Hello Eorzeans!
Welcome to The Fall and Rise of Final Fantasy XIV, Episode 5!
I'm Lukile Bravestone, and here's a quick update on what's happening on this channel
in the future.
This series will go into a short break after this episode, before we tackl e the 2.x era
– but fear not!
In the meantime, I'll start working on two new projects!
First off will be "Remnants of a Realm" – a series dedicated to showcasing the remnants
of 1.0 still very much visible and accessible in the game.
Following that series we'll have "Chronicles of a Realm" which will show the 1.0 Main
Story for all three City-States leading up to the unified main story.
And when all that is done – Fall and Rise of FFXIV will return!
And lastly, thank you all for your feedback on the previous video – I love you.
Okay, enough of that, let's get into the episode.
Final Fantasy XIV is preparing for massive changes, and in April 2012, Square Enix announced
that FFXIV would implement a legacy status for anyone subscribed for 90 days from January
2012 till Beta testing for 2.0 starts.
This would give you, in addition to bragging rights, a cheaper monthly subscription fee,
your name in the game's credits and a legacy chocobo exclusive to Legacy players.
Gaming news outlets reports on Final Fantasy XIV's progress with careful optimism, still
only viewing 2.0 as a content patch to be released around October of 2012.
Meanwhile, Dalamud creeps ever closer.
Patch 1.22 is released on April 25th 2012, and at this point Dalamud was now so visible
in the sky, there was no longer any doubt that Eorzea was about to face its darkest
day soon.
In addition to Dalamud getting closer, Garuda was introduced to the game – and she was
actually not supposed to be there.
Titan was slated to be released before Garuda, but due to the 2011 earthquake in Japan, the
dev team decided that introducing an earthquake primal to the game this early on could be
offensive to some, so despite having completed the arena and had the actual primal model
in the game, they gave way to Garuda instead.
Sorry Titan, you'll just have to wait.
And with this update Hamlet Defense was introduced!
Hamlets were big events taking place in… hamlets.
These were basically settlements located around Eorzea, however when it was first implemented
in 1.22, Hyrstmill was the only hamlet defense available.
The goal of a Hamlet Defense was, as the name suggests, to defend the hamlet from beast
tribes trying to attack and pillage it.
The Hamlet Defense was divided into two phases.
A 50 hour non-combat phase where players could enhance the hamlet and prepare it for battle,
and a 25 hour combat phase where players joined the local militia to combat the beast tribes
directly.
Hamlets provided something for everyone, and was widely considered a success for Final
Fantasy XIV.
Crafters and Gatherers worked together with combat classes in the same content, which
was sorely needed and actually worked – to a degree.
Let's look closer at how the Hamlets actually worked.
During the non-combat phase of hamlet defense, players were be asked to contribute to the
hamlet's stockpiles by crafting and delivering several different items.
Hamlets starts off the phase with a "supply rating" of zero.
Each donation to the hamlet militia is converted into points, which was then added to the hamlet's
total.
When this total reached a certain amount, the hamlet's supply rating would increase.
This rating did not only determine the strength of the beastmen forces, but also the type
of rewards offered after the combat phase.
The truly unique part of this system was the fact that all disciplines could join.
Be it gatherers or crafters, disciples of war or magic – everyone had their part to
play.
During the first phase, Disciples of war and magic would complete escort duties to accumulate
supply points, while disciples of the land and hand crafted and gathered items requested
by the hamlet militia quartermaster.
You could also deliver any materia-enhanced weapon or gear to accumulate supply points.
Once the 50 hours of preparation ended, the supply rating was locked, and the assault
commenced.
However, the fights were instanced, so you had to talk to the militia captain to be let
into the action.
A Full Party was required to enter, and if you successfully won a battle, you could not
go back in until 15 minutes had passed.
Now the interesting part here is that you could enter these battles as a disciple of
hand or land as well.
Once inside a disciple of the land could collect alchemical pots that were stored throughout
the hamlet and delivering them to the militia quartermaster, resulting in different enfeeblements.
Disciples of the Hand would enhance the other players by crafting instruments of warfare
with parts found all around the hamlet and delivering them to the quartermaster.
In this system, all classes worked together for a common goal.
The main objective of this phase was to protect the four supply carts located around the hamlet.
If all four carts were lost, the mission would fail.
If protecting the carts were successful, the mission would be deemed a success and you
would be presented with a final score.
Speaking to the militia captain before leaving the instance, you would receive a reward.
The reward was calculated on your score during the battle phase, but also on your contribution
during the first phase.
As long as the combat phase was going on, you could repeat the battles as many times
you wanted.
With this content, core FFXIV players were starting to really settle into the game.
However, the joy is to be short lived.
Eorzea is already changing.
Imperial strongholds are being erected in Mor Dhona.
And adventurers all over Eorzea started having bad dreams…
On the official forums, players are desperately trying to figure out the meaning of this approaching
moon.
The community is split.
What does Dalamud DO exactly?
Will it become a second planet we can visit?
Will it hit Eorzea?
If it does… what will it mean for the future of Eorzea?
Will the entire world get blown away?
To start anew in 2.0?
Square Enix and the dev team is tight lipped, but the new Seventh Umbral storyline reveals
ever more information about the red moon, indicating that Eorzea might very well be
headed for an era ending calamity.
Then, during E3 on June 6th 2012, Square Enix finally revealed the in-game screenshots for
2.0, as well as some really neat concept art, showing off the new battle system, UI and
world design.
And there, in the midst of all these pictures, one image stuck out.
The one thing players had been worried about for a long time finally reveals its ugly face
– in what seemed to be a prerendered image.
Dalamud.
Followed by a picture of a Warrior in a burning landscape.
If you didn't freak out before, you certainly were now.
Still not explaining excactly what Dalamud's role will be in the transition from 1.0 to
2.0, players were left to speculate.
Final Fantasy XIV is recovering.
Player numbers are stabilizing for the first time since release.
The pressure is on the dev team to ensure the remaining players don't jump ship when
the game relaunches.
When designing the new areas, it was decided that the City-States would remain largely
the same, but with a few design changes to make them easier to navigate.
Limsa Lominsa and Gridania saw the biggest changes with areas being cut off, and in some
cases removed entirely.
Ul'Dah was to be kept more or less the same, however with the optimization in mind, Ul'Dah's
main entrance could finally be opened – albeit with a loading screen.
In 1.0, in order to hide the invisible loading going on in the background, entry to Ul'Dah
from Thanalan was done from the sides, forcing you to run through a long corridor before
coming in – despite having a massive gate right in front of you.
To deal with the challenge of making the game work on both PC and PS3, the dev team had
to make sure the maps were properly optimized.
The 1.0 maps were mostly empty, but massive – at the expense of client and server stability.
For 2.0 they envisioned a more living breathing world, but at a slightly smaller scale, separating
the massive maps into several smaller maps – to ensure that the zones could have a
lot going on in them, while still running smoothly on both systems.
July 25th 2012.
Patch 1.23 Dalamud is now so close, the mechanical parts
of the moon are now clearly visible.
Clear white lines pulsating through what looks like metal plating is lighting up the sky.
And the intentions are now clear: The Garleans wants to pull Dalamud down to Hydaelyn, and
you have to stop them.
Cause surely… we will… right?
This also saw the last, and often overlooked content to be added to the game.
Skirmish!
This placed a party of up to 8 players on an Island where they would be fighting waves
of powerful Notorious Monster-strength bosses.
It was basically like a uh… dungeon, except there was only one small area, and the bosses
would come to you.
The time limit was 30 minutes, and the reward for completing a Skirmish was a main hand
weapon.
Shortly after this patch, a trailer for 2.0 was released.
Showing Dalamud's descent.
And the name <A Realm Reborn> is finally revealed.
In the span of a month, Naoki Yoshida made numerous interviews, explaining his plans
for the future of Final Fantasy XIV with A Realm Reborn, teasing features such as Free
Companies and a revamped Lodestone, as well as stating that Final Fantasy XIV will no
longer have a grind-oriented leveling system, but instead have a quest and content driven
leveling system, further specifying that, quote; "No longer will randomly defeating
public monsters be the most efficient way to level your character".
Patch 1.23a was released on, quite fittingly, Friday 13th of August 2012.
With it came the hardest and according to most FFXIV 1.0 players, the most epic fight
ever implemented in 1.0's lifetime, Rivenroad.
An 8-man trial where the adventurers attack the Dalamud puppet Nael van Darnus on top
of a floating island with Dalamud looming above.
Defeating van Darnus, concludes the Seventh Umbral storyline with the Legatus dissolving
and flowing into Dalamud.
Players were left with a burning question.
What now?
Surely we stopped it?
Dalamud is now blaring in the sky.
Time is running out.
Eorzea's aetherial balance is out of control.
Atomos starts appearing in certain camps around Eorzea consuming aether from the aetheryte
crystals, rendering them inoperable.
Atomos also made sure to bring some powerful voidsent enemies with him.
Defeating Atomos would drop loot, so it was a very popular thing to farm.
Atomos had two phases.
During the first phase, you could only attack the adds.
When reaching the second phase, the aetheryte would turn orange, and Atomos would now be
vulnerable to attacks.
An announcement was made on September 11th 2012 on The Lodestone, letting everyone know
that Final Fantasy XIV will shut down entirely on November 11th 2012.
From September 29th the billing procedures were to be suspended, and all account creations
and special item codes would no longer be available.
And that a letter from the Producer LIVE episode IV would air 2 hours after the servers were
shut down.
September 12th 2012.
1.23b.
Dalamud is now at its closest.
The skies are covered in dark clouds, making it hard to distinguish night from day.
Final Fantasy XIV 1.x has received its last patch ever, and the stage is set for the dramatic
ending of a deeply troubled game.
All over Eorza, Eorzeans gathers up with their linkshells.
Finally realizing that this is, in fact, happening.
In the last week of the game's operation, entry to Eorzea was free for everyone that
owned the game and had an account.
The last phase of the End of an Era project begins.
The Garleans are invading Eorzea.
The city-states prepare for invasion, and the battle is set to take place at the Cartenau
flats.
Ul'Dah is overrun by rampant monsters – sometimes going completely bonkers.
The GMs clearly had fun, sometomes spawning ridiculous amounts of mobs in Ul'Dah – even
blatantly duplicating the same mob several times.
And this is where we also saw the heartwarming unification of the FFXIV community.
Everyone remembers the great Gobbue wall, formed by players to protect Ul'Dah from
the invading forces, to no avail.
But the game would not make it easy to enjoy, of course.
The servers, which had always been running way past their limits, now had to deal with
all the new content, as well as the influx of players joining in on the last days of
Eorzea, the servers crashed – a lot.
On top of all the drama that was playing out all over Eorzea, the default background music
changed to a haunting rendition of 'Answers' playing everywhere in the realm.
This still gives me the chills.
But for those that were lucky enough to not be kicked every 5 minutes and enjoy the end
of 1.0, it was something special.
Monsters running rampant in Ul'Dah is one thing, admittedly a very cool thing, but the
atmosphere, the sense of defeat and the crippling wave of sadness that constantly hit you when
the haunting version of Answers played… it was unique.
If anything, 1.0 had a distinct feel to it that is hard to replicate anywhere.
I know it's really hipster to say this, but you just had to be there to fully understand.
Finally, on Sunday, November 11th 2012, with players gathering with their linkshell members,
and in some cases still fighting Garleans, Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 took its final breath,
and the servers finally died.
Immediately after, a trailer was released.
Showing what exactly happened after the servers shut down.
We were presented with what I personally still feel is the most epic and emotional video
game cutscene I have ever seen.
Showing the desperation as the Eorzean Alliance battle against the Garlean Empire, while Dalamud
makes it's descent above them.
All this happening while the theme song Answers plays in the background.
And then…
Out of the blue, Dalamud drops a heavy object, and the moon starts to crack open, revealing
that it kept a mighty creature inside.
Bahamut.
Spreading his wings and immediately starting to destroy Eorzea as we know it.
And us, the players, saved by Louisoix at the very end.
Sent forward in time, to safety.
And thus ends the tale of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0.
1.0 is gone, and there is no going back.
But from the ashes of 1.0, A Realm Reborn rose like a phoenix and lifted the franchise
back from the dark depths.
Thank you for watching this episode of The Fall and Rise of FFXIV.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Leave a like if you did, and subscribe if you want more!
And let me know in the comments if you were there at the end of 1.0 and what you were
doing!
This series will take a quick break for now, but I'll be back in Episode 6 The Fall and
Rise of Final Fantasy XIV soon, where we'll take a closer look at everything we skipped,
missed or didn't explain enough of – let me know what you want me to go through in
the comments.
Don't forget about Renmants of a Realm and Chronicles of a Realm, they are both coming
up soon!
See you there! – and may you ever walk in the Light of the Crystal.
For more infomation >> Foot Petals Velour Slipper Bootie - Duration: 3:22. 
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