Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Mikl
Nov 8, 2009

Vote shit sandwich or the shit sandwich gets it!
Though the FF7 LP isn't really "going" but rather "waiting for a final wrap-up post", since the game content was completed a while ago.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Xander77
Apr 6, 2009

Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.



Kheldarn posted:

Until a few days ago, there were 7, 8, 9, and 10 LPs all going. Mega64 shut his 9 LP down, though. :(
The 7 LP has been done for a while now. I mean, the thread is open so maybe the OP is going to add some stuff, but the game is finished.

e;fb. Goddamn new page.

(I kinda want to see an LP of 12, because apparently that's the last non-terrible one?)

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
I heard the revamped XIV is apparently good.

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Xander77 posted:

(I kinda want to see an LP of 12, because apparently that's the last non-terrible one?)

There is an absolutely comprehensive LP of the IZJS version by Brainweasel on the LP archive. Its damned good.

Josuke Higashikata
Mar 7, 2013


Hobgoblin2099 posted:

I heard the revamped XIV is apparently good.

It is. Very much so, but it's fallen out of favour for quite a few recently because it went a long time with little end game content and the content that was there wasn't great.

As a whole package, it's really good.

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters

Josuke Higashikata posted:

It is. Very much so, but it's fallen out of favour for quite a few recently because it went a long time with little end game content and the content that was there wasn't great.

As a whole package, it's really good.

It's important to realize this is kind of cyclical. 2.0->2.1 was just as much of a dry spell as 3.0->3.1, it seems like that first content update after a major launch pretty much always comes slowly then it's back to business as usual.

Asparagus32
Aug 16, 2015

Captain Oblivious posted:

It's important to realize this is kind of cyclical. 2.0->2.1 was just as much of a dry spell as 3.0->3.1, it seems like that first content update after a major launch pretty much always comes slowly then it's back to business as usual.

Just speaking for myself, but 3.1 was a bit of a disappointment. My Free Company used to have a bunch of rather active people, but these days most of them are either taking a break because of the content draught, or only log in for a short time each day. Still I think XIV is a great game and haven't given up hope of the devs being able to revitalize it again.

The Dark Id
Aug 13, 2005

Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]
Episode LXXXIII: Calm My Self


Music: Yuna's Determination




Alright. Welcome to the Calm Lands. That is... err... That's it out there. That big field... Yeah... That's the whole thing. Right there. Like boom! Done! Everything is laid out on the table. Our first goal is that structure in the center there, then it's a trip to that black crevice to the north.



For an area the game goes out of its way to describe as an endless plains of nothing, it is somehow infinitely less expansive than the previous two vast stretches of Fly-Over State looking roads we had to travel down. Oh well. We may run across a few familiar faces on our path.



Such as Maechem, whose journey of exposition has apparently stalled out for a while due to the party's disappearance. It's been a good long while since we've heard an exposition dump on a new location. Lay it on us, monologue grandpa.





“That war left this place a barren, lifeless land. Then, time passed. The summoners took note of this uninhabited land. Great battles could be fought here, with no harm to the common folk. Perfect for the final battle with Sin, as it were. Summoners wait here, ready to perform the Final Summoning. Ah, to know what they must feel! In any case, when Sin is defeated here, the Calm will visit Spira once more. That's why this place is now known as the Calm Lands. Exactly who dubbed it so is unknown. And that, as they say, is that."
”Neat. So do like people from Bevelle and junk pile in up here to watch the final Sin rumble? I'm kinda involved in this whole pilgrimage thing and... just now catching up on the whole end game details...”



“There's a chasm, a great rend in the earth, in these parts. A scar from High Summoner Gandof's bitter battle with Sin, four hundred years past."
”Did he come back later as Gandof the White?”
“...I beg your pardon?”
“Ya know... Gandof. Sounds like Gandolf...?”
“I am afraid I do not follow.”
“...Oh. Right... Guess that's not a thing in Spira either. Pfft... Forget it, gramps. It was this movie. It was this whole thing... Err... Thanks for the lesson.”
“Oh, my pleasure. Any time.”




There are some chocobos as well as the occasional chocobo rider wandering the plains of this err... I mean this isn't even really a plain, is it? It's like a moderately sized box canyon that has a cliff on one side. Anyway, while chocobos are in the area, we unfortunately cannot catch a ride on one just yet. Though don't worry... there is some hot garbage involving chocobos lined up for the future.

So of course, with no quick access to horse-chicken mounts, that means a healthy helping of, you guessed it...


Music: Normal Battle




Random battles! And boy oh boy is The Calm Lands just lousy with random battles. You could probably get through the entirety of this location in about ten minutes if you were not stopped every ten feet to fight the same handful of fiends.



Al Bhed machina have made their way from Bikanel Island to the Calm Lands cuz gently caress it! Rogue robots out on the frontier are just about as reasonable as differently shaded cousins of other beasts.

Along with the Mech Scouters that Rikku can one-shot with Steal, we have Skolls, the newest in the wolves that Tidus can one-shot family. These can inflict Sleep if their bites land a hit. Do not ask me how that works. And often found besides them are Flame Flans – which I'll give are kind of a decent pun name for an enemy. These can bust out the tier 3 Firaga spells.



To keep Wakka busy there are the Nebiros. They've dipped their stingers in poison 'round these parts. Very exotic.



And of course we wouldn't want Auron to feel left out or else he'd get all grouchy, so there are armored the same loving weird armadillo thing for the sixth time Shred to contend with on the Calm Lands.



Our old pal from Lake Macalania, the Wendigo, has gotten the indignity of being palette-swapped and downgraded to a common encounter in the form of Ogres. They changed absolutely nothing about their behavior from the proper boss battle. Same business with putting up his dukes and counter-attacking. This one is weak to fire though! That's different, right!? ...Right?



Lastly, pulling deep from the monster stable is a the very first palette-swap of an enemy we've not seen since Djose Highroad's Basilisks: The Anacondas. They're identical snake creatures that can petrify and attempt to shatter party members, just with a late game power boost.


Music: Yuna's Determination




There are a couple more mobs of creatures roaming the wastes here. But the enemy encounter list is divided by halves of the map and we're only running the first half today.



Anyway a hovercraft is here now. I suppose this is another Yevon sanctioned machina just in case anyone is planning to sum—



Oh wait, nevermind. It's just a mobile Rin's Travel Agency merchant roaming the fields. Aren't the only people traveling this part of Spira summoners or Ronso? Are they offering discount rides back to Bevelle for weary summoners bailing on their pilgrimages? I know Home took a few tactical nukes to the grill earlier this week, but this still feels a wee bit scummy.





In any case, there's a few overpriced weapons of little note and the token stock resupply opportunity. Thanks but no thanks Al Bhed peddler. Say... what is that hovercraft powered by, anyway? ...What are all these machina powered by anyway? I doubt the Al Bhed have an offshore oil rig we've yet to encounter.



A bit north from the hovercraft merchant, we find an old acquaintance hanging out by what appears to be a pagan ritual gathering place. I'm sure that's nothing to worry about. What's shakin' Katamari Summoner?





"Ah, you shouldn't take what the maesters say too seriously.”
”I don't listen to ghost dudes if I can help it.”
“...Not the worst policy I have heard. Though I am clearly not addressing you. I do not see why you feel the need to interject. It is rude.”
“Yeah well...” *grumbles and trails off*




"Yes."
"So, are you up to the task?"
"I do not know, but I will do my best."
"You've got spirit, but you'll need more to beat Sin.”



Oh... C'mon lady. I know this is your thing – the whole summon duel. But we just did a summon battle boss rush yesterday. Can we take a rain check...? No. Tch. Fine...



Belgemine is sporting as always and fully heals our aeons prior to the battle. Alright, let's get this over with while we're young. We've got a pilgrimage to get back to, ya know...




Music: Normal Battle








Looks like Belgemine is going with a Shiva-type aeon. Belgemine isn't fancy like Yuna or Isaaru. She's happy enough just sticking with default titles.



Yeah no worries there. After careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion...





...I'm going to have Trogdor stomp on this snowjob you've got going there. I forgot this fight was coming up or else I'd have gotten Yuna a Grand Summon or boosted up Trogdor to an Overdrive. But oh well, it's fine.





We can try to toss some Firaga at Shiva, but the results are less than ideal. For this battle is another tutorial for a skill we're about to learn. Yep, we're still getting tutorials the last handful of areas of the game. Final Fantasy XIII rightly gets poo poo for having a twenty hour long tutorial. But let's not fool ourselves. Final Fantasy had been pulling the everlasting tutorial crap for a while at that point.



Regardless of resistances, we can just have Trogdor use Boost and tank a few hits. It's not like Shiva has much going for it beyond middling ice spells and an Overdrive it won't hit before us.







That's more like it! You'll notice Trogdor managed to squeak past the 9999 damage cap here with his Overdrive. The Bahamut aeon is pretty much the earliest in the game we'll encounter breaking the damage cap. One day in the distant future, members of our very own party might be able to perform such a feat. But that is a story for another day.







Regardless, Yuna and Trogdor come out victorious for a grand total of zero experience from the whole affair, as usual. Clearly defeated aeons can give experience points AP as evident by Isaaru's clowning. Belgemine is just being a stingy jerk.


Music: Yuna's Determination




“Traitor or no, you may have what it takes to beat Sin. Take this. You have earned it."



Belgemine forks over an “Aeon's Soul” as well as 30 Power Spheres (thanks lady, I've had like item cap on those since frikkin' Kilika onward.) So clearly now we'll need to take this to the Giant Blacksmith in Zanarkand and he'll forge a sick end game sword out of an Valefor's wing or the like. It'll be rad, just you watch.



"I think you will do just fine. But, if you ever feel like you want more training, seek the hidden temple of Remiem. I will be waiting there. Farewell."

Oh, of course! The hidden temple... I've heard all kinds of legends of that place!





With that Belgemine trots off and leaves us with an unskippable tutorial. Hey, remember the Summoner's Soul we got from her back near the Moonflow? It's like that except you can use it to grind items like Power Spheres for loving ever in order to feed to our aeons and boost their stats as well. Much like the Summoner's Soul item conversion business, I barely touched this. But if you have a free 90 hours of time and want to boost all your aeon's stats to 99, then go for it, kid.





Realistically we've barely walked more than a mile in-game. But it's already time for the traditional mid-location travel pit stop and chat. A Rin Travel Agency smack-dab in the middle of the Calm Lands will be our stopping point for now.



The party breaks into groups to chat. Well... not really. Just Yuna and Lulu some up for idle banter. Kimahri immediately breaks for the nearest place to enter his patented :colbert: pose. The rest proceed to zone out like usual.





Before we can get to the usual round of Tidus bugging everyone in the party, we're interrupted by a Yevon monk strutting up to the party. This better not be another aeon duel, game. Those aren't fun and all the rival trainers still have their summon animations set to Long like a bunch of inconsiderate amateurs.



“Long time no see.”

Oh... How silly of me. Of course, Father Zuke! I'd recognize that shiny dome anywhere! Who the gently caress is Father Zuke...?



“Hmm... You certainly don't look like Maester Kinoc's murderer."



*gasp* “Please, tell us what has happened!”



“It said that you and your guardians murdered Maester Kinoc and fled. We are to kill you on sight, or so it says."
*frown*
”That's bull! We didn't kill Kinoc. Seymour killed him. We killed Seymour. Twice!”
“...Hey!”
“What? We did... Pfft. Not like we're going to get in any more trouble with Yevon.”




"Things are calm on the surface, but the depths are turbulent. After the death of Maester Kinoc, Kelk Ronso left Yevon."
"Convenient. Getting around will be easier with Yevon in disarray."
"But be careful, my friends. You have been branded enemies of Yevon. You should avoid temples for the time being."
”And the towns surrounding the temples... As well as the roads. Obviously Bevelle, as well. I see you've already found the Al Bhed as a safe haven. Perhaps you could seek refuge at their Home for a time?”
“...Yeah. That's not happening...” *frown*
“Unfortunate.”

"Thank you, Father Zuke, for your warning."



"To tell the truth, I was a little curious to see... this summoner you are guarding. I hope her pilgrimage goes well. For your sake, too."
"Thank you, Father."
"I must be off. I shall pray for all of you."



And with that, Father Zuke wanders off into the wastes of the Calm Lands, never to be seen again. Yep he was just there to let us know they've pinned Kinoc's murder on us. This is what I was talking about with summoners easily being able to get away with murder! Off a guy, immediately absorb the guy's soul to forge armor send the body so there's no evidence, make up whatever story you please since you are a virtuous pillar of Yevon.



Now that Zuke has exited the series forever, we may as well see where everyone is standing at the moment. Chief, Lulu... Who the hell was Monk Mr. Clean?



"Until half a year ago, he was a summoner. Wakka and I were his guardians."
"It was kinda of a short pilgrimage."
"He gave up halfway. Here, on this plain. Now, he is a monk at the Bevelle temple."
”Wait... How much further is Zanarkand?”
“Beyond the Calm Lands and past the sacred Mt. Gagazet.”
“Right... So we're like... I'm not a big math kinda guy, but seems like more than half way. That seems like 90% of the way...”
“It was... complicated... Let's go with that. Complicated.”

"This is my third pilgrimage as a guardian. Father Zuke was my second. And my first, well... It ended here, too. I've never been to the lands beyond."
*looks around* “Yeah this place is boring as hell but I'm really not seeing why everyone quits here...”
“You wouldn't understand.”
“Probably not!”

"Mt. Gagazet towers to the north, and Zanarkand lies beyond that."

And with that we've just burned through about three-fourths of Lulu total's backstory. What you don't remember the previous time we'd focused on Lulu's history? That's because she barely has any to speak of at all. Of all the playable characters in Final Fantasy X, I'm fairly certain you could remove Lulu the easiest and barely have to do any major rewrites to cover for her exclusion.

Anyway, how's it feel to be formally labeled a double-plus heretic, Yuna?



”Yeah... I mean... We already had that trial thing where the pope ghost guy said as much and then they tossed us in the lamest execution method I've ever heard of...”
"Hey, let them say what they want."
"It's okay, I'm not worried. Well, maybe just a little. It's so hard not to be."
"Hey, it's okay to worry. And if it gets too rough, just yell!"
"Yell? Hmm... Okay, I might just do that."
"Yeah!"
”And hey... There's always other ways to... vent some steam...”
“...?”
*finger snaps*
“I don't follow...”
*sighs and whispers in Yuna's ear*
“Oh my...”




*annoyed stretch* "Maybe, with my old man helping him!"
"Maybe I'll ask Sir Auron."
"Auron? That grouch never tells me anything."
*laughs*
*puts hand over mouth and does Batman voice* "'That is none of your business!'"
"Not that he keeps out of other people's business, you know what I mean?”
*glare aura seeps in from off-screen*
“...I should probably go see how grumpa is doing.”
“Hehe.”




"What is?"
“Yevon. Mika and Seymour are not of one mind. Remember what Seymour said last we met. I do not think Mika will concur."
”Yeah... We PROBABLY should have finished that jerk off instead of running as soon as he started exploding into a poo gas cloud. Just my opinion here...”
"If Yevon founders, so will Spira."

Not much new with Auron. Rikku, however, looks quite distressed. Let's check out her deal.



"Yuna...she's made her decision."
"But, I can't just let her go."
"We won't have to. We'll save Yuna even if she calls the Final Aeon."
"But how?"
"I'll think of a way."
"But what if you can't?"



“It's always 'but' this, 'but' that."





No, Tidus! I know you're full of hormones and you've had enough of Rikku's snide insinuations and disingenuous assertions. But this is not the way to handle it!





"Let's think together!"
"Okay!"
"And, if we can't think of something... we find another way!"
"Okay!"
”And if we're being honest, some nonsense completely out of our control is going to happen and derail everything anyway!”
“Right!”
“That's the spirit.”




Rikku is going to start shaking her head like it's about to explode. This whole dilemma is the beginning of Rikku's rapid descent into mania that will result in her being a near brain dead shell of her former self by the time the sequel rolls around. Tragic, really...

Right then. Wakka? Have anything to add?



“I already told you this, ya? 'Bout when I was too into the game to be a good guardian? So when Father Zuke said he wanted out... Tell you the truth, I was kinda glad."
“That dude seemed like kind of a bummer.”
“Eh... He was... Umm...”
“Meh?”
“Meh.”
“Gotcha.”

"Zanarkand's right around the corner. So close already.”

That it is, Wakka. Say, the Ronso are from Mt. Gagazet, right? What's the word with giant blue cat folk in the area, Kimahri?



"Hey! We might meet your family."
"Kimahri has no family."
"Oh, sorry."
"But Kimahri not alone."
”Yeah, right on dude. You wanna like fist bump or something...?”
*glare*
“Okay... Gotcha. A bit much... Not your thing.”

"Sacred mountain Gagazet. Not change for one thousand years."



We're just about done here. But before we depart, there is on Al Bhed tucked in the corner of the Travel Agency's grounds that is very easy to miss. He may have some vital information that will make a later part of the game very confusing if the player has failed to chat him up/missed enough Al Bhed Primers not to understand him



[I have a message from Cid. He says: We've gone to repair the airship. We'll come get you when we're done. Until then, keep Yuna safe or you'll be sorry, kid.]
"Good to know!"
*blank stare*
"Oh umm... Kuut du ghuf!"
*nods*




Welp, that's about a wrap for our Calm Lands half-time show. Tune in next time for the second half of this dump, assuming I don't get compelled to go play Shadow of the Colossus again looking at shots of this place for too long. :v:






Video: Episode 83 Highlight Reel






Ogre Concept Art



Anaconda Concept Art



Father Zuke Concept Art

The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Dec 7, 2015

grandalt
Feb 26, 2013

I didn't fight through two wars to rule
I fought for the future of the world

And the right to have hot tea whenever I wanted
I wonder if Zuke started at Besaid, went to Macalina, wandered around the Calm Lands looking for that lost temple and then decided he really didn't want to sacrifice his life and then quit. That would fit the halfway part of the pillage.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

The Dark Id posted:

Welp, that's about a wrap for our Calm Lands half-time show. Tune in next time for the second half of this dump, assuming I don't get compelled to go play Shadow of the Colossus again looking at shots of this place for too long. :v:

Look, the only reason you should ever consider not playing SotC is when you're considering playing Ico instead. :colbert:

CheeseThief
Dec 28, 2012

Two wholesome boys to brighten your day

So bailing on your pilgrimage at the last hurdle is totally cool and Yevon just finds you a desk job in the capital? Zuke's carrying a head full of Yevon summoner secrets and they just let him wander to the next state over to shoot the poo poo with a heretic, Yevon doesn't give a drat?

Hell why doesn't the party kidnap him and force him to do the final summon? He's easily as qualified as Yuna at this point.

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.
Not shown. Off to the side is an Al Bhed who will tell you exactly where the gently caress your airship is, and explain why the gently caress what happens later in the game happens. If you have all the Primers to this point anyway.

Also the moment I got to the Calm Lands I bee-lined towards unlocking the Chocobo's in this area, and then getting the important thing Tidus needs out of the way so I never have to deal with it again.


grandalt posted:

I wonder if Zuke started at Besaid, went to Macalina, wandered around the Calm Lands looking for that lost temple and then decided he really didn't want to sacrifice his life and then quit. That would fit the halfway part of the pillage.

The Lost temple, much like the Cave of the Stolen Fayth are not considered to be official parts of the Pilgrimage.

CheeseThief posted:

So bailing on your pilgrimage at the last hurdle is totally cool and Yevon just finds you a desk job in the capital? Zuke's carrying a head full of Yevon summoner secrets and they just let him wander to the next state over to shoot the poo poo with a heretic, Yevon doesn't give a drat?

Hell why doesn't the party kidnap him and force him to do the final summon? He's easily as qualified as Yuna at this point.

Well why wouldn't they? Seymour HAS a Final Aeon and wont fight Sin.Also... Gagazet is a pretty big last leg of the journey. Like, it's not surprising it kills the most summoners, it's a frigid loving mountain with no rest stops, filled with fiends, who kill the summoners and their guardians, and because no one is there to send them, they IN TURN become more Fiends to haunt the place. Also there are behemoths. Also the Ronso, like every other race in spira, are insular racist assholes who say "gently caress you" to everyone but themselves and rather than attempt to keep the mountain safe or do regular clean ups of fiends, just sort of let people die climbing it and not care.

A Ronso Summoner would actually find this leg of the journey easier than any other summoner.

Onmi fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Dec 7, 2015

Bufuman
Jun 15, 2013

Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.
That one Al Bhed merchant has an armor for Tidus that you normally can't put on armors (Magic Counter, a weapon ability that, as the name implies, makes the wearer counter magic attacks). If you're the type that wants every single rare item the game has to offer, that's there. In practical terms it's useless, since Magic Counter isn't that great of an ability. Plus Tidus's ultimate weapon has it packed on, so it'll become redundant anyway.

But man, the next few updates are probably going to be filled with rage fuel for TDI. I am partly filled with sympathy for what he's going to go through, and anticipation at how great his rants are going to be (sorry Id).

The Dark Id
Aug 13, 2005

Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]

Onmi posted:

Not shown. Off to the side is an Al Bhed who will tell you exactly where the gently caress your airship is, and explain why the gently caress what happens later in the game happens. If you have all the Primers to this point anyway.

Right. Forgot all about that idiot. I edited his message into the update.

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic

:neckbeard:
I've wanted to do this to various characters in this game more than once, truth be told. Also to Fayt in Star Ocean 3. Being such an enormous goddamn downer isn't helping the cause, dammit!

bunnyofdoom
Mar 29, 2008

I've been here the whole time, and you're not my real Dad! :emo:
Why did Cid send someone to give a message to Tidus? He coulda sent the guy to speak to either his daughter or niece who would understand him. Or send someone who actually speaks Spiran. Or hell, send the dude with a note written in Spiran. Sheesh Cid.

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.

bunnyofdoom posted:

Why did Cid send someone to give a message to Tidus? He coulda sent the guy to speak to either his daughter or niece who would understand him. Or send someone who actually speaks Spiran. Or hell, send the dude with a note written in Spiran. Sheesh Cid.

He knows that this is a video game and Tidus is the lead character. Also darn it she's trying to court his niece and if he wants her, as her only existing alive relative, he better be willing to learn the language of her Uncle-Dad or so help him he's going to ram an airship up his rear end.

Tactless Ogre
Oct 31, 2011

CheeseThief posted:

So bailing on your pilgrimage at the last hurdle is totally cool and Yevon just finds you a desk job in the capital? Zuke's carrying a head full of Yevon summoner secrets and they just let him wander to the next state over to shoot the poo poo with a heretic, Yevon doesn't give a drat?

Hell why doesn't the party kidnap him and force him to do the final summon? He's easily as qualified as Yuna at this point.

Zuke may not have the summons or the power needed to do the final summon. Remember, the fayth choose; and they may find Zuke unworthy. And it would go both ways. Zuke probably wouldn't snitch so that he keeps his job in tow and curries favor with Mika. Main reason why Zuke doesn't go after Yuna is because as far as he said; Yevon's in utter disarray and Mika's got too much energy spent keeping it all together; which gives Zuke some leniency on whether to go after Yuna or not.

Personally, I'd imagine he saw Trogdor blow Shiva up, said "gently caress that", and just let Yuna go on her way.

By the By Id, that vendor has a unique item to him in that the shield for Tidus there has Magic Counter as an auto ability. It's a pretty nifty shield and it's the only time you can find that shield or any other defensive armor in the game with a counter ability. Granted, it's not super helpful against elementals and flan which don't care about Tidus's sword strokes; but it's nifty against other things using magic that don't have those defenses.

Tactless Ogre fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Dec 7, 2015

MechanicalTomPetty
Oct 30, 2011

Runnin' down a dream
That never would come to me

CheeseThief posted:

So bailing on your pilgrimage at the last hurdle is totally cool and Yevon just finds you a desk job in the capital? Zuke's carrying a head full of Yevon summoner secrets and they just let him wander to the next state over to shoot the poo poo with a heretic, Yevon doesn't give a drat?

I get the impression Zuke never told anyone else where he was going or why.

Also the calm lands are like the point of no return for pilgrimages so I can see why a bunch of them might get cold feet on the home stretch.

Geostomp
Oct 22, 2008

Unite: MASH!!
~They've got the bad guys on the run!~
I was expecting some big tragic end to the previous summoners that Wakka and Lulu guarded, not that they just got bored and wandered off on the home stretch.

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.

Geostomp posted:

I was expecting some big tragic end to the previous summoners that Wakka and Lulu guarded, not that they just got bored and wandered off on the home stretch.

Only the first one died

Xenoveritas
May 9, 2010
Dinosaur Gum

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

I heard the revamped XIV is apparently good.

It's still an MMO and is basically anime World of Warcraft so if you hate that, you'll hate it.

It also has the problem that most of the content in it is now "obsolete" yet requires other players to do, so attempting to start playing it now will either be an exercise in finding people to play with you or just skipping all the optional content no one does any more. Quite a lot of the game is effectively impossible to play because no one plays it any more because there's no reason to do so.

Hemingway To Go!
Nov 10, 2008

im stupider then dog shit, i dont give a shit, and i dont give a fuck, and i will never shut the fuck up, and i'll always Respect my enemys.
- ernest hemingway
I can never quite trust the near universal praise of ffxiv because I don't see how anyone with good sense could forgive the company that fast after the initial gigantic failure.

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic
Gamers are a fickle and capricious bunch.

ZiegeDame
Aug 21, 2005

YUKIMURAAAA!

Acne Rain posted:

I can never quite trust the near universal praise of ffxiv because I don't see how anyone with good sense could forgive the company that fast after the initial gigantic failure.

Because the guy responsible for that gigantic failure was shitcanned.

EponymousMrYar
Jan 4, 2015

The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

ZiegeDame posted:

Because the guy responsible for that gigantic failure was shitcanned.

Also the dude they put in his place knew exactly what he had to do and did it even though it included a massive apologetic stance to the playerbase.
I'm pretty sure that's a first in the industry for a company to admit 'yeah this is a bad product, thanks for putting up with us, we've gotten our pants off of our heads and please look forward to the new product that addresses your concerns' and actually following through with it.

Kheldarn
Feb 17, 2011



^^^ That, too.

Xenoveritas posted:

It's still an MMO and is basically anime World of Warcraft so if you hate that, you'll hate it.

Eh. I don't care for WOW, but I enjoyed FFXIV.


ZiegeDame posted:

Because the guy responsible for that gigantic failure was shitcanned.

And his replacement, Yoshi-P, is nigh unto a god. He knew exactly what needed to be done to remake the game, and make it good.

bobjr
Oct 16, 2012

Roose is loose.
🐓🐓🐓✊🪧

If you look at the world map the Calm Lands is basically the halfway point. The game makes it seem small but it's just about the size as the rest of mainland Spira combined.

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters

Acne Rain posted:

I can never quite trust the near universal praise of ffxiv because I don't see how anyone with good sense could forgive the company that fast after the initial gigantic failure.

Proof is in the pudding. They made a bad game. Then they scrapped it, and made a good game, and hit a rate of content production that is unheard of in MMOs. They kind of had to to shake off the rep of 1.0

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

Captain Oblivious posted:

Proof is in the pudding. They made a bad game. Then they scrapped it, and made a good game, and hit a rate of content production that is unheard of in MMOs. They kind of had to to shake off the rep of 1.0

Yeah, as much poo poo as Square gets - and as much of it is well deserved - them releasing FFXIV, being told it sucked balls, and then straight up starting over and doing right by it, and even writing the world being reset into the lore of the game itself, is one of the cooler things I've seen in video games. Sure, the key decision-makers were driven by a desire to recoup big fat losses rather than any particular affection for the series or the players, but gently caress it, I still think it's cool they chose to try and recoup their losses by making a good drat product instead of just tripling down on cheap Match-3, skinnerbox mobile poo poo.

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.
ARR has always been a game where I've been interested in playing it, but since I don't pay for subscriptions I wont play it. Not because the game doesn't "Deserve" to be paid monthly for, it's just not something I do.

Spiritus Nox
Sep 2, 2011

Onmi posted:

ARR has always been a game where I've been interested in playing it, but since I don't pay for subscriptions I wont play it. Not because the game doesn't "Deserve" to be paid monthly for, it's just not something I do.

I played my first month and really liked it, which is noteworthy since I'm not usually an MMO guy, but I just haven't had the confluence of time and money to get back to it. Start my first full-time job tomorrow, so I might give it a look again once I start collecting paychecks.

Yggdrasil325
Jul 24, 2011

Captain Oblivious posted:

Proof is in the pudding. They made a bad game. Then they scrapped it, and made a good game, and hit a rate of content production that is unheard of in MMOs. They kind of had to to shake off the rep of 1.0

It helps that they replaced all the guys who hosed up 1.0.

Kemix
Dec 1, 2013

Because change
I can say that the month I played of FF14 was pretty decent all around. Hell, the game's even pretty enough for a friend of mine (who gets figurative boners off on stuff like FF14's graphical style) that he almost got addicted to the game and had to put the literal axe to it to avoid being one of THOSE people...it doesn't help that he has a webcomic that he draws, inks and poo poo like that.

Digital Jello
Nov 2, 2012

Now I have a machine gun. Ho! Ho! Ho!
FF14 is also very heavily story-driven for an MMO. I think that's what suckered me into it. And then before I knew it, I got addicted.

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters
Also the music is spectacular and helps lend weight to events.

It's one thing to fight a really hard raid boss it's another to have the fight sync'd with something like Answers.

berenzen
Jan 23, 2012

Or Ravana's theme.

Captain Oblivious
Oct 12, 2007

I'm not like other posters
Any of the Primals but Ifrit really.

Digital Jello
Nov 2, 2012

Now I have a machine gun. Ho! Ho! Ho!
I hated Primal Leviathan's music too.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Marmaduke!
May 19, 2009

Why would it do that!?

Kemix posted:

he almost got addicted to the game and had to put the literal axe to it to avoid being one of THOSE people...

...how literal are we talking??

  • Locked thread