[CC] My Warrior of Light Story

@itsbasiltime asked the question over on Mastodon: How did you get into Final Fantasy XIV?

Ah, my gentlefolk, I’ll have to take you back in time with me a long, long way… Once upon a time, I played World of Warcraft, I actually played it for a fairly long time. I probably played it far longer than I should have, but I stayed for friends, guildmates, the people are what I stayed for ever-so-much more than the game itself. It was during the tail-end of Warlords of Draenor that I realized that I wasn’t playing the game anymore. I was logging in, running in circles around my garrison, and using the chatbox to talk to friends and guildmates. It had become little more than a glorified Messenger or chatroom program. It was then that I knew my time in the game had come to its end.

I drifted for a while between a variety of MMOs. I’m a social creature, having that extra element of being able to play and talk to other people while I did stuff in-game was part of my enjoyment of the MMO experience. I tried Lord of the Rings Online for a couple of years, then a couple of years in Aion, then over to Guild Wars 2 where I led The Razor Warband, one of the best all-charr guilds on Tarnished Coast — but I might be biased. 😉 I even did a short stint in Allods Online. None of them really hooked me enough to keep me going.

I’d heard the horror stories of Final Fantasy XIV, the original before A Realm Reborn. How even the most high-end PCs struggled to run it. How it was difficult to play and just… not fun. Given all that, it was never on my radar of things to try until a friend, Rheyl, suggested it to me again. Skeptical, but willing to give it a go, I bought the game to give it a try.

This was in a time before there was a Free Trial of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV with an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist…)😆

My very first character was, of course, a miqo’te. A reincarnation of my old character I used to play over AOL Instant Messenger chatrooms. (Why, yes, I am an internet dinosaur…) Her name was Katja Armitanis and even back then she was a catgirl, heavily based on a puma or mountain lion. Also, yes, called a cougar which makes me laugh now. However, as I wandered the world for that first few hours, I came to realize that it was chock-FULL of catgirls. What I didn’t see many of were the elven race, the elezen. So, my second character, Syranelle Ironleaf, was born.

I happened to join the game just two weeks before the Heavensward expansion was set to launch, but I wasn’t all that worried. I was still trying out the game, still finding my sea-legs in this new world I was now part of. I started out as an Archer/Bard, because I thought being a minstrel archetype would be fun and it fit with the story I had in mind for Syranelle. But then a friend told me about the Scholar class, which I immediately fell in love with. I had to be one. The thought of being a ruin-spelunking book-nerd with a faerie companion just clicked with me.

I resolved then to get to Level 50 as soon as humanly possible so I could play one. Also, so I could start roleplaying! I have this weird thing where I don’t like RPing until a character is at the level cap, this is mostly so they’re current on the in-game story as well as being able to travel everywhere in the game.

The more I played FFXIV the more I realized just how many gaming niches I had: I love to gather and craft in my downtime, I have fun with racing chocobos in the Gold Saucer, I get to help people and be rewarded for it (via healer Dungeon Roulettes, because healers were always in demand back then.) The roleplay here was both parts abysmal and awe-inspiring. 🤣 But what really got me was the Main Scenario Quest. Yes, the dreaded MSQ.

As you’ve read, I’ve been around the MMO block a time or two. In all my years of playing them, no story in any game has ever moved me to tears (although, losing my mentor in GW2 came pretty close…!) There have been so many moments in FFXIV that have brought me to tears, that have made my heart ache for the characters and their tribulations. Trudging across the Steps of Faith in the opening scenes of Heavensward… Augh, yes, please wound my heart a little deeper, Squeenix.

I joined the game back then, way back in 2015, and I’ve been here ever since. I’ve changed characters a few times — though they all still exist, I don’t have it in me to delete anyone I play for a long while — but my love of the game and the world are still as strong as ever.

I am a Warrior of Light.