That was a tough fight! Thanks for the sparring session, Alpha and Omega.
With this, I've become a "Penta Legend" and beaten all of the Ultimates in Final Fantasy XIV as of Endwalker. It was a hard journey, and I hope to motivate and coach others to give the Ultimates a shot too!
My overall Ultimate fight ranking would probably be something like: Dragonsong's Reprise (DSR), The Epic of Alexander (TEA), The Omega Protocol (TOP), The Weapon's Refrain (UWU), The Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCOB).
DSR is a great fight with amazing music, mechanics, and visuals. The music-to-mechanics synchronization can be considered the best in the game, with examples such as Phase 3's "Freefall" leading to the phase's enrage, Phase 5's "Heavensward" bringing in the chorus chanting for war as the Death of the Heavens mechanic begins, or Phase 6's "Dragonsong" crescendo-ing with Susan Calloway's vocals as the fight transitions to the next phase. Mechanically, it is arguably the hardest Ultimate so far. The only part I don't like about it is how easy it is to wipe on reclears. It's a 19ish minute sprint without much downtime, so every player needs to be ready to do their part.
TEA is a masterpiece. The Primals mix of each song are a real treat, and Perfect Alexander looks amazing. It is a bit too easy to reclear because of its nature as a puzzle fight, and there are few reaction-based mechanics to keep your on your toes. There are also several downtime phases where you stand in a position and wait for something to resolve, then you move to another position and do more waiting. But the barrier to entry to learn these mechanics makes the easy reclear a well-deserved reward, and you won't hear me complain about easy totem runs.
TOP has a lot going for it. It has several puzzle mechanics but just as many reaction-based ones that keep you guessing even on reclears. However, I felt that there were several phases that are a bit of a snooze once you master them (basically Phase 1 - 4). In DSR and TEA, yeah, the early phases are also easy on reclears, but the energy of songs such as "Brute Justice", "Rise", "Heroes", and "Freefall" make for a good time despite knowing all the upcoming movements. TOP's opening tracks, "Deltascape", "Heartless", and "From The Heavens" just don't hit me as hard.
UWU is the ARR of this list. I love it, and I think it is a great fight. It just isn't as good as the fights above it. It is the perfect introduction into the Ultimate fights, as it teaches the player about fast telegraphs leading into fast attacks and multi-phase fights with setups that require executing mechanics in a specific way (more than just beating up the boss, something most fights do not do). The band versions of the Primals' themes are also great, with "Fallen Angel" bringing the energy that a Phase 1 should have. "Ultima (Orchestral Version)" also impresses upon the player the sheer might of Ultimate bosses, and it has a great sync for the Ultimate Suppression mechanic where all the Primals pelt you with attacks as the chorus crescendos and chants. It is a solid fight all around.
UCOB is UCOB, you either love it or you don't. I'm not big on a lot of janky mechanics that snapshot in funky ways and insta-kill you or others if you mess up (Twisters, Liquid Hells, Nael's gravity circles). The DoTs in this fight last 30s if you stand in bad puddles, and they tick for enough damage to instantly kill you. They also stick to you if you Raise up into them, meaning you could go down again if put into a bad spot. I do appreciate the lack of a DPS check nowadays, allowing for non-standard party compositions (RDM and SMN are king in this fight) and for the player to focus on executing mechanics. It's an okay fight, and the devs were probably still figuring out how to design Ultimates, what with this being the first one and all.
I hope people have enjoyed my journey through Final Fantasy XIV's toughest battles, and I look forward to seeing more in Dawntrail! Thank you for watching.
1 сен 2023
