Aetherflow - Stormblood Remembrance by aetherflow.media

S TO R M B LO O D R E M E M B R A N C E

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you , wait . i would have words . a singular radiance . shimmering . like a jewel of the dusk mother , blinding in its brilliance . stars flicker and flock to you . before such gathered light , even the secrets of the gods may be laid bare . some are fated to rise in grace and glory . others to falter and fade , though not from memory . both will be your strength and salvation come the end .

CHERISH THE STARS AND THE LIGHT THEY BRING YOU IN THE DARK . FOR YOU ARE A TRAVELER, ARE YOU NOT ? ďż˝ temulun mol

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Forward Shortly after the launch of Stormblood, I took my first steps into Eorzea. I was a brand new adventurer, and the beautiful world of Final Fantasy XIV was completely new to me. I had yet to know anything about being called to the Waking Sands. I had yet to wonder why the healer immediately left my very first time into the Aurum Vale (though I didn't wonder about that for very long). I had yet to learn about who the Scions, the Ascians, or the Garleans were. It's been nearly two years since I started playing this game. I have had good times and bad times. I have made friends who have stuck around and made friends who have moved on to other things. I have now learned all about being called to the Waking Sands and the toxicity of the Aurum Vale. I've met the Scions and experienced their downfalls, destroyed some Ascians, and fought the Garleans for the freedom of Doma and Ala Mhigo. I have totally and completely fallen in love with the lore and characters and the story that make Final Fantasy XIV unique. Eorzea is a place of refuge and its people, the players, make it a home. I have so many stories about the great times I have had over the last two years with the friends I have made. My favorite story has to be about clearing Alphascape as an Astrologian. I was never a very confident healer, even though I loved the role. Astrologian especially was just so much fun for me to play. However, I was so nervous I would mess up that I avoided healing level 70

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content. Even though it took me a couple of weeks to get up the courage, I ran as Astrologian my first time through all four Alphascape duties. I went in with my FC who were nothing but encouraging to me. They kept telling me that I could do it and insisting that I shouldn't give up. And I cleared. It was my first time not learning a fight as a DPS first. I was so happy and my FC celebrated with me. Even though it was only normal mode (I have yet to attempt Savage), they let me be proud of my personal victory. Since then, I have run all current content as an Astrologian and have learned to be a confident, usually competent healer. Had it not been for the encouragement of my friends, I would not have discovered a job I thoroughly enjoy playing. They gave me the inspiration to even get my Goddess of Magic title. The world of Hydaelyn and her inhabitants mean so much to so many people. With the arrival of Shadowbringers at the end of this month, we as the Warriors of Light will begin a new chapter of the story. However, in the midst of our excitement, I wanted us all to take a moment to appreciate the stars in the dark: the people and memories that have made this world great over the last two years, impacting our lives in both real and intangible ways.

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We asked you Warriors of Light to give us some of your most treasured memories from this past expansion. And boy, did you deliver. Racking up over 2 64 individual responses, you all came in with some of the most heartwarming, hilarious, and sentimental stories we have ever seen. While we couldn't fit all of them in the magazine, we grabbed some of our favorites. We hope you enjoy reading through each other's memories as much as we at Aetherflow Media did.

angieohno - Reddit Just recently I was in the middle of a hunt train on Malboro and we stopped in Yanxia to take down one of the marks. As we're finishing someone shouts out "Can anyone help me with these red chocobos?" And then the huge train of dozens of level 70s fly over and descend on those damn birds. The guy just shouts "HOLY CRAP!" and laughs. It was pretty funny.

Quintana Dinori Omega Taking part in the Naadam - that fight was genuinely E P I C and I loved every second of it. Still gives me goosebumps now, thinking back to it. I play as BLM and I remember getting to the final area of it and being part of that giant melee and just throwing fireballs left right and centre, with the music going off in the background and the frantic shouting from my allies telling me to try and capture the thing you had to capture (I forgot exactly what). 9

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Also, Y'shtola delivering the SICK BURN on Magnai in the more recent story additions had me in stitches. Little Sun!

Jennah_4379 - Reddit Telling Magnai rolanberry"

"I'm

your

Grimm Jow - Sargatanas Entering Kugane for the first time; it was juuuust after sundown and the title, the theme, and the city lighting up made for an incredible experience. Dawn in the Azim Steppe. I had entered the zone at night and had been exploring the map before continuing the story. I was up on the cliffs above Mol Iloh when the sun started to come up, so I thought I'd watch the dawn. Needless to say, when the daytime theme started to play I was in awe. The pre-Lakshmi HM cutscene, during which we see a real overt and in-story sign of the Echo's,

and by extension, the WoL's power. It just felt SO COOL to have our influence in the game being showcased in such a way. And while I don't have screenshots for it, the conclusion to the Omega storyline. It was an incredible experience, lore-wise, expanding on ancient history as well as showcasing other FFs. It has to be my favorite raid and the montage at the end with Alpha and bitty-Omega was wonderfully heartwarming.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fishing next to a man holding back an entire server with one arm in the first week." Opmetal - Reddit

Veluca - Reddit Unironically, and I mean this without a hint of sarcasm or facetiousness: Raubahn:(Savage) was my favorite experience of the entire expansion. There's something magical about everyone in an entire server being trapped in the 10

same dilemma as you and everyone else. Watching everyone try to fight against the wall placed in front of them, watching as everyone around you tries to make the best of the bad situation. I felt for the first time on my server, really part of the community. Everyone would be shitposting in Fringes shout chat, sometimes a person would get through the wall in your FC and they'd suddenly be the center of attention, telling everyone about what they were seeing in the new zones and dungeons ahead of you like a storyteller from a far off land, telling you about unknowable mysteries few have ever borne witness to. The sense of mystery the wall afforded the rest of the expansions content made everything seem so grand. The Fringes always felt alive, with the roaming FATE parties running back and forth past the forming queues for Raubahn, doomed to fail as they were. Maybe you'd run along the river and spot a few dozen people trying to level their fishers. Maybe in the dead of night you'd hear about someone who'd gotten so far ahead they'd gotten to the other side of Castellum Velodyna, they'd invite you to a party and you'd glitch through the gate on their two-person mount, and suddenly you had a whole new area to explore, a place of 11

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legends that you could regale everyone else in your FC with tales of. I slept for less than 4 hours total in the 3 days Raubahns Wall remained up, by the time the floodgates opened I was already level 68 from all the FATE's I did, I kept going afterwards, I didn't sleep until I was 70, and until I'd killed Shinryu, the rush and excitement of it all carried me through alongside the entire rest of my server. Afterwards I fell into bed and didn't leave it for 36 hours. I felt awful at the time, but looking back on it, I wouldn't trade a second of it away. I feel sad that with the upcoming World Visit feature, we'll probably never get to experience anything quite like this again, because in my experience at least, some of the greatest moments in games like these are borne from disasters like this. Thanks Raubahn, for all the memories, and all the friends I made across those three troubled days.

Kyuven87 - Reddit When I ran Azim Steppe, I fell in love with the Xaela. Especially the Dotharl, and especially Sadu. Like, I became a Sadu fanboy during the whole Azim Steppe thing. How much do I like her? Well, this is my character! I used to be a miqo'te for 4 years

til Azim Steppe. So, my favorite moment would probably be when we fight her. It's the first time someone other than a character telegraphed to be stronger than us (Gaius, Zenos, the primals, Raubahn, etc.) has managed to hold their own in a one-on-one fight. More than that, she's probably one of the trickiest MSQ solo fights we've had. Plus there were no in-story excuses for how we won or how she was able to put up such a fight. No "oh they were weak from fighting the rest of the enemies" no "oh they're stronger because of a plot coupon." Nuh uh. It's a straight up brawl between us (with adds, but yeah). It was fun, it was exciting...and it really gives you the sense that there are other people out there in the world close to your strength. That you're NOT alone at the top. AND that not everyone close to your strength is necessarily an enemy, along with being perfectly willing to fight, eagerly in some cases, should the need arise. It also makes me wanna see a grand melee between the Xaela Tribes and the Eorzean Alliance.

macka_suiica - Reddit The giant FATE groups that started up for everyone leveling RDM and SAM since the 12

instances were so messed up so nobody could enter PoTD for a while. Met a ton of people doing that, and it was a great experience. Since you were doing HW FATEs, it was sort of nice to go back through all of those zones again before embarking on the new expansion. Getting up the nerve to actually join PF groups for the first two EX primals. I generally get very crippling performance anxiety when attempting that kind of content which basically locks me out from doing any kind of difficult 8-man content, but I really wanted to experience how it felt to clear content when it comes out, so I just decided to go for it.

the nightbloom and Wayward Daughter kicking in NEVER fails to send a chill down my spine. My heart broke a little when I saw her subconsciously summon Gosetsu to "save" her in the ghosts phase, even though she logically knew it was pointless and was only damaging her attempts to take revenge, even though she knew she was beyond redemption or salvation.

TsukasaAcelyon - Reddit Being able to go to Vegas and meet the PvP community in person and being able to compete in front of everyone was literally a dream come true.

After countless wipes on Susano in multiple groups, that moment when we got the first clear felt incredible, and one of my top moments in the game, and everyone else in the group was so excited as well.

I was on the verge of quitting the game, but being given such a wonderful opportunity and meeting so many folks in person rekindled my love of the game.

CharredCereus - Reddit

Probably doing the Dataqi Chronicles FATE chain shortly after SB release. I had just transferred to Goblin, and only had a handful of friends at that point. I tried to solo the chain, but couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get past the third fate. So I teleported to every city and hub, shouting for help. DOZENS of people showed up! We completed all 13 FATES, got the achievement and item reward, and best of all, I made

Yotsuyu is honestly one of the best written villains I've seen in an mmo. She's wonderful. You can feel sympathy for her while still recognizing her as a terrible person, and that takes good writing to pull off. Her fight as well is one of the most beautifully choreographed in the game... That transition phase with 13

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Tiri Thon - Goblin

many new friends that I remain friends with to this day!

Sherlock Mihan Behemoth Honestly, playing the game. I haven't had many individual moments that I'll remember forever, but I'll remember the expansion as a whole forever. This game has been where I've met my greatest friends. This expansion has seen us go from a high mountain to our lowest valley as both a group and an FC. And now we're doing what

murtadaugh - Reddit

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Getting my ass kicked by Zenos. It was the first time an opponent dominated the Warrior of Light and set the tone for the challenge ahead." 14

we can to pick ourselves up and get back to it. It's been one hell of a run, and I wouldn't want to be doing it with anyone else. RISE UP!

Seraphina E'tallis Couerl Defeating NeoExdeath. I've been playing FFXIV since around 2.1, so I am nowhere near a new player, but Stormblood was the first time I had taken raiding more seriously. Always coming up short and not clearing every fight back in Heavensward was something I hated and I wanted to try and I didn't want it to be a habit. Our group was pretty decent during Deltascape, but it was clear that many of the players were feeling burnt-out and raid nights went from having progress to full on regression. Most people didn't seem to mind it, but deep down I had began to feel the same frustration I felt in the past. Because of this, I decided to go on my own on off-raid days-- yes, I wanted to take on party finder! People talk bad about pugs, and while I did have some..unfortunate parties, I also had my fill of really good parties. Once I had found myself finally able to prog NeoExdeath, it was also the same time that FFXIV 15

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had been going through those ridiculous rounds of DDoS attacks, and half the time we couldn't stay connected to the game. The night I finally cleared was no different, and I'll never forget it. Myself and my best friend, Shadow, had constantly been disconnecting and dying. So many lagging issues causing people to get clipped by Delta Attacks and Emptiness puddles...Lag causing tanks to miss their unvulns for Double Attack.. During Grand Cross Omega, BOTH of the healers disconnected one after the other. One of them came back and we were fortunate enough to have LB3 ready, so she used it at the right moment.The DDoS attacks made our progress in that fight 1000% times more frustrating and Shadow and I spent many nights staying awake near 4 am to try to squeeze out that clear.

We finally cleared that Saturday night, and all of us screamed into our microphones.. loud enough to the point my downstairs neighbor had asked if I was okay the following morning. All those disconnects, the stress headaches finally paid off. And despite all of that, to this day it continues to be one of my favorite fights..I've even met some really good friends in there during weekly clears and eventual farms after the limit was removed. I hope I can have a victory like that again in Shadowbringers..

Polenicus - Reddit The Dark Knight lvl 70 Questline - The Dark Knight lvl 50 questline humanized the Warrior of Light more than any of for me, changing them from a mute blank slate into a tired, determined soul who felt hurt 16

and unappreciated in the wake of their betrayal in Ul’Dah and the continued reliance by the populace for them to solve all their problems, even problems they by rights should be able to solve themselves. The conflict was externalized as the WoL literally fought with their own urge to simply walk away from it all.

the Nadam and just be in the background while he gets the reins of power and the limelight, as we tend to do. Taking it for ourselves, even past fierce resistance, when no one else could, and then for once being the one who gave the commands, felt pretty damn good.

The lvl 70 questline expanded on that, showing the flip side, the struggle with the part of the Warrior of Light who feels they haven’t done enough, who feels the guilt of every life they’ve taken, and is fully aware that each person they kill is a loved one missed, hopes and dreams snuffed out. The fact that the WoL doesn’t find refuge in numbness and cynicism about all these lives they’ve taken, but bears the full burden. As Fray says, “It weighs as it should” And then having Fordola lampshade this when she sees our past through the Echo and is stunned that we’re somehow not a gibberish wreck.

Little Sun.

Hearing Cyan’s theme the first time. Final Fantasy 6 was a huge part of my childhood. Even if I knew it was coming, the moment gave me chills. Winning the Nadam. Up until then the game had done a good job of kicking my ass and reminding me I’m entirely beatable. I figured I was going to run around helping Hien win 17

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zerofenrir - Reddit

Zeet19 - Reddit To be honest. Beating Final Omega. I was going through a mental block as the last raid tier I cleared was the 1st tier of Alexander. I made it to the final phase of Brute Justice before that group collapsed. Took a break, got burnt out on the Exdeath and took a year off. When I returned to the game I was having my doubts if I was a capable raider but I managed to find a group that saw my potential and helped me clear and has helped me polish my bard skills for raiding. :) was a big relief to know I still had it.

PlotchyThePyro Reddit Clearing UwU for the first time. I was always a bit upset about missing out on doing UCOB when that was new, so I made it my goal to clear the next ultimate fight that came out, no matter how long it took. Was in several groups during the

first few days. put in hardcore hours for 5 weeks before getting the kill. When we killed it I screamed so loud that my family came up to check on me. Thought I was getting killed or something Ultimate prog is an absolute nightmare, but there's nothing more satisfying than finally getting that kill after all that time. Easily one of my best gaming memories ever.

Elspeth Avagnar Sargatanas My favourite memory of all in Stormblood was doing the Eternal Bonding pilgrimage with my boyfriend. We met in-game a few months before that, and finally decided to get married ingame. I'm a sentimental person, so when the Eternal Bonding quest asked me to take my partner to a bunch of locations throughout Eorzea, I asked him to make a day out of it with me. We went through Eorzea, visiting and praying at every shrine, talking and reminiscing and generally being two idiots in love the entire time. When we got to the shrine in La Noscea, we just sat down and talked and admired the view for a while. I remember feeling in that moment more comfortable with and connected to a person 18

than I ever have before, and thinking to myself that it was a moment I would never forget. And sure enough, I never have.

R'nehva Tia - Lamia One of the most powerful lines I think about often from Stormblood came from when you visit Namai and cause the village a lot of turmoil due to the fact they're scared that you might bring misfortune upon them. But just like a Warrior of Light and a Scion, you get to work helping people and making them realize you want the best for them, and when they come and attack Zenos, I was just so full of feels Isse: We're not going anywhere! Do you hear me!? We're not running away! What you're doing is stupid and reckless and I never wanted any part of it, but here we are!

The pauses and the inflections in the VA for this series of lines is so good, it reminds me every time what and why our character is fighting

to me is something special. It brought me lifelong friendships and such joy that I cannot even articulate into words. It's changed my life forever.

Ashley Rosencrantz Mateus

Kohaku Kashino Mateus

Final Fantasy has become more than just a game to me. I find myself logging on every day to spend time with the people I have come to respect and love as friends and family. Through thick and thin they support me and the time we spend together is priceless. I find that there is not enough time in each day to spend sharing my love for this game and for them. The most mundane of tasks become bearable because of the people I have surrounding me. Even if tomorrow this game were to somehow cease to be, the relationships we have forged together transcend it and could never fade away. Final Fantasy

My best memories of Stormblood didn't really start until almost a year after its release. I came to Mateus from Balmung at the start of the expansion to escape the insanely long queue times. I played pretty casually, since I had a pretty busy work schedule, so I didn't really make too many new friends when I transferred. Fast forward a few months and I had some pretty crazy things happen irl. My busy life came grinding to a screeching halt and I fell into a pretty dark place for a while. As hard as the event was, and still is, for me to go through...I can't regret it. It has lead me to meet

I've spent my whole life hating myself - for every time they made me beg, for every time I held my tongue to protect the people I love. And then you came along and reminded me of all the things I never said and never did, and it was even worse! I would have given anything to forget, to walk away, but I knew I'd never be able to live with the guilt. So we came - all of us! For you, for ourselves - for Doma!

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some amazing people. I even got in-game married to one of them! I've been playing FFXIV since 1.0 and I've never felt the need to meet anyone I played with. Boy, did that change with this crew. What started as a fun hypothetical conversation turned into full-blown plans to meet and I'm happy to say I finally got that chance last month. Being able to hug the people who I've spoken to everyday for almost a year was the best feeling and made me happier than I had been in a very long time. These people helped me more than they will ever know and I truly don't know how I would have gotten through the last year without them. You guys mean the world to me and I'm so thankful to FFXIV for giving me the opportunity to make lifelong friends. I wouldn't have had the chance if it wasn't for an unfortunate accident, Stormblood, hellishly long queue times! Silver lining, huh?

Lastel Rembrandt Hyperion I pretty much played through the MSQ of Stormblood alone and didn't have any friends. I was coming back to the game from a few year hiatus. It was both an exciting and anxious time for me since I had just finished school and been living away from my country (Mongolia) and family for 2 years and really missed them all. And then I came to Azim Steppe in game. I remember it so well lol because I sat there alone in front of my TV looking at the NPC shouting "fresh buuz!" at 3AM. I started to sob and felt like I came home. Azim Steppe is based off Mongolia, the yurt, buuz, morin khuur and Naadam we have it all in my country. I really didn't expect to see so much of it in game!! The Azim MSQ was the first time I actually sat through every CS (sorry I skip most...) and really enjoyed it all! And another thing that made me feel so at home was that my chara was an Xaela since HW when I first started the game and that Xaela were the Mongolians of FFXIV! It just made me feel so sentimental and it was the first time a game became a personal attachment for me. Since then whenever I miss home I usually go afk in the Steppes next to the kids playing morin khuur.

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Qih Mewrilah Adamantoise The best memory I have of stormblood is being on the forefront of crafting. Everyone knows I'm "the crafter guy" in my FC. But I was asked to help outfit a raider who's team was going for the world race to finish the last tier of the Omega raids the fastest. It was pretty much the highest form of crafting I could think of. I amassed a team of crafters,

gatherers, runners, melders, pretty much had every facet of the entire project planned from the servers opening to having him outfitted.

enough to make the new items easily. The whole thing was done in about an hour and a half, but it felt like it was only a blink of an eye.

The second the servers opened for the patch, we went in head-first. People camping in different zones to find out when/ where the new items spawned, myself and my crafters testing out rotations on Teamcraft to make sure our stats were good

I hope in the future I can work with the same team again, as the server visit system will be in place by 5.0, and I'd love to continue crafting at what I believe is the highest level the game has to offer.

Katarh Mest - Lamia My favorite memory is how the players found creative ways to circumvent Raubhan EX! A FC member who managed to get through before things got really bad had a dual seater chocobo. Folks in various communities found that if you parked a two seater chocobo's tail feathers through the door blocking Castellum Velodyna, you could drag someone ahead and they could run and hang out with the M tribe. That one wee rebellion as the game servers struggled to accommodate the crowd made the dejection from the problem a lot less irritating! (And in the meantime, I worked on my fisher in the zone.)

entitled. However once the castle fell and her memories buried within the rubble, Tsuyu was born. We discover the girl who used to be, an insecure child, lonely and depressed, wanting only someone whom could look at her with a smile, protect her, and have pride for the person she was. Gosetsu gave her this. Even though her memory returns, the conflict waged on even through her transformation. Throughout the entire battle against Tsukiyomi, you are challenged with the might of yin and yang, light and dark, truth and deceit. It all begins to truly form as you battle her internal conflict of Zenos only to witness the trust she held for Gosetsu still strong, his will to protect her.

Myst - Ultros Stormblood has many good memories. Laughing at Little Sun, joining your comrades in a battlefield together as a team giving you a feeling of union and strength, freeing nations from tyranny; all wonderful memories, but none of them quite strike me with surprise and emotion as the battle against Tsukiyomi. Most people saw Yotsuyu as a heartless wretch preying on the inhabitants of Doma. They were right to think so. She was cruel, selfish, and

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For me, it was a struggle to finish the fight. The amount of symbolism and attention to detail in regards to this character and how she influences an entire Primal fight left me in tears. I hated Yotsuyu, but I found warmth in the relationship of Tsuyu and Gosetsu. Her two sides, like the moon, shining down a small light on a black world.

Elisa Swann - Faerie In terms of story telling, this was an enjoyable story. I was heartbroken by the whole

Yotsuyu arc. I hated her, then pitied her, then grieved when she came to the conclusion there was no way out. The most spectacular fight was her trial. The most LOL moments though have been thanks to Magnai. I love-hate him with a passion. But I enjoyed all the side things/ fan service we have been given - from 8 bit Magnai, to "Little Sun." My favorite character though is Alpha, because he embodied the sort of optimism that is otherwise lacking right now (tonally) in the game. As far as other memories, this was a really huge turnover expansion for us in the FC, but I remain grateful for this franchise's commitment towards growth and listening to the playerbase. I have a feeling this will the expansion we look back and go "this was the beginning of the game's exploding popularity and why we have met so many new people along the way." Also FANFEST was awesome again. Way more engaged with the community this fanfest. :heart:

Rina Kei - Hyperion Memorable Hmmm...

moments,

huh?

I think the best one I have is the 6 hours me and one of my best friends spent trying to beat Shinryu at the end of 4.0 on normal difficulty. It was I think

the end of July? Middle of July? My friend actually waited for me to do Ala Mhigo and then Shinryu at like 1 AM because I needed to do my level 70 SMN quest (LEMME SUMMON BAHAMUT, YOSHI-P). Everyone in our instance was still pretty much at iLvl, so all of us were getting our butts kicked. My friend and I called it quits at 6 AM that first night after not clearing, and then we went back in later that afternoon. A few more hours and then we got a party that got the fight down and at about 10%, my friend was like, "I'm doing it, we're clearing this, I'm using LB3." About a 25

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minute later he was at 2% and I stopped DPSing altogether (BAD DECISION, I KNOW) and started crying -- "WE DID IT, OH MY GOD WE FINALLY BEAT HIM AAAAAAAAAAH!" It's not that hard of a fight really, but it was the satisfaction of completing the new expansion when it was barely a month old and just being caught up to the game, finally. We still talk about that time a lot. Other good memories: - My boyfriend started playing FFXIV and caught up in four months! - I started savage raiding!

- I started leveling other classes to 70 and currently have all of the SMN, WAR, and all of the healers to 70!

time I had with the community that day.

Mochi - Exodus

All of the screenshots.

When Foxy Lady was first being farmed on Excalibur I remembered tons of us flooding Yanxia waiting for it to spawn. We formed search parties and were shouting across the map, eventually leading to us all using shout like it was a radio and assigning each other call signs. I was given the name "Asian Peep" (my ign is Mochi Buni). I renamed my chocobo to that to remember what a great

TheWorstAvatarEver Reddit

EllDez - Reddit Getting to Ala Mhigo. Entering The Lochs, with an army behind me ready to take the city back was amazing. After decades in game and 7 years of real time, we were finally going to free Ala Mhigo. Then the dungeon, storming the palace and watching as we teared down the last vestiges

of Garlean oppression capping it off with taking a knife to the most punchable face in the world while Triumph blared in my ears was pure art.

the downtime.

Kyser_ - Reddit

My most memorable moment in Stormblood is a sidequest in the Azim Steppe. A Dotharl girl is willing to pay you to escort her to a special place. Seems simple and easy, and it was, until you get there and she asks you to deliver a package back to her friend in her tribe, and to not worry after we leave her. This was a strange request, "why didn't she give this package to her friend before we set off?"

Honestly, Anemos.

loved

Eureka

I didn't end up having the strength to continue on to later Eureka, but Anemos was the first time I really felt that sense of community. Everyone working together trying to keep people alive, popping fates, running around as a giant train and hanging out in

It was just a good time despite being kinda repetitive.

Jarial Scarlet - Tonberry

and "why doesn't she want me around anymore?" I was quite curious at this point. Anyway, back at the tribe I deliver the package. The friend opens it and it's a suicide note, along with your payment for the escort. The realization of what I had done, of what I had helped this girl do. It's a feeling of guilt I will never forget. A feeling of guilt made worse as I accept the reward for this deed.

Fugetsu Seigaku Mateus He was with us from our arrival in Kugane, our guide to the Ruby Sea, introducing us to the Confederacy, the Kojin, the Raen of Sui-no-Sato, and the Four Lords. In the Auspices arc, he offers us plenty of comedic relief and earnest help. Somehow, the writers managed to take Soroban -- a character without facial expressions or voiced dialogue -- and make him endearing. His story culminates in the final quest of the Auspices arc, when he sacrifices himself -- his very soul -- to revive Genbu in a lastditch effort to save the Ruby Sea from the wrath of Koryu. With his final moments, he tells us that he understands the consequences of his ritual and asks only that we look after his

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home, Tamamizu, all while the heartbreaking “Parting Ways” plays in the background. With Genbu revived, the Four Lords act in unison to seal Koryu away once more. Only in the next cutscene is it revealed that Soroban’s intense training with the Auspices meant that his soul was not consumed in the ritual, and that he was to stay at Reisen Temple to become the next Genbu -- a fitting reward for such an act of selflessness. Soroban might not be an especially obvious favorites, but I found his story to be one of, if not the most memorable of Stormblood.

Hranz Vitalus - Mateus FFXIV has been an amazing experience for me. My wife and I started playing roughly two years, and while it's a short time in the grand scheme of things, a great deal of things have happened. Joining this world and community, making friends and shedding those who were less than, has brought some much needed light into our lives. It's a long story, but thanks to FFXIV I can see my wife participate in something outside the confines of our apartment. More importantly, I get to see her smile and laugh, as if Hydaelyn's blessing has extended into reality.

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This compilation of Stormblood locations, dungeons, and bosses would not be complete without showing you all the behind the scenes portion. We put over 50+ hours into gathering screenshots and grew closer for it. So many laughs were shared and friendships formed. We are not just a team now, we are a family. Enjoy a look into the shenanigans we got up to when we weren't gathering shots for the article.

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