The Returner: Back in the Final Fantasy XIV saddle again

The Returner: Rediscovering Final Fantasy XIV

I know to those of you who play the game on a regular basis (and somehow manage to find time to play it extensively alongside all the other big releases of the hour) will likely think that my attempts to catch up on Final Fantasy XIV are, at this point, humorously drawn-out and unlikely to ever succeed — but I’ll have you know that a surge of motivation over the course of the weekend just gone has seen me romp through an absolute ton of Shadowbringers’ main scenario quests (and related sidequests).

It helps, of course, that I have nothing else particularly major on my plate right now, gaming-wise. While it’s arguably reasonably easy to find a place for Final Fantasy XIV as part of a balanced gaming diet if you’re up to date on the main story and only playing for things like daily quests or social events, when you’re attempting to blast through several years’ worth of past material, it pays to make it the primary focus of your attention.

Final Fantasy XIV

And that’s where I’ve gone wrong with previous attempts to catch up. I’ve thought “oh, I’ll play it on the side and just work my way through a bit at a time” — then jumped into something all-encompassing and sprawling and then never made time for Final Fantasy XIV. It’s not a game that you should put on the sidelines; it’s a game that you should make your “main game”, at least for the duration of the main scenario.

And, hell, it deserves it. One of the things I’ve always liked about Final Fantasy XIV is that although it features a substantial and solid endgame with lots of things to do, the journey to that endgame is satisfying and enjoyable too.

It’s not something you want to race through as quickly as possible; it’s an experience in its own right. And, given its focus on story — and the game’s continuing attempts to make the main scenario as solo-friendly as possible — it’s worth approaching the main scenario as you would a major, lengthy single-player RPG.

In my case, I approach major, lengthy single-player RPGs by making them my primary gaming focus. If I don’t do that, I inevitably find myself falling out of the habit of playing them, forgetting what happened in the story or forgetting how to play them properly.

Thankfully, with the cumulative amount of time I’ve played Final Fantasy XIV since its launch in 2013, I don’t think I will ever get rid of the muscle memory I’ve developed for playing, so I don’t think that will become an issue — though there are times when I forget bits and pieces of the story, which is why I appreciated the New Game+ feature so much to get back up to speed after several years away.

Final Fantasy XIV

Shadowbringers in particular is absolutely packed with interesting worldbuilding and lore. Some of this comes about through the main quest, but a lot of it is delivered through the optional sidequests that I suspect at least some players skip. And sure, it would probably be sensible for me to skip them, given that I haven’t yet finished Shadowbringers’ story and am already level 83 — the level cap for Endwalker is 90 — but I can’t. I just can’t. I see all those “Q!” markers pop up and I just have to do them all.

Yes, it sometimes makes my heart sink to see quite how many of them appear — and again if I make a bit of progress in the main scenario and a bunch more suddenly appear following a particular story beat — but on the whole, I’ve found the overall experience of immersing myself in Shadowbringers’ world as much as possible to be immensely rewarding.

I’m particularly fond of what I’ve come to think of as “crossover quests”. These involve two seemingly independent questlines in different parts of a zone which ultimately end up joining up in an immensely satisfying manner.

Final Fantasy XIV

For example, in The Rak’Tika Greatwood, you work through a series of sidequests that involve a strange young man who apparently has the power to see the future. Considerably later, after the main story has moved from the settlement he calls home into the mysterious Viis’ village, another sidequest opens up involving a pair of feuding sisters. Eventually, once you’ve brought both of these stories to their respective conclusions, the two come together in a way that ties up both of those storylines’ loose ends very nicely indeed. And, in this specific case, you get a great minion out of it, too.

I don’t yet know if there will be any eventual payoff for completing all of these “crossover quests” — I will be very happy if there is, believe me — but it’s been a real highlight of my experience with Shadowbringers so far. And I think the main scenario team know this, too, given that the part of the game I’m presently on involves all of the major players from the different zones you’ve visited up until this point coming together for one “final” (that very obviously won’t actually be “final”, given that there’s a whole zone I haven’t been to yet) push back against the sin eaters and the sinister Light.

This, for me, has always been the heart of Final Fantasy XIV. While it’s an excellent multiplayer game with plenty to do with both friends and strangers, the things I remember the most from my time with it are the intense narrative moments that you share with the in-game characters.

Final Fantasy XIV

One might argue that this makes the game’s nature as an MMORPG somewhat irrelevant, but you have to remember that “MMORPG” doesn’t just mean “actively playing with other people”. It also means sharing experiences, knowing that you’ve been through the same things together — and also being part of an evolving, living world. While it may not make sense from a narrative perspective, Final Fantasy XIV’s world is all the richer for knowing that there are people all around you who have experienced the same things that you have — and, in some cases, are experiencing the exact same things as you are right now.

And even when I reach the end of Endwalker, that experience will still be present. There’s the ongoing main scenario, the raids, the trials — and, of course, the brand new gameplay such as Island Sanctuary and Variable Dungeons. When I’ve caught up, I’ll have an even richer experience of sharing all this fun stuff with others.

I’ve just got to get there first. But I feel like this time is the time. This time is the time I make it through to the end. This time is the time I win.

Final Fantasy XIV is… something something free trial Heavensward no restrictions on playtime.

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Pete Davison
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