Don’t have Shadowbringers yet? Don’t worry! Here’s what you can do while you wait your turn.
Its been a few days after the release of the highly anticipated expansion of Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers. It’s sad to say that not all of us can afford the expansion at the time of release. For whatever reason, you’re too busy with work, you haven’t completed the previous expansion of Stormblood, or maybe you’ve seen the trailer for Shadowbringers but have yet to even start the game!!
No matter the reason, it’s not fun when all of your friends are running to level up the new Dancer or Gunblade classes. Taking part in the newest dungeons, completing the latest questlines or just taking new screenshots with new glam. So what do we do while everyone is playing Shadowbringers and we are dragging our feet because we don’t have it yet?
Well I have you covered! I’ve compiled a few things you might enjoy while you wait to own Shadowbringers.
1 – Let’s get snappy!!
Let’s face it. The company you keep in-game and in real life is what makes or breaks your experience of anything! As a game, FFXIV gives you countless opportunities to meet wonderful players from around the world and nothing is nicer when you complete a really hard dungeon or LVL with the help of your friends. So what I’m trying to say is gather together your closest friends and have a photoshoot together!
Among my friends, we all love to take screenshots, send them or upload them for all the world to see. Its all about who has the best screenshot, who used the best filter or the best angle but whatever the reason its fun and everyone wants to take part because once again we get to show off the characters we have put so much time and effort into to the world.
2 – Get your glam on!!
I’ve read before that glamour is #thetrueendgame so it stands to reason that cosplaying is another great form of it we can use to have fun with! And, if you’re into roleplaying then go off and introduce your lovely character to the rest of the world whether it’s in-game or on social media. Be yourself and show who you are while playing the game, that in my opinion is what makes the game fun and keeps bringing me back for more.
Besides, who wouldn’t want to see Eorzea’s favourite Lalapuff girls roaming the streets of the city-states?
3 – Side quests galore!!
Okay, okay, this is one that I still need to master myself. So if you’re like me at all and just rushed your way through all of the main scenario quests in both Heavensward and Stormblood you probably have left a pretty large trail of unfinished (and probably unaccepted!!) quests in your wake. We all rush, run into a town, accepting the next random quests just so that we don’t have to come back later. You know what it’s like! It’s so easy to become busy with other stuff!
I for one lose my focus fast. One minute I will be going to the market board looking for stuff to buy (I am too lazy to farm it) and then I end up spending so much on something I don’t need at all like, dye or minions. I then set off on my little adventure to go and show all my friends what I have done (most of my shopping revolves around moogles, Kupo!!)
On the bright side losing focus means that I now have plenty of unfinished side stories to go back and revisit. All these left behind quests mean that I’ll be kept plenty busy until I get my hand on Shadowbringers!
4 – Do those Beast Tribes!!
I’ll be the first one to admit I have a slight obsession with moogles. They’re ultra-cute and cuddly okay?! Even then, despite how deep my love for my pom-pom headed friends run, I have always struggled to get into the groove for doing Beast Tribe quests.
For instance, I might start tribe and for 30 minutes before running off because I wanted to go help a friend level a class, play hide and seek or just catch up with other players. Or if I’m really sidetracked I’ll end up retrying the jumping puzzle at Kugane (it turns out I’m not a very good jumper as I have yet to complete the puzzle)
My distractions aside, Beast Tribes are easy exp if you’re leveling a class, plus you’ll end up with some cool mounts, armor and emotes for your efforts!
5 – It’s time to enter the Deep Dungeons…
Done all that and still need more content to keep you going? In that case, I would say give the Palace of the Dead or Heaven on High a try. Most players only use these to level their classes as fast as possible. However, there are also some extra benefits to giving them a try!
POTD has an exciting story and if you are looking for something that will keep you on your toes then THIS is the dungeon for you!! It’s not for everyone though as getting through to level 200 can be VERY stressful! The moment you hit floor 150 everything changes. The enemies are much stronger, traps are EVERYWHERE and even the patrols change up randomly. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart!!
Here’s a funny story for you though. I once had a POTD run with a few friends and we managed to get to floor 160. During a quick break, I made some coffee and we all got back to the game entering floor 161. Off we go killing mobs, dodging traps, everyone very focused and trying not to die.
And then, suddenly, BOOM……
I spilled my coffee ALL OVER my laptop. It immediately disconnected and shut down. My friends start phoning and sending messages about what’s wrong because they can only go that far without a 4th player and since I was DPS it was pretty important. I managed to tell them what happened and they ended up timing out of the dungeon as the coffee looked like it had fried my laptop. Oops!! Thankfully two days later I got my laptop to start up again. Ever since then I make sure to leave my coffee on the other side of the room!!
Finally, all I would say is to just go have fun! Find another class you would like to level and just take your time. Final Fantasy XIV is a game that has wonders waiting around every corner. It’s not about how fast you can finish the story or if you are the first one to have the latest gear (or if you bought the latest mount from MOG station) It’s all about the players you meet from around the world the friendships you form and being the hero of your own story. Final Fantasy XIV takes you on an unexpected journey that allows you to come and join the game whenever you feel like it, and with the community growing every day you are sure to join other adventures as they take part in becoming the hero of light!
Lots of love
This is really informative. Final Fantasy XIV is a very tricky game to play. While it is fun and immersive in it’s own right, This tends to be an MMORPG that people fly in and out of. My first experience with this game was on PC and I had many great people that I met and loved playing with. They were teaching me to love a genre that before I really didn’t have much faith in. Much of the improvements over the years, I was unable to take part in. I had no experience with any of the DLC and truly was feeling that the gap between my initial interest and my vested return was widening by the day.
Ultimately I did return with the investment towards Shadowbringers. I have to give SquareEnix props for having all the DLC bundled for a really great price. It would have been foolish for me to think about either buying the DLCs separately or not at all. I took the plunge and was glad for it.
Most of my difficulty has come from reintegrating myself into the fold. When I left (originally playing on PC) I did not have a FC (Free Company) so I really didn’t have a “family” to come back to. It seemed that all my friends who used to play had either stopped playing or migrated to different servers. I was alone. I have tried very much so to progress without the help of others. Understanding that there are those gamers who can just take on these difficulties with little to no help at all. I was sorely mistaken (especially as a DPS Black Mage) there was no way for me to get through the trials of the DLC alone. I feel that I was not going to get to the DLC at all. Until I saw something else.
So something else that has come about with my time away from this game is the ability to “Power Level” going from 0 to 70 for only $25 (US) I am still hesitant about this prospect because I feel that doing this will take away from the importance of connecting with my character choice. What am I left to do if I don’t have people around to assist me moving forward. I guess we will just see.
Hi James,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and share your experience. I understand how you feel about playing the game on your own as I myself had to do it a while back. Thankfully I have been part of wonderful FC’s in the past and the friendships formed are the kind that will last a lifetime. If I ever get to travel the world it would be to go and meet the friends I made online.
Things can be a lot harder if you are on your own and waiting for roulettes to pop. It’s just horrible if the wait becomes too long. However, I would still advise against trying to buy a power level since it takes a lot of the fun and experience away from the story. If you have however finished the story and most or all of the expansions then, I guess it would be alright, but all the classes have good stories that in there own ways also influence what class becomes your favorite in the end and I don’t want anyone to miss out on anything.
What server are you playing on?
Lots of Love
AzurCub