Crystal Exarch Face Reveal | FFXIV: Shadowbringers Cutscenes 

All the powers of creation are at my disposal! *uses gun*

Me pretending to not know that the crystal exarch is graha tia purely by his lip shape: 😮

I love this scene! I was so sure it was him and when the hood flew back I was happy to be right, but then even more devastated by what was happening! I thought he was a pretty awesome character and had gotten removed from the story far too soon. It was still an optional quest when I originally did them, so it was wild seeing him brought back but in the main story.

I hadn’t done the crystal tower questline, so I had no idea who he was. But honestly it didn’t matter. I knew by that point what kind of person he was, I understood how much he’d sacrificed. When he pretended to be evil I didn’t buy it for millisecond. Naturally this moment hits harder if you have context, but Shadowbringers did such a good job developing the Exarch that it still was an epic moment to see his face.

God, for a bit I couldn't remember if the cutscene changed between the dialogue choices. Which, I'm genuinely so glad it does. I have to assume since CT Wasnt mandatory originally, they did it to account for players who did the raids or not. Which is just such a lovely touch. (I only started playing once it was mandatory) When you say nothing, all he does is smile and calmly say the same lines "Thank you for fighting for this world, for believing. Fare you well, my friend. My inspiration". It's exactly the same, and yet the emotions are wildly different. The difference between a legendary hero he has only read about and gotten to know over the course of Shadowbringers. Versus the weight he experiences when not only did he know you, briefly, but that you *remember him.* The way his stalwart presence cracks like a facade, and emotion sweeps over him as he says goodbye to a friend he has not seen in 3 centuries. Decade upon decade of the survivors of the Eighth Umbral Calamity toiling with blood sweat and tears to avert one of the most devastating conflicts the Source had ever seen after the sundering. But they persisted, on and on tirelessly from the inspiration of everyone before them, before passing the torch on to G'raha Tia. The utter weight of the burden he carried, while helped by the crystarium, yet having to bear it in solitude till he could call us to his side. He planned to sacrifice himself without even revealing who he was. A nameless figure stepping out from view, sacrificing himself for countless others to press on. So to see him falter for a moment, to finally express himself truly and deeply after a *century* of laboring for the realm. To part with gratitude and joy to spend these final moments by his greatest inspiration. It had me genuinely sobbing, and is the core of why he is probably my favorite Scion since. And I'm honestly so glad that he got to see the future (or past) that he fought so hard to save.

Even now I get emotional when I watch this cutscene. When I first saw it, I was happy that he finally revealed himself, but upset that he was planning to sacrifice himself, to leave us AGAIN. G'raha was the sole reason I continued playing this game, during a time where I wasn't happy with it and was even planning to quit for good. Then I did CT on a whim, as the last thing I'd do before quitting. I loved G'raha immediately, and was sad to see him seal himself away. And yet, after hearing his wish to wake to a future built upon our legacy, I managed to find the strength to keep playing. I didn't want to disappoint him. Admittedly, I'd skipped a good chunk of the MSQ cutscenes up until that point because I was impatient to catch up with friends who were going through Stormblood since it'd just dropped, but after finishing the CT questline I started playing attention more to the story and actually watching the cutscenes, hoping to get some form of callback to CT. When Shadowbringers launched 2 years later, I got my wish in the best way possible. I'm glad I stuck around these past 6 years, I absolutely adore this game now. Not just of the goofy catboy who's become such a huge comfort character for me, I genuinely love the story and everything else FFXIV has to offer.

8:45 one of the scenes for me that Endwalker did not top.

Ngl I recognized him but I forgot his name so I was just like “holy shit it’s him, it’s the guy, the crystal tower guy!”

Gah I tear up every time I see this

i knew the whole time it was g'raha (i figured it out on my own and then got spoiled 💀) but this scene still had me shocked to me core (mainly because of emet-selch wHO GAVE HIM THAT)

Spoilers for anyone who isnt much further Its amazing how Emett actually saved everyone's lives by doing this Which knowing him ... was probably on purpose

I'm a little ashamed that G'raha fooled me for so long. Oh, I made the connection to him immediately, of course... but when I called the Exarch out on it and asked him if the name G'raha Tia meant anything to him, and he just denied knowing anything about someone named that, I kinda went, "Oh... :( " and let it go.

DO NOT INTERFERE

This gonna sound cheesy but I knew deep down it was him

Was a long time but can someone tell me how call the song of min 18:50 thanks

What's the song name that starts playing at 8:47 ?

Me during this cutscene. Literally who???? I honestly have no idea whats going on anymore it's like the cutscenes start playing and my mind turns off I've taken several long breaks from this game and love it but the cutscenes just aren't clicking with me anymore.