What Is XIV Nostalgia?

[Luluna]

Mine has to be 1.0 the players I met and sometimes see but there are a lot that have sadly gone but I always remember them. I will never forget cutters cry and when Ifrit was so tough there bodies piled up high. And the world of 1.0 and community. The old raids and the NM hunting none of this bs hunt crap we now have.

[Gordita]

Back when the community was extremely helpful, and they didn't go at each other's throats for sharing an opinion. Back when people had enough courtesy to have a macro prepared for trains telling people how to adjust their setting to minimize fps loss and lag, for every platform, and conductors would straight up stop trains if people had their chocobos out. Back when shout chat was used for conversation and doing content instead of spamming ads for things that have nothing to do with the game itself. Eureka. Stance dance. Watching last boss of lota die during ancient flare adds because it had 50 dots on it. So many changes to the game these days that the nostalgic vibes are becoming kinda rare.

[Dracosavarian]

1.0

1.0 Crafting, gathering the materials, struggling with the Mini Games to harvest resources which was unique in the day. Having to synth and level other crafts and mats to make a tool even.

Running through Gridania and turning a corner and seeing mobs that could tear your face off, and would tear your face off, where 5 steps ago there were low level mobs.

Fighting and grinding against the exp limitations after your time counter and leve counters ran out, leading to groups to chain exp like back in Valkurm Dunes in FFXI.

The feel of marauder back then. The look and feel of Gridania, and exploring the regions around Limsa and the cliffs.


2.0 and after

The Beta and waiting in line for the sword in the stump in Gridania

Ishgardian restoration. Completing the final step alongside my Best Friend on Sargatanas and being there with everyone when it was completed. The celebration then…

The Battle in Whitebrim for the Dark Knight storyline.

ALL, of the Dark Knight Storyline.

Everything involving Shadowbringers. Such a beautiful story. One of the best ever.

Playing Gladiator starting in 2.0 and remembering things like the aoe blind, being able to remove bind on yourself. Stoneskin and cleric stance.


And one of my favorites. Helping my Best Friend level her rogue on Miqote lad, and her fighting the massive crabs in Limsa while I just stood there doing nothing and my fairy from scholar auto healed. And her expressing frustration after multiple levels of why they were taking so long to die. And then I examined her and started laughing my arse off. And she was like “ What? “. It took me a few solid minutes of guffawing to finally tell her she was still using the level 1 daggers and she was almost level 10 or 12 at that point. And I just started howling and said “ I guess my character decided you need to train in hardcore mode and handed you a pair of flint rocks and said good luck!!! “

We still joke about that to this day.

“ These aren’t daggers!!! “

My character: “ Sure they are! They’re sharp and pointy!!! Now go bring me dinner!! “ *Points at 2 story tall crab*

[Moomba33]

Another thing I remember, you could get another DoT on SMN back then, the key was you had to complete your Arcanist job quest all the way to 50 to get it. It was a healing field like SCH had, that you got at 50th level but this was a DoT field. Most people never completed that, once they got their SMN stone they never finished off the arcanist quests through level 50. I remember whipping that out in dungoens and some people were just amazed because they didn't know it existed. (Was Shadowbind I think)

I think you're thinking of Shadow Flare. Shadowbind was a archer/bard skill that binded targets.
Squadron Arcanists still have Shadow Flare I think.

Edit: Though IIRC it was just a skill you learned by leveling up. I remember SCH couldn't have it active at the same time as Sacred Soil and players used to debate which one to use during trash pulls.

[TaleraRistain]

I've got quite a few, but the one that immediately came to mind were the FATE trains in Coerthas Central Highlands to get up to 50.

And Northern Thanalan because we had that gap at 47

[SkyCake]

People have already mentioned great ones and I agree. Especially the FATEs.

My friend has a recording of us playing ARR together. I sometimes watch it for the feel-good nostalgia feeling. I was more "energetic" and bubbly back then. Talked so so so much more than I do nowdays. I barely type anything now. The dungeon in it took about 40 minutes. We talk about being excited to unlock Dragoon. I got a dungeon drop and was actually pretty excited about it. It was like level 20 armor or something, ha.

It's a very cozy video for me.

[Silverquick]

I think you're thinking of Shadow Flare. Shadowbind was a archer/bard skill that binded targets.
Squadron Arcanists still have Shadow Flare I think.

Edit: Though IIRC it was just a skill you learned by leveling up. I remember SCH couldn't have it active at the same time as Sacred Soil and players used to debate which one to use during trash pulls.

Yeah that's the one,

But the key is you couldn't get it unless you pulled your stone and did the 50th level quest for it. It was the ending quest in there with the corny cat chick that always overcomplicated things, she runs off with the guildmaster that she always had a crush on anyway and just never would admit to it. But before he leaves with her he imparts that one last piece of Arcanist wisdom to you. They removed that quest now as far as I know so most people never get to know the ending of that story.

[Burmecia]

Good things already mentioned (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
For me, around the map in overworld, houses you can enter and which are more than just one room.
ARR had interesting places, though not just houses.

Couple of days ago I came across something I can't believe I either had never before paid attention to, or had just not noticed.
sOME sort of dubiously legal purple leaves growing operation... OwO

[Amenara]

Doing fates to level alt jobs and always having other people doing them with you is probably the biggest nostalgia I have for FF14's olden days.

The OP talking about FF11 nostalgia made me realize how much more nostalgia I have for that than I do for FF14.

[Kaurhz]

- FATE trains for levelling jobs.
- Levelling crafters by going through the log rather than powerlevelling through Ishgard.
- Concealed nodes
- Crafting my first set of Ironworks
- Learning WWYW - As busted as it was - even fundamentally, it was super fun to learn and master.