Adventurer Log: Rediscovering ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ In ‘Stormblood’

Back in 2013, you couldn’t pull me away from Final Fantasy XIV. When a group of my friends and I decided to give the recently revamped MMORPG a shot, our band of adventurers were quickly absorbed in the seemingly endless amount of quests to complete, jobs to learn and enemies to slay. Late into the year however, life got in the way, leading us each to drop off until our group essentially disbanded, leading us to adventure on our own sporadically whenever a chance to play would pop up.

Cheres Highwind: Last seen cosplaying a legendary summoner.

My story was led by Cheres Highwind, a Lancer and eventual Dragoon who would call the region of Gridania her home. Shortly after her battle with Ifrit, she all but disappeared outside of some occasional sightings during The Great Yo-kai Hunt of 2016.  With the latest expansion, Stormblood, arriving for the denizens of Eorzea to explore, now seemed as good of a time as any for Cheres to make her big return. But with a new land to explore, a sudden surge of power, and no allies to call her own, this second great adventure is already proving to be quite the learning experienced for our once seasoned warrior.

Taking the trip Ala Mhigo presented such a contrast compared to the lands I had been used to traveling, presenting a much more lush, vibrant territory. The beauty of the scenery quickly became the backdrop to a few warm up battles as I explored the new area. After checking in with Lyse before gathering with the rest of the heroes, I was free to do what I wanted. Little did I know that even the enemies at my level were giving me trouble. If I wanted to survive, I knew I’d need to get acquainted with my new abilities.

The warriors gather as I earn the easiest game completion trophy I’ve ever unlocked.

Using a special potion to get me caught up in strength had one disadvantage. Jumping straight from level 50 to 60 meant I had a wealth of new abilities that I was completely unfamiliar with. Yet, I still needed to master them if I wanted to stand up against the Aliance’s latest threat. Using the same old combos from that Ifrit fight weren’t going to cut it this deep into Eorzea, so it was time to play with the strongest abilities a Dragoon can master up to that point. Primarily, the Blood of the Dragon ability not only increased the strength of the trademark Jump attack, but it gave me the ability to expand on existing combos with two new abilities. Both Fang and Claw and Wheeling Thrust managed to deal extra damage while extending t he duration of Blood of the Dragon, allowing me to deal more damage for longer. Finally, Geirskogul, which can only be used with Blood of the Dragon in effect, causes huge damage to enemies in a straight line at the expense of 10 seconds from the BotD meter. If nothing else, I got a cool blue dragon aura and some new armor to show off my growth!

With the rust worn off, it was time to dive into Stormblood. Make sure to check in next time to find what a full fledged Dragoon can do. If anyone is on the Cactuar server, feel free to share your names in the comments and be part of Cheres’ continued adventures!