My Life As A Gamer: FFXIV Addendum

And today, we're going to have a little fun with the Endwalker trailer. If you expect spoiler protection for anything older than six months, you're retarded.

Notes:

• (00:20) This generic-looking man is the stand-in for YOU, the player a.k.a. The Warrior of Light. He switches Jobs often, but in this trailer he is a Paladin.
• (00:56) The world map is updated to reflect (a) what will be accessible in Endwalker and (b) the state of the world in this expansion.
• (01:03) This is Alisaie Leveilleur, one of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. In this trailer, she represents the Red Mage Job and she is in combat with a trio of Terminus Beasts. The "Z" is a Red Mage melee attack, not just a flourish of the video editor.
• (01:25) You save Alisaie from herself, reminding Red Mages all over to stop pulling for the tank.
• (01:32) Fin Funnels appear under license from Bandai Namco and Sunrise, Inc. (okay, they'll be called something else) as the Job-defining weapon of the new Sage healer Job, which Alphinaud represents here. Also, no Alisaie you can't look after yourself.
• (01:56) Ragnarok is come! LET'S FUCKING GO! (And I thought I was hype when Legion was announced.)
• (02:07) I may have to swap to Dragoon for this expansion. Real Fury Warrior vibes here. That's Estinien, The Azure Dragoon that debuted in Heavensward; he identified his companion as Vitra, youngest of the First Brood.
• (02:33) The Ascian Fandaniel, possessing the body of Asahi sas Brutus, goes up to the top of a tower speculated to be 14's Tower of Babel to speak with Zenos yae Galvus as a Garlean Navy Airship sinks with all hands before them.
• (03:06) Thancred (representing the Gunbreaker tank Job) meets with Urianger (representing the Astrologian healer Job) in a new city, Radz-at-Han.
• (03:28) Old Sharlayan is where most of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn either come from, or spent time at heretofore, as many of their members are Archons (the weird neck tattoo, akin to a Doctorate) of Sharlayan. This is also the Player Hub of Endwalker.
• (03:52) The Crystal Exarch, G'raha Tia, looking at tomes likely only he--being of royal Alagan blood--can access with heretofore unrecovered secret lore. Job represented is unclear here.
• (04:08) Y'shtola, representing the Black Mage Job, appears before the Forum--lead by Alphie and Ali's father, Fourchenault Leveilleur, who is a colossal dick--and chides them as cowards before a global existential threat before she turns to strut away like a boss. By the way, still blind.
• (04:38) Zenos again, this time revealing the scythe that is the signature weapon of the new Reaper Job, a melee DPS job with Bloodborne vibes. Everyone looks up at the Moon leading back to you.
• (05:11) You--as a Paladin--are jumped by The First Doom, a Terminus Beast previously seen in Shadowbringers.
• (05:42) That spaceship is likely the means by which you travel to the Moon to complete the 6.0 Main Scenario Quest chain, a call-back (out of many) to Final Fantasy IV. At this time, it is good to note that while you--the Warrior of Light--took up the Dark Knight Job to do battle in Shadowbringers, you switch to Paladin for Endwalker. That, in itself, is a FF4 call-back. Other call-backs to 4, as well as to 6, are also present (Zenos is likely one also, and given his presence since Stormblood that speaks well for the deliberation going into Endwalker).

14 clowning on World of Warcraft continues.

Okay, so you're interested. What next? As I said on Monday, there is a Free Trial. Unlimited play time, PC and PS4/5. You can get it here. One of the most prominent FF14 livestreamers and YouTube channels, ZeplaHQ, has a video about its limits here. Zepla's YouTube channel has plenty of useful videos for new people, and her Twitch channel is a very comfy place that loves to welcome new people to the game. Just be prepared for a lot of dadjokes and puns based around bunnies.

MrHappy is another prominent figure in the scene. He's the Dad to Zepla's Mom, and he's just as open to new folks. He's also one of the hosts of "State of the Realm", a FF14 podcast that covers the game and its news. He also has a YouTube and Twitch channel.

From there, you'll find plenty of others--some of them utter weirdos to avoid--and some comedy goldmines. If you know Tex of the Black Pants Legion, he has a brother from another mother in CiderSpiderr. He also streams on Twitch, but it's his YouTube channel that garners him his audience. Below is the video that put him on the map, and you need not have played the game to get the jokes.

This game is actually fun. The players are actually having fun. The water is great. I'm happy to have joined the party, and if you find it to your liking then do as I did and play the Free Trial.