I aim to make “Ten Reasons Why” a regular feature. Last night I finished Heavensward. It seemed like a very logical thing to do to start here then, with Ten Reasons Why I Enjoyed Heavensward…
10. Diversity
I’m not necessarily talking about racial diversity in the sense of there were many different skin colours. In truth there aren’t too many prominent black characters (the obvious exception being the single coolest male character in the whole game, Raubahn Aldynn. His story in Heavensward is even better than his role in A Realm Reborn, but that’s not the point. Aside from Raubahn, there aren’t a great number of black characters. There are a lot of white ones in every shape and size. However, what Heavensward gives us which I adore about it is the diversity of other races, and the stories behind them. Take, for example, the Ishgardians. There wasn’t much too them in A Realm Reborn. During Heavensward we learn about them, their history, the story that made them who they are, and the truth behind it all. That adds backstory and depth to a different group of people, even if they are still Elezens or Hyur for the most part.
However, Heavensward introduces us very early on to the Vanu Vanu. They’re a race of humanoid bird-like creatures. When you first meet then you’re sent to fight them by a Hyur character and they seem like new generic bad-guys. Then, as Heavensward continues, you meet more of them. You learn their history. You find that these Vanu Vanu characters have a whole story which is actually really interesting. I was far more compelled by their missions than I have been by others. Then, of course, there’s the Dragons. Oh my god how awesome are the dragons? Again, in A Realm Reborn they’re bad guys who are bad guys and dragons. You kill them. It’s pretty standard for an RPG game (hell, most of them are based on Dungeons & Dragons after all). But in Heavensward we meet dragons. They have their own language, their own history, and they are so much more than simply the enemies of the Ishgardians. Learning the history of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr changes completely how you view the plight of the Ishgardians against them. Working with Ysale, rather than against her in A Realm Reborn, also gives you a complete change of opinion on her and the “heretics”, who we’re taught are evil dragon-lovers in A Realm Reborn, but become some of the greatest characters by the end of Heavensward. The diversity of types of character is amazing, and the detail to the history to make you genuinely care about so many of them cannot be overstated.
9. Ishgard
Ishgard has quickly become my second favourite city in the game, and the one I find myself spending the second-most time in. The layout of it can be frustrating at times, with the pathways that take a while to get used to (in that you often think you can just go one way, and actually have to take a longer path around to get where you want to be) but once you learn the city it’s one of the greatest places in the game. The “culture” there is so vastly different to the other cities, the differences between the upper classes and the lower classes is immediately noticeable, and unlike in Ul’dah, where there’s also that difference, here the lower classes aren’t “refugees”. As great as Ul’dah’s story is, it does feel like the Lalafell population see the others as second class and outsiders for not being part of the rich elite, which while compelling in one way also gives the whole city a feeling of elitism that I don’t think was intentional. Ishgard, however, has that purposefully. Here you learn about the lower classes who serve the lords and ladies of Ishgard, and grow to love them, while also seeing many of the lords and ladies of the city aren’t the elitists that you originally take them for (or I originally did anyway) and most genuinely care about all people in the city.
There’s no Grand Company in Ishgard (and no housing area either, which sucks, as I’d have seriously considered a house there) but yet the Temple Knights story has been one of the greatest stories I’ve ever played in a game, without exaggeration. Working for, and with, Aymeric de Borel, Lord Commander of the Temple Knights, and getting to know him and his First Commander, Lucia, was endless amounts of fun. Every new story that involved them I got excited for. House Fortemps, while originally a group I didn’t think I’d like as it felt a little like we were working for the snobs, also quickly became one of the highlights of the whole game to me. Working with Haurchefant and Artoirel was also huge amounts of fun, and learning about them only made it so that – spoiler alert – when Haurchefant dies the loss the character feel feels genuine and honestly I was genuinely upset when he died. That death, along with a few others in this expansion, made me connect with the characters and gave me a genuine sense of wanting to save them, even though there’s nothing I can do about such things. Plus House Fortemps have a unicorn as their logo. Who doesn’t love that?!
8. The Locations
Heavensward has some of the best locations in the game so far. When you first arrive and get introduced to the city of Ishgard it’s a great opening, but from there the locations only get better and better. The first two you get sent to are Coerthas Western Highlands and The Sea of Clouds. Both are massive areas (when you first go to The Sea of Clouds you barely explore any of it and it still feels huge), both have a ton of story content and both are utterly beautiful. I adored the Coerthas Western Highlands when we first arrived there, from the beautiful architecture of the main hub to the snow-filled landscape, I loved finding my way around and questing there. In terms of how open it feels it feels like the biggest of the zones with the most to explore, and is also the only one of the zones where it doesn’t feel like you’ve GOT to be able to fly to get around. Coming back there again to explore a different part at level 56 was a very welcome return.
Meanwhile the Sea of Clouds is vast, beautiful and has some amazing views. The series of small interconnected islands genuinely had some moments where I just had to stop and move the camera around to take it all in. When you come back here again later on it’s like entering a new zone. As I said, it’s so vast you explore only the tiniest part of it originally. There’s so much more to do later on. The Dravanian Forelands and Dravanian Hinterlands are beautifully laid out as well, but here it becomes more stressful when you can’t fly in these zones. There’s pathways that you can’t quite jump up and need to run around that feel frustrating until you can just fly where you need to be, where you can take it all in and – again – just stop and rotate the camera to show how breath-taking the zones are. Then there’s The Churning Mists, the home of the dragons and a place that feels like you’re exploring an ancient ruins. It feels like you’re running through ancient Rome at some points, with buildings that haven’t been occupied in so long, and a story that makes you love this zone. Plus the main quest givers are Moogles, and how can you not just adore the Moogles?
7. The Villains
The villains of Heavensward are also immense. One of them, who I consider to be the main villain – Nidhogg – has his own entry on this list because he deserves to be spoken about separately. There isn’t a bad villain amongst the bunch though. In A Realm Reborn I’ll admit there were areas I didn’t like and storylines I didn’t care for due to their villains. They felt more generic MMO villains, which is fine, but in Heavensward Square Enix stepped up their game to incredible levels with the villains. I can’t talk about them WITHOUT spoilers though, so this bit is going to be spoiler-filled. You’ve been warned…
After the way A Realm Reborn ended it was going to take something special to distract me from my want to find the Scions and reform the group. I fell in love with those allies and I very much wanted to follow the story of reuniting us all. Enter Archbishop Thordan VII, the leader of Ishgard and the character who first made me completely change my mind on that. Once you get to know him, and find out he’s working with the Ascians, it made me dive into the story hard. Of course he’s saying the right things but there was a sense that he was going to be the big bad of the story. Of course he wasn’t, but he was still one hell of a bad guy! When his lies and deceptions are uncovered, and you see the lengths he’ll go to in order to maintain his power, there’s no doubt at all that stopping him becomes more important than reuniting the Scions, as much as I wanted to reunite the Scions. Thanks to him as well you get more encounters with the Imperials, who’s growing influence over the course of the game becomes more and more epic. Overthrowing the Archbishop, however, is just one small part of the epic story, yet he’s a compelling villain more than worthy of mention. As are the various villains you face in the Sea of Clouds and Dravanian Forelands. I found these Beast Tribes more compelling than the ones in A Realm Reborn, their stories more exciting, and even their primals more fun to fight! Then, of course, there’s the remains of the Syndicate storyline from A Realm Reborn, and clearing our names… and again I can’t talk about that without spoilers but I will say it was a very satisfying ending to what was an amazing story in A Realm Reborn.
6. Ysale
The locations and the villains are one thing, but your allies are what truly drives you forward in this game. I’ll talk about two more in a moment, but Ysale deserves her own spot. Again this is spoiler-filled, but it needs to be because it’s literally impossible to talk about Heavensward without talking about Ysale. In A Realm Reborn with her introduction as “Lady Iceheart” she’s a damn evil heretic who’s trying to turn herself into her “saint”. When she returns in Heavensward and you learn her motivations, you learn more of the story behind Shiva, and you see her character develop its impossible not to love this character. Her rivalry with Estinen, due to their difference of opinion on practically EVERYTHING, keeps her status as “heretic” at the forefront of the story, yet you quickly learn she’s not the generic evil that you had to fight in A Realm Reborn but rather she has legitimate motivation for all her actions up to this point, most of which is simply that she wants PEACE! I actually felt bad for the way we spoiled her plans in A Realm Reborn when I learned of her true motives, and the fact that honestly she was the one in the right.
Her history with the dragons and her admiration for Shiva and the peace that the love between woman and dragon once brought to the realm was amazing to learn about. What makes Ysale worthy of her own entry isn’t just the commitment she has to this cause and the fact that she’s even willing to entertain working with you to get there but rather the sheer truth behind it. When she first tells you her motives it still seems like she’s the wrong one. Aymeric and Estinien believe one thing, how can this former villain be the one who’s right? But oh boy is she right! Thanks to her we enter the Sea of Clouds, trying to negotiate a peace we learn will never come to pass with Nidhogg, and the love she has for Shiva is so brilliantly used to drive her to talk with Hraesvelgr, yet the way he DESTROYS her naïve ideas of what she thinks she knows made my love for her increase exponentially. She truly believed she WAS Shiva reborn, but Hraesvelgr saw the truth for what it was – not just of her version of Shiva but all primals being just imitations of the originals based on what their believers think they are – and when she realises it you can see how badly it shatters her. I hoped that she’d come back stronger for learning the truth. She never gets the chance. After convincing Hraesvelgr to help her, the sacrifice she makes for you against the Empire is legendary. I have goosebumps even writing about it. Her death was so goddamn meaningful and emotional, and for her story, her evolution and her sacrifice she’s easily worth a spot alone on this list.
5. Aymeric de Borel & Estinien
Ysale would be above these two if she’d survived. I loved her as a character. I grew to love these two as well. Prior to playing Heavensward I’d intended to level a Dragoon. They looked cool! After meeting Estinien and seeing the Azure Dragoon in action I’m now going to make this a priority. How can you not adore this character? He’s pig-headed and so sure he’s right about the dragons – and since they killed his family wouldn’t you be as well? – but when the truth comes out, rather than reject it, he embraces it and helps drive you forward. His bloodlust for all dragons is replaced by a desire to do the right thing no matter the cost, and his part in the first battle with Nidhogg felt like such a great ending for the character. But then when he had possession of both of Nidhogg’s eyes then he becomes that which he most hated, the shade of Nidhogg overtakes him and again his loss is emotionally significant. That just makes the final battle with Nidhogg all the better though, and when you see how willing to sacrifice himself Estinien is to die to rid the world of the villain by god you want him to live, and when he does… it’s just fantastic to see him recover. I hope he comes back. I hope his story continues.
One character who I need to see more of though is Aymeric de Borel. I’ve mentioned him a few times already because he is incredible. Starting off as an annoying quest giver in A Realm Reborn, when he learns the truth about everything – from the truth about his religion to the truth about his parentage – it would have been so easy to see him becoming a villain. Instead he becomes one of the greatest heroes of the game. The lengths he’ll go to in order to protect his people and deliver them peace – noble and commoner alike – make him legitimately one of the best leaders in the game. His compassion for helping the people see him rebel against his own father and openly refuse to follow in his footsteps, then taking down the established order and establishing a new order with the House of Lords and House of Commons, giving the low-born a voice for the first time in Ishgardian history, again makes him so goddamn compelling as a character. Who wouldn’t love someone who’s willing to revolutionise the whole structure of his country? When he does is it any surprise they elect him to lead them? He’s a fantastic character and, honestly, if I was going to fall for any character in this game then its Aymeric. Everything from genuinely mourning the loss of his friends to leading a revolution that changes the fate of Ishgard to then rejoining the Alliance, Aymeric de Borel is Heavensward!
4. Nidhogg
Having just sung the praises of three of the best allies we’ve had, now let’s talk about the single greatest villain in this game so far. Again I’m unashamedly spoiling points in the game, but if you read this and don’t want to play it there’s something wrong with you. Nidhogg goes from dragon who wants to eat people because dragons are evil to a villain whose motivation is actually understandable, but his unrelenting rage makes him freaking amazing. We learn about him early on and he’s Nidhogg, he’s the bad guy, he’s angry because dragons are evil and that seems like a legit enough reason to be a bad guy, right? When we learn that Estinien is in possession of one of his eyes, and thus can feel what he feels, it makes him interesting. Why is he so angry? Because he’s a dragon and dragons are evil. Oh wait, no, there’s WAY more to it than that!
It’s through finding out the truth from Hraesvelgr that we learn the truth behind why Nidhogg is so full of rage. His rage then becomes justified. This is a dragon whose brood brother helped form a peace with the Eorzeans and who watched those whom he lived in peace with murder his sister, consume her eyes for power, and then attempt to do the same to him. That’d make you mad, right? He’s practically immortal due to the lifespan of dragons and to him all of this is forever burning in his mind. He can’t forgive. It’s been a thousand years and it’s still fresh to him. Those responsible are long dead but to him, seeing more of his kind killed during the Dragonsong War every day, this will never end until they’re all suitably punished. They may be the descendants of those who wronged the dragons but to him they’re all just as guilty. At one point I actually thought Ysale may help us get peace, but no, Nidhogg would never let it go. So we killed him. It was good. And STILL his anger wouldn’t give up. Him converting Estinien into that which Estinien most hated, and then returning to try to kill his own sister when she tried to create peace, was amazing. Seeing him leading his army against Ishgard was just breathtaking, and the battle between him and Hraesvelgr was something I just watched in awe. Then, in possession of Hraesvelgr’s eye, we get to fight this creature of pure vengeance and rage and save our friend and… oh god, what wasn’t to love about that? Hell, his eyes STILL caused problems at the end of Heavensward even with him gone forever, thus is the legacy of rage and fury that Nidhogg left behind. Amazing story, amazing villain, and amazing part of this game.
3. Tradecraft Usefulness
Let’s change tact for a moment and talk not more about the characters or the beauty of the game but about our role in it, and more specifically the tradecrafts. This is an area where other games – specifically World of Warcraft – I feel let us down. That’s because in Final Fantasy XIV, and specifically in Heavensward, the tradecrafts not only provide a fun thing to do when not questing but they work so amazingly together that every last one of them feels necessary and meaningful. That is never truer than simply the Level 50+ weapons and gear. Yes, there are buyable weapons and gear from vendors, but there are also things you simply CAN’T buy from vendors. There isn’t an option here to just go “well, I’ll level that one because it’ll give me this” like in World of Warcraft. I was amazed as I levelled each of them how much each craft relies on the other crafts. I was thrilled by the fact that each one can create materials for the others to use, thus constantly giving you reason to need the other crafts – to level yourself – or at least an out for the materials you’re making by selling them to others.
Levelling up each one of these was a lot of fun, and while there was a certain “grind” element to it there was also a satisfaction that came from it. Now, seeing the things I can make from Level 50+, I’m compelled to level each of these to 60 so that I can create useful tools going forward, so that I can help others going forward, and so that I can create not only really amazing weapons and armour but also so that I can create a whole host of stuff for houses. And yes, part of that is driven by a desire to sell stuff so that I can make money to buy stuff (specifically the Night Pegasus. Oh man do I want a flying horse mount, and I have my eyes on this one. Of course at almost 20m gil on the AH this is going to take a while) but part of it is also just due to the usefulness and fun that each provides. As I said, the way they each develop materials for the others is so well thought out. Each one has its place, and you seemingly can’t have one without having three or four others, which each require three or four others, which makes each one valuable and necessary. I can’t have a list of things I love about this without talking about the hours I’ve spent building up my tradecrafts, and the hours I’ll dedicate to it moving forward.
2. Nanamo Ul Namo & Raubahn Aldynn
Back to talking about characters again, and we have the reasons I love Ul’dah. It’s now my third-favourite city, with Ishgard taking second place from it, but Nanamo and Raubahn need mentioning here, especially for their involvement in Heavensward. More spoilers, but at this point you should expect that, right? At the end of A Realm Reborn it seemed like we’d lost Nanamo, which was very sad. She was nice. She’s the only Lalafell I don’t think is secretly evil. I’ll talk about that in a future blog. For now, the “death” of Nanamo and the fall of Raubahn at the end of A Realm Reborn was incredible. Utterly incredible! So their return in Heavensward was equally brilliant.
Going through what we did to rescue Raubahn from his fate, and making an enemy forever of our former colleague Ilberd, was awesome. It was so good to see him still alive, and to be able to rescue him while he was at his lowest felt like true development for his character, who up to that point had seemed invincible. When he lost his arm at the end of A Realm Reborn I thought he was done for, but after we save him in Heavensward and he comes back, he comes back strong! The story that follows him is fantastic, and then we find out about Nanamo’s fate and his change in persona is awesome. You can see the love he has for her, his willingness to serve her, and what a great ruler she is, even if she’s just a figurehead. Raubahn’s strength then to find her and save her is inspirational, as is his retaking of his position despite his loss of one arm. When we meet him again, and even get to fight him in the tournament, it’s fantastic to see that the adversity he’s been through has only improved his character and made him more compassionate and an even better leader of men, rather than allowed him to become bitter and angry or vengeful. Then, of course, there’s his role in the end of the game, his role in accepting Aymeric and Ishgard, and just how completely awesome a character he was. He’s still possibly the greatest male character in the game, although Aymeric does give him a good run for his money (which, being from Ul’dah, you’d think would give Raubahn the edge…).
Nanamo’s survival, and return to her position, touched my heart in all the right ways. I was so happy to see her still alive, to learn that the cunning Lord Lolorito had found out about Teledji Adeledji’s plot and twisted it to his own means, but if there’s one disappointment about this it’s that Nanamo’s survival was her only real story. Yes, there’s so much more going on, but she all but abandoned her plot to give Ul’dah back to the people – something Aymeric actually did in Ishgard – and then settled back into her role like nothing happened. That let Raubahn’s story stand out more, which is why these two are as high on the list as they are, but truthfully I’d have liked to see more of what Nanamo wanted now that she’s back in charge. Still, her story across the two games was genuinely touching and emotional.
1. The Story
Here we go, number one, and I’ve been singing its praises the entire time so how the hell could it not be number one? If I have to give one reason why I enjoyed Heavensward it’s the story. If I have to give just one reason you should play, it’s the story. The story is utterly amazing. I’ve spoken about so many points of it, but there’s so much more I haven’t mentioned. I haven’t mentioned all the quests in Coerthas Western Highlands which make it one of the best zones, from the fact that it was once so different before the Calamity and the character who lives outside the hub there because they feel unwelcome in amongst so many trampling over the history of the area, to the old man who refuses to leave his home despite the fact that villains are everywhere. I’ve spoken about the Vanu Vanu at the Sea of Clouds but I haven’t spoken about the hilarious quests you have to do for the young Lord who’s fallen in love with one of the women who’s commanding there, and the lengths he goes to in order to try and impress her. I haven’t spoken about the Gnath and their whole history and story with the dragons, and their primal God Bismarck (who’s possibly the greatest primal in the game in terms of appearance). And I haven’t spoken about one thing I loved the most: THE RETURN OF ALISAIE!!!
Yes, that needs to be all caps, because when Alphinaud Leveilleur and his twin sister Alisaie were first introduced to us in A Realm Reborn it was her I immediately found more interesting than him. In their argument in which she left I wanted to follow her, not him. She seemed like the one with the more passion and interesting ideas, and honestly the more we got to know Alphinaud the less I liked him. He was annoying. He was a snobbish brat. When his voice actor changed for Heavensward and his attitude changed a little he became more tolerable, but I then found his whining about his own problems and his ineffectiveness as a leader annoying considering he was, basically, the new leader and replacement for Minfilia. He was a poor replacement for the Antecedent as well, with Minfilia being compassionate, driven and with so much to give, I felt irked by the political way that Alphinaud went about everything. Then when Alisaie returned I jumped for joy, and when she became more and more of an important character – and the differences between her and her brother, even in the asides of how much she hates the politics of everything – made me wish we could have followed her even more. I even like her new outfit, although from the very beginning I’ve wanted a dyeable version of the outfit they both wore in the beginning. A pink and black version of that would be incredible, although a pink version of the one that Tataru made us might look nice…
Along with the return of Alisaie we also get another fantastic and compelling storyline, being the Warriors of Darkness and their quest, and the final return of Minfilia in her new role from the sacrifice she made, and even more so makes again to save the world of the Warriors of Darkness. There is just so much story that it’s impossible to talk about all of it without forgetting something that made it incredible, so even if you’re not a fan of MMORPG games then I’d recommend Final Fantasy XIV, and especially the Heavensward expansion, to you just to experience what is possibly the greatest game I’ve played in years. There’s far more than “Ten Reasons Why” that I could write about, but for now we’ll stick with this. I just hope Stormblood can live up to it, but we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?
Oh, and then there’s Lyse… honestly, Lyse and Alisaie I hope will replace the love I felt for Minfilia in Stormblood. I can hope, right?
Hope you enjoyed the very first Ten Reasons Why. My thanks to the Final Fantasy Wiki for the spelling of the names! Lord knows how I’d have remembered them without that…