It's not as good as Heavensward. I had such high hopes before launch considering this was all new territory essentially. Heavensward had to be an Ishgardian expansion because it was Yoshi promising a city state that was intendid to be back in 1.0, being able to add Dravania as well was just icing on an already large cake. So it seemed like they were trying to outdo expectations again by not only giving us Gyr Abania/Ala Mhigo which was also lore established in 1.0, but give us something totally out of left field as well with Othard/Doma. The only problem is they completely half-assed it. We """liberated""" both city-states but we did so with one by sinking their city icon to the bottom of a river and the other wont let us in because "WE WUZ KANGZ" and then fucking Lyse takes all the God damn credit. I would've hoped we would eventually have gotten Ala Mhigo as an explorable city either at the end or in the patch series, but no. And with 4.5 I was hoping Ala Mhigo would get gassed by the Empire and I would've been so happy since they stubbornly refused to let us in, but that seems unlikely too. Ala Mhigo should've been one expansion and Othard itself have one on its own too.

And Empire is another thing. I'm extremely disappointed with Yoshi-P's stance on the Empire. Why was Gaius and
Pre-edgelord Asahi so likable? Because they showed the Empire were more than a bunch of cartoonishly evil Nazis. I was so hyped for Ala Mhigo story line with Fordola and the theme of whether or not Ala Mhigo even wants to be saved and seeing how an entire generation under Garlean rule might oppose liberation. Because Zenos was the Legatus of the XIIth, I was hoping for more gray morality to hearken back to FFXII like all the other numbered Legatuses did with their numbered FF title. But nope, while I love Zenos he's still essentially just a batshit insane nihilist; Yotsuyu could've been a hated viceroy who only wanted what was best for her birth nation, but no, she's a batshit insane literal whore who takes out her abuse on everyone; and the Empire is just a bunch of oppressive Nazis with no moral depth outside of being controlled by the moon-liches. I'm so sick of the absolute doubling down on trying to make the Empire more and more unlikable because it really hinders the story as a whole thematically.

And the Primal shit....it just needs to stop. Just like Heavensward, the leveling Primals were nothing more than filler that slowed down the story. "We're about to liberate the Ruby Sea! ....But first we gotta kill Susanoo....." & "We're about to siege the capital! ....But first we gotta kill Lakshmi....." the community has gotten so used to the writers relying on the Primal gimmick that they think that the Four Lords were "Far Eastern Primals" too. When the writers finally decide to not cop out a boss to being a Primal the community calls them that anyways because the writers abused the fuck out of it back in ARR and HW.

And the patch series leading up to Shadowbringers was such a wet noodle too. The trailer had you believe that some serious shit went down between 4.5 part 1 and the beginning of Shadowbringers and whatever it was is what causes you to become the Warrior of DDDAAARRRKKKNNNEEESSSSSS. But no, in part 2 you're saved from Moon-Zenos off screen by Dues Ex Estinien (who I also enjoy but that was an ass-pull if there ever was one) and face-timed by a guy from OPTIONAL SIDE CONTENT to tell you you have to go The First for....he doesn't say (we the player know why but the WoL still doesn't) and that this is a collect-call with your soul. We have no reason to become the WoD and no real reason to go to The First other than "I stole your friends lol".


And Shadowbringers is shaping up to be just as much "Meh" as Stormblood was. I was hoping for some actual depth to the story between Hydaelyn and Zodiark and the balance between Light and Dark. But no, we're essentially gonna just scream at the sky as a DRK until we bring back the night. No universe-altering chaos, just filler to keep us off Ilsabard this expansion and sacrificing a cool lore point (The Sundering) to do so.

I think Stormblood is in a mostly good spot with what they did as far as job adjustments. While some jobs are a bit tedious to play (DRK & WHM) and some are absolutely crippled (MCH & MNK), the original idea they sent out to create where we're pressing a decent number of buttons while not being overwhelming and create a unique gauge to help track your actions was a success. The only problem is what I fear they're going to do with Shadowbringers. It feels like they're just going to homogenize and simplify the game even further. The removal of TP really bothers me, I know we don't know anything yet and we wont until the 21st, but what we do already know really concerns me. I don't want the game to become braindead, it's what makes the game unique and satisfying. Imagine if playing BLM just required you to hit Fire 3, then spam Fire 4 until you run out of MP and then hit Blizzard 3, hit Thunder 3, hit Blizzard 4, and then hit Fire 3, to repeat? No Enochian, no Ley Lines, No Sharpcast, Fire 1 is only used in lower level dungeons. This is just is an extreme but it feels like something SE would prefer by the way Yoshi talks about makes the game easier. Difficulty-wise it's fine where it is. This is going to sounds incredibly elitist/obnoxious but there needs to be some level of competency as a requirement in order to play at the max level or we get shitters like the ones in the OF who complain about how The Royal Menagerie needs a nerf....two years later....

The Fringes is trash. I can't find much redeeming about it. It was cool being able to Castellum Velodyna from Baelsar's Wall back during Heavensward but the rest of the zone is just so shitty and unmemorable. I'd argue that Thanalan is better because at least Thanalan is a desert that looks pretty. The Peaks is alright and has better music that fits the idea of the Ala Mhigan culture. The Lochs is my favorite zone but it's also the one that upsets me the most because it represents the biggest failure of the expansion. You walk into The Lochs and go up the stairs and all you see infront of you is a giant staircase leading up to the grand bad-ass city....and you'll never be allowed in. No, the Ala Mhigan Quarter doesn't count and neither does The Royal Menagerie after you beat the main story. I want Ala Mhigo to be like the other city-states; there's no reason not to have it be visitable. Also, Rhalger's Reach is trash.


With Othard, things are a bit better. Even though Doma and Kugane are essentially Not-China and Not-Japan respectively, their zones are all at least memorable and unique. Yanxia feels just like rural China and Kugane with it's strict isolationist policy gives me that imperial Japan vibe they were clearly going for. I hope we get to see more of Bukyo/Daitenzen one day. I like The Azim Steppe cause it reminds me of the Archelyte Steppe from FFXIII, though I do wish they didn't advertise it as the game's first great plains region since that was essentially what 1.0 Coerthas was. Ruby Sea is the weakest but it's still memorable because of HoH.

Leveling dungeons were great, but not as good as Heavensward (Also Asgeirr you take back what you said about The Dusk Vigil right now it's fucking KINO). Siren Song Sea is cool lore wise but it's also the biggest example of being one giant hallway since Xelphatol (I'll get back to Xelphatol in a bit). Shisui is alright but I almost never touch it. Bardam's Mettle I get way too much in leveling roulette and I'm sick of getting a tank that thinks they can pull big on this one, stop you can't, you're going to die, STOP TRYING. Doma Castle is pretty great, bitchin awesome music. Castrum Abania is okay but suffers from the same issue Gubal suffered from being the last dungeon before max level and having it right at level 69 so it hardly ever gets touched.

Ala Mhigo, the last city state we visit in Eorzea, the poster child of this expansion (other than Not-Japan Kugane), being relegated to a shitty four man dungeon is the biggest insult to me. It shows the SE learned nothing from the discussion the community had about Xelphatol, and they do it again with The Burn. Dedicating entire REGIONS to a 20 minute light party instance is very insulting to the lore/exploration crowd of MMO players. I want Ala Mhigo to be the proud and chad meme city everyone was hyping it up to be like we do with Ishgard, everyone LOVES Ishgard, it's a real city-state. I don't want fucking Rhalger's Reach, it's a literal shit hole in the middle of nowhere (The Fringes) and no improvements were even made to it like they did with Revenants Toll and Idyllshire. I get that the Doman Enclave is supposed to be a hands-on improvement progress the player can do and that serves as a similar hub, but the Doman Enclave also feels like the liberated aspect of Doma and a fully fledged city-state (the story being about Doma becoming a self-sufficient nation once again) and not being able to have a market board there makes it suffer from the same gripe I have with Ala Mhigo.

Getting back to dungeons, level 70 ones were extremely hit and miss. Temple of The Fist is just meh. Kugane Castle is great aesthetically but the final boss suffers from the same problem Heavsnward did with Shitterreap where the game actively punishes new level 70 players learning their jobs by spamming mechanics where the boss becomes untargetable and shutting down any real rotation. Drowned City is sucks until after the second boss, then it gets good. Hell's Lid is pretty decent. Swallow's Compass is by far the best of all of them, literally perfect. Fractal Hard is OKAY, same with The Burn (still pissed about the region/dungeon thing). Saint Whatever Hard is also pretty good, and Ghimlyt Dark just flat out sucks....it also appears way too much in Expert Roulette.

Heaven On High is a way better Deep Dungeon than PoTD. It's shorter, easier, less infuriating, and more rewarding. It's also more aesthetically pleasing. Not much else to say on it. Just lower the requirement for entry from level 61 to 60 and it'd be perfect.

Omega is trash and how dare they kill off my husbando Midgardsormr.

I love how Rabanastre was straight up FFXII Fan Service until the last two bosses, same with Ridorana. FFXII Ivalice fits better in the universe of XIV than Tactics Ivalice so having them focus geographically with XII is great. I don't have much to say about Return To Ivalice, it was very well done and it fit into the universe of XIV quite well. I wished we could've saw more of Gabranth but it seems like we're going to see more of him in Shadowbringers so meh.

Take back what you said about Mustadio right now. "MR. PRESIDENT GET DOWN!" The Boss is the best fight in the entirety of Orbonne.

It's perfect. Heavensward had a fantastic OST and Stormblood completely blows it out of the water. But for me it's still:

Answers = Dragonsong > Revolutions