From your character's humble beginnings to earned accolades, It's the most full bodied, well aged, and grounded part of the game. An abundance of less is better than less of more. The best zones, and the liveliest and most fleshed out humble settlements and npc presence, even without taking other players into account. Tons of great dialogue and storytelling, with Ul'Dah being the golden core of it. I would compare ARR to GTA3, it has a certain magic and atmosphere that is yet to be replicated.
Also this is counting the original Praetorium/Meridianum dungeons, in all their 8-player glory. The original big dance of XIV dungeoning and I miss it. And the mid-dungeon rest in Castrum Meridianum was a nice unique breather moment for players to goof around and not get called out for not doing damage, for there was none to be done, until Cid arrives with the magitek reaper almost a minute later and the enemies start spawning on the ramp. Those were the days. And let's not forget the 8-player Steps of Faith duty, either. Going back to the Waking Sands after The Ultimate Weapon and everyone's there waiting, clapping as you arrive, is probably the peak moment of the game really. I still have the lv50 outfit someone crafted for me when I hit lv50 on OG Summoner (also gone) to do those 2 duties.
ARR is like a lumpy stew and it's never the same two days in a row. It's big, it's small, it speeds up, it slows down, and it always tastes like home.
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Also this is counting the original Praetorium/Meridianum dungeons, in all their 8-player glory. The original big dance of XIV dungeoning and I miss it. And the mid-dungeon rest in Castrum Meridianum was a nice unique breather moment for players to goof around and not get called out for not doing damage, for there was none to be done, until Cid arrives with the magitek reaper almost a minute later and the enemies start spawning on the ramp. Those were the days. And let's not forget the 8-player Steps of Faith duty, either. Going back to the Waking Sands after The Ultimate Weapon and everyone's there waiting, clapping as you arrive, is probably the peak moment of the game really. I still have the lv50 outfit someone crafted for me when I hit lv50 on OG Summoner (also gone) to do those 2 duties.
ARR is like a lumpy stew and it's never the same two days in a row. It's big, it's small, it speeds up, it slows down, and it always tastes like home.
Continue reading...