A Storyteller’s Point of View on Final Fantasy XIV

[kindar1]

Close to Home (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Close_to_Home_)

This quest gets us familiar with some locations, the Aetheryte, the market, and one of the hand of war/magic guild, in my case, the archer. As with most starting quests, little danger is involved. Story-wise, Mother Miounne is upfront about the purpose, to give us a grasp of adventuring… I question the wording. We are also told to seek the Smiths should we need advice. We are also encouraged to help anyone who needs it in town.

The Aetheryte

Upon touching the Aetheryte, we get a cut scene explaining the use of the Aetheryte and encourage to attune to as many as we can. The one story detail that pops at me is how we are spoken to as if we don’t know where it is, after we have touched it.

The Market

Here we speak with Parsemontret, who for the price of 1 eel pie tells us about the market. While the interaction teaches us the mechanic of handing items to NPCs, the bluntness of ‘give me a bribe’ is a tad offputting.

The Archers.

So, I was sent to the archer from the start.

Here we speak to the receptionist, and get backstory on archery in the region. Other than the NPC acting like she can’t see my bow, therefore treats me as someone who doesn’t know archery exists, the storytelling is adequate

We return to Mother Miounne, are thanked for being an adventurer who is there for the population, and expresses hope that we will be there to help in the coming struggles.

One interesting note with the ending. She thanked me for helping some citizens, which I did not do. I think that is a slight flaw in the narrative.

To the Bannock (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/To_the_Bannock)

I had to do the first Archer quest to get to level 4 and activate this quest

We are sent to speak with an acquaintance of Mother Miounne on the off chance he has a use for an adventurer. Once there, we get more information on the strife the Calamity brought to the Twelveswood. And the quest ends with s reminder to listen to the people and their requests.

Passing Muster (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Passing_Muster)

Here we are inspected to ensure we are properly armored.

I had to take a side quest to afford to buy the pieces of armor I needed to meet the requirement. It was the one to go looking for recruits that didn’t show up for training, and while this falls under game mechanics more than storytelling, I’m not a fan of how they are identified with an icon that can be seen from any good vantage points. It makes finding them a little too easy.

I passed muster and concluded the quest.

[AngelCheese77]

Close to Home (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Close_to_Home_)

This quest gets us familiar with some locations, the Aetheryte, the market, and one of the hand of war/magic guild, in my case, the archer. As with most starting quests, little danger is involved. Story-wise, Mother Miounne is upfront about the purpose, to give us a grasp of adventuring… I question the wording. We are also told to seek the Smiths should we need advice. We are also encouraged to help anyone who needs it in town.

As you play FF14, please keep in mind that it was mainly written in Japanese. What you see in the language you play in, can be a loose translation, a translation that might have changed from the original intent, or even changed entirely because it needs to fit better into the language it was translated to. So much of the wording and information c an seem odd or just worded wrong.

The Market

Here we speak with Parsemontret, who for the price of 1 eel pie tells us about the market. While the interaction teaches us the mechanic of handing items to NPCs, the bluntness of ‘give me a bribe’ is a tad offputting.

Characters have personalities. I'm sure you know this when it comes to books. So you will find the same here. So it shouldn't be that much of a surprise for an NPC that works through bribery.

The Archers.

So, I was sent to the archer from the start.

Here we speak to the receptionist and get the backstory on archery in the region. Other than the NPC acting like she can’t see my bow, therefore treats me as someone who doesn’t know archery exists, the storytelling is adequate.

It is written as such because later on, you unlock the ability to take on multiple classes. Meaning, you start as an Archer, but after a point in the MSQ (Main Story Questline) you are allowed to go and learn to be a Marauder or a Lancer. So it makes sense the NPC asks if you want to be an Archer in a neutral way.

We return to Mother Miounne, are thanked for being an adventurer who is there for the population, and express hope that we will be there to help in the coming struggles.

One interesting note with the ending. She thanked me for helping some citizens, which I did not do. I think that is a slight flaw in the narrative.

Hm, I never noticed that. Maybe because I assisted other NPCs along the way. Interesting.

To the Bannock (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/To_the_Bannock)

I had to do the first Archer quest to get to level 4 and activate this quest

I will let you know, FF14 has quests and areas behind what are called "level locks" or "gates". These can be the level of your character, the iLevel of your gear (known as item level), how far you are in the MSQ (Main Story Quest), if you have done particular dungeons or side quests, etc. Don't let it discourage you. Many find it annoying.

Passing Muster (https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Passing_Muster)

Here we are inspected to ensure we are properly armored.

I had to take a side quest to afford to buy the pieces of armor I needed to meet the requirement. It was the one to go looking for recruits that didn’t show up for training, and while this falls under game mechanics more than storytelling, I’m not a fan of how they are identified with an icon that can be seen from any good vantage points. It makes finding them a little too easy.

I passed muster and concluded the quest.

Blame that on "modernity" and "inclusion" for MMOs. Back in the day (think EverQuest in 1999), you had to write things down and explore. Now, it's all about handholding and making this easier for players no matter how they play. You get used to it.