Welp I forgot to add background music LEL. Was running super late today cause I had to reinstall FF entirely this morning >_< . Anyway I'm going to bed, hope you like the intro
Why not? It's good fun, and Mike isn't some kind of a raider robot :D Actually I find that most people who say things like "I'm not interested in the story, I just like raiding" - are people who just never experienced a good story. Humans are wired on a very deep level to enjoy stories - it's just a matter of finding the right one.
I keep thinking these quests are going to send people running back to WoW and Ive been pleasantly surprised with the results. I live him appreciating how experimental they get with the animations in the Manderville quests.
@@gateauxq4604 I dont know any refugees that disliked the Manderville questlines to go back running. Most ppl know that this is side stuff and made to be extra silly and just good ol comedy. In fact my friends that are refugees like me think that WoW should have side stuff like that. Plus the animations are indeed golden.
If you're interested to know. Any time you see a quest that has a picture as its header, that means it's got a more unique story to it than the other side quests. Each area in the game will have atleast 1 of those.
I haven't finished Hildebrand yet. Was in a serious mode when trying the quest and didn't stick. Now I know it is suppose to be that way, i may go and try it when I feel that way
Even the basic sidequests are chock full of lore and flesh out the areas you're in, which I love. The three starter city-states each have unique cultures and troubles, and you learn so much more about them.
I'm so glad Mike found the Scholasticate quests! Not only is it cool seeing characters you know show up in other stories as time goes on, but these in particular really added to how Ishgard on the whole comes to terms with the end of the Dragonsong War and how they all move on!
I just finished it before 6.0 dropped and Im a bit sad I hadn’t done it sooner. It really is the big afterward quest and its so good. Enjoyed Briarden not being stuck doing camp again.
I went with the Scholasticate storyline first, because I wanted to see what happens to Briardien (and see if him and Ellie is canon at this point :P - I can dream :>).
I love Scholasticate quest line. I thought it was more well known. I did it when it first came out and it didn't occur to me that people would just skip it later. Glad Preach found it.
@@VixenIcaza Honestly, the Scholasticate quests should be blue. They offer emotes and glam, that should be enough. Same with the dance quests in ARR (Harvest/Step/Ball). If it offers a cosmetic reward, I think they should slap a blue on.
For people who have missed the Heavensward Epilogue questline, it starts with the quest "The Paths We Walk," available inside House Fortemps from the Fortemps Manservant after completing patch 3.3.
It's so refreshing to see Mike actually enjoying the games he's playing. Everyone jokes about it, but leaving WoW really is like getting out of an abusive relationship. It's freeing in so many ways.
As someone who's never played WoW for more than a month over 10 years ago, is it really that bad now? Every time I see these kinds of posts, I want to give a WoW player some cocoa and a blanket.
Honestly, that opening is one of the most inventive FFXIV ones I've ever seen! And the first I've seen to include Hildibrand, which makes it even better!
I think the fact that Mike is taking so long to get to Endwalker will make Endwalker hit harder because he has the appropriate time to ruminate on the story instead of speeding through everything and barely having time to wonder a plot point before the game explains it to you.
I love that XIV acknowledges that things would not be neatly tied up with the end of an expansion and that there's side content specifically dealing with the fallout of what happened in said expansion.
I love the way Preach is approaching the game, it's how I always suggest pkaying for friends and newbies. Take your time and do the side content, there is an insane amount of awesome older content that is not only fun, but it all fleshes out the world even more and because the majority of side characters make comebacks or appear later in storylines and easter eggs, you will get so much more enjoyment later if you take the time to do the side content and it will all hit 10x harder. Like EW, if I hadn't played for years and done all the raids, leveled all the job storylines, read through side quests and just took my time over those years, loads of amazing callbacks and storylines would be completely lost on me and sadly, a huge amount of the playerbase haven't done a lot of ths side quests. If you approach side content as part of the MSQ, it will pay off so much later on.
Truly. When seeing the video title I was thinking "Oh he's going to talk about how good HW Hildibrand questline is" and I was right for the first half, but never in my mind did it occurs to me that he was going to talk about Scholasticate questline and had such a fine commentary on it too! It really give me the feeling that Preach took some time just sorting through FF14's contents and genuinely find something he enjoyed, which just feels nice.
I am glad you highlighted how much additional story and context can be added by these side quests that many simple blow past them. Another fun note, is many of the story characters will have commentary related to the story and quest you are on, but will not have any quest indicator on them to let you know there is some story interaction to be had there.
In Endwalker MSQ, there are subtle nods to damn near everything in the game from the class quests, post-expansion trial questlines, alliance raids, relic weapons, raids, and many many many more characters came back that have been peppered all throughout the game. Those are not required to beat the MSQ and their impact on the MSQ, for most of the characters, is negligible. You can enjoy Endwalker without experiencing all the those mentioned aspects of the game. However, as a player who DID go through all of that those characters that I recognized made the story feel more grandiose and the world felt so much bigger than just what I was seeing with my eyes. People have said this ad nauseum already but it can not be overstated: take your time. Explore the wonderful world of Eorzea and everything it has to offer and you will thank yourself later. The majority of ff14's detractors are people who skipped the msq or not even played it at all, but the inverse is also true so spend as much time as you can.
As sort of a personal goal prior to Endwalker, I made sure to go through the game and pick up/complete every single bit of story or quest content I could find. Blue unlock quests, job quests, raids, trials, story-centric sidequests, everything. The level of recognition I felt for my character's journey in Endwalker was absolutely insane, and I am so glad I took the time to do all of that extra content over that past year or so. It really added an extra weight to the expansion, which was already quite emotional.
Right I did the alchemist quests that was a story line about F'lhaminn Qesh's husband and the dancers quests had her in it to. You can tell they put a lot of time in the side quests to with good story's. Did not have much time for mmo these days but had to play since it is the only final fantasy I have not played and man am I glad I did.
I am a player who has completed every single sidequest in the game, and leveled all jobs to max. The amount of nods and references I've received in Endwalker, up to the point of people LITERALLY CALLING OUT MY ALT-JOBS, just blew my goddamn mind.
@@Churee While I didn't personally complete every single quest, I felt called out when I was suddenly called a great White Mage while I wasn't even a White Mage at that moment... It felt really nice. For those wondering, I love playing white mage, but I don't like questing as one.
Really enjoyed this video and the appreciation you show for the story and characters. I would say to anyone who enjoyed this video to do a bit of crafting and gathering as well as the Beast Tribe quests... And before you finish Shb if possible. Without getting into spoilers, you'll get to see where certain characters from the past are "today", as well as get a better appreciation for the end of SBH (patches).
Something neat about the /spectacle emotes: It's executed entirely different on every single race AND gender. So if showing off an emote a lot of people keep missing on isn't cool enough, if you are one of those two female roegadyn in the entire data center, it's extra special!
The intro is brilliant! The way he incorporated the music, the Phantom thief, the Eorzean alphabet that says Floor Inspector and Preaches silhouette is so cool! Kudos to the editor!
Thank you for talking about this! I actually found this before the hildy quest in Heavensward and it’s so good! Very moving story and love how much it adds to the Heavensward lore.
Actually, the Heavansward epilogue came out in 3.3 and was unlocked right after you ended the Dragonsong War. So it's even worse when you just finished the MSQ at that point and immediately went into the epilogue of Heavensward. Breaks your heart into tiny pieces
Still really refreshing hear you talk about this in depth. super excited for Stormblood and onwards. but please keep doing this. Super fun and interesting.
Glad you are finding (and enjoying) these hidden gems the game has to offer. There are actually a lot of them. Maybe not as in-depth and involved as the Scholisticate Briardien stuff, but they're there to add depth and to add to the underlying struggle of the people in a given area, or the story itself. Usually they're in the form of a "blue quest" that give an aether current for the initial quest, but actually turn into a small chain of quests. My way of thinking is, "if it has a thumbnail or pic on the quest, then it's worth finishing the chain". Of course, there are a few with thumbnails that aren't blue, which are even more fun when you stumble across one.
Happy to hear that you've found this quest chain. More HW-related stuff is always good! There is more small side quests to let you know what the Ishgardians are up to in the Firmament, if you want to check those out (no crafting required). And you're going to love the Caster role quests in Endwalker; it's even more Ishgardian stuff! ❤️
It's not always a 100% indicator, but generally sidequests with actual storylines will have a special image on the quest giver's summary. So you can follow those to eventually hit up a questline, sometimes long reaching ones. Such as one in a Shadowbringers zone that joins multiple of these marked sidequests together into a finale quest that gives a community favorite minion. They started with this kind of design with HW. There's still more that aren't marked with an image at all unfortunately.
I was doing side quests in Il Mehg because I got tired of having to zoom in to click the aetheryte, and it was a chain of sidequests that eventually opened up a new vendor who sold a unique minion and something else that I can't remember. No indication that this quest was going to unlock something, just a nice surprise after following a side story questline.
@@VaporeonEnjoyer1 More surprinsingly, that questline from Il Mheg gets at least two nods from other sidequests in the Endwalker zones! It's a nice little inside joke that you will only get if you explore that particular part in the game.
It's up to Mike if he wants to do this or not, but I would highly suggest that if he really want more story, and this is especially true for Shadowbringers & Endwalker post-game, is to level a few more jobs, and at least one of each role (Tank, Healer, Melee, Ranged & Caster) that way you get to see even more story bits which in turn also include more hidden quests that you otherwise can't access. For instance playing through the Scholar quests give you some insights about Tonberries for instance. There's so much hidden lore & story in the game, that even someone who've played for years would struggle to keep up with everything.
@@violetbliss4399 I agree with Astrea! I really struggled with PLD but when I picked up GNB it was like a second skin. If a job is hard to play, try something else :) there are plenty of really well-balanced classes to choose from and you’ll definitely find ones that fit your play style better than others
It's so true that there's a wealth of great, optional content.... Their dungeons, trials, alliance raids and 8-man raids... always fun and challenging.
as i do all side quest clean. its a treat!! when you see them in the future story in msq or another side quest. as well max level every single class and know their story. also a treat when they comeback at the future in msq or another side quest. amazing
Great video! Enjoyed your take on it, looking forward to doing it myself as I am quite a bit behind you with the MSQ. Not too bothered with spoilers on this, I'm still going to enjoy doing it myself. Also, didn't notice the missing background music. Mike talking always grabs the attention, it's only if there is silence or longer pauses that I'd notice.
I'd like to add: if you're interested in more of this, Ishgard Restoration and Custom Deliveries on the crafting\gathering side of the table shocked me recently, as many of these deal with minor characters you've encountered throughout the MSQ story.
I hope you've also found the Warring Triad quest series. Those are another set of very good Trials, both Hard and Extreme modes, with a very long reaching plot thread that is still developing. You'll need to find a dude called Torsifers, in The Pillars, with a quest called Gods of Eld. A+ worthwhile. In every expansion since ARR there are the Trials you get through MSQ and the Trials which are side content. Warring Triad in Heavensward, Four Lords in Stormblood, [spoiler] in Shadowbringers, Yet To Be Announced in Endwalker.
Another great hidden quest line you didn't mention here is an old ARR set that starts with The Greatest Story Never Told. Highly recommend checking it out!
I love that it says "Floor Inspector" in that Eorzean typeface. With Preach's profile instead of Hildy's. So genius! Chunky, Preach, and all the others who helped make this vid deserve a round of applause. 👍🏾
This is legit some of my favorite content to watch. I look forward to each and every video. Thank you! Very happy you and enjoying the game!!! Same here :)
I've known about the Scholasticate, the 'hidden' beast tribe quests if you max all their rep, the post moogle quests in ARR, the questline if you do all the role quests in Shadowbringers...but have never gotten around to doing any of them. You have indeed intrigued me to give it a go. Part of it is that they are indeed 'hidden' so to speak. If they were blue plus sidequests I would have done them. I wouldn't be surprised by players who have no idea about these quests. I'm sure they'll do it again somewhere in Endwalker.
Videos such as this one always remind me of the post quests, a normal quest from after ARR. It's not as goofy, but it's a great piece of worldbuilding and I really enjoyed it. They start with the post moogle near the Limsa aetherite plaza.
This game really rewards you for doing the extra content, and one of the best way it rewards you is by acknowledging it in the MSQ content. So it really is a great idea to do as much side stuff as possible, and to take your time and enjoy it. You can only do it once, after all
While it's true for rebuilding efforts (Ishgard's Firmament questline being no longer available as of Endwalker), there's one other questline which isn't added to NG+ as far as I know... It's a questline after ShB which involves the Hrothgar homeland.
Props to Chunkey. I stumbled across Scholasticate towards the end of SB and I still sing the praises. It is probably my favorite side story in the entire game and I always comment on WoW-refugee videos to go do it asap.
Although I kind of doubt that anyone from the team will read this, but there is a special kind of side quest that shows up in each zone. If the side quest has an image in the quest acceptance box it is a chain quest that has a bit more effort in it's writing. There is generally a few of these per zone and if you complete them all there's a unifying quest that appears. A few of these are actually pretty good little side stories.
I only did the ones in Lakeland and Il Mheg and they were both fantastic. Learning about how the Voeburt King sacrificed himself and why Titania bears his title, or that wholesome story of getting all these people with survivor's guilt to pick up the pieces of their lives and come together. Its a real shame that so many people say they love the story and miss out on quests like that.
From Stormblood onwards most of the Aether current quests are the start of a story line quest. So if a NPC gets a sidequest right after his aether current quest, you can remember them if you look for great side stories. Like the quest from Kurenei in Sui-no-sato you noticed at end of your stream from 15. December 2021.
Stumbled upon the post-moogle questline while trying to unlock a triple-triad NPC. Was way longer than I'd expected but most of it was very good, revisiting old quest NPCs, and even had a few surprise cameos
There's a little tip many people don't know about side quests. regardless of if it is a MSQ, a blue side quest or a regular gold icon side quest; ANY quest you find that has a picture banner on the quest accept window is a quest of significance. For instance, every expac map has at least one of these quests, and when you complete these certain quests in each map, it unlocks another special exapc specific questline. There's more worth mentioning, but the general rule is if you see a picture on the quest window, pick it up...it'll be worth the time.
One thing I noticed after switching my race a couple times: the Hildibrand quests work amazingly well with a Lala character. They're so expressive and their emotes are so over the top that is meshes very well with the goofiness of Hildibrand.
You also run into Inspector Brian (haha) when you do the Firmament questline. I loved joking with him and appreciate the devs bringing him back during our visits to Ishgard.
I don't remember how I first saw Hildibrand, but I'm pretty sure the friend who got me into the game back in ARR showed me the cutscene where you first meet Godbert. I knew I had to do the quests after seeing that cinematic masterpiece.
Since doing the Hildebrand story line in heavensward and getting Gigi, I've taken him everywhere. Got to show the wee guy the whole of Eorzia and beyond! Love that little guy.
From Heavensward on, the sidequests have become increasingly pertinent to the story and the atmosphere, and though there may be 'fetch quests' mixed in, there's a lot of them that are touching stories in and of themselves. I'd highly recommend doing them on an alt job and enjoying them for what little stories many of them are.
im so glad you are doing the super optional content because there are actual pay offs in Endwalker from doing Job quests, Raids and everything and to see some others just only do mainline makes me sad that you are missing apart of what makes FF14 story so great. Even something like aether currents questlines are done so well that my mind blends them into the msq because they are actually impactful to the areas youve been in and build the world/zone. One of my favourite things is the Ishgard restoration and the custom delivery which are quests addressing thing of the MSQ that you wished they did. like The true impact of the ending of the 100 year war and characters story of minor minor characters
There is a quest in this vein in ARR. I don't remember where it starts off hand, but the post moogles need help delivering some mail to a few of your old friends...
Makes me wonder, has Preach found the Magic Pot yet? It sells a couple of unique minions There's also the baby bat minion, the seller is also kinda hidden Side quests are one thing, random stuff in the map with no marker is another (like literally hidden)
In my experience most people who've found the Magic Pot are fishers or at least were fishers before ocean fishing made leveling fast and easy, because there's a fishing hole right next to the NPC in a place with nearly zero reason to visit.
After stalling out on the MSQ raid I've been casually doing side quests and it's actually been really fun leisurely learning lots of lore bits that I didn't know I'd been missing all this time. I'll have to check out some of this, didn't know it had such cool rewards attached.
A little hint, if you find a side quest that has a picture in the quest box, it usually has events that will tell even more of the overall story of Eorzea.
The moogle delivery questline is also really good and lays a lot of ARR character lore on the table, especially in the early quests. It is a longer questline, but there are some pretty cool rewards.
I really liked that Ishgard questline with Briardien. Though I also ploughed through MSQ, I did come back eventually to do all sidequests. It was totally worth it :)
I accidently found this quest line because I was trying to find the Scholastic set you get for completeing it, and I was laughing so hard at the, "Wait... what are you doing here" look you and Brian have with each other, like he didn't expect anyone to be interested in his side quest.
I loved how in the Hildebrand Heavensward questline Godbrand lost a piece of clothing every single cutscene until he was naked again once you reached the ice cold wastes of Coerthas. I noticed that's what they were doing literally straight away though, because it's exactly what I would have done for a character like that lol.
All those little moments where NPCs from past side quests show up in others or even the MSQ then acknowledge your prior meeting/involvement really make doing everything feel worthwhile.
I'm 480 hours in now, and I'm still in ARR working on the last steps of my Zodiac weapon. I've had a lot of people on my journey that took the time to help a stranger out. It reminds me a bit of the wow vanilla days, and I hope I can return the favour someday.
I remember actually thinking at one point realising how strong he is and wondering it wasn't him out saving the world. But the people at SE realised that too and actually go to the trouble of explaining it.. Despite this being essentially a joke questline
@@comraddisc2783 lol was going to say something on that line if ya seen the end of the hildibrand quest line in heavensward. She makes godbert look like a puppy.
Being the first expansion, Heavensward has a lot of legacy that is still lingering till today as you can see. Whenever Preach levels a crafter/gatherer, I sincerely recommend the Firmament questline. First quest is Towards the Firmament in Ishgard. The rest I will leave Preach to find out :D not too much a hidden gem because it is famous among disciples of hand/land for levelling. This questline is AMAZING and worth researching, especially on its actual progression when it was released back in Shadowbringers
I did the Scholasticate back when I went through Heavensward myself. It surprises me that so many don't know of it. Though I've done virtually every quest in the game at this point. Just missing some relic ones mainly.
Hildy was around before realm reborn oringally. We had hildy for so long in orignal 1.0. Its just a fun story all I can say lol. One part SE did well : ) Can't wait to see more in the future!!
I ended up doing the Epilogue quest the other day because I was trying to unlock triple triad matches, wasn't expecting the feels trip to go along with it
So, I did Hildy before finishing HW and if there is one thing that I learned- Never trust people over sixty!... Makes the whole ending sus when dealing with the preacher.
The only side quest left for me is in Shb and EW. Haven't got time for them, really. Busy with making cookies b4 EW, now busy with making cookies for EW since I specialise in Cul. XD ARR, HW, SB... I've done them all. Mike have just nailed it. Nice... I love the side stories, it adds so much flavour to the game
I've only started watching Preach since he joined FFXIV, but I watched his videos reacting to some Trials and trying to figure out what was happening. Suffice it to say, my impression of him was 'This is a no-nonsense, high-end WoW raider that will prioritise the gameplay over the narrative (which is valid!)' Watching him get drunk and attend a RP party, enjoy the Hildibrand quests, fuck around in the Gold Saucer etc has been delightful.
Welp I forgot to add background music LEL. Was running super late today cause I had to reinstall FF entirely this morning >_< . Anyway I'm going to bed, hope you like the intro
pog
Tbh I didn't even realise until you mentioned it. The video was that good
I watched the whole video without realizing.
Fine as is.
I dont think I remember seeing a skit since legion. I'm genuinely happy to see the team seeming... happy again
I honestly would have never imagined Mike enjoying the Hildy quests as much as he does
Same
Why not? It's good fun, and Mike isn't some kind of a raider robot :D
Actually I find that most people who say things like "I'm not interested in the story, I just like raiding" - are people who just never experienced a good story. Humans are wired on a very deep level to enjoy stories - it's just a matter of finding the right one.
I keep thinking these quests are going to send people running back to WoW and Ive been pleasantly surprised with the results. I live him appreciating how experimental they get with the animations in the Manderville quests.
Perhaps his name being Floor Inspector gave him a sense of kinship with Hildy. "I'm a bit of an inspector myself"
@@gateauxq4604 I dont know any refugees that disliked the Manderville questlines to go back running. Most ppl know that this is side stuff and made to be extra silly and just good ol comedy. In fact my friends that are refugees like me think that WoW should have side stuff like that. Plus the animations are indeed golden.
If you're interested to know. Any time you see a quest that has a picture as its header, that means it's got a more unique story to it than the other side quests. Each area in the game will have atleast 1 of those.
I haven't finished Hildebrand yet. Was in a serious mode when trying the quest and didn't stick. Now I know it is suppose to be that way, i may go and try it when I feel that way
Thanks for the tip I never realized that
Yeah and Aethercurrent Quest are also always worth following, some of them go to really beautiful and wholesome places.
That's great to know, thank you!
Even the basic sidequests are chock full of lore and flesh out the areas you're in, which I love. The three starter city-states each have unique cultures and troubles, and you learn so much more about them.
I'm so glad Mike found the Scholasticate quests! Not only is it cool seeing characters you know show up in other stories as time goes on, but these in particular really added to how Ishgard on the whole comes to terms with the end of the Dragonsong War and how they all move on!
I just finished it before 6.0 dropped and Im a bit sad I hadn’t done it sooner. It really is the big afterward quest and its so good. Enjoyed Briarden not being stuck doing camp again.
I did the Scholasticate storyline exclusively for the /glasses emote and truly enjoyed it. Seeing Briardien again was a treat.
The Miles Edgeworth to Phoenix Wright.
same plus the glasses them selves.
He does also pop in the ishgard restoration unlock quests
I went with the Scholasticate storyline first, because I wanted to see what happens to Briardien (and see if him and Ellie is canon at this point :P - I can dream :>).
I love Scholasticate quest line. I thought it was more well known. I did it when it first came out and it didn't occur to me that people would just skip it later. Glad Preach found it.
Scholasticate quests are definitely underrated. Glad to see people giving it more exposure.
Yeah! I only discovered them when I was trying to collect emotes. I sometimes think there should be another quest symbol for major side quests.
@@VixenIcaza Honestly, the Scholasticate quests should be blue. They offer emotes and glam, that should be enough. Same with the dance quests in ARR (Harvest/Step/Ball). If it offers a cosmetic reward, I think they should slap a blue on.
For people who have missed the Heavensward Epilogue questline, it starts with the quest "The Paths We Walk," available inside House Fortemps from the Fortemps Manservant after completing patch 3.3.
I did this quest just before Endwalker and it was a terrible day for rain.
Ooooh so thats it. I started it but just moved on to Stormblood. Gotta do it then, ty.
Dammit, it's inside the manor? That's why I never saw it
It's so refreshing to see Mike actually enjoying the games he's playing. Everyone jokes about it, but leaving WoW really is like getting out of an abusive relationship. It's freeing in so many ways.
As someone who's never played WoW for more than a month over 10 years ago, is it really that bad now? Every time I see these kinds of posts, I want to give a WoW player some cocoa and a blanket.
For a bit ye endwalker is fucking.shit
@@Spiritwonder420 Nah man. Nah
@@Spiritwonder420 nice bait
@@janceboye2641 bait because I'm not kissing the games ass ? Nice I really did not like msq it was slow as frick
Honestly, that opening is one of the most inventive FFXIV ones I've ever seen! And the first I've seen to include Hildibrand, which makes it even better!
I think the fact that Mike is taking so long to get to Endwalker will make Endwalker hit harder because he has the appropriate time to ruminate on the story instead of speeding through everything and barely having time to wonder a plot point before the game explains it to you.
Dude, I cried at the "and this is my story", with the music and the spell, it really is a big crescendo.
I love that XIV acknowledges that things would not be neatly tied up with the end of an expansion and that there's side content specifically dealing with the fallout of what happened in said expansion.
I love the way Preach is approaching the game, it's how I always suggest pkaying for friends and newbies. Take your time and do the side content, there is an insane amount of awesome older content that is not only fun, but it all fleshes out the world even more and because the majority of side characters make comebacks or appear later in storylines and easter eggs, you will get so much more enjoyment later if you take the time to do the side content and it will all hit 10x harder. Like EW, if I hadn't played for years and done all the raids, leveled all the job storylines, read through side quests and just took my time over those years, loads of amazing callbacks and storylines would be completely lost on me and sadly, a huge amount of the playerbase haven't done a lot of ths side quests. If you approach side content as part of the MSQ, it will pay off so much later on.
Truly. When seeing the video title I was thinking "Oh he's going to talk about how good HW Hildibrand questline is" and I was right for the first half, but never in my mind did it occurs to me that he was going to talk about Scholasticate questline and had such a fine commentary on it too! It really give me the feeling that Preach took some time just sorting through FF14's contents and genuinely find something he enjoyed, which just feels nice.
Watching you go through the story has been fantastic. I am so glad you joined us here in eorzea. Gratz on completing the free trial after 300 hours
I am glad you highlighted how much additional story and context can be added by these side quests that many simple blow past them. Another fun note, is many of the story characters will have commentary related to the story and quest you are on, but will not have any quest indicator on them to let you know there is some story interaction to be had there.
Honestly I don't know why we were chosen to be the Warrior of Light when Godbert exists
In Endwalker MSQ, there are subtle nods to damn near everything in the game from the class quests, post-expansion trial questlines, alliance raids, relic weapons, raids, and many many many more characters came back that have been peppered all throughout the game. Those are not required to beat the MSQ and their impact on the MSQ, for most of the characters, is negligible. You can enjoy Endwalker without experiencing all the those mentioned aspects of the game. However, as a player who DID go through all of that those characters that I recognized made the story feel more grandiose and the world felt so much bigger than just what I was seeing with my eyes.
People have said this ad nauseum already but it can not be overstated: take your time. Explore the wonderful world of Eorzea and everything it has to offer and you will thank yourself later. The majority of ff14's detractors are people who skipped the msq or not even played it at all, but the inverse is also true so spend as much time as you can.
As sort of a personal goal prior to Endwalker, I made sure to go through the game and pick up/complete every single bit of story or quest content I could find. Blue unlock quests, job quests, raids, trials, story-centric sidequests, everything.
The level of recognition I felt for my character's journey in Endwalker was absolutely insane, and I am so glad I took the time to do all of that extra content over that past year or so. It really added an extra weight to the expansion, which was already quite emotional.
Right I did the alchemist quests that was a story line about F'lhaminn Qesh's husband and the dancers quests had her in it to. You can tell they put a lot of time in the side quests to with good story's. Did not have much time for mmo these days but had to play since it is the only final fantasy I have not played and man am I glad I did.
I am a player who has completed every single sidequest in the game, and leveled all jobs to max. The amount of nods and references I've received in Endwalker, up to the point of people LITERALLY CALLING OUT MY ALT-JOBS, just blew my goddamn mind.
@@Zerif69 And there was a callback to dancer teacher on an aether current quest
@@Churee While I didn't personally complete every single quest, I felt called out when I was suddenly called a great White Mage while I wasn't even a White Mage at that moment... It felt really nice.
For those wondering, I love playing white mage, but I don't like questing as one.
The joy in your FF videos are great! Everyone deserves happiness.
Really enjoyed this video and the appreciation you show for the story and characters. I would say to anyone who enjoyed this video to do a bit of crafting and gathering as well as the Beast Tribe quests... And before you finish Shb if possible. Without getting into spoilers, you'll get to see where certain characters from the past are "today", as well as get a better appreciation for the end of SBH (patches).
Something neat about the /spectacle emotes: It's executed entirely different on every single race AND gender.
So if showing off an emote a lot of people keep missing on isn't cool enough, if you are one of those two female roegadyn in the entire data center, it's extra special!
Glad you found the epilogue quest! It had some very touching moments!
Holy Sh*t that Title Card 0:24 . What a quality production.
Don't know if you've already known this but the Moggle Delivery quest chain in Limsa is also fantastic. I didn't discover it until SB.
The intro is brilliant! The way he incorporated the music, the Phantom thief, the Eorzean alphabet that says Floor Inspector and Preaches silhouette is so cool! Kudos to the editor!
Thank you for talking about this! I actually found this before the hildy quest in Heavensward and it’s so good! Very moving story and love how much it adds to the Heavensward lore.
God, I bloody ADORE the hildibrand questline in all its craziness...
Hearing the likely impending return makes me a very happy miqo'te! :3
Actually, the Heavansward epilogue came out in 3.3 and was unlocked right after you ended the Dragonsong War.
So it's even worse when you just finished the MSQ at that point and immediately went into the epilogue of Heavensward. Breaks your heart into tiny pieces
Still really refreshing hear you talk about this in depth. super excited for Stormblood and onwards. but please keep doing this. Super fun and interesting.
I absolutely LOVED the scholasticate quests! Both the story + the robes you get from them are pretty cool
Glad you are finding (and enjoying) these hidden gems the game has to offer. There are actually a lot of them. Maybe not as in-depth and involved as the Scholisticate Briardien stuff, but they're there to add depth and to add to the underlying struggle of the people in a given area, or the story itself. Usually they're in the form of a "blue quest" that give an aether current for the initial quest, but actually turn into a small chain of quests. My way of thinking is, "if it has a thumbnail or pic on the quest, then it's worth finishing the chain". Of course, there are a few with thumbnails that aren't blue, which are even more fun when you stumble across one.
Happy to hear that you've found this quest chain. More HW-related stuff is always good! There is more small side quests to let you know what the Ishgardians are up to in the Firmament, if you want to check those out (no crafting required).
And you're going to love the Caster role quests in Endwalker; it's even more Ishgardian stuff! ❤️
Amazing intro bit, I loved that!
scholasticate quest is good, I loved loved loved the scholasticate coat and that was my main glam for 2.5 expansions
It's not always a 100% indicator, but generally sidequests with actual storylines will have a special image on the quest giver's summary. So you can follow those to eventually hit up a questline, sometimes long reaching ones. Such as one in a Shadowbringers zone that joins multiple of these marked sidequests together into a finale quest that gives a community favorite minion. They started with this kind of design with HW. There's still more that aren't marked with an image at all unfortunately.
I was doing side quests in Il Mehg because I got tired of having to zoom in to click the aetheryte, and it was a chain of sidequests that eventually opened up a new vendor who sold a unique minion and something else that I can't remember. No indication that this quest was going to unlock something, just a nice surprise after following a side story questline.
@@VaporeonEnjoyer1 More surprinsingly, that questline from Il Mheg gets at least two nods from other sidequests in the Endwalker zones! It's a nice little inside joke that you will only get if you explore that particular part in the game.
It's up to Mike if he wants to do this or not, but I would highly suggest that if he really want more story, and this is especially true for Shadowbringers & Endwalker post-game, is to level a few more jobs, and at least one of each role (Tank, Healer, Melee, Ranged & Caster) that way you get to see even more story bits which in turn also include more hidden quests that you otherwise can't access.
For instance playing through the Scholar quests give you some insights about Tonberries for instance. There's so much hidden lore & story in the game, that even someone who've played for years would struggle to keep up with everything.
I agree but tank is such a struggle for me. :'( One year I will actually get my paladin up!
@@violetbliss4399 Pick something good like DRK or GNB then. Not only do they have better job stories, they're also more fun to play.
@@violetbliss4399 I agree with Astrea! I really struggled with PLD but when I picked up GNB it was like a second skin. If a job is hard to play, try something else :) there are plenty of really well-balanced classes to choose from and you’ll definitely find ones that fit your play style better than others
It's so true that there's a wealth of great, optional content.... Their dungeons, trials, alliance raids and 8-man raids... always fun and challenging.
as i do all side quest clean. its a treat!! when you see them in the future story in msq or another side quest.
as well max level every single class and know their story. also a treat when they comeback at the future in msq or another side quest.
amazing
Great video! Enjoyed your take on it, looking forward to doing it myself as I am quite a bit behind you with the MSQ. Not too bothered with spoilers on this, I'm still going to enjoy doing it myself. Also, didn't notice the missing background music. Mike talking always grabs the attention, it's only if there is silence or longer pauses that I'd notice.
I'd like to add: if you're interested in more of this, Ishgard Restoration and Custom Deliveries on the crafting\gathering side of the table shocked me recently, as many of these deal with minor characters you've encountered throughout the MSQ story.
I hope you've also found the Warring Triad quest series. Those are another set of very good Trials, both Hard and Extreme modes, with a very long reaching plot thread that is still developing. You'll need to find a dude called Torsifers, in The Pillars, with a quest called Gods of Eld. A+ worthwhile.
In every expansion since ARR there are the Trials you get through MSQ and the Trials which are side content. Warring Triad in Heavensward, Four Lords in Stormblood, [spoiler] in Shadowbringers, Yet To Be Announced in Endwalker.
I have to say it is so refreshing to see him so happy, and that he is enjoying the game. I been really enjoying these videos about the journey. :)
Another great hidden quest line you didn't mention here is an old ARR set that starts with The Greatest Story Never Told. Highly recommend checking it out!
Wow that intro really did a great job on mimicking Hilbrand opening, great effort!
That opening is blessing for my day of hardwork. Thank you
Omg that's what that quest is? Man I really need to do that, I always wanted the spectacles emote.
That
Hildibrand screen was amazing!
I love that it says "Floor Inspector" in that Eorzean typeface. With Preach's profile instead of Hildy's.
So genius! Chunky, Preach, and all the others who helped make this vid deserve a round of applause. 👍🏾
This is legit some of my favorite content to watch. I look forward to each and every video. Thank you! Very happy you and enjoying the game!!! Same here :)
I've known about the Scholasticate, the 'hidden' beast tribe quests if you max all their rep, the post moogle quests in ARR, the questline if you do all the role quests in Shadowbringers...but have never gotten around to doing any of them. You have indeed intrigued me to give it a go. Part of it is that they are indeed 'hidden' so to speak. If they were blue plus sidequests I would have done them. I wouldn't be surprised by players who have no idea about these quests. I'm sure they'll do it again somewhere in Endwalker.
LoL the facial expressions is why it had me busting a gut. I would love to see more characters in side quest or even msq with them.
Amazing Manderville Intro, whoever did the editing is talented
Videos such as this one always remind me of the post quests, a normal quest from after ARR. It's not as goofy, but it's a great piece of worldbuilding and I really enjoyed it. They start with the post moogle near the Limsa aetherite plaza.
This game really rewards you for doing the extra content, and one of the best way it rewards you is by acknowledging it in the MSQ content. So it really is a great idea to do as much side stuff as possible, and to take your time and enjoy it. You can only do it once, after all
While it's true for rebuilding efforts (Ishgard's Firmament questline being no longer available as of Endwalker), there's one other questline which isn't added to NG+ as far as I know...
It's a questline after ShB which involves the Hrothgar homeland.
Props to Chunkey. I stumbled across Scholasticate towards the end of SB and I still sing the praises. It is probably my favorite side story in the entire game and I always comment on WoW-refugee videos to go do it asap.
God seeing Mike enjoy ffxiv fills my heart with joy
Although I kind of doubt that anyone from the team will read this, but there is a special kind of side quest that shows up in each zone. If the side quest has an image in the quest acceptance box it is a chain quest that has a bit more effort in it's writing. There is generally a few of these per zone and if you complete them all there's a unifying quest that appears. A few of these are actually pretty good little side stories.
I only did the ones in Lakeland and Il Mheg and they were both fantastic. Learning about how the Voeburt King sacrificed himself and why Titania bears his title, or that wholesome story of getting all these people with survivor's guilt to pick up the pieces of their lives and come together. Its a real shame that so many people say they love the story and miss out on quests like that.
From Stormblood onwards most of the Aether current quests are the start of a story line quest.
So if a NPC gets a sidequest right after his aether current quest, you can remember them if you look for great side stories.
Like the quest from Kurenei in Sui-no-sato you noticed at end of your stream from 15. December 2021.
Loved the CGI and editing of the title. nice one editors
That intro is crisp
Stumbled upon the post-moogle questline while trying to unlock a triple-triad NPC. Was way longer than I'd expected but most of it was very good, revisiting old quest NPCs, and even had a few surprise cameos
There's a little tip many people don't know about side quests. regardless of if it is a MSQ, a blue side quest or a regular gold icon side quest; ANY quest you find that has a picture banner on the quest accept window is a quest of significance. For instance, every expac map has at least one of these quests, and when you complete these certain quests in each map, it unlocks another special exapc specific questline. There's more worth mentioning, but the general rule is if you see a picture on the quest window, pick it up...it'll be worth the time.
I LOVE how Preach is able to do everything and is enjoying it
One thing I noticed after switching my race a couple times: the Hildibrand quests work amazingly well with a Lala character. They're so expressive and their emotes are so over the top that is meshes very well with the goofiness of Hildibrand.
That opening is gold. GG Preach !
You also run into Inspector Brian (haha) when you do the Firmament questline. I loved joking with him and appreciate the devs bringing him back during our visits to Ishgard.
I don't remember how I first saw Hildibrand, but I'm pretty sure the friend who got me into the game back in ARR showed me the cutscene where you first meet Godbert. I knew I had to do the quests after seeing that cinematic masterpiece.
Since doing the Hildebrand story line in heavensward and getting Gigi, I've taken him everywhere. Got to show the wee guy the whole of Eorzia and beyond! Love that little guy.
From Heavensward on, the sidequests have become increasingly pertinent to the story and the atmosphere, and though there may be 'fetch quests' mixed in, there's a lot of them that are touching stories in and of themselves. I'd highly recommend doing them on an alt job and enjoying them for what little stories many of them are.
Return of the best boi. But do I mean Preach or Hildy?
Yes.
im so glad you are doing the super optional content because there are actual pay offs in Endwalker from doing Job quests, Raids and everything and to see some others just only do mainline makes me sad that you are missing apart of what makes FF14 story so great. Even something like aether currents questlines are done so well that my mind blends them into the msq because they are actually impactful to the areas youve been in and build the world/zone. One of my favourite things is the Ishgard restoration and the custom delivery which are quests addressing thing of the MSQ that you wished they did. like The true impact of the ending of the 100 year war and characters story of minor minor characters
Hahaha the intro had me crying! Literally perfect xD
There is a quest in this vein in ARR. I don't remember where it starts off hand, but the post moogles need help delivering some mail to a few of your old friends...
Makes me wonder, has Preach found the Magic Pot yet?
It sells a couple of unique minions
There's also the baby bat minion, the seller is also kinda hidden
Side quests are one thing, random stuff in the map with no marker is another (like literally hidden)
In my experience most people who've found the Magic Pot are fishers or at least were fishers before ocean fishing made leveling fast and easy, because there's a fishing hole right next to the NPC in a place with nearly zero reason to visit.
After stalling out on the MSQ raid I've been casually doing side quests and it's actually been really fun leisurely learning lots of lore bits that I didn't know I'd been missing all this time. I'll have to check out some of this, didn't know it had such cool rewards attached.
A little hint, if you find a side quest that has a picture in the quest box, it usually has events that will tell even more of the overall story of Eorzea.
The moogle delivery questline is also really good and lays a lot of ARR character lore on the table, especially in the early quests. It is a longer questline, but there are some pretty cool rewards.
I did't know there were Hildibrand spin-off quests! something to keep in mind i guess :)
And take your time with this game, so much to see and do :)
I really liked that Ishgard questline with Briardien. Though I also ploughed through MSQ, I did come back eventually to do all sidequests. It was totally worth it :)
Awesome opening! Love your content Preacher! You are a wonderful discovery for me as a FFXIV player.
0:50
*sees a queue of 716*
*Cries in a queue of 5k+*
I accidently found this quest line because I was trying to find the Scholastic set you get for completeing it, and I was laughing so hard at the, "Wait... what are you doing here" look you and Brian have with each other, like he didn't expect anyone to be interested in his side quest.
I loved how in the Hildebrand Heavensward questline Godbrand lost a piece of clothing every single cutscene until he was naked again once you reached the ice cold wastes of Coerthas. I noticed that's what they were doing literally straight away though, because it's exactly what I would have done for a character like that lol.
All those little moments where NPCs from past side quests show up in others or even the MSQ then acknowledge your prior meeting/involvement really make doing everything feel worthwhile.
I'd recommend doing the raid tiers for each expansion. They have their own storyline too which is an interesting, self contained narrative.
30 seconds into this video, I just wanted to comment to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE INTRO!!
I'm 480 hours in now, and I'm still in ARR working on the last steps of my Zodiac weapon. I've had a lot of people on my journey that took the time to help a stranger out. It reminds me a bit of the wow vanilla days, and I hope I can return the favour someday.
Godbert is definitely the strongest character in FFXIV, stronger than Zodiark, Hydaelyn and the worrior of light.
It is so because his wife allows it.
@@comraddisc2783 that was good hahaha
I remember actually thinking at one point realising how strong he is and wondering it wasn't him out saving the world. But the people at SE realised that too and actually go to the trouble of explaining it.. Despite this being essentially a joke questline
There are times I'm convinced he's the Summoner's LB4.
@@comraddisc2783 lol was going to say something on that line if ya seen the end of the hildibrand quest line in heavensward. She makes godbert look like a puppy.
Being the first expansion, Heavensward has a lot of legacy that is still lingering till today as you can see. Whenever Preach levels a crafter/gatherer, I sincerely recommend the Firmament questline. First quest is Towards the Firmament in Ishgard. The rest I will leave Preach to find out :D not too much a hidden gem because it is famous among disciples of hand/land for levelling. This questline is AMAZING and worth researching, especially on its actual progression when it was released back in Shadowbringers
I did the Scholasticate back when I went through Heavensward myself. It surprises me that so many don't know of it.
Though I've done virtually every quest in the game at this point. Just missing some relic ones mainly.
Hildy was around before realm reborn oringally. We had hildy for so long in orignal 1.0. Its just a fun story all I can say lol. One part SE did well : ) Can't wait to see more in the future!!
Great take!
Love the shirt btw, I have one too. Vaati's great. Can't wait for Elden Ring.
I ended up doing the Epilogue quest the other day because I was trying to unlock triple triad matches, wasn't expecting the feels trip to go along with it
Yo but that opening edit was very well done 👍🏻
MR. Preacher please level dark knight and do the job quests, it is one of the best quest lines in the entire game.
So, I did Hildy before finishing HW and if there is one thing that I learned- Never trust people over sixty!... Makes the whole ending sus when dealing with the preacher.
That intro was amazing! xD
The only side quest left for me is in Shb and EW. Haven't got time for them, really. Busy with making cookies b4 EW, now busy with making cookies for EW since I specialise in Cul. XD ARR, HW, SB... I've done them all. Mike have just nailed it. Nice... I love the side stories, it adds so much flavour to the game
I've only started watching Preach since he joined FFXIV, but I watched his videos reacting to some Trials and trying to figure out what was happening.
Suffice it to say, my impression of him was 'This is a no-nonsense, high-end WoW raider that will prioritise the gameplay over the narrative (which is valid!)'
Watching him get drunk and attend a RP party, enjoy the Hildibrand quests, fuck around in the Gold Saucer etc has been delightful.
Hildybrand quest line starts in Ul'dah. For those who want to start it.
That intro is AMAZING!
Lmao Preach that intro was great 👍👌