The MSQ defeated me

[Sqwall]

The ARR portion is rough...and before the changes made with 6.1....it was even more rough....

It was.... padded. We should call it what it is. But should be aware it was WAY worse, and they have taken steps to remove most of the boring bits.

Heavensward is where the rubber meets the road. Sadly you must make it through ARR. Heavensward (and i'm not afraid to say this) is the first time this game made me tear up. It's that good. When a story can make you involved with the plot, characters, and stakes presented....you start to stick with it. The Final Steps of Faith.... *chefs kiss*

......Then the car comes to a screeching halt with stormblood....THIS is where I took my first break from FFXIV. Stormblood was incredibly dense with multiple storylines, factions, characters, motives ALL happening at the same time. If I were to categorize stormblood's story I would say...."overly ambitious and should be chewed slowly". It was just un-focused and jumps around... a lot.

Shadowbringers.... just... WOW. I wasn't ready! The story had me hooked from get go....and it had me blubbering like a fool with the end of 5.3.....and it was all set up back in 2.0 in ARR.

Endwalker is literally the peak of EVERYTHING that has come before it. Essentially the "bow" on the gift. Endwalkers story is told as if it's the climax...so it's very fast in how events unfold, and it expects us to understand the unexpected things that happen through it's telling. At times I didn't have time to process information, as it subverted my understanding with "shock and awe" moments that had me gasp. I was just in the mode of "disbelief" as things unfolded. And the cherry on top...the ending....I felt the 10 years of EVERYTHING that came before and just smiled from ear to ear. It felt vindicated....complete....satisfied. And where we go from here is uncharted, new, fresh....and I love it. Sign me up for another 10 years.