Return letters from the Rising 2019

[QubeRewt]

Well,

If you read this, Yoshi, and the rest of you devs; thank you for giving us a place to wile away our time, find friends, reunite with peeps from other games, melt off some day to day frustration, etc. It is appreciated.

[TheGrimace]

Small Bottle, legible but sporadic script: I can't say that you or the other masters of the world we live in will read this message, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done. As a Legacy player, I have seen the worst this game has to offer. I have also seen the best, and for that reason I have not quit paying for a subscription since relaunch. The lands of Eorzea and now also Norvrandt have been a very positive influence on my life. The stories, the musics, the characters, the fashions, the gameplay- I enjoy everything and more about Hydaelyn, and I intend to continue playing as long as you continue to create more for us to experience. I may not always agree with certain major changes, but I do know and appreciate that you have the population's best interests in mind when making changes. And, in terms of what 5.1 and beyond will reveal in the future, let me just say that I'm looking forward to it! (Please don't over-exert yourselves, though.)

With hopes for futures yet unseen,

A Doofy Yet Sincere Ninja

[TheMightyMollusk]

I'm also appreciating the posters, myself.

[cactuarzzzz]

I love the moogle-minion that show up when we read the letters. Very very adorably.

And I'm surprised how Mr.Yoshida broke the 4th wall.

[Enkidoh]

I love the moogle-minion that show up when we read the letters. Very very adorably.

And I'm surprised how Mr.Yoshida broke the 4th wall.

That's part and parcel of the Rising, the first year it was run Yoshi only spoke through his 'Wandering Minstrel' alter ego to the player through the Fourth Wall, but 2015 was when he utterly smashed the game's Fourth Wall to dust with the 'Eighteenth Floor' area and he directly appeared (wearing MCH AF that year) to address the player and personally thank them for their support.

So it's been kind of a tradition since then for Yoshi to personally appear in it and thank the player directly for continuing to make FFXIV what it is.

This year's one was poignant, and I got the joke when

Yoshi appears with duplicates of your character, it took me a few seconds to realize why the copies of your character were dressed as ARC, WAR, DRG, MNK, SAM and DRK, as these are the appearences of 'Derplander' (aka Source!Ardbert) throughout the opening movies to FFXIV 1.0, ARR, Heavensward, Stormblood and now Shadowbringers,

so it was a nice little reference.

Nothing will beat 2015's 18th Floor though.... So much in-jokes, that I'm certain the development team must have had a lot of fun making that.

[Wolfdog2k8]

I'm not going to lie, I may have cried a bit when I read the letter from

Your Minions

[linay]

I'm not going to lie, I may have cried a bit when I read the letter from

Your Minions

Same! It makes me almost regret deleting my old character with the minions I've collected. Oh well, got some minions with my new character anyway.

[Ibuki-]

I want to be able to rewatch the cutscenes please without the use of YouTube T_T

[aemon_azucar]

Large bottle, with precise penmanship butting against the margins:
I don't know who will read this message. I don't even know if I expect anyone to read it. But I feel I must write nonetheless, and cast the words into the unknown. I am forever thankful for the opportunities given to me. Worlds of exploration, discovery, history, language...they blossom before me like a wizard's garden, full of magic and beauty, tended with loving care. I have found and deepened friendships in the time since the Calamity, have scaled heights and plumbed depths that defy imagination. I have wept and laughed, loved and hated, been shocked by wonders I could never have anticipated. May you always walk in the Light, and the Dark, toward a better, fuller tomorrow, for you have given me a better, fuller today.

With bittersweet rejoicing and solemn celebration,
A keen-eyed summoner and soft-hearted knight