It's been a very intense August. For the world because of 15th August and Yasukuni Shrine. For Singapore because of 9th August, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb. Then there's me going through Final Fantasy 14 like half the Japanese madman Sakaguchi "not Ango" Hironobu was. FF14 is a game where my mental faculties have to be 100% functional. Otherwise, I might as well quit it. So how intense is the game so far? I've just finished A Realm Reborn storyline (but not the aftermath storyline, let alone Heavensward). It took me just one try to defeat Lahabrea, but I couldn't recall what I did right half of the time at least. The only thing screaming in my mind was never to get myself into an AoE overlap. Beyond that, I was moving around less like Conan the Japanese and more like Conan the Cimmerian. It's so insane, I felt more like an Ainu than a Singaporean. The fact that I saw parallels between Gridania and Ainu-Mosir (i.e. Hokkaido before the Yamato called it so) didn't help.
So how does Final Fantasy 14 fare in my report book? Originally, I decided on a 30-day subscription. Now, I upgraded it to 180 days. It's that good. However, I'd say it's not for everybody. FF14 is a game demanding quite a lot of your gaming time. Once you enter Eorzea, it'd be difficult for you to go elsewhere. Effectively, it's the antithesis of ESO in terms of how demanding it is. At the same time, it's very easy to take the omotenashi culture in the FF14 community for granted. That's until I realised there are rules to ensure your freedom is never an excuse for irresponsibility. But before people start crying hell, high murder, and Izanami's wrath, let me point out that for all its flaws, Square Enix has no intent to infringe on anyone's human rights.
Note: This is NOT to say the community fear punishment. My recent MSQ duty roulette involved my teammates waiting for me because I was slow to catch up with them. There was even one of them using the cheerleading emote. The Praetorium can be a bit mind-boggling if you're not used to the layout while quite mind-boggling to navigate the first time around. Also, I need to learn to remember commending my fellow players after getting too used to playing MMOs made in the West. There are still moments when my brain tripped.
The Road to 80=Road to the Final Victory?
Those born in my era may know about the Garou Densetsu series, otherwise known as Fatal Fury. From Terry Bogard to Rock Howard, the characters have dominated the youth of many a gamer. (just don't ask me about Shiranui Mai). There's this particular instalment entitled Road to the Final Victory. Hence, the second part of the title. So what is The Road to 80 all about?
Simply put, it's a free pass for you to reach as high as 59-60 before you enter the final quest of ARR. Which by the way consists of a triple threat (i.e. Praetorium, Porta Decumana, and the Lahabrea solo boss fight). It's not a joke when I say it's a free pass to power levelling. While it's a good thing I have a job and a life at least once every Sunday, I still recognise the challenge posed forth by the intensity of my tunnel focus. If there are things I have to do first, I need to discipline myself to do them. No one is going to do it for me, so I have to be independent in this area of my life.
The good thing about Road to 80 XP buff is that it alleviates the negative impact my focus can have on my daily life. I don't know how things were in the past, but the Road to 80 buff is something a person in my situation needs. Granted I've reached Heavensward's version of end-game level (i.e. 60) without even stepping through the gates of Ishgard, but the level syncing system would mean I should have plenty of chances to unleash my inner Cimmerian once again. And more than just once again.
There's something about a guy called Gaius
FF14 is never short on characters leaving a deep impression on me. There is Estinien who reminded me of myself due to his relationship with Alberic Bale and Nidhogg respectively. Then there is Cid Garlond whose life with Father Iliud was a reminder of my life in my church. Hopefully, I can start talking more in-depth about them.
[Spoiler: Comparing Estinien with Foulques is like seeing my ungentlemanly self with a so-called supreme gentleman.]
Gaius van Baelsar is an interesting guy, I have to give him that. When we talk about the portrayal of dictators, we all can expect certain traits from megalomania to outright homicidal. After all, both Hitler and Stalin were dictators. But is Gaius such a... well, guy?
Due to the manner of my life, I have the capability (?) to see myself and the world in fictional works. Storytelling transcends the boundary separating C.S Lewis and Lee Kuan Yew. I'm not denigrating the founding Prime Minister of my country nor am I elevating the author of The Chronicles of Narnia Instead, this is my philosophical understanding of storytelling. So why did I mention this?
Gaius reminded me of my country's educational system. Despite his despotic Garlean self, Gaius is a meritocrat. Not only does that make him more of an Oda Nobunaga, but it also makes him more of a Singaporean. But therein comes the problem: Pastor Lee once said that the best ideology is one which becomes better the further you push it. So is meritocracy good? Yes. Is it the best? No. Push meritocracy to the max and you get social Darwinism. Meritocracy has to be tampered with by compassion and grace. Otherwise, everyone will become an intelligent neanderthal.
Is Gaius advocating the devolution of humanity? Firstly, Gaius is an atheist. He doesn't believe in gods. Sure the primals are real, but he doesn't see them as gods. Secondly, Gaius believes in the glorification of man. After all, he's an atheist. So no, he's not an advocate for devolving humanity. When he decried the gods of Eorzea as false, we need to understand he's using the atheistic language instead of the Judeo-Christian language.
Since he only believes in the merit of humanity, this means he believes in the merit of strength. However, he's not someone out to invade and destroy for fun. Instead, he believes in the strong shepherding the weak. The strong have the moral obligation to protect the weak. That's his point. Instead of might makes right, Gaius' belief is more about right justified by might. Philosophically, it'll be hard to argue against his logic. If we're to see it in terms of the just war theory, we'd realise a just war can only be effective if the correct side emerges as the victor. How do we remember the Unionists waging a just war against the Confederates? Abraham Lincoln. Ultimately, there has to be a greater power involved. Lincoln called that power God instead of William Sherman. Gaius called it man. Unlike Lincoln, however, Gaius' philosophy was never the just war theory but a just conquest theory.
Morally, I don't agree with Gaius. Philosophy-wise, that's where the line separating right makes might and might makes right gets blurred. So is Gaius right? On one hand, you have the refugees of Ala Mhigo proving Gaius wrong. But when you get to fight Rhitahtyn sas Arvina, that's where the Ala Mhigo logic is challenged. While the Ala Mhigans view Gaius as a brutal oppressor, Rhitahtyn saw Gaius as the reason why his people finally stopped killing each other. This creates a contradictory aspect of Gaius' character. Is he a man of bloodshed or a man of peace? Can the end justify the means due to helplessness?
This is why I don't hate Gaius. I disagree with him, but I don't hate him. I can't call Rhitahtyn a liar, but I also can't ignore the Ala Mhigans' suffering. This is why I see my country's educational system in Gaius. It ruined me, but it also gave many others a future. If I want to be factual, I cannot ignore the testimony of many just because I can never have their manner of life. It's a very weird situation to be in especially given how I used to be more impetuous towards the system. Do I resent my lot in life? Let's just put things this way: I still see myself in Estinien and Cid Garlond like how I see my church in Ser Alberic Bale, Father Iliud, and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
Crafting like a Japanese madman (i.e. Muramasa)
As a casual gamer, am I as mad as Muramasa in saying crafting in FF14 is an essential must? In case you don't know who was Muramasa, he's a swordsmith of legendary status alongside Masamune (not to be confused with Date Masamune). In Japanese pop culture, the weapons he forged are known to be demonic. Although I can't say whether Muramasa was insane, it's true local Japanese folklore associates weapons crafted by him with homicidal acts of literal insanity.
If there's anything I learned in playing ESO, it'd be crafting is vital. If there's anything I learned in playing FF14, it'd be crafting is a must if you want to manage your finances properly.
Unlike ESO where crafted gear can last you for 70-80% of the game content (seriously, Hunding's Rage and Law of Julianos are still good unless ZOS did something unforgivable), crafting in FF14 is more of a necessity. Can you get away with little to no crafting? I don't know, but I've seen the benefits of level-capping your tradecraft professions (i.e. 50 for A Realm Reborn, 60 for Heavensward, and so on). It allows my character to have better gear while spending less on whatever inferior stuff from the NPC vendors. Case in point: HQ gear is always a good thing to have, be it selling or keeping. At the same time, I use alchemist tradecraft to craft HQ elixir for my character and equally HQ Raptor Stew for that much-needed punch in DPS when necessary. The culinarian tradecraft is a very fun source of minor roleplaying since you can craft low-level food and drink for that very purpose.
For those adverse to grinding for tradecraft XP, you have the levequests. The only tricky part lies in getting the materials for high-level stuff. This is where your fieldcraft professions come in. Fieldcraft professions are the easiest to level up, so I strongly recommend capping them. Fisher fieldcraft can be trickier because it takes quite some time to catch the fish you need, but botanist and miner professions should be very easy to level up.
But if you want to level up your tradecraft professions, it's advisable to level up all of them. At the same time, you have the market board for a reason in case you need something for your... well, something. The reason why I say that is because high-level craftable items would need components which only another tradecraft profession can provide. That is unless you want to buy stuff from the market board. I prefer prudent financial management even though it's only a game. When it comes to levelling up every tradecraft profession, I recommend setting a mark. Once you reach that mark (e.g. level 30), then move on to another profession. Once you've done it for all professions, then rinse and repeat until you level-cap all of them.
This requires much more effort. However, it's also a choice between going fast but spending more and going slow but being self-sufficient. If you have the patience of Tokugawa Ieyasu, see crafting as a top priority. After all, it was patience enabling Ieyasu to unify Japan under one single mon. The cuckoo did sing after all.
