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FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Final Fantasy XIV is on its fifth expansion, and with that comes two new jobs for our Warriors of Light to master. Dawntrail's release means that Pictomancer and Viper – both damage dealers (or DPS) – are newly available to play. But they're far from the only options.

Final Fantasy XIV is now officially up to 21 main jobs, as well as one limited job with a second on the way. A continual evolution of specified playstyles means that with every new level cap, each job gets tweaked a little, making it the perfect opportunity to dive into something new.

SUPERJUMP has a handy guide for anyone not certain what job to level next, homing in on what each excels at, the drawbacks, and its playstyle.


2.0 A Realm Reborn

Final Fantasy XIV's base game includes the original base class to job evolution. Your journey from levels 1 - 30 are as your selected base class, and upon reaching level 30 you receive your corresponding job stone and are able to move through the job questline. You'll need to complete one of these regardless, as not only does the game require you to pick a discipline during character creation, but every other job introduced in the later expansions begins at or after level 30.

You'll progress through the job quests through to level 80. These job quests also grant certain actions upon completion, so not completing them means you'll be missing the necessary skills. They're a must.

Tanks

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Gladiator - Level 1, Gladiator's Guild

Job Quest: Paladin's Pledge - Level 30, Gladiator's Guild

Paladins are primarily party-defensive tanks, with a skillset suited to mitigating damage to the whole party. In comparison to the three other tanks, Paladin is more "buff"-heavy, meaning they can do more to protect the at-large group and even heal other members, but also have to balance the uses of their abilities. Play-wise, there might be a little negotiating with party-wide damages and preemptively knowing when wind-ups for big hits might benefit from popping a little extra protection on everyone. They also have some skills that require casting.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Marauder - Level 1, Marauder's Guild

Job Quest: Pride and Duty (Will Take You From the Mountain) - Level 30, Marauder's Guild

Warriors are tanks focused more on damage and self-preservation. They've got nifty self-healing abilities that are notoriously convenient for running content solo. They lack Paladin's more party-based defense strategy, but their invul ability – Holmgang – is an endure-like ability that keeps them from falling below 1 HP for 10 seconds and is similarly as basic in use. Warrior is often considered extremely beginner-friendly due to its self-sustaining abilities and a forgiving rotation.

So, if you prefer a bit of tunnel vision when tanking – in not necessarily having to worry about party buffs, and instead focusing on yourself and fight mechanics – Warrior is the way to go.


DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Lancer - Level 1, Lancer's Guild

Job Quest: Eye of the Dragon - Level 30, Lancer's Guild

Dragoons have a storied history in Ishgard. They're the poster job for Heavensward, and they also used to be affectionately known as floor tanks. They're very leap-oriented, so it's important when playing Dragoon to know your position on the board and be able to accurately understand where your dismount might land you, although this has become less of a pain in recent updates. Dragoons are also positional, meaning that damage is increased depending on the position in which you're executing certain skills.

These positions are usually the rear and flank (often on bigger enemies or bosses) and straight lines for mobs. Dragoons have a pretty solid starter kit with a very focused and straightforward rotation. Battle Litany, acquired at level 52 by way of job quest, provides more utility for the party, but otherwise, this job is a dedicated slice and dicer.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Pugilist – Level 1, Pugilist's Guild

Job Quest: Brother From Another Mother – Level 30, Pugilist's Guild

Monks move fast and hit hard. They're a close-range melee and are great if you're looking to be able to run around the board and dodge mechanics without having to worry about cast times or more explicit positionals. Unlike Dragoon, there's a fair bit of flexibility in how (and when) exactly you want to execute certain actions, but this also makes the job a little more of a balancing act. Monk has different "forms", and transitioning into these will determine the nature of the rotation in use. There are positionals in the coeurl form, but the other two – Opo-opo and Raptor – are more general in dealing damage. Monk has a generally loose, weavy feel during combat, with constant upkeep of moves and little downtime.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Archer – Level 1, Archer's Guild

Job Quest: A Song of Bards and Bowmen – Level 30, Archer's Guild

Bards are the songsters of the group, and like their inspirational counterparts, they have more utility for the wider group in the form of music-based actions that offer increased critical hit rates, healing, and more to all party members within range. Bards are also less strict in their rotations and have room for maneuverability in playstyle. Because of this focus on the wider group, Bards have somewhat of a responsibility (especially in higher-end content) to understand the use and timing of certain critical skill buffs.

In addition – you ever hear anyone playing the harp in the overworld? Leveling Bard also allows you to unlock instruments, which will provide you with a plethora of ways to play actual music on a variety of instruments.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Thaumaturge - Level 1, Thaumaturge's Guild

Job Quest: Taking the Black – Level 30, Thaumaturge's Guild

Y'shtola of the Scion is a dedicated black mage – a powerful spell-caster who can literally call down meteors on foes. Black Mage is a caster, meaning that you will have some downtime in readying spells, making the class a bit more difficult if you're dodging mechanic-heavy fights. There's a long-running joke that Black Mages refuse to move for certain AOEs when they're in their ley lines, which reduces cast time for a quicker rotation. It reflects a pretty real sacrifice of the playstyle, in that mistakes in your rotation when balancing the element gauge while having to dodge can result in a loss of built-up DPS. It is widely considered one of the best DPS damage-wise though.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild

Job Quest: Austerities of Flame – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild

Summoners utilize the unique ability of summons, or "pets", to help deal damage. There are three main summons which, after the carbuncle phase, will become Garuda-egi, Ifrit-egi, and Titan-egi. Later levels see your ability to unlock Bahamut and Phoenix, which are pretty fun to unleash onto the field. Summoner is also one of the few DPS classes that has a resurrection ability, so they're able to assist healers if the party is taking heavy losses during a high-level raid or trial.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: My First Daggers – Level 1, Rogue's Guild

Job Quest: Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night - Level 30, Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks

Ninja is a notoriously busy job, with high DPS and constant damage-dealing. There's little downtime, and there are windows in which you have to execute high burst damage. It's a very mobile class with some positionals, so there's a lot of flexibility in movement if you're trying to easily get out of the way of AOEs and other telegraphed attacks. This makes it a good choice for dodging mechanics, but the rotation can get busy, be demanding, and require focus.


Healer

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Conjurer – Level 1, Conjurer's Guild

Job Quest: Seer Folly – Level 30, Conjurer's Guild

White Mages are the traditional healers, with the bulk of their actions focused on casting strong burst heals instead of regen abilities or shield actions, meaning the play is a bit more reactive to what's happening in a fight than it is preemptive. As casters, this also means you run up against a similar issue as Black Mage, although thankfully this is offset by a great set of off-global-cool down (oGCD) skills that consist of instant heals and a pretty big heal-potency buff. They're also the only job questline that gets a mount at low level, so if you want to snag a unicorn by level 30, this is your place to do it.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild

Job Quest: Forgotten but Not Gone – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild

The great thing about Scholar and Summoner is that they're both derived from the Arcanist class, so you really can level 2 jobs for the price of one until level 30. Scholars have a little more of a detailed playstyle, considering they've got a "pet" that, while autonomous, can do with a little guiding. Scholars are considered shield healers, which means they have a heavier focus on regen abilities and protective spells, but they're also pretty flexible.

Since this job has designated pet commands, it allows for greater situational specificity and adaptable play. This also means it's a bit of a hard sell if you like a less cluttered hot bar.


Heavensward

2015's Heavensward brought three new jobs into the rotation, one for each of the roles. The starting city - Ishgard - is full of towering Gothic structures and continual gales of snow. You'll find each starting quest line for the new jobs housed here, with no more class quests as a prerequisite. While you'll need to have completed the base game MSQ to unlock them, they all start at level 30.

Tank

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Our End – Level 50, The Pillars

Dark Knight is well-beloved for having one of the more emotionally potent questlines in the game. Some level it explicitly for that, but Dark Knight is a popular tank for a reason, and it's only partially because of its cooly gothic aesthetics. Like Warrior, Dark Knights can cause a lot of damage, but they have fewer self-sustainability abilities. You can also summon a shadow to fight with you at level 80, which adds to the whole job's vibe.

One of the more complicated aspects is in its invul ability, Living Dead, which allows you to essentially live past a hit that takes you to 0 HP, but you have to reach that 0 to activate your following ability, Walking Dead, which allows your dealt damage to provide big HP regens. This is a nifty ability when applied right but can also backfire in a way that Warrior or Paladin's invul abilities can't.


DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Savior of Skysteel – Level 50, Foundation

Machinists are the gunslingers of the group, able to fire off from a distance with consistent damage. Unlike Bard, they have no real party buffs, meaning they're more focused on dealing damage. By level 40 Machinists gain a rook companion that runs, essentially, on its "battery" charge, and can only be in battle for so long. Machinists have a fairly dedicated rotation, so there's less concern about how flexible a player has to be under pressure. They're great if you want to blend more into the damage-dealing background.


Healer

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Stairway to the Heavens – Level 50, The Pillars

Astrologians are a bit more complicated than their other healing counterparts. They function on the use of cards that can be applied to certain members of the party based on their own job classification. For example, if the Balance card is drawn, it's best applied to a melee DPS or a tank for that extra few percentage points of buffed damage dealing. Knowing what cards apply to what classes makes this job a fair bit more difficult to master, in that there's some memorization needed under pressure, and the preemptive needs of the abilities means you'll have to read the tells of content mechanics more closely.


Stormblood

The third expansion arrived in 2017 and brought two new DPS jobs. This time the starting city is the jumping-puzzle playground of Kugane, but you won't find the jobs here – they're both unlockable in Ul'dah, and the only prerequisite is that you reach level 50, as they both start at level 50. This would start the trend of each new job introduction at expansion launch being twenty levels below the current max level. This also means they're only ten levels below the previous expansion's max, and since you're starting Stormblood at 60, you'll only need to level up by 10 to go through the MSQ with a shiny new job.

DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: The Way of the Samurai – Level 50, Steps of Nald

Samurai is the heavy hitter of the melee DPS, in that it is a pure damage dealer. It lacks any party buffs, so the focus of the job is considered more selfish, an ideal choice for those who don't want to have to worry about when and how to execute certain buff abilities on other players. As a melee class, Samurai can also easily move around while still executing actions. It's a good starting class with high yields of damage, where you can focus, really, on just wailing on the enemy.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Taking the Red – Level 50, Steps of Thal

Red Mages are a bit of a mix between casters and melee classes. They see-saw between the white and black mana use and function slightly similar to black mages in the balancing out of particular spell affiliations. You also have engage and disengage abilities that, if well timed, allow for easy outs from AOEs as needed. Red Mages are also sometimes cheekily referred to as "Rez-Mages" for their Verraise ability when paired with their Dualcast trait (meaning the next spell has no cast time) for a great combo in high-end content. Conversely, it can also put some extra pressure on you if you want to fly a bit more under the radar. Luckily, you don't have to really worry about that until level 64 – and even then, its only real constant usefulness is in bigger party content.


Shadowbringers

Lali-HO! Shadowbringers is the expansion everyone talks about. It broke some ground after doing away with the slightly daunting job quests, and instead consolidated all roles into dedicated role quest lines. This was a four-way split to tank, healer, magical ranged DPS and physical DPS role quest lines. Luckily, these don't grant abilities like the job-specific quest lines do, so you can complete them at your leisure in later expansions – although they are required reading in Shadowbringers.

Tank

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Makings of a Gunbreaker – Level 60, New Gridania

Gunbreaker is a high-damage tank with a rotation that feels very DPS-like to a lot of players. It's got flashy moves and versatility in what kind of tank it needs to function as, so in content with two tanks, like higher-end trials, Gunbreaker can more easily adjust to the playstyle best suited to complement the other tank. Its invul ability, Superbolide, is fun in that it immediately reduces your HP to one while offering a window of 10-second invulnerability. Superbolide does have a pretty big tell (in that the HP just whooshes to one) but hey, as I've been maining White Mage lately, that's what Benediction's instant full heal is for!


DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Shall We Dance? – Level 30, Lower Decks

Dancers fall in with Bards at the lower end of the damage-dealing spectrum in exchange for great party-wide buffs. Specifically for this job, you can select a "dance partner" with whom you can share all the benefits of your personal buffs, so it's best to choose a high-yield damage dealer like Samurai. There's a fair bit of flexibility with Dancer and it's an easy job to dodge with, making it a good selection for newcomers. It's also got something of a dancing mini-game at the end of a rotation, making it feel a little more cheerful than some of the serious jobs.


Endwalker

All good things end, and we mark the finale of a 10-year saga with the release of 2021's Endwalker. This also marks the first new job – Sage – that would be endemic to Final Fantasy XIV itself. These jobs are unlockable in the starting cities of Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, so you can grab them as long as you've reached level 70.

Healer

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Sage's Path – Level 60, Lower Decks

Sage is considered a shield healer, meaning that nearly its entire toolkit is dedicated to preventative or pre-planned healing. This makes the job the opposite in utility of White Mage, which excels in topping up low numbers. Sage is all about preventing the numbers from getting that low in the first place, and they've got quite a few skills aimed at assuring damage is mitigated. It's best suited to players who like to be proactive rather than reactive and works wonderfully if you can reduce greater damage right off the bat. If stuff does hit the fan though, Sages aren't necessarily equipped with instant burst heals as readily as White Mage or Scholar.


DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: The Killer Instinct – Level 60, Steps of Nald

Reaper calls the aid of voidsent to assist in battle. It's a very aesthetic job, sharing the vibes of Dark Knight in its particularly emo attire. Unlike most other melee jobs, it doesn't have as many positionals to remember, and also features an ability to become possessed by a voidsent, allowing you a burst window of high damage dealing. Reaper is flexible and considered easy to initially learn, making it a great entry point for those new to melee DPS.


Dawntrail

Announced at 2023's Fan Festival in Las Vegas, Square Enix unveiled Dawntrail, ushering in a new arc for the game's central story. It's a much sunnier venture – with vistas and cities inspired by South American cultures and rite of succession on the line. The two main jobs each start at level 80.

DPS

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: Enter the Viper – Level 80, Steps of Nald

Viper is the newest melee DPS and boasts extremely high damage. It's also a much more straightforward job than some of the other melee DPS jobs, meaning your hot bar won't be quite so busy. Lacking any real party buff skills, Viper is a more selfish playstyle focused solely on dealing damage and can grant itself its own buffs. Its combo also has more tells, making it easier to execute under pressure, as there's more guidance for what to press and at what times.

FFXIV: Dawntrail Job Guide

Job Quest: The Joy of Pictomancy – Level 90, Old Gridania

Pictomancer is a unique job that's got an...interesting playstyle. There's also something unintentionally hilarious about seeing players bust out a giant cartoon hammer while fighting a massive enemy that might be responsible for ending the world as we know it. Pictomancer focuses on painting certain rotations for its job gauge, and these can be applied situationally. You can also "pre-load" certain skills by painting them on your canvas, allowing you easy access to them as needed. It's a change of pace from other jobs that follow similar patterns, making Pictomancer a pretty fun pick.


So there you have it, 10 years of Jobs in the epic universe of Final Fantasy XIV. Let us know if the comments if you'd like to see more guides from our team.

See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video

See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadian Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video

Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.

In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.

Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:

Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green 
As I walk in the dark unseen 

Yet like the grey the sky is draped in 
The colors in my heart have faded 

Gone 
They're gone 
They're gone 
All gone 

A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream 
On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed 

This phantom in my mirror starin' back 
I realize that girl is 

Gone 
She's gone 
She's gone 
I'm gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge 

Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand 
(somebody help, my misery's taking me) 
I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back 
(somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) 
I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding 
I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing 
Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall 
(and) You're gonna give it all 

To me 
To me 
To me 
To me, I gotta believe 
You'll set 
Me free

Tonight my circle finally comes complete 
One last step from the dark, I breathe 

The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' 
And for this moment fear's an after-thought
It's gone
It's gone 
All gone 

I look out to the crowd and there I see 
A thousand little girls--all me 

I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back 
I'll bring the lightnin', now it's 

On 
It's on 
It's on 
You're gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge, no more 

Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM

Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.

The post See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video appeared first on Siliconera.

Battle Bards Episode 233: Epic fight music

For Battle Bards’ penultimate episode, Syp and Syl explore some EPIC battle music across many MMOs. After all, if we’re going to go out in style, that style’s going to be loud enough to blast a hole in your eardrums! We also learn that nobody likes the Flute Guy. Battle Bards is the world’s first, best, […]

💾

One Shots: Remembering in peace

When a beloved player falls, a studio may honor that memory by including him or her as part of the game world. While our headlining picture isn’t the first time we’ve seen such an inclusion, it’s nevertheless heart-touching. “Death comes to us all but this player was very active in game, on the forums and […]

See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video

See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadian Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video

Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.

In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.

Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:

Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green 
As I walk in the dark unseen 

Yet like the grey the sky is draped in 
The colors in my heart have faded 

Gone 
They're gone 
They're gone 
All gone 

A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream 
On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed 

This phantom in my mirror starin' back 
I realize that girl is 

Gone 
She's gone 
She's gone 
I'm gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge 

Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand 
(somebody help, my misery's taking me) 
I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back 
(somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) 
I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding 
I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing 
Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall 
(and) You're gonna give it all 

To me 
To me 
To me 
To me, I gotta believe 
You'll set 
Me free

Tonight my circle finally comes complete 
One last step from the dark, I breathe 

The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' 
And for this moment fear's an after-thought
It's gone
It's gone 
All gone 

I look out to the crowd and there I see 
A thousand little girls--all me 

I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back 
I'll bring the lightnin', now it's 

On 
It's on 
It's on 
You're gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge, no more 

Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM

Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.

The post See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video appeared first on Siliconera.

Top 5 Best FFXIV Classes

The Final Fantasy XIV is one of the famous MMORPGs on the current market, allowing players to collaborate with a large, vibrant world adorned with many common icons from the FFXIV series. FFXIV has a range of battle functions that the player can play. Even better, one player can play all the functions available in the game battle, rather than having to choose only one of them. Considering an MMORPG, a minority of players still playing FFXIV may prefer the single-player mode, sometimes, or maybe all the time. FFXIV Mount provides a wonderful opportunity for artists to show their skills Invisibles. Since the game offers a lot of amazing exclusive content for players to deepen, I come to mind a question: what are the best features to overcome the unique content.

Before reaching the best beginner classes in FFXIV, this is how the class system/works. Although your first option is among the eight “Basic Classes” That you’ll see on the character introduction screen, you need to understand that these are only the starting classes. Once they reach level 30, classes can ascend to their respective jobs. If you select Gladiator as your base class for Final Fantasy 14, the Paladin can switch to work after reaching level 30.

Speaking of options, you should understand that your first choice of category class and occupation is not always an option. After touching level 10, you can change your base class. It also means that you will start a path to a different job. Don’t worry about the value. Your progress in the recent last chapter is automatically saved, so you can go back and continue leveling the last chapter whenever you want.

Explanation of Roles in FFXIV

FFXIV has three major roles: Tank, DPS, and Healer. Each role has its specialties as well as a different set of skills to suit its formation. However, the player can take on the role of each class individually and is not limited to a particular class.

Tank: Protect your group, and the boss will need to focus primarily on duties.

Marauder, Gladiator, Dark Knight, Gunbreaker.

DPS: It focuses on producing damage and identifies locations and groups that cause the most damage. DPS is divided into three categories.

  1. Melee DPS: Samurai, Rogue, Lancer (Dragoon), Pugilist
  2. Physical DPS: Archer, Dancer, Machinist,
  3. Magical Ranged DPS: Arcanist, Thaumaturge, Red Mage, Blue Mage (Limited Job).

Healer: Use restorative magic and support to help their group and themselves.

Arcanist (Scholar), Conjurer, Astrologian

FFXIV 5 Best Classes

Picking a starting class in FFXIV can be tricky when you have no idea what you will do, but it is important to note that you can change it at any point in the game by assuming the assigned task. Here are the best classes of FFXIV

Lancer (Dragoon)

If you are curious about fast-paced combat with high mobility, the base class I recommend is the Lancer (Dragon). Lancer / Dragoon requires locations and combos to deal perfect maximum damage just like other melee DPS, but this role has a greater protective advantage with plate armor, as well as its speed and jumping attacks that it can weave between powerful melee attacks. Body. It is also one of the best DPS for eliminating mobs in a dungeon with extended AOE combos, making it the best Final Fantasy 14 class for anyone eager to harm.

Paladin

Out of the two kinds of tanks classes for beginners, Gladiator / Paladin is good for an amateur player, specifically if you are uncharacteristic with the role. The class is very Capable of bending easily and offers help for beginners as management skills damage and many skills mitigation and protection, and you can protect and heal himself and members of his group in the heat of battle.

Conjurer (White Mage)

The white mage magnificence is the least stressed selected class. You would probably discover it a good deal less difficult to level up because the abilities you unlock and develop onward will become the most effective magician’s position extra easygoing for yourself. The White Mage arrives with individual and group-level healing, damage boosters, as well as powerful attacking techniques that are just as important as finishing tasks as saving your party alive. White Mage is a good spot to begin.

Arcanist (Summoner)

The Arcanist is the only essential to concentrate two jobs at arriving the level 30, Scholar or Summoner. That indicates that after arriving at this level with your character, both jobs will be automatically opened for you to pick from, and you will be able to level up simultaneously, no matter which one you pick. Arcanist spells also introduce early-learned enhancements, amazing features for supporting other players with their duties.

Dark Knight

When you get to Heavensward, Dark Knights are the guardians of justice who are enabled to hold and embody the dark in conflict. The Dark Knight’s mission is to write all the game’s functions, allowing a particular journey competent with the main story. The Dark Knight has the finest tank mitigation strategies and can present numerous global cooldown capabilities together along with his major capabilities.

Red Mage

Red Mage is one of the most varied jobs, as speakers can cause devastating damage to enemies. However, they also have the most strong healing spell compared to other DPS functions. They have a variation of powerful individual spells and AoE spells, making them capable of dealing with mobs and powerful bosses. Red Mages has a very simplified turn compared to other casters, which makes it easier to play.

Final Fantasy XIV FanFest images reveal Cosmic Exploration, new field content and more

A new artwork for Cosmic Exploration in Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV FanFest China is currently underway, and there have been some new images revealed that provide hints for future content. With new sneak peeks into Cosmic Exploration, new large-scale field content, and the first glimpse of the new Ultimate Raid’s boss, there’s lots to get excited about. 

These images were shared during what appears to be a keynote speech with Naoki Yoshida streamed on Bilibili, a China based video sharing site. Further news about this content is likely to come for us in the West during GamesCom (August 21 - August 25) or PAX West (August 30 - September 2), but that doesn’t stop us from looking at these images. 

First up, some never-before-seen images from Cosmic Exploration, the new crafting and gathering content coming at some point in 7.X. For anyone who has ever spent time within The Diadem in The Firmament, these will be very familiar. I’m just hoping that we’ll get to see the return of the Auger.

https://twitter.com/umadori0726/status/1819572729596858515

Next, new images were shared of Shades’ Triangle, the upcoming large-scale field content for Dawntrail. According to the slides shown by Yoshida, the new content will be known as ‘Occult Crescent’ in China. Again, this will be hugely familiar to anyone who has ever taken part in Eureka or The Bozjan Southern Front.

https://twitter.com/umadori0726/status/1819572475342311517

Last but certainly not least, we were given a sneak peek of the next Ultimate Raid, Histories Rewritten. This battle screenshot shows some familiar mechanics and also a familiar boss — Fatebreaker.

https://twitter.com/umadori0726/status/1819573381093904882

As of now, that’s everything new that has been revealed during FanFest China. Of course, I’ve got my beady eye on all of the goings-on, so if anything new emerges, you’ll be the first to know.

The post Final Fantasy XIV FanFest images reveal Cosmic Exploration, new field content and more appeared first on Destructoid.

FFXIV: How to spawn the two new Dawntrail S Ranks added in patch 7.05

Ihnuxokiy and Kirlirger the Abhorrent, two new S Rank Elite Marks added to Final Fantasy XIV with patch 7.05

With patch 7.05, Final Fantasy XIV introduced two new S Rank Elite Marks into the fray. As with all S Ranks, these have their own spawn methods and locations which at first weren’t clear, but now they’ve been spawned. 

There are two new S Rank Elite Marks to be fought, one in Urqopacha and another in Kozama’uka. One of them, the one that spawns in Urqopacha, is a direct reintroduction to a familiar foe to anyone who played Final Fantasy XI

Just because these S Ranks are in lower-level areas, that doesn’t mean they’re easier to defeat than those in higher-level areas. S Ranks are all incredibly difficult to take down and require a large number of people to take on, especially this early into an expansion. 

Urqopacha S Rank - Kirlirger the Abhorrent

Kirlirger the Abhorrent in Final Fantasy XIV
Image by Destructoid

The S Rank in Urqopacha is Kirlirger the Abhorrent. Back in Final Fantasy XI, Kirlirger was a Notorious Monster who could be fought in order to reduce the Troll Mercenaries’ military force by one. 

This one proved troublesome to those looking to fight him, who went through a lot to try and figure out his spawn conditions. However, it all boils down to time and weather. Kirlirger will spawn at midnight on a foggy night with a new moon. 

Kozama’uka S Rank - Ihnuxokiy

Ihnuxokiy in Final Fantasy XIV
Image by Destructoid

The new S Rank introduced to Kozama’uka has a much more controllable spawn condition. Ihnuxokiy can be found in any of the locations above, and the spawn conditions will be familiar to anyone who has tried to spawn Narrow Rift, the Endwalker S Rank in Ultima Thule. 

To spawn Ihnuxokiy, you’ll need to have the Morpho minion, which is a possible drop from The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard). Once you’ve got it, summoning Morpho and flying low over Ihnuxokiy’s spawn points will possibly spawn the Kozama’uka S Rank.

The post FFXIV: How to spawn the two new Dawntrail S Ranks added in patch 7.05 appeared first on Destructoid.

FFXIV Mobile Game on List of Games Approved for China

FFXIV Art of players crafting together on the moon

As of August 2, 2024, China's National Press and Publication Administration approved 15 new video games for import and publication. The report by Niko Partners, shared by Daniel “ZhugeEX” Ahmad, showed the list included Rainbow Six, Dynasty Warriors, Marvel Rivals, and a mobile game co-developed by Tencent and Square Enix based on Final Fantasy XIV. [Thanks, Niko Partners!]

This is the first official announcement of any kind that a mobile game or title based on Final Fantasy XIV was being developed. The eXputer forum user Kurakasis shared a rumor in July 2024 stating a project is in the works. This is the first official confirmation that the game is both in development and co-developed by Tencent and Square Enix, following a 2018 agreement that the two companies would be working together in the future. When Ahmad shared the news on social media, the tweet specifically mentioned by Lightspeed Studios. The report does not list if the game is a spin-off or a full mobile version of the MMORPG that is playable on phones or tablets.

The other games being brought over, including the upcoming team-based multiplayer hero shooter Marvel Rivals and Paper Mario: The Origami King, are imports of products that are either out or are leaving open beta testing and entering full release. The Rainbow Six title, Dynasty Warriors 8 mobile adaptation, and the mobile Final Fantasy XIV game are the two entirely new titles.

Final Fantasy XIV and its newest expansion Dawntrail are available now on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The FFXIV mobile game is apparently in development and headed to China.

The post FFXIV Mobile Game on List of Games Approved for China appeared first on Siliconera.

Naoki Yoshida Will Be at Gamescom 2024 With Final Fantasy XIV

Naoki Yoshida Will Be at Gamescom 2024 With Final Fantasy XIV

Square Enix announced the Final Fantasy XIV gamescom 2024 events. The company will set up gameplay sessions, challenges, and merchandise at Booth B-054 in Hall 9.1 at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany for the August 22-25, 2024 event.

Some of the activities will be happening at all times during the event. If people head to the booth, they can take on the Valigarmanda Battle Challenge. Winning with a group will earn you an “I Beat Valigarmanda Battle Challenge” shirt and picture on the photo wall. There will be a New Player Area to sample the game. Stage Programs will be held. People can likely also expect merchandise, as some will be on display and other items can be won as prizes.

Here's how the “I Beat Valigarmanda Battle Challenge” shirt looks:

Image via Square Enix

There are also certain events, such as panels and a fan meeting, that will only happen at certain times. Here is the full Final Fantasy XIV gamescom 2024 schedule:

  • August 22, 2024 at 11:30am CET: Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and German Localization Lead Pamela Drobig Valigarmanda Trial at Stage Program at Booth B-054 stage.
  • August 22, 2024 at 1pm CET: “Bridging Language Barriers: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of FFXIV Localization” panel part 1 with Drobig.
  • August 22, 2024 at 9pm CET: Fan Celebration at gamescom 2024 at Hellers Brauhaus in Cologne, Germany. 500 tickets available at Eventbrite starting at 8pm CET on August 5, 2024.
  • August 23, 2024 at 1pm CET: Yoshida and Drobig Trial Roulette Show Match at Booth B-054 stage.
  • August 23, 2024 at 2pm CET: “Bridging Language Barriers: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of FFXIV Localization” panel part 2 with Drobig.
  • August 23, 2024 at 4pm CET: Yoshida Signing Session at Creator Signing Hall 11.2. Tickets available at official site or at Booth B-054.
  • August 24, 2024 at 11:15am CET: "Why are you or your friends not playing FFXIV?" panel with Yoshida with Q&A session. Questions can be submitted at gBooth B-054.
  • August 24, 2024 at 1pm CET: Yoshida and Drobig Trial Roulette Show Match at Booth B-054 stage.
  • August 24, 2024 at 4pm CET: Yoshida and Drobig Trial Roulette Show Match at Booth B-054 stage.
  • August 23, 2024 at 6pm CET: Yoshida Signing Session at Creator Signing Hall 11.2. Tickets available at official site or Gamescom booth.
  • August 25, 2024 at 12pm CET: Yoshida and Drobig Trial Roulette Show Match at Booth B-054 Stage.
  • August 25, 2024 at 1pm CET: PvP stage showcase with Yoshida at Booth-054 stage.

Gamescom won’t be the only August 2024 event where Final Fantasy XIV will appear. Square Enix is also bringing the MMORPG to PAX West. That event will feature a UI panel that also discusses the group pose feature and another Valigarmanda Challenge. 

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Gamescom runs August 22-25, 2024. 

The post Naoki Yoshida Will Be at Gamescom 2024 With Final Fantasy XIV appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XIV 2024 Moonfire Faire Offers Emote, Bomb Balloons

Final Fantasy XIV 2024 Moonfire Faire Offers Emote, Bomb Balloons

The Final Fantasy XIV Moonfire Faire, a recurring summer-themed FFXIV event, is about to return on August 8, 2024 with a new Uchiwasshoi emote and Bomb balloon furnishing. People get just over two weeks to earn both, as well as pick up past event items at in-game vendors, before the event ends on August 26, 2024.

If you’re at level 30 (or hit it during the event period), head on over to Limsa Lominsa, Upper Decks (X:11.5, Y:13.8). You’ll find the NPC Mayaru Moyaru waiting for you there. (He’s a Lalafell.) Talk to him to start the quest “Fire Red, Beast Green.” This will get you a chance to take part in the Moonfire Faire.

The Uchiwasshoi emote in FFXIV makes a player’s character wave a fan with a Namazu face on it. The Namazu themselves wave similar sorts of fans in-game. (The cover of the picture book The Namazu and the Greatest Gift even shows one with a fan.) Meanwhile, the Bouncing Bomb Balloon furnishing item lets you place a decoration that involves blue, red, and yellow Bomb-shaped balloons on any tabletop in FFXIV.

Here’s how the FFXIV Moonfire Faire emote and furnishing will look:

Final Fantasy XIV 2024 Moonfire Faire Offers Emote, Bomb Balloons
Image via Square Enix

In 2023, the Moonfire Faire event reward was Phoenix Riser armor. The 2022 run added Summer Sunset gear. A Polar Bear mount and Moonfire Mask stall furnishing showed up in 2021.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Moonfire Faire will run in FFXIV between August 8-26, 2024.

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Hikakin Stars in New Final Fantasy XIV Commercials

hikakin final fantasy xiv

A new series of Final Fantasy XIV commercials starring Hikakin will start playing on TV in Japan until July 7, 2024. It’ll feature real footage of Hikakin and his friend Hajime Syacho playing the MMORPG. [Thanks, PR Times!]

For reference, Hikakin is one of the top YouTubers in Japan. Hikakin is also a businessman, releasing products such as the Misokin instant ramen, which was a collaboration product with Nissin. He has multiple channels and his main channel HikakinTV has over 18.8 million subscribers. As for Hajime Syacho, he is also a very popular YouTuber. Like Hikakin, he has multiple YouTube channels, and his main one has over 14.2 million subscribers. Both of them are part of the UUUM network.

You can check out the Hikakin Final Fantasy XIV commercials here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH37ag5Nr-g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCZ-9p0nsO0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwrp95XKjsI

As a note, the Japanese version of Warrior of Light is "Hikari no Senshi," or "Hikasen" for short. It sounds quite similar to Hikakin. So the title of this series is "Hikakin Becomes a Hikasen," aka "Hikakin Becomes a WoL."

Hikakin commented that he and Hajime Syacho had so much time playing for the commercials that recorded ended really quickly. He’s also amazed and emotional about how he’s able to do something for Final Fantasy as part of his job as a YouTuber, since he’s been a fan of the series since he was a student. As for Hajime Syacho, he said that he felt like a parent and cried when his cute avatar appeared in the commercials. This is the avatar he actually uses in game, which he started playing this year. He adds that he wants people to play Final Fantasy XIV, which he likes so much that he prioritizes it over sleep.

Final Fantasy XIV is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. Dawntrail, the newest expansion for the game, will come out on July 2, 2024.

The post Hikakin Stars in New Final Fantasy XIV Commercials appeared first on Siliconera.

FFXIV Error 2002 in Dawntrail: How to fix the Lobby Server Connection issue

Encountering error 2002 in Final Fantasy XIV

When any expansion of Final Fantasy XIV goes live, you can expect a staggeringly large number of players to come rushing back, and Dawntrail is no different. As such, you can also expect long queues to log in and, as a result of this, a hike in the number of errors you encounter. 

Error Code 2002 is a particularly troublesome error, and while it can be encountered at any time, a massive number of people encounter this error during FFXIV queues around an expansion release. 

What is Error 2002 in Final Fantasy XIV?

Vexed emote in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

The FFXIV Error 2002 is caused by the lobby server connection, but whether or not that's on the MMO's server stability or a problem with your internet at home is where the troubleshooting begins.

So, that makes it one of two reasons you've encountered the 2002 Error. The first reason, in short, is that error 2002 occurs when there are too many people trying to log in to any one world and, in order to prevent the entire server from crashing, the system triggers 2002 in the lobby queue to reduce the massive number of people trying to gain access. This is unavoidable, so you can't fix it.

The second reason is much more controllable from the player side, simply by ensuring that you have a solid and consistent internet connection. This is because Error 2002 can also occur if your internet connection dips and causes you to disconnect from the server completely. 

How to fix error 2002 in Final Fantasy XIV

Shrugging in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

There honestly isn’t much you can do to avoid Error 2002 outside of having a good connection. It’s a frustrating part of any expansion release, but it’s something most players have come to expect. However, FFXIV does have a few backup actions in place for users hit by it.

FFXIV saves your place in the queue, if you're fast enough

If you encounter Error 2002, there is some good news. The lobby server is supposed to save your place in line for roughly sixty seconds, giving you a short window to log back in and rejoin the queue right where you left it. However, this doesn't seem to always work, leaving you at the back of the queue waiting to log in all over again. 

Try another, less-populated World to skip the queue

If you’re hoping to avoid Error 2002 during the launch of Dawntrail, you could try to log in on a less-populated World server. While no Worlds are likely to be what you could consider “quiet” during the first couple of weeks of Dawntrail, some will be more tame than others, such as the new and probationary worlds on NA and EU data centers. 

The best piece of advice I can give you is to take some deep breaths, grab a snack and a cup of tea, and rest assured that there are millions of other players going through exactly the same thing. Don’t worry, Eorzea will still be there waiting when you finally get in to play.

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Final Fantasy XIV Pop-Up Store Brings Dawntrail Merchandise to Paris

Final Fantasy XIV Pop-Up Store Brings Merchandise to Paris 1 Final Fantasy XIV Merchandise

Square Enix announced it will open a Final Fantasy XIV pop-up store in Paris, France, and it will include FFXIV Dawntrail merchandise. People will only be able to visit and buy items between June 21-23, 2024.

The Final Fantasy XIV pop-up store will be present at 9/11, Rue des Déchargeurs in Paris, France. It will only be open from 11am-7pm CET each day. While being able to pick up merchandise tied to both Final Fantasy XIV and FFXIV Dawntrail is a part of the experience, there will also be activities available. Photo ops will appear, temporary tattoos will be available, a crane game will appear, and an art exhibit will be open. Someone earns crane game chances by buying items. Demo stations will be set up to make accounts and get PC copies of the Starter Edition. 

As for the sorts of merchandise being sold at the Final Fantasy XIV store, three were confirmed and shown in the official image. There will be post cards, with the five examples showing scenes from the new locations Kozama Uka, L’Hoirie Recouvree, Tuliyollal, Urqopacha, and Yak T’El. Magnets of the Pictomancer, Viper, and FFXIV Dawntrail logo are among the merchandise. There is also a sticker sheet that features the two new jobs, the logo, a Moogle, and creatures from the new region.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Dawntrail expansion will arrive on July 2, 2024. The Paris pop-up store will be open between June 21-23, 2024.

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FFXIV Dawntrail Expansion Shows New Corn Cob Monster

FFXIV Dawntrail Expansion Shows New Corn Cob Creature

Square Enix revealed a possible corn cob creature or monster design that will appear in the upcoming FFXIV Dawntrail expansion. The post shared on social media reads “many encounters with the unknown await you on Dawntrail.”

The body of the FFXIV creature is divided between the corn cob itself, which sports a short ponytail, and a separate leafy stalk monster body from which short legs and arms sprout. The creature is carrying a cloth sack across its body, and the animation showcased in the social media post has the creature jump in surprise, with the corn cob jumping out of the main stalk body and returning to it swiftly. It is unclear if the new creature will be an enemy or minion.

You can check out the new corn cob creature that will appear in the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion here:

https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_JP/status/1799637541806801176

Square Enix previously showed off another new creature that will debut with the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion, and seems to be inspired by the species of prickly pear cactus native to the Mesoamerican region, as well as by the many Cactuar monsters found in the Final Fantasy series.

As a reminder, the new Shadow European Data Center and its four Worlds will arrive to FFXIV on June 11, 2024, as well as the new Dynamis North American Data Center.

Final Fantasy XIV is readily available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC, and the Dawntrail expansion will arrive on July 2, 2024.

The post FFXIV Dawntrail Expansion Shows New Corn Cob Monster appeared first on Siliconera.

FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool Update Slightly Delayed

FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool Update Slightly Delayed

Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida offered an updated release date for the FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool update following a slight delay. Instead of appearing in May 2024, it will now launch on June 3, 2024. 

Yoshida noted the last minute delay is due to Square Enix needing to squash a bug. During the final testing, they found and fixed a problem. Before releasing it, the team is doing another final review. Following that and building inspections ending on June 2, 2024, the FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool update will launch.

While part of the update went over the brief delay, the rest of it went over fixes and additions people will notice when they use the tool after the update. There will be a background option with no blue lightning, there will be blue and plain lightning effects, and the lighting and time of day can be set. The vignette effect is gone, so it doesn’t influence the character design. Also, characters’ pupils, lips and lip gloss, facial textures, hair textures, shadows, and lighting were adjusted. The announcement also reminded people that Phials of Fantasia will be available via a quest and will have a grace period of 60 in-game minutes for editing after use.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Dawntrail expansion debuts on July 2, 2024. The FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool update arrives on June 3, 2024.

The post FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark Tool Update Slightly Delayed appeared first on Siliconera.

Updated Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Benchmark software arrives June 3

Dawntrail Benchmark image

If you’ve been waiting impatiently for the updated Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Benchmark, I’ve got good news for you. The new version finally has a release date of June 3, and we’ve also got new information about what to expect when it’s here. 

While the release date for the updated Benchmark software has been up in the air for a while, we do at least have some evidence of the hard work put in to get Dawntrail looking as it should, and the June 3 release date means players still have plenty of time to make sure their setups can handle Dawntrail

The further delay can be at least partly attributed to the fact that routine building inspections at the development offices will result in 'full power outages' on June 1 and 2, meaning that any issues that arose during an earlier release would be left two days without attention. I wouldn't want to be that building inspector.

The removal of Aetherical Lighting in Final Fantasy XIV really helps
Image via Square Enix

The biggest change in the updated software is to the lighting conditions in Character Creation. Previously, the blue aetherical background threw a lot of blue light onto characters while in Character Creation, but the updated version of the Benchmark (as well as FFXIV itself when Dawntrail releases) will include an option to turn this blue light off, allowing players to better visualise skin tones when creating or modifying a character. 

The vignette effect on the Character Creation screen has also been removed, due to the fact that it altered the perception of certain features, such as hair and skintone. 

The Vignette has being removed in the Final Fantasy XIV character creation menu
Image via Square Enix

Various changes have also been made to lighting throughout the Benchmark and will be implemented once Dawntrail releases, such as the shadows from hair hanging over a character's face, details in low-lighting conditions, and a fix for low resolution sections of hair. 

Even in low light. there is massive improvement in Final Fantasy XIV
Image via Square Enix

The Lodestone post goes on to repeat the updates coming to the Fantasia system, including the 60 minute window during which players can tweak their decisions, and goes on to state that Square Enix remains open to feedback regarding both the Benchmark and FFXIV itself. 

The post Updated Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Benchmark software arrives June 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

FFXIV In from the Cold quest guide and objectives explained

Fandaniel and the Unknown Imperial in In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV

“In from the Cold” is a level 83 MSQ quest in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, which involves you playing not as yourself but as an Unknown Imperial who needs to get back to Camp Broken Glass within a specified time limit. It’s a challenging quest but also incredibly memorable.  

To complete “In from the Cold”, you’ll need to make your way back to Camp Broken Glass very slowly, navigating the unfamiliar Garlean streets while trying to avoid as much conflict as possible. I’d recommend setting aside roughly 45 minutes to an hour to complete this quest.

You do not, by default, have any health regeneration during this quest, although you can rarely find potions that grant a five-minute regeneration buff. You can also find Med Kits, which will restore 35% of the Unknown Imperial’s maximum HP, but you can only carry a certain number of these at any one time. Both of these items can be found by interacting with the many clickable elements encountered during the quest.

Getting to know the Unknown Imperial

The Unknown Imperial in the In from the Cold duty in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

After you’re transported into the body of the Unknown Imperial, you’ll lose all of your regular abilities and have to quickly get acquainted with some new ones. For those who regularly play as a Tank Job, particularly Paladin, these will be familiar:

  • Fight or Flight:
    • Increases weapon damage by 25% for 25 seconds. Has a 60-second cooldown.

  • Fast Blade:
    • A sword weapon skill that executes an attack at 200 potency. 

  • Riot Blade: 
    • Deals damage to a single target with 170 potency, increasing to 300 potency when used after Fast Blade.

  • Rage of Halone:
    • Paladin Job skill which delivers an attack with 100 potency, increasing to 330 potency when used after Riot Blade.

  • Rampart:
    • Reduces incoming damage by 10% for 20 seconds. Has a 90-second cooldown.

Surviving your first enemy encounter

The first enemy encounter of In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

To begin with, you’ll only have a time limit of 25 minutes to reach Camp Broken Glass, although this will change as you progress through the quest. While you should avoid as much conflict as you can during this quest, some enemies need to be fought, and the first one is just ahead and to the East.

The most challenging part of this first fight is the fact that you don’t regenerate health, so the biggest piece of advice I can give is to avoid any telegraphed attacks and make sure you use Fight or Flight and Rampart whenever they’re available. 

Once you’ve defeated this soldier, interact with his corpse to find a Med Kit and use it to restore some of the health you lost during the fight, then interact with it again to pay your respects.

After this encounter, you’ll be warned that in order to survive, you’ll need to avoid any unwanted attention. With this in mind, you now need to find a way out of the first area you find yourself in. 

Get the Magitek Reaper in working order

Immobilized Magitek Reaper in In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Head South and interact with the Immobilized Magitek Reaper (X:23.6, Y:16.9). Doing this will allow you to progress by unlocking the next two things you need to do. While you’re in the area, make sure to interact with the Wrecked Magitek Reaper (X:25.4, Y:16.5) to loot a Med Kit.

Next, head to one of the buildings to the West of the Immobilized Magitek Reaper and interact with him. He’ll give you the identification key required to use the Immobilized Magitek Reaper, but you’ll need some fuel if you’re hoping to get it working again. 

To find the fuel, in the form of a Ceruleum Tank, head to the East and find the Fuel-concealing Wreckage (X:27.4, Y:13.4). Interacting with this wreckage will provide you with a Ceruleum Tank, but this poses a problem - you’ll enter into Transporting mode and, while carrying the Tank, you’ll be unable to use any of the Unknown Imperial’s abilities.

If you take any damage while Transporting the Tank, you will drop it and have to defeat the threat. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to pick it up again and continue onwards towards the Magitek Reaper. Interact with it while holding the Ceruleum Tank, and you’ll now have a fully operational Reaper.

Use the repaired Magitek Reaper to clear the way forwards

Battling in the Magitek Reaper in In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Now that you can use the Reaper to assist you in your journey back to Camp Broken Glass, you’ll have three new abilities to become familiar with, all of which do 5,000 damage each and are enough to one-shot each of the enemies you’ll encounter during the coming sequence:

  • Magitek Cannon
    • Ground-target AoE with a short cast time and no cooldown.

  • Diffractive Magitek Cannon
    • Line-attack AoE, which has a short cast time and a short cooldown.

  • High-power Magitek Cannon
    • A much larger AoE variation of Magitek Cannon, which has a short cooldown.

There will be multiple mobs of Magitek units which need to be defeated. Some of these will come in waves, meaning you’ll need to pay attention and adjust yourself accordingly:

  • Large mobs of units to the West, in front of the curtain of light blocking your way. Any attack is appropriate to take these out pretty efficiently.
  • Mobs of 5-7 Magitek Slasher units in the center of the area. Use Magitek Cannon to focus an attack to take them down.
  • Magitek Vanguards which spawn and use telegraphed abilities, which need to be avoided before taking out the Vanguards. The larger, High-power Magitek Cannon is perfect to defeat these.
  • Magitek Death Claws will slowly approach in a line. Use Diffractive Magitek Cannon to take out the line in one shot.

Once you’ve defeated all of the different waves of enemies, you’ll be able to dismount the Magitek Reaper and make your way past the now-disappeared curtain of light. Once you’re through, two Tempered Imperial Soldiers will appear, but these can be avoided pretty easily by simply walking behind them to avoid drawing attention to yourself. 

Make your way South and then West, moving under the broken segments where a bridge used to be, to get to the next challenge. 

Protect the Imperial Citizens

Battle during In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

There’s a lot of local wildlife in the next area who are attacking some Imperial Citizens. You’ll need to defeat these creatures while continuing your journey North West. Thankfully, you’re unlikely to draw any aggro from these creatures as they’re pretty focused on their original targets, so you can take them out pretty easily. 

The types of enemies you’ll need to defeat are:

  • Morozko
  • Ceruleum Zoblyn
  • Almasty
  • Eblan Bear

While you can fight these creatures in any order, I’d recommend taking out the bigger ones first, as they’re likely to do more damage to the people you’re trying to protect. You’ll also be helped by some other civilians.

After defeating the creatures and heading further North, you’ll encounter some more enemies. This time, you’ll have to defeat some Corrupted and Transformed Imperial Soldiers. The best method to do this is by focusing your attention on the Transformed Imperial Soldiers, because the civilians with you have entered a Magitek Reaper to take on the Corrupted Soldier. 

At some point during this battle, the Corrupted Imperial will explode with a telegraphed AoE. You can avoid death by finding the safe spot behind the Magitek Reaper and sheltering there, but you won’t get out of this unscathed.

Drag yourself to safety 

Drag yourself to safety in order to complete In from the Cold in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

The blast from the Corrupted Soldier will render you unconscious for a short while, with the screen going black. Don’t worry, you haven’t failed, this was supposed to happen. 

When you wake up, you’ll immediately be thrown into an Active Time Event. During this, you’ll need to quickly and repeatedly press any button you have at your disposal in order to remain conscious and drag yourself away from the battle. You start off going very slowly as you're weighed down with debuffs, but as these drop off you do pick up some speed. Thankfully, you don’t have to do this for the entire distance to Camp Broken Glass, just to the end of the street. This can take roughly ten seconds, so avoid hand cramps by alternating hands. 

Once you’ve completed the Active Time Event, a cutscene will play and then you’ll wake up in your own body, free to talk to Alisaie in order to complete “In from the Cold”.

The post FFXIV In from the Cold quest guide and objectives explained appeared first on Destructoid.

Complete guide to Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV

Khloe Aliapoh who gives Wondrous Tails journal in Final Fantasy XIV

Whether you’re looking to level up in Final Fantasy XIV or hoping to get your hands on some exclusive items, you shouldn’t overlook Wondrous Tails. It can seem pretty confusing at first, but once you’re used to it, it’s a quick and easy thing to tick off your weekly checklist.

Wondrous Tails is a combination of incentive to run duties you might not have run for a while, and also a game of luck. For each successfully completed duty, you earn a stamp on a grid and if you’re lucky enough to get four stamps in a line, you get more worthwhile rewards. Completing nine duties guarantees you at least 50% of a level. That’s the TLDR; now let’s get into the details. 

How to unlock Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV

The booth where Khloe can be found for Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Before you can unlock Wondrous Tails, you’ll need to have met a few requirements:

  • Have access to Idyllshire, which unlocks during the MSQ at level 58
  • Be at least level 60 in any Disciple of War or Magic Job

If you’ve met these requirements, head to Idyllshire and pick up the quest called “Keeping Up with the Aliapohs” from the Unctuous Adventurer (X:7.0, Y:5.9). It’s a pretty easy quest; all you need to do is introduce yourself to Khloe Aliapoh. She’s a young Mi’qote who wants to hear all about your adventures, providing you with a journal to complete each week. 

Khloe can be found in the same booth as the Faux Commander, so while you’re here, you may as well unlock Faux Hollows while you’re here.

How to play Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV

Wondrous Tails journal in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Each week, after the weekly reset happens, you can head to Idyllshire and pick up a new journal from Khloe (X:5.7, Y:6.1), which will then be stored within the Key Items tab of your inventory. Inside, there are two pages. The left page is the list of duties you can complete to earn seals, and the right side is the grid where these seals will be placed. 

You can either complete nine individual listed duties to earn your seals or use your Second Chances to re-run the same duty repeatedly. Each time you complete a listed duty, you’ll earn a seal which will be randomly placed on the grid on the right side page of the journal. 

The very good news is that, as long as the duty is not from the current expansion, you can run any of the duties unsynced. This is especially useful for low level content, such as the level 50 Extreme Trials, allowing you to get seals very quickly. I won’t go into too much detail about the duties that can be included, but the duties always include the following to choose from:

  • Three Dungeons of any level
  • One level 90 Dungeon
  • Two level 50 Extreme Trials
  • Two Alliance Raids
  • Three Normal Raids
  • Five duties which can include any of the following types of content:
    • The Coils of Bahamut
    • Extreme Raids at level 60 or above
    • PvP
    • Treasure Hunt
    • Deep Dungeons

Once you’ve completed nine duties, you’ll be able to hand your journal back into Khloe and claim your prizes and EXP. You have two weeks to complete the nine duties, and if you run out of time, you’ll have to pick up a fresh journal.

How to earn and use Second Chances for Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV

The Second Chances menu for Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Once you’ve unlocked Wondrous Tails, you’ll start to earn Second Chances. These are earned every time you complete any duty within the game if one or more members of the party are new to the duty. You don’t need to currently possess a journal in order to earn second chances and you can have a maximum of nine Second Chances at any one time.

Second Chances can be used for two things:

Action Points needed What it does
Retry 1 Restores the status of a duty that has already been completed, allowing you to re-run it. Also removes one of the other duties.
Shuffle 2 When you have between 3 and 7 seals, you can use this to shuffle their positions on the grid.

If you’re looking to complete a journal quickly, using Retry will allow you to re-run relatively low-level content, such as the level 50 extreme trials. As you need to complete nine duties to complete a journal and you have nine Second Chances, you can run the same content nine times. 

Shuffle should be used if you’re having remarkably bad luck, as it might offer a chance to get three lines, which means you get the most worthwhile rewards when handing a journal back to Khloe. However, as this costs two points, you may need to run multiple different duties as a result. 

Wondrous Tails rewards in Final Fantasy XIV

The Gold Commendation rewards for Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Rewards for filling out a journal

If you’ve completed nine duties and collected nine seals, you can hand it back to Khloe to receive your rewards. What you get depends on where your seals fell, with rewards increasing in value depending on how many lines you manage to get.

No. of lines Rewards
None(9 seals collected) Guaranteed 50% of a level
Select one of the following:
- 1 Allagan Platinum Piece (10,000 Gil)
- 500 Allagan Tomestones of Poetics
- 1 Timeworn Ophiotauroskin Map
1 Guaranteed 50% of a level
Select one of the following:
- 1 MGP Gold Card (30,000 MGP)
- 1 Khloe’s Bronze Certificate of Commendation
- 300 weekly capped Tomestones (currently Comedy)
2 Guaranteed 50% of a level
Select one of the following:
- 2 MGP Platinum Cards (100,000 MGP total)
- 1 Khloe’s Silver Certificate of Commendation
- 1000 uncapped Tomestones (currently Causality)
3 Guaranteed 50% of a level
Select one of the following:
- 20 MGP Platinum Cards (1,000,000 MGP total)
- 3 Khloe’s Silver Certificate of Commendation
- 1 Khloe’s Gold Certificate of Commendation

Bronze Certificate of Commendation reward list

If you receive a Bronze Certificate of Commendation, you can talk to Khloe again and exchange it for prizes. Bronze Certificates can get you a selection of Magicked Prisms and various Cracked Clusters/Crystals, as well as the following minions. These rewards cost one Bronze Certificate each:

  • Dress-Up Thancred
  • Dress-up Alisaie
  • Wind-up Estinien
  • Wind-up Khloe
  • Wind-up Hien
  • Wind -up Zhloe

Silver Certificate of Commendation reward list

If you get at least two lines, you’ll get yourself some Silver Certificates of Commendation. These can be exchanged for the following items:

Item  Silver Certificates needed
Ornate Rinascita body gear pieces 2
Tanamo Headband 2
Spriggan Cap 2
Faux Commander Earring 2
Corgi Scarf 2
Cait Sith Neck Ribbon 2
Paissa Ring 2
Wondrous Whimsy Framer’s Kit 2
Stuffed Khloe 1
Wind-up Omega-M 1
Wind-up Omega-F 1
Brave New Urianger 1
Cracked Clusters/Crystals (various) 1

Gold Certificate of Commendation reward list

If you get lucky and get your hands on a Gold Certificate of Commendation, you’ll be able to exchange it for the most sought-after and most worthwhile rewards. These rewards are not only sought after, but worth a lot when sold on the Marketboard. Each of these rewards only requires one Gold Certificate:

  • Ornate Diadochos body gear pieces
  • Sabotender de la Luna Whistle
  • Magicked Children’s Bed
  • Wondrous Lanner Whistle
  • Troll Horn
  • Calydontis Horn
  • Incitatus Whistle
  • Ixion Clarion
  • Various Cracked Clusters/Crystals

The post Complete guide to Wondrous Tails in Final Fantasy XIV appeared first on Destructoid.

FFXIV Carbuncle glamours & how to change a summon’s color

Summoning a Carbuncle in Final Fantasy XIV

Both Summoners and Scholars in Final Fantasy XIV are able to summon a pet to their side, which helps them in battle and supports them in times of need. You can summon them from early on, but if you want to change the appearance, you’ll need to be at least level 50.

If you’re playing as Summoner or Scholar, you’ll have either a Carbuncle or Eos at your side while exploring Eorzea. While the original is nice, there are options that allow you to customize the appearance of your pet. 

Before you ask, no, you can’t have a white Carbuncle whether you’re playing as a Summoner or Scholar, even though we’ve seen at least one in Final Fantasy XIV previously. Alphinaud, the lucky duck, has a Moonstone Carbuncle that he claims to be the final result of his research. Unfortunately, he hasn’t passed on his knowledge, so we’re unable to follow suit with our own white pet. 

How to change the appearance of your pet in Final Fantasy XIV

Screenshot by Destructoid

Before you can even begin to think about changing your pet’s appearance, you’ll need to reach level 50 as either a Summoner or a Scholar. Once you’ve done this, head to Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks and speak to Thubyrgeim (X:4.7, Y:11.4) in the Arcanist’s Guild while equipped as a Summoner. Pick up the quest called “An Egi by Any Other Name” and complete the simple steps. 

Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to freely change the way your pet appears to yourself and everyone around you. It’s worth noting that changing the appearance of your pet is purely cosmetic and has no effect on the way it acts during battle. 

The command you’re going to want to memorize is as follows:

“ /egiglamour “egi name” “glamour” ”

Now, I’m going to take a second here to explain what on earth an ‘Egi’ is. ‘Egi’ is a suffix meaning ‘essense of’. Essentially, your pet is the ‘Egi’, whether you’re a Scholar with Eos at your side or a Summoner with a Carbuncle. Either way, that’s your ‘Egi’. Now that you know that, hopefully, this makes more sense. 

Anyway, the “egi name” section of this input will differ depending on if you’re playing as a Summoner or a Scholar. For Summoners, this will need to be changed to “carbuncle” while for Scholars, this will need to be changed to “eos”. 

The “glamour” section of the input is the most important part, and you have a few options regardless of which Job you’re playing, as well as some that are unique to each Job. Here are all of the things that can replace “glamour” in this input:

Change “glamour” to Changes appearance to
“Emerald Carbuncle” Blue colored Carbuncle
“Topaz Carbuncle” Yellow colored Carbuncle
“Ruby Carbuncle” Red colored Carbuncle
“Titan-egi” Small floating Titan (Summoner only)
“Garuda-egi” Small floating Garuda (Summoner only)
“Ifrit-egi” Small floating Ifrit (Summoner only)
“Selene” Replaces Eos with Selene (Scholar only)

So, with all this information, here’s a couple of examples to hopefully make things more clear:

If you’re a Summoner who wants to replace the default blue Carbuncle with a small version of Garuda who follows you everywhere, you’d input the following into the chat box:

“ /egiglamour “carbuncle” “garuda-egi” ”

Or if you’re a Scholar who wants to change Eos into a Ruby Carbuncle capable of healing you at all times, you’d input:

“ /egiglamour “eos” “ruby carbuncle” ”

If you’ve already got your pet summoned when you type in this input, you’ll need to summon them again before the changes will appear. 

Here are all of the different appearances in picture format:

Emerald, Topaz and Ruby Carbuncle in Final Fantasy XIV

Titan-egi, Garuda-egi and Ifrit-egi in Final Fantasy XIV

Eos and Selene in Final Fantasy XIV

Screenshots by Destructoid

How to remove a glamour from a pet in Final Fantasy XIV

If you’re not happy with your choice to change the appearance of your pet, say you want Eos back at your side while playing as Scholar rather than the Ruby Carbuncle, you can easily remove the glamour by inputting the first part of the glamouring input while leaving out the second part:

“ /egiglamour “eos” ”

This will restore your pet back to its default appearance, so a Emerald Carbuncle for Summoners and Eos for Scholars.

The post FFXIV Carbuncle glamours & how to change a summon’s color appeared first on Destructoid.

10 most iconic video game characters and who voiced them

A selection of characters from various video games

When it comes to video games, there are a lot of memorable characters. Outside of their design or role within a game, what makes these characters memorable is their voice, and every one of these comes as a result of actors spending hours in a recording booth. 

There are a lot of voice actors out there, but some are more prolific or memorable than others. Their voices resonate in our heads as part of the characters we come to love while playing, but who’s behind these voices and where else have they appeared?

Joel Miller (The Last of Us) - Troy Baker

Joel in The Last of Us
Image via Naughty Dog

Troy Baker might be one of the most well-known voices in video games. He’s not only the voice of Joel in The Last of Us but also Higgs Monaghan in Death Stranding, John Jones in Fortnite, The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, and the voice of Snow in multiple Final Fantasy titles, including Final Fantasy XIII.

Harley Quinn (Arkham City) - Tara Strong 

Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham City
Image via Rocksteady Studios

Tara Strong is a voice that’s iconic for multiple generations. To me, she’s Timmy from Fairly Odd Parents. To my daughter, she’s Princess Twilight Sparkle from the My Little Pony franchise. In video games, Tara has played not only Harley Quinn in multiple titles, but you can also hear her voice in Rage, and she’s the voice of Rikku in Kingdom Hearts II.

Snake (Metal Gear Solid) - David Hayter

Snake from the Metal Gear Solid games
Image via Konami

While David Hayter is perhaps most well known for his role as Snake in the Metal Gear Solid franchise and outside of it in other titles, he’s also appeared as the Winter Soldier in Marvel Heroes, a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and has multiple voice roles in the Ghost in the Shell game, released in 1997.

Mario (Multiple) - Charles Martinet

Mario in Mario Odyssey
Image via Nintendo

I can’t in all good conscience write this list without including Charles Martinet. His voice simply is Mario to anyone who has ever played a single game of the franchise. However, Mario isn’t Charles’ only voice role in the world of video games. He’s appeared as Orvus in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Vigoro in Skies of Arcadia, and, perhaps surprisingly, The Cat in the Hat in a few titles aimed at kids, such as Dr. Seuss Toddler

Asterion (Baldur’s Gate III) - Neil Newbon

Asterion in Baldur's Gate III
Image via Larian Studios

If TikTok is to be believed, Neil Newbon is the voice of everybody’s favorite Dom. However, before he was the voice of Asterion, Neil appeared in the Resident Evil games as Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village and Nicholai in Resident Evil Resistance. He also played two roles in Detroit: Become Human, Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed.

Ezio Auditore (Assassin's Creed II Trilogy) - Roger Craig Smith

Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed II
Image via Ubisoft

Roger Crag Smith, I’m not ashamed to say, played a pivotal role in the formation of my love for gaming. I was, and remain to this day, obsessed with Assassin’s Creed II and will always consider it the best of the Assassin’s Creed titles. However, Roger Craig Smith has appeared in many more video games. He’s played Kale Vandelay and SEB-AAA in Hi-Fi RUSH, Sonic the Hedgehog in multiple titles and Mirage in Apex Legends. Most recently, you might recognize his voice as Mission Control in Helldivers 2.

Tiny Tina (Borderlands) - Ashly Burch

Tiny Tina from the Borderlands games and Tiny Tina's Wonderland
Image via Gearbox

Although most recognizable for her voice as Tiny Tina in the Borderlands games, Ashley Burch has played a lot of memorable characters in other titles. She’s the voice of Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn, Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Mel in The Last of Us Part II, and also provided the voice of Chloe Price in both Life is Strange games. 

Urianger (Final Fantasy XIV) - Timothy Watson

Urianger in the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail trailer
Image via Square Enix

Aside from gracing the world with the purely Shakespearean presence that is Urianger Augurelt in Final Fantasy XIV, Timothy Watson has also appeared in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as King Burgred, has multiple voice roles in Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, and played Mumkhar in Xenoblade Chronicles

GLaDOS (Portal) - Ellen McClain

Glados from the Portal games
Image via Valve

The voice of everybody’s favorite psychopathic robot from the Portal games was provided by Ellen McClain, but it wasn’t the first time she provided an iconic robotic female voice in the world of video games. Ellen is also the voice behind the Combine Overwatch AI in Half-Life 2. She also appears in Cyberpunk 2077 as one of Delamain’s split personalities, though this one was modeled after GlaDOS.

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) - Doug Cockle

Geralt of Rivera in Soul Caliber VI
Image via Bandai Namco

Doug Cockle is the voice of Geralt in The Witcher game series as well as when Geralt appears in other titles like Soul Caliber VI. He’s also appeared as Bhaal in Baldur’s Gate III, Robert Nightingale in Alan Wake II, and provides multiple additional voices in Horizon Zero Dawn. Outside of gaming, Doug also played the role of Father John Maloney in 2001's Band of Brothers.

The post 10 most iconic video game characters and who voiced them appeared first on Destructoid.

Final Fantasy XIV’s updated Fantasia will finally unlock doors to Lalafell-only buildings

Trying to get into these Lalafell only buildings may cause head injuries in Final Fantasy XIV

Anybody who has ever played even a small part of Final Fantasy XIV will know that it's a gargantuan game. With over 300 hours of MSQ alone, not including any side content, there's always something to do or discover. Worthwhile side quests, new people to meet, and even some secrets.

With almost 7,000 hours sunk into my own Eorzean adventure, I thought I'd found most of the secrets in the world. I labored under the illusion that I'd found all of the secret locations, interesting characters, and fun quirks of the world. However, one user on Reddit has proven me wrong, and I am now humbled. I'm also wondering what else might have escaped my attention, but that's another story. 

According to this Reddit post, there are buildings in Kholusia that can only be accessed by those who play FFXIV as Lalafells. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/1cuzw7a/forbidden_lalafell_wisdom/

Now, I've dabbled in playing as a Lalafell. I have an alt character who has, in the past, battled through A Realm Reborn in her tiny little shoes. However, I never made it to Heavensward on that character, let alone Shadowbringers, so I could be forgiven for not knowing about this secret, right? Wrong. 

Lalafells only notice that comes up when you try to enter the building in Tomra, Kholusia in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

If you approach these buildings as any other race, something I was fairly confident I must have done at some point in the past, then a written prompt appears very blatantly on the screen saying, “This area can only be accessed by Lalafells.” How could I have missed that? How many secrets am I missing because I haven't tried running up to random small doors? 

The main point of this Reddit post by u/DrForester wasn't to draw attention to the secret itself, though many in the comments were as dumbfounded by the revelation as I was. It was to highlight a use for the upcoming changes to Fantasia and the new 60-minute window of opportunity it provides. I mean, think about it. 

Everyone is about to get a free phial of Fantasia, which will give us 60 minutes to transform into a Lalafell, head to Tomra, and investigate what we've been missing all this time (spoiler: according to this video, we're not missing much) before heading back into Character Creation to turn back into our usual selves. Honestly, it's a genius idea, when you think about it. 

I've already set up a Lalafell to Fantasia into in Final Fantasy XIV
Image by Destructoid

I have to ask, though… Why do only Lalafells get a secret, exclusive area just for them to enter? Is there a secret Miqo'te meeting room I don't know about? Or maybe a Hrothgar headquarters that never gets spoken about? If not, perhaps there should be. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have random buildings to try and enter. 

The post Final Fantasy XIV’s updated Fantasia will finally unlock doors to Lalafell-only buildings appeared first on Destructoid.

10 of the best Final Fantasy XIV characters, ranked

Group of main characters in Final Fantasy XIV

It’s true to say that, throughout your adventure across Eorzea, you’ll meet a lot of memorable characters in Final Fantasy XIV. Some of them leave more of a mark than others, but that’s not to say that each character isn’t meaningful in their own right. 

I have to admit, narrowing this list down to just 10 characters was tough. Even when I thought I’d reached a final list, someone else would pop into my mind, and I found myself second-guessing my choices a lot. However, after a lot of soul-searching, I’ve managed to come up with a Final Fantasy XIV top 10 that represents some of my favorite moments, arcs, and themes from over a decade's worth of storytelling.

10. Gigi

Gigi in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Having discovered a Mammet with no memories in the snows of Coerthas, Hildibrand names him Gigi and promises to help restore what he's lost. He later goes on to adopt Gigi as a ward, at the suggestion of Edmont de Fortemps, to protect him from those who would do him harm. Essentially, Hildibrand Manderville has a Mammet son.  

But not for long, after journeying out on an adventure to locate his Grandfather, Godbert, the Mammet gets stuck in the snow and freezes, only to be found by Godbert and turned into a Roegadyn temporarily. It’s just long enough to almost squeeze his father, Hildibrand, to death, though. 

Honestly, Gigi makes this list because no other part of the Hildibrand storyline has made me laugh harder or warmed my heart more. This little Mammet, familiar to anyone who has played Final Fantasy IX, leaves his mark on your heart as well as one of the walls in Idyllshire.

9. Dulia-Chai Mewlah

Dulia-Chai in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Dulia-Chai is the Miqote mother figure we all need in our lives. After Alphinaud finally gains access to Eulmore under the guise of being there to paint a portrait for her and her husband, Chai-Nuzz, he’s all but adopted by the woman who pours love into their relationship. 

Without missing a beat, she encourages Alphinaud with his painting, and the two bond, leading to a very tearful farewell when it’s time for Alphinaud to leave Eulmore. Dulia-Chai is also the face of progress in Eulmore after Vauthry's defeat, despite knowing they'd been complicit in allowing him to wreak havoc. 

She also has a very motherly line which everyone needs to hear from time to time:

“No matter where you are, remember that there are people here who are praying for your health and happiness”. 

8. Alpha

Alpha in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Originally created by Omega to battle strong foes, Alpha failed to live up to Omega’s expectations. The otherworldly weapon wiped Alpha's memories and used him to draw mortals into the Interdimensional Rift. Alpha inadvertently draws the WoL and the Garlond Ironworks team into the Rift, where Omega is hoping to observe them fighting powerful enemies. 

Upon coming to understand his true purpose and being dismissed by Omega, Alpha doesn’t despair. He chooses to stay at the side of the Warrior of Light, helping in their battle against the rift's powerful enemies. As the raid series ends, Alpha is given the freedom to roam Eorzea, and occasionally, if you’re lucky, you can still see him on his adventures in the open world.

Alpha also helps during Endwalker when he visits Sharlayan to help finalize the Ragnarok, allowing the WoL to venture to the Edge of the Universe.

7. Raubahn Aldynn 

Raubahn in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Raubahn was arrested in Ul’dah on suspicion of espionage at the age of 25, after fleeing from the sudden Garlean invasion of his homelands. He was sentenced to fight in the Coliseum or “Bloodsands”, as it’s otherwise known. At some point, he was pardoned on a whim by Nanamo Ul Namo and won his freedom and the people’s respect. 

After winning his freedom, he met a young Lalafell called Pipin, who had been sold into slavery to pay off his father's debts. Using his winnings to pay for the boy's emancipation from his family, Raubahn went on to adopt the Pipin and then, further down the line, purchased the Coliseum itself and earned himself a place on the Syndicate of Ul’dah. 

Raubahn is unflinchingly loyal to Nanamo Ul Namo, even losing his left arm in his duty to protect her, and is solely responsible for reorganising Ul’dah’s military to form the Immortal Flames. If that doesn’t earn him a place on this list then I don’t know what does. He’s just an all-round good guy if you ask me. 

6. Feo Ul

Feo-Ul in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

I honestly never thought I’d be able to say that a fairy would be among my favorite characters in a Final Fantasy game, but this is where I’ve ended up. 

Feo Ul is the first Fae we meet during our time on The First and is originally intended to help us forge a connection with The Source in order to access retainers and convey messages. However, you soon come to realise that Feo Ul is incredibly possessive of the WoL, calling you their “precious sapling”. 

Eventually, Feo Ul willingly takes the title of King of the Faeries in order to protect the WoL from having to do it, stating that they will always be able to help the WoL in times of great need. During the final battle with Vauthry, Feo Ul comes to the rescue of the Scions, allowing them to forge ahead and finish the fight. 

5. Counselingway

Counselingway in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Having given into despair when her main purpose in life is stripped away from her, Counselingway is pretty hard to reach at first. She’s depressed, longing for purpose, and unsure what she should do with her life. Then, Livingway, Dreamingway and the rest of the Loporrit’s set up a radio station to help her communicate with the people or Etheirys, the very people they were created to protect. 

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that Counselingway is, in some part, very familiar to all of us. We can all feel hopeless, lost, and unsure what to do with ourselves sometimes. But despite being hard to reach, she comes out of her shell and finds a love for something she never dreamed she’d be able to do. 

Counselingway offers lessons in friendship, perseverance, and never giving up. I love her story and I’m proud of her for how far she’s come. 

4. Emet-Selch

Emet-Selch in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Emet-Selch has what could be the most gut-wrenching arc in Final Fantasy XIV. He’s the Founder and first Emperor of the Garlean Empire, which he admits was created purely to invoke chaos and bring about another Calamity, he’s at least partly responsible for the summoning of Zodiark that required the aether of more than half of the Ascians to complete, and he’s boomeranged back and forth about whether the Scion’s are worthy of his allegiance. 

However, despite all of this, Emet-Selch has an undeniable longing to do something good, lurking deep down from the person he was before. He retrieves Y’shtola after she uses Flow to escape in the Ronkan Temple, he rescues us from the Void simply by snapping his fingers, and at the very end of the main Endwalker story, after the final lonely ascension, he’s there beside us to lend us his strength. 

3. Tataru Taru

Tataru in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

There are very few characters in Final Fantasy XIV who deserve their ending (so far) more than Tataru Taru. While the rest of the Scions are off defending the world and experiencing calamities, Tataru has consistently held down the fort from the very beginning. While everyone else was on The First, she continued her duties at The Rising Stones, never has a bad word to say about anybody and, perhaps most importantly, she’s always helping us to expand our wardrobe. 

During Endwalker, Tataru has finally been able to live out her dream and opened up her own clothing boutique, offering her wares far and wide. She has organised provisions for countless important battles and if the WoL is ever uncertain about which direction they should head in, Tataru is always there to offer friendly advice and a new outfit. 

On top of all this, Tataru is responsible for us having our very own Island Sanctuary. I’m not really a fan of Island Sanctuary as a whole, but even I have to admit that Tataru has one hell of a business head on her small Lalafell shoulders. Now if only she could inspire the Mammets to be a little more helpful, I’d be grateful.

2. G’raha Tia

G'raha in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Hard working, unflinchingly loyal, and by our side no matter what happens, G’raha is the best friend we all need. This man has ‘died’ or sacrificed himself for the WoL more times than I care to remember, each time having made the WoL promise to continue the adventure and fight ever onwards. 

G’raha partially fuses himself with the Crystal Tower to prolong his life, enabling him to be the guide he was destined to be as The First faces peril from the Flood of Light. Even after the WoL has helped to fend off the threat, G’raha becomes a member of the Scions and is there, regardless of circumstance, to help guide the way. 

Above everything else, G’raha provides the most hard hitting quote from anyone in Final Fantasy XIV, at least in my opinion:

“Yours is a long road, my friend, and it stretches on to places beyond imagining. With your every step, these grand adventures shall grow more distant and faint. And there may come a day when you forget the faces and voices of those you have met along the way. On that day, I bid you remember this... That no matter how far your journey may take you, you stand where you stand by virtue of the road you walked to get there. For in times of hardship, when you fear you cannot go on... The joy you have known, the pain you have felt, the prayers you have whispered and answered—they shall ever be your strength and your comfort. This I hope—I believe, here at memory's end.”

1. Ardbert Hylfyst

Ardbert in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Even though we first meet Ardbert during Heavensward, he doesn’t come into his own until Shadowbringers. The WoL is the only person who can hear Ardbert upon arriving on The First, and he quickly becomes the WoLs comfort in times of pain and hardship. In the end, Ardbert and the WoL are revealed to be two halves of one sundered soul - soulmates, if you will. 

He’s not the most sunshine-and-roses type of guy when we first meet him, but he slowly regains his sense of hope after shadowing us through the story of Shadowbringers. Towards the end of Shadowbringers, Ardbert merges his soul with the WoL in order to contain the Light. At the end of the main Endwalker story arc, his is the first and last voice you hear upon ascending the final hill alone. 

“If you need a push, I’ll be right there behind you … Let’s finish this.” I get goosebumps just thinking about it. 

I’ve played through Shadowbringers multiple times, as I have the rest of Final Fantasy XIV, and Ardbert’s story is the one that’s guaranteed to reduce me to an ugly crying mess very quickly. It’s the story that I connected with the most and stayed with me most consistently, so that’s why he’s always going to be my favorite character.

The post 10 of the best Final Fantasy XIV characters, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

FFXIV Red Mage and Sage Dawntrail Changes Are Exceptional

FFXIV Sage and Red Mage job changes Dawntrail 7.0

Anyone who has been a Final Fantasy XIV player for a couple of expansions likely knows Square Enix isn’t immune to mistakes. Though the game is nearly MMORPG perfection, its biggest issues come from the strange and often unwarranted job changes. Thankfully for Dawntrail, it looks like the FFXIV job changes could be much more welcome, especially for Sage and Red Mage.

I am personally invested in both the changes to the Red Mage and Sage, as they are both my two main jobs in FFXIV. Red Mage is the one I often use for endgame content when I don’t want to be a healer, while Sage is the role I main during story content. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like that will be changing in the new expansion.

Back in the day, I used Summoner between launch and for several expansions, until it was ruined by job changes. Fortunately, Red Mage and Sage are seemingly all the better going into FFXIV Dawntrail. Take the Red Mage, which has two key changes. The first is to make Manafication work better for the player. Instead of granting 50 Black and White Mana, it now just lets the player use the three-step enchanted sword combo for free.

Screenshot by Siliconera

This means being able to use the Verholy or Verflare combo for free as always, but not at the cost of mana. In addition, one of the most useless parts of the Red Mage — Enchanted Moulinet — is now viable. It uses 50 mana, so it is more possible to use as an AOE attack. Overall, it seems these changes enhance the Red Mage in FFXIV, all without taking away what makes it great.

I am still curious to see if Manafication comes with its buff, but I am confident nonetheless. The skill rotation for Red Mage should be even smoother now. After all, you don’t have to obsess as much about having a perfect 50 and 50 Black and White Mana gauge before using Manafication. In addition, if you’re like me, you don’t have to ignore Enchanted Moulinet due to its uselessness. This makes Red Mage a much better class at both single targets and mobs alike.

When it comes to Sage, this is my favorite healer job for a reason. It is the perfect blend of DPS and healing, and its FFXIV Dawntrail changes further that idea. For starters, Eukrasia now properly enhances the damage over time Dyskrasia. This new version acts as an AOE damage over time, affecting multiple enemies at once.

If you are like me, you have spent way too much time trying to apply damage over time to multiple enemies and not enough time doing what you’re supposed to be. This fixes that issue so us Sages can focus on what really matters. The other key change is a new action that gives Kardion for everyone in the party. It seems to be limited in how it works with likely a long cooldown if I had to guess. That said, it is nice to be able to temporarily extend all of the healing capabilities of Kardion to everyone.

All FFXIV Sage Job Changes Dawntrail
Image via Square Enix

These FFXIV Sage job changes in Dawntrail will ensure it is the most flexible healer around. You can focus purely on DPS at times since the new action will heal everyone for all the damage you do. In addition, the new AOE damage over time skill means you deal damage more often and much faster.

While there are other great job changes for the new expansion, I am comfortable in saying Red Mage and Sage got some of the best ones. These FFXIV Red Mage and Sage changes in Dawntrail may not be as drastic as others. However, they don’t have to be. They enhance the existing strengths of both jobs while fixing their few weaknesses. If you’re looking for a DPS or healer to main in Dawntrail, I certainly suggest Red Mage and Sage.

Final Fantasy XIV is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Dawntrail will release on July 2, 2024.

The post FFXIV Red Mage and Sage Dawntrail Changes Are Exceptional appeared first on Siliconera.

Naoki Yoshida Will Be at FFXIV Germany Fan Gathering Event

Naoki Yoshida Will Be at FFXIV Germany Fan Gathering Event

Square Enix announced a FFXIV Dawntrail Fan Gathering event will be held in Potsdam, Germany on May 30, 2024, and Naoki Yoshida will attend. This is part of the lead up to the new expansion and will start at 5pm GMT/7pm CET, however only 80 people will get to attend.

Square Enix started a raffle for attendees for this Potsdam, Germany fan event for FFXIV Dawntrail. People will need to register for a chance to get two invites via an official form by May 22, 2024. On May 23, 2024, the 80 people will be chosen. They will get a code on May 29, 2024, which will grant them access on May 30, 2024. 

While exact details about the event didn’t come up and there’s no schedule, the FFXIV Dawntrail Fan Gathering in Germany will start with raffle involving Naoki Yoshida. People will also be able to have some refreshments, take pictures at photo ops, take part in a music quiz with songs from the MMORPG, and pick up some related items tied to the game.

It isn’t uncommon for there to be region-specific events and gatherings for the MMORPG. For example, the KFC crossover is coming to the Japanese version of the game again. In the US, there’s a Mountain Dew FFXIV Dawntrail event involving a Mountain Zu mount.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Dawntrail expansion debuts on July 2, 2024. The FFXIV Dawntrail Fan Gathering in Germany will be held on May 30, 2024, and people can sign-up for a chance to attend online until May 22, 2024.

The post Naoki Yoshida Will Be at FFXIV Germany Fan Gathering Event appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG Returns in September

Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG Returns in September FFXIV tabletop role-playing game

Square Enix announced that, due to popular demand, the Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG will return to its online storefront after selling out. The second wave of the FFXIV tabletop role-playing game will appear again in English in September 2024.

This second run of the game will be identical to the first. Pre-orders for it initially were revealed back in September 2023. It arrived in May 2024 for $59.99. The rerelease reprint cost the same amount. It will also include all of the same items and accessories as the first run. People also still get 59 Members Rewards Points when purchasing it from the Square Enix Store.

As this is a starter set, people get everything they need to play a tabletop role-playing game inspired by FFXIV. There are Gamemaster and Player Books included, to introduce a DM and player to the game, and a Rules Summary & Strategy Guide appears for quickly jumping in or getting refreshed on the game. People get four premade Character Sheets for a Black Mage, Dragoon, Warrior, and White Mage. There are also ability markers, character tokens, an encounter map, and 16 6d20 and 10d6 dice. 

Here’s a closer look at the set and its included dice:

Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG Returns in September

Images via Square Enix

The Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG is available now, and pre-orders of the rerelease of the game are now open ahead of its September 2024 debut. Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The Dawntrail expansion debuts on July 2, 2024.

The post Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG Returns in September appeared first on Siliconera.

How to hire a Retainer in Final Fantasy XIV

Retainer Vocate and Summoning Bell in Final Fantasy XIV

If you’re looking to make a little bit of money on the Marketboard or simply want some more storage space to avoid your inventory filling up in Final Fantasy XIV, you’re definitely going to need a retainer or multiple. Here’s how to get them, including how extra retainers work. 

Hiring a Retainer in FFXIV doesn’t only bring with it access to the Marketboard or extra storage - hiring a Retainer and training them up through ventures will allow them to head out on their own adventures, returning with materials or items which can then be used or sold. Don’t worry if this all sounds a little daunting, I can help you figure it out. 

How to hire a Retainer in Final Fantasy XIV

The Retainer Vocate options in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Before you can hire a retainer in FFXIV, you’ll need to have completed the level 17 MSQ quest “The Scions of the Seventh Dawn.” Then you’ll be able to pick up the side quest, "An Ill-Conceived Venture", which unlocks Retainers. You must do this side quest in the same city state in which you started (Limsa Lominsa, Gridania or Ul’dah). 

The quest is always given by an NPC called Troubled Adventurer and can be found in the following location in each state:

  • New Gridania (X:11.8, Y:12.2)
  • Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:9.0, Y:11.2)
  • Ul’dah - Steps of Nald (X:9.3, Y:8.7)

Once you’ve completed this quest, you’re free to hire a Retainer by talking to a Retainer Vocate in one of the major city states:

  • Parnell in Old Gridania (X:14.6, Y:9.3)
  • Chachabi in Ul’dah - Steps of Thal (X:13.3, Y:9.7)
  • Frydwyb in Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:8.3, Y:11.7)
  • Prunilla in The Pillars, Ishgard (X:8.1, Y:10.9)
  • Kazashi in Kugane (X:11.6, Y:12.1)
  • Misfrith in The Crystarium (X:10.4, Y:13.1)
  • Tanine in Old Sharlayan (X:12.6, Y:10.8)

You can only hire two Retainers by default, but there are ways to add more retainers if you’re in need of extra space.

How to get extra Retainers in Final Fantasy XIV

If you’re wanting more than two retainers, you can do one of two things:

  • Download the FFXIV Companion App (on iOS or Android) and upgrade to premium, which provides one extra Retainer
  • Purchase extra Retainers (up to seven) via the MogStation

Retainers purchased through the MogStation cost $2 USD per month per retainer. 

How to use a Retainer in Final Fantasy XIV

The Retainer menu in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Once you’ve hired a retainer, you’ll be asked to design them using the Character Creation menu that you used to create your own character, then give them a name. Once this is done, you can access the Retainer service by interacting with any Summoning Bell. 

Once you do this, you’ll have the following options:

Option What it means
Entrust or withdraw items Opens the retainers inventory, allowing you to transfer items from your own inventory for storage. Total storage of 175 items or stacks.
Entrust or withdraw Gil Transfer Gil from your own pockets to the Retainer. Any Gil earned from items sold through a Retainer will automatically go here.
Sell items from your inventory Opens your inventory, allowing you to sell items on the Marketboard.
Sell items from your Retainer’s inventory Opened the Retainer’s inventory, allowing you to sell items on the Marketboard.
View sale history Allows you to see a record of all recent items you’ve sold on the Marketboard.
Assign class Assign a class to your Retainer, allowing them to go on different types of venture. You must have a level 1 weapon or tool in your inventory to assign a class to a Retainer. 
Assign venture Send your Retainer out on their own adventure. They will come back with items.
View report Find out what happened on a venture which has concluded.
View retainer attributes and gear Displays a character screen for the Retainer, allowing you to equip gear or weapons.
Reset Retainer class Removes a Retainer’s class, allowing you to assign a different one.
Assign Retainer Job Can only be used when a copy of Modern Vocation has been purchased from a Retainer Vocate for 40 Ventures. Equips Retainer with a Soul Stone.  

Retainer ventures in Final Fantasy XIV

Quick Exploration as a Retainer venture in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

In order to send your Retainer out on ventures, you’ll need to stock up on some of the currency required, which is also called Ventures. These can be obtained in a variety of ways, such as with Wolf Marks, GC Seals or in return for certain types of Tribal Quest currency. 

Depending on the class or Job applied to the Retainer, the options given when assigning a venture may vary, but in general, there are three different types of venture to which a Retainer can be assigned:

  • Job specific (Hunting, Mining, Botany or Fishing)
  • Field Exploration (Usually takes 18 hours, costs 2 Ventures)
  • Quick exploration (after the Retainer reaches level 10, takes one hour, costs 2 Ventures)

While Field Exploration ventures take a lot of time to complete, they’re excellent in terms of helping your Retainer level up as they reward far more experience. However, Quick Exploration ventures allow you to gain more items, including gear, much more quickly.

The post How to hire a Retainer in Final Fantasy XIV appeared first on Destructoid.

Learning to heal in Final Fantasy XIV helped me gain confidence outside of the game, too

Playing as Astrologian with Canopus Lux in Final Fantasy XIV

During my time playing Final Fantasy XIV, I’ve overcome a lot of anxiety. Not just in the game but also outside of it, and certain things that I’ve experienced within Eorzea have transferred into real life. 

Of course,, the story and characters stay with me; their words echo around my mind during times when I’m struggling. But things that I’ve managed to achieve during my game time have given me pause for thought in the real world as well. If I can overcome things that terrify me and push me in Eorzea, surely I can push myself in real life. 

I’ve already talked about my experience overcoming tank anxiety in FFXIV before going on to be a Dark Knight main. That experience, in a strange way, taught me about taking life by the horns and doing things that push your boundaries. Healing, on the other hand, is something that I once found truly terrifying and had zero confidence doing. 

Playing as a White Mage in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Except now, all of my healer jobs are sitting at level 90, and I’m actually excited to increase them all to level 100 when Dawntrail drops at the end of June. I’m more than happy to jump into any content as a healer, though I might fumble my buttons to start with if it’s been a while. Getting to this point, though, was not easy. 

I actually started playing Final Fantasy XIV as a healer. A Conjurer, to be precise. The trouble was, I had never played an MMO before and I had no idea that playing that job would place me in a party as the healer for everyone else involved. The green icon didn’t give me any clues, either. Like I said, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even take the hint when I started to gain healing spells, simply thinking, “well, that might come in useful one day,” while going about my day using Stone and Aero to take down foes I encountered, like an idiot. 

Playing as a White Mage in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

It wasn’t until I queued, on my own, for Sashtasha that I discovered the weight that I’d taken upon myself by choosing the Conjurer class. I didn’t know I was supposed to be healing, I didn’t know that was my role, but it quickly dawned on me when the party died and everyone blamed me. I’m not ashamed to admit that I dropped the dungeon and all but ran to the first city-state on the teleport list to pick up a new class, which ended up being Rogue. 

And so it went on, I leveled Rogue and all of my other DPS classes, including ones which unlock later like Samurai and Dancer. My Conjurer remained at around level 19 for over a year, untouched and feared. Then, and if you’ve read my tank anxiety article, you’ll know what’s coming: my FC at the time got involved and pushed me to pick up Conjurer again. Thankfully, this was before the tanking experience, and they were much gentler with me than they went on to be with the whole Paglth’an debacle. 

White Mage in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

It started with FATEs, something that I could do without worrying too much about those around me. We ran up and down Western La Noscea, taking on every FATE we encountered, which not only gave me experience but also levels and new spells to go with them. I very slowly started to actually heal the people around me, though learning how to juggle DPS and healing was definitely a learning curve. Pretty soon, I was level 30 and able to go and pick up my Job Stone, turning myself into a White Mage. 

By this point, the notion of healing wasn’t horrifically scary to me anymore, though I was far from good at it. But I still avoided it as much as I could. Eventually, I left that FC for one reason or another and set out on my own for a long time, not healing but also not fearful of it, until I saw someone with a specific weapon which I absolutely fell in love with — Canopus Lux. 

Canopus Lux Astrologian weapon in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

This weapon is beautiful; there’s no denying that. Like the Amaro mount, which eventually drove me to tanking, this weapon was the driving force behind my finally overcoming the barrier that was keeping me from healing—my own lack of confidence. 

And I did. I swallowed my pride, I picked up Astrologian, and I apologized to everyone I ended up with in a dungeon, telling them that they would likely die and they were welcome to kick me if they wanted to. I wasn’t griefing, I was just terrible at healing. Those first dungeons were hard, but I never got kicked. Like with my tanking journey, most people were very understanding, and some even gave incredibly helpful advice. Slowly, I gained confidence, but also skill. 

Manderville Sage weapons in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Eventually, I started to crave the rush that healing gave me. I’m not saying that I enjoy having people's lives in my hands, but I enjoy being able to keep people alive and prolonging the battle long enough to win. It’s a thrill, and I’ve since learned that, like tanking, the different healing Jobs aren’t all that dissimilar to each other. Of course, each has its own nuances, but they follow the same pattern - if people are dying, you heal. If people are good, you do DPS. 

With all that said, I’m never going to be a particularly good healer. I know what I’m doing, and I can keep people alive while doing some damage, but I still get confused between green and pink cards while playing Astrologian (I’m not looking forward to having to relearn the Job after its Dawntrail overhaul), I still accidentally spam Cure sometimes when playing White Mage and I’ll admit that I fall into the trap of over-reliance on Holy. 

Playing as Sage in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Sage is my strongest healer, and if I have to heal, it’s the Job I will always choose. If you asked me to play Astrologian or White Mage right now, I’d have to ask for 10 minutes with a training dummy to figure out what I was doing, and if you wanted me to play Scholar, I’d be clueless because I’ve always leveled it through Summoner. Like I said, I’m not a good ‘all-around’ healer, but if you want a Sage, I can do that for you. 

I also introduced my fiancé to Sage, which is now his main Job alongside my Dark Knight. He, too, was terrified of healing, but thanks to my own experience overcoming that fear, I could help him overcome it, too. I’ve helped others beside him, as well, thanks to my Mentor status. Talking of which, I was playing as a healer when I finally gained enough Commendations to pick up the crown, which makes the role pretty special to me. 

Playing as Astrologian in Final Fantasy XIV
Screenshot by Destructoid

Now, how has all this helped me in the real world? Well, I’ve learned that while new things might be scary at first, there’s a lot of enjoyment that can be gained through learning how to do something. Gaining the confidence to try and ultimately do pretty well at something that absolutely terrified me in FFXIV showed me that learning something new doesn’t have to be something that I fear. I don’t need to shy away from something just because I don’t fully understand it. Figuring out how to do something isn’t just rewarding, but the experience of learning itself can be fun. 

While my healing experience in FFXIV hasn’t caused me to go out and train to be a doctor in real life, it has given me a new perspective. I stopped shying away from bettering myself and took on training courses and new opportunities, including writing, which previously scared me to death. 

Fear is natural, but it doesn’t have to define your actions, and you shouldn’t let it. What was it that Eleanor Roosevelt said? “Do one thing every day that scares you”. Your comfort zone may be cozy, but going beyond it is what helps us to grow.

The post Learning to heal in Final Fantasy XIV helped me gain confidence outside of the game, too appeared first on Destructoid.

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