After a full immersion of three weeks, the time has come to pull the sums on Stormblood, the second expansion of Final Fantasy XIV released on June 20 (early June 16 for pre-ordering) on PC and Playstation 4.
A few weeks ago we had left some good first impressions and now we are here to confirm the excellent work done by Naoky Yoshida’s team director, and Square-Enix with his MMORPG online.
A few weeks ago we had left some good first impressions and now we are here to confirm the excellent work done by Naoky Yoshida’s team director, and Square-Enix with his MMORPG online.
The content of this new expansion largely reflects those that had already been seen with Heavensward and we can summarize them in: a new storyline, 2 new jobs, 6 new areas to explore, 8 new dungeons to deal with, 2 new Primal to be defeated, the possibility of submerging underwater and a revamp of the battle system. Let’s go and analyze them in detail.
The best story ever told
After storming Griffin’s plans and Shinryu’s threat, our Warrior of Light and other members of the Scions had discovered the true identity of Yda, or Lyse, and his past, deciding to leave Ala Migho for to free it once for all the clutches of the Garlean Empire. This will prove to be nothing but simple, because at the head of the imperial army there is now Zenos yae Galvus, son of Emperor Varis zos Galvus. Its strength and power is so terrifying that our heroes will be forced to travel to the eastern continent to look for the help of the city-state of Doma, also a victim of the oppression of the empire.
Stormblood probably tells one of the best stories the whole series of Final Fantasy has ever been able to tell. A story of dramas and sacrifices that tells the consequences of a war, the importance of freedom and the desire to rebel against those who threaten it.
Incredible is Zenos’s character, who does not put much to show that he is one of the cruelest, most powerful, most ruthless enemies ever seen in Final Fantasy XIV, or even in the entire Final Fantasy series. His weight, his attitude and his appearance as regal as threatening make him such a charismatic character that he is struggling to believe that he has been created only as antagonizing the story of an expansion of an MMORPG.
Honorable mention also for Lyse, a character on whom they almost all turn Stormblood’s story: it is probably the first of the Scions, after Minfilia, to have so much importance within the universe of Final Fantasy XIV. The work on its characterization and its development has been exaggerated, leaving a real impression on the hearts of the players, unlike when she dressed in Yda’s clothes, where we remember her almost as a comic spot beside never too much regal Papalymo.
Stormblood is yet another confirmation of how the quality of Final Fantasy online title fiction is very high and absolutely not to be underestimated, as we are likely to reach much higher levels than even those of the major chapters. And we are not afraid to say it.
Exploring the East
Following the structure of the package previously offered in Heavensward , the new content added to Stormbloodare offered to players gradually as you progress in the main storyline. Once the new area is unlocked, there will be available dozens of new secondary quests needed to increase the level of our character, whose level cap is now 70, without forcing the player into boring hours of grind (that will come for those who wants to expare other jobs).
Unfortunately, many of these optional missions are as commonly repetitive and with little substance at subwoofer level, but some have been surprisingly interesting, such as those in The Azim Steppe or The Ruby Sea that provided us with a background about history and culture of the breed Au ra, so far ignored.
Obviously here you can also cross the new flying areas, but not before you have unlocked all the Aether streams scattered throughout the map, to be searched with the usual compass used in Heavensward . A relatively frustrating mechanic, though comprehensible, given the need to measure exploration and at the same time to emphasize it.
