Now THIS Is How To Tell A Story! FFXIV’s New Patch Proves The Devs Keep Levelling Up 

I think I've figured out what makes this game's story feel so unique: It plays out like a book, whereas most games structure themselves like a movie with a limited runtime. XIV takes its time and shows the little moments that are just a part of life and it works because the characters and the world are fascinating to learn about. Ironically, I don't think they could do this if they weren't writing for an MMO.

It blew my mind how invested I am in Zero already in such a short piece of msq content.. they did really well with her

It helps that Troia itself feels like a really neat place to explore. It's been a really long time since a dungeon has given me that itch of wanderlust to just stop and look at stuff. Same with Zero's domain, it was fun to poke around the nooks and crannies and have conversations with Voidsent.

There's an optional quest at the end of the MSQ in Raz-at-Han, that goes into the background of the four elemental lords. Really good!

It occurred to me that Zero is the same sort of being that Vauthry was, only for the aspect of darkness. (Exposed while still in the womb, the mother succombing but the child retaining humanity.) Unlike Vauthry though, she doesn't seek to be able to control the others, but those who are weaker do find comfort and solace in her domain, much like how Vauthry's command over the sineaters had them turn into docile pets in Eulmore.

"I'm not sure I trust them not to break my heart." After all this game, I absolutely trust them to break my heart and make me thank them for it.

Remember.. You can't introduce an Antagonist in only one Expansion! Its to less time! - WoW Fanbois FF14: Here, a Patch MSQ Character, with more personality then half of the WoW Cast together, presented in just perhaps 2 hours. Thank you for watching! Its quite funny tbh :D Zero is fantastic. I want more from here!

The thing that intrigued me in Troia the most was the statues. There was a story being told there, but we don't have enough information to parse what it is yet, and I am looking forward to learning more.

The 13th is very similar to the worlds that Meteion encountered on her journey, just constant fear and cruelty. People wishing for the mercy of death, but being unable to end. So it's only fitting that this is the place we would go to next.

The fact that this patch story focuses entirely on characters and places completely new to this patch content, and yet I'm still excited to explore it all really can't be understated. There's individual references to past events here and there, but the post-Endwalker story is remarkably self-contained. It has "and now, fanfiction about my OCs in the setting" energy, and I mean that in the best way. It's one thing to build up emotional investment in characters over years. It's quite another to introduce heretofore unreferenced characters and have me already invested in their stories within a couple of hours.

I started the game back in April as one of many WoW veterans, this was my first major patch release after catching up with the msq about a week before 6.2, honestly in these few months FFXIV gave me what WoW didn't in years, and the entire msq still being fresh in my head, I can easily look back and think about how much the game improved from expansion to expansion, something that people who played the game for many years may not have noticed as strongly. Patch 6.2 is awesome, and Endwalker is just stellar, I'm really looking forward to what's coming next!

You know at the end you see the little single eye being chased by a guard? There is a quest that unlocks when you are done (look for the quest marker near where you finished in Rhaz), it unlocks extra background behind the 2 defeated generals as well as just fleshing out the setting that bit more.

There's a really neat little quest you get in Radz-at-Han after finishing the MSQ to track down the different pieces of a voidsent that snuck through the gate. Make sure to check that out too!

I agree that people don't give enough credit to the implementation of the camera angles and set pieces throughout the msq. It's all very cinematic and does a great job of elevating the entire experience.

Walking around Troia and Zero's domain and talking to the voidsent gave me big SMT: Nocturne vibes. Walking around a post-apocalyptic dystopia, interacting with the horrific denizens, and finding how "human" they all are regardless.

What really blew my socks off as a 3D artist in this patch were the transformation animations of Hephaistos. I've literally went to uni in this field and still have no bloody idea how they could have pulled this off so seamlessly without textures getting distorted to hell and back etc.

There is a quest after 6.2 that explains the backstory of the 2 defeated Archfiends... That one has some great story telling too in my opinion. I really recommend doing it! You can access it at the guard close to the palace.

Zero’s characterization was so well done. I love her. She’s a protector who doesn’t make a show of it, stuck in a rough world. She may demand payment, but she accepts loopholes. And apples, apparently.

For a second I thought I had "Bury the light" launched on the other tab.

Do not forget that a small part of Hydaelyn's will is contained inside the Crystals of light. And she knew better than anyone the plight that had taken root in all of the reflections. So I'm pretty confident that moving forward that crystal will probably serve as a beacon of sorts to guide us on how best to approach the problems we will face as we hop from reflection to reflections.

What really stood out to me was how consistent is the magic system. Like everything made sense: oh, crystalized aether? Yeah that makes sense, oh the eidolons? Ye we have primals. It's so good

This story is so good cus it’s like playing an anime at this point, a good one. You are a character in a tv show with other characters you enjoy seeing. There’s story theorizing, shipping, fanfiction and fanart, react content to its episodes. It’s got a fandom not just players.

One detail that stood out to me immediately in Zero's domain was the statue that looked like a paladin wearing the new 89 level gear in the 'defending all allies behind me' stance. Then when you get to go around talking to the voidsent there's a little guy right by the statue that talks about how that is the statue of a hero that will come save them. They don't remember details, question if it's you, then move on, saying they'll probably recognize the hero when they see them. It brings a nice sense of destiny and makes me want to prove that I AM that hero, even if it's just so that little guy will finally see the hero he's been waiting probably thousands of years for. With saving the 13th from darkness as a bonus of course

The haunting gothic remix of the Troia theme hit me hard. Brought me right back to my childhood with a sense of melancholic nostalgia. You remember Troia as this place of life and vitality, with flowing water and greenery everywhere, so hearing this new version of the theme juxtaposed with the stark, warped nature of the Void was just....indescribable. Then you get to the top floor and see all those weirdly beautiful flowers, as if the lady of the castle had some flash of what beauty used to truly look like and some part of her still clung to all of that. And don't even get me started on how faithful they were to Scarmiglione and Barbariccia. The only thing that could have made it more true to the original was if you could damage Scar with healing and if you needed a DRG to Jump to stop Barbs super move.

Radz-at-Han (X:4.8 Y:11.9) Radiant scout Do this side quest for amazing lore.

I love how they will also take the time to advance little stories in optional ways that you could totally miss, but they trust the players to search them out and find them. Like, there's a long running background story of a Gridanian Goldsmith that makes most of the Wind-Up void minions and you can talk to a Voidsent that references that story.

i think what they do really well is carrying over SOME of what we loved about the whole zodiark/hydaelyn arc without making call-backs at every corner. i absolutely love that we're paired up with y'shtola and estinien, who are such an unlikely pair and adding varshan to the trust was also a nice touch (although i'd gladly taken small varshan). i was wondering how they would pull off an entirely new story with that behemoth of an arc looming in the background. but they really made it work with still having some strings attached although the "big" story is over. it is indeed as emet told us. we know nothing about eorzea, the shards etc. there is so much left to explore.

Yeah the clever and innovative use of resources in this patch really stood out to me in this patch. I think most people were curious how exploration of the 13th would be implemented since making full blown new expansion zones isn’t feasible, so the use of the dungeon as a form of MSQ exploration outside of duties was really neat. But then creating a completely original small scale instances area for Zero’s Domain was a genuine pleasant surprise and really effective with the limited resource that could be used for it. And yeah I am also guessing Golbez likely did something/killed the 13th’s version of The Watcher, and “the prison of passivity” likely has something to do with the 13th’s moon. The idea that Golbez are the 13th’s shard of Zodiark isn’t something I had considered since I assumed that since the devs said in the 68th live letter than the other reflection’s shards of Zodiark got destroyed when the main body was killed in 6.0. But I suppose the 13th could be a special case. I do wonder if Zero will be connected to Zeromus or not, since their is a name similarity, but at the same time Zeromus was a modification/extension of the name Zemus and not Zero in FF4. While the fire Archfiend is almost guaranteed to be a Trial, I wonder if the water Archfied will receive a Trail duty too, or if he end up being just a final dungeon boss like the Earth Archfiend. I assume this 13th storyline won’t be wrapped up in 6.3, but I wonder if it’s finale will be in 6.4 or 6.5. I doubt 7.0 is going have the 13th be it’s setting, since Meracydia (or The New World) seems to be the most likely candidates for 7.0, but I wonder how this 13th storyline will flow into 7.0’s storyline.

Zero has massive Vampire Hunter D vibes for me. And I love it.

When you pointed out the struggles the voidsent have with retaining their personal identity it reminded me of Hydaelyns stand against the Zodiark worshipers who wanted to use Zodiark to return them to their blissful paradise. She wanted people to take the opportunity that suffering presents in order to grow and become heroes. This is why the heroes journey resonates with us in general. Our personal identity is the hero in our own narrative.

Possible spoiler: It would totally be heartbreaking to see Zero become Zeromus, but I think the big plot twist that might happen is that Golbez is actually our shard from the 13th. We had the potential to become a Sin Eater in Shadowbringers in the land flooded by light, what if our shard in the 13th wasn't so lucky and actually became corrupted by the Darkness. Since the main job for Endwalker was Paladin, it could be that the statue in Zero's domain could be our shard (or it could be Cecil who knows), but that's just a theory...

If you haven't already, you should check out the side quest (not the Tataru one) that came with the patch. It gives insight into the 13th's history, the origins of the two patch bosses, and Golbez. The quest is easy to miss if you're not an avid side quester. I only found it because I read the patch notes.

Zero is my hero. I also appreciate her constant reminders to the party that our relationship is purely transactional.

On your comment of “We’re gonna fix it” for the 13th, Y’shtola makes a callback to a Raid that you either start or completely finished that relates to the story too, that was optional content! Much the same when Alisaie calls back to the Bahamut Raids when you’re in Labrynthos pt 2!

Been playing since 2013 and I'm still so glad many new and old players have consistently been enjoying this story. And with new players being on content, experiencing the new stuff on such a consistent basis, it's a TON of fun

There is a quest after the MSQ where you learn more about the archfiends you start it near the steps to the Palace

Neat thing about the second boss in Fell Court - those more natural attack indicators come with a sneaky little extra way of telling if you're in or out ahead of time. They essentially activate the circles on the ground that they touch. It's not the first time they've included visual clues for attacks within the environment itself either.

One thing I appreciated about Zero's characterization and by extension the Voidsent society, is how she view interactions and transactions. She understands the concept of "not every interaction has to be transactional", even if she and the society she comes from disagrees with it, but when Varshahn offered her a tour, she completely failed to recognize what the transaction actually was in that situation; "I give you a tour of my city, you _don't insult me by refusing it_ ." The act of accepting itself would have been the payment for the service in that situation, and that concept seems to be completely alien to her.

I like how you started the video with Vergil's theme, magnificent 👌 Zero is a nice addition to the story not gonna lie, and I like how the ffxiv team make all these connections with music and setup the introduction of any new character smoothly.

Well done, Matt. Glad you covered the 6.2 content 🙌🏼. You got me to consider some ideas I hadn't heard of before.

I absolutely love that Zero constantly hides her face whenever something emotional happens. Its incredibly strong characterisation because its showing that she's uncomfortable with it or doesn't fully grasp what's happening and what she's feeling.

So they did also point out that when a powerful voidsent dies normally they often disperse into their individual parts and my hope is that if Zero is forced into becoming Zeromus that real Zero will return after we defeat it (I'm still hoping that it's a red herring though).

About zero: The whole scene about naming her calls back to that scene in the Moon, where Urianger says that "names are an expression of the self, a declaration of one's aspiration and dreams". Unbeknownst to Zero, her name is a declaration of aspiring to a new beginning. It is utterly brilliant.

The real factor I'm curious about... waaaay back in A Realm Reborn, we had an Ascian named Pashtarot. Final Fantasy XII's Scions of Light & Darkness had Emet-Selch, Fandaniel, and other Ascians, but Pashtarot is the Scion of Light with the Scion of Darkness reflection being...Zeromus. We've not seen Pashtarot since then. And in FFIV, Golbez ultimately turned on Zemus/Zeromus. I'm really wondering what connection Pashtarot could still play between Golbez and Zero.

Did you guys do the Yellow quest that appears where you help the little Void sent in Rads at Han? It gives really good history to some characters introduced in the patch.

Can't wait to fight Zeromus in 6.5 after Zero absorbs all those crystals she keeps making.

One of the most notable - and subtle - things that made Zero such an interesting character is her small mannerisms, down to her very eye movements. That was such a powerful touch in such small details. I can't wait to see where they'll take the MSQ next! Also, Barbariccia has instantly become my favourite female antagonist. She ticks all the boxes for me

I loved the piece of detail of the voidsent making a statue depicting who he believes will save the 13th in the shape of a paladin (Cecil Harvey in FF4 was a paladin, and the WoL in Endwalker is depicted as a paladin). Also, as for a FF4 reference, the final boss is originally named as Zemus, while his true form of Zeromus is only showed when Cecil uses the Lunarian's Crystal of Light and shines Zemus with it's light.

The characters and music developed over thousands of story makes it so the slow moments are actually some of the best still. Everything has so much more impact when it's been such a long journey. Every music or scene just calls back to so much emotion.

I love the familiarity of the Troia theme with its melancholy notes. I still remember it from Troia in FFIV and I can absolutely see a juxtaposition between this city and the city from FFIV and it adds some amazing depth.

I did not expect to like Zero as much as I do. I think it would be super neat if she was our reflection in the 13th but I'm okay if she's not. Either way, she must be protected at all costs.

If you have completed the warring triad quests, and all the SHB role quests, I suggest you journey back to the wandering stairs in the crystarium for special dialogue. I was amazed as to how much detail they added. A small easter egg, but the effort is there!

Nice use of “Bury the Light”!

I think Zero's domain is actually the ruined city of Baron, if you will. That fountain that you passed @ 15:03 is exactly what the village had, in that style. I also have other theories that Zero, is actually Zeromus. The way the crystal reacted to her, was the same way he reacted when it was used on him, revealing his trueself.

FFXIV tends to do this big reveal after laying small hints in the dialogs and I have feeling Zero is hiding something. When we asked if this was her true form, she didn't really answered it but rather replied with another question. She was dodging. This may come back and bite us back. Perhaps Golbez will take advantage of this and force her to fight us later.

There was a side quest right after the end of 6.2 msq near where the final quest ends which gives backstory to Barb and Scar. , and how Golbez recruited them. It was super cool! Surprised it wasn't in the main story, so I'm guessing it will come up again next patch.

Thank you for making the video Matt, stay awesome!

That intro got me motivated. 🤣

To be honest, I think she thought that the she was dreaming and the 13th is back to normal when she woke up at the Source. Which is why she said she had to get back to the fight, cause she thought her world was not yet destroyed. At least that's what I took from it.

i just realized while watching this video that it seems that every expansion has a scion or two standing out or somewhat being "featured". you have the 2 now gone scions with papalymo and minfilia for arr, alphinaud for hw, lyse for sb, thancred for shb and now it seems like it is more of a ysh and estinien expansion. urianger for me does not have a stand out expansion for him but somehow remains incredibly relevant in each of them. from his spy days in arr to being an undercover part of warrior of darkness' group to being sort of an envoy to the loporrits (kinda fitting for him actually since he is more of the behind the scene kind of guy anyways). this allowed the each of the scions character to be developed deeply, which creates a deeper connection for the player. more than that, they have been very good when it comes to introducing new characters (like reyn, graha tia and now zero). heck even the "bad guys" get so much love and respect from the devs in terms of character development (to the point that "bad guys" like emet become possibly one of the most loved characters in entire ff14 story so far). im not exaggerating when i say playing ff14 when the oce server started early this year is one of the best decisions ive made in my gaming life.

Did you do the extra gold quest after the msq called “shadowed pasts” for the extra msq lore? It’s located just down from where the msq ends defs worth doing!

After you finish 6.2, make sure to do the "extra" quest in Radz-at-Han, 'Shadowed Past' I think it's called. It is not a blue quest, but it does add a lot more flavor and background to 6.2, and gives you some history that you want.

I am loving Zero and I really hope she sticks around and isnt a throw away charachter, we could use a new scion

Half an hour flies by with your vids mate. Truly enjoy them.

You fear for them breaking your heart? But that is something Ishikawa and Yoshi P master at. In all the dialogues in Pandemonium I kept remembering: “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”

my character is voidal themed, this patch has truly felt like "I'm going home!" it's been super sick to encounter so many voidsent and how they live/exist.

My personal favorite part of Zero's domain was the obvious reference to Cecil in the square with the paladin statue, and the gremlin next to it talking about how they're waiting for a hero to save their world.

I don’t know if you missed this but there is a nice side quest (after you’re done with the MSQ) about a voidsend that snuck throught the portal into our world. It gives some nice backstory for the Villains of the thirteenth. Also you can find Zero standing in the airship landing which is a nice thing to see at random. I also loved the Barbariccia trial. I liked how many mechanics they threw at you even in the normal version. I hope they keep that up because most normal mode fights have not been that engaging before imo.

Really enjoyed this video Matt. Loved the analysis of everything. Playing through this new part of the MSQ was great but after considering your observations I now appreciate it even more.

Yo the opening music had me MOTIVATED

24:46 "I'm not sure I trust them, not to break my heart." I mean it has been a while since beloved character died off so you know it's about time to get the tissue boxes ready. That's what's I've already prepared myself for after playing through 6.2 and watching this.

There is a small side story you can do in Radz-at-Han after the MSQ. It is a level 90 and has a picture on it, meaning it's a little more than your rank and file side quest. Gives some insight into the Elemental Fiends we just met.

Good vid. Enjoyed, well created and presented.

That intro was perfect

Her questions about Friendship, a concept she learnt from Zenos, as warped and twisted as it was, was very poignant to me. She's someone drowning in despair, who's survived by ruthlessly and coldy marching forward, and then a single little light shines through from the most unlikely place, a man who was obsessed to a murderous and destructive degree, but probably understood Friendship better than some do. Even in my dialogue choices, I had to admit he was more or less correct. Affection, and Enjoyment were emotions he held towards us, as unwanted as they were to most of us, but they're alien to Zero. She noted how Zenos felt, his happiness and determination fuelled by the thought of fighting us again, and to someone who's never felt or could ever feel these emotions, such happiness is infectious. Ironic, that the last thing Zenos imparted upon the world was the spark of life in another being.

The real neat part of 6.2 isn't even mentioned anywhere, the player base just instinctively knew to try it. So, after completing 6.2, and if you had done all those side stories involving Cyella+Unukalhai, you can go back to the Crystarium and talk to them about how you went to the Thirteenth, and it opens up a nice chunk of worldbuilding for the entirety of the setting. It's stuff like that which rewards players for paying attention and doing stuff that isn't necessarily required, but actually makes logical sense.

I thought in 6.0 we were gonna have an endgame dungeon on the moon (like FF4's Lunar Subterranae, not the fun one we got with the Loporrits after finishing the MSQ). Now I think whichever patch concludes this storyline on the 13th is going to give us a dungeon going through the moon on the 13th. It'd be good for the story to go there, plus the music there in FF4 is so good I'd love to see more of it in Soken's style.

not sure if it's been said, but if you've done the shadowbringers role quests/warring triad, cylva and unulkahai have additional dialogue in the crystarium if you go speak to them after the MSQ

I kinda think you are right about the golbez thing, they erred and the shard of the ascian in charge died but the ascians still entrusted her with helping turn another realm... kinda sus

I love how they used the map for the first part of Dead Ends for Troia's gardens.

Re golbez’ mo, there’s a side quest after the msq I. Radz-at-Han. Spoilers for it: Golbez not only didn’t eat azdaja himself, but he seems to be invested in motivating his potential fiends to realize their potential. Could just be showing his charisma and cunning, but if honestly felt like he was sincere about wanting to nurture the strength he saw in them. Maybe we have another Gaius-esque villain on our hands? Honorable and not an altogether a bad person, but still in opposition to us. Tho neither of the two lackeys so far seem particularly loyal.

(In responce to the idea at 23:00) Yoshi-P has stated in one of the Live letters as a response to fan questions that the moons of the other Reflections all serve a different purposes, The Source was Zodark's body (moon) and a fraction of his power (Planet) however his power only existed on the planets (Reflections), As such there is no certainty that there is a watcher or was a watcher on the moon of the thirteenth. That said the moon exists and Yoshi-P has stated unilaterally in the same Q&A as an extention of the question that anything mentioned in game and named in offical media including Q&A and Live Letters are places we will go.

Oh, now that you mention it, it didn't occur to me that the person Golbez slew was the watcher. Guess I was blinded by the Mysidia reference. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story will go for him, considering what happens in FF4; and the Lunarians & Zeromus. I do wonder if we'll see an equivalent of Baron with that scene with king. And for sure, if they mention "keeping your sense of self", we can be sure they will draw on it later, in a way that will hurt our hearts.

I can't believe I haven't seen more people talking about the statue in Zero's domain.... If you talk to Zero and the voidsent next to the statue you get a massive foreshadowed storydump. The statue literally just appeared in her domain without her knowledge and without her ever seeing it before. The voidsent next to it literally says the statue is the likeness of the person who will save the 13th. They ask if it's you and immediately dismiss that idea. I really think it's the 13th's aspect of Azem.

LoL that intro with Virgil's music is amazing. Also when I first saw Zero she reminded me of Cyber Six. And yes I feel some red flags with Zero haha.

money on Zero being a similar story to Emet Selch. a villain you end up sympathizing for. Enix likes to do the "walk a mile in our boots" theme for villains.

CBU3 is one of the most talented teams in the entire industry and the writing team is the best in the industry. I've been fanboi'ing hard ever since the closing scene of the 6.1 patch when they brought us Golbez and the Elemental Archfiends. Endwalker is a lovestory to Final Fantasy 4, often considered one of the best ever. I'm worried about what is going to happen with Zero and the War on the Thirteenth. If you've played FF4, think of the name of the final enemy in the game and what happens when you go to the Moon to meet Fusoya and he tells you the big twist in the game.

Regarding animations, I have to give it to them for how much they're able to express with just Zero's eyes. Like, they must have had an eye tracker for some of it because of some of the unnecessary (from an animation stand point) movements that happened. It really sold the scenes she was in.

The Trial was a wonderful exploration of a fight that's mostly about a tight loop going faster than normal pace, and the Extreme version takes that even further. Not having the cutscene in the Extreme just maintains that pace even better. There's a few really cool things they're doing in that fight that I hope they keep going with, because I appreciate how they tell a story with a fight, especially with the Extreme versions.

So what's the over/under on Golbez turning whatever is currently left of Azdaja into his Shadow Dragon pseudoEidolon?

There actually is a side quest after completing MSQ, where we learn more about Golbez and the Archfiends. It's sooo good!

Vergil's Theme. Perfect fit!

5.0 and 6.0 has been my favorite of the MSQ of XIV, it really nailing down on what makes a Final Fantasy game.

There's an amazing side quests after completing 6.2 in radz at han that's all about the first 2 archfiends and their backstory. HIGHLY RECCOMEND

I started in late Stormblood, and so far this was my favorite FF14 patch yet. It might not have had the cliffhanger of 4.5, or the crazy high of 5.3, but it just did everything right. The raid is greatd, the trial and ex are great, the dungeon is good, the glam is great, and the music is fantastic. It's easy to take something like this for granted, especially when in MMOs we're used to taking the good and trying not to think about the bad. But when everything works, it's something special.

I know it’s not just me that wanted an option to call big brother Zenos. FRIEND !!! 😭😭

Great video, Matt!

There's a saying that goes something like this: "if there's a problem in your third act, the issue actually is with your first act". Likewise, I believe, if the setup is done properly, you don't have to fear about the conclusion. So... Idk if or when the FF14 story team will truly disappoint, but it certainly won't be during this current storyline.

The scene with Nidhana and her "deep eyes" - so awesome.

I like how the broken paladin guard in the courtyard "wasn't there originally, but showed up" which probably plays into her own protective nature unless it's key for something later on.