With our adventures in Tural and the Ninth coming to a close, it’s about time the Warrior of Light and friends return East for their next adventure… which is already in progress, as Voidsent have started appearing all over the globe, particularly in areas where the veil between the Source and the Void is thin. This means Alphinaud and Alisae already have their hands full in Garlemald, and could probably use some help. As things unfold and horrifying secrets come to light, there’s only one thing that’s certain: it’s time to get the band back together.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Patch 7.5, Trail to the Heavens, gave me a bit of whiplash in the best way. It almost immediately brings us back to the pre-Dawntrail plot, following up on Zero, the void, and the fate of the Star. It’s not like Dawntrail didn’t happen, the Key as well as Helmarut, Calyx, and the rest of the Winterers are core to the upcoming story, but we’ve left the more lackadaisical pace behind. I really enjoyed Dawntrail, but its story and pacing were very messy, so this feels like a return to form. The Scions are important again, and while I’m still wary of their characters not really having anywhere else to go in the future, it is genuinely nice to have the gang back together. Part of me is hoping Evercold will pull a bait and switch, focusing on the less developed Scions like Hoary Boulder and crew.
The story here is also pulling directly on threads previously left dangling, giving our actions in Endwalker a bit more weight and consequence. I like Endwalker being the optimistic story it is, and immediately following it with the revelations we see in this patch would have taken some of the wind out of its sails, so having a buffer of a few years helps these twists land much better. I’m also still thoroughly impressed by the cinematography in every cutscene, with most being fully voice acted once again. It feels like the game finally has the budget it deserves, as the team has had the talent to execute on all this for a long time.
Speaking of voice acting: the finale of the Final Fantasy XI crossover raid series continues its great trend of having the characters voiced within the raid itself. It’s incredibly helpful being able to listen to the dialogue instead of just reading it while trying to dodge AoEs and other mechanics. The raid itself is a blast, with some great fights, though I am getting a bit tired of the general FFXIV pattern of mob fight -> boss in an arena -> mob fight and so on. The final boss of the raid mixed things up really well, with a fight that spans two platforms stacked vertically you need to move between occasionally. It’s nothing we haven’t seen an equivalent of before, but just having that bit of creative movement mixes things up in a nice way.
David Flynn
The raid series also reminds me I really need to go back and actually play through XI. I enjoyed what I played a few years ago and I actually felt very nostalgic seeing my home city of Windurst again here, I just need to find the time; maybe if it was ported to modern consoles? I’ll probably write about it here on GamingTrend too, so stay tuned for that.
In terms of other playable content, the new dungeon, the Clyteum, is enjoyable if a bit bland (other than Chort. We love Chort. Straight up Chorting it in the Clyteum). The visuals and setting are nice, but none of the fights really stand out and it’s suffering from fatigue of the typical encounter pattern we see in most every dungeon. The new Trial, The Unmaking, is likewise decent but forgettable, it’s pretty much a footnote in the patch’s story too. 7.5 is definitely more focused on setting things up for the future, which I think is fine for what it is and it certainly does a good job at that.
There’s still more to come for the 7.5X patches, like more Hildebrand quests and another weapon step, and I’ll definitely be there for both of those. I’ve been on again and off again with Final Fantasy XIV since I finished Endwalker, it just felt like a good time for an extended break. I’ve come back for every major patch and occasionally when I felt the itch, but it wasn’t until now that I felt ready to dive back in again. Maybe it’s just Evercold hype, but I’m glad to have the game back in my life again.
See you next patch.
