Hello everyone! This one took a little while to get out :D While he's on holiday Mike tasked me with making some improvements to our editing workflow so in short, I had to mess around a lot while putting this together and put many fires out along the way. But we got there eventually. For Mike the Stormblood post MSQ really saved the expansion as a whole - but of course, something even more special lies around the corner ;) What did you think of the Stormblood Post-MSQ? - Chris

I will never get over Merlwyb absolutely ripping into varis about stealing lands and resources and he just casually reminds her that her entire city was built on piracy and still has pirates.

Of all the things in the post-MSQ MSQ, the time when Thancred doesn't wake up from the headaches was genuinely a surprise. I knew nothing of ShB, so it came out of left field but was so intriguing.

There is a reason Ishikawa has gotten standing ovation, she is a master at her craft.

"Emet-Preach isn't real and can't rejoin you" they said...

My favorite thing about the Grimlyt Dark is the solo duty when you're holding of Zenos as Lord Hien waiting for the warrior of light to save your ass. You get glimpses into the strength of your own character as you struggle to hold off Zenos, meanwhile receiving reports of how the Warrior is just bullrushing their way through entire formations of garleans to reach Zenos in time. Its a great outside perspective that really sells home how powerful youve become, as well as foreshadows endwalker in how scary you would be to those receiving your rage

I sincerely hope Mike gets invited into the next interview with Yoshi-P. It would literally be a night and day experience to say the least as these two would go about each other's work. I am truly impressed the way you guys produced this work. Keep it up!

I actually think Lyse's mindset at the start of SB made sense. While she was with Ala Mhigan rebels during HW, she was with the rebels on the Eorzean side of the wall. These folks were the ones who yearned to take back their country, the ones who wanted to fight, and most importantly not the ones who were actively suffering from Garlean oppression. This experience colored Lyse's expectations that the Ala Mhigans on the other side of the wall would want and think the exact same way because they were Ala Mhigans. Her other major diplomatic mission with Papalymo that we know of is with the Sylphs and the Gridanians. The Sylphs practically act like children and treating with them would be a far different task than treating with the other beast tribes who faced persecution from the more civilized races earlier in Eorzea's history. Despite being with the Scions, I do feel Yda/Lyse was given less involved and nuanced missions, especially since the Scions revealed that they knew Lyse wasn't Yda the entire time.

Unpopular opinion I get how everyone felt cheesy with the immediate transition to the anthem but that moment really made me feel genuinely happy for them since you can hear in the song how genuinely oppressed they are by the empire and they just could not wait take back their anthem.

Lyse: "Fordola, you can be redeemed" Fordola: "I don't, and never will, want that."

I just love how I much preach respects the story

Dude these story recaps are such quality content, I appreciate these so much

When I played through SB, I didn't know anything. My brother, who had gotten me into the game, would just periodically ask me my thoughts. When I finally met Zenos, he was genuinely surprised that I liked him since, as I now know, he isn't always recieved well. Having now finished Endwalker, I can genuinely say that I still really love Zenos's character.

You know something that's invisible these days is that Stormblood was a huge quality of life expansion. Lots of mechanics changes and removal of fluff that new people didn't even know used to exist. Somehow TP apparently survived it until shadowbringers, but a lot was modified on that side.

That thumbnail picture is the embodiment of "we got Emet Selch at home" meme

This thumbnail is so good

My favorite part after the Rahbaun and Nanamo cutscene(s) is when Rahbaun comes out and says "yeah. . . I kinda need a job now. . . y'all hiring?"

Ishiwawa is an amazing writer. Love her work.

I had a great time in Stormblood. It's not just beautiful but FUN. Some of the story admittedly dragged on, Zeno was a hard to relate to villain but I came around. Gosetsu, Yotsuyu, Hien, Fordola, the tribes of the Steppes - I loved them all. I also loved that we put some interest in Yda/Lyse. I just liked how they put her in a "grooming" role by observing current leaders like Hien, Raubahn, etc. The Kami seemed a bit quirky but once I did the EX trials I no longer felt that way. Another huge factor of my enjoyment is that I'm a new player and I hit this content straight off the heels of HW, so it was so nice to have LIVELY people who seemed less serious and didn't live in a snowy desolate place. It was just so nice of a change of scenery. Mood is definitely changing again for SHB! Just starting! I also really like climbing Kugane Tower!

Weird, I absolutely loved the last boss of the Stormblood MSQ. Zenos wasn't just after a challenge, he was after a spectacle. That's why he used the power of Shinryu.

"(...) if I was a betting man, after the high bar that Heavensward set, I would almost guarantee, that when Stormblood came out and the reception was mediocre-to-good, the writing team sat down and knew they had to step up their game." I don't have the source for this, but I destinctly remember hearing that when 5.0 was released, 5.3 was more or less planned. The reason I mention this is because I find it hard to see a timeline like: 4.0 released Reception mediocre Writers write the story The team makes the cutscenes, animations, duties, dungeons, etc. In less than 4 months. Even if parts of this was made before the release of 4.0 (dungeons, reused animations, etc.), this is still a lot of work to be done, and I find it even more unlikely considering how big 4.1 MSQ felt and how good it was. What I think happened is simply that the writers didn't communicate properly and that there weren't enough time to change it. The Ala Mhigan parts could be seen as a beginning and an end and the east could be seen as the middle, but it feels like something is missing in between. Case in point: Lyse. She felt stupid in the beginning, didn't get a lot of sceens where she did something showing her strengths and learning, and then comes back being a more learned person than before. To put it simple, I think Ishikawa and Oda didn't know what the other were writing and Lyse' character suffers because of it. If I have to be brutally honest, I dunno which writer wrote her worse. In Ala Mhigo she went from pants-on-head-retarded to leader of the people, and in the East it feels like every other character got a moment where she got nothing. This is probably also why people say the East is better, because while Lyse is underdeveloped (or underwritten), the rest of the characters aren't as bad. My two biggest problems with SB 4.0 have always been that the two continent do not feel very well connected and that the story does not tell the player what they need to know (or expect the player to remember what happened in the previous expansions without callback). Conrad's reasons for picking Lyse as the leader of the resistance was explained in a short story (Lyse being a banner) and only hinted at by Ilberd in 3.5 ("[The Ala Mhigans will] happily mouth the words, but they won't spill the blood!"). This is not in the 4.0 MSQ, and it baffles me it isn't in it. Do I think they knew they had to step up their game? Yes. But I think this happened weeks (or months) before 4.0 was released.

Preachy Salad isn't real, he can't hurt you. The thumbnail:

I love these. As well as your streams. It's like experiencing the story again for the first time with all the excitement and wonder. Much love

@Preach Gaming I just want to make sure that whoever is in charge of choosing the thumbnails knows how great a job they're doing. The content & Mike's opinion stands on its own, but man this image of Emet with Mike's face is STELLAR and made me click instantly. Top notch, lads.

I actually liked Stormblood's MSQ. There are some little, weird things, but in a lot of ways I actually preferred it to Heavensward. Heavensward promised this big, grand battle between Ishgard and the dragons, then said "Doesn't that sounds awesome? Great! Okay, grab your little band of people and fuck off on a different secret mission while all that cool stuff happens.". And then you just keep showing up back in Ishgard AFTER the main action to clean up with a boss fight or a very brief rebellion...before you have to leave once again on another little squad mission that no one can know about/no one will understand/is the only hope for resolving the big conflict (that you don't get to be a part of). Stormblood had me actually working to liberate Doma and Ala Mhigo. I actually helped Hien get the forces he needed and actually took part in storming the castle. I actually pushed through Gyr Abania with the alliance forces to Ala Mhigo. It wasn't perfect - storming the castle had that MMO problem where the force we saw was comically smaller than the force we sounded like we were gathering; Lyse's progression felt very undercooked - but it still felt like I was actually there for the big story, not off on some secret, smaller story that would be a backdoor to resolving the big story. Hell, they even let you be the khagan, which surprised me - after Heavensward I thought for sure that would be Hien and I was just along for the ride. I also don't feel like I understand why people feel like the parts of Stormblood were too disconnected. I thought they meshed quite well. There are thematic echoes, but also you get two different story structures. You see two different kinds of revolutions. Even the map progression is different: in one you're circling the castle's walls, getting closer, gathering allies, preparing to take it. In the other, you have your force from the beginning, and it's about a long, tough, linear campaign to reach the city's walls. And they really used the split to sell the idea of a long, hard-won campaign in Gyr Abania. Instead of just resolving the whole situation in Gyr Abania in a sitting or two, you struggle forward, have setbacks, and LEAVE, which allows them to do a time skip. They can make it feel more like a long slog of a campaign, like the alliance is clawing territory an inch at a time from the Garleans, because that part happens off-screen (though the on-screen parts are part of the actual campaign too, not some secret secondary mission like in Heavensward). Which is also why it's so strange that one of the main criticisms here is that in the main MSQ of Stormblood the NPCs act as if time hasn't passed when you aren't there - Stormblood was so good at doing the exact opposite!

These story review videos have been really well made so far! Kudos for including the Tale, not enough people read those

The scene with Hien, Yugiri and Lyse taking on "Zenos" is so well directed. Also her delivery of "DAMN YOU" is so fuckin' raw. Love it.

Loving the production quality

Phenomenal beginning and ending skit editting! And really on point analysis!

You can just *feel* when the writing changes hands. The storytelling in 4.4 and onward has a totally different purpose in mind.

Finally a content creator that FFXIV deserves!

I was not expecting this much effort in the video. Gave it a like and subscribed.

the production is killer!! y'all are incredible

Its really cool seeing you learn why we love and trust the FFXIV dev team since not only is the game just really fun and respectful of your time its also clear even if they do mess up they at least admit it and try their best to promptly fix it. As someone that plays a lot of live service/mmos its a very different world and it really makes me happy to have somewhere consistently stable. I find a lot of comfort knowing I can have fun and feel like my experience is respected by the developers so even if they make a decision I might not agree with I at least know if everyone feels that way they'll reevaluate it.

That's a misconception. Banri Oda does the lore. Ishikawa and some others do the character writing. And in Ghimlyt Dark you fought Elidibus in Zenos' body. Not Zenos. BTW. This video is amazing. Editing is amazing.

really, really good video, Mike and team. i so dig your thorough approach to it all, solid criticisms and praises both. this game, is rich.

Loving these videos preach.

Love these recaps. Hope we don't have to wait as long for the next one :D

Loving the quality of these vids from the new office! Keep it up guys!

I actually think the Lakshmi scenario was a missed opportunity to Temper Lyse. Ga Bu was obviously a motivation that was set up for Alisaie back in Heavensward, but the real way to put the Primal threat into true perspective for the Warrior of Light is to illustrate that none of your friends in the Scions besides Arenvald and Krile are safe. Lyse's story was mostly done at that point since she took a major back seat to Raubahn and the potential could have been there to have a heartbreaking "will you or won't you" scene where the WoL comes into Lyse's jail cell as she's mindlessly chanting in worship of Lakshmi and leaving you with a question mark if you mercifully kill one of your friends and main companions of the Stormblood expansion. Ultimately the decision would be to not kill her so the urgency for a solution to tempering becomes that much more real. Keep her around for too long and she may summon the Primal again with some help. But kill her and a major companion will be lost.

I cant say enough how happy it makes me to see you having fun making videos again

The production value on these now that you all have the dedicated office is incredible.

Preach, loved the editing at the beginning and use of the green screen when talking to the audience with the game footage behind you.

i like the way this is filmed with you stood up, looks good

The old "Legacy of..." Videos are, to date, some of the best content I've ever seen in KZfaq. And while you will never do another one, technically, it's nice to see you returning to that style of video production, and keeping the feel going in spirit as you move into FFXIV content.

HAHAHAHA funny intro, finally after so long im waiting for this.... thanks Chris !

omg I laughed so hard at the opening of this video xD thanks for this :D

Mike the showdown with Zenos wasn't Zenos tho? It was Elidibus. I think you maybe just forgot to mention that.

Fun fact: When you're in Shadowbringers, Fordola and Arenvald are slaying primals in your absence, since there are few besides you capable of resisting primal influence.

Great video once again! 👍👍👍

Happy to see that you've been having a blast with the MSQ. Even happier to tell you that it only gets better and better in ShB and EW, even the side-content is amazing.

Love the use of lighting during the fireplace scene to make it seem like he's actually in front of a fire for storytime.

Side note, Fordola's voice acting is top notch. Peerless.

The post-stormblood was one of the most hearthbreaking questlines for me, so much pain :/

This was my exact feeling when doing STB post-MSQ. Love the intro too haha

You're really good at story reviews.

just with the intro you earned my like ;3

Stormblood was my fave for a long time (prob due to being my first launch expac) even though the story is lacking, it shines with the characters. Zenos and Fordola are my favourite characters in the game.

You can really see how much he is making the new office and upgrade in tech and space work in these videos. Love the tremendous leaps he and the team have been able to do!

That intro cracked me up! It’s also interesting to see which story beats and character moments really resonate with different people. Seems most expansion stories do take an extra patch or two to fully capitalize on the initial content’s buildup. Though Mike looks a bit like he’s suffering from frostbite when sitting on that couch… Might be my phone, or the scene may need more green.

The opening was SO GREAT! Seriously. And I honestly agreed with most of this, I recently went through the STirmblood MSQ and found that I liked the patch content a lot more, and that Lyse was much better by the end. I didn't mind the ending with Zenos in the garden, I could see him being that crazy and already knew he would be back due to all the trailers for the later expacs so I knew he wouldn't actually end there, so maybe that helped preserve the impact of that scene.

One thing I still really think was a missed opportunity with Lyse and her redemption was having her stay and fight during the rematch with Lakshmi... You spend the entire first phase having to stop fighting to go defensive and shield people from being tempered. Lyse realizes that you need help and goes to get Fordola, the only other person around with an Echo who can withstand tempering, which is smart--but then she STAYS and fights too, becoming a liability that you have to protect. Having her realize that sometimes there's an enemy that she shouldn't fight and that getting out of the way is the greater help would have been a GREAT evolution from the start of Stormblood, where she impulsively rushes Zenos and gets Y'shtola put in the hospital for the entire expansion. I dunno, missed opportunity for growth there...

Fordola seeing your story was such a great point

Omg the ending to this video… I cannot wait to watch you wrap your head around the first parts of shadowbringers.

these starting bits are a blast

Can’t wait till you get to SB! An amazing expansion from start to finish.

another great video :D

YAY PREACH!! LOVE CHRIS AND BEX AND THE GANG!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Shadowbringers, this has been really good!

Production value with the new office is through the roof. Stonks Rising

Considering he's arguably one of the best, and probably my favorite of the Stormblood characters, I'm surprised you never once talked about Hien in any of your Stormblood videos.

the editing is soo gooood

Production quality is so good

Can’t wait for thoughts on Solus

From here on out, I cannot wait to see your thoughts on the next 2 expansions, now that we are past the low between 3 beast expansions.

That opening, perfection!

The entire post MSQ with Goetsu and Yotetsu/Tusyu (yes I probably mis-spelled all of that) was genuinely one of my favourite RPG storylines ever. I know Yotestu was a complete villain and psychopath even if her back story slightly gave twisted reasons to why. But fucking hell the turn from her lost memories back to her old self when she saw her parents fucking broke me. Her parents were complete assholes and I did not regret for one moment seeing them die, but that was the moment where Yotesu could have chosen to turn around and not go back to her old self. She didn't even seem to want to but in that moment she seemed resigned to thinking of herself as a monster undeserving of forgiveness despite knowing that the person who hated her most on the planet would still have welcomed her back if she just turned around at that point. Hell she could have murderer her parents and pretended not to know anything about it and most people would have if not believed her at least pretended to. Then Gotesu kneeling over her body like a father who lost a child. Fuck man. That entire storyline I could write an essay on morality, determinism and more philosophical topics about. Edit: I don't get the hate some people have for Xenos. In some ways he's very one dimensional, but only if you don't look beyond the surface.

The intro skits are always so freaking funny

That intro is incredible 🤣🤣🤣

New PG Intro is dope af Mike!

The 4.x content is some of the best stuff they ever put into the game, legit.

I don't particularly care for the MSQ for Stormblood, but I love the content: the dungeons, the raids. That stuff is fantastic.

Post Stormblood MSQ was a TRIP! Loved it!

"I should be the one to sigh" A single sentence was enough.

Damn Mike really got in shape and look healthy AF 🙏

The opening sequence was so funny.

office adding so much to the video production :)

God am I dying to hear your deep dives into shadowbringers and what you've thought of it.

Well done team! You have earned some respite Warrior of light, go get some rest

Great video, not sure I agree though that "Varis' grandfather is making sure he has the black rose ready'. It seemed to me more that Varis was 100% convinced black rose was the right move and that Emet-Selch realizes he can use that to his advantage as well, as evidenced by some of his side dialogue where he ponders the question of it's aspect.

I can't believe Exarch jumpscared me twice, once in the game, and once in this video.

That acting talent. Just amazing ^^

I actually thought the slow plodding made Zenos scarier. It's how UNSERIOUSLY he's taking you, how LITTLE effort he needs to put into kicking your ass. You're BORING him, and you can SEE you're BORING him, you can see he's BARELY even TRYING to beat you, but he's still absolutely thrashing you.

Hairs looking great boss!

This is where he filmed legacy of the Paladin, nice

That last line is a good way to sign out of future XIV videos just to run the meme into the ground.

How dare you make me cry over Nanamo and Rauhbahn again

Haha love that intro!

With Stormblood under his belt, it actually would be really cool imo if his Shadowbringers review also included a reaction to the opening cinematic... it's my personal favorite of the bunch :D

The post msq is what spawned the whole "stormblood is never over" meme