I must confess, growing up, I was never really an MMOer – I had briefly, briefly played, Runescape, but I could never really get to grips with how it functioned; how to do quests (maybe the very simple ones), making money, understanding gear etc… It really just wasn’t my cup of tea, and it largely stayed that way until the release of, FFXI.
Now, I never actually, personally owned, FFXI, that achievement goes to my older brother – this is probably because I was in school/college and couldn’t afford the monthly subscription – but I digress. Despite not physically playing it, I loved it.
I remember always asking my brother questions about what he was doing, the quests he was taking, and things like that. Today, I still remember what his character was; he was a Tarutaru, named, ‘Dead Element‘, his Basic Job was, Black Mage and his Advanced Job was, Summoner. He relished in the thought in his own story he would be this tiny person that people would underestimate and then come to fear as he blew them apart with fire and ice, before calling down Bahamut to sunder the earth.
Needless to say, this was something I could get behind – Final Fantasy, my favourite game series/franchise, in an open world in which I was free to create my own character, free to do as I pleased – so by the time, Final Fantasy XIV rocked up, I was in employment, I had money, I was ready!
My journey through FFXIV even to this day has been an ever-changing adventure. I originally started out on PC, when I had a very good gaming laptop (for it’s time – we’re talking, Crysis in ultra graphics) – and I played for a little while. I was a Miqo’te, named, Gengetsu Hozuki (don’t judge me – I was young and this has since changed – many times, actually). Either way, I started off as a Conjurer because I knew I wanted to be a White Mage, but I didn’t make it that far, and ended my journey around level 30. Why? If I’m honest, I couldn’t tell you.
Anyway, fast forward a few years and Stormblood is on the horizon, and it piques my interest again. Now, I’m rocking a PS4 because my laptop died one day in the middle of playing Dota 2 [though back to PC now] – So I pick it back up with Heavensward and things had never been better – I couldn’t understand why I stopped playing. By the time I got Stormblood and to the end ready for Shadowbringers, I had WHT (White Mage), SCH (Scholar) both at level 70 and AST (Astrologian) at level 68 – life was good!
I hit a wall though – I was tired of healing and some of the new changes that I knew were coming really didn’t float my boat either. I had never been a decent or even interested in DPS or Tanks, though despite this, the new Jobs; DNC (Dancer) and GNB (Gunbreaker) did intrigue me, and when Shadowbringers finally hit, my world was changed.
Suffice to say, in the here, now, present, I am a new Dancer Main – it’s a DPS that I understand, and know how to play very well, but more than that, they are very heavily focused on the added support they bring, which is definitely more of my thing!
I am currently only in Rak’tika, due to maximising most of my time into levelling Dancer – which now stands at level 79! (It will be 80 by the end of tonight).
So, while I can’t comment really too much about Shadowbringers as a whole, I can definitely tell you that from what I’ve seen so far – story-wise, it is just fantastic, and easily my favourite expansion so far! Not only that though, with the inclusion of the new jobs, it has personally made me fall in love with this game, more than I ever thought I could – for once, I am interested in really maxing out what I can, and jumping into Raids and Savage content, which isn’t something that interested me all that much before hand.
So to end this slightly off-topic and very reminiscent post, I’ll finish off by saying that, Shadowbringers, like the two previous expansions, has very much impressed me – it’s incredibly fun, and there is an insane amount of content to sink your teeth into, whether you are new to the game or a veteran looking to return; it’s definitely worth your time and subscription.
I look forward to continuing my daily journey, and keeping you all updated about it! Oh, and if you haven’t already seen the new Patch 5.05 notes, go do that – if you’re a healer, you’ll especially want to go check them out! Trust me.
Until Next Time… Thanks for reading! 😀
Geek In The Box 