►► Thank you so much for watching the video! As per usual I'll be live over on Twitch so I'd love for you to swing by and say hi! twitch.tv/projared ► Thank you so much for your patience on this one. I started working on this video in May of 2023. There were SO many technical headaches with it, which I'm sure you'll see and understand once you get to that part in the video. ►► It would mean a lot to me if you could subscribe, like, and share the video around! Show your friends, show your enemies, post on Twitter/discord/reddit/wherever! ► Speaking of, I have my own discord if you'd like to join for more consistent announcements so you don't miss anything! discord.gg/projared ►► Thanks again, I missed you too

You can't escape 13 forever Jared...

13: "What about me?" Jared: "No, don't think I will."

"There's a saying in the Final Fantasy 14 community: The true endgame is glamour." As a veteran Warframe player, I know how true that statement rings. Fashionframe triumphs over all gear.

If you want a simple answer about why the fatigue system exists I can tell you. XIV 1.0 had no endgame content at launch so the fatigue system, combined with how far apart the story quests were spread by level, helped delay players progression until they could patch an endgame in.

Jared is just like a skyscraper: pretending the number 13 doesn't exist.

For all those that are saying he skipped 13, I think he played through the whole game and then all that footage he used was lost, so he had to restart.

Awesome video, thanks for the shout out!! I do feel like I just need to clarify for your audience that the server was developed by Project Meteor (which I'm not part of their dev team) and I've only worked on some quests and other things! Regardless I'm glad to see this video up! Awesome work! :D

O- oh my god! He praised Stormblood without much complaint?! What out of season Christmas miracle is this?! I love it!

LOL THOSE HOTBARS

13 will haunt you, you must confront your fears Jared.

Having a minimum IL for story dungeons is a good thing. I still remember when heavens ward was new and getting a tank that was still using IL50 gear from the level 50 job quest in the dusk vigil, dusk vigil now has a minimum IL100 to enter. Don't need players bringing their alt jobs into dungeons when they don't even meet the previous expansions IL requirements for entry.

Jared: Don't judge my hotbars. Me: oh ho ho, this is going to be gold now

The community "The dungeons are all boring corridors" The Devs "We tried making dungeons with branching paths and dead ends, after a couple runs everyone just did the fastest way through, so we made them corridors".

Dread it, Run from it, Final Fantasy 13 still arrives

"Don't make fun of my hotbars" I make no promise

Game: "Several cutscenes will play in sequence..." FFXIV player: "Oh Jesus...." *RUNS to GRAB a beverage and tissues*

An hour long video about a game I’ve never played is exactly what I needed to help me get through Saturday chores

tis official. jared doesn’t know how to count to 14

It’s awesome to have you back on your main channel! Just hearing that outro theme made me so happy!❤

didn't even mention Hildibrand terrible video 0/10

13 cannot be skipped

I see Jared is going the 80s and 90s route of counting Final Fantasy...

43:17 I was not ready to swallow my drink. XD I nearly died laughing.

YES, I've been waiting for your return!

I can't help but notice there's a gap in your Final Fantasy playlist, Jared. A void, if you will.

Not only do you still have to review 13. But I honestly want to see a review of X-2

the fact that he just jumped over 13 is hilarious but hey, i'm glad that he returns to make a Final Fantasy content again, and i'm always curious his take on 15 and 16

You can run, Jared. But no matter how fast or how far, 13 will always be right behind you ⚡️

Excellent video, you haven't lost your touch. I was enthralled from beginning to end!

9:50 Honestly? I disagree. Those freakin 'trash mobs' usually hurt way more than the bosses do! As a healer my blood gets pumping far more on a wall to wall pull than any boss.

THE SERIES IS BACK BABBBYYYYYY

I love how he mentions the dungeons have *become* trivial. Monsters USED to have exp values, dungeons USED to have complex mechanics - before they were overhauled. Pretty much everything up through Heavensward was altered to be linear hallways :T

Long awaited and well worth it too! Amazing video Jared, so happy to have your videos back in my life, heres to many more! :D

"Don't make fun of my hot bars" EVERY TIME, lol, always comes up

I would've genuinely enjoyed a video about Final Fantasy XIII from you

11:46 THE BOUNCER

Im going to be real, FFXIV is the only game to actually bring me to tears...there is a moment during the Shadowbringers patch quests during the villain's death monologue that hit me so close to home I had to legit walk away from my computer and cry my eyes out for 10 minutes

43:18 Out of every line in this review/retrospective, this is my favorite one. The smile on Jared's face cracks me up every time.

"whatever the hell you call this" *Plays the titania theme* I call it art

I started playing final fantasy 14 in June of 2023 and In already have over 1144 hours in it. Genuinely one of the most fun and engaging games I’ve ever played. The story, the characters, and all the stuff you can do just makes it a joy to experience. I can’t wait for the next expansion

So glad to have you back with an HOUR long video too! We love you!

Ah 1.0. A few things I wanted to clear up about 1.0, from someone who played since the 1.0 beta: -"EXP" is a bit of a mischaracterization. They did have EXP, but that only affected your Physical Level, which allowed you to allocate your base stats (most of which was pointless, since the bonuses were so insanely small.) The main level up mechanic was Skill Points (SP), which affected your Class Level. -EXP was consistent for kills, but SP was based off your contribution to the kill, with a random element. You had a chance on any (effective) action to accrue SP, which would only be awarded when the monster died, and capped at 200 points. Some fights you'd do only a couple attacks and get max SP, and others you'd do a ton of actions and do top DPS and get 0. This also meant healers leveled up way quicker because all spells were AOE by default, and you had a high chance per person hit, assuming they were missing HP. Which in turn meant your healers would quickly outlevel the party, imposing a SP and EXP penalty on everyone in it. Oh, and Provoke (the taunt) had a high chance of giving SP, so everyone was constantly taunting the enemies off the tank, while standing in front of them if they had any sort of AOE so your healers could get more... it was like taking every single good RPG combat idea and completely flipping it on its head. -EXP Fatigue (proper name: Surplus SP and EXP) didn't decay down to 0%, I don't recall, but it could go down to 10%. It also went down in stages (90%, 80%, etc.) and you got to the first couple stages very, VERY fast. I think my record was 30 minutes or so to hit the first level of it on Marauder when I started that class. -The main idea behind the Surplus system was to encourage you to level other classes; the physical Surplus EXP still applied but also didn't matter, but each class had its own Surplus SP, so if you played as an Archer for a few hours and got to -30% SP, you could switch to Marauder and still have full, though it didn't take long to hit -30 or -40 on every class if you were playing a lot. -The reason they wanted you to play other classes was because the classes were all extremely barebones on their own, but you could fill in any spell or weapon skill and almost any passive trait from any class to any other. Which sounds cool but functionally every WS (except Feint) did the same as any other for its cost, so it ended up with this awkward situation where you had all these skills, but the animations and damage were the same so... who cares? Oh and offensive spells were god-awful and mages did way more damage wanding enemies down with basic attacks. -Gear broke shockingly fast, and repairs were insanely expensive. NPC repairs for a level 20ish item cost over 40k (to be fair, gil was more abundant in 1.0, but it'd be like 4k in modern FFXIV, which at low levels is kind of a lot), and only got the item back to 50% durability. And it didn't matter because that was, at best, about 3 fights before it broke; if it was something like a Pugilist weapon, since Pugilists did more hits, that 50% weapon could be broken within one enemy. So everyone just ran around with broken gear, which meant you did less damage but it was still better than trying to keep your stuff in top-shape. Players could repair gear, but you needed a specific item to repair it, unique to each piece; for example, a pair of Dodoskin Cesti needed a Spetch of Dodoskin Leather, which meant you needed to go to the god-awful market wards and try to find one, or go out and farm dodos, then mine up some alumen, then find someone to turn it into leather and then have them repair your weapon... oh god all this to do like 20% more damage for 2 minutes or so until it breaks again. -Your miss chance in combat was shockingly high. Like in DnD a 30% miss chance is actually not terrible against a higher level foe, but in FFXIV1.0 you'd wish you had a 30% miss chance. It was so bad that the entire meta at launch was centered on a Lancer weapon skill called Feint, which was cheap and only available after missing but couldn't miss itself. -The numbers Jared gave for Anima were a little off for launch; those were the post-buff numbers. It used to be 1 anima every 8 (EIGHT!) real life hours. So if you wanted to teleport from one city to another, it was a solid two real life day's worth of Anima. People paid real life money to make alts to offer teleportation services, and they'd just delete the alts and make new ones, it was so bad. This was one of the first things fixed though. Well, "fixed." Ah there's so much more about ye olde 1.0... and I don't think Jared did enough to describe just how frustratingly slow the UI was.

No Jared you missed one JARED YOU MISSED ONE

A ProJared video??? We're so back!!!

Oh my god I’m loving the longer form videos! Keep up the good work!

Woah. Im so happy there's a video after 10 months. I was just rewatching the bouncer video and Bravely Default video. Its comfortable to see a post. Sorry ik things take time , j ust wanted to express my relief

I legit thought it was going to be 13, I guess we ll have to wait 10 more years for that.

You can’t ignore it Jared, it’s waiting in the dark.

A note about end game gearing up. I've been playing since 1.18 and I've never had to do any type of grinding to get gear to play any type of content. The crafting sets alone give you enough ilvl and stats to take on savage -- in fact, if you penta meld (put 5x materia in each piece of equipment), they're considered pre-savage BiS in a lot of situations. Their costs may be extravagant for the first couple of days due to it being the easiest way to get equipment (and crafters learning the recipes and getting the resources), but they soon go down to very affordable prices after a few weeks. So there's no real long-lasting gate regarding accessing any type of content. In fact, the hardest content (Ultimates) ilvl sync you down in a lot of circumstances.

This is the episode i have been waiting on for years 😭 loved it, thank you!

The reason that dungeons have the Point A to Point B lay out is due to players not wanting to trek through a convoluted dungeon. To prove my point run Satasha or Haukke Manor with random parties twenty times, and see how many people will go into the side rooms in the pirate hideout, or go down the side corridor of the mansion's second floor at the end. Unless you are running tank to drag the party to these area, players will ignore those areas if favor of getting through the dungeon and fighting the final boss.

Jared will see how much his views go up when he finally does 13.

Keep it up Jared. These are my fav videos of yours

Its here! A video literally a year in the making

34:05 Music so good it had Jared's "good music stank face" effecting his entire being.

wow i just started playing again yesterday and then you drop an hour long video! nice timing :D

We just going to gloss over the effort man put in to give us an hour long runtime?

You have no idea how long I've waited for this. And the 13 one.

This is by far the best summary of the game with the most on point perspectives in relation to the whole of what it has to offer in the present and past. Fantastic presentation as well. Bravo my man!

Solid outro, really got me there! 👍

I’ve been a fan for a decade, I’m just glad this channel is uploading again

Job well done on this hour-long interesting video, Jared! Together with all of the great streams you're uploading on the VODs-channel, you seem to be in a great place. What better starting point than, say... tackle 13?

This was fun to watch. Really appreciate the enthusiasm, showcasing the multiple fun options for play and giving any new players a heads up on tedious elements. The 1.0 history and rebuild is pretty interesting from game history perspective, thanks for sharing! Great video!

I wish you would review more, you are so damn good at it, a really good talker. I have been bingning your old stuff which is all amazing!

I’ve been looking forward to this video for a while, amazing work as always!

I was just rewatching your D&D vids. Perfect timing

What a pleasure it is to know that this channel is still alive

Oh god I missed you on this channel, welcome back Jared

New ProJared! This video is also a log of the different eras of ProJared.

Dang! I really wanted to hear him rage over ff13!

This is such an amazing video that really highlights everything about XIV that makes it so beloved by everyone who plays it. It made me emotional just hearing all the parts about the game that I love so much. I haven't been playing it as much lately since we're at the end of Endwalker waiting for Dawntrail, but this video makes me want to play it again right now.

Glad you're back with another big reviews. It feels like the good old times again.

Holy hell, its here!!!!!

Finally! Good to see you back

Note: apparently, like, YoshiP has reached “so easy, it causes burnout”, so they may address the 2.0 PLD experience that is every job atm

Man, it’s so good to see this kind of a video again! This is the format that you do the best, in my opinion. Still remember your reviews of monster hunter games and BOTW. Great video. Cheers!

I was just recently binging your Final Fantasy reviews. You can't escape 13. Don't leave us hanging like this, sir--

As soon as he said don't make fun of my hotbars I was like, "I bet I'm making fun of his hotbars aren't I"

I was wondering if this was coming. I am happy to see this!

Hell yeah. Finally a new video. Good to have yah back

You don't know how long I've been waiting for this!

Back on the main channel at last!

never had an interest or even knew this game existed, but watching this video and all the info is such a joy. I miss ya jared, i love now in the 90s, but these videos are always something to get excited about

Excellent video, I love 14 so much. I don't even know where I would start to talk about it

We are just going to SKIP 13 COME ON!!!! XD

You truly deserve more subs and views... great channel and the ff videos are amazing

4:55 Ah 8 man Praetorium, those were they days....

Great upload schedule Jared

For everyone that wants to but can't afford to pay for the Subscription of the game. A Realm Reborn, Havensward, and now Stormblood are 100% part of the Free Trial, which you can't even call a Trial. It's straight up free, for however long you want. The games worth a try.

Playing Terra's theme on a magitech mount is the part where I actually considered playing this

I start playing final fantasy 14 watching you play final fantasy 14 at now 7 years ago ❤😊 Thank you for i really love the game ^^

I love your Final Fantasy videos! We grew up in the same era and your take on the series is like a greatest hits album of my favorite videogame memories.

There is no one in my house with me, I watched this video alone. But the very end not only made me laugh my ass off, but also had me physically applaud. Well played, sir. Well played. I'm positive this comments section is filled with people sharing their XIV experiences. That's wonderful. I'd like to share a little bit of mine: I am not a Final Fantasy veteran. I played Tactics Advance as a kid and I played like the first 2 hours of XIII. And then I had some friends push me to pick up XIV. And, when COVID hit, I said yes. I'm a Savage- and Ultimate-level healer now, the game totally absorbed my whole life in 2020 and 2021, and I still love it so, so much. My friend, however, IS an FF veteran. He's been playing the games since he was very young, and always keeps up with the new entries. When we play together (and we have for every new story patch since 5.3), it's this wonderful mix of me going into the new stuff with totally fresh eyes, and him being filled with excitement and nostalgia as he sees all of the references to the old games. It's such a wonderful experience, and I hope many others can experience the game too. Thank you for making this video

The legend is back

Welcome back!!!!

Just as I started to rebinge your final fantasy series, this gets uploaded!

As much as I enjoy my weekly dose of 90's nostalgia, it's good to see a good ol' Projared-video!

21:15 nice portrait, though I feel a smile better suits him.

I love Ultimate raids because they integrate a very powerful narrative inside a 16-22 minute boss fight. In the Dragonsong's Reprise, you recount the ending of Heavensward starting from fighting the Heavenward knights in the Vault (watching Haurchefant die to save you mid battle), to duking it out withThordan in Azys Lla after catching up with him, beating Nidhogg on the bridge during his siege, and then finishing it out with defeating the eyes that possessed Estinien using a buff you get from the ghosts of Haurchefant and Ysayle. The Ultimate are ballads sung by the Wandering Minstrel, a bard that looks like the game's director YoshiP. Once you free Estinien and conclude the events as they happened, the Minstrel says basically "hey guys, I know you're not happy with losing Haurchefant. Let's go back and try that again". You're sent back to the first phase, this time you're able to carry over a full Limit Break 3 (Dynamis being a big focus in Endwalker, the expansion this fight was released in) which wasn't obtainable originally. With it you can save Haurchefant's life, changing the events of the story entirely. Thordan makes it to Azys Lla unchallenged and gains the technology to control dragons. He enslaves the dragons at the Churning Mist that you met at the MSQ and uses them to fight you. At the end of the phase he literally begs you to spare his life which you can actually do. The party can stop hitting him entirely in the last 1-3% of his HP to spare him and let him leave combat. Next phase you find out he had enslaved both Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr and is using them as weapons against his political opponents in Ishgard. Hraesvelgr mid combat begs for you to kill him "I swore to Shiva - swore that I would not take the lives of men... Stop me, I prithee!". This ends up being a mechanic, if anybody is killed by Hraesvelgr he enrages and wipes the whole raid. Beat both of them and now four dragon eyes have been dropped on the field. Haurchefant and Ysayle never died in this timeline so you don't get the buff like last time. If you killed Thordan, the eyes explode and you wipe. If Thordan was spared he drops down to absorb all four of them. With four whole dragon eyes he becomes Dragon King Thordan for the final phase. Look up what he looks like, I can't do it justice with words it's a really crazy and cool design. Beating him plays a cutscene where the souls of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr's are finally released. The Wandering Minstrel in this cutscene assures us, it's understandable to be sad having lost friends but we should never lose sight of what we managed to protect. And remember, this is all conveyed in a roughly 22 minute boss fight where most mistakes will put the entire team back at the start.