Final Fantasy XIV 7.0: Dawntrail - Summer 2024

[Buffy]

fucking spoilers

[Anoat]

Prob wanna spoiler that man it’s only been one week since early access lol

[Prothescar]

Literally anytime she was around it felt like Wuk wouldn't stop screaming her name, it made me think of this but with her name instead.

[Kaslo]

They really screwed with the story. There are two halves, and the only thing connecting them is the attack on the main city. They could have stretched out the trial about becoming the new head of the country and weaved in the elements, but we essentially got two stories BARELY connected. And yah, everyone hates the final zone apparently. I hated it BEFORE we turned it off, I like it more after actually, lol

I mean

Spoiler: show

It's not like it also involves the failed contestant for the rite of succession getting his revenge for failing the rite by making a deal with another nation and continues the same themes as the first half.

Ultimately, I think this expansion will be remembered as Stormblood without Lyse. And like Stormblood, it is accompanied by a large improvement to battle design and systems.

[Lucavi]

And like Stormblood, it is accompanied by a large improvement to battle design and systems.

Shame the same couldn't be said for class design. Reworking monk again after 2 days, knee-jerk adjustments to Viper after 2 days, Gutting 2 of the 3 ways to play Blm, ect. Take a shot every time they used the word "simplify" in the notes. The tougher bosses are great, but you once again nerf player expression in jobs.

[Anoat]

Reminder don’t forget your Twitch codes for the free mount and other goodies. Just watch a XIV streamer with the DROPS tag enabled and you’ll get the code after six hours. You can play it on mute or in the background or w/e

[Gokulo]

Shame the same couldn't be said for class design. Reworking monk again after 2 days, knee-jerk adjustments to Viper after 2 days, Gutting 2 of the 3 ways to play Blm, ect. Take a shot every time they used the word "simplify" in the notes. The tougher bosses are great, but you once again nerf player expression in jobs.

They're SUPPOSEDLY planning to work on job identity for 8.0

[Lucavi]

I love them, but I don't trust them. Playing it safe is how you make guaranteed money every expansion in order to fund all of SE's other games. This game is definitively in "cash-cow: DO NOT TOUCH!" status. I'll bet a mortgage payment on it, but I'd be GLAD to be wrong come 8.0.

SE would have to design some Honkai: Star Rail-esque Gacha with that level of financial success to free this game from its shackles. They need money. Easy, guaranteed money.

[Dantrag]

The trials and last dungeons are fun, I got REALLY bored of the story in the "2nd half"...

[Anoat]

Ending spoilers pondering

Spoiler: show

Considering we don’t see any other Mamool Ja in Heritage Found or Solution Nine or Living Memory, I’m starting to think maybe Gulool Ja is a clone or Zoraal Ja and that will be explored in future patches. It would fit the FF9 parallel with Gulool Ja in the Vivi role and Otis as Steiner

[arus2001]

I love them, but I don't trust them. Playing it safe is how you make guaranteed money every expansion in order to fund all of SE's other games. This game is definitively in "cash-cow: DO NOT TOUCH!" status. I'll bet a mortgage payment on it, but I'd be GLAD to be wrong come 8.0.

SE would have to design some Honkai: Star Rail-esque Gacha with that level of financial success to free this game from its shackles. They need money. Easy, guaranteed money.

imo we're not getting "job identity" as long as the game is fast-paced DDR where it's DPS check or wipe in 99% of instances. Flavor can't really be achieved without instances where some jobs shine while others are reasonably meh. However, when the only way to play a job is also by performing an x-step rotation, may as well fuck any sense of individual identity or even gear variation.

Counterpoint, players need to stop being assholes when they're not in optimal scenarios or only settling for meta. A tall order, I know, but things are kept tight now largely because people can't behave.

[Lucavi]

It tickles me how SE continues to gut existing class features to include them on new jobs. Pict has all the fun that Blm and Smn used to have, and its overtuned to boot. Seriously reminds me of the MOBA balance mentality where you slowly erode the old to drop the new hotness in, overtuned and ready for everyone to buy the day one skins.

[Dotsudoku]

current smn is boring to be sure, but it has way more in common with pct than old smn did

and blm was a miss, but there's several ways they can incorporate pct and smn levels of flexibility into this iteration of it

[Anoat]

One thing I definitely appreciate is the change to the sightseeing log. You just gotta be there. Not there at a specific time of day facing a specific direction and other bullshit.

[The Stig]

One thing I definitely appreciate is the change to the sightseeing log. You just gotta be there. Not there at a specific time of day facing a specific direction and other bullshit.

Is this retroactively applied to the older ones?

I've not logged in yet haha, been way too lazy.

[Prothescar]

It has been like that since Heavensward

[Anoat]

I know not everyone is insane like me and does all the side quests but I found a pretty dark sidequest in Solution Nine.

Spoiler: show

The quest giver is a funeral usher who collects the bodies of the dead who pass from old age. He admits, to his shame, that he felt compelled to steal a trinket from the corpse of a man he picked up and wants you to investigate the item on his behalf. It turns out to be a family heirloom that has both his name and that of the dead man. He determines that the man he picked up was his own father and he didn’t even recognize him because of the memory wipe. Brutal.

[Lucavi]

Just more proof (not that we needed it) that the system itself was unnatural and needed to end.

[Kaslo]

The more I sit and think on it (endgame story thoughts)

Spoiler: show

A lot of stuff once you enter the dome doesn't make sense. The energy economy is the biggest, but also the memory erasure. It's something no normal mortal would adopt, which is why it only makes sense with Sphene being effectively an AI. Her programing was to fully care for her people with as much compassion as possible. An AI WOULD come to the conclusion to solve the problem of grief is just to erase the thing that caused the grief.

[Anoat]

I haven’t watched many XIV YouTubers since Endwalker so I’m catching up on some of their thoughts on Dawntrail and holy smokes Mrhappy got jacked and looks like Oscar Isaac now good for him.