Bit of a long story and a ton of screenshots below. Whole mess of spoilers for T13 and final coil's ending, but I thought I'd share the journey for those who aren't concerned with said spoilers.
It's been a long, long road, and it's incredible to finally see this tale come to an end.
To reiterate, major final coil spoilers.
It's been a long, long road, and it's incredible to finally see this tale come to an end.
To reiterate, major final coil spoilers.
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Spoiler I've played FFXIV since the alpha/beta of 1.0. Years, now, I've played XIV. I still vividly remember the first week of the game. Finally meeting people whom I had befriended over the RPC in the past months prior to launch. Everything was so exciting and new. I met so many awesome people, and made so many amazing friends. There was just something about Eorzea that had me hooked. I love the setting, the world, the characters. It was great.
And eventually, the world itself began to evolve and come to life. What started off as this small red speck of light next to the moon slowly grew month after month.
![[Image: G9IHS85.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/G9IHS85.jpg)
Before long it became a noticeable eyesore that persistently hung in the sky, but even still we had no idea what it truly was. "Meteor" was all we were given to go with. Yet, we pushed on through the story, learning more and more about that burning red moon in the sky.
![[Image: ROFI5iI.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/ROFI5iI.jpg)
I remember we used to sit around and think of all the possible things that Dalamud might have been. Was it simply going to crash into the ground? Was it going to explode in the sky? Was there something hidden inside of it?
![[Image: jkSLLPm.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/jkSLLPm.jpg)
Eventually it just becomes a part of the scenery in the game. We just continued on with our adventures and the game, not really paying any mind to it. It was always there, and that was that. There was nothing more we could really do to learn more other than to wait for the next patch and the story quests that would come with it.
![[Image: LwQ38zH.png]](http://i.imgur.com/LwQ38zH.png)
But it wasn't long before the end was quickly approaching. We had defeated Nael van Darnus at the rivenroad and stopped Meteor in it's tracks. At least, that's what we thought. Saved Eorzea. Happy ending, right?
![[Image: kF4Gdn9.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/kF4Gdn9.jpg)
Turns out we were wrong, and were left to ponder what was going to happen. Naturally, our characters would have to survive somehow to make it into ARR. No one was really sure what was going to happen, and how things were going to play out.
![[Image: 2k2TTb5.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/2k2TTb5.jpg)
I remember those final days when the city-states burst out into chaos. Powerful enemies attacked in waves, slaughtering careless players left and right. Chimeras, Buffalo, Morbols, even clones of Nael van Darnus. It was just entirely chaotic.
![[Image: t6AeQOO.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/t6AeQOO.jpg)
We started to figure out interesting tricks to handling everything. Using the /pray emote was discovered to instantly smite enemies for a time, and eventually this was updated to allow us to reset our 15 minute cooldowns (Hundred fists, Hallowed Ground, etc) by simply praying, giving us an edge in fighting off the hordes of monsters.
![[Image: 7NAao8G.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/7NAao8G.jpg)
It wasn't long before November 11th came around, and we all waited patiently to find out what the final event was going to be. We were instructed to head to Mor Dhona, and more specifically, towards the Carteneau Flats. The last event itself wasn't anything spectacular. Lag unfortunately made it a bit difficult to participate, but there were endless waves of Garleans running around. Eventually they had Vanguards spawning, and at one point several Juggernauts began to roam the battlefield.
![[Image: qHFcult.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/qHFcult.jpg)
But it wasn't long before the final minutes came around. The servers were going to be shut down for good, and we'd all patiently await the release of ARR. What happened next, however, we did not expect. The second the servers went down, a video was linked on the FFXIV launcher. It had just been released to youtube. There, we watched the closing moments of FFXIV 1.0. I remember sitting there, slack jawed as I watched everything unfold. Watching the battle at Carteneau was incredible, as we had quite literally just been there. That cutscene, that was us fighting. Then it happened. Something few of us expected. Bahamut broke free of Dalamud. I had chills. It was just incredible, and the CG was so beautifully animated. We finally had the answers we had waited so patiently for, and they were delivered in the most epic of ways.
![[Image: T9zEkhn.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/T9zEkhn.jpg)
![[Image: 85naD1J.png]](http://i.imgur.com/85naD1J.png)
Before long, we discovered our characters were teleported five years into the future by Louisoix at the end of that battle. I remember so many people having a difficult time deciding whether they would "time skip" their character, or forcibly age them five years. I personally wasn't keen on artificially aging, and so I incorporated the time skip into my own character. Yet that wouldn't be the end of the story. The Binding Coil was teased, and it was revealed that we would finally learn the truth behind the calamity once ARR came out. I was hyped.
![[Image: gedbVIz.png]](http://i.imgur.com/gedbVIz.png)
I remember first stepping into coil a few weeks after launch of ARR. Witnessing that giant wing of Bahamut, and wondering just what the hell was going on. He was a primal, we had found out. Primals are supposed to disintegrate into aether when they're defeated, and Alisiae noted as much. It was entirely perplexing.
![[Image: SNERnGh.png]](http://i.imgur.com/SNERnGh.png)
Eventually we conquered the first coil, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Bahamut's head. We figured something like this was coming, but to actually see it was an incredible moment. I couldn't wait until the next set of coils came out.
![[Image: I3bS6EX.png]](http://i.imgur.com/I3bS6EX.png)
Slowly, the puzzle began to be pieced together, but even still we just had no idea what really happened. All we could do is guess at what little there was available to us. Bahamut continued to regenerate, and we had to push on to stop him.
![[Image: wTtkemI.png]](http://i.imgur.com/wTtkemI.png)
But then came the Final Coil. We were finally at the end of the road. We were finally going to find out what exactly happened during the Calamity, and we were going to stop Bahamut from regenerating any further.
...But then, in one sudden moment, we had our answers delivered to us in much the same way our first journey ended. One glorious CG cinematic.
![[Image: eN6SJ4c.png]](http://i.imgur.com/eN6SJ4c.png)
![[Image: xatr075.png]](http://i.imgur.com/xatr075.png)
![[Image: PJCrh0t.png]](http://i.imgur.com/PJCrh0t.png)
![[Image: TH8Oc7U.png]](http://i.imgur.com/TH8Oc7U.png)
![[Image: UdDVU9N.png]](http://i.imgur.com/UdDVU9N.png)
![[Image: ZLZMsE6.png]](http://i.imgur.com/ZLZMsE6.png)
![[Image: eF7BMVn.png]](http://i.imgur.com/eF7BMVn.png)
![[Image: WrfuQZ5.png]](http://i.imgur.com/WrfuQZ5.png)
...But that wouldn't be the end. There was still one last battle that needed to be fought.
![[Image: XKZxyHt.png]](http://i.imgur.com/XKZxyHt.png)
![[Image: xCukAtW.png]](http://i.imgur.com/xCukAtW.png)
![[Image: vE20lrg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/vE20lrg.png)
And then in a flash, it was over.
![[Image: lQGxUVm.png]](http://i.imgur.com/lQGxUVm.png)
![[Image: wqzYMpS.png]](http://i.imgur.com/wqzYMpS.png)
![[Image: 03qV5vq.png]](http://i.imgur.com/03qV5vq.png)
After all these years, it's finally over. I finally found my answers, and I finally found my closure to this amazing storyline. I've played video games since I was just a little kid, and I can say without a doubt that this has been the most rewarding gaming experience I've ever had. I don't think I'll ever forget these memories. The friends I've made and lost along the way. All the good moments and all the bad.
It's been the adventure of a lifetime, and I'm sad to see it end.
![[Image: cclrftF.png]](http://i.imgur.com/cclrftF.png)
I know one thing for certain, though.
![[Image: lELGhJG.png]](http://i.imgur.com/lELGhJG.png)
![[Image: 6DWaIL1.png]](http://i.imgur.com/6DWaIL1.png)
![[Image: gcaaTrf.png]](http://i.imgur.com/gcaaTrf.png)
My next adventure is just around the corner.
And eventually, the world itself began to evolve and come to life. What started off as this small red speck of light next to the moon slowly grew month after month.
Before long it became a noticeable eyesore that persistently hung in the sky, but even still we had no idea what it truly was. "Meteor" was all we were given to go with. Yet, we pushed on through the story, learning more and more about that burning red moon in the sky.
I remember we used to sit around and think of all the possible things that Dalamud might have been. Was it simply going to crash into the ground? Was it going to explode in the sky? Was there something hidden inside of it?
Eventually it just becomes a part of the scenery in the game. We just continued on with our adventures and the game, not really paying any mind to it. It was always there, and that was that. There was nothing more we could really do to learn more other than to wait for the next patch and the story quests that would come with it.
But it wasn't long before the end was quickly approaching. We had defeated Nael van Darnus at the rivenroad and stopped Meteor in it's tracks. At least, that's what we thought. Saved Eorzea. Happy ending, right?
Turns out we were wrong, and were left to ponder what was going to happen. Naturally, our characters would have to survive somehow to make it into ARR. No one was really sure what was going to happen, and how things were going to play out.
I remember those final days when the city-states burst out into chaos. Powerful enemies attacked in waves, slaughtering careless players left and right. Chimeras, Buffalo, Morbols, even clones of Nael van Darnus. It was just entirely chaotic.
We started to figure out interesting tricks to handling everything. Using the /pray emote was discovered to instantly smite enemies for a time, and eventually this was updated to allow us to reset our 15 minute cooldowns (Hundred fists, Hallowed Ground, etc) by simply praying, giving us an edge in fighting off the hordes of monsters.
It wasn't long before November 11th came around, and we all waited patiently to find out what the final event was going to be. We were instructed to head to Mor Dhona, and more specifically, towards the Carteneau Flats. The last event itself wasn't anything spectacular. Lag unfortunately made it a bit difficult to participate, but there were endless waves of Garleans running around. Eventually they had Vanguards spawning, and at one point several Juggernauts began to roam the battlefield.
But it wasn't long before the final minutes came around. The servers were going to be shut down for good, and we'd all patiently await the release of ARR. What happened next, however, we did not expect. The second the servers went down, a video was linked on the FFXIV launcher. It had just been released to youtube. There, we watched the closing moments of FFXIV 1.0. I remember sitting there, slack jawed as I watched everything unfold. Watching the battle at Carteneau was incredible, as we had quite literally just been there. That cutscene, that was us fighting. Then it happened. Something few of us expected. Bahamut broke free of Dalamud. I had chills. It was just incredible, and the CG was so beautifully animated. We finally had the answers we had waited so patiently for, and they were delivered in the most epic of ways.
Before long, we discovered our characters were teleported five years into the future by Louisoix at the end of that battle. I remember so many people having a difficult time deciding whether they would "time skip" their character, or forcibly age them five years. I personally wasn't keen on artificially aging, and so I incorporated the time skip into my own character. Yet that wouldn't be the end of the story. The Binding Coil was teased, and it was revealed that we would finally learn the truth behind the calamity once ARR came out. I was hyped.
I remember first stepping into coil a few weeks after launch of ARR. Witnessing that giant wing of Bahamut, and wondering just what the hell was going on. He was a primal, we had found out. Primals are supposed to disintegrate into aether when they're defeated, and Alisiae noted as much. It was entirely perplexing.
Eventually we conquered the first coil, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Bahamut's head. We figured something like this was coming, but to actually see it was an incredible moment. I couldn't wait until the next set of coils came out.
Slowly, the puzzle began to be pieced together, but even still we just had no idea what really happened. All we could do is guess at what little there was available to us. Bahamut continued to regenerate, and we had to push on to stop him.
But then came the Final Coil. We were finally at the end of the road. We were finally going to find out what exactly happened during the Calamity, and we were going to stop Bahamut from regenerating any further.
...But then, in one sudden moment, we had our answers delivered to us in much the same way our first journey ended. One glorious CG cinematic.
...But that wouldn't be the end. There was still one last battle that needed to be fought.
And then in a flash, it was over.
After all these years, it's finally over. I finally found my answers, and I finally found my closure to this amazing storyline. I've played video games since I was just a little kid, and I can say without a doubt that this has been the most rewarding gaming experience I've ever had. I don't think I'll ever forget these memories. The friends I've made and lost along the way. All the good moments and all the bad.
It's been the adventure of a lifetime, and I'm sad to see it end.
I know one thing for certain, though.
My next adventure is just around the corner.
![[Image: 7Ho5y7x.png]](http://i.imgur.com/7Ho5y7x.png)
