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I’ve loved this LP a lot, it’s been a great way to experience the game again with some insightful new perspectives I hadn’t considered and I’m super excited for it to get to future content. I actually am pretty solidly a Stormblood Liker so this has been a real treat already, but you know what I mean. I am always delighted to see an update and it usually makes my day.
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Oct 31, 2022 00:35
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I know almost nothing about Japanese and greater East Asian history, so this LP analyzing the game through that lens has been fascinating and informative.
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Oct 31, 2022 05:50
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I loved the LPs of ARR and HW, and SB has been similarly excellent! I appreciate the deep dives into the history and mythology that have influenced the story this time around. While my knowledge of real world history is a bit rusty, having the additional perspective breathes some new life into SB for me. It also lines up with a theory I've had about the expac and a famous Eastern tale for a while now, but I'm curious to see if you come to same conclusion. Each update is a treat and I look forward to seeing your progression through Stormblood.
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Nov 1, 2022 03:38
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Yeah this has been an excellent LP! Thank you for keeping up on this!
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Nov 1, 2022 23:27
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This LP is indeed excellent. Video reactions are nice but nothing can really compete with longform stuff like this.
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Nov 3, 2022 23:32
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Indeed, your work is great Sanguinia. You have a lot of great insight and we are glad you are sharing it with us.
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Nov 5, 2022 03:02
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Probably should've said this sooner but I really liked these LPs. They're fun and informative. It's nice to see someone experiencing XIV and the stuff in it for the first time.
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Nov 5, 2022 12:06
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Chapter 25: Touch Grass Kheris passes through Reunion on the final leg of her journey back to the Mol tribe's camp. As usual, there are a few tasks to be done. While she's tarried with her training and adventures, there's still a bit of time before the Naadam. Helping will be an excellent opportunity to learn about the fascinating Xaela cultures. Not that she has any particular interest.  …What? Can't someone want to look pretty without getting the third degree around here? Kheris doesn't even know if Dorgono arrived ye- I mean, SHUT UP! The quests reveal, by implication, that Reunion is something of a recent venture. Everyone is still getting used to each other. There's so much bloodshed and petty hatred between the various tribes that regular communication, let alone peaceful coexistence, remains a bit unnerving for them. Still, they all recognize the opportunities the market provides. A fishmonger from Isari notes how it would have been nearly impossible to trade in Azim as a foreigner before Reunion. When you shill for her wares, one Xaela notes that he tried Doman-style smoked fish years ago, and it was the best meal he'd ever had. Now he can taste it again! Later, a trader from the tiny Kahkol tribe lets you run his stall for him, showing off the chronologically first example of the first-person dialogue quest I did in Inshgard's Firmament. When you're finished, he comments about how nice it is to learn the ins and outs of salesmanship in a safe environment.  The lady selling buuz notes that the Dazkar Tribe are such superior huntresses that they've never known what to do with the surplus meat besides leaving it to rot. Now their former enemies are customers, which means less waste and a better life for her tribe. We also see this produce another unexpected benefit: she's brought her husband to the market because he's a better cook and brings in more customers. The Dazkar are a matriarchal society, and their men are rarely let out of the house. He notes how nice it is to have a conversation with someone outside his family. Progress! One woman has opened a daycare where traders and travelers can leave their children while they work. Each child is from a different tribe: The Himaa, who birth only twins, the reverse-harem polygamist Bayaqud, and the dung-collecting Bolir. However, when given a chance to interact, they seem to know no divisions and become fast friends. It gives her hope that intertribal warfare might end one day. It honestly surprised me to hear her say that. You don't often hear the folks living in a Warrior Society in genre fiction opine how nice it would be if there weren't so much war. Another quest in a similar vein has a warrior of the Ardakim, the largest tribe on the Steppe, attempting to avoid appointment as the next Khan. The position subjects one to constant violence and threats to life and limb, such as the eight assassination attempts his older brother suffered before leaving Azim for greener pastures. He may be strong enough for the job, but he doesn't want to deal with that. There's a concerted effort to tell the audience that these aren't generic pseudo-Klingons. They have the same hopes and dreams as anyone would and aren't defined by bloodshed and honor. So, if Reunion is a still-fresh experiment, why did the Qestir build it? Did they want to get rich off trade? Were they also frustrated by the endless fighting? Is there truth to the rumor that a Qestir child died from a preventable illness because there was no means to trade for the cure, and they resolved never to allow such a tragedy again? Well, I'm afraid they aren't talking.  Still, many folks respect them for making the place and work hard to help them keep it in one piece. We saw earlier how even the most hateful blood enemies, poised to tear each other apart in the Naadam, put their issues on hold for Reunion's rules. Trade regulation is also considered crucial to preserving the market's reputation for fair treatment. One sidequest involves a detailed investigation into how market stalls price their goods to ferret out a gouger exploiting foreigners with big markups. This emphasis on regulation and the Qestir's place in the Steppes are put in the spotlight by Reunion's Big Sidequest. A foreign merchant is making a real nuisance of himself, continually trying to force the Qestir into conversations and verbal trade agreements despite multiple people explaining why that's wrong. He's on the verge of being permanently banished, but our hosts don't want to scare off foreign commerce. They ask Kheris to make a final appeal on their behalf since she's one of his countrymen. That's right, the guy is Eorzean, and shock of shocks, the addle-brain with zero concern for others works for Lolorito.  Who could have guessed? I'll credit Gascot this much: once somebody from Eorzea confirms what all the locals have been telling him, he instantly accepts that the Qestir truly don't speak. It helps that, by now, he's done so much damage to his reputation that almost nobody talks to him. That does present a problem, though. He's come here as a sort of pre-emptive strike. The bean counters of the East Aldenard Trading Company have determined that Doma's victory in our new rebellion seems plausible, presumably because word of our confrontation with Zenos and his departure from the region is starting to spread. They want to strike while the iron is hot and expand across Othard once the Empire is gone, and the Azim portion of that mission is in Gascot's butterfingered hands. Kheris agrees to help the idiot dig upward out of the hole he's put himself in, if only because it might give her some insight into her future Naadam competition. AND FOR NO OTHER REASONS. Real talk, though, I wanted to follow up on the Warrior storyline once I came back to the Steppe, but in Stormblood, the Job quests take a break for three levels after 65 instead of the two they did in Heavensward. 68 is still a long way off, so no love triangles today. A little investigation clarifies that the Qestir respect actions above all else. Gascot asks Kheris to smooth things over with Cotota, the woman in overall charge of the market, while he schmoozes with the rest of the population to recover some lost face. Miqo'te are nothing if not expressive, so she manages to put a smile on the woman's face (though how our hero knows that through the mask is another question entirely). Gascot then barges into their bonding, encouraged by his efforts to connect through THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF DANCE! Yes, for real. Well, not for real; they were all pointing and laughing at the spectacle he was making of himself. But he's still encouraged nonetheless, which is why he demonstrates his friendliness to Cotota through a Hingan tradition he picked up in Kugane: The Bomb Dance.  As it turns out, this might be the worst thing he could have done, though the reason why would only be revealed later. With mending Qestir fences a bust, Gascot focuses on the other tribes to see if he can get some grassroots support. One fellow, Jebei of the Gesi tribe, is interested in helping. Until this point, Gascot had only told Kheris that the Company was offering a variety of goods that the Xaela couldn't acquire locally. Jebei informs us that most of the sample products are weapons. This doesn't seem too nefarious at first blush. Arms dealing isn't exactly a nice business, but there's already a smith in town selling weapons and armor. With the Steppe's reputation for being a land of warriors, there's logic in making the tools of war your initial offer. But Jebei is a little TOO interested in telling Gascot everything he needs to be permitted to trade. Then, for the kids in the back of the class who weren't paying attention, we get this little nugget:  *Among Us Intensifies* On Jebei's advice, Kheris delivers a lump of animal fat to Cotota, ostensibly a gift that can fuel the town's oil lamps. I'd expected her reaction to be disgust because the hunter's plan was for us to anger the Qestir with some obscure insult. Instead, she expresses alarm and escorts Kheris to see her Khan. The big guy also seems troubled by the lump of fat. After sizing the Warrior of Light up and deciding he can trust her, the Khan sends her to the top of a nearby tower to observe something. That 'something' is a confrontation between Gascot and an entire squad of Gesi hunters. Jebei demands the foreigner hand over every explosive device in his weapon inventory. In exchange, he'll tell the Qestir to let in the Company's merchants. To my great shock, Gascot not only realizes one tribe buying up all his bombs might be a bad thing for the other tribes, but he also sees why this promise must be a lie:  It's always a special moment when students show they listened in school. Sadly, education is not always its own reward.  Kheris arrives just in time to rescue him and apprehend the conspirators. The Qestir (and someone who can talk for them) appear to explain what happened. The Gesi are a small tribe and hold an intense hatred toward many others for their relative weakness. They believe they are the most superior hunters, being held down by the unfair advantages enjoyed by their rivals. Their more extreme members see foreign weapons as a potential equalizer. The gift of animal fat would have given them a perfect opportunity to intimidate the entire Steppe because even a tiny bomb next to vats of volatile lamp oil would have brought Reunion to ruin. Thankfully, Cotota saw through this deception. It also explains why she bristled so much when Gascot performed the [b]BOMB[b] Dance. His actions implied an intent to keep trying to sell weapons regardless of her wishes. Thankfully, all evidence to the contrary, the man is not quite as dumb as he acts.   Accepting government regulation of his business because it would have been wrong of him to sell his goods? Are we sure this guy works for Lolorito? As one might expect, the story ends with the Qestir recognizing Gascot's actions of learning what he did wrong and conceding the error. They offer him a trading franchise for the village, and he decides that when he comes back, he will bring food, seeds, and spices, not guns. At first, this ending bothered me a little bit. Aside from how there was a big exposition dump right at the end to explain everything instead of telling the story more organically, the theme here seemed off. I'm not exactly 'Mr. Right To Bear Arms' but the idea that the Xaela couldn't handle modern weapons struck me as patronizing. The implication appeared to be that they were too primitive or war-like to be 'trusted' to use guns without destroying themselves. That smacks of the old 'positive racism' stereotype about indigenous people suffering under European colonization less because of the genocide and exploitation and more because 'modern' things corrupted their 'simple' way of life. When I thought about it in the context of all the other sidequests, however, I realized that the core theme was something totally different. Reunion is the seed of a significant change in Xaela society. As one NPC observes, you need look no further than the name! The tribes are coming together again for the first time in anyone's memory. People are starting to consider the possibility that fighting doesn't need to be the default for how their cultures interact. But that idea is still in its infancy. One disaster might bring the experiment crashing down. This story is about the Qestir and those aligned with their vision asserting their agency to preserve hope for a brighter future. A sudden influx of new weapons technology would be a destabilizing force that their plan can't afford. The political machinations of one of the Xaela tribes are treated as an equal threat to that plan. This adventure wasn't about safeguarding the purity of the Xaela from the modern world. We were protecting a fragile laboratory of progress from threats, both without and within. In that regard, we can rest assured that this quest is a happy ending and a fine finish to our vertical slice of Xaela life. ~*~*~ There is one last batch of sidequests to be found at Mol Iloh. None are especially exciting, although they provide some interesting context for Steppe life. For example, you run into a boy separated from his original tribe and adopted by the Mol, and you learn how readily he's adapted to their unusual, god-controlled way of life. He is contrasted against a woman preparing to marry outside the tribe, struggling with the idea that once she's joined her new husband's family, she won't need to obey godly edicts anymore. It makes her nervous, but since the gods are the ones who ordered it, she's sure it'll work out. The scarcity of construction resources is a hardship for the Mol. There are few trees, and aside from a handful of places scattered around the zone, there's little evidence of large-scale use of stone or metal as building materials. If it was ever something the Au Ra regularly did, they've long since abandoned it in favor of the nomadic lifestyle. To help with ordinary maintenance, you're sent to pillage the remains of another tribe's destroyed camp. It once belonged to the Karkol. The salesman I met mentioned their small numbers, and it turns out they are few because most of their population was wiped out by the Buduga Tribe. Wonder if we'll run into them… We also get some great info about the Mol tribe's religion, specifically how they function when the udgan so minutely dictate the details of their lives on behalf of the gods. The level to which this control extends really is shocking. Gosetsu was blown away when he heard the gods decide what should be served at dinner, but Kheris gets to hear how the gods specifically told a woman she could only make cheese if an adventurer procured the milk. It's a bit absurd. And yet, as one complete these quests, one starts to wonder if there is some supernatural force at work in the Mol's lives. In any other place we've visited, the udgan would be charlatans passing off their personal views as divine commandments. But we've met the tribe's Khan. She's enough of a space case that she might actually be hooked up to the heavens. Moreover, following the udgan's orders consistently works out in ways that logically shouldn't be possible. That cheese-making lady had been experiencing a severe sales slump, but as soon as Kheris left to fetch her that ordained milk, a foreign merchant waltzed into town and made her a lucrative offer for her next batch. This isn't the only example of cosmic coincidence on display. Several quests involve the gods demanding tasks that put the Mol at risk, such as gathering resources from monster-laden areas. They follow these without question, and even after Kheris arrives in the nick of time to provide a rescue, they never espouse resentment. After all, the gods also sent someone to protect them, didn't they?  …  Of course, some of this involves a bit of 'cheating' on the Mol's part. They are masters of following the letter of the law without always following the spirit. This trait is most memorably displayed by a woman who sends you out to save every member of her extended family from a dangerous task because she has been bound to remain at camp and cook. Nobody ever said she couldn't hire an adventurer to go in her stead. A more amusing example involves a woman who was ordered to take an adventurer shopping. She finds excuse after excuse for Kheris to lug her purchases around like a mule.   The nicest thing about this stretch of questing was that walking across the Steppes finally got me to notice Azim's zone themes. The night music,  "He Rises Above," is a gorgeous little piano solo. But for once, I found a lot more love for the day theme, "Drowning in the Horizon." The chanting, drums, and wooden flutes sound like they were lifted straight out of Civilization V. They convey the boundless possibilities of an endless landscape just waiting to be explored.~*~*~ With my map now blissfully clean, Kheris rejoins Hien at last. To fight in the Naadam, we must first be initiated as Xaela warriors by emulating the pilgrimage of the legendary hero Bardam. He traveled on foot to a place in the mountains known as Bardam's Mettle and prayed to the gods to send a trial. His test arrived in the form of a yol, which we are shortly informed is a giant mountain bird. To be recognized, we must tame one. Cirina warns us that just reaching the pass into the mountains might be risky. The tribes that fight in the Naadam sometimes kidnap or eliminate potential rivals before the battle begins. Hien, ever the optimist, says that we'd never let ourselves be taken by an enemy tribe. Presumably, we're far too intelligent, talented, and good-looking to make such a blunder. I'm sure that won't end up as humiliating irony. If you talk to Cirina one last time before you depart, she also mentions that she's done this trial herself. Funny, she didn't strike me as the warrior type. Either this task isn't as challenging as it seems, or she's a way bigger badass than she looks. We make our way, and as Cirina predicted, we are set upon by a squad of the current ruling tribe, the Oronir. They didn't come alone either. Among their ranks, we see warriors of a second tribe, the Budugan. Thank you, sidequest foreshadowing!  We fight through a few ambushes with minimal fuss and come to the gates of Bardam's Mettle, our level 65 Dungeon. Each of us must take a separate path to the sacred altar and there tame our bird. Of course, since Kheris took to heart the Mol system of following only the letter of the holy rules, she goes in with an entire party to help her. Take that, tradition! Hilariously, the dungeon's theme is called "Most Unworthy,", so I guess the gods know you're cheating.Anyway, the first thing I noticed was a massive leap in trash mob power, and I noticed in the most embarrassing way possible. My tank set was my most upgraded gear, comprised of almost all level 62-64 items. It was quite a shock when I pulled two packs right at the entrance and got obliterated by them even after popping my 30% damage reduction cooldown. The healer was very kind and told me it happens to first-time tanks in this dungeon a lot, so I shouldn't worry. The path to the first boss involves penetrating two big stone doors by fighting their stone guardians. Each fight comes with a quote, one from Azim (the zone's namesake) and one from Nhaama. From the context, we can infer that Azim is a sun god, and Nhaama is a moon god.  The phrase "blood of my blood," also gets dropped, in case we've forgotten how much the devs loved early Game of Thrones. The first boss sees us stumble into an animal pen, where the largest beast of burden, Garula, is sleeping. He tries to kill us when we wake him, as you do, and his shouts wake up the other animals, each of which has a different style of AOE to dodge. Each zone name in this dungeon contributes to telling the player the story of Bardam. The two gates are called The Dusk and Dawn Trials, while the trail between them is called The Rise of Bardam the Brash. After we pass those first tests, we find a cliff, The Fall of Bardam the Boastful. So our hero passed the first few challenges with ease, and his arrogance over his success led him to fall into an even greater trial. We leap to a canyon below named The Rebirth of Bardam the Brave, full of powerful earth elementals and golems. Beyond the second boss is another Fall of Bardam the Boastful, implying that when he triumphed for the second time, Bardam failed to learn his lesson and had to be humbled again with an even greater plunge into darkness. Of course, to see this second fall, you must first face one of the most exciting bosses I've ever seen in a dungeon, a powerful stone machine bearing Bardam's name.  He announces that he will test us, and so he does, but not with battle. We face the scariest thing imaginable: raid mechanics.  While there are monsters in this encounter, none can be destroyed. Their function is to put down danger zones for the player to dodge or reduce the safe spaces in the arena. Every attack is one we've seen before, from expanding weapon arcs to donut-shaped spells to a meteor that forces you to break line-of-sight with some convenient boulders. The difference compared to most dungeon bosses is that many of these mechanics are layered, especially in the later phases. You need to pay attention to the order in which the warnings appear, make a plan, and keep your reflexes sharp to avoid being hit twice. If you are, you'll be locked in chains until the end of the phase, which will likely result in your death.  The only dungeon bosses in this style among the content I've seen are the revamped Livia and Gaius. It was quite a surprise but a welcome one. Giving players a taste of the demands of raiding in a controlled setting is a good idea for any MMO, and removing the requirement of damage so one can focus only on evasion is a smart way of doing it. If your party can get through three phases without being killed, you move on to the last part of the dungeon, The Glory of Bardam the Bold and The Triumph of Bardam the Brave. The place is a full-blown lost city, long abandoned to the local fauna and a population of clockwork and ceramic machines called Khun Shavar, which I believe is Mongolian for Clay Khan. In some forgotten past, the Au Ra seemingly enjoyed a far more technologically advanced civilization than they do today. They even installed an Indiana Jones boulder for future tomb raiders to dodge!  Beyond the Triumph and the final set of guards, we find the shine we were looking for, Voiceless Muse. Luminescent pictograms of beasts, birds, and Au Ra horsemen surround a depiction of Bardem astride the mighty yol. Within moments of entering, the real thing arrives.  The yol is a robust battle. His primary tank damage is in line with the rest of the dungeon. That is to say, it's a significant step up from what we've seen prior. His abilities come fast and frequently. He summons feather orbs that criss-cross the arena with line AOEs while demanding the party remains split up by deploying target-on-player AOE bursts. He has a 'Don't-Look' mechanic to boot, and all of that's just Phase 1! Phase 2 features some Ifrit-style charge attacks and adds, and Phase Three climaxes with the arena being shrunk to half its size by rotating kill zones on the outer edges and the 'Kill The Monster's Wings' mechanic borrowed from Heavensward. It's a fantastic finale to a top-notch dungeon. I've said it every time, but Stormblood is crushing it on this aspect of the content. Each one is in the top percentage of dungeons I've seen, and each one is better than the last. ~*~*~ The bird retreats rather than being killed, which fits since the goal was to tame it. Kheris makes her way out of the mountains and waits for the others. Lyse is the first to arrive, having found the same success. She delivers a gift from Cirina, whistles for calling our new mounts. Of course, we're far from finishing the zone story, so flying isn't unlocked. Even though they show us the birds answering our call in a cutscene, it can't help but feel like a let-down. It's particularly underwhelming when you can compare it to that perfect moment when the Warrior of Light appeared on Midgardsormr's back, already in flight. After we kill a bit of time to show how cool we are to have finished so much faster than the Doma Boys, Hien and Gosetsu finally emerge. Sadly, before Kheris can needle Lil' Shun about being so slow, we're paid a visit by the neighborhood Welcome Wagon.  The Oronir Khan wants a word with the new Steppe Warriors. Lyse figures we can take them, but Hien sees this as an opportunity to scout our competition, not to mention the army he hopes to take back home with him. We're escorted to the top of that giant stone bowl, known as The Dawn Throne. Lyse notices the two banners side by side, showing the alliance between our captors. I notice that this building is not a Mongolian architectural design. It seems to have been inspired by the Potala Palace of Tibet, the historical winter home of the Dalai Lama.  …  We are taken to a throne room at the center of the complex. There sits Magnai, Khan of the Oronir, ruler of the Steppe.  Great. We've gone from a Bleach villain to a Fate/Stay Night villain. Hien tries to conduct himself in a kingly fashion, speaking to Magnai as he might to an equal, but our host stops that in its track. He says that the Oronir are born of the sun and all others of the earth. He only brought us here rather than flaying us alive because we succeeded in our effort to tame the yor. We have therefore been blessed by the gods and are fit to offer him either tribute or service. If our gifts are not insulting, we will gain his favor. Otherwise, we will "suffer in shadow." This whole Anime Tyrant King act isn't doing it for Lyse, but Hien keeps his cool. His confidence doesn't even waver after Khan Daidakul of the Buduga attempts to claim him and Gosetsu. Later we'll learn that he attempted this because the Buduga tribe must be only men according to divine law. They can only maintain their numbers by kidnapping new members from other tribes. Magnai takes Hien's casual attitude and declaration that he has no idea how to serve The Glorious Sun as condescension, which is probably true. For a moment, it appears we will have to fight our way out of the room. Luckily the Khan considers us valuable. Instead of ordering our executions, he informs us that we'll be doing a job for him. The cutscene ends unexpectedly on that note, which allows me to speak to the Buduga leader. He refuses to give Kheris the time of day because she is a woman and thus useless. To continue the story, you are forced to step onto Magnai's dais, as he is too far away to interact with from the floor. His dialogue acknowledges this, noting that he would typically take offense at this action and that we will soon learn if the Warrior of Light is bold or foolish. A fun little confluence of characterization and gameplay. Our task is to contribute to preparations for the Naadam. Lyse and Gosetsu are put to menial labor, while Khan Daidakul snaps up Hien on the grounds that he 'carries the fire' before setting him the task of carrying heavy things.  Hien, please, you're going to get yourself stabbed if you don't knock that poo poo off... As an aside, Hien's job seems to be mainly an excuse for the tribe to observe him. When he returns, he mentions dozens of Buduga crowding around him while he lugged the crates. Hate to see him go, love to watch him leave, huh? I guess 'carries the fire' is just the Boys Club's way of saying Hien is a smokin' hottie. Kheris is also given a task that appears unimportant. However, her job is a deceptively dangerous chore. Rare swordgrass grows in the lake beneath the Dawn Throne, an herb with medicinal applications. She is to retrieve it no matter how many dives it takes. It's a task worthy of a mighty warrior, even more so because Xaela superstition holds that the gods' grace and protection do not extend below the surface of bodies of water. Of course, the task is nothing to Kheris because she still has the Kojin's blessing. What the Oronir don't know won't hurt them.  Oh hey! Just like the one I found under the Ruby Sea! I wonder if the Raen brought it when they migrated underwater or if some civilization that predates the tribes built them both. Kheris returns with the plants, and the minion overseeing her work informs her that they'll use them for paralysis potions. Not potions that cure paralysis, but ones that inflict it. The Oronir are the blood of The Sun Itself, so as far as they're concerned, they're permitted to do whatever it takes to maintain their 'rightful' rule of the Steppe. She presents her tribute to Magnai (after drying off because it would be blasphemy to have EVIL WATER on herself when speaking to The Sun Incarnate), and he accepts. Hien's work was also up to snuff. However, our two companions don't reappear. Hien, still calm, asks if we might be granted permission to collect our comrades and leave now since we've given our offerings. Magnai declares that too large a boon for what we've provided. Hien's affable mask drops for a moment, and the possibility that this will end in violence looms again. But say what you will about him; the Lord of Doma has his eyes on the prize. Fighting the Oronir isn't going to get them to take up his cause. Instead, Hien asks if we can have permission to explore the settlement and speak with the tribes. He notes that this will be educational, as the Mol have only taught him a few basics about the Au Ra. As an example, he relates the story of how the Steppe was made. The gods desired a great battlefield to prove which among them was superior. Azim, the Father of Dawn, and Nhaama, Mother of Dusk, built our world for this purpose, birthed the sun and the moon to watch over it, and finally made the Au Ra to carry out the battle. For a time, they fought as their maker's wished. Yet, in the end, the two tribes came to love each other and refused to continue the battle. Accepting their decision, the gods gifted their creations the mortal world and left for the heavens. It's a cute origin myth, but there's something about it Hien doesn't understand. All Xaela are supposed to have descended from the Dusk Mother. It is the Raen that are the children of Azim. So how is it the Oronir can be the blood of the sun as well?  drat. This guy may be pompous, but he's not an idiot. He's seen through Hien's act every step of the way. Regardless of this, Magnai grants this request for knowledge. Next time, we get to know our kidnappers! Sanguinia fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 20:36
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The steppe is one of my favorite areas simply because of how rich and alive the tribes are, there are plenty of lore snippets even outside of the quests the different tribes give you. It feels like a hub zone much like the various cities you get to visit.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:10
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As a healer main, Bardam's Mettle was one of my most loathed dungeons in the game specifically due to that first part. The trick is that the little fluffy things have an unlisted tankbuster grade attack. More than first time tanks, my numerous bad experiences with the dungeon come with veteran tanks who don't respect the first leg of the dungeon and yolo pull. This part with the Oronir also rubs some people intensely the wrong way due to the premise of being captured and enslaved and having no choice but to go along with it. You're not actually stopped from leaving the Dawn Throne, of course, and story-wise you're obviously playing along for the same reasons Hien is, but some people find the premise extremely discomfiting.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:17
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Bardam's Mettle is such an odd difficulty spike. For some reason, the jump between the 64 and 66 tanking sets is a large amount of armor value. A lot of baby tanks run into a problem where they haven't upgraded their left side Shire gear and are missing hundreds of armor value compared to someone wearing Stormblood stuff. So they crumple like tinfoil against the trash pulls. Even synced down, the trash still hits like a truck!
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Nov 6, 2022 21:19
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Ah, I see you farmed the hell out of Shisui as well. The Steppes rule, I rolled Xaela because "ohh blue scales" and after browsing the tribe summaries before painstakingly picking my last name it took awhile but Stormblood was a hell of a lore reward.  Good LPs, I appreciate seeing other people read into the quest text too. FF14 really goes out of its way to not beat the "you're doing MMO chores" quest design to death. I mean sure the Mol and then Magnai have chores for you to do but it's all part of the current questline du jour and/or heaping helpings of world building.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:19
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I always liked how the 2nd boss of Bardam's Mettle is just a "have you been paying attention to mechanics?" check. As Sanguina pointed out, it's a great way to introduce and teach complicated mechanics in a controlled environment.
IthilionTheBrave fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 21:27
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I'm just going to say this because it has to do entirely with content you've already done:Sanguinia posted:Instead, Hien asks if we can have permission to explore the settlement and speak with the tribes. He notes that this will be educational, as the Mol have only taught him a few basics about the Au Ra. As an example, he relates the story of how the Steppe was made. The gods desired a great battlefield to prove which among them was superior. Azim, the Father of Dawn, and Nhaama, Mother of Dusk, built our world for this purpose, birthed the sun and the moon to watch over it, and finally made the Au Ra to carry out the battle. For a time, they fought as their maker's wished. Yet, in the end, the two tribes came to love each other and refused to continue the battle. Accepting their decision, the gods gifted their creations the mortal world and left for the heavens. One of the weirder things is that if you open your Duty Finder and read the description for Qarn way back at 35, there's a mention that Belah'dia (the precursor to Ul'dah and SIl'dih) had a sun goddess named Azeyma. This is one of those background details that quickly leads to people dreaming up crazy theories trying to fit it together. Obviously, don't look any of this stuff up too intensely, especially on the rest of the internet, since any theorizing is usually going to attempt to link newer content into it. This part relates to PVP content you may or maybe didn't do, though it's entirely ARR/HW: I'm not sure how much PVP Frontlines you've done, but ever since you had access to Frontlines there's been a very slight reference on the Cartineau Flats map linking the sun with ancient Allag as well. At that point people often begin wondering if Azys La has anything to do with this, and that's about the point the X-Files theme kicks in and you carry a String Board of Insanity while swearing to strangers on the streetcorner that it all makes sense once you open your eyyyeees maaaaan. Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 21:40
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Craptacular! posted:there's a mention that Belah'dia (the precursor to Ul'dah and SIl'dih) had a sun goddess named Azeyma. Not just Belah'dia. Azeyma, goddess of the sun, and Menphina, goddess of the moon, are still worshiped in Eorzea today as part of the Twelve.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:53
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IthilionTheBrave posted:I always liked how the 2nd boss of Bardam's Mettle is just a "have you been paying attention to mechanics?" check. As Sanguina pointed out, it's a great way to introduce and teach complicated mechanics in a controlled environment. Dance Dance La Révolution
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Nov 6, 2022 21:54
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Nothing wrong with looking cute, Kheris! Or getting a little sun.
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Nov 6, 2022 21:55
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Bardam's is a bit harsh for the difficulty spike it represents, but the x5-x7 dungeons are typically always pretty tough for what they offer: By item level, this is about the time when your lategame gear from the previous storylines (Augmented Ironworks for ARR>Heavensward, Augmented Shire for Heavensward>Stormblood) is no longer cutting the mustard. By rule of thumb, the lategame gear usually lasts you until the midway point of the next expansion. As you experienced (and the healer explained to you) it's very common for people to run in there and eat poo poo because they aren't respecting that they're no longer padded by excess gear stats, and this is especially true of Tanks given their role. As someone who was playing during the Heavensward Era, The Vault got a very similar treatment at the time. That said I really like Bardam's overall. It's a fun dungeon, the gear that drops from it is nice-looking, the second boss is just a delight, and as you pointed out it's one of the better dungeons at telling a story organically, which is something that will continue from here on out. As a historical aside: Stormblood is when the pace of creating new dungeons slowed down significantly. This will show itself much more in post-4.0 content but there's a reason all of the Stormblood dungeons so far have been knockouts, because this expac is where they really hone the craft of dungeon design. Monathin fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 21:59
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Playing a potato, I envy the larger races for their glam opportunities sometimes.
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Nov 6, 2022 22:02
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Forgot to talk about Bardam's! So this is basically where stats relative to item level go very wonky and a couple item levels gives you significantly stronger stats, a feat that (as far as I played) they never attempted again in basic MSQ so I wouldn't sweat about being tanks being easily floored by 'trash mobs' like this as a regular thing. I find the second boss extraordinarily annoying, since not only can it not be rushed unsynced when trying to farm gear, but it also seems to be leaning into mechanics found in optional challenge modes. The fading concentric circles, for example, were previously seen by most people only if they chose to do Thordan EX's gauntlet or freakin' Nael and her golems, all of which is optional and many players speeding through only mandatory content will have never seen until now. Then again, Stormblood in general seems to assume a lot more of the "normal mode only" player than previous tiers, with stuff like Zenos's unwinnable battles being the first time many (everyone?) will see the entire field covered in AOE orange and forced to burn down one of the swords to create their safe zone. Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 22:11
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I continue to appreciate your efforts to tie all the sidequests together and see what they tell you about the peoples and cultures you're encountering. Drowning in the Horizon was the song that played in my house for many years (until I switched to some Shadowbringers music). It's still the song that makes me the happiest just listening to, I think. Hanging out on the Dawn Throne with full BGM volume as the sun rises and the music kicks in is a wonderful experience. Glad to see that you're a Bardam's second boss enjoyer. It's a bit divisive in the community, honestly, with some people really loathing that they have nothing to beat up, and others continually begging the devs to make a savage version of it. I hadn't ever really consciously thought about the fact that there's a city in the last part of Bardam's. The other major artifacts of this precursor culture would seem to be the Dawn Throne itself (the big levitating bowl structure) and the big vaguely-finger-shaped stone monoliths that encircle it as well as the the big statue called "The Dusk Throne" in the southern part of the map. There's also an interesting structure in the far North of the map (labeled as "The House of the Crooked Coin", which I'm not sure if you stumbled upon while doing that hunting competition with Hien). ___________________ Everything you said about the difficulty spike in Bardam's is absolutely correct--it hits notably harder than any previous dungeon, the first big pull in particular (as well as one big pull between the first and second boss) can be lethal, and it's a gear check for tank and healer. That being said, the way you described what happened to you: quote:It was quite a shock when I pulled two packs right at the entrance and got obliterated by them even after popping my 30% damage reduction cooldown. So, the first thing is that you have enough tank cooldowns that you shouldn't just be hitting one at a time on trash packs. At level 66, here are Warrior's defensives: Raw Intuition: 10% damage reduction + some healing, 6 sec duration, 25 sec cooldown Equilibrium: big self-heal (level-synced as a WAR in Bardam's, it's ~30-40% of my HP), 60 sec cooldown Thrill of Battle: 20% self-heal and 20% HP increase for 10 sec, 90 sec cooldown Vengeance: 30% damage reduction + some extra damage output, 15 sec duration, 120 sec cooldown Holmgang: Tank immunity, HP can't fall below 1 for 10 sec, 240 sec cooldown Rampart: 20% damage reduction, 20 sec duration, 90 sec cooldown Reprisal: reduces damage dealt by nearby mobs by 10%, 10 sec duration, 60 sec cooldown Arm's Length: assuming you're hit by mobs, they're slowed (attack speed down) by 20% for 15 sec, 120 sec cooldown (and also Interject and Low Blow, which have specific situational uses). So, we have one short cooldown ability, Raw Intuition, which you should basically use as often as it's up (but its healing is based on you attacking, so don't use it while running between packs, start using it once you've gathered them). Two 60-sec cooldown abilities which you can use once per pull, Reprisal and Equilibrium. And then two 90-sec cooldown abilities, Thrill and Rampart, and two 120-sec cooldown abilities, Vengeance and Arm's Length. I think it's natural to think of these as paired: use both 90 sec abilities during the same pull, and then both 120 sec abilities during the other pull. And, finally, Holmgang, which is a free button you may as well press at the point where you're low-ish on HP, once every other pull. If your healer is on the ball and notices, they can take a break and not heal you for a few GCDs; if they're not, then who cares, using the skill cost you nothing. Okay, now, three observations: 1) If you die you get all your cooldowns back. Implication: you should use your immunity on the first trash pack and whenever it's up thereafter. (Take this advice with a grain of salt for DRK and GNB, but you should absolutely 100% be doing this with Hallowed on PLD, and it doesn't hurt on WAR either.) 2) Trash hits way harder than bosses. Implication: you want to end the first and second bosses in a state where you're going to have your defensives up by the time you need them for trash packs. I'd recommend not using your 120 sec cooldowns at all on these bosses, and only use Rampart in the first ~50% of the boss's HP. 3) A good party will kill two big pulls worth of trash in around 90-100 sec, a slower party will do it in around 110-120 sec. Implication: you want to use your 90 sec abilities on the first big pull, because if the party DPS is slow you will have them back to use a second time partway through the second big pull. (If you'd used the 120 sec abilities first, you wouldn't get them back until right as you're pulling the boss.) This is not at all obvious and you shouldn't feel bad for not realizing it, it took me years to figure this out. So, combining these observations with cooldown durations, we have a pretty set way to use defensives as a WAR: First big pull (start of a dungeon, or after first or second boss): Use Rampart at start of the pull (once all packs have been gathered). Use Thrill either at the same time or a few seconds later when you've taken some damage. Use Raw Intuition on cooldown as needed. Plan to use Equilibrium at some point during the pull when you're not at full HP (while gathering mobs is totally fine, especially if they're ranged attackers who do a fair amount of damage as you're running; this is the right thing to do on the first pull in Bardam's in particular). Depending on how fast mobs are dying, Reprisal either a few seconds into the pull, or after Rampart has worn off for some residual defensives as the last few mobs are dying. Holmgang at some point. Second big pull: Vengeance at the start of the pull, once all packs have been gathered. Arm's Length either at the same time or as Vengeance is falling off, depending on how fast mobs are dying. Raw Intuition on cooldown as needed. Equilibrium when needed, a good time is paired with Reprisal at the point where Vengeance has fallen off. If the party DPS is slow, Rampart as it comes back up, maybe even Thrill though really the trash should be dead at this point. Then just repeat this three times. Starting at level 68, you'll get Shake it Off, which is a 90 sec cooldown, so you already know where to put it. The only trick is that it dispels Thrill/Vengeance/RI, which is a neat effect as an off-tank in raids but you don't actually want to happen in a dungeon, so pop Shake it Off first. Let me also give the equivalent description for PLD: First pull of dungeon: pop Hallowed once all the mobs have been gathered. Just sit there and look pretty (well, do damage, but don't use other defensives) until it ends. If the mobs aren't almost dead yet, pop Rampart, Shelltron as needed, maybe a Reprisal if things are dying slowly. Second pull: Sentinel once mobs have been gathered. Because Hallowed delayed Rampart usage, it will be a while before it's back up, so I'd save Arm's Length until Sentinel is expiring, then Reprisal until the slow effect is almost expiring. Shelltron as needed. This is the thinnest stretch of cooldown usage, and you may indeed only have one cooldown up at a time here. Then Rampart if it's back up, but really the mobs should be dead by now. Third pull of dungeon: Rampart+Arm's Length at start, Shelltron as needed. Use your judgement on whether to Reprisal, depending on how fast things die it might be better held for the next pack. Fourth pull: Sentinel at start, Shelltron as needed. Unlike the second pull you'll have Rampart back way earlier, so you can use Reprisal at some reasonable point. It's possible if your party has low DPS that you'll have Hallowed back during this pull, in which case use it as long as you'll get the full duration out of it. Fifth+sixth pull: If you have Hallowed here (the usual case), same as the first+second pull. If you've already used Hallowed, same as the third+fourth pull. Re Clemency: Don't forget it exists, but ideally you should never be using it. It is better to use Clemency to not die then to die and make the healer stop DPSing to raise you. At some point you'll get an intuition for the amount of HP where you will die in one more GCD without healing, and if you don't trust your healer this range is where to start casting Clemency, just be prepared to interrupt it if you're healed during that GCD. One minor note is that at level 68 you'll get a 60-second cooldown ability, Requiescat, which does damage and gives you an instant-cast magic phase, but this is single-target only until 72; so in the level 67, 69, and 70 dungeons you may as well use it on a trash pack for the bit of damage, and then you have 5 instant-cast charges of Clemency for the next 30 seconds if you need them (which, again, you usually won't). I leave DRK as an exercise to the reader. One last, advanced note, on Interject and Low Blow. There will be some mobs that will have cast bars you can interrupt (for example, the wraiths before the second+third boss of Sirensong), which you just sort of learn by looking at cast bars on the enmity list. On the other hand, because WHM Holy exists, every trash mob in the game is susceptible to stun. If you don't have a Holy-using WHM in the party, you can get some minor defensive benefit by using Low Blow on cooldown, ideally against a chunky mob that will hit a bit harder. You may as well have that mob targeted, because this way you will also direct auto-attacks towards it. Honestly this is a very minor optimization that I'm still trying to get muscle memory for. jalapeno_dude fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Nov 6, 2022 |
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Nov 6, 2022 22:11
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Craptacular! posted:with stuff like Zenos's unwinnable battles being the first time many (everyone?) will see the entire field covered in AOE orange and forced to burn down one of the swords to create their safe zone.
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Nov 6, 2022 22:25
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The second boss on Bardam's Mettle is honestly kind of annoying but it's also the only boss that only requires like 2 or 3 people to know what they're doing so eh.
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Nov 6, 2022 22:27
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jalapeno_dude posted:Nope, this happens in the Griffin fight in Baelsar's Wall. Ah. Since that one isn't usually done when levelling new jobs it makes sense that I forgot it.
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Nov 6, 2022 22:28
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Magnai Oronir, Bearer of the word "Tryhard," and Khagan of the Seven Part Steppe
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Nov 6, 2022 23:02
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Magnai cleared Titan EX on release, and his ego has never gone down since. And while I believe all dungeons around the halfway point of the expac have the same experience, I think Bardam's Mettle is probably the meanest in terms of trash mob strength because BOY HOWDY will those mobs RIP through your HP like nobody's business. Tanking and Healing that dungeon were both stressful experiences, albeit the latter moreso. Hellioning posted:The second boss on Bardam's Mettle is honestly kind of annoying but it's also the only boss that only requires like 2 or 3 people to know what they're doing so eh. Yeah, I hate when the second phase has me misjudge the timing on which of the things will go off first, so I try to adjust to the AOEs and get hit by the gaze AND the AOE at the same time instead.
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Nov 6, 2022 23:18
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If you're using Legacy controls on a controller it gets tricky, the timing for moving out of the AoE without getting hit with the gaze attack is very tight.
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Nov 6, 2022 23:52
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I love the concept of a boss fight without actual fighting, and I'm glad we got to see one. There's a also lot of Bardam's Mettle that's just Cool; the open layout, the indiana jones boulders, the big waterfall leaps bordered by prayer flags... good stuff, pity about the damage spike and the fact that the gear sets aren't dyeable (because I would like to glamour them over a lot of things).
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Nov 7, 2022 00:16
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Blueberry Pancakes posted:And while I believe all dungeons around the halfway point of the expac have the same experience, I think Bardam's Mettle is probably the meanest in terms of trash mob strength because BOY HOWDY will those mobs RIP through your HP like nobody's business. Tanking and Healing that dungeon were both stressful experiences, albeit the latter moreso. Yeah, there's like three dungeons (or even just single parts of them) that will straight-up murder you if you don't give them respect, and Bardam's is one. They're just extra nasty for a combination of reasons.
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Nov 7, 2022 00:19
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bardams mettle kicks rear end. this whole section does. whiners are miners (mining for bad takes)
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Nov 7, 2022 00:26
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This is my favorite part of Stormblood, bar none.
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Nov 7, 2022 00:28
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While Stormblood tends to get flack from people for being merely good in between two incredible expansions, I don't think I've ever seen anything but effusive praise for the Azim Steppe. It's still one of my favorite zones in the game, and probably always will be.
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Nov 7, 2022 01:30
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The Lord of Hats posted:While Stormblood tends to get flack from people for being merely good in between two incredible expansions, I don't think I've ever seen anything but effusive praise for the Azim Steppe. It's still one of my favorite zones in the game, and probably always will be. There's a reason they tasked the writer for the Azim Steppe story with lead writer duties for Shadowbringers.
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Nov 7, 2022 02:09
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I've said it once and I'll say it again, the Azim Steppe is so good
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Nov 7, 2022 02:16
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Drowning in the Horizon is some of the best ambient music the game has. The chanting is so neat, I like when the game makes good use of vocals.
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Nov 7, 2022 03:50
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jalapeno_dude posted:Everything you said about the difficulty spike in Bardam's is absolutely correct--it hits notably harder than any previous dungeon, the first big pull in particular (as well as one big pull between the first and second boss) can be lethal, and it's a gear check for tank and healer.
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Nov 7, 2022 03:51
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One of my favorite parts of this zone was getting the Yol mount. I saw it was going to be the quest reward for the dungeon and didn't think much of it, then when I got to the boss I thought, I'm probably going to get a miniature version of this, because look at this thing, it's way too big to be a player mount. Then I called my new steed and was very happy to be wrong.
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Nov 7, 2022 04:43
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The Lord of Hats posted:While Stormblood tends to get flack from people for being merely good in between two incredible expansions, I don't think I've ever seen anything but effusive praise for the Azim Steppe. It's still one of my favorite zones in the game, and probably always will be. the sole problem with the Steppe is that while it is extemely good, it is also almost entirely self-contained, and as such if you were granted the ability to do retroactive story surgery on stormblood it is probably the thing that gets cut in the name of giving the problem children of the expansion a little more detail.
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Nov 7, 2022 05:00
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Maximum Tomfoolery posted:One of my favorite parts of this zone was getting the Yol mount. I saw it was going to be the quest reward for the dungeon and didn't think much of it, then when I got to the boss I thought, I'm probably going to get a miniature version of this, because look at this thing, it's way too big to be a player mount. Honestly bringing it out in areas I couldn't fly made me dislike it because its size makes it feel really ungainly on the ground.
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Nov 7, 2022 05:07
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Hellioning posted:The second boss on Bardam's Mettle is honestly kind of annoying but it's also the only boss that only requires like 2 or 3 people to know what they're doing so eh. It's actually much easier for one person to solo than for a group to do. I found that out when one of the DDOS attacks months ago disconnected the three people I was with right as we got to the second boss. While I was bored waiting for them I decided to yolo it and it turned out all the mechanics are way easier without other people.
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Nov 7, 2022 05:31
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