Even coming back, this dungeon is so layered. All 3 worlds are so reminiscient of our world. The first is like a "what if" the various Beast Tribes and their Primals did win out, they'd deplete the world's resources to feed their primals and then fight each other in the end. The 2nd world is clearly the battle between the Eorzian Alliance and the Empire, which DID happen in an alternate future. And the 3rd world is heavily implied to be the kind of world the Ancients (ascians) were going to become, basically all of Hermes' worst fears because none of the rest of the society really cared about what they did like himself, working up into meaningless perfection.
The first world also can represent the First and the Thirteenth, with the mutated denizens the analog to Voidsent and Sin Eaters, the plague responsible for them thus the Flood of Darkness and Flood of Light. All born from conflict, be it the Contramemoria, the acts of Ardbert and his party, or the Grebuloff’s conquest of their world’s dry land.
@@bradleydevron It could even be the history of Eorzea itslef. For example the Nymians fell to a similar plague, and the war of the magi caused much of the world to be uninhabitable for a time due to the massive flooding. "Tales of loss and fire and faith" applies to a ton of the story, and EW knows it.
It's a great point, also the irony that a civilization like the third world became so advanced that death was the only way out. Like the allagans were a few steps away from it as they continued to pursue more and more unhinged and deranged forms of pleasure because they had grown desensitized to the suffering of others is the exact nightmare scenario that hermes feared and that his reincarnation Amon reveled in.
A detail I absolutely adore in FFXIV is the weather system. There are so many unique and special conditions, and when you check what the weather is in this dungeon, it's labeled as "Inevitability", as if everything that happened to the worlds in this dungeon are unavoidable and bound to happen to us. Small details like that really add up to make such a unique and enthralling experience.
It’s really nice how often they blend the game with the setting. Like when you get the buff about going beyond your strength, or how picking up certain items takes longer when they’re larger and less time when they’re smaller.
To me.. this piece of music encapsulates the essence of EW's story: the acknowledgment of sorrow and despair, and the resolve to keep charging forward.
The real mistake that Hermes made was never informing Meteion that no matter how many stars, die, new ones are born (as mentioned towards the end of Endwalker) fueling the constant cycle of death and rebirth and the reason we charge ahead is that no matter what happens to us, if we can somehow lay the groundwork for the next star to learn from our mistakes, if we can plant the seed for the tree whose shade we will never sit under, then we succeeded and it was never for nothing.
@@louthinator uh they knew this, Meteion learned of the Heat Death of the Universe, meaning eventually no new stars will ever be born again, and all life will cease to exist, and nothing can stop it.
The part of that narration that really gets me is that it reinforces that Meteion is a ultimately just a frightened child, desperately trying to wish away what's hurting her. It just so happens that she's powerful enough that its working.
@@EmperorPylades It should be noted this was the same of every Meteion sent through the universe. They thought they were going to find countless stars like their own, which were rich in culture and happiness, but all they found was agony and misery that they had never been equipped to deal with or made to experience. It makes perfect sense why they wanted to turn the universe off, because nobody should have to have that be their only memories away from home.
@@donovangrant424 Yes those societies ended but they also thrived once and they're was happiness even thought it ended, thats why we need to hold on to the happiness for as long as we have it and remember nothing last forever so keep moving on to find new joys and not become consumed by despair.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful blue star... that fell to pestilence, and rotted inside and out. The more its people clung to life, the more they suffered. Until they cursed not the illness, but their fellow corrupted. Those who lived and festered, those who died and decayed... and the very last of them wished they had never been born at all. In a faraway place, a brilliant star eradicated disease... before destroying the selfsame lives it had saved. Its people sought ever greater freedoms no matter the cost... they tried to buy peace with fire and steel... and when one asked, "What is the point?" there were none left to answer. Farther still existed a star without strife... where none remembered life's trials- or its joys. What its people had gained from ease, they lost to apathy. So they created the kindest, most gentle of beasts. Its steps were light, and its gift was as painless as it was beautiful. Bathed in its golden glow, they all slept happily ever after...
Each world fixed the problems of the one before it, only to encounter new problems. The first star "fell to pestilence, and rotted inside and out". The second star "eradicated disease before destroying the selfsame lives it had saved". The final world was "a star without strife - where none remembered life's trials, or its joys".
I wish Lyse was able to come with us here. I imagine in the second part, she would have said "This is nothing like Doma or Ala Mhigo... things aren't so clear..." and "...That might have been me... once upon a time..." when the guy nukes everything.
@@Trancelistener09 it's still terrifying, not necessarily because whatever life we run into will be hostile to us... but that by giving us hope and a path forward, those with far too much ambition will mess it up for the reat of us.. to drive another who want peace to nihalism by showing them the darkest side of humanity, by giving them the wrong message.
@@louthinator There's nothing wrong with Nihilism. Don't let Meteion's edgelord style Nihilism color what it is. There's beauty and comfort in knowing that there's no point to anything. That just means doubly that you living is point enough.
@@Zeithri that's not the core philoisophy of nihilism nor what it is in the general common zeitgeist though... Meteion's philosophy is the classic interpretation of nihilism, basically its original definition. If you've managed to pulll something different from it then good for you but for most of us we do things because they matter. The whole idea that the work we do before we die is planting seeds for trees whose shade we will never rest in.
"A curious traveler visited our star---a bird which proffered these questions: "What meaning does life hold? For what do you strive?" I could find no satisfactory answers, only bittersweet memories of an age long past There was a time when we were lesser, and in our nescience sought purpose---struggled to justify life's worth. That was, of course, before we achieved perfection. Now, condemned to our paradise, we understand the fatuity of existence. Like the fledglings we once were, the poor bird could not accept the truth. It asked us again and again---hoping, perhaps, our answer might change." She let memories like this burn for thousands of years in her heart
That part always gets to me. She kept asing the question. she wasn't satisfied with the answer she got so she kept asking until they really did look into themselves.
My take on that is that she was already succumbing to dread when she posed that question to the Ea, and her repeating it is her denial of the yawning expanse of existential dread that would later consume her into the Endsinger.
It's really cool how Prelude rings ever so subtly in the background in some parts, slightly off key but still giving the impression that there is yet a new beginning to be had You can hear it most clearly between 2:13 and 2:18
I love how the through-line of hearing the Prelude in so many parts of FFXIV just reminds you that this message of hope is at the heart of Final Fantasy as a series. Different heroes, different worlds, all united in the belief that there is a better tomorrow worth fighting for.
Finding out it refers to 'societal dead ends': SORROW AND DESPAIR Finding out in JP it means something akin to 'The Final Fantasies': EQUAL AMOUNTS OF SORROW AND DESPAIR
Previous final dungeons do similar title drops. HW: Blue Heavens Crusade (read: Heavensward) SB: Decisive Crimson Battle (Japanese title was known as Crimson Liberation) ShB: Apocalyptic Illusion (written in another way of saying Final Fantasy)
My absolute favorite track in the entire game bar none. The strings and chanting sound like they're filled with sorrow, the piano and brass are uplifting and hopeful, the war drums beating in the background. It's like the song is trying to be happy and sad at the same time, both clashing against one another, but together they're a beautiful harmony representing life.
what makes this dungeon is the report in the 3rd instance as meteion asked whats the meaning of life and they didnt know. she was so desperate to get an answer just to most likely see the guy vanish into light
I sure didn't expected the Fermi Paradox being approached by a great game as such. It always ask you the question: "Why we have not been withness of other forms of intelligent life?" And FFXIV answer to this is the one we are most affraid of.
And with climate change inevitably destroying all life on Earth, we'll be joining all of the lifeless planets we know of eventually. At the rate it's going, maybe in the not so distant future.
The most likely answers to the Fermi Paradox from where I stand are either that we simply lack the means to detect communication from alien civilizations, the signals they emit deteriorate into meaningless noise by the time they reach us, their signals simply haven't reached us yet cause space is thicc, or some combination of all of the above.
Second end, when "they tried buy peace with fire and steel" it's just wow, not in good way, this moment when one guy destroy them all and Meteion is saying "and when one asked" what's the point" there was no one left to answer" or something like this, my mouth was open all time during this, amazing story but soo tragic
It was the Grebuloff's ending sentiment that got me. The creature we fight is heavily implied to be the very last of his kind, mutated beyond recognition, blind and turned into a spreader of its contagion. And the worst part? It is my belief he was born into this. Too late to enjoy the peaceful periods that predated this horror, knowing only his awful terrible existence of being born and almost immediately infected and changed. Surrounded by the polluted remnants of the formerly blue star, his last days listening to his fellow comrades fight and kill one another until they were all just bodies baking in the sun, in his final moments he wishes he was never born at all. What does one even glean from the testimony of such an entity? That life is pain, that it knew no joy. No wonder the Meteia was traumatized.
It doesn't help that the Grebulloff's predicament is just so horrifying as well. Whatever they caught, it was not a gentle way to go. To be reduced to nothing but mutated flesh, every nerve ending screaming out in pain while the symptoms ravage already septic tissue. The moves the Grebulloff uses are even more terrifying. "Wave of Nausea" which can infect even your own character with Necrosis, which is the very end stage of infection and guarantees death. "Craven Companionship", which presents you two choices; seek someone to spend your final moments with and thus infect them too, or to die alone and infected but sparing everyone else your pain. "Cough up" to represent the blood and phlegm they no doubt expelled in their bodies' effort to purge the infection, but it failing miserably because they are already too far gone. And finally Misamata, which shows just how infectious this disease is. No disease is truly airborne, as they are inevitably carried downward by gravity and water particles, or otherwise land on a surface. But this disease? It truly is airborne, as it is carried on the very wind straight from a carrier. It mutated the Grebulloff so horribly and fittingly into a host that it's very presence is enough to send a deadly plague across the area. It has no choice in this fate, and with that lack of choice, dooms others to the same.
Fun Fact: If you take G'raha and Thancred into a Trust, at the end of area 2 this exchange happens: G'raha: "They could have accomplished so much good with their knowledge..." Thancred: "I can see why you chose to lock the Crystal Tower." It just made me laugh so hard, in the middle of this crapsack apocalypse scenario. The Trust banter is amazing.
I like how the areas reflect what the world would've looked like if it wasn't for the WoL. Ishgardians fighting their own, because they think they are heretics. A war torn Eorzea because of countless cycles of war which eventually lead to the black rose ("I killed them all") And the First getting swallowed up by the light through the fear and inaction of Eulmore's nobles.
Each area is more specifically meant to be a reflection of the three major worlds we visited in the MSQ up until this point and what Meteion believes would become of them. The First is mirrored by the first area, a world in the middle of an apocalypse that corrupts the very land itself and warps it's inhabitants into monsters in constant pain. The Source is reflected by the second area, eventually being consumed by war and destroying themselves - specifically Garlemald and Allag this applies to, but also Ishgard with the Dragonsong War etc The World Unsundered is reflected by the last area, The Plenty. It's inhabitants are immortal, powerful sorcerers with creation magicks, just like the unsundered, but eventually they reached a point where they felt they had done all that was worth living in life, making the world "perfect" and losing all will to live. Noticeably Hermes asks if this very same thing would happen once the world was made "perfect" back in Elpis - I'm not surprised this is the world that probably pushed Meteion over the edge.
@@awe862 i feel like it could be both of y'alls ideas, especially when it comes to how ishikawa wrapped up all of her themes into one cohesive resolution (or climax? falling action?)
@@yrys6230 I saw a comment above commenting on how these could also be the outcomes of what could have happened to our world. The first area being the result of Primal Summoning, the second being the war with Garlemald and the final being the world of the Ancients.
I always thought that each area explored a "what if" scenario: 1: What if the Beast Tribes and Primals won? 2: What if the Empire won? 3: What if the Ancient's world continued to exist?
I’m grateful that all of us that did this duty reacted the same way to what we saw in the Dead Ends. Let’s do our best as a species to not end like them
This song just makes me pure sad , each time I hear this. It's just so , perfect and just hard to describe that feeling , until that first boss , I made the whole team wipe. But it's all good.
I love how the leitmotif of "Close in the Distance" can be heard in this song. I'm not usually good at picking out leitmotifs until they are pointed out to me, but this one is unmistakable.
While Upon The Rocks (Pharos Sirius) is still my favorite track of all time, the lethal combo of story impact, dungeon aesthetics, Meteion just being excellent- and this track right here- nearly broke me; like nothing else in the game ever has.
Upon The Rocks is amazing! Excellent taste. Until I heard "Of Countless Stars", my favorite track was still Penitus, from Praetorium. It held on for a long time 😆
I know this is like a month late, but famine was supposedly another horseman related to the idea of Conquest. It was changed however due to it seeming to be too similar to War. I like to think Endsinger/Despair is the embodiment of that forgotten horseman since despair conquered so many worlds.
To be honest the dragon star could have been great to represent famine considering how their society met it's demise via lack of ether and therefore nourishment. Though that would probably be a bit too self indulgent considering how popular dragons are as a whole. So it might have distracted from the despair if we got some cool dragon lore drops, even if it's about their demise.
Got to this dungeon last night and with a great party. Second boss we lost our healer but through faith (and a heck of a lot of Clemency) my Paladin and a very spry Black Mage came through. It’s one of the best dungeon experiences I’ve ever had as a first timer and I couldn’t thank the party I was with for being a part of that experience
During my very first run-through with my buddies (who had walked before but were walking with me for this), the exact same thing happened. Healer and DPS down. It was myself (MNK) and my buddy (PLD). We were three quarters through. We were playing out of our minds. I fucking SCREAMED when we finally took that thing down.
I have grown to haaaaaaaaate this song. Not because it's bad but because it's the only dungeon I get when I queue for Expert. AND THAT I STILL DON'T HAVE THAT FUCKING BIRD.
If its not going to drop every run, I don’t understand why it can’t be on the marketboard. Its pretty annoying. Same goes for the other EW dungeon minions. Edit: it might be this way because spoilers, but still. 😖
While “The Final Fantasies” would’ve been memed to hell and back as the dungeon’s name like the jp version, one part of me finds it so fitting for the final dungeon of the saga, where we relive the final moments of dead planets
I feel Dead Ends is more appropriate and very poignant. Because that's what it all is, a literal dead end. There is a point in which nothing more will ever _be_ anymore, nothing will grow, nothing will live. Everything in existence is heading in that direction and nothing will ever stop it. You've been shown it seven times; the dragons, the ea, the omicron, the nekropolis, and these three worlds. No matter what path you choose it is always like this. You can choose to go on in spite of it, but you can never go against it. All choices lead to dead ends.
The Dead Ends is a perfect name imho. I wouldn't want it changed for anything. It's still my favorite dungeon theme, and that's saying a lot, because there are so many incredible dungeon themes, but this just....it hits hard. I never walked so slowly in a dungeon in my life.
I absolutely loved every waking moment of this dungeon when I ran it for the first time. I couldn't help but look around and explore. Amazing attention to detail, especially with the first area. You get a debuff and take damage for stepping into the water. And I was super curious about the aquatic race. It's a shame that there's really no insight on who or what they could be. The second area I enjoyed the most. I got a serious Lost Planet vibe from it. I noticed with this dungeon as well as the one before it that there was no gear drop? Only accessories. Which I know for the past expansions they've done something different every time. Was hoping I could get some sort of glam going.
Generally, from Stormblood on, the level cap dungeons only drop accessories. The MSQ level cap dungeon in Heavensward (Aetherochemical Research Facility) doesn't have any loot at all. This is usually because by this point you've gotten your job's artifact set which is intended to carry you through the initial MSQ endgame until you can start grinding for tomestone gear.
@@comfortabledoug85 That's just plain false on both accounts. Ala Mhigo in Stormblood also drops ilvl300 left side gear alongside the accessories, as it makes up a full set (which is also better than AF3, upgrades notwithstanding). The idea of giving out accessories only came from Shadowbringers, in order to keep the expansion's AF relevant at least until after the capstone trial. And Heavensward's Aetherochemical Research Factory was never balanced around you having AF2-the job quests didn't give you gear at all until Stormblood came along, because AF2 was made to be that expansion's second tomestone set rather than a freebie.
@@shinobirecords2018 I can see the point from both of your opinions, thank you both. I wouldn't necessarily say theirs is false, just explained differently.
There's a minion of the aquatic race you can get from retainers/market board. It called wind-up grebuloff. If you zoom in close they look like a bipedal salt and pepper seal.
Indeed! The only dungeon that is better now gameplay wise, is The Fell Court Of Troia, but that one of course came into game much later. Before Troia, this dungeon was my absolute favorite and I was in absolute awe when first playing it. I really need to play it more though, I still haven’t learned the mechanics properly so I’m on the floor a bit too much (while Troia I can run in my sleep by now after running it probably 100+ times since it was introduced into game)
Only annoying thing about it is when u get the dungeon with a new healer and someone gets hit with the debuff at the first boss and they don't esuna it :p, sometimes several times in a row xD but yeah agreed troia is really nice too simply it being a reference to and older title alone makes it great.
@@bodiva8 Worst part is the second boss if you miss dodging one of the eyes and the healer misses that you have doom on you. Most of the time I nail it these days but there are still times where I get hit with one doom when there’s several eyes to dodge. But generally that’s also the only time I’m maybe on the floor in Troia these days. I haven’t ran my Sage in there yet but will do sometime, I’ve only done Reaper and Danced in there this far
I was talking about dead ends xD but yeah feel u there in the troia dungeon, just gotta stop attacking in time really and be in the middle of the two eye aoes looking away
Ngl, having to kill members of those semi-imaginary(in the sense that they are only illusions because they are already dead) despaired civilization since they are simply trash mobs you pull wall to wall in comparison to the bosses, who are basically their strongest but only a footnote as they are simply dungeon bosses makes it hit very hard to me. You tear through people who've never felt like they actually had a chance and despaired over it despite their achievements or even their power. And it feels kinda poetic to me. It means your hope is just that strong, but also that you suffered enough to see things for what they are, reflect upon them, move forward with them and even die alongside them peacefully. Be it pain, regret, sadness, loss... And it also means that regardless of what happens, you want to be happy at "journey's end"(or rather, death), so you do everything in order to make it worthwhile despite it(think back on Venat's question "Has your journey been good? Was it all worthwhile in the end?") . It's pretty cool theming, especially with how the areas are themed around what makes despair what it is in the context of Meteion's report(other comments would describe that better).
Finally commenting on this 2 years late, but... There were actually two parts of this dungeon that really got to me. The first, was when trying to get the hang of the first boss's mechanics. When you die to them, they actually have dialogue right before you respawn, begging you to come back, stating that they don't want to die alone. This is the only boss I've fought so far who actually has something to say regarding the player dying to them, and it's something so heartbreaking at that. The second was the moment others in this comment section have mentioned. "I did it! I killed them all! I... killed them all..." I interpreted this slightly differently from how others seem to have, as I believed it to be that this one single individual concluded that the only way the war would end would be if both sides were completely wiped out, and so they did just that, wiped both sides out completely. ...Only to then realize that they were now the only one left alive in the world, that they were now truly and utterly alone. They had achieved peace... but had no one to share that peace with.
This is not a game, it's an experience. Never in my entire 33 years of my life had I had an existential crisis and cried ugly tears when the characters i grew to love, gave their lives to carve my path forward. And this dungeon made me realize how much I find life precious to me, more than ever before. I'm no longer that guy who sees the world in a negative light...
I appreciate this start much more than when I first ran through it. The BGM is fire, Meteion's chilling voice & the narration in general, the birds pushing forward, and the fade to THE DEAD ENDS into the darkest depths of despair
It's insane how something this beautiful can exist. Exist in a game no less. Exist in a god damn mmo of all places. The most unlikely place to find something like this. Especially when almost always in every other mmo the story is just some cobbled together nonsense to give you a reason to go to a new map or something. And that's if the story is even present at all. I almost can't believe that I get to live in a time where I can experience such a good, touching story with positive, beautiful messages together with so many people.
Kinda sucks we didn't get the Japanese name "The Final Fantasies" suits the climatic nature of FF14 first main story really well the sugar on top would be the final trial being called "The Final Fantasy."
It almost looks like the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse 1.- Grebuloffs died of Pestilence and Famine, no water. 2.- Peacekeeper side got overwhelmed by War and Conquest 3.- The 3rd one people were so bored they all craved for Death.
An idea I had was for Famine to have its own end in bwetween Peacekeeper and Ra La. (Famine follows War) "Further out was another star... they were young, and had just attained knowledge and peace. But one day, the sky turned dark, and the winds cold." The WoL enters a place that is not too dissimilar to Ishgard... but with fields of dead crops, dying forests. "Its people knew hunger... and in their hunger, they forsook their newly attained knowledge and wisdom, but for only one more day alive." AS you fight through trash mobs that are famine-crazed people and starving animals, you can see a group of people chasing animals, wielding Fusils and renaissance era weaponry. Estinien: This is... worse than Ishgard. Alphinaud: It's like it's high noon, yet it's so... dark out... "But the wind grew colder and colder, the season never ended. The people thought of nothing but their own immediate needs: Survival." the mob comes back, but now they are wielding spears and sticks, the animals are smaller and thinner. The peoples' clothes are tattered. Y'shtola: Thancred, are you well? Thancred: F-FINE. "Fewer and fewer remained..." Boss, larger creature Urianger: Perhaps this creature doth be the last of its kind? Alisaie: How horrible - it's fighting for its life just like the others! "...and in their hunger, they forsook their morals for just one more day alive..." Finally the group of people is reduced to just two people in a barren wasteland - they are lying down, too weak and too hungry to move. "I... gotta... eat... something..." one of them says. They pick up an axe... the other one speaks "NO! DON'T!" "Must... eat..." they say as they bring the axe down onto the other, who is too weak with hunger to move away. But then... "Oh no... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" G'raha: Oh no... Y'shtola: I can tell what happened even without my eyes... Thancred: That hunger... I knew it... but never like that... Alphinaud: Even as I close my eyes, I still see it. Alisaie: Alphinaud... promise me... Alphinaud: I will never do such a thing, sister. G'raha: ...Garlemald... Estinien: You think they experienced this, too? G'raha: But their science did not fail them. Even as we found them, huddling for warmth... Thancred: These people weren't there yet. Maybe even if they could... no... "But was it worth it?" Meteion asks, "For tomorrow did not bring an end to this chill... nor did it bring an end to their eternal hunger..." And then we move onto death.
So the first dungeon lv 90 is a apocalyptic one in past, also the first dungeon of lv 80 was a apocalyptic one in past(amaurot), will the future first dungeon lv 100 be another apocalyptic one in past? I hope yes, i dont know why i like this type of dungeon, but i find them amazing
WoL: "If I had 1 Gil for every time our enemy showed us a past apocalypse before we faced them, I'd have 2 Gil. Which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice."
if youre right, given the theme of the void the patchquests are setting up, perhaps what we will see is the end of the thirteenth as its getting swallowed by the flood of darkness
It’s kind of like people, each star, seeing their lives and the choices they made along the way before they passed or burned out, some could not find peace or gave up along the way or it was too late.
This song is the perfect accompaniment for the story being revealed during the dungeon. It just feels incredible. It also makes me recall Songs of Salt and Suffering from Stormblood. Both are good marching songs. However, in Stormblood, you know you’re marching to victory when Songs plays. In Dead Ends, things aren’t as clear, and this song makes you feel that, in your bones.
Probably my favorite area of this dungeon is the war torn area, as I genuinely enjoy war torn battlefields (Ghimlyt Dark was a very welcoming surprise to me as other games I've played in the past never had battlefields as detailed as that dungeon)
I was already bawling when this dungeon started. But when this track started I knew that what was already an emotional experience would become something akin to a _religious_ experience.
0:25 sing the lyrics slowly, in time with the piano "Whis-pers... Falling silently, drift on the wind" (but I hear you) "Our jour-ney.... Now a memory fading from sight..." (but I see you)
Some of the story of this expansion, reminded me so much of the back story to a comic I used to draw as a kid, which I am redoing. Because of this, I would say this expansion to me is the absolute best of them all.. I also only do this dungeon for tomes, I actually forgot to unlock the others lol. If I ever have another game made of the comic, (made a little one way back in high school with friends- Chrono Trigger style gameplay, mixed with Phantasy Star II & IV).. I would have it play quite like Dragon's Dogma, mixed with Zelda, looking like Guilty Gear Strive. You travel different planets, even space stations (in the Andromeda Galaxy).. It always started off on Earth being that the main character, Einar is accidently sent and stuck there (lost), as a baby (he is called KD7302-Kydan, on his home world). He is adopted by the leader of a space explorer faction, of Earth called, "Storm Wolf". The faction was founded in 2078, and is comprised of military veterans, mercenaries, and bounty hunters. They adopt Norse/Viking culture, which is the theme of this faction, and give birth to what is called the "Neo Viking Movement." The main character was actually created as an imaginary friend when I was a child. But when I drew him again at 15 (when my drawing had gotten better lol), he was modeled after a young Roy Batty from Blade Runner, mixed with a young Thouzer from Fist of the North Star, and a bit of Spider One, from Powerman 5000 was thrown in, because the character happens to also be a musician, the lead vocalist/guitarist of a Rekkr Metal band (new style of metal) called, Ragnarok (it used to be called Drengr). Like the Skald, who would sing of heroic deeds, and battles, the same is done within this faction among some of it's more musically talented members, though of course through this new style of metal called, Rekkr. I remember in the game we made, we had given Einar a gun-blade, because we wanted both sword and gunplay as his primary weapon. It had elemental properties, allowing him to select an elemental cartridge. This was actually inspired by my Red Mage on FFXI lol, he calls the weapon "Violent Grace". The secondary weapon is called an Infinite Frequency Manipulator, or IFM. A sonic weapon used to hone harmonic energy, for harmonic attacks. His is obviously fashioned as a guitar he names, "Violent Resonance". In the game you played riffs to perform powerful attacks, or enhancement. If you played the riff normally the attack or enhancement would work as normal. If you played it extremely well, and fast his battle companion a shape shifting wolf-like creature, would take humanoid form (as he is the bassist in the band), and play along with him, enhancing the riff with a chance to lower Violent Resonance's cooldown. But if you totally messed it up, the riff's attack would damage everything, even you. One of his riffs called, "Fear Crusade" would invoke his wolf-like companion to become an "Unfeigned Zayin Beast", (Zayin are a primordial genetically engineered alien race, which Einar is part of) turning him into a massive werewolf-like beast that starts wrecking stuff, as Einar sits on his shoulder.. If the riff is messed up however, his companion (his name is Varg), can be turned into a pup, or his humanoid form both of which make him vulnerable, and being that the two of them share a symbiotic relationship, any damage Varg takes Einar will as well. His third weapon is actually himself, merged with his companion Varg. Einar awakens the mutation within him, which allows Varg to become like an armor for him (which suppresses some of the destructive force in him as well as protects him).. I remember the armor kind of almost looking like Grey Fox's suit from Metal Gear. He also has to wear what is called the "Ulfhednar Grima", which is a mask that allows him to retain his sanity while in his mutated state called, "Weapon of Sovereign Ruination, True Arsenal Form, Righteous Violence".. I had named the comic "Sentient Armament", and later used Final Fantasy 15 to make Einar based on his drawings, just to see what he'd maybe look like.. We laughed saying he looked like Thouzer had a kid with Cosmos from Dissidia, or Cloud's older delinquent brother, with an undercut fade lol.. Recently I decided to make him more like my Gunbreaker on XIV, mixed with Red Mage, and Bard (the music) lol.
The dungeon reminds me heavily of The Book of Revelation. First zone is the putrefaction of the ocean, darkness, and a combination of the poured bowls. Second is the War of Armageddon. Third zone feels like a corruption of the millennium with the unrepentant sinners.
“Though I fight for my stake in this world, I share my fate with the many who have come before me and the countless lives who will follow after. I will make sure of this, always.” My headcannon WoL’s (Princess of Eorzea) declaration to Meteion.
@Ryan Bentley yea I just love meteions narrarating and seeing how all these worlds screwed themselves. The guy blowing up the whole backdrop always sends chills down my spine I'm glad it always comes up on my expert roulettes
When I first went trough this dungeon, the choice of soundtrack initially seemed like an odd choice. As I progressed, and once I finally realized that it was using the leitmotif of "Close in the Distance," itself a solemn-yet-hopeful song, it made perfect sense. "In darkness seek joy. Surrender not to sadness, and see beyond despair. Walk free, and bear the light for others to follow. Together, raise it aloft and let it shine. Till the end, blinding and radiant."
Yeah, I had that uploaded earlier. But after receiving a copyright strike the piano version of Answers, I also took down Your Answer (2nd trial theme) just to be safe.
The message of hope and carrying on in the face of despair kinda rings hollow when our planet is literally going through the ends the first and second areas of this dungeon depict.
I dunno about the first area. As bad as COVID has been, it's been far from world ending. The second one is also a little off the mark, seeing as it isn't nuclear war and rampant AI that's killing Earth, but rampant climate change.
@@ReesesBees Or they reused the asset from Oppressor to make a new boss. Dragon-King Thordan uses the same model as Thunder God Cid from Orbonne Monastery, for example.
Even coming back, this dungeon is so layered. All 3 worlds are so reminiscient of our world. The first is like a "what if" the various Beast Tribes and their Primals did win out, they'd deplete the world's resources to feed their primals and then fight each other in the end. The 2nd world is clearly the battle between the Eorzian Alliance and the Empire, which DID happen in an alternate future. And the 3rd world is heavily implied to be the kind of world the Ancients (ascians) were going to become, basically all of Hermes' worst fears because none of the rest of the society really cared about what they did like himself, working up into meaningless perfection.
The first world also can represent the First and the Thirteenth, with the mutated denizens the analog to Voidsent and Sin Eaters, the plague responsible for them thus the Flood of Darkness and Flood of Light. All born from conflict, be it the Contramemoria, the acts of Ardbert and his party, or the Grebuloff’s conquest of their world’s dry land.
@@bradleydevron It could even be the history of Eorzea itslef. For example the Nymians fell to a similar plague, and the war of the magi caused much of the world to be uninhabitable for a time due to the massive flooding.
"Tales of loss and fire and faith" applies to a ton of the story, and EW knows it.
Great analysis
It's a great point, also the irony that a civilization like the third world became so advanced that death was the only way out. Like the allagans were a few steps away from it as they continued to pursue more and more unhinged and deranged forms of pleasure because they had grown desensitized to the suffering of others is the exact nightmare scenario that hermes feared and that his reincarnation Amon reveled in.
"I did it! I killed them all! I.. killed them all..."
The sudden realization for the Global Citizen broke me....
Backtrack somehow.
...he's not there anymore...
I just wanted to slap him on the shoulder. "Hang in there, buddy!"
𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺
you sure did, buddy
"They tried to buy peace with fire and steel. And when one asked 'What is the point?' there were none left to answer."
In german the Dungeon is called "Das Sternengrab" , ( The tomb of Stars)
In french, it's called "L'issue aux impasses", which means, no matter how hard you try, it's dead ends everywhere anyway^^"
That’s very fitting, thank you for sharing.
Tomb of stars is very fitting
Well, "Die Sackgassen" doesn't sound very epic, so it makes sense that they changed it.
The Tomb of Stars is metal as hell
A detail I absolutely adore in FFXIV is the weather system. There are so many unique and special conditions, and when you check what the weather is in this dungeon, it's labeled as "Inevitability", as if everything that happened to the worlds in this dungeon are unavoidable and bound to happen to us. Small details like that really add up to make such a unique and enthralling experience.
It’s really nice how often they blend the game with the setting. Like when you get the buff about going beyond your strength, or how picking up certain items takes longer when they’re larger and less time when they’re smaller.
To me.. this piece of music encapsulates the essence of EW's story: the acknowledgment of sorrow and despair, and the resolve to keep charging forward.
"You will never reach it. Never reach the deliverance you seek!"
"Maybe you're right. But that's no reason not to look for it."
@@Skijaramaz "you see Meteion, we are a naturally stubborn species. Asking us to give up when all is at stake is asking of us the impossible"
Tales of loss, and fire, and faith.
The real mistake that Hermes made was never informing Meteion that no matter how many stars, die, new ones are born (as mentioned towards the end of Endwalker) fueling the constant cycle of death and rebirth and the reason we charge ahead is that no matter what happens to us, if we can somehow lay the groundwork for the next star to learn from our mistakes, if we can plant the seed for the tree whose shade we will never sit under, then we succeeded and it was never for nothing.
@@louthinator uh they knew this, Meteion learned of the Heat Death of the Universe, meaning eventually no new stars will ever be born again, and all life will cease to exist, and nothing can stop it.
I love how Meteion narrates this dungeon like a fairy tale. Almost like one of Aesop's fables with the grim ending and lesson to be learned.
Ayeee Aesop's fables! You are certainly a man of culture and I tip my hat to you.
The part of that narration that really gets me is that it reinforces that Meteion is a ultimately just a frightened child, desperately trying to wish away what's hurting her. It just so happens that she's powerful enough that its working.
@@EmperorPylades It should be noted this was the same of every Meteion sent through the universe. They thought they were going to find countless stars like their own, which were rich in culture and happiness, but all they found was agony and misery that they had never been equipped to deal with or made to experience. It makes perfect sense why they wanted to turn the universe off, because nobody should have to have that be their only memories away from home.
@@donovangrant424 Yes those societies ended but they also thrived once and they're was happiness even thought it ended, thats why we need to hold on to the happiness for as long as we have it and remember nothing last forever so keep moving on to find new joys and not become consumed by despair.
It was literally done in shadowbringers with Emet in amaurot dungeon.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful blue star... that fell to pestilence, and rotted inside and out. The more its people clung to life, the more they suffered. Until they cursed not the illness, but their fellow corrupted. Those who lived and festered, those who died and decayed... and the very last of them wished they had never been born at all.
In a faraway place, a brilliant star eradicated disease... before destroying the selfsame lives it had saved. Its people sought ever greater freedoms no matter the cost... they tried to buy peace with fire and steel... and when one asked, "What is the point?" there were none left to answer.
Farther still existed a star without strife... where none remembered life's trials- or its joys. What its people had gained from ease, they lost to apathy. So they created the kindest, most gentle of beasts. Its steps were light, and its gift was as painless as it was beautiful. Bathed in its golden glow, they all slept happily ever after...
What's funny? It's confirmed by the lore devs that the last one is what would have happened to the Ancients if the Sundering didn't happen.
@@yinyang452 Basically, their f***ed either way 🤷
@@yinyang452 It makes one wonder if that topic could be talked ingame to one of the Ascians
@@octapusxft i just decided to read the bits of lore in dungeon its even more disturbing now
Each world fixed the problems of the one before it, only to encounter new problems. The first star "fell to pestilence, and rotted inside and out". The second star "eradicated disease before destroying the selfsame lives it had saved". The final world was "a star without strife - where none remembered life's trials, or its joys".
This dungeon and Amaurot are pure masterpieces, visually, storywise and music wise.
I love Estinien's comment on the second world
"This could have been us had we been unable to stop the dragonsong war..."
I wish Lyse was able to come with us here. I imagine in the second part, she would have said "This is nothing like Doma or Ala Mhigo... things aren't so clear..." and "...That might have been me... once upon a time..." when the guy nukes everything.
“Once upon a time….there was a beautiful blue star….”
...that fell to pestilence and rotted inside and out.
@@blu_berri_san EARTH DIED IN THE FF UNIVERSE!
@@villaniousmustache4898 you know, thinking about it, first world may be a dramatics of COVID lol
@@SushiBurritoPapi We are more like heading toward the second world X.X
@@bigfoxki ww3 here we go
Two possibilities exist, either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying
- Arthur C. Clarke
Only if you think like he did…hold onto Hope.
Was not expecting The Great Filter to play a part in the FFXIV storyline, but here we are O_o
@@Trancelistener09 it's still terrifying, not necessarily because whatever life we run into will be hostile to us... but that by giving us hope and a path forward, those with far too much ambition will mess it up for the reat of us.. to drive another who want peace to nihalism by showing them the darkest side of humanity, by giving them the wrong message.
@@louthinator There's nothing wrong with Nihilism. Don't let Meteion's edgelord style Nihilism color what it is. There's beauty and comfort in knowing that there's no point to anything. That just means doubly that you living is point enough.
@@Zeithri that's not the core philoisophy of nihilism nor what it is in the general common zeitgeist though... Meteion's philosophy is the classic interpretation of nihilism, basically its original definition. If you've managed to pulll something different from it then good for you but for most of us we do things because they matter. The whole idea that the work we do before we die is planting seeds for trees whose shade we will never rest in.
"A curious traveler visited our star---a bird which proffered these questions: "What meaning does life hold? For what do you strive?" I could find no satisfactory answers, only bittersweet memories of an age long past
There was a time when we were lesser, and in our nescience sought purpose---struggled to justify life's worth. That was, of course, before we achieved perfection. Now, condemned to our paradise, we understand the fatuity of existence.
Like the fledglings we once were, the poor bird could not accept the truth. It asked us again and again---hoping, perhaps, our answer might change."
She let memories like this burn for thousands of years in her heart
That part always gets to me. She kept asing the question. she wasn't satisfied with the answer she got so she kept asking until they really did look into themselves.
My take on that is that she was already succumbing to dread when she posed that question to the Ea, and her repeating it is her denial of the yawning expanse of existential dread that would later consume her into the Endsinger.
And somehow, there was still enough left of her to save when the Warrior of Light finally made it this far.
It's really cool how Prelude rings ever so subtly in the background in some parts, slightly off key but still giving the impression that there is yet a new beginning to be had
You can hear it most clearly between 2:13 and 2:18
I love how the through-line of hearing the Prelude in so many parts of FFXIV just reminds you that this message of hope is at the heart of Final Fantasy as a series. Different heroes, different worlds, all united in the belief that there is a better tomorrow worth fighting for.
That’s not technically off key, it’s just an unresolved chord
nice catch!! love it
Finding out it refers to 'societal dead ends': SORROW AND DESPAIR
Finding out in JP it means something akin to 'The Final Fantasies': EQUAL AMOUNTS OF SORROW AND DESPAIR
You did it, you became the final fantasies
HE SAID IT
HE SAID THE THING
Roll credits
Previous final dungeons do similar title drops.
HW: Blue Heavens Crusade (read: Heavensward)
SB: Decisive Crimson Battle (Japanese title was known as Crimson Liberation)
ShB: Apocalyptic Illusion (written in another way of saying Final Fantasy)
@@numberc8420 amaurot was apocalyptic illusion? Like how 'telomania' is also (arguably) final fantasy?
*hits the button* THEY DID IT AGAIN
"And when one asked 'What was the point?' there were none left to answer."
My absolute favorite track in the entire game bar none. The strings and chanting sound like they're filled with sorrow, the piano and brass are uplifting and hopeful, the war drums beating in the background. It's like the song is trying to be happy and sad at the same time, both clashing against one another, but together they're a beautiful harmony representing life.
1:18 it’s this part here with the harp that gets me
When just hearing the first note of a song brings tears to your eyes.. This expansion man..
*Hugs Global Citizen*
/cheeron
Pets spoiler lmao
pets meteion bird
Dotes on global citizen
what makes this dungeon is the report in the 3rd instance as meteion asked whats the meaning of life and they didnt know. she was so desperate to get an answer just to most likely see the guy vanish into light
I sure didn't expected the Fermi Paradox being approached by a great game as such. It always ask you the question: "Why we have not been withness of other forms of intelligent life?" And FFXIV answer to this is the one we are most affraid of.
And we human follow them that have been slain.
And with climate change inevitably destroying all life on Earth, we'll be joining all of the lifeless planets we know of eventually. At the rate it's going, maybe in the not so distant future.
@@noisescape1 Only time will tell.
The most likely answers to the Fermi Paradox from where I stand are either that we simply lack the means to detect communication from alien civilizations, the signals they emit deteriorate into meaningless noise by the time they reach us, their signals simply haven't reached us yet cause space is thicc, or some combination of all of the above.
@@Skijaramaz Pretty much! By the time we get their signal, we can't guarantee they are still a standing civilization or long gone.
1:17 can't help but start singing "Tales of loss, and fire, faith (...)" during this part.
Every word on our hearts engraved
@@DevoutSkeptic in the dark you will not stray
@@Jazzyandyify Forge ahead till the end, we pray
someone need to do a remix qOq!
Which is made even more perfect when you consider the three zones of the dungeon to be tales of loss, of fire, and lastly of faith.
The global citizen who blasted everyone dead always hits me the hardest because it's such a huge reality for us and our world.
In fighting monsters, one must take care not to become one.
Just here to say the song title finishes the sentence of the dungeon name. “The dead ends of countless stars.”
Wow, I’ve been listening to this since release and never caught that.
The perfect song for fighting against despair at the edge of the universe.
Second end, when "they tried buy peace with fire and steel" it's just wow, not in good way, this moment when one guy destroy them all and Meteion is saying "and when one asked" what's the point" there was no one left to answer" or something like this, my mouth was open all time during this, amazing story but soo tragic
These guys getting happily vaporized by butterflies still send shivers down my spine.
Killer butterflies!
That is my favorite part of the dungeon. Wishing for death is so brutal.
Their existence was so idyllic that they wanted to experience something they haven't before: Death. :(
That area is a look at what would've happened to the Ancients if they continued to exist as they were.
This could honestly have been the ending theme of the entire franchise and I wouldn't have questioned it.
私たちが見た3つの世界。その絶望を知らない私たちは「諦めなければ！方法はあったのに…。」そう思ってしまう。けれどもそれを言えるのは第二の世界の絶望に近いものを知る、グラハだけであると思う。僕たちに絶望へ希望を歌う歌は歌えないと、駆け抜けながら思いました。
"I killed them all! I... killed them all..." *Chills*
He did it! :D
"How many points did you get?"
@@HintedImage "feel like a hero yet?"
It was the Grebuloff's ending sentiment that got me. The creature we fight is heavily implied to be the very last of his kind, mutated beyond recognition, blind and turned into a spreader of its contagion. And the worst part? It is my belief he was born into this. Too late to enjoy the peaceful periods that predated this horror, knowing only his awful terrible existence of being born and almost immediately infected and changed. Surrounded by the polluted remnants of the formerly blue star, his last days listening to his fellow comrades fight and kill one another until they were all just bodies baking in the sun, in his final moments he wishes he was never born at all.
What does one even glean from the testimony of such an entity? That life is pain, that it knew no joy. No wonder the Meteia was traumatized.
It doesn't help that the Grebulloff's predicament is just so horrifying as well. Whatever they caught, it was not a gentle way to go.
To be reduced to nothing but mutated flesh, every nerve ending screaming out in pain while the symptoms ravage already septic tissue. The moves the Grebulloff uses are even more terrifying. "Wave of Nausea" which can infect even your own character with Necrosis, which is the very end stage of infection and guarantees death. "Craven Companionship", which presents you two choices; seek someone to spend your final moments with and thus infect them too, or to die alone and infected but sparing everyone else your pain. "Cough up" to represent the blood and phlegm they no doubt expelled in their bodies' effort to purge the infection, but it failing miserably because they are already too far gone.
And finally Misamata, which shows just how infectious this disease is. No disease is truly airborne, as they are inevitably carried downward by gravity and water particles, or otherwise land on a surface. But this disease? It truly is airborne, as it is carried on the very wind straight from a carrier. It mutated the Grebulloff so horribly and fittingly into a host that it's very presence is enough to send a deadly plague across the area. It has no choice in this fate, and with that lack of choice, dooms others to the same.
Fun Fact: If you take G'raha and Thancred into a Trust, at the end of area 2 this exchange happens:
G'raha: "They could have accomplished so much good with their knowledge..."
Thancred: "I can see why you chose to lock the Crystal Tower."
It just made me laugh so hard, in the middle of this crapsack apocalypse scenario. The Trust banter is amazing.
I always em /slap the global citizen at the end >:3
@@TheOptimistDelusion Frigging same. XD
@@TheOptimistDelusion in my case i always say "congratulations, you just committed genocide"
@@TheOptimistDelusion I sometimes say in party chat: "He did it! :D" I mean, he seemed so enthusiastic about it at first.
@@vigo2669 Dude, same. He did it! He killed them all! High five, Global Citizen.
This song and dungeon are what finally broke me. What a journey.
I like how the areas reflect what the world would've looked like if it wasn't for the WoL.
Ishgardians fighting their own, because they think they are heretics.
A war torn Eorzea because of countless cycles of war which eventually lead to the black rose ("I killed them all")
And the First getting swallowed up by the light through the fear and inaction of Eulmore's nobles.
Each area is more specifically meant to be a reflection of the three major worlds we visited in the MSQ up until this point and what Meteion believes would become of them.
The First is mirrored by the first area, a world in the middle of an apocalypse that corrupts the very land itself and warps it's inhabitants into monsters in constant pain.
The Source is reflected by the second area, eventually being consumed by war and destroying themselves - specifically Garlemald and Allag this applies to, but also Ishgard with the Dragonsong War etc
The World Unsundered is reflected by the last area, The Plenty. It's inhabitants are immortal, powerful sorcerers with creation magicks, just like the unsundered, but eventually they reached a point where they felt they had done all that was worth living in life, making the world "perfect" and losing all will to live. Noticeably Hermes asks if this very same thing would happen once the world was made "perfect" back in Elpis - I'm not surprised this is the world that probably pushed Meteion over the edge.
@@awe862 i feel like it could be both of y'alls ideas, especially when it comes to how ishikawa wrapped up all of her themes into one cohesive resolution (or climax? falling action?)
@@yrys6230 I saw a comment above commenting on how these could also be the outcomes of what could have happened to our world. The first area being the result of Primal Summoning, the second being the war with Garlemald and the final being the world of the Ancients.
I always thought that each area explored a "what if" scenario:
1: What if the Beast Tribes and Primals won?
2: What if the Empire won?
3: What if the Ancient's world continued to exist?
I’m grateful that all of us that did this duty reacted the same way to what we saw in the Dead Ends. Let’s do our best as a species to not end like them
This song just makes me pure sad , each time I hear this. It's just so , perfect and just hard to describe that feeling , until that first boss , I made the whole team wipe. But it's all good.
I love how the leitmotif of "Close in the Distance" can be heard in this song. I'm not usually good at picking out leitmotifs until they are pointed out to me, but this one is unmistakable.
While Upon The Rocks (Pharos Sirius) is still my favorite track of all time, the lethal combo of story impact, dungeon aesthetics, Meteion just being excellent- and this track right here- nearly broke me; like nothing else in the game ever has.
Upon The Rocks is amazing! Excellent taste. Until I heard "Of Countless Stars", my favorite track was still Penitus, from Praetorium. It held on for a long time 😆
You know, it occurred to me recently, but barring Famine, these 3 sections represents the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.
Pestilence
War
Death
Yet another reason to be disappointed dungeons only have three bosses.
Garlemald represented famine. Only difference is that even though it died, something new will be born in its place because of our efforts.
I know this is like a month late, but famine was supposedly another horseman related to the idea of Conquest. It was changed however due to it seeming to be too similar to War.
I like to think Endsinger/Despair is the embodiment of that forgotten horseman since despair conquered so many worlds.
To be honest the dragon star could have been great to represent famine considering how their society met it's demise via lack of ether and therefore nourishment. Though that would probably be a bit too self indulgent considering how popular dragons are as a whole. So it might have distracted from the despair if we got some cool dragon lore drops, even if it's about their demise.
Got to this dungeon last night and with a great party.
Second boss we lost our healer but through faith (and a heck of a lot of Clemency) my Paladin and a very spry Black Mage came through.
It’s one of the best dungeon experiences I’ve ever had as a first timer and I couldn’t thank the party I was with for being a part of that experience
During my very first run-through with my buddies (who had walked before but were walking with me for this), the exact same thing happened. Healer and DPS down. It was myself (MNK) and my buddy (PLD). We were three quarters through. We were playing out of our minds. I fucking SCREAMED when we finally took that thing down.
I have grown to haaaaaaaaate this song.
Not because it's bad but because it's the only dungeon I get when I queue for Expert.
AND THAT I STILL DON'T HAVE THAT FUCKING BIRD.
If its not going to drop every run, I don’t understand why it can’t be on the marketboard. Its pretty annoying. Same goes for the other EW dungeon minions.
Edit: it might be this way because spoilers, but still. 😖
Can we trade each other's "only dungeon on Expert"? I'd like a break from Smileton, please and thank you~
While “The Final Fantasies” would’ve been memed to hell and back as the dungeon’s name like the jp version, one part of me finds it so fitting for the final dungeon of the saga, where we relive the final moments of dead planets
I feel Dead Ends is more appropriate and very poignant. Because that's what it all is, a literal dead end. There is a point in which nothing more will ever _be_ anymore, nothing will grow, nothing will live. Everything in existence is heading in that direction and nothing will ever stop it. You've been shown it seven times; the dragons, the ea, the omicron, the nekropolis, and these three worlds. No matter what path you choose it is always like this. You can choose to go on in spite of it, but you can never go against it. All choices lead to dead ends.
The Dead Ends is a perfect name imho. I wouldn't want it changed for anything.
It's still my favorite dungeon theme, and that's saying a lot, because there are so many incredible dungeon themes, but this just....it hits hard. I never walked so slowly in a dungeon in my life.
@@vaidenkelsier7757well in German its the Sternengrab translated to Grave or Tomb of Stars.
I absolutely loved every waking moment of this dungeon when I ran it for the first time. I couldn't help but look around and explore. Amazing attention to detail, especially with the first area. You get a debuff and take damage for stepping into the water. And I was super curious about the aquatic race. It's a shame that there's really no insight on who or what they could be. The second area I enjoyed the most. I got a serious Lost Planet vibe from it. I noticed with this dungeon as well as the one before it that there was no gear drop? Only accessories. Which I know for the past expansions they've done something different every time. Was hoping I could get some sort of glam going.
Generally, from Stormblood on, the level cap dungeons only drop accessories. The MSQ level cap dungeon in Heavensward (Aetherochemical Research Facility) doesn't have any loot at all. This is usually because by this point you've gotten your job's artifact set which is intended to carry you through the initial MSQ endgame until you can start grinding for tomestone gear.
@@comfortabledoug85 That's just plain false on both accounts.
Ala Mhigo in Stormblood also drops ilvl300 left side gear alongside the accessories, as it makes up a full set (which is also better than AF3, upgrades notwithstanding). The idea of giving out accessories only came from Shadowbringers, in order to keep the expansion's AF relevant at least until after the capstone trial.
And Heavensward's Aetherochemical Research Factory was never balanced around you having AF2-the job quests didn't give you gear at all until Stormblood came along, because AF2 was made to be that expansion's second tomestone set rather than a freebie.
@@comfortabledoug85 Lee la
@@shinobirecords2018 I can see the point from both of your opinions, thank you both. I wouldn't necessarily say theirs is false, just explained differently.
There's a minion of the aquatic race you can get from retainers/market board. It called wind-up grebuloff. If you zoom in close they look like a bipedal salt and pepper seal.
Damn my jaw was just dropped during this whole expac. Specifically right around here was when my soul left my body
When you first spawn in, I feel sad for the guy telling his friend to hold on on the left. This dungeon is so sad :'(
Handsdown the best dungeon track as well as best dungeon in ff14! I kept redoing this dungeon just for the song!
Yup
Indeed! The only dungeon that is better now gameplay wise, is The Fell Court Of Troia, but that one of course came into game much later. Before Troia, this dungeon was my absolute favorite and I was in absolute awe when first playing it. I really need to play it more though, I still haven’t learned the mechanics properly so I’m on the floor a bit too much (while Troia I can run in my sleep by now after running it probably 100+ times since it was introduced into game)
Only annoying thing about it is when u get the dungeon with a new healer and someone gets hit with the debuff at the first boss and they don't esuna it :p, sometimes several times in a row xD but yeah agreed troia is really nice too simply it being a reference to and older title alone makes it great.
@@bodiva8 Worst part is the second boss if you miss dodging one of the eyes and the healer misses that you have doom on you. Most of the time I nail it these days but there are still times where I get hit with one doom when there’s several eyes to dodge. But generally that’s also the only time I’m maybe on the floor in Troia these days. I haven’t ran my Sage in there yet but will do sometime, I’ve only done Reaper and Danced in there this far
I was talking about dead ends xD but yeah feel u there in the troia dungeon, just gotta stop attacking in time really and be in the middle of the two eye aoes looking away
"I did it! I killed them all!"
"...I... killed them all...."
The sad thing is if you backtrack to that point? That person's not there anymore.
If you think that's sad try going back here in Exploration Mode.
@@the_exegete It's all empty, right?
@@Terestrasz Empty and dark.
@@the_exegete Basically waht I thought.
Damn...as if that global citizen didn't already break me.
This song makes me cry like a freaking baby for some reason
Ngl, having to kill members of those semi-imaginary(in the sense that they are only illusions because they are already dead) despaired civilization since they are simply trash mobs you pull wall to wall in comparison to the bosses, who are basically their strongest but only a footnote as they are simply dungeon bosses makes it hit very hard to me. You tear through people who've never felt like they actually had a chance and despaired over it despite their achievements or even their power. And it feels kinda poetic to me.
It means your hope is just that strong, but also that you suffered enough to see things for what they are, reflect upon them, move forward with them and even die alongside them peacefully. Be it pain, regret, sadness, loss... And it also means that regardless of what happens, you want to be happy at "journey's end"(or rather, death), so you do everything in order to make it worthwhile despite it(think back on Venat's question "Has your journey been good? Was it all worthwhile in the end?") .
It's pretty cool theming, especially with how the areas are themed around what makes despair what it is in the context of Meteion's report(other comments would describe that better).
Finally commenting on this 2 years late, but... There were actually two parts of this dungeon that really got to me.
The first, was when trying to get the hang of the first boss's mechanics. When you die to them, they actually have dialogue right before you respawn, begging you to come back, stating that they don't want to die alone. This is the only boss I've fought so far who actually has something to say regarding the player dying to them, and it's something so heartbreaking at that.
The second was the moment others in this comment section have mentioned. "I did it! I killed them all! I... killed them all..." I interpreted this slightly differently from how others seem to have, as I believed it to be that this one single individual concluded that the only way the war would end would be if both sides were completely wiped out, and so they did just that, wiped both sides out completely. ...Only to then realize that they were now the only one left alive in the world, that they were now truly and utterly alone. They had achieved peace... but had no one to share that peace with.
This is not a game, it's an experience. Never in my entire 33 years of my life had I had an existential crisis and cried ugly tears when the characters i grew to love, gave their lives to carve my path forward. And this dungeon made me realize how much I find life precious to me, more than ever before. I'm no longer that guy who sees the world in a negative light...
Further still existed a star without strife... where none remembered life trials... or it's joys...
I appreciate this start much more than when I first ran through it. The BGM is fire, Meteion's chilling voice & the narration in general, the birds pushing forward, and the fade to THE DEAD ENDS into the darkest depths of despair
It's insane how something this beautiful can exist.
Exist in a game no less.
Exist in a god damn mmo of all places.
The most unlikely place to find something like this. Especially when almost always in every other mmo the story is just some cobbled together nonsense to give you a reason to go to a new map or something. And that's if the story is even present at all.
I almost can't believe that I get to live in a time where I can experience such a good, touching story with positive, beautiful messages together with so many people.
In the dark you will not stray.
What an ending huh
Kinda sucks we didn't get the Japanese name "The Final Fantasies" suits the climatic nature of FF14 first main story really well the sugar on top would be the final trial being called "The Final Fantasy."
It almost looks like the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse
1.- Grebuloffs died of Pestilence and Famine, no water.
2.- Peacekeeper side got overwhelmed by War and Conquest
3.- The 3rd one people were so bored they all craved for Death.
An idea I had was for Famine to have its own end in bwetween Peacekeeper and Ra La. (Famine follows War)
"Further out was another star... they were young, and had just attained knowledge and peace. But one day, the sky turned dark, and the winds cold."
The WoL enters a place that is not too dissimilar to Ishgard... but with fields of dead crops, dying forests.
"Its people knew hunger... and in their hunger, they forsook their newly attained knowledge and wisdom, but for only one more day alive."
AS you fight through trash mobs that are famine-crazed people and starving animals, you can see a group of people chasing animals, wielding Fusils and renaissance era weaponry.
Estinien: This is... worse than Ishgard.
Alphinaud: It's like it's high noon, yet it's so... dark out...
"But the wind grew colder and colder, the season never ended. The people thought of nothing but their own immediate needs: Survival."
the mob comes back, but now they are wielding spears and sticks, the animals are smaller and thinner. The peoples' clothes are tattered.
Y'shtola: Thancred, are you well?
Thancred: F-FINE.
"Fewer and fewer remained..."
Boss, larger creature
Urianger: Perhaps this creature doth be the last of its kind?
Alisaie: How horrible - it's fighting for its life just like the others!
"...and in their hunger, they forsook their morals for just one more day alive..."
Finally the group of people is reduced to just two people in a barren wasteland - they are lying down, too weak and too hungry to move.
"I... gotta... eat... something..." one of them says. They pick up an axe... the other one speaks
"NO! DON'T!"
"Must... eat..." they say as they bring the axe down onto the other, who is too weak with hunger to move away. But then... "Oh no... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
G'raha: Oh no...
Y'shtola: I can tell what happened even without my eyes...
Thancred: That hunger... I knew it... but never like that...
Alphinaud: Even as I close my eyes, I still see it.
Alisaie: Alphinaud... promise me...
Alphinaud: I will never do such a thing, sister.
G'raha: ...Garlemald...
Estinien: You think they experienced this, too?
G'raha: But their science did not fail them. Even as we found them, huddling for warmth...
Thancred: These people weren't there yet. Maybe even if they could... no...
"But was it worth it?" Meteion asks, "For tomorrow did not bring an end to this chill... nor did it bring an end to their eternal hunger..."
And then we move onto death.
So the first dungeon lv 90 is a apocalyptic one in past, also the first dungeon of lv 80 was a apocalyptic one in past(amaurot), will the future first dungeon lv 100 be another apocalyptic one in past? I hope yes, i dont know why i like this type of dungeon, but i find them amazing
Probably not, they both fit this particular part of the story.
WoL: "If I had 1 Gil for every time our enemy showed us a past apocalypse before we faced them, I'd have 2 Gil. Which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice."
@@inkbleederwolf5494 wouldn't it technically be four, as meteion shows us three apocalypses? i know it doesn't work with the quote, but still lol
if youre right, given the theme of the void the patchquests are setting up, perhaps what we will see is the end of the thirteenth as its getting swallowed by the flood of darkness
Just back here to remind myself of how much I had CRIED upon reaching here like omg
That stair scene with all the friends we met in 10 years.
Is it just me or this whole dungeon paired with OST feels like watching an episode of the national geographic apocalyptic edition
It’s kind of like people, each star, seeing their lives and the choices they made along the way before they passed or burned out, some could not find peace or gave up along the way or it was too late.
Freaking Nova. Now all I can hear when listening to this song is "MY TURN..."
This song is the perfect accompaniment for the story being revealed during the dungeon. It just feels incredible.
It also makes me recall Songs of Salt and Suffering from Stormblood. Both are good marching songs. However, in Stormblood, you know you’re marching to victory when Songs plays. In Dead Ends, things aren’t as clear, and this song makes you feel that, in your bones.
This has to be my most favorite dungeon theme ever so far
Probably my favorite area of this dungeon is the war torn area, as I genuinely enjoy war torn battlefields (Ghimlyt Dark was a very welcoming surprise to me as other games I've played in the past never had battlefields as detailed as that dungeon)
I need this ost with Meteion voice
Tales of loss, and fire, and faith...
I was already bawling when this dungeon started. But when this track started I knew that what was already an emotional experience would become something akin to a _religious_ experience.
0:25 sing the lyrics slowly, in time with the piano
"Whis-pers... Falling silently, drift on the wind" (but I hear you)
"Our jour-ney.... Now a memory fading from sight..." (but I see you)
best song in the whole game imo, and there are a lot of good songs in ffxiv!
We have Amaurot at home.
Amaurot at home:
Some of the story of this expansion, reminded me so much of the back story to a comic I used to draw as a kid, which I am redoing. Because of this, I would say this expansion to me is the absolute best of them all.. I also only do this dungeon for tomes, I actually forgot to unlock the others lol. If I ever have another game made of the comic, (made a little one way back in high school with friends- Chrono Trigger style gameplay, mixed with Phantasy Star II & IV).. I would have it play quite like Dragon's Dogma, mixed with Zelda, looking like Guilty Gear Strive. You travel different planets, even space stations (in the Andromeda Galaxy).. It always started off on Earth being that the main character, Einar is accidently sent and stuck there (lost), as a baby (he is called KD7302-Kydan, on his home world). He is adopted by the leader of a space explorer faction, of Earth called, "Storm Wolf". The faction was founded in 2078, and is comprised of military veterans, mercenaries, and bounty hunters. They adopt Norse/Viking culture, which is the theme of this faction, and give birth to what is called the "Neo Viking Movement."
The main character was actually created as an imaginary friend when I was a child. But when I drew him again at 15 (when my drawing had gotten better lol), he was modeled after a young Roy Batty from Blade Runner, mixed with a young Thouzer from Fist of the North Star, and a bit of Spider One, from Powerman 5000 was thrown in, because the character happens to also be a musician, the lead vocalist/guitarist of a Rekkr Metal band (new style of metal) called, Ragnarok (it used to be called Drengr). Like the Skald, who would sing of heroic deeds, and battles, the same is done within this faction among some of it's more musically talented members, though of course through this new style of metal called, Rekkr.
I remember in the game we made, we had given Einar a gun-blade, because we wanted both sword and gunplay as his primary weapon. It had elemental properties, allowing him to select an elemental cartridge. This was actually inspired by my Red Mage on FFXI lol, he calls the weapon "Violent Grace". The secondary weapon is called an Infinite Frequency Manipulator, or IFM. A sonic weapon used to hone harmonic energy, for harmonic attacks. His is obviously fashioned as a guitar he names, "Violent Resonance". In the game you played riffs to perform powerful attacks, or enhancement. If you played the riff normally the attack or enhancement would work as normal. If you played it extremely well, and fast his battle companion a shape shifting wolf-like creature, would take humanoid form (as he is the bassist in the band), and play along with him, enhancing the riff with a chance to lower Violent Resonance's cooldown. But if you totally messed it up, the riff's attack would damage everything, even you. One of his riffs called, "Fear Crusade" would invoke his wolf-like companion to become an "Unfeigned Zayin Beast", (Zayin are a primordial genetically engineered alien race, which Einar is part of) turning him into a massive werewolf-like beast that starts wrecking stuff, as Einar sits on his shoulder.. If the riff is messed up however, his companion (his name is Varg), can be turned into a pup, or his humanoid form both of which make him vulnerable, and being that the two of them share a symbiotic relationship, any damage Varg takes Einar will as well.
His third weapon is actually himself, merged with his companion Varg. Einar awakens the mutation within him, which allows Varg to become like an armor for him (which suppresses some of the destructive force in him as well as protects him).. I remember the armor kind of almost looking like Grey Fox's suit from Metal Gear. He also has to wear what is called the "Ulfhednar Grima", which is a mask that allows him to retain his sanity while in his mutated state called, "Weapon of Sovereign Ruination, True Arsenal Form, Righteous Violence".. I had named the comic "Sentient Armament", and later used Final Fantasy 15 to make Einar based on his drawings, just to see what he'd maybe look like.. We laughed saying he looked like Thouzer had a kid with Cosmos from Dissidia, or Cloud's older delinquent brother, with an undercut fade lol.. Recently I decided to make him more like my Gunbreaker on XIV, mixed with Red Mage, and Bard (the music) lol.
I still can't believe we got to travel to other stars, that was the last thing I expected and then they were like HERES 5 RIGHT HERE SEE THEIR END
The dungeon reminds me heavily of The Book of Revelation. First zone is the putrefaction of the ocean, darkness, and a combination of the poured bowls. Second is the War of Armageddon. Third zone feels like a corruption of the millennium with the unrepentant sinners.
Ugh 'Mortal Instants' or this. Very stressful to pick on which is the best 😭
I gave up, and now I'm just like "every song in the game is my favorite"
I swear, this dungeon's second area rings differently since February.
I love this dungeon, but.. running it over and over again for the blue bird gets so tiring ;w;
I'm about to do my 7358th trust run for it, I feel you
I know, bloody twitter.
“Though I fight for my stake in this world, I share my fate with the many who have come before me and the countless lives who will follow after. I will make sure of this, always.” My headcannon WoL’s (Princess of Eorzea) declaration to Meteion.
Can't get more high cosmic than this
那些飛往宇宙的青鳥們，目睹各個星球文明的末日！！
Our world is about to end like this too! But not just 1 shown scenario: Its all friggin three!
this dungeon is everything, and the song is incredible
We just gonna ignore the fact that the person recording this footage has party spell effects set to full?
It's the only way to play this game properly
It's full immersion, he wants to feel true despair as Meteion did.
I like seeing my party's cool abilities.
@@AstridTheBee Me too, I only turn off the effects of other parties because Alliance Raids with full effects get quite chaotic.
My favorite dungeons and theme of the entire game...aside from maybe twinning
@Ryan Bentley yea I just love meteions narrarating and seeing how all these worlds screwed themselves. The guy blowing up the whole backdrop always sends chills down my spine
I'm glad it always comes up on my expert roulettes
When I first went trough this dungeon, the choice of soundtrack initially seemed like an odd choice. As I progressed, and once I finally realized that it was using the leitmotif of "Close in the Distance," itself a solemn-yet-hopeful song, it made perfect sense.
"In darkness seek joy. Surrender not to sadness, and see beyond despair. Walk free, and bear the light for others to follow. Together, raise it aloft and let it shine. Till the end, blinding and radiant."
Love your playlist, missing second trial song btw
Yeah, I had that uploaded earlier. But after receiving a copyright strike the piano version of Answers, I also took down Your Answer (2nd trial theme) just to be safe.
I tried to help the lil fish people lol
The first part of the dungeon hits hard as we're in a pandemic
Third part might be rough
I love this dungeon and the music so much despite the fact that the 1st boss has necrosis and sometimes makes it hard for my rez mage arse
Anyone else get Terminator vibes in the 2nd area?
Considering the zone is called "Judgement Day", the reference is deliberate.
終極の何かのフェーズで使ってくる技がここのものなのよね。AoEとドーナツがグレビュオフメルター、フレアがピースキーパー、頭割りがラーラーっていう
The Leimotif from Ult Thule... Goddamnit
そして最後の一人は言った
生まれてくるんじゃなかった
This is an amazing piece of music, which will sadly be overshadowed by Close in the Distance
What's the name of the staff you have please?
Ultimate Majestas, From Alexander Ultimate c:
Thank you!!
it does use the theme of Amauroth right?
Ngl..It sounds like it could be in Soul Calibur
The message of hope and carrying on in the face of despair kinda rings hollow when our planet is literally going through the ends the first and second areas of this dungeon depict.
I dunno about the first area. As bad as COVID has been, it's been far from world ending. The second one is also a little off the mark, seeing as it isn't nuclear war and rampant AI that's killing Earth, but rampant climate change.
Anyone else get Alexander 1 vibes from the second boss here?
It's likely the Oppressor boss came from that star before its destruction.
@@ReesesBees Or they reused the asset from Oppressor to make a new boss. Dragon-King Thordan uses the same model as Thunder God Cid from Orbonne Monastery, for example.
'Judgement Day.' Subtle.
Can't blame 'em for pulling inspiration from an amazing source, though.