Full disclosure: I am not, and have never been, a Final Fantasy fan. I don’t know the ‘verse or the history or major players, I only played the first Kingdom Hearts, and I only know what a chocobo is because they’ve always made me laugh. So I’m hardly a natural candidate to test out the new Final Fantasy MMO, but here I am. And it’s all because of those bloody chocobo.
It began with watching my husband, Kaloni, play FFXIV in his spare moments between The Secret World dungeons. Then other friends and Magpies began to talk about the game. It seeped into TSW group chats. It showed up on Facebook. So one night I sat down and made a character on Kaloni’s account, assuming I would toy with the character creator and have done with it. But the world is beautiful. The cut scenes are phenomenal. Character creation, though not the most detailed I’ve seen, is pleasantly deep. The story actually grabbed my attention. Suddenly I felt invested in Braga, this character I had shamelessly modeled and named after a character from Rat Queens. I wanted to know where she was going and what she’d see (and slaughter) on the way there. And when I saw the Behemoth barding her chocobo would get (a collector’s edition perk) I was a goner. An embarrassingly short time later, I’d bought my own account and remade her.
It’s been a long time since I’ve played a heavy. It’s been two years since I was primarily a tank, when I still played SWTOR as a Sith Juggernaut. I’d forgotten how fun it is to cleave every problem in two without blinking, and stand up to hits that would send my DPS characters straight to the rez point. And the Marauder does not disappoint. She wields a wicked greataxe. At level 23 she has the defensive buff and interrupt skills you’d expect, attacks with awesomely metal names like Skull Sunder and Maim, and a lovely self heal called Bloodbath. She hits like a truck and can keep herself up in a pinch, but even so, mobility is key in this game.
No active dodge or double jumps here: get out or get hit. Many mobs and every boss I’ve come across have telegraphed moves like this one. If you aren’t out of its area by the time the move goes off, it will hit you, even if it appears in real-time as if you’re safe. It certainly keeps you on your toes, and adds a really interesting element to combat. Stat bonuses are applied based on your party makeup. Above, you’ll see a vitality buff from my Marauder and a Dexterity buff from Kaloni, an Archer. Additional bonuses can be applied by your Free Company. More on that later, as I only just joined an FC!
But what about that chocobo, you ask? As it turns out, chasing down one of those birds is no easy feat. Lowly adventurers don’t warrant a chocobo mount; only those who’ve proven themselves and joined a Grand Company do. So Braga worked her way up in the people’s estimation, which entailed dungeon runs like the ones above. FFXIV has an interesting way of working these dungeons. Signups for dungeons and other duties are handled via the Duty Finder, which matches you with those with the same quest. As with all MMOs, tanks and healers wait the least amount of time for parties. Thanks to the Duty Finder, now a number of dungeons lay behind her. The Maelstrom is joined. Grand Company tasks are being undertaken. Currency is being saved.
And soon enough, that bloody chocobo will be mine.