1828: #FFXIV Before the Fall: Some Initial Impressions

There are spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV’s latest patch ahead. You have been warned!

Before the Fall released today, opening the final chapter on Final Fantasy XIV’s 2.0 storyline and preparing to usher in the age of Heavensward. For those who have been following the game, you’ll know that major version updates such as this one — updates that come every three months like clockwork — tend to include a whole host of exciting new things to do, and this one is certainly no exception. In fact, I think I’d go as far as to say it is the absolute best update Final Fantasy XIV has received since its (re)launch in August of 2013.

I haven’t been through everything yet, but here are a few thoughts on what I have taken on so far.

The Wanderer’s Palace (Hard)

Many FFXIV players have fond (and not-so-fond) memories of The Wanderer’s Palace, since it’s the first level 50 dungeon you get to run that isn’t story-related. Back in the 2.0 days, before Roulettes and Challenges and all manner of other weekly bonuses, speedrunning Wanderer’s Palace (or WP, in FFXIV player parlance) was a popular pastime as it was a quick and efficient means of earning the “Tomestones” used to purchase gear post-level 50. It was also noteworthy as being a dungeon that featured the iconic recurring Final Fantasy enemies the Tonberries — a popular creature owing to their extreme cuteness and propensity to inflict horrible, horrible violence on people with kitchen knives.

In the original WP, the Tonberries were the bad guys. You fought a bunch as you progressed through the dungeon, were pushed ever onwards by giant Tonberry Stalkers that you couldn’t kill, and eventually killed the Tonberry King at the end of the dungeon. WP’s Hard incarnation, meanwhile, sees the Tonberries freed of the curse brought about by their King’s rancour, and in need of help from an invading force of Mamool Ja beastmen.

With Tonberries being such a popular Final Fantasy mainstay, naturally players jump at the opportunity to “Save the Tonberries!” and thus I can see WP Hard being a favourite dungeon of many people — particularly as it’s very well designed indeed. Its encounters are well-paced and interesting, and the dungeon does an excellent job of introducing a variety of mechanics throughout that are eventually all used in its final boss fight. It’s a satisfying dungeon, and its “victory” cutscene is one of the most grin-inducing things in the entire game, so be sure not to skip it!

Amdapor Keep (Hard)

Poor old Amdapor Keep has had a rough life. Originally the toughest 4-player dungeon in the entire game at FFXIV’s 2.0 release, it was subsequently made considerably easier until now, with most dedicated players outgearing it by a considerable margin, it is but a shadow of its former self.

Which, of course, is where Amdapor Keep (AK) Hard comes in. Because it’s hard.

I must confess that having run it twice today I still don’t really know how the first boss works, but I haven’t had any trouble clearing — perhaps after a wipe or two if the party is new. It’s cool to see the dungeon running with its creepy theme and a “headless horseman” boss, though; it looks great.

The second boss was a highlight for me, particularly as the first time I ran it my friend was bellowing “Whooo! BOOGYMAN!” in my ear. Because the second boss is indeed the Boogyman, and he enjoys hiding in the shadows, only to be revealed by a pulse of light from an enterprising (and irradiated) adventurer. “What you can’t see cannot hurt you,” he taunts, shortly before he hurts you very badly indeed.

The best thing about the dungeon, though, is the “gauntlet” before the final boss. Trapped in a room with fiery walls and four Demon Walls closing in on you, you’re challenged to take down an intense few waves of enemies before you get squished between our demonic friends. It’s exciting, and every time I’ve done it so far it’s been thrillingly close to complete failure when we pulled it off — though I’m sure it will get easier with time (and gear).

The final boss, whom I now can’t call anything but “Firedad” after a friend misread his name earlier, is a distinctly Kefka-esque entity with some nasty attacks. It’s an extremely well-designed, challenging but enjoyable encounter, and a fitting finale to a difficult but satisfying dungeon. Good stuff.

The Keeper of the Lake

The main “story dungeon” for Before the Fall is essentially a lightweight Praetorium, complete with overdramatic music and tons of Imperials to fight. It’s an extremely attractive dungeon with a variety of different landscapes to enjoy as you climb up its towering structure, but the real highlight is the final boss encounter against Midgardsormr, a giant and rather terrifying dragon who is so big you can only fight his head… and his two smaller dragony friends that wake up over the course of the fight.

The encounter is a good one because there’s lots to do. There are many different things to dodge, and it keeps you on the move throughout. It’s no “tank and spank” encounter, in other words, and while not particularly mechanically complex, it’s a real challenge.

In fact, it’s a good example of what appears to be a recurring theme for this patch: challenge. In previous patches, people were well overgeared for the dungeons the moment they were released, but this time around even those who are sporting item level 120-130 gear are being given a run for their money with some tough encounters. I’m pleased to see this; one of the most common criticisms levelled at FFXIV is that it’s too easy — despite having one of the most notoriously challenging endgame raids in the entire MMORPG genre — and these dungeons more than make up for this.

Speaking of which…

The Chrysalis

The “secret” Trial that was teased prior to release is a fight against an Ascian, and unlike the pathetic dickslapping you give Lahabrea at the end of Praetorium, this one actually puts up one hell of a fight.

It’s mechanically fairly simple, as the Trials go, but it’s a challenge to coordinate, since the damage comes thick and fast and the healers need to keep on their toes to keep both themselves and the tanks standing, particularly once our Ascian friend starts casting Quake III to damage everyone.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the fight comes where the boss slows down time by sucking you into an aetherial rift, and you’re pulled into an inverted-colours landscape where all your buffs and debuffs last ten times longer than they would normally. And yes, this includes things like Paladin’s invincibility buff Hallowed Ground, which literally makes you invincible for this entire phase if you pop it just before getting sucked in.

Again, like Keeper of the Lake, The Chrysalis is a challenging fight that keeps players on their toes, unlike a number of the earlier story encounters. (Leviathan in particular springs to mind; it’s all but impossible to fail that Trial unless you are a terrible, terrible player.)

World of Darkness

The main event for many people in 2.5 is the grand finale to the Crystal Tower side story, a sprawling homage to Final Fantasy III in which three parties of eight players each (making a total of 24 players, maths fans) journey through the Labyrinth of the Ancients to the base of Syrcus Tower, climb Syrcus Tower and eventually leap through a tear in reality to pay a visit to the World of Darkness.

The previous two parts of Crystal Tower have been enjoyable raids designed to be completable by casual players. They demand significantly less in the way of coordination than The Binding Coil of Bahamut does, but they still put up a fight with complex, interesting mechanics that people need to understand.

World of Darkness dials this up to the maximum though, with some of the most interesting fights I’ve seen in all of Final Fantasy XIV outside of Coil. A particular highlight is the battle against Cerberus, in which a key mechanic is one of the three parties of eight getting shrunken down to tiny size and eaten by Cerberus, at which point they beat him up from inside his stomach before being vomited back out as the giant hellhound howls in pain. Meanwhile, the other two parties need to take advantage of the distraction created by the stomachache you cause and chain him back up again. It’s unlike anything else in the rest of the game, and it’s absolutely great.

The final battle against Cloud of Darkness is a good one, too. Again, not hugely mechanically complex, it’s a thrilling, exciting battle where there’s a lot more to do than just fling fireballs at the boss or poke it with pointy things. There are lasers to dodge, snakes to whack and clouds to disperse, and while it’s challenging — particularly while people are still learning these encounters — it’s a lot of fun. We finished our run with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.

Urth’s Fount (Odin)

The Trial against Odin, last seen at the FanFest live events, is an enjoyable battle against one of the game’s most notorious “FATE” bosses that has been in the game since launch. Odin shows up every few (real-time) days and terrorises one of the areas of the Black Shroud forest, at which point scores of adventurers dogpile him in an attempt to defeat him before he unleashes his devastating Zantetsuken move, killing everyone. (In many cases, it’s a lot more likely that he completely eviscerates everyone well before he starts charging up Zantetsuken, but I have been present for several victories over him.)

The Trial version of the encounter uses many of the same things you see in the FATE battle, but by limiting it to eight players makes it seem a lot more manageable. The main tank takes a lot of damage, so the healers have a big challenge, and everyone else has tons of AoE skills to avoid throughout the fight, so it’s another one where you can’t be standing still for too long.

Ultimately, it’s not a very difficult fight so long as you’re used to dodging things, but it is an enjoyable one. It’s nice to finally lay the smack down on Odin once and for all — although the post-quest cutscene neatly explains how and why even after you defeat him he keeps showing back up in the Black Shroud again and again and again.

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There’s a lot more I haven’t explored as yet. Tomorrow is a day for the Hildibrand questline, a real highlight of the game for many people, and for checking out the new “Slaughter” mode in Player vs Player play, which sounds like it might be a lot of fun. For now, though, I’ve been playing all day, so it’s probably time I got some sleep!