Can't express how much I love this fight. It feels like after all the time being savior across the world, now is the rare time where you're allowed to be 'selfish', to simply enjoy the fight with the only person equal to you in combat. Truly an end fitting two person know only fight as method to find their life purpose.
Agree on the context. That was the rare moment the Warrior of Light can be themselves; no obstacles, roadblocks and troubles holding down. Just someone whom can go all out above their limits.
Oh dude it feels so good to finally go into endwalker territory on youtube. Pick the same option, it felt sooooo good, the fight was awesome and the music at background... Im glad Zenos wasnt in a dungeon, im glad he wasnt a trial (was thinking that), im very glad that we have a selfish fight with him, fight until our heart content andi dont have words for how good it was.
It almost feels like..A fourth wall break in a good way. Like we can finally be our character again not the warrior of light. We started out the game as our character who was just a adventurer looking for strenght, and loot, and then had to become the warrior of light and ever since its been we had to fight for others not because we wanted to, Our character slowly started to become not our character, and this in the final moment we got control back to have our character be ours again.
The conversations before and after this fight made me realize what Zenos is, narratively. He's us if we never had limits to break. We started from nothing, an average adventurer who constantly exceeded every challenge put in front of them, growing stronger and stronger. Meanwhile, Zenos was born into royalty, and was already absurdly strong even before the resonance. His limits were so high that nothing could push them, no matter how much he wanted it to, and that turned him into the apathetic bloodlusted monster we met in Stormblood. Until the day we challenged him, and he finally encountered a challenge for the first time in his life. Of course he latched onto us the way he did. But after his revival, he just couldn't figure out how to capture that feeling again. He didn't understand why we wouldn't fight him just to fight him. He couldn't understand why we prioritized things he viewed as trifling, because he'd never had to. It was only after Alisaie spoke to him in Garlemald that he finally figured it out. He wouldn't be able to draw us out by enraging us, or by creating greater threats. Even when he was the greatest threat to Eorzea, he still couldn't get us to give him the fight he wanted. So instead of antagonizing us, he realized there would need to be no obligations left for us. That, and he wouldn't be able to force us into it. So, now that he had started to understand, he came to our aid, helped us finish our obligations, then challenged us, not as a villain, but as a rival, the friend he always thought he was to us. And he finally got his wish.
And as if that wasn't enough, talking to Urianger for a second time in the scene where the scions say their goodbyes, it hints that the teleporter may have appeared out of nowhere because Zenos wished for you to live on, using the dynamis to let you escape. We gave him his wish. he didn't need his friend to die with him, he was already satisfied.
I can’t believe I’m quoting death battle, but: What happens when you put up a man who’s designed to break all limits, against someone who has no limits? Only one has limits to break at all.
This was actually called or hinted at relatively early on. Back when Cirinia met the Wol when the Ilsabard Contigent was formed. She told her that her grandmother had a vision of two figures fighting it out among the stars and one of them was the Wol.
@@zoruasnivy I think it’s probably meant to be Meteion’s dead sun (the one she collected the souls of the universe together in to prevent them from ever being reborn/reincarnated) and that’s where both Endsinger and Zenos are fought.
@@maostreams1949 the vision specifically discussed a black sun, and I am saying that likely references the location more than anything else, and said location is where both Meteion and Zenos are fought.
Yeah, I feel like they improved how you interact with the story on purpose now, for easier implementation in later post-patch/future expansions. It definitely felt like they knew they had to stop using their old way of going through MSQ, cause if they did it for EW, I don't think it would of hit as well as it did.
it started in Shadowbringers; a lot more dialogue options to make you actually feel like a part of the story, and the WoL plays a significant role that couldn't be filled by anyone else. i felt like the WoL being more important really increased my engagement with the story
This entire sequence put a big dumb grin on my face. Especially if you choose "That, I can't deny" and your character gives that little grin. But one of my favorite parts of Zenos' inclusion in the climax is when he rips a hole in space, greets you at the edge of creation, stares down the creature bringing ruin to everything, and asks you why it's not dead yet. Because in his eyes, even something with that strength is par for the course, for his only friend.
I LOVED that little grin so much. In my head, my WoL is a bit of a thrillseeker and she did some fucked up stuff to get where she is now. She does lust for the adrenaline burning in her veins. So casting off the mantle of being the radiant hero that everyone depends on and just FIGHT, was glorious catharsis.
@@ExceedProduction yeah i've always seen my character as "seeking ever greater foes" and always loved Zenos because he was pretty much the same as how i saw my character and this was perfect way to "end" that arc atleast for now
And also, after you save your whole fucking universe with big thanks to him.... you can't help but enjoy it. You've done it, your people are safe. It doesn't even matter if you die here, it's gonna be one hell of an awesome fight to go out on. It feels like the ultimate expression of facing suffering and having fun regardless.
I kinda hope SE keeps track of what players choose... Zenos had a ... "mixed" reception on Stormblood and until recently, especially now, are people understanding that Zenos is... like us. And surely his popularity, or at least reception, has improved.
Basically the best comment lmao. Zenos is def that weird furry bunny boy that random asks to ERP haha. But also in honesty I like how they ended his story. But also tbh they will prolly bring sephi….err Zenos back lol
It honestly makes me think they've taken on a bit of Venat's personality in battle, like they've finally excepted that they enjoy the fight more than the resolution at times.
If you the DRK role quests, it’s clear that WoL enjoys fighting, but for the sake of challenging themselves. In that sense, they are like Zenos. But unlike Zenos, the WoL does put others before themselves, so it’s not a side we get to see often. That smile, to me, is completely in character with the WoL. I love it. EDIT: Just to add, in my personal experience, the first battle against Zenos back in SB was the first time I found a fight perfectly challenging yet fair. It took me all of my skill and experience to get through it, but not once did it feel hopeless or impossible. It was the reason why I started to like Zenos. And it is why I don’t consider the final fights against him in SB as true rematches.
It's true though. Sure, we want to help others and save the world, an we are certainly more empathetic than Zenos. But every time I am a trial, dungeon or raid I crave for more
@@lostmarbles2499 I still don't know what I'm supposed to do there, I just move 100 yalms away from him and that's it. Also this duty is broken with SMN sustain. I would have probably lost multiple lives without SMN
I play WHM and am not too good at AOE in the first place. The first time I fought him, I actually lost. Just needed a couple more hits, it was very close. Did it the second try :) It should be fine if you start running as soon as he starts saying “A test”, and also “Mine”. The latter got me the most, tbh
Zenos' monologue at the end was suspiciously meta. "Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure." It's crazy when you think about it. We as players did exactly that to our characters. Brought them into existence, named them; All for the adventures. In a way, we are our characters' guardian angel; Constantly watching over them and making sure we see them through to the end. This was the perfect conclusion to the Saga and it even further solidified this game as the GOAT for me.
I think it went over everyones head that these lines weren't that of Zeno's character per se. But the developers talking directly to the players of 10 years. "We fixed our shit! Are you not entertained!? Do you not enjoy the challenge?!" [ 90% of players click option 1 rapidly ]
It's an amazing line that both calls out to the warrior of light and the player. I'm not going to call it a 4th wall break, I think it's better than a 4th wall. 4th wall is just a callout to the player, but it's usually jarring in that it breaks the storyline. This doesn't. This addresses both the warrior of light AND player at the same time, but it's correct.....adventurer.
Personally I have always felt that Azem of the past is just us, the player. Why wouldn't we be watching over a little part of ourselves that we pour our heart and soul into? We even have the power to summon allies with the party menu and duty finder.
@@zoruasnivy Azem is us rather WE were/are the individual known as and the seat of Azem. The shard we use to summon is the other fragments of ourselves in the remaining shards of the sundered world. So in short, when you see the raid happen in story mode and that design is on the ground? That's the power of your true self becoming a full blooded and full powered Amurotine taking on a otherwise impossible task. All this was revealed in the climax of the Shadowbringer's story line. Now that the whole story is complete with the past and we know of the world's origin and saved it we may not get to know more about our past selves as Azem, our relationship to Venat as her successor (she was the original Azem before retiring it to us). What we do know is that we sided with the hydaelyn fraction during the conflict when the convocation of the 14 split.
Choosing the “That, I can’t deny” dialogue option, and then playing as Dark Knight for our final battle, was the most satisfying thing ever. Oh to be able to experience this for the first time again.
Dude I relate to this so hard, right down to the same job and choosing the same option. I had a big hyped grin on my face the whole time and I actually screamed when I got to that fist fight, they could not have ended this any more perfectly
@@juubi249 YES!! When we both threw down our weapons to just punch the shit out of each other I was literally jumping up and down yelling “LETS GOOOOOO!” At my computer 😂
Hilarious when youre whm, because in the end, despite being healer, you just drop the cane and bash his face in with your fists. The healer.has.had.ENOUGH- He woke up and chose VIOLENCE :'D
From everything I hear about Healers, they start out shy and happy but as they go through the game, they become annoyed and cynical every time they have to heal something that could have been preventable.
I'm samurai but I absolutely love the idea of magic-using jobs like scholar and white mage throwing down their spell books and wands and just fucking decking Zenos in the face. Truly, in that final moment we were monks. One and all.
I went from liking Zenos in Stormblood, to "oh god he's seriously back?" when the revival reveal came about, and then felt a bit cynical about his inclusion as a villain in Endwalker. Then we go a whole expansion without fighting him, all the while he's slowly reflecting by himself on his life in a way I didn't expect. And to end it off with THIS? Probably the best solo duty in the game? THIS is what I always wanted Zenos to be like, and I love that Ishikawa managed to get him an arc all his own. I loved how he even raised a valid point: the WoL is a hero, but they're also an adventurer who, though sometimes secretly or subtly, loves finding new and tougher enemies to challenge themselves against. Which itself agrees with the whole MMO mentality of taking on tougher bosses for better gear or even just to say you did. I can't think of ANY better "victory lap" finale for this game.
Zenos made me realise that deep down, we really were the same. There are lots of ways to help people, we chose to help in a way we enjoy, and there's no shame in that, nor in Zenos' desire. Our character went through their own bit of development here by admitting this and accepting the challenge.
God, I love the "That, I can't deny" option. The excited, confident smirk the Warrior of Light does... Zenos is absolutely right, the WoL - and by extension, the player - loves challenging fights and is itching to kick his ass.
*WoL:* I just got a new pair of boots... *Zenos:* And how is that importan- *WoL:* That will look PERFECT with the blood from your annoying FACE covering them~ *Zenos:* (squeals like a fangirl)
Of all times to use the trailer music, this is the most fitting, this isn’t the boss fight of endwalker, this is the boss fight of your whole journey thus far, so the medley of all your experiences is perfect
Literally the most perfect sendoff to Zenos' character possible. My head is still spinning from it. His fans must be so happy. Like I can't even put into words how excellent this is for these two. Just a duel on the edge of existence, both being the strongest of the world, nothing held back, both going miles upon miles beyond their limits just to try and win. One of the best duels in gaming.
As a Zenos fan since I saw him on screen at Stormblood, I can confirm this, this scene felt like opening your best present on christmas. I was getting worried they wouldn't resolve things with Zenos either too considering what had happened in the scenes before, but I'm so glad they did it this way. The perfect ending for our battle starved rival.
As another Zenos fan I was half disappointed half excited because I was expecting a fight on the scale of the final trial. But the more time passes the happier I get and now I love the whole thing. But personally I don't think he's dead nor that our interactions with him are over. The whole red vs blue, both of us possibly using Dynamis in our fight, his inability to answer the question of being satisfied with his life. I don't know in what manner, but I think he'll be back. But it will definitely won't happen for a long while. Several expansions at least.
@@TokyoMystify I myself would love to see him in the alliance raids or Raid quests just to show up and continue to "bother" us some, maybe joins us in the alliance raids because he's just as hungry as we are to fight new stronger enemies.
Zenos changed the way I think about my own Warrior of Light. I took it for granted that he was doing it for his friends, for hope and for the future. I was ready to tell him to buzz off, but when he made his monologue about the thrill of the fight, and he ended it with "adventurer", I couldn't do anything else but agree with him. Of course I did it all for everyone I care about, but I also do it for the challenge, the pleasure of the thrill to fight life-ending foes. At that moment, he was simply right. And in acknowledging he was right, I acknowledged his existence. I gave him legitimacy to his quest for his life or death pleasure pursuit. I know it's sick, and my Warrior of Light couldn't be more different from Zenos, but on that singular point, he was right, and I had to acknowledge how his words rang true, and I felt like it was the only answer I could give him. Just amazing writing. They didn't try to make Zenos someone deeper or more developed, they made him do what someone like Zenos can only do, and he played his part to perfection. In the end, I will miss him.
It’s hard to write a character like this guy in any type of story actually. You need to understand him or how these ppl approach things. Most of ppl like this isn’t rare but they don’t usually say anything about their past life and only look to the future of what they pursuit. Can’t be a villain nor a hero, just o someone with a bad habit of chasing something they know they can’t find it but always do. The more you understand about Zenos, the better you understand the situation. That’s said I saw quite amount of ppl don’t get his words or his actions because he never really has anything interested except the thrill. Alcoholic might be easier to write a character like this in a dense storytelling for him to be compelling. Only execution is the way to put him into the plot because he has always outside of the story narrative of the game for the whole Saga since ARR
Talking about changing the way you think about your WoL, I think it was partway through SB that I decided that my WoL was fairly competitive. But once ShB started, and all throughout EW, there hadn’t really been any dialogue options to express it, or if there were they came at the expense of more meaningful lines. So for me, Zenos’s challenge was like reawakening that part of my character, now that there was no more primals, no more reflections to save, no more Final Days, she could just indulge in combat for combat’s sake.
When I read the option for "That, I can't deny" I smirked, clicked it, and watched my character reflect me IRL. Little things like that show why these writers will always transcend others.
Honestly I had to give him the "That, I can't deny" line because he read me like a book. whooping. I was still in the camp of zenos ain't worth this fight and then he gave the whole reason I was here. to give the hands to gods finding out the story was amazing was an added bonus so when he said I was here to test my mettle... I was like damn it he earned this ass whoopin.
We may have met as enemies, but left with a perfect understand of one another. Rest well, Zenos. You finally met your match. I hope it was everything you hoped it would be.
this was such a sick way to end it, especially seeing him use so many iconic attacks like akh morn and diamond dust. perfect way to relieve such a serious and somber end zone. I really hope they turn this into an EX trial some day like they did with memoria miserae
"The power to transcend" that's what Zenos said in Stormblood. To transcend the pressure of his social status, as the Crown Prince and all the fakeness and hypocrisy of the power. To transcend his identity as a citizen of Garlemald, that cold, opressing and depressing nation. He wanted a "spiritual experience", an ego death, to be simply himself in a pure and raw form, by fighting people who can kill him. Unfortunately, only the Warrior of Light is strong enough to do so. To fight his depression, he knew that the best way is to suffer, to feel it, accept it. You never feel so alive than when You are close to death, when You suffer. Many people start to value life only when they are on the brink of death. His despair was so strong, that the only way was for him to deal it through violence. That's How he is dealing the suffering that Venat gave to mankind. It is the wrong way, it is evil, but he never justifies his evilness. Alisae understood his power, and how it can be used for the greater good, and so at the end, he helped us to save the world.
The thing I liked about Zenos was that he was never evil for the sake of being evil, or for some deep motive. It was never born out of some ingrained maliciousness. Yes, he's twisted and warped, but he essentially told us in Garlemald, all he's trying to do is feel meaning in his life, and literally the only thing that has even remotely done that at all...is us.
I think that in a very meta sense, zenos is a perfect final battle. In a game where most players and WOL find fun in the little things like fashion, side-jobs and of course saving the day from time to time w/allies and friends, Zenos is like that one guy who just rushes to the endgame while getting the biggest numbers possible, in the end all he has left is a void that can only be filled (for a few moments) by fighting whatever the strongest thing is at the time. Of course, even the WOL admits that they seek challenge as well, so imo its very fitting that both zenos and the player get a little moment to just go all out and try to give each other some sort of closure or catharsis.
Is that a bad thing? Maybe I'm biased because I am that player, a high end raider who rushes the story so I can get to raid and get the full rotation (I do care about it though, I go back with NG+ or just look it up on RUclips.) I loved this scene because I've always wanted to fight Zenos anyways and I'm also like him, I want to face difficult challenges. I uh....wouldn't say I feel hollow at all when I'm not raiding, feels perfectly fine, I just go play other games and stuff.
How lala tiny arms reach zenos........and in the mid air you see wol lala grinning and started making a fist large up like luffy in one piece 😄 and see zenos shocked face wtf 😳 lol
I love the responses when Zenos speaks to you because they personally reflect how you see the warrior of light. They also reflect on how you the player see Zenos If you like Zenos, You agree with what he says because he is you, the player, constantly seeking challenge and strength and greater heights. If you are in the middle road with Zenos, You still put a wall between yourself and Zenos, using the title of Hero to separate yourself from being associated with a monster like him If you hate Zenos, He accepts your hatred because to him, he doesn't mind if you understand/hate him. He just wants to fight you and is happy to see you just be yourself. Honestly just smart writing there
Right?? I also love how he requests for the WoL to momentarily drop the hero mantle and respond as simply you. We are at the edge of the universe and it’s just us, if you can’t be honest here then where. We had to fight him like this
@@kypr5545 Still my favourite moment of Endwalker right there. Zenos the whole way was just good. He was going to be another big bad but when that was ripped away from him what did he have left? Us. To me, Endwalker is the definition of Understanding. Understanding the reasons of our fellow men, what drives them and why they choose to make certain actions. Just simply good writing all around when you pay attention and just embrace the story
@@kypr5545 100% Honesty saying I don't care what he thinks of me then switching to Samurai just to make the fight more fun. Lol he knew what was up. He's right but I just don't care for him and don't want him coming back. At least I finally got a mostly no BS fight against him.
It's so interesting that in Zenos' last act in life, he challenges you to a duel to the death for no other reason than to be "pushed to his limit or exceed it"... one last time. In the end, as his last act... after he gets everything he wants... it was important to him to save your life (according to Urianger - it was Zenos that allowed them to find you). Says so much about him. He was a victim of his circumstances - his birthright and natural prowess. Everything was handed to him and everything else he cared about came so natural to him, such as combat skill, he never learned to empathize. He never actually understood "drive" or "ambition" before meeting the player. Our first victory over him inspired him for the first time. The last victory over him made him grow as a person. In that final fleeting moment, dying as we were - he learned empathy... and did the first kind act of his entire life. Really understated, beautiful character development here.
When those options pop up, there is only one that any player could truly choose. "That I can't deny." It was a beautiful moment that had me grinning from ear to ear and frightening my roommate when I yelled out, "Let's fucking go!" That new SAM draw animation was perfect as you use the weapon he left behind.
i dont know if it makes you a lesser player, but it definitely makes you lame and stuck up as a person LOL. Imagine unironically hating a fictional video game character and seriously wanting them to die so much that you cant just roll with the cool factor of option 1
Zenos really is a tragic character. The only time he could really experience joy or happiness was when he was with an equal in combat, and that's why he sought it out with such zeal. He was alone, even when surrounded by people. The only person who brought him joy was "his friend" (ie the PC). There's such melancholy in that final speech of his, like he finally realizes that really was all he had. It was a good closing to his story. And actually makes me feel bad for him.
Perfect send off for him, and I loved finally getting to accept the duel, no one to get in the way, able to drop the stoic hero part, just two nutjobs at the end of the world
3:01 is the moment that excited me like nothing previously did. the change in my character's facial expression to that shameless smirk that would never appear in front of anyone else. the way the music kicks in with you finally admitting who you truly are deep down. the moment of truth.
When he called me adventurer I popped off because I made it my headcanon that my girl really missed the adventurer lifestyle but nobody would ever understand that
afterFight Zenos was like: "close your eyes bro" "what do you see?" * appears some pictures but in gray* "thats they world without you bro" "live on bro"
This was straight up the best thing in the whole game imo. The dialogue option where you admit that you really do just wanna fight for the hell of it feels like the perfect thing that my character would do, especially that damn smirk. The music kicks in at the perfect time and the whole fight just feels perfect. I feel like i'm gonna wanna replay that fight a million times over, it better become an EX or something.
It'll surely be in New Game +, but that's a super cumbersome way to go back to it. I really think it could be better served, like you said, to make a harder rematch that you solo queue for. Sort of like a Savage/Ultimate training ground for a single player. I guess the WoW equivalent would be the Mage Tower.
I know that eerie, sad, and weirdly calming feeling of being "left behind" in place "void of life" with sunset rays around. The still frames of this final fight with Zenos sends shivers in me... It beautiful
This fight felt like MGS4 Ocelot final fight. Long time since I last felt like that. Also the climbing of the crystal path with the music kicking in, like snake eater the ladder climbing. Never thought i would feel like that through gaming again. Also the Music switching from all the episodes same as ocelot fight :D
This fight had some particularly great moments for me as a Summoner, especially one moment when he casted Hellfire right as I summoned ifrit and both of their attacks came out at the same time.
Yeah I did it as Summoner too. At one point, the moment I summon Bahamut, he casts Akh Morn and we were just lazering each other mindlessly. The best shit ever.
My favourite part is that during this battle where we are breaking our limits far more than ever before thanks to all the dynamis, we have this song representing our entire journey, our theme, to show where our strength and resolve come from. "The flame of your life is spent, and yet you find the strength to stand." Zenos literally kills us. But after all we've seen and done, after how far we've come, we simply refuse to die.
I feel like Zenos became, well at least to me, an opposite of our character who understood ourselves more than we did as he called us an adventurer, and he wasn't wrong when he said that we have no "true" opponent and there is a void for us being selfish a fight we WANT to have not NEED to have and at the very end when Zenos came in clutch and explained himself it just made me realize, sure he was doing bad things, but he wasn't a big enough threat for you and deep down he knew that. The whole end sequence was just so fucking cool.
And no matter what anyone says, he's right. He literally described why we play video games. To go from fight to fight, challenge to challenge, hoping that THIS one is going to be the one that finally satisfies our hunger. But they never do. Because whenever we finish a challenge, we're always off searching for the next one. Fucking brilliant. I never hated on Zenos. I was just "waiting". I didn't know for what, but this was it.
The main idea of this encounter, that we look past titles and heroics and see ourselves for who we really are, what we really want? It’s the perfect culmination of the Dark Knight storyline. It’s almost like the same person wrote it or something. I’m different from Zenos. I’m not willing to hurt innocents in order to bait out someone tough. But I, more importantly my character, will always be the first to bat against whatever world threatening event is next. And do I enjoy it? _Oh yeah_ I do. Cmon Zenos. Right here, right now, no one to get in the way. I don’t care about “denying satisfaction” anymore. I just want to fight you. He’s absolutely right here.
Ain't nobody gonna choose any other choice. "That, I can't deny" and that smirk fits so well. After all your titles,as hero and champion and even as an adventurer, you ate like him. A thrillseeker. Not to the extent of his obsessiveness, but still all the true and you accept it here at the edge of the universe. I like this so much because all of the other fight canonically is about duty mostly, this was purely *pleasure* . Something that's only given to you by two other in whole world: Rowena and the Wandering Minstrel.
As an absolute goodie two-shoes healer main who avoids extremes and above like the plague - this did not ring true to me nor for my WoL xD I still felt kinda bad for basically going 'dude, you're projecting like a beamer, can we stop this I got places to be'. I didn't want to leave him behind.
@@Graficcha Haha, same :) I picked the second option :) I never cared about pushing to the limit, I’m not too good at base game content as it is. Went to the final dungeon in Trust and actually *ran out of time* , I just couldn’t figure out the second boss. In that one part with the constant AOE and the marker, I kept running into the other NPCs, overlapping and failing the fight. It took me way too many tries before I realized I must not run forward in a circle, but move to the safe spot, and then move back. So… Or that one part with the body swap. It was testing the limits alright. Limits of my patience. Put it on “very easy” immediately and tried so hard to figure out what to do. Eventually just opened a guide. So, yeah. Thrill of adventure and pushing the limits? Not really. I’m here for the story. I’m here to be the hero.
I picked the “I had enough of you” line just cause of the blue balling right before the 83 trial. It gets him even more hyped up cause he says “OH FINALLY MUSTERED THE WILL TO KILL ME”, was just as satisfying.
@@kylele23 I picked this option too but it's because it's 4am when I'm playing this and this guy keeps picking a fight with me 😂 I end up dying 3 times because I'm very tired and keep getting hit by his AoE. But u can't die in this duty so my character just drop to 1 HP then healed up again
@@Dahorn They gave you 6 stacks of “get revived” buff :) I happened to run out of those on my first try, though. Besides, two of those are unavoidable scripted deaths.
First in Shadowbringers theme when Ardbert helps us against Emet, then to the edge when we use Azem's crystal for the first time, now this. ITS SOO FUCKING GOOOD.
God, what a perfect capstone to everything this fight is. Two people who are not all that dissimilar, drawn together at last, with nothing left to do, nothing left to want to do except enjoy the hardest fight they can possibly have. 'That, I can't deny.' is absolutely perfect, and Zenos' joy at your acceptance is equally perfect. And the music... man.
Zenos is a real banger villain to round out the line-up. We had the complex type with deep backgrounds and the antagonistic type that does the same thing as you just with a conflicting goal. So having this character, bored of trivialities and life in general, who then seeks out pleasure and the feeling of being alive in the rawest form, just a thrill seeker through and through, is great to contrast the others. He's just very likeable in a weird way. Especially in the end, you can tell that he really respects your character and just wants his contest of power, to burn out with a bang.
This is by far my favourite fight, and very closely favourite character arc in the entirety of Final Fantasy XIV, which is saying something. Zenos is everything that a "foil" trope character should be: he mirrors the WoL in each and every way, effectively being the same in desire, yet profoundly different in motivation. Zenos IS the Warrior of Light, if we didn't have any compass or purpose. He IS everything the WoL already is, but released from any inhibitions or restrictions: he is us, without our friends, without our morality. But what makes him so great to me is that while he is all of that, he is something more, something that is spectacularly hard to do, so much so that I've only see it done properly ONCE before in my gaming lifetime: in Far Cry 3 (and maybe to some extent Spec Ops The Line, but in vastly different ways). What these two games have done is bridge the connection between US, the player, the one behind the screen, and the character within the universe, to the point of nigh indistinctiveness. And in FFXIV, it is Zenos who bridges that gap: the speech here isn't just for the Warrior of Light. His speech is meant for you, the player. Because Zenos is right. He's always BEEN right: The WoL IS, in a way, unhinged: always seeking greater foes, for no reason but the challenge, no matter our morality and desire to help. Always "dancing closer to the precipice", "hoping the next fight will finally fill the void", irrespective of the motivation to spare, to save, and to help, all of which drive us and exist. But they will never fulfil us,, because that is who WE are, as the player: an insatiable, never ending glutton for novelty, challenge, and experience. We will always want more, because that's who WE are... but that's exactly what makes the Warrior of Light our reflection just as much as Zenos does. "Hear me, then. Not as a hero, but simply... you." We heard you, Zenos. In your last moments, when we were finally free of our duties and weight, we finally had a moment to simply be... ourselves. To no longer be a hero, or an adventurer, or even simply a player. For the first time, we could well and truly enjoy being the CHARACTER that is the Warrior of Light, merging what we have as a player with the journey and strength of our character. And Zenos is the one who gave us that opportunity, that realization. And that is why I will never select any other dialogue option other than "That, I can't deny". Zenos may have committed inexcusable atrocities, but in the end... he took the effort to understand us. And at long last, acceptance is the least we can give to repay him for that.
I so mad for anytime Zenos showed up after he was resurrected. I begged and pleaded to let his return have *something* significantly different than before, for him to be some specific soul or to surprise us as someone else entirely. I was so afraid of them bringing back a previous villain and recycling it. Each time Zenos showed up, I felt annoyed and rolled my eyes. Like PLEASE. Nobody CARES Zenos. I was relieved when the Scions and WoL acted the way I felt and chose to ignore him where possible. Then he shows up at the end. Of course he would follow me to the edge of the universe just for a chance to fight me. I rolled my eyes, okay, the dialogue was good and it felt amazing running to jump on the dragon’s back without hesitation. Then this scene started. Rolling my eyes I went along with it. But then this line was said, and this dialogue option was available. Any other time I would’ve chose another option. But I smirked, and knew I couldn’t deny him a good fight. I enjoyed this battle, and some of the most amazing cutscenes in the game.
"that I can't deny" jesus christ I was afraid only I picked it the moment theme song start it I got suddenly explosion of hype and adrenaline! beating Zenos again and again and again and those final punches were amazing
I legit got emotional when he said "Acceptance. At long last.". I'm a sucker for battle maniacs but it always felt like I wasn't allowed to give him what he wanted, which is exactly what I wanted. An all out battle to the death. The joy in his words when I was finally allowed to say what I wanted mirrored my own lol That combined with the music and I was tearing up in happiness during the whole thing. This to me also shows that Zeno's isn't inherently evil. He's almost like a child in his single mindedness
@@LontEnCaras I just wanted him to shut up allrdy, fight me and then after, join the scions so we could train every day together :D. Shame he died XD Whimp
I know. He is so fucking cool and I'm so sad he is potentially gone... Don't know if you finished endwalker but if they brought back EMET in spirit to make a cameo in this game, don't know how Zenos spirit can't be roaming around in the sea of stars of now.
@@HawkinaBox Honestly im kinda sad hes gone, I actually kinda want Zenos to be the WoL's long term rival, it'd be awesome if he grew into something of an anti-hero while still having his singular obsession with surpassing you one day.
I also like that before fighting him you have a instance to change your job and reset yourself. My head canon: I went as Paladin in Final day duty, defeat Endsinger. Now I exhausted almost all my aether and weak, but pull myself back and throw away shield and sword because I don't need to protect nobody anymore. Took out my gunblade and loaded it up to fight Zenos this last time
As much as I like the “That, I can’t deny” option, the 3rd option is the one I chose. And it seemed to make him even more excited. “Oh ho finally mustered up the will to kill me?”
That one was decent as well, but option 1 is just perfect for the 4th wall breaking going on there. Yeah, we as players do just fight for the hell of it. That's what we do.
The performance from Luke Allen-Gale in the monologue after the fight is incredible, we can feel the weight of emotions on each word and all that he has gone through and felt in his life, the loneliness, the sadness and also the joy, he speaks with an open heart and you can feel it, brillant
Zenos barging in to some weird dimension (having travelled all there by himself) and casually looking at the harbinger of despair and ask ‘Why isn’t this … thing … dead yet?’ I thought to myself before this duty that ‘Yeah, I’ll give him his fight now’
This whole scene and fight made me love Zenos. There is just something about him. I hope he returns. If he can somehow recover from his wounds he should still be a dragon-thing no? So at least he can breath in space and perhaps fly back home to Eorzea to see us again
Should he have survive this, he is in a space with a big potential to manipulatethe dynamix, I think he will find a way to get back to us if he likes :)
I love how with those 3 simple answers you can see each player personal relationship with Zenos. The first option is for those of us that, deep down, understand his bloodlust, because... well... we are playing a game with a lot of combat, and we love combat, lets be sincere here, our only difference with Zenos (outside of FABOLOUS hair) is that we care about the world and the people, while he doesn't give a single fuck. The second option is for those that really dont understand the guy and dont care that much about him, but know that he must be stopped now or he will become a problem later. The third option is for those, like Shenpai that were TIRED of him and think that he overstayed his welcome way too much, for those who HATE the guy and NOW, finally, FINALLY can put him down for good. Good lord, I love this game.
See, personally, I understood his desires. He wanted someone to engage with him in the only way he knows. He chases the dragon of adrenaline because it's the only thrill he has. And, yes, my WoL was like that. Once. Then we went through Heavensward and felt that spear of light through a friend. We went through Stormblood and saw the bittersweet tears of friends parting so they both can be their best selves. We went through Shadowbringers and saw that even those we call monsters can, and do, fight for those they love. So there, at the end, when Zenos calls to my desire for challenge, my WoL knows. He won't stop here. He can't. The chase for that thrill is all he has. If he isn't stopped, he *will* try again. He returned from the dead after intending it all to end, for hell's sake. And now... Now my WoL has something he fights for, something he lacked wandering into Ul'Dah so many moons ago. He fights for those he can yet save. For those he could not save. And no one, not even Zenos, can cheapen that to mere sport. So he accepts that Zenos thinks that, but... "Think what you will. I'm not letting you leave this place."
I lost my shit at the final part Even with the many variables the animators had to account for because of the character customization (especially _Lalafells)_ they managed to pull off an epic punch off straight out of a final boss fight in the Yakuza games. With how used to I am to my character unable to do more in cutscenes beyond the unsheath animation, this was a welcome surprise
I love picking this option. Out of the mountains of BS, he has spewed, he finally says something that’s true. :) no other reason to fight, no friends to save, world to save. Just the two of us, finding out once and for all, who is stronger.
I would give my left leg if I were able to replay this fight and cutscene sequence without having to go through the entire MSQ just to get to it (which I will do if there is no other way).
The I can not deny response was the best. I hope Zenos isn't dead. We keep getting hints that we're like him so much. Plus his title in his name means traveler apparently.
@Gurney no that's us , We're Azem 's sundered soul , it's literally why his crystal is given to us . I'm fine with zenos just being zenos until present with actual proof to the contrary
@@RichterfanReborn89 Zenos got the title "Viator" instead of "Sol" after his father died for his decisions and actions. His prior title was Yae. Viator directly means "Traveller" in Latin. It represented his parallel to us as Azem. We were tasked to wander freely and learn, always welcomed home; while Zenos... He was outcast and forever consigned to wander or travel, never to return to Garlemald. Banished, and exiled essentially. Two different titles each with different contexts, both which share a common thread of wandering. It was quite deliberate.
@@kaitoudark1 which means jack all to the conversation at hand ,fascinating though it may be. His theory was that zenos was azem sundered soul, but that's not it , we are Azem's sundered soul, the part of it from the source at any rate, as Ardbert is the part from the first, Zenos is just himself as I stated above, he is native to the source therefore he can't be any part of Azem.
Ngl but I bet WoL truly wanted a no holds barred foght too. After all is saod and done with the End of Days averted. We finally get to give in to what both Zenos and we wanted. A no holds barred battle with nothing at stake. No worlds in danger. No lives that needed saving. Just an all out brawl between two equals to determin who was truly stronger
Ok, honestly. This was epic...but Zenos is not dead nor is his arc done. Why am I saying this? because we do not know him the way we know the likes of Emet-Selch. I feel this development how everything transpired was NECCESARY for this man to have yet another eye-opening experience where perhaps he begins to change in his ways. Alisae's words reached him when she said particular words that pushed him and persuaded him into helping us with the battle against endsinger. There's just so much we don't know of Zenos other than, well he is battle hungry. Yoshi-P has been really pushing the idea that he is truly our friend. He is hellbent on it and not just that, he asked us to pay attention to Zenos' avatar. Apparently, according to him, there's a reason Zenos chose the route of a reaper. But the thing is we never got...an explanation as to why? Must I remind everyone this man has the resonant? He has been KILLED before... And he came back from the dead. This is no different. Perhaps, what changes is he has no bodies to hop onto unless his spirit can travel through space and time in the sea of stars. Never, have we ever had a ''villain'' get the crazy make-over Zenos got to the point of appearing with an ALL scions poster. Why the hell would you put a bad guy in there unless...he wasn't any good? It is odd to say the least. It's very strange to see Zenos there...unless he is being foreshadowed to become scion later on in the near future. This was needed. It was a requirement for us to beat the shit out of Zenos so he could have character development. Yes it sounds funny at first but when you think about it deeply, I see this being the only way where he can have a bit of change...and be on his road into becoming a scion. We are still alive and breathing, do you think being the resonant he is (obsessed with us forevermore), he will truly stay dead in the sea of stars? In that realm that belongs to Meteion? (Butchered her name woops sorri) I'm not even a fan of Zenos but its hilarious to me people think he is dead lol far from it. He cannot die nor stay dead. He partially represents endwalker. So, they can't keep a major ''KEY'' character dead for too long. Why is he ''key'''? For what exactly? We didn't get confirmation of this. Neither any evidence supporting Fandaniels claims on something Emet potentially did to Zenos. So, this is why I heavily believe...he will return later on. He won't stay dead. So, to those who hate him don't get your hopes up lol but he won't be a villain anymore, at best an anti-hero or a problematic ally. This is to me at least, Zenos start into change. Because Death brings about a form of evolution for something new to be reborn or created.
Thats the thing though, Zenos has no reason, unlike Fandaniel who had one deep down. As he says, he can burn his candle without fear cause he truly has nothing to lose, only the want to gain that feeling again. And despite burning all his life, he cant beat you who has a purpose and something to strive for. In his last moments he asks how your life differed from his, despite both of you being the peak of strength. Theres nowhere for Zenos to go, because he wouldnt want to be anywhere else than this transcendant moment.
The only way that he would die definitively is for Yoshi to hear the barking of the edgys who spend all the time talking badly about Zenos because they don't like it.
You pulled my thoughts right out of my brain and typed it all out for me. How absolutely insane would it be if he came back to be our actual friend? Lol im so damn into this theory.
I love how people comment "Oh Zenos so bad" or "Zenos fallen into the same trap as hummanity and other extinct races of the universe through seeking of perfection!". All that is BS - he just wanted to feel alive. Lit AF.
To speak solely from my own character's stance. Her feelings on the whole matter at the end of all things. "Fare well my first love, my enemy." As for myself. I loved Zenos he was my favorite villain in the whole of XIV and I ugly cried when he died. Though I could not be any happier with how his story end. I'll miss him tremendously.
Oh, my poor Linkshare friends, reading without of context my thoughts during the fight. There weren't many, only: "GET UP. GET UP. GET UP. GET UP. GET UP." And I wasn't talking about my WOL. That, I can't deny. What a perfect ending.
They couldn't have done a more fitting end. As pinned comment has said, this is the only time our WoL was allowed to be selfish and pursue that thrill Zenos was so desperate to find within us. Yes. Finally. This is the one and only time we get to give him our undivided attention and savor a good fight past limits.
Игры
Can't express how much I love this fight.
It feels like after all the time being savior across the world, now is the rare time where you're allowed to be 'selfish', to simply enjoy the fight with the only person equal to you in combat.
Truly an end fitting two person know only fight as method to find their life purpose.
I was so glad we could finally accept zenos its truly the best ending for him legit cried yo lol
Agree on the context. That was the rare moment the Warrior of Light can be themselves; no obstacles, roadblocks and troubles holding down. Just someone whom can go all out above their limits.
Oh dude it feels so good to finally go into endwalker territory on youtube. Pick the same option, it felt sooooo good, the fight was awesome and the music at background... Im glad Zenos wasnt in a dungeon, im glad he wasnt a trial (was thinking that), im very glad that we have a selfish fight with him, fight until our heart content andi dont have words for how good it was.
It almost feels like..A fourth wall break in a good way. Like we can finally be our character again not the warrior of light. We started out the game as our character who was just a adventurer looking for strenght, and loot, and then had to become the warrior of light and ever since its been we had to fight for others not because we wanted to, Our character slowly started to become not our character, and this in the final moment we got control back to have our character be ours again.
@@drectanbns266 if you've ever done a savage raid you basically have proved his point.
Endwalker is about a guy named Zenos who really wants to get his buddy to play PVP with him.
that is the best description ive ever heard lol
lmao
He even shows up at your job with everything and goes "I bothered your friends until they told me where you were at, 1v1 me right after your done!"
"my friend... The FEAST is where true warriors dine on power... I also really want that exclusive reward! TRANSCEND!"
Bruh fr
The conversations before and after this fight made me realize what Zenos is, narratively. He's us if we never had limits to break. We started from nothing, an average adventurer who constantly exceeded every challenge put in front of them, growing stronger and stronger. Meanwhile, Zenos was born into royalty, and was already absurdly strong even before the resonance. His limits were so high that nothing could push them, no matter how much he wanted it to, and that turned him into the apathetic bloodlusted monster we met in Stormblood. Until the day we challenged him, and he finally encountered a challenge for the first time in his life. Of course he latched onto us the way he did. But after his revival, he just couldn't figure out how to capture that feeling again. He didn't understand why we wouldn't fight him just to fight him. He couldn't understand why we prioritized things he viewed as trifling, because he'd never had to. It was only after Alisaie spoke to him in Garlemald that he finally figured it out. He wouldn't be able to draw us out by enraging us, or by creating greater threats. Even when he was the greatest threat to Eorzea, he still couldn't get us to give him the fight he wanted. So instead of antagonizing us, he realized there would need to be no obligations left for us. That, and he wouldn't be able to force us into it. So, now that he had started to understand, he came to our aid, helped us finish our obligations, then challenged us, not as a villain, but as a rival, the friend he always thought he was to us.
And he finally got his wish.
And as if that wasn't enough, talking to Urianger for a second time in the scene where the scions say their goodbyes, it hints that the teleporter may have appeared out of nowhere because Zenos wished for you to live on, using the dynamis to let you escape. We gave him his wish. he didn't need his friend to die with him, he was already satisfied.
@@dumbsterdives omg thats great
Alisaie basically told him “no one is gonna want to PvP with you if you keep acting toxic”
I hope he still lives
I can’t believe I’m quoting death battle, but:
What happens when you put up a man who’s designed to break all limits, against someone who has no limits?
Only one has limits to break at all.
This was actually called or hinted at relatively early on. Back when Cirinia met the Wol when the Ilsabard Contigent was formed. She told her that her grandmother had a vision of two figures fighting it out among the stars and one of them was the Wol.
I always thought that was supposed to be Emet... But thinking on it now, it likely meant either Meteion or Zenos
@@zoruasnivy I think it’s probably meant to be Meteion’s dead sun (the one she collected the souls of the universe together in to prevent them from ever being reborn/reincarnated) and that’s where both Endsinger and Zenos are fought.
@@TheoVorster viator means traveler, so it can be interpreted either between meteion or zenos
@@maostreams1949 the vision specifically discussed a black sun, and I am saying that likely references the location more than anything else, and said location is where both Meteion and Zenos are fought.
the warrior of light felt so much more like an actual character in this expansion
Yeah, I feel like they improved how you interact with the story on purpose now, for easier implementation in later post-patch/future expansions. It definitely felt like they knew they had to stop using their old way of going through MSQ, cause if they did it for EW, I don't think it would of hit as well as it did.
I kinda wished the WoL struggled a little bit more during that you're not alone moment
Next expansion i hope we a chance for the wol love interests!!!!
it started in Shadowbringers; a lot more dialogue options to make you actually feel like a part of the story, and the WoL plays a significant role that couldn't be filled by anyone else. i felt like the WoL being more important really increased my engagement with the story
The irony is alot of people seem to hate this because muh head cannon
This entire sequence put a big dumb grin on my face. Especially if you choose "That, I can't deny" and your character gives that little grin. But one of my favorite parts of Zenos' inclusion in the climax is when he rips a hole in space, greets you at the edge of creation, stares down the creature bringing ruin to everything, and asks you why it's not dead yet. Because in his eyes, even something with that strength is par for the course, for his only friend.
I LOVED that little grin so much. In my head, my WoL is a bit of a thrillseeker and she did some fucked up stuff to get where she is now. She does lust for the adrenaline burning in her veins. So casting off the mantle of being the radiant hero that everyone depends on and just FIGHT, was glorious catharsis.
I straight up told him I wasn't gonna let him go back.
@@ExceedProduction yeah i've always seen my character as "seeking ever greater foes" and always loved Zenos because he was pretty much the same as how i saw my character and this was perfect way to "end" that arc atleast for now
"The funny thing is... I know you're playing me... but you're right."
@@ericbright1742 "Acceptance, at long last!"
Zenos helped you defeat the unmaker of the universe. He deserved that "That, I cant deny."
He really really did
I WANTED TO FUEL HIS HARD ON FOR US BEFORE THE FIGHT.
And also, after you save your whole fucking universe with big thanks to him.... you can't help but enjoy it. You've done it, your people are safe. It doesn't even matter if you die here, it's gonna be one hell of an awesome fight to go out on. It feels like the ultimate expression of facing suffering and having fun regardless.
I kinda hope SE keeps track of what players choose... Zenos had a ... "mixed" reception on Stormblood and until recently, especially now, are people understanding that Zenos is... like us. And surely his popularity, or at least reception, has improved.
AHA ACCEPTANCE! AT LONG LAST!
"omg you finally accepted my friend request" - zenos probably
LINKSHELL INVITATION, AT LAST !
Basically the best comment lmao. Zenos is def that weird furry bunny boy that random asks to ERP haha. But also in honesty I like how they ended his story. But also tbh they will prolly bring sephi….err Zenos back lol
@@azrigal87 if they do I think it's going to be an ally as he got his rematch and he says he final understand right before dying again
I did in stormblood ):
No pun intended Moon meme: “You have?” , “Already am!” *points gun behind Zenos head* xD
I like how WOL smiles after admitted they're not that different from him. Free of all the burden for once.
right! i loved her face XD
It feels very fourth wall break-ish. The way he speaks the adventurer seems directed to both the WoL and us as players
It honestly makes me think they've taken on a bit of Venat's personality in battle, like they've finally excepted that they enjoy the fight more than the resolution at times.
If you the DRK role quests, it’s clear that WoL enjoys fighting, but for the sake of challenging themselves. In that sense, they are like Zenos. But unlike Zenos, the WoL does put others before themselves, so it’s not a side we get to see often. That smile, to me, is completely in character with the WoL. I love it. EDIT: Just to add, in my personal experience, the first battle against Zenos back in SB was the first time I found a fight perfectly challenging yet fair. It took me all of my skill and experience to get through it, but not once did it feel hopeless or impossible. It was the reason why I started to like Zenos. And it is why I don’t consider the final fights against him in SB as true rematches.
It's true though. Sure, we want to help others and save the world, an we are certainly more empathetic than Zenos.
But every time I am a trial, dungeon or raid I crave for more
“Acceptance at long last!” Has got to be one of the most memeable lines in Endwalker.
A TEST OF YOUR REFLEXES!!
@@lostmarbles2499 I still don't know what I'm supposed to do there, I just move 100 yalms away from him and that's it. Also this duty is broken with SMN sustain. I would have probably lost multiple lives without SMN
@@mukulvdhiman same but I was paladin. Kudos to black mage mains. Lol
I play WHM and am not too good at AOE in the first place. The first time I fought him, I actually lost. Just needed a couple more hits, it was very close. Did it the second try :) It should be fine if you start running as soon as he starts saying “A test”, and also “Mine”. The latter got me the most, tbh
@@mukulvdhiman Ikr
Zenos' monologue at the end was suspiciously meta. "Born into this world, bestowed name, bid to seek out strife and adventure." It's crazy when you think about it. We as players did exactly that to our characters. Brought them into existence, named them; All for the adventures. In a way, we are our characters' guardian angel; Constantly watching over them and making sure we see them through to the end. This was the perfect conclusion to the Saga and it even further solidified this game as the GOAT for me.
I think it went over everyones head that these lines weren't that of Zeno's character per se. But the developers talking directly to the players of 10 years.
"We fixed our shit! Are you not entertained!? Do you not enjoy the challenge?!"
[ 90% of players click option 1 rapidly ]
Zenos got tempered by the Wandering Mistrel and basically did a Hideo Kojima "did you rike it?"
It's an amazing line that both calls out to the warrior of light and the player. I'm not going to call it a 4th wall break, I think it's better than a 4th wall. 4th wall is just a callout to the player, but it's usually jarring in that it breaks the storyline. This doesn't. This addresses both the warrior of light AND player at the same time, but it's correct.....adventurer.
Personally I have always felt that Azem of the past is just us, the player. Why wouldn't we be watching over a little part of ourselves that we pour our heart and soul into? We even have the power to summon allies with the party menu and duty finder.
@@zoruasnivy Azem is us rather WE were/are the individual known as and the seat of Azem. The shard we use to summon is the other fragments of ourselves in the remaining shards of the sundered world. So in short, when you see the raid happen in story mode and that design is on the ground? That's the power of your true self becoming a full blooded and full powered Amurotine taking on a otherwise impossible task. All this was revealed in the climax of the Shadowbringer's story line.
Now that the whole story is complete with the past and we know of the world's origin and saved it we may not get to know more about our past selves as Azem, our relationship to Venat as her successor (she was the original Azem before retiring it to us). What we do know is that we sided with the hydaelyn fraction during the conflict when the convocation of the 14 split.
I love that the climax of the entire story ended in a slugfest at the edge of the universe. So incredibly anime.
God bless Gurren Lagann
Tifa v scarlet
And I loved every moment of it
@@Coaltergeist shb hades ending literally ripped ttgl
The whole game takes a lot of inspiration from Gurren Lagann that’s why it’s so good
Choosing the “That, I can’t deny” dialogue option, and then playing as Dark Knight for our final battle, was the most satisfying thing ever. Oh to be able to experience this for the first time again.
I haven’t used New Game+ yet, but when this expansion gets added I’ll be replaying this segment just for this fight
Dude I relate to this so hard, right down to the same job and choosing the same option. I had a big hyped grin on my face the whole time and I actually screamed when I got to that fist fight, they could not have ended this any more perfectly
@@juubi249 YES!! When we both threw down our weapons to just punch the shit out of each other I was literally jumping up and down yelling “LETS GOOOOOO!” At my computer 😂
Playing it as warrior is the best we just love to fight!
Same
Hilarious when youre whm, because in the end, despite being healer, you just drop the cane and bash his face in with your fists.
The healer.has.had.ENOUGH-
He woke up and chose VIOLENCE :'D
iirc it was less "drop the cane" and more "cane got kicked out of your hands"
Yeah my black mage dropped the staff and swiftcast a Right Hook IV
I may be a healer, but...
From everything I hear about Healers, they start out shy and happy but as they go through the game, they become annoyed and cynical every time they have to heal something that could have been preventable.
@@GilgameshofBabylon yup, hell some of them don't even start shy
I'm samurai but I absolutely love the idea of magic-using jobs like scholar and white mage throwing down their spell books and wands and just fucking decking Zenos in the face. Truly, in that final moment we were monks. One and all.
I was a whitemage lala and it sure felt interesting
Ast here, loved fighting him with the same stars he used to find me, then throwing my planisphere down and decking him
Fought him as samurai felt right epically zenos started with the samurai and i just had to deck him with the way of the samurai lol
It's payback for us getting robbed by SAM's in SB. MNK's steal all of the spotlight! >:D
I went from liking Zenos in Stormblood, to "oh god he's seriously back?" when the revival reveal came about, and then felt a bit cynical about his inclusion as a villain in Endwalker. Then we go a whole expansion without fighting him, all the while he's slowly reflecting by himself on his life in a way I didn't expect. And to end it off with THIS? Probably the best solo duty in the game? THIS is what I always wanted Zenos to be like, and I love that Ishikawa managed to get him an arc all his own. I loved how he even raised a valid point: the WoL is a hero, but they're also an adventurer who, though sometimes secretly or subtly, loves finding new and tougher enemies to challenge themselves against. Which itself agrees with the whole MMO mentality of taking on tougher bosses for better gear or even just to say you did. I can't think of ANY better "victory lap" finale for this game.
Well said
I applause to that and nod in agreement
This. This perfectly sums up my feelings for him. After he got tossed aside in Zodiark I was still trying to justify my dislike
Zenos made me realise that deep down, we really were the same. There are lots of ways to help people, we chose to help in a way we enjoy, and there's no shame in that, nor in Zenos' desire. Our character went through their own bit of development here by admitting this and accepting the challenge.
Zenos is an extremely fun character. He just shouldn’t be the primary antagonist.
Not as he was, at least
God, I love the "That, I can't deny" option.
The excited, confident smirk the Warrior of Light does... Zenos is absolutely right, the WoL - and by extension, the player - loves challenging fights and is itching to kick his ass.
*WoL:* I just got a new pair of boots...
*Zenos:* And how is that importan-
*WoL:* That will look PERFECT with the blood from your annoying FACE covering them~
*Zenos:* (squeals like a fangirl)
Of all times to use the trailer music, this is the most fitting, this isn’t the boss fight of endwalker, this is the boss fight of your whole journey thus far, so the medley of all your experiences is perfect
TRUE
What trailer song is this lol I can't find it and I love it
@@SonicLovesMinecraft Footfalls
Literally the most perfect sendoff to Zenos' character possible. My head is still spinning from it. His fans must be so happy.
Like I can't even put into words how excellent this is for these two. Just a duel on the edge of existence, both being the strongest of the world, nothing held back, both going miles upon miles beyond their limits just to try and win.
One of the best duels in gaming.
As a Zenos fan since I saw him on screen at Stormblood, I can confirm this, this scene felt like opening your best present on christmas. I was getting worried they wouldn't resolve things with Zenos either too considering what had happened in the scenes before, but I'm so glad they did it this way. The perfect ending for our battle starved rival.
As another Zenos fan I was half disappointed half excited because I was expecting a fight on the scale of the final trial. But the more time passes the happier I get and now I love the whole thing. But personally I don't think he's dead nor that our interactions with him are over. The whole red vs blue, both of us possibly using Dynamis in our fight, his inability to answer the question of being satisfied with his life. I don't know in what manner, but I think he'll be back. But it will definitely won't happen for a long while. Several expansions at least.
@@TokyoMystify I myself would love to see him in the alliance raids or Raid quests just to show up and continue to "bother" us some, maybe joins us in the alliance raids because he's just as hungry as we are to fight new stronger enemies.
@@TokyoMystify I’m hoping that like Varis, Zenos also gets an EX trial at some point.
I feel this scene is also paying homage to another emotional filled duel in MGS4 the fight between Old Snake and Liquid Ocelot.
Zenos changed the way I think about my own Warrior of Light. I took it for granted that he was doing it for his friends, for hope and for the future. I was ready to tell him to buzz off, but when he made his monologue about the thrill of the fight, and he ended it with "adventurer", I couldn't do anything else but agree with him.
Of course I did it all for everyone I care about, but I also do it for the challenge, the pleasure of the thrill to fight life-ending foes. At that moment, he was simply right. And in acknowledging he was right, I acknowledged his existence. I gave him legitimacy to his quest for his life or death pleasure pursuit. I know it's sick, and my Warrior of Light couldn't be more different from Zenos, but on that singular point, he was right, and I had to acknowledge how his words rang true, and I felt like it was the only answer I could give him.
Just amazing writing. They didn't try to make Zenos someone deeper or more developed, they made him do what someone like Zenos can only do, and he played his part to perfection. In the end, I will miss him.
Yea, zenos character isnt deep but what he IS, that he has perfected and that what makes him a good character, imo.
We didn't get Leviathan two heads and Titan an ATV because we needed to, we did it for the challenge. :D
It’s hard to write a character like this guy in any type of story actually. You need to understand him or how these ppl approach things.
Most of ppl like this isn’t rare but they don’t usually say anything about their past life and only look to the future of what they pursuit.
Can’t be a villain nor a hero, just o someone with a bad habit of chasing something they know they can’t find it but always do.
The more you understand about Zenos, the better you understand the situation. That’s said I saw quite amount of ppl don’t get his words or his actions because he never really has anything interested except the thrill.
Alcoholic might be easier to write a character like this in a dense storytelling for him to be compelling. Only execution is the way to put him into the plot because he has always outside of the story narrative of the game for the whole Saga since ARR
Talking about changing the way you think about your WoL, I think it was partway through SB that I decided that my WoL was fairly competitive. But once ShB started, and all throughout EW, there hadn’t really been any dialogue options to express it, or if there were they came at the expense of more meaningful lines.
So for me, Zenos’s challenge was like reawakening that part of my character, now that there was no more primals, no more reflections to save, no more Final Days, she could just indulge in combat for combat’s sake.
He's not a deep character but for what he is, he is perfected to a tee.
When I read the option for "That, I can't deny" I smirked, clicked it, and watched my character reflect me IRL. Little things like that show why these writers will always transcend others.
Same thing happened with me, and I shouted Let's Fucking Go lmao
@@Art2D2 same lol
Honestly I had to give him the "That, I can't deny" line because he read me like a book. whooping. I was still in the camp of zenos ain't worth this fight and then he gave the whole reason I was here. to give the hands to gods finding out the story was amazing was an added bonus so when he said I was here to test my mettle... I was like damn it he earned this ass whoopin.
Same i made that smirk too 😏 lmfao, like zenos read me like a book irl 🤣🤣🤣 and glad i had the option to choose "i can't deny that"
We may have met as enemies, but left with a perfect understand of one another. Rest well, Zenos. You finally met your match. I hope it was everything you hoped it would be.
Zenos literally asked us if we liked the MSQ.
this was such a sick way to end it, especially seeing him use so many iconic attacks like akh morn and diamond dust. perfect way to relieve such a serious and somber end zone. I really hope they turn this into an EX trial some day like they did with memoria miserae
Solo EX let's go
Solo Ultimate gimme gimme gimme
Yes please
I’d do it every day
to me, Zenos and this battle is embodiment of the competitive spirit that every MMO players have inside them
Thats exactly what Zenos means when he said "Such pleasures you seek for their own sake and no other reason. Is this not so... adventurer?"
Man imagine how awesome it would be to get a Extreme or Even Ultimate trial of this fight but for solo.
That's exactly what I want I did it with the least amount of deaths possible and had fun
The Venat duel as well as this. I'm just shaking at the possibility.
They probably will like they did with the emperor fight.
@@fluffything7134 Venat is just Hydaelyn but easier.
to put it in the words of another great hero: "What we have here, is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose." Gods i'm so glad they had this.
Superman- Justice League Unlimited Season 2 Finale
A personal favorite
"The power to transcend" that's what Zenos said in Stormblood. To transcend the pressure of his social status, as the Crown Prince and all the fakeness and hypocrisy of the power. To transcend his identity as a citizen of Garlemald, that cold, opressing and depressing nation. He wanted a "spiritual experience", an ego death, to be simply himself in a pure and raw form, by fighting people who can kill him. Unfortunately, only the Warrior of Light is strong enough to do so. To fight his depression, he knew that the best way is to suffer, to feel it, accept it. You never feel so alive than when You are close to death, when You suffer. Many people start to value life only when they are on the brink of death. His despair was so strong, that the only way was for him to deal it through violence. That's How he is dealing the suffering that Venat gave to mankind. It is the wrong way, it is evil, but he never justifies his evilness. Alisae understood his power, and how it can be used for the greater good, and so at the end, he helped us to save the world.
The thing I liked about Zenos was that he was never evil for the sake of being evil, or for some deep motive. It was never born out of some ingrained maliciousness. Yes, he's twisted and warped, but he essentially told us in Garlemald, all he's trying to do is feel meaning in his life, and literally the only thing that has even remotely done that at all...is us.
Sounds like an ubermensch
This Fight alone had my friends and I hyped as fuck. Yelling "FUCK THE WEAPON! WE THROW HANDS IN THIS HOUSE!!!"
WE GOIN FULL MONK IN THIS BITCH!!!
Turns out. Every WOL plays a Monk Alt.
All those hours playing Cuff a Cur at the Gold Saucer finally paid off.
I think that in a very meta sense, zenos is a perfect final battle.
In a game where most players and WOL find fun in the little things like fashion, side-jobs and of course saving the day from time to time w/allies and friends, Zenos is like that one guy who just rushes to the endgame while getting the biggest numbers possible, in the end all he has left is a void that can only be filled (for a few moments) by fighting whatever the strongest thing is at the time.
Of course, even the WOL admits that they seek challenge as well, so imo its very fitting that both zenos and the player get a little moment to just go all out and try to give each other some sort of closure or catharsis.
BRO this made me laugh so hard thank you XD maybe thats why i like zenos so much
SO what your saying is that Zenos is a wow player
@@Iqbalx1 true and real, it's the truest truth that have been trued.
Is that a bad thing? Maybe I'm biased because I am that player, a high end raider who rushes the story so I can get to raid and get the full rotation (I do care about it though, I go back with NG+ or just look it up on RUclips.) I loved this scene because I've always wanted to fight Zenos anyways and I'm also like him, I want to face difficult challenges. I uh....wouldn't say I feel hollow at all when I'm not raiding, feels perfectly fine, I just go play other games and stuff.
@@askiia8713 Zenos unfortunately doesn't have the option to go play other games.
The fist fighting part as a lalalfel white mage was one of my favorite parts of this expansion
I can only imagine how that cutscene played out rofl
Oh my gosh, That would be hilarious as a lala
I was a female Highlander wearing the wedding cake job gear so that was also incredibly amusing.
As a lala BLM i feel you
How lala tiny arms reach zenos........and in the mid air you see wol lala grinning and started making a fist large up like luffy in one piece 😄 and see zenos shocked face wtf 😳 lol
I love the responses when Zenos speaks to you because they personally reflect how you see the warrior of light. They also reflect on how you the player see Zenos
If you like Zenos, You agree with what he says because he is you, the player, constantly seeking challenge and strength and greater heights.
If you are in the middle road with Zenos, You still put a wall between yourself and Zenos, using the title of Hero to separate yourself from being associated with a monster like him
If you hate Zenos, He accepts your hatred because to him, he doesn't mind if you understand/hate him. He just wants to fight you and is happy to see you just be yourself.
Honestly just smart writing there
Right?? I also love how he requests for the WoL to momentarily drop the hero mantle and respond as simply you. We are at the edge of the universe and it’s just us, if you can’t be honest here then where. We had to fight him like this
@@kypr5545 Still my favourite moment of Endwalker right there. Zenos the whole way was just good. He was going to be another big bad but when that was ripped away from him what did he have left? Us.
To me, Endwalker is the definition of Understanding. Understanding the reasons of our fellow men, what drives them and why they choose to make certain actions. Just simply good writing all around when you pay attention and just embrace the story
@@kypr5545 100% Honesty saying I don't care what he thinks of me then switching to Samurai just to make the fight more fun. Lol he knew what was up. He's right but I just don't care for him and don't want him coming back. At least I finally got a mostly no BS fight against him.
Finally a coherent comment. The people being proud of choosing “that i cant deny” (edgelord option btw) are cringe as hell.
@@Matias-zh3dp calm your tits, what’s wrong with people enjoying the game?? You can’t gate keep lmfao
It's so interesting that in Zenos' last act in life, he challenges you to a duel to the death for no other reason than to be "pushed to his limit or exceed it"... one last time. In the end, as his last act... after he gets everything he wants... it was important to him to save your life (according to Urianger - it was Zenos that allowed them to find you).
Says so much about him. He was a victim of his circumstances - his birthright and natural prowess. Everything was handed to him and everything else he cared about came so natural to him, such as combat skill, he never learned to empathize. He never actually understood "drive" or "ambition" before meeting the player. Our first victory over him inspired him for the first time. The last victory over him made him grow as a person. In that final fleeting moment, dying as we were - he learned empathy... and did the first kind act of his entire life. Really understated, beautiful character development here.
When those options pop up, there is only one that any player could truly choose. "That I can't deny."
It was a beautiful moment that had me grinning from ear to ear and frightening my roommate when I yelled out, "Let's fucking go!" That new SAM draw animation was perfect as you use the weapon he left behind.
Would it make me a lesser player if I thought differently and chose something else..?
Genuine question, no sarcasm or malice.
@@WildcardStrider Of course not. This guy is just stuck a little too far up his own ass.
i dont know if it makes you a lesser player, but it definitely makes you lame and stuck up as a person LOL. Imagine unironically hating a fictional video game character and seriously wanting them to die so much that you cant just roll with the cool factor of option 1
@@huslainemaxwell9866
'Stuck up'?
I was just roleplaying when I chose something different.
I doubt something like that could be seen as 'stuck up'.
@@WildcardStrider no it won't and the person who wrote it doesn't intend it like this. He's just a bit hype and you both are cool with your choices
Zenos really is a tragic character. The only time he could really experience joy or happiness was when he was with an equal in combat, and that's why he sought it out with such zeal. He was alone, even when surrounded by people. The only person who brought him joy was "his friend" (ie the PC). There's such melancholy in that final speech of his, like he finally realizes that really was all he had. It was a good closing to his story. And actually makes me feel bad for him.
man i cried i really like zenos as a character
@@lamiakitsune Same bro same
He ain't dead man. Congrats he's my FF chat in the whole series.
The guy needs to try Triple Triad some time, maybe play that LoL clone we have in the Golden Saucer to satisfy his lust for toxicity.
Going into Endwalker I never would of guessed our final battle would be a literal fist fight with Zenos. True anime vibes.
Perfect send off for him, and I loved finally getting to accept the duel, no one to get in the way, able to drop the stoic hero part, just two nutjobs at the end of the world
3:01 is the moment that excited me like nothing previously did. the change in my character's facial expression to that shameless smirk that would never appear in front of anyone else. the way the music kicks in with you finally admitting who you truly are deep down. the moment of truth.
When he called me adventurer I popped off because I made it my headcanon that my girl really missed the adventurer lifestyle but nobody would ever understand that
Zenos really matured over the course of this game.
after a long and serious adventure, this was a nice little throwaway bit of anime fun. felt like I was a teenager again!
SAME XD i loved it
afterFight Zenos was like:
"close your eyes bro"
"what do you see?"
* appears some pictures but in gray*
"thats they world without you bro"
"live on bro"
This was straight up the best thing in the whole game imo. The dialogue option where you admit that you really do just wanna fight for the hell of it feels like the perfect thing that my character would do, especially that damn smirk. The music kicks in at the perfect time and the whole fight just feels perfect. I feel like i'm gonna wanna replay that fight a million times over, it better become an EX or something.
It'll surely be in New Game +, but that's a super cumbersome way to go back to it.
I really think it could be better served, like you said, to make a harder rematch that you solo queue for. Sort of like a Savage/Ultimate training ground for a single player.
I guess the WoW equivalent would be the Mage Tower.
It's never quite the same when it isnt your WoL.
I need NG+ so bad.
Never felt so happy and so sad at the same time doing this fight
I need this fight to be it's own chapter in NG+.
I know that eerie, sad, and weirdly calming feeling of being "left behind" in place "void of life" with sunset rays around. The still frames of this final fight with Zenos sends shivers in me... It beautiful
"That, I can't deny."
"Acceptance! At last!"
I've been waiting for this moment since Shinryu, that dialogue option made me SCREAM with hype
This fight felt like MGS4 Ocelot final fight. Long time since I last felt like that. Also the climbing of the crystal path with the music kicking in, like snake eater the ladder climbing. Never thought i would feel like that through gaming again.
Also the Music switching from all the episodes same as ocelot fight :D
This.
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT! I legit looking this comments!
Msg4 ocelot fight was soooo perfect
also the sunset vibes adds to that! both in this duty and ontop of that ship in mgs4
This fight had some particularly great moments for me as a Summoner, especially one moment when he casted Hellfire right as I summoned ifrit and both of their attacks came out at the same time.
ooh, new summoner is an interesting parallel i hadn't considered.
Yeah I did it as Summoner too. At one point, the moment I summon Bahamut, he casts Akh Morn and we were just lazering each other mindlessly. The best shit ever.
STANDING HERE I REALIZE
My favourite part is that during this battle where we are breaking our limits far more than ever before thanks to all the dynamis, we have this song representing our entire journey, our theme, to show where our strength and resolve come from.
"The flame of your life is spent, and yet you find the strength to stand."
Zenos literally kills us. But after all we've seen and done, after how far we've come, we simply refuse to die.
The fact that Sam Carter is doing the vocals makes this amazing.
Get you an enemy like Zenos. He sees you for who you are, and won't stop till you realize it yourself 👏
I feel like Zenos became, well at least to me, an opposite of our character who understood ourselves more than we did as he called us an adventurer, and he wasn't wrong when he said that we have no "true" opponent and there is a void for us being selfish a fight we WANT to have not NEED to have and at the very end when Zenos came in clutch and explained himself it just made me realize, sure he was doing bad things, but he wasn't a big enough threat for you and deep down he knew that. The whole end sequence was just so fucking cool.
And no matter what anyone says, he's right. He literally described why we play video games. To go from fight to fight, challenge to challenge, hoping that THIS one is going to be the one that finally satisfies our hunger. But they never do. Because whenever we finish a challenge, we're always off searching for the next one.
Fucking brilliant. I never hated on Zenos. I was just "waiting". I didn't know for what, but this was it.
The main idea of this encounter, that we look past titles and heroics and see ourselves for who we really are, what we really want? It’s the perfect culmination of the Dark Knight storyline. It’s almost like the same person wrote it or something.
I’m different from Zenos. I’m not willing to hurt innocents in order to bait out someone tough. But I, more importantly my character, will always be the first to bat against whatever world threatening event is next. And do I enjoy it?
_Oh yeah_ I do.
Cmon Zenos. Right here, right now, no one to get in the way. I don’t care about “denying satisfaction” anymore. I just want to fight you. He’s absolutely right here.
The same person that wrote the Drk storyline is lead storywriter for the Doma portion of Stb, as well as all of Shb and EW MSQs.
Ain't nobody gonna choose any other choice. "That, I can't deny" and that smirk fits so well. After all your titles,as hero and champion and even as an adventurer, you ate like him. A thrillseeker. Not to the extent of his obsessiveness, but still all the true and you accept it here at the edge of the universe. I like this so much because all of the other fight canonically is about duty mostly, this was purely *pleasure* . Something that's only given to you by two other in whole world: Rowena and the Wandering Minstrel.
As an absolute goodie two-shoes healer main who avoids extremes and above like the plague - this did not ring true to me nor for my WoL xD I still felt kinda bad for basically going 'dude, you're projecting like a beamer, can we stop this I got places to be'. I didn't want to leave him behind.
@@Graficcha Haha, same :) I picked the second option :) I never cared about pushing to the limit, I’m not too good at base game content as it is. Went to the final dungeon in Trust and actually *ran out of time* , I just couldn’t figure out the second boss. In that one part with the constant AOE and the marker, I kept running into the other NPCs, overlapping and failing the fight. It took me way too many tries before I realized I must not run forward in a circle, but move to the safe spot, and then move back. So…
Or that one part with the body swap. It was testing the limits alright. Limits of my patience.
Put it on “very easy” immediately and tried so hard to figure out what to do. Eventually just opened a guide.
So, yeah. Thrill of adventure and pushing the limits? Not really. I’m here for the story. I’m here to be the hero.
I picked the “I had enough of you” line just cause of the blue balling right before the 83 trial. It gets him even more hyped up cause he says “OH FINALLY MUSTERED THE WILL TO KILL ME”, was just as satisfying.
@@kylele23 I picked this option too but it's because it's 4am when I'm playing this and this guy keeps picking a fight with me 😂
I end up dying 3 times because I'm very tired and keep getting hit by his AoE. But u can't die in this duty so my character just drop to 1 HP then healed up again
@@Dahorn They gave you 6 stacks of “get revived” buff :) I happened to run out of those on my first try, though.
Besides, two of those are unavoidable scripted deaths.
First in Shadowbringers theme when Ardbert helps us against Emet, then to the edge when we use Azem's crystal for the first time, now this. ITS SOO FUCKING GOOOD.
My reaction to this: "i wanna fight him solo, please don't be a trial, please don't be a trial, please don't be a t- YES!!!"
Little funfact, in german his last words were "Your life was a wonder, so much better than mine..."
cries
God, what a perfect capstone to everything this fight is. Two people who are not all that dissimilar, drawn together at last, with nothing left to do, nothing left to want to do except enjoy the hardest fight they can possibly have.
'That, I can't deny.' is absolutely perfect, and Zenos' joy at your acceptance is equally perfect. And the music... man.
Never would've guessed that "Fearless hearts ablaze" was referring to WoL and Zenos
Zenos is a real banger villain to round out the line-up. We had the complex type with deep backgrounds and the antagonistic type that does the same thing as you just with a conflicting goal. So having this character, bored of trivialities and life in general, who then seeks out pleasure and the feeling of being alive in the rawest form, just a thrill seeker through and through, is great to contrast the others.
He's just very likeable in a weird way. Especially in the end, you can tell that he really respects your character and just wants his contest of power, to burn out with a bang.
This fight is breaking 4th wall for me, especially when he said "pushing your body to the limit", yeah i do like pushing buttons like a maniac
This was SO damn good. I wish we could replay this fight.
Can't we? Isn't it in New game+
@@GhostWulf70792 there's no NG+ for EW yet
"Zenos! I challenge you!
No items! Fox only! Final destination! LET'S GO!!"
This is by far my favourite fight, and very closely favourite character arc in the entirety of Final Fantasy XIV, which is saying something. Zenos is everything that a "foil" trope character should be: he mirrors the WoL in each and every way, effectively being the same in desire, yet profoundly different in motivation. Zenos IS the Warrior of Light, if we didn't have any compass or purpose. He IS everything the WoL already is, but released from any inhibitions or restrictions: he is us, without our friends, without our morality.
But what makes him so great to me is that while he is all of that, he is something more, something that is spectacularly hard to do, so much so that I've only see it done properly ONCE before in my gaming lifetime: in Far Cry 3 (and maybe to some extent Spec Ops The Line, but in vastly different ways). What these two games have done is bridge the connection between US, the player, the one behind the screen, and the character within the universe, to the point of nigh indistinctiveness. And in FFXIV, it is Zenos who bridges that gap: the speech here isn't just for the Warrior of Light.
His speech is meant for you, the player.
Because Zenos is right. He's always BEEN right: The WoL IS, in a way, unhinged: always seeking greater foes, for no reason but the challenge, no matter our morality and desire to help. Always "dancing closer to the precipice", "hoping the next fight will finally fill the void", irrespective of the motivation to spare, to save, and to help, all of which drive us and exist. But they will never fulfil us,, because that is who WE are, as the player: an insatiable, never ending glutton for novelty, challenge, and experience. We will always want more, because that's who WE are... but that's exactly what makes the Warrior of Light our reflection just as much as Zenos does.
"Hear me, then. Not as a hero, but simply... you."
We heard you, Zenos. In your last moments, when we were finally free of our duties and weight, we finally had a moment to simply be... ourselves. To no longer be a hero, or an adventurer, or even simply a player. For the first time, we could well and truly enjoy being the CHARACTER that is the Warrior of Light, merging what we have as a player with the journey and strength of our character. And Zenos is the one who gave us that opportunity, that realization.
And that is why I will never select any other dialogue option other than "That, I can't deny". Zenos may have committed inexcusable atrocities, but in the end... he took the effort to understand us.
And at long last, acceptance is the least we can give to repay him for that.
I really can't see how anyone, here at the edge of the universe with no one else to judge them, could pick any answer other than 1.
Well, me. I picked 2. A hero to the last, as he put it :) I never did any harder content like Extremes or Savages, so… I am here to play the hero.
@@Tioko Okay?
I picked 3 cause i was sick of Zenos by the Yanxia arc in SB. Letalone the time from then to the end
Agree, I immediately choose 1 because man... You can't even deny him after what he just said.
I so mad for anytime Zenos showed up after he was resurrected. I begged and pleaded to let his return have *something* significantly different than before, for him to be some specific soul or to surprise us as someone else entirely. I was so afraid of them bringing back a previous villain and recycling it. Each time Zenos showed up, I felt annoyed and rolled my eyes. Like PLEASE. Nobody CARES Zenos. I was relieved when the Scions and WoL acted the way I felt and chose to ignore him where possible.
Then he shows up at the end. Of course he would follow me to the edge of the universe just for a chance to fight me. I rolled my eyes, okay, the dialogue was good and it felt amazing running to jump on the dragon’s back without hesitation.
Then this scene started. Rolling my eyes I went along with it. But then this line was said, and this dialogue option was available. Any other time I would’ve chose another option. But I smirked, and knew I couldn’t deny him a good fight.
I enjoyed this battle, and some of the most amazing cutscenes in the game.
"that I can't deny"
jesus christ I was afraid only I picked it
the moment theme song start it I got suddenly explosion of hype and adrenaline! beating Zenos again and again and again and those final punches were amazing
I legit got emotional when he said "Acceptance. At long last.". I'm a sucker for battle maniacs but it always felt like I wasn't allowed to give him what he wanted, which is exactly what I wanted. An all out battle to the death. The joy in his words when I was finally allowed to say what I wanted mirrored my own lol That combined with the music and I was tearing up in happiness during the whole thing. This to me also shows that Zeno's isn't inherently evil. He's almost like a child in his single mindedness
I haven't seen anyone picking something different yet! Apparently we all like to punch Zenos!
@@LontEnCaras I just wanted him to shut up allrdy, fight me and then after, join the scions so we could train every day together :D. Shame he died XD Whimp
Can we all admit out off all ff that zenos is not only a cool bad guy but also the perfect rival that gave us that push back in stormblood
I know. He is so fucking cool and I'm so sad he is potentially gone...
Don't know if you finished endwalker but if they brought back EMET in spirit to make a cameo in this game, don't know how Zenos spirit can't be roaming around in the sea of stars of now.
facts he is truly my favorite villain, loved the fact he just wanted to fight us.
@@thebloodflower8814 And they brought back Asahi temporarily
@@HawkinaBox Honestly im kinda sad hes gone, I actually kinda want Zenos to be the WoL's long term rival, it'd be awesome if he grew into something of an anti-hero while still having his singular obsession with surpassing you one day.
I also like that before fighting him you have a instance to change your job and reset yourself.
My head canon:
I went as Paladin in Final day duty, defeat Endsinger. Now I exhausted almost all my aether and weak, but pull myself back and throw away shield and sword because I don't need to protect nobody anymore. Took out my gunblade and loaded it up to fight Zenos this last time
As much as I like the “That, I can’t deny” option, the 3rd option is the one I chose. And it seemed to make him even more excited. “Oh ho finally mustered up the will to kill me?”
Honestly same
i was so curious of option 1 but it didnt seem "in character" for my WoL so option 3 it was and god i loved his response
@@Levicopter I felt the same! I chose option 2 myself. Couldn’t give him the satisfaction with my words. But the fight would
That one was decent as well, but option 1 is just perfect for the 4th wall breaking going on there. Yeah, we as players do just fight for the hell of it. That's what we do.
Honestly both option 1 and 3 are the best choice, option 2 is boring lol
The performance from Luke Allen-Gale in the monologue after the fight is incredible, we can feel the weight of emotions on each word and all that he has gone through and felt in his life, the loneliness, the sadness and also the joy, he speaks with an open heart and you can feel it, brillant
Imagine being someone that didn't choose "That, I can't Deny" as their choice.
Imagine projecting onto someone u dont know
That VA really really knocked this one out of the park. still....this is too soon™
yea i cried it was perfect
A TEST OF YOUR REFLEXES
I love memeable quotes like this that are spammed by bosses
Zenos barging in to some weird dimension (having travelled all there by himself) and casually looking at the harbinger of despair and ask ‘Why isn’t this … thing … dead yet?’ I thought to myself before this duty that ‘Yeah, I’ll give him his fight now’
All the whole expansions combine in a single sountrack. Wonderfull.
This whole scene and fight made me love Zenos. There is just something about him. I hope he returns. If he can somehow recover from his wounds he should still be a dragon-thing no? So at least he can breath in space and perhaps fly back home to Eorzea to see us again
Should he have survive this, he is in a space with a big potential to manipulatethe dynamix, I think he will find a way to get back to us if he likes :)
@@BlueTarouX sammme like zenos is too stubborn to die and would want to keep living just break his limits to fight his best friend again
@@spencergroce2022 Canonically stated by Ishikawa that he is not coming back.
The only one i didn't want to die
Square knows how to time guitar riffs so well. First Ardbert passing over the axe, now this. Masters of chills.
the "that i cant deny" line, the smirk, the guitar rift starting, 10/10
I love how with those 3 simple answers you can see each player personal relationship with Zenos.
The first option is for those of us that, deep down, understand his bloodlust, because... well... we are playing a game with a lot of combat, and we love combat, lets be sincere here, our only difference with Zenos (outside of FABOLOUS hair) is that we care about the world and the people, while he doesn't give a single fuck.
The second option is for those that really dont understand the guy and dont care that much about him, but know that he must be stopped now or he will become a problem later.
The third option is for those, like Shenpai that were TIRED of him and think that he overstayed his welcome way too much, for those who HATE the guy and NOW, finally, FINALLY can put him down for good.
Good lord, I love this game.
That's why I really liked it, there's an option to fit every player type in response to Zenos, and all 3 match perfectly to them.
See, personally, I understood his desires. He wanted someone to engage with him in the only way he knows. He chases the dragon of adrenaline because it's the only thrill he has. And, yes, my WoL was like that.
Once.
Then we went through Heavensward and felt that spear of light through a friend. We went through Stormblood and saw the bittersweet tears of friends parting so they both can be their best selves. We went through Shadowbringers and saw that even those we call monsters can, and do, fight for those they love.
So there, at the end, when Zenos calls to my desire for challenge, my WoL knows. He won't stop here. He can't. The chase for that thrill is all he has. If he isn't stopped, he *will* try again. He returned from the dead after intending it all to end, for hell's sake. And now... Now my WoL has something he fights for, something he lacked wandering into Ul'Dah so many
moons ago.
He fights for those he can yet save. For those he could not save. And no one, not even Zenos, can cheapen that to mere sport. So he accepts that Zenos thinks that, but... "Think what you will. I'm not letting you leave this place."
Having that slugfest at the end while playing as Monk is so satisfying!
The melody, the dialogue at the end of the fight make me tear up.
I lost my shit at the final part
Even with the many variables the animators had to account for because of the character customization (especially _Lalafells)_ they managed to pull off an epic punch off straight out of a final boss fight in the Yakuza games. With how used to I am to my character unable to do more in cutscenes beyond the unsheath animation, this was a welcome surprise
True and I was surprised to see another character actually physically touch mine. I think it was a hand in hand with alphinaud scene.
I knew it'd be him busting into the final trial to help you, but I didn't expect him to be Dragon Install'd.
we needed this as a trial , how are we supposed to re-live this ? :(
New Game + my friend, when it gets added for Endwalker
I love picking this option. Out of the mountains of BS, he has spewed, he finally says something that’s true. :) no other reason to fight, no friends to save, world to save. Just the two of us, finding out once and for all, who is stronger.
My favorite part is when they both said “fuck it” and just started throwing hands.
I’m glad to see more people coming around on Zenos. Such a fun villain.
I would give my left leg if I were able to replay this fight and cutscene sequence without having to go through the entire MSQ just to get to it (which I will do if there is no other way).
New game + only have to do a few quests.
The I can not deny response was the best.
I hope Zenos isn't dead. We keep getting hints that we're like him so much. Plus his title in his name means traveler apparently.
@Gurney no that's us , We're Azem 's sundered soul , it's literally why his crystal is given to us .
I'm fine with zenos just being zenos until present with actual proof to the contrary
@@RichterfanReborn89
Zenos got the title "Viator" instead of "Sol" after his father died for his decisions and actions. His prior title was Yae.
Viator directly means "Traveller" in Latin. It represented his parallel to us as Azem.
We were tasked to wander freely and learn, always welcomed home; while Zenos... He was outcast and forever consigned to wander or travel, never to return to Garlemald. Banished, and exiled essentially.
Two different titles each with different contexts, both which share a common thread of wandering. It was quite deliberate.
@@kaitoudark1 which means jack all to the conversation at hand ,fascinating though it may be.
His theory was that zenos was azem sundered soul, but that's not it , we are Azem's sundered soul, the part of it from the source at any rate, as Ardbert is the part from the first, Zenos is just himself as I stated above, he is native to the source therefore he can't be any part of Azem.
"That, I cannot deny"
Warrior of Light smiles and secretly inner Fray smiles even larger.
Ngl but I bet WoL truly wanted a no holds barred foght too. After all is saod and done with the End of Days averted. We finally get to give in to what both Zenos and we wanted. A no holds barred battle with nothing at stake. No worlds in danger. No lives that needed saving. Just an all out brawl between two equals to determin who was truly stronger
Ok, honestly. This was epic...but Zenos is not dead nor is his arc done. Why am I saying this? because we do not know him the way we know the likes of Emet-Selch. I feel this development how everything transpired was NECCESARY for this man to have yet another eye-opening experience where perhaps he begins to change in his ways. Alisae's words reached him when she said particular words that pushed him and persuaded him into helping us with the battle against endsinger. There's just so much we don't know of Zenos other than, well he is battle hungry.
Yoshi-P has been really pushing the idea that he is truly our friend. He is hellbent on it and not just that, he asked us to pay attention to Zenos' avatar. Apparently, according to him, there's a reason Zenos chose the route of a reaper. But the thing is we never got...an explanation as to why?
Must I remind everyone this man has the resonant? He has been KILLED before...
And he came back from the dead. This is no different. Perhaps, what changes is he has no bodies to hop onto unless his spirit can travel through space and time in the sea of stars.
Never, have we ever had a ''villain'' get the crazy make-over Zenos got to the point of appearing with an ALL scions poster. Why the hell would you put a bad guy in there unless...he wasn't any good? It is odd to say the least. It's very strange to see Zenos there...unless he is being foreshadowed to become scion later on in the near future. This was needed. It was a requirement for us to beat the shit out of Zenos so he could have character development. Yes it sounds funny at first but when you think about it deeply, I see this being the only way where he can have a bit of change...and be on his road into becoming a scion.
We are still alive and breathing, do you think being the resonant he is (obsessed with us forevermore), he will truly stay dead in the sea of stars? In that realm that belongs to Meteion? (Butchered her name woops sorri)
I'm not even a fan of Zenos but its hilarious to me people think he is dead lol far from it. He cannot die nor stay dead. He partially represents endwalker. So, they can't keep a major ''KEY'' character dead for too long. Why is he ''key'''? For what exactly? We didn't get confirmation of this. Neither any evidence supporting Fandaniels claims on something Emet potentially did to Zenos.
So, this is why I heavily believe...he will return later on. He won't stay dead. So, to those who hate him don't get your hopes up lol but he won't be a villain anymore, at best an anti-hero or a problematic ally. This is to me at least, Zenos start into change. Because Death brings about a form of evolution for something new to be reborn or created.
i personally loved zenos but ive played since 2.3
Thats the thing though, Zenos has no reason, unlike Fandaniel who had one deep down. As he says, he can burn his candle without fear cause he truly has nothing to lose, only the want to gain that feeling again. And despite burning all his life, he cant beat you who has a purpose and something to strive for. In his last moments he asks how your life differed from his, despite both of you being the peak of strength. Theres nowhere for Zenos to go, because he wouldnt want to be anywhere else than this transcendant moment.
Everyone keeps saying he died, but I don't see the body lol
The only way that he would die definitively is for Yoshi to hear the barking of the edgys who spend all the time talking badly about Zenos because they don't like it.
You pulled my thoughts right out of my brain and typed it all out for me. How absolutely insane would it be if he came back to be our actual friend? Lol im so damn into this theory.
I love how people comment "Oh Zenos so bad" or "Zenos fallen into the same trap as hummanity and other extinct races of the universe through seeking of perfection!". All that is BS - he just wanted to feel alive.
Lit AF.
To speak solely from my own character's stance. Her feelings on the whole matter at the end of all things.
"Fare well my first love, my enemy."
As for myself. I loved Zenos he was my favorite villain in the whole of XIV and I ugly cried when he died. Though I could not be any happier with how his story end. I'll miss him tremendously.
Oh, my poor Linkshare friends, reading without of context my thoughts during the fight. There weren't many, only: "GET UP. GET UP. GET UP. GET UP. GET UP."
And I wasn't talking about my WOL. That, I can't deny.
What a perfect ending.
They couldn't have done a more fitting end. As pinned comment has said, this is the only time our WoL was allowed to be selfish and pursue that thrill Zenos was so desperate to find within us. Yes. Finally. This is the one and only time we get to give him our undivided attention and savor a good fight past limits.