From the moment I step through Old Sharlayan’s white cobblestone gates, an irresistible sense of nostalgia takes hold. As if I’d already been to this gorgeous seaside city before — which isn’t the case, given I’m visiting for the first time at a hands-on preview event for Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming expansion. Everything is new here, from vast, jaw-dropping zones to its ferociously creative jobs. Yet that warm, familiar feeling remains, and I’m confident it’s the byproduct of Endwalker being a culmination of everything that makes this MMORPG magnificent.
After frequently battling the Garlean Empire since A Realm Reborn, it is surreal to finally explore the capital city of Garlemald for myself. Well, what’s left of it, anyway. Everything is dilapidated and charred, from tiny innocuous lamp posts to towering skyscrapers. The only semblance of life in this haunting landscape is an occasional wicked beast or mechanical menace, neither of which are fond of my party strolling about to take in the sights. I can’t say why Garlemald is in such a sorry state because story context has been removed for the preview, but its destroyed beauty makes it one of the most fascinating zones in Final Fantasy XIV.
The mean streets of Garlemald are an excellent proving ground for would-be adventurers, so I take a chance to try out the Reaper, a scythe-wielding DPS job that could have stepped out of Bloodborne. It’s a fast, free-flowing job that requires a watchful eye to use effectively. There are two resources on its job gauge: Soul and Shroud. Some skills like Slice increase Soul, while others, such as Gibbet, build up Shroud — think: Red Mage but with a devilish grim reaper vibe.
Discovering effective skill rotations during combat is the best part of rolling as a Reaper, especially once battle crescendos with you conjuring up eldritch horrors that slice and dice any poor sod on the receiving end. It’s probably one of the more difficult DPS jobs to play, especially if you want to utilize its area of effect abilities against multiple enemies, which is tough to effectively figure out. Single targets, though? Easy prey. Before long, I feel every bit as dangerous as any unsavory folk skulking about Garlemald.
[mm-video type=video id=01fhtpctrs64thyh315r playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fhtpctrs64thyh315r/01fhtpctrs64thyh315r-791a8d557996be451bc3e886b7144f04.jpg]
While Reaper is loads of fun, healers are more my jam — so the Sage fits me like a glove. Instead of being a pure healing job like White Mage, Sage leans more in Scholar’s direction with damage-mitigating shields. However, its skill rotations are more systematic than other healers, as most of its complete toolkit doesn’t come into the picture until you pop the Eukrasia skill, which completely changes the functionality of some abilities. For example, Diagnosis goes from a standing healing spell to Eukrasian Diagnosis, which erects a magical barrier around a friendly target. Balancing when to use Eukrasia fits Sage’s scientific flavor too. Final Fantasy XIV’s other healing jobs are akin to wizards, while Sage feels like a futuristic combat medic. Maybe that aroma is due to all its explosive laser attacks making my lizard brain sizzle, though.
When I put my healing prowess as Sage to the test inside dungeons, it feels dirty. Nothing is wrong, far from it — I feel like my old White Mage is about to get tossed into the nearest trash bin, though. If an ally is on death’s door just out of reach, Sage’s gap closer skill, Icarus, brings you to their position just in time to slap on shields of instant heals. Like high fantasy Life Alert. Then you can immediately spin around and unleash several area-of-effect damage and healing at once spells in a pinch. It’s liberating after playing White Mage for so long. Sage’s job gauge, however, is complicated enough I couldn’t figure it out during a short preview, but there’s plenty of time for that later. Truthfully, that constant, irresistibly feverish pitch to Sage’s ebb and flow might be what I’m now looking forward to most in Endwalker.
I probably would’ve appreciated the Tower of Zot, a new dungeon in Endwalker, had my attention not been laser-focused on either of the new jobs. Rest assured, it kicks ass too. Long-time fans of the series will no doubt recognize its name, though I’ll be transparent with you: I’ve only started playing Final Fantasy IV in the past week, so I can’t tell you how true to the source material Endwalker’s depiction is. I can tell you that it looks like a damn xenomorph hive straight out of Aliens, however. Rib bones and fleshy-pink innards make up everything from narrow serpentine walkways to the sticky ground beneath my party’s feet. Grotesque stuff – probably a first for Final Fantasy XIV too – I love it. H.R. Giger would be proud.
Sadly, the Tower of Zot also reaffirms a growing fear that Endwalker will continue making dungeons incredibly linear. Pretty much since Stormblood, Final Fantasy XIV’s second expansion, dungeons are a straight line with no veering paths to lose yourself in. The Tower of Zot’s enemy encounters still rule, especially the ridiculously cool final boss fight that I dare not spoil, but it’s a shame. Returning to A Realm Reborn’s more varied layouts would’ve been nice.
As the preview event’s finale draws near, I decide to explore the wilds of Thavnair. Imagine deep reds and bright oranges during fall in the Pacific Northwest but in a tropical setting. Chill vibes incarnate, I’d say. Maybe not as exciting as Garlemald from a storytelling perspective, but no less of a majesty. Especially its enormous, wind-worn elephant statues. NPC chatter is turned off during the preview, so I can’t grasp what the people of Thavnair are like, but given Final Fantasy XIV’s track record, I’ve no doubt they’ll be worth hitting up later. If Thavnair is any indication, unfamiliar zones in Endwalker will be incredible.
If my time with Endwalker taught me anything, it’s that Final Fantasy XIV’s development team is more than ready to meet and even surpass expectations. It’s hard to believe that the brilliant jobs and stunning zones shown off here were only a taste of what’s to come. I only hope that by Endwalker’s curtain call, that nostalgic aroma is as strong as ever.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
[listicle id=1083617]