, also, and they have their own challenges to conquer. Another finds himself at odds with the conflicting notions of living up to the duties of fatherhood and ensuring his the woman he is sworn to protect is able to satisfy her destiny.

The story of Shadowbringers performs over around 50 or 60 One in particular — no spoilers — is written so effectively that it is hard not to feel a feeling of empathy for them from the time things comes to a mind… I still feel a tinge of sorrow that we couldn’t have ended our time together on more pragmatic terms. Sigh.

While the narrative is what impressed me about Shadowbringers, the center systems in play continue to provide a solid base that can support the dozens (hundreds (thousands?) ?) Of hours you’ll spend experiencing these stories. Many of the playable jobs have been changed, ranging from small tweaks to full-on overhauls, and they’ve generally been received well by the FFXIV community (particularly after the current 5.05 patch, which addressed some balance issues between the three available Healer jobs). The brand new Dancer and Gunbreaker jobs are highlights, supplying the game’s most support-based job nonetheless and a surprisingly busy tank job, respectively. I main Black Mage and I am over the moon with my flat 80 rotation — it is not a huge departure from the degree 70 kit, but it has been smoothed out and optimized in enough ways that it seems substantially stronger. Explosions everywhere!

A legendary Guardian Force from Final Fantasy VIII makes an Impressive return in FFXIV’s newest raid.

Two weeks after Shadowbringers started, the new”Eden’s Gate” raid was bestowed upon gamers who had completed the expansion’s most important story pursuit. I won’t get in the story information of this raid here, however there’s one particularly breathtaking order in its first fight that I wrote about here, if you don’t mind being spoiled on it. The loot method for this raid has been adjusted, also: long story short, drops are more abundant so that it’s far easier to get your hands on the specific item of equipment you are chasing. There is also a brand new 24-player raid in route, which is based on the world of NieR and NieR Automata, and has been developed in collaboration with Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito. It’s gonna be bizarre.

The Radically different setting for this expansion gave Soken an opportunity to branch out and choose the game’s soundtrack in some interesting new directions, masterfully invoking myriad genres which match their respective locations and encounters like a glove (or, more appropriately, a really comfy pair of cans ). He also continues to finely harness the emotional power of leitmotif, intending to jerk a tear from all but the driest eyes.

Semi-related note: Square Enix recently made a ton of their Soundtracks on streaming solutions, including Spotify. The OST for Shadowbringers is not available yet, but you can listen to countless earlier FFXIV tracks there right now.

I grew up with this series. It’s been a part of my entire life for Almost 30 decades, introducing me to the idea of role-playing games to the First time. Never did I imagine that the narrative of almost any MMO would endure Toe-to-toe with those of FF’s 16/32-bit golden era. But Naoki Yoshida and team Are not content to build merely the best MMO on the market. As far as I’m Worried, Shadowbringers is your new closing word in dream.

Hi, I Am Justin Massongill, Also I love Final Fantasy XIV. I started enjoying five Years Back and was immediately hooked by Square Enix’s revolutionary strategy to controller-based MMO battle, Masayoshi Soken’s intoxicating soundtrack, the simple fact that I could level up every course and job on precisely the same character, and the far-reaching — yet amazingly friendly and welcoming — community.

But you’ve probably already heard the narrative of this game’s Metamorphosis into one of the most respected MMOs on the market, so I will not get into that here. What I will get into is why FFXIV’s latest expansion, Shadowbringers, catapults this fourteenth mainline entry to the upper echelons of Final Fantasy history. Put plainly: Shadowbringers is among the best Final Fantasy games .

Attempt to watch any FFXIV opening cinematic without getting goosebumps, I dare you.

The narrative of Shadowbringers sees your hero teleported to a New dimension (a Shard, at the match’s parlance) known as the First. It appears their version of the Warriors of Light did perhaps too great a job ridding the forces of darkness, and their world was all but swallowed by a torrent of unceasing, mortal light.

This premise sets some intriguing narrative stakes: while You have built a reputation for a god-slaying, regime-toppling hero back home, this new dimension’s citizens have never heard of you. This is a refreshing change of pace from the borderline deistic reverence by which NPCs usually treat you, and it lets the story play out in a more private level. Instead of simply nodding along as the story occurs around you, your character’s own desires and motivations finally are involved.

A few shots I snapped using FFXIV’s robust photo style

Have been summoned into the First, also, and they have their own challenges to conquer. Another finds himself at odds with the conflicting notions of living up to the duties of fatherhood and ensuring his the woman he is sworn to protect is able to satisfy her destiny.

The story of Shadowbringers performs over around 50 or 60 One in particular — no spoilers — is written so effectively that it is hard not to feel a feeling of empathy for them from the time things comes to a mind… I still feel a tinge of sorrow that we couldn’t have ended our time together on more pragmatic terms. Sigh.

While the narrative is what impressed me about Shadowbringers, the center systems in play continue to provide a solid base that can support the dozens (hundreds (thousands?) ?) Of hours you’ll spend experiencing these stories. Many of the playable jobs have been changed, ranging from small tweaks to full-on overhauls, and they’ve generally been received well by the FFXIV community (particularly after the current 5.05 patch, which addressed some balance issues between the three available Healer jobs). The brand new Dancer and Gunbreaker jobs are highlights, supplying the game’s most support-based job nonetheless and a surprisingly busy tank job, respectively. I main Black Mage and I am over the moon with my flat 80 rotation — it is not a huge departure from the degree 70 kit, but it has been smoothed out and optimized in enough ways that it seems substantially stronger. Explosions everywhere!

A legendary Guardian Force from Final Fantasy VIII makes an Impressive return in FFXIV’s newest raid.

Two weeks after Shadowbringers started, the new”Eden’s Gate” raid was bestowed upon gamers who had completed the expansion’s most important story pursuit. I won’t get in the story information of this raid here, however there’s one particularly breathtaking order in its first fight that I wrote about here, if you don’t mind being spoiled on it. The loot method for this raid has been adjusted, also: long story short, drops are more abundant so that it’s far easier to get your hands on the specific item of equipment you are chasing. There is also a brand new 24-player raid in route, which is based on the world of NieR and NieR Automata, and has been developed in collaboration with Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito. It’s gonna be bizarre.

The Radically different setting for this expansion gave Soken an opportunity to branch out and choose the game’s soundtrack in some interesting new directions, masterfully invoking myriad genres which match their respective locations and encounters like a glove (or, more appropriately, a really comfy pair of cans ). He also continues to finely harness the emotional power of leitmotif, intending to jerk a tear from all but the driest eyes.

Semi-related note: Square Enix recently made a ton of their Soundtracks on streaming solutions, including Spotify. The OST for Shadowbringers is not available yet, but you can listen to countless earlier FFXIV tracks there right now.

I grew up with this series. It’s been a part of my entire life for Almost 30 decades, introducing me to the idea of role-playing games to the First time. Never did I imagine that the narrative of almost any MMO would endure Toe-to-toe with those of FF’s 16/32-bit golden era. But Naoki Yoshida and team Are not content to build merely the best MMO on the market. As far as I’m Worried, Shadowbringers is your new closing word in dream.