Quite a bit has modified since Last Fantasy XIV’s Heavensward enlargement. The MMO’s neighborhood noticed explosive development within the introduction of Endwalker, and it’s lengthy since stated goodbye to the nice ole days of melding Accuracy Materia and therapeutic in Cleric Stance. If meaning nothing to you, good.

Whereas I’ve fond recollections of previous Heavensward encounters, I’m not keen on evangelizing these days. I’m, nonetheless, very keen on telling you about my hellish Thordan Excessive ordeal, how dangerous I used to be at therapeutic, and what’s modified since.

On the non-public development entrance, I’m nonetheless dangerous at FFXIV. I’ve simply gotten higher at brute forcing my method by means of, a technique chances are you’ll know as “getting carried.” And whereas discussions across the MMORPG’s greatest eras of battle content material stay a sensitive topic, I nonetheless imagine the sport is extra my reverse — FFXIV Excessive Trials and Savage Raids grew higher with time.

All of that leads me to storytime; a bit explainer of why I care a lot about a few of these Unreal trials, notably the retuned Patch 3.1 trial, The Minstrel’s Ballad: Thordan’s Reign. Simply seeing that title makes me panic heal and clench my jaw. I each hate it and adore it.

Anyway, in FFXIV Patch 6.5 the primal pope and his knights return in a freshly tuned Unreal encounter. The Unreal trials aren’t new, since they’re a part of the Fake Hollows weekly problem. We’ve defeated a rolling roster of previous Excessive fights Yoshi-P and his workforce revisited, respiratory new life into encounters that misplaced their luster years in the past. When Thordan EX was present content material, I used to be further horrible at FFXIV. Should you performed in Heavensward and I’m in your blacklist, I’d wager cash you met me preventing Thordan.

Thordan Unreal and a Heavensward humbling

I used to be feeling a bit cocky round Heavensward’s launch. The me of immediately is aware of I sucked eight years in the past, however 2015 Andrea? She was far too assured. By the grace of the Twelve, I’d cleared the once-challenging Ramuh EX utilizing my cobbled-together macros for callouts and a bunch of random dudes from Reddit. I’d struggled to complete any of Bahamut’s raids inside a well timed matter, and I couldn’t make a dent in Alexander’s Gordias Savage encounters. However, for no matter purpose, I satisfied myself it was everybody else’s fault I couldn’t clear Thordan EX.

In my 2015 protection, most individuals struggled with Alexander till the ultimate tier, Creator. FFXIV didn’t actually have the identical neighborhood sources again then because it does now, plus plenty of us simply didn’t fairly get the MMO’s fundamentals. And, for lack of a greater technical time period, the sport was fairly rattling janky. The unique Thordan launched on this local weather.

For the Stormblood and past crowd, think about rolling as much as an Endwalker boss and seeing all of these flying numbers changed with “Miss” as your White Mage takes aggro from the tank for respiratory too loud. Then, for no matter purpose, your Bard is a caster, so that they refuse to maneuver, and your Scholar tries to put it aside all with a clutch heal. Sadly, the heal does nothing as a result of they forgot to swap their stance.

It’s me, I’m the ineffective Scholar.

Time and time once more, I rolled into Thordan Excessive and his ten-billion part battle, hardly making it to the midway level. My dangerous habits managing the job’s therapeutic buddy, Eos or Selene, typically meant their talents went out on the worst occasions conceivable, in the event that they went out in any respect. I threw myself at Thordan and his group of enthralled lackeys for weeks, satisfied I simply had dangerous luck.

Finally, a pal who was much better by this level pulled me apart to clarify a few of my largest errors. I used to be equal components embarrassed, in denial, and aggravated the sport hadn’t clicked with me in the way in which I believed it had. I unsubscribed from FFXIV, taking my first break till a number of days earlier than the subsequent Heavensward patch. That’s when Sephirot got here out. Raiding buddies took me beneath their wing, and I used to be in adequate form to solo heal my first “robust” battle when it was related.

That is all so much to say, my Thordan days weren’t an excellent look. Again then, I wasn’t receptive to suggestions from my social gathering nor keen on studying. It was some time earlier than Thordan’s trial grew to become simple to bulldoze by means of, and I conquered the king and his knights god is aware of what number of occasions after. He launched after I was simply on the cusp of getting something in FFXIV actually click on with me, and I remorse my period of hard-headed satisfaction holding me again the way in which it did.

I do know Thordan Unreal isn’t the very same, however I’m excited and optimistic about spherical two. It’s my likelihood to indicate up really ready, with years of follow behind me. The sport is totally different now, my Scholar package has fancy new instruments, Selene doesn’t even exist, and perhaps Expedient means I gained’t eat all of his meteor mechanics. It’s nonetheless an opportunity for me to present it one other shot a bit nearer to when it was recent, although.

That’s what I dig about all of those Unreal trials, too. They’re an opportunity for me to relive a few of my previous FFXIV highlights and redeem my uglier performances. The Warring Triad’s Sephirot, Sophia, and Zurvan had been all fond recollections to revisit by means of the Heavensward tour, however I believe that is my first actual showdown with an Unreal boss that gave me critical hell when the battle launched.

FFXIV Patch 6.5 is out on October 3 with the subsequent Unreal. So, I’ll put down my Astrologian globe and produce out Eos to indicate Thordan that I’ve learn a tooltip or two this time. Till then, I’ll beat up on the present baddie, Zurvan, a number of extra occasions and look ahead to my Unreal victory lap.

And if it feels like Thordan’s trial taught me a lesson in staying humble, it didn’t. Nidhogg positive did, although. However that’s a narrative for an additional day.