Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail

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Watching the Primals stream right now. So far the stream hasn't experienced any issues like the previous day's piano concert, so either we're luckier today, or Soken lit some metaphorical fires.

One amusing part of watching the stream is being able to see the online chat, which is mostly Japanese. So when the band started playing White Stone Black (ie P8 Savage phase theme), people started posting raid macros in chat and calling positions.
 
Ok, pretty sure I've done all the new content.

Fast paced but enjoyable. Wuk Lamat has a really great energy to her that I'm looking forward to seeing more of as we delve into her character with DT. They gave a good enough reason for outsiders to get involved in a succession rite, and the various tidbits about Tural they dropped have me wanting more. The side split should be interesting at the very least, and I'm already looking forward to more PIC Krile.

It's pretty funny that Raha regretted that we can't ask someone about the New World when Merlwyb's original claim to fame was charting a safe route there for trade. Ah well.

Raha staying behind to look after the Students and Y'shtola not being mentioned once in the patch is fascinating since they're both in the trailer. I can only assume they will use forbidden cat magic to teleport in half way through.

Estinien just randomly ending up with us because he hasn't gone west yet is amazing.

Not much surprising here, but zany fun none the less. Asura was pretty much the same as it was six months ago when I fought it, and the plot got wrapped up in the same perfunctory style these stories always go for. Very enjoyable, very funny, excellent animations all around. Not as good a story as HW, but better than ARR and much better than SB. I look forward to the next one.

Hildibrand and Godbert not being aliens was basically exactly what I predicted, and I'm glad. They must continue to be inexplicable.

Julyan trusting us to use her pan is truly a solemn and powerful moment. 😔

A very sweet finale. Getting to properly explore the way her assistants are separated from their home and the way a changing world affects their community was quite moving, though nothing compared to the scene where Tataru finally got her gift. They wrung a few tears out of me with that one, so bravo. An excellent little send off for her while we go do other things without our dependable secretary.

A bold choice on the part of the devs this time round, one that I'm sure will stir up some controversy but I approve. Jullus is a natural choice for a wistful finale, and his gaggle of soldiers were a fun enough bunch. The firelit night scene made a beautiful contrast with the last time we shared a fire and a meal with him, and I loved it. He was always one of EW's most surprising break out characters, and I'll love to see more of him going forward with that promised host of their own.

Tataru giving us the send off for the Island itself was extremely on the nose, but I enjoyed it. I know the content wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it and am glad they added it.

An enormous amount of fun. The race slapped, as did seeing everyone interact like that. The EW tribes are so lively and emotive it was bound to be an excellent show, but they went above and beyond for it. The rewards are really cool too, even if I had to clear some stuff out of my apartment for it.

Make sure to interact with the radio in the Last Dregs for a funny moment once you're finished. And go wonder around the EW zones afterwards, you might catch some interesting dialogue.
 
Honestly, for my part, there's a good bit of lowered expectations working in Dawntrail's favour. Endwalker was flat out one of the most emotionally powerful pieces of fiction I've ever experienced, there's no way Dawntrail is going to match up to that without the same weight of time and buildup behind it. I'll be satisfied if it's just a fun time.

It doesn't even need to set up a new saga, in my opinion. Endwalker already justifies and concludes the game on its own, every future expansion could just be episodic adventures in a giant epilogue and that'd be perfectly fine by me.
 
Manic Dogma said:
Honestly, for my part, there's a good bit of lowered expectations working in Dawntrail's favour. Endwalker was flat out one of the most emotionally powerful pieces of fiction I've ever experienced, there's no way Dawntrail is going to match up to that without the same weight of time and buildup behind it. I'll be satisfied if it's just a fun time.

It doesn't even need to set up a new saga, in my opinion. Endwalker already justifies and concludes the game on its own, every future expansion could just be episodic adventures in a giant epilogue and that'd be perfectly fine by me.
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Agreed, if Dawntrail boils down to a massive breather episode with some more world building of Etherys, I am all for it.

Though for an ongoing plot, I think that may have us traveling to the remaining Reflections, perchance to deal with any leftover Ascian plans or even a Reflection intruding on the Source. My FC leader has a theory that Solution Nine, the Night City style location seen at FanFest Japan may be from a Reflection.

Though on that topic I would kill for there to be a special quest for any DKN characters of us talking with Frey on a rooftop and them telling us: "It doesn't get any easier deciding which of your friends may have to die. Good news is you have one companion who's already dead, and (s)he will be honored to join you on a wild suicide run. You, me and the Soul Distriubitory. I know it sounds like a ballad from the Wandering Minstrel, but trust me it will be bloody brilliant!"
 
I'm not expecting Dawntrail to equal Shadowbringers and Endwalker in quality. I consider them both to be 10/10 masterpieces, and it's unreasonable to assume that any property can simply continue with that indefinitely. As long as it can be at least as good as the 8/10 Heavensward I'll be more than content.
 
Stuff I want from Dawntrail:

ripped kilrathi babes (mega check)
the promised krile screentime (looking good here)
WOL and Erenville hanging out on a boat in Tuliyollal blasting 'Welcome to Miami' and drinking mai tais. (its ok if this is an optional scene)
G'raha Tia's No Reservations (amount of food porn is promising)
the chance to beat the snot out of the scions in a friendly type way
the ability to be obnoxious as hell with painter skills (I'm so glad it's pictomancer)
some good good assassin type gameplay from viper that makes me feel like zidane and/or serge chronocross
the zone footage at fanfest showed me FF14 Tombstone Arizona, it better be good (not optional)
BEASTMASTER (kind of hoping Lyon and/or Pagaga come back; if they promise not to talk about Bozja I won't bring it up either)
no world-ending existential threats (continent-level is acceptable)
absolutely nothing from the ascians (this is probably a vain hope since people determined the symbol seen in a piece of zone art is probably Altima's sigil)
I know we're getting an FF11 crossover but I kind of hope that's it as far as shoutouts to old FF worlds goes.

TBH I hope Dawntrail is the FF14 equivalent of a beach episode. I don't want it to even try matching SHB/END, I want it to kick back and let the WOL cruise around like a kid hunting bugs occasionally getting into a slapfight with fellow scions. It doesn't have to be all lighthearted all the time but I am really hoping for some old-fashioned "wander the world and find weird shit" experience.
 
Kuja said:
Stuff I want from Dawntrail:

ripped kilrathi babes (mega check)
the promised krile screentime (looking good here)
WOL and Erenville hanging out on a boat in Tuliyollal blasting 'Welcome to Miami' and drinking mai tais. (its ok if this is an optional scene)
G'raha Tia's No Reservations (amount of food porn is promising)
the chance to beat the snot out of the scions in a friendly type way
the ability to be obnoxious as hell with painter skills (I'm so glad it's pictomancer)
some good good assassin type gameplay from viper that makes me feel like zidane and/or serge chronocross
the zone footage at fanfest showed me FF14 Tombstone Arizona, it better be good (not optional)
BEASTMASTER (kind of hoping Lyon and/or Pagaga come back; if they promise not to talk about Bozja I won't bring it up either)
no world-ending existential threats (continent-level is acceptable)
absolutely nothing from the ascians (this is probably a vain hope since people determined the symbol seen in a piece of zone art is probably Altima's sigil)
I know we're getting an FF11 crossover but I kind of hope that's it as far as shoutouts to old FF worlds goes.

TBH I hope Dawntrail is the FF14 equivalent of a beach episode. I don't want it to even try matching SHB/END, I want it to kick back and let the WOL cruise around like a kid hunting bugs occasionally getting into a slapfight with fellow scions. It doesn't have to be all lighthearted all the time but I am really hoping for some old-fashioned "wander the world and find weird shit" experience.
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Brand New Adventure was supposed to be our beach episode and look how the rest of the patches turned out 😔
 
Omicron said:
Brand New Adventure was supposed to be our beach episode and look how the rest of the patches turned out 😔
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The beach episode was Island Sanctuary, I think, which given we turned it into a robot sweatshop harvesting resources and manufacturing tropical kitsch I think says a great deal about the degree to which WoL is canonically able to actually relax and not feel obligated to Be Productive Doing Stuff
 
Zap Rowsdower said:
The beach episode was Island Sanctuary, I think, which given we turned it into a robot sweatshop harvesting resources and manufacturing tropical kitsch I think says a great deal about the degree to which WoL is canonically able to actually relax and not feel obligated to Be Productive Doing Stuff
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idk what you're on about i thought the island sanctuary was fine and didnt have any issues

View: https://castellankurze.tumblr.com/post/733444746492755968/im-normal-about-island-sanctuary
 
Kuja said:
TBH I hope Dawntrail is the FF14 equivalent of a beach episode. I don't want it to even try matching SHB/END, I want it to kick back and let the WOL cruise around like a kid hunting bugs occasionally getting into a slapfight with fellow scions. It doesn't have to be all lighthearted all the time but I am really hoping for some old-fashioned "wander the world and find weird shit" experience.
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And let me add one more element. At the end of the MSQ when we have the customary scene of Tartaru welcoming us home, she stops mid sentence and the camera pans to show the Scions... without us. When Tartaru asks where the Warior of Light is, the scene cuts back to an empty beach and the WoL jabbing their weapon into the sand before walking into the frame. Instead of the outfit we wore in the final Trial, we're wearing a new and unique set of beachwear, holding a fold out chair and bucket of beers. As the credits roll the Warrior just folds our the chair, has a beer, and leans back before letting out a sigh at finally having a chance to relax.
 
Also on that topic, the FF 16 crossover event will start on April 2nd. As for Dawntrail pre-orders, those start Tuesday with the bonuses being a wind up Zidande and Azeyem's earring. And much like EW's earring this will provide an Exp bonus to lvl 90. As for the CE items, there is a Garnet minion, Ark mount and Chocobo paintbrush glam.
 
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Raven1138 said:
Also on that topic, the FF 16 crossover event will start on April 2nd. As for Dawntrail pre-orders, those start Tuesday with the bonuses being a wind up Zidande and Azeyem's earring. And much like EW's earring this will provide an Exp bonus to lvl 90. As for the CE items, there is a Garnet minion, Ark mount and Chocobo paintbrush glam.
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How long is the crossover event expected to last? I'm a bit short on cash this month, and dunno if I'll be able to resub before 20th April.
 
Renewal said:
Our release date is officially June 28!
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Much earlier than I had guessed; I was thinking mid-July (for Early Access, ie "official" launch being late July).

I pre-order every FFXIV expansion so far (and have yet to be disappointed), so I'm looking forward to playing around with that Ark mount. The transformation looks pretty.
 
I have a very minor question about forum stuff, as well as follow-up questions:

Why is this thread tagged as FFXV, and do we not have a FFXIV tag?
 
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