Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV (ファイナルファンタジーXIV Fainaru Fantajī Fōtīn), also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix, originally for Microsoft Windows in 2010. It is the fourteenth entry in the main Final Fantasy series and the second MMORPG in the series after Final Fantasy XI. After the original version was shut down due to technical problems, the game was relaunched in 2013, initially subtitled A Realm Reborn, before assuming the original title after its launch. Besides Windows, it was also released for macOS, Playstation 3 (until 2017), Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.

Players take on the mantle of the Warrior of Light, an adventurer blessed by Hydaelyn, the Mothercrystal, and join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and save the world.

Hydaelyn/Venat

Hear... Feel... Think.
Crystal bearer... I am Hydaelyn. All made one.
Go forth, my child, and be as a beacon of hope for Eorzea and the lands beyond, through all the days of thy life.
Take the flower. Walk free. For you are free─to go where you wish. To believe what you will.
In darkness seek joy. Surrender not to sadness, and see beyond despair. Walk free, and bear the light for others to follow.
Yet rather than attain a sense of mastery, the more I understood, the more I came to hold the world and its miracles in awe. We too are miracles, each and every one of us. Born of the warm breath of life that traverses the heavens, swirling through eternity.
You, who are our future... Tell me this and tell me true. Has your journey been good? Has it been worthwhile?
Lands that stretch on forever. Skies one could drown in. The heartbeat of nature, silent yet strong. And amidst it all, a people. Beacons of light and life. Laughter that warmed my heart like naught else before. They are my meaning and my purpose. My love. In spite of...or perhaps because of this, I choose to believe. In mankind's potential. In his ability to find a way forward. So let there be no way back. From that temptation I sunder us. No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk.
- (prior to Venat becoming Hydaelyn and sundering Etheirys)
All is excruciating pain. I breathe fire and torment. I birth a world of suffering, to mire and plague. In one fleeting moment, lives come and go, ever moving towards the unknown. And in that fleeting moment, they cry for the answer to the question: Why, given life, are they meant to suffer. To die... As fragmented, imperfect beings, yours is a never-ending quest. A quest to find your purpose, knowing your end is assured. To find the strength to continue, when all strength has left you. To find joy, even as darkness descends... And amidst deepest despair, light everlasting.
Alas, the question I posed to thee in Elpis hath remained unanswered for all these years. I would hear thy response, Warrior of Light, should thou emerge victorious.
Darkness and Light. Despair and hope. As goeth one, so goeth the other. Become Light. Become hope.
Long, after I am gone, though not even my soul remaineth... My love will be with you forever, my dearest children.

Warrior of Light (dialogue responses)

Yes, no cat must go uncuddled!
It's fiiine. Just work your magic! Magicks. Whichever.
...This is another one of those moments where it really doesn't matter what I have to say, isn't it?
You name it, I've been punched by it.
It requires equal levels of passion and patience.

Scions of the Seventh Dawn

Alphinaud Leveilleur

The... the Scions of the Seventh Dawn labor for Eorzea's salvation. Whenever the realm is threatened, be it by primal, Ascian, Garlean or any other, we take up arms in her defense, that all in Eorzea may live to see a brighter tomorrow.
We are family in all but name, my lord. Though we share no blood, we have stood by each other through life's many challenges, resolved to prevail together─or not at all.
I have borne witness to many such miracles at your side, and would do so again. This is but another obstacle in the road. So come, let us travel it. Drag me though wonder and danger, as you are wont to do, and I shall endeavor not to slow you down.
We define our worth, not the circumstances of our creation!
If this journey has taught me anything, it is the importance─and difficulty─of holding to one's convictions in the face of failure...of striving always to replace one's ignorance with knowledge.
I must trust in myself to do what is right. As others have chosen to trust in me. So I will continue as I always have, weighing the consequences of my every action, and allowing my hope for the future to inform my decisions.
Ours is not a kind world, but it is beautiful. Always.
And yet...no matter how many worlds have met their ends, with you and Alisaie beside me, there is nothing I fear. No ocean so vast I cannot cross.
Well, this is it. The end of the path, and the beginning of whatever awaits. There will be greater hardships. We may be made to feel powerless. Yet come what may, let us have no regrets. No, let us have pride in what we have achieved. In what we achieved, and how it changed us for the better... That's worth fighting for. And dying for. As they did...

Alisaie Leveilleur

Though no weapons are drawn, a negotiation is no less a battle, and the stakes can be every bit as high. One misplaced word and people could die. It takes someone with a cool head, and I'll be the first to admit that's not me.
Our worlds may not live up to your lofty standards... But they are our worlds! Our homes! Full of life and love and hope! And we won't stand by and let you destroy them!
How can you even entertain such thoughts!? You owe your life to the Warrior of Light, and you don't get to die unless he/she says so.
Alphinaud! I'm about to do a great many stupid and reckless things. Watch my back, would you?
I could do with a little rampage myself.

Lyse Hext / "Yda Hext"

So, this is it. Whatever I choose to do from now on, I do as Lyse. ...And I choose to continue my family's fight. I want Ala Mhigo to be the country that Yda and my father always wanted it to be!
It looks like centuries of fear and mistrust really can't be washed away in a day. But someone has to make an effort at reconciliation if these conflicts are ever going to end.
Give Tataru a hug from me, all right?

Minfilia Warde

Is aught amiss?
Pray, return to the Waking Sands.
May you walk in the light of the Crystal.
Yet remember this: however glorious the past, it is the hero's lot to be judged on the deeds of the present.
There exist myriad barriers that divide us—those of race and nation, language and creed, to name but a few. Such barriers serve to isolate us from our neighbors...yet they also serve to define who we are. Shorn of them, there would be little to distinguish one from another, and the rich variety of our lives would give way to sterile orthodoxy. These barriers can never truly be broken down, of course—not so long as there is liberty in the world—but they can be transcended!
The path we now embark upon is perilous, but I pray you will walk with us to the end. For those we have lost. For those we can yet save.
Please, Mother Hydaelyn! Hearken to our plea! Lend us Your divine Light! Why can You not hear us? Do our words no longer reach you?!
If ever you should falter, remember this: no one, however powerful, is immune to the whisperings of doubt and despair. Do not give in to them, but do not deny them either. Look instead to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others.

Papalymo Totolymo

It is precisely when things appear to be proceeding according to plan that we must needs steel ourselves for impending danger.

Thancred Waters

Lady Lilira, for all our sakes, please... stay out of harm's way. As for you, my friend... for Lilira's sake, please stay in harm's way!
(Brass Blade: You'd best come along with us.) You invite me to your party then you ask me to leave? I do so detest receiving mixed signals.
And there you have it. Our friend is too stubborn to die.
This is Thancred. The explosives are in place.

Y'shtola Rhul

Hmm.... how very convenient.
(To Magnai) I am... not interested, little sun. Try again when you have become a man.

Urianger Augurelt

In prophecy are a myriad truths concealed. The eye of man decreeth which shall be revealed.
To say more would endanger the plan, for ignorance is your shield.
'Tis oft said truth is a matter of perspective. Yet upon this matter, there can be but one truth. I only pray it is not his.
[...] for the world is a tapestry of fates, interwoven and inseparable, and we who strive to better it cannot choose but make difficult decisions. For naught of worth was ever achieved without sacrifice. And thus must man ever struggle to weigh life against loss.
Thou needst but have faith. Have faith and all will be well.

Tataru Taru

Deep in the desert of my heart,♪
A lonely flower blooms...♪
Yearning for the heavens above♪
To quench my thirst for you.♪
Trololololo～lololo～♪

Krile Baldesion

From the simple pleasures of tucking into a hearty meal or...or collapsing into a comfortable bed... To the grand triumphs of visiting legendary lands or finding true love─you deserve all the joy in the world. There is so much that life has to offer. So much to be treasured and shared with those we hold dear. So promise me this: come what may, you won't give up on your own happiness. When you're out there, fighting tooth and nail, it's all too easy to forget. But in the end, your passions will be your greatest strength of all. Remember that.

Other main characters

Gaius van Baelsar

Is that all!? O Lady of the Vortex! O mighty Garuda! Of all primals, the most terrible. I say again...IS─THAT─ALL!?
I have given you nothing, Praefectus. You have earned it. That will be all. Dismissed.
Tell me...for whom do you fight? Hmph! Do you believe in Eorzea? Eorzea's unity is forged of falsehoods. Its city-states are built on deceit. And its faith is an instrument of deception. It is naught but a cobweb of lies. To believe in Eorzea is to believe in nothing.
And when the dust of battle settles, it is ever the strong who dictate the fate of the weak. [...] Only a man of power can rightly steer the course of civilization. And in this land of creeping mendacity, that one truth will prove its salvation.
Such devastation... This was not my intention...

G'raha Tia / the Crystal Exarch

I will slumber within the Syrcus Tower until then, to greet those with the means to open the gates. But yours lie outside of these doors. Go. Create a future where hope reigns, and the tragedies of the past are but memories.
How many years have come and gone since that day? How many years have I waited for this moment. For the one who stood alone against the storm...For the one they called...the Warrior of Light.
This tragedy, greater even than the Seventh Umbral Calamity, must be undone. If history must be unwritten, let it be unwritten. Become what you must. Become...the Warrior of Darkness.
Now... now I have you! Stay with me! Focus on my voice! Let expanse contract, eon become instant... Throw wide the gates so we may pass!
Though it meant depriving a world of its champion, I had to try─for in saving the First, you would bring salvation to the Source as well. But what manner of host harangues his guest in the middle of the road? Let us continue our talk within the Crystarium.
Despite appearances, I am an old man─one burdened with many...difficult memories, some too painful to recall.
But whatever it is you decide to do, I have every confidence that you will do well. For you have the strength to forge your own path. You will leave countless lives better than you found them, and the souls you touch will never forget your kindness. Then, in trying times, when you question your worth and your choices, they will raise their voices to remind you of the difference you have made. And thus will your deeds come to affirm your path. Remember this.
Then...I would ask him/her about his next adventure. And if he/she should wish me to be a part of it, oh...how happy it would make me. Together, we would travel the lands and cross the seas and take to the skies upon the eternal wind... My heart swells simply to imagine it.
Who would choose to remain here, in this dying realm, when they might go elsewhere and begin anew? Not I. And thus...thus did I use you!
At journey's end, an opportunistic thief makes off with the hero's prize. A paltry way to end a chapter, I concede. Yet your tale will continue, and my role in it will scarcely be remembered.
Thank you for fighting for this world. For believing. Fare well, my friend─my inspiration.
People cried out in despair, "There is no hope. We are finished. Mankind is finished". Then others raised their voices in answer. "Though we be beyond salvation, those who came before may yet be saved. We will forge a crossroads, and pave the way for a different future. By the wisdom of our forebears we will prevent this Calamity from ever having come to pass".
The Warrior of Light has been our unbroken thread. Where others would stumble and fall, he/she would rise above. Where others would break and run, he/she would carry on. The Warrior of Light's tale is one of unyielding bravery. To tell it was to feel courage; to hear it was to feel hope. It was a breath of inspiration in an age of suffocating shadow.
Let expanse contract, eon become instant! Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call!
The glory of the heavens was ever beyond the grasp of those who never thought to reach for it. But if I've gained anything from all of this, it is the courage to stretch out my hand. Do you hear me, G'raha Tia? This is no time for sleeping!
One of the brave souls who saw me delivered unto the First once said...that the world shall ever have a place for tales of heroism, so long as we have need of inspiration in our lives.
In such company, I felt as if I were a character in the epic tales that had stirred my heart as a boy. As if my dream had come true... It hadn't, of course, for I was no hero. Neither then nor after. [...] There was, however, one thing of which I was certain: that I could not bear to let those dear to me meet a tragic end.
Your ill-begotten power, obtained by exploiting that which is best in us... I shall have it, your soul and all!
Promise me you'll take me on your next adventure. A journey. Together. That's all I ask.
If I were to tell you that this isn't the end─that we will meet again─would you believe me?
When I was a boy, many long years ago, I yearned to stand tall as the heroes of eld. But like a fool seeking to pluck the star from the heavens, my every attempt to reprise their deeds fell short... And then, one day, an all but forgotten dream from my youth stood before me, in the flesh. So it was that a new adventure began...
Never─in the past, present, or future─have I found only happiness. To live is to be ever beset by hardships great and small. Yet it is in adversity we find the strength to strive for the next moment of peace, and the next, no matter what trials we face.
Time and time again, it seems that Allagan something-or-other are either the cause of or the solution to our problems.
Life is a series of journeys, my friend, and there's no telling what awaits us on the long road. But what's important is to be true to yourself as you walk it. Only then can we hope to be content when we arrive at the end of one─and step forward into another.

Ardbert / Warrior of Darkness

One life for one world. A fair exchange─wouldn't you agree?!
We fought and we fought and we fought...until there was no one left to fight. We won...and now our world is being erased from existence.
We did everything right, everything that was asked of us and still─still it came to this!
You were summoned to save the First? A waste of time. This world is beyond saving─like those who try to save it.
I don't remember when it was that I learned regret wasn't worth the bother. You get numb to it all over the years. The lost comrades, the broken promises, the abandoned principles─just more nagging burdens to ignore.
Why did you spare me? Why? What have I done to deserve this mercy!?
All of which is a long way of saying: don't make a choice that leaves you alone. Nothing is worth that─especially not eternity.
I was afraid to do anything more than watch for fear of making things even worse... But no longer. After all, the path I once walked is now yours to finish.

Hien Rijin

I am not normally one for hollow posturing, but in this game of nations, such gestures carry weight.
He has given his all for liege and land, and we will ask no more.
I shall make of Doma a land where children laugh and none need live in fear.

Zenos yae Galvus

Man should fight for the joy of it. To live, to eat, to breed─lesser beasts snap and howl at one another for this. Only man has the wisdom and the clarity to embrace violence for its own sake. For we who are born into this merciless, meaningless world, have but one candle of life to burn.
Would you be “happier” had I a “good reason”? (Jullus: What?) If my motives met with your approval, would you no longer resent the outcome?
Duty...honor...morality...all constructs of convenience, when put to proof.
Ask any creature of this star and those above for answers, and they will tell you what suits their fancy. And they would be right to do so. What meaning there is to be found in the petty vicissitudes of your existence must be gleaned by you and you alone.
You mean to return. To the world, where you are hailed as a hero. Hear me then. Not as a hero, but as simply… you. As I learned in Ala Mhigo, you are a formidable foe. Stronger than any I have ever faced. Against you, I need bring my all to bear. I need burn through the candle of my life. This is the sole pleasure I know, and it is the sole pleasure I have to share. And so I come before you. To issue challenge and offer singular bliss. If you wish to walk away, I will not stop you. You value life. You do not burn yours save for reasons you deem worthy. Reasons such as those which brought you here. The salvation of a world and its people. The motives of a hero true. But there is more to you than that. You know this to be true. As surely as you know the thrill of pushing your body and soul to their limits. Of confronting ever-mightier foes, dancing ever closer to the precipice wondering if this will be the one to finally, finally… fill the void. Such pleasures, you seek for their own sake, and no other reason. Is this not so… adventurer?
A test of your reflexes!

Feo Ul / Titania

You came from beyond, didn't you!? From beyond the rift! How wonderfully exciting! What a brave and reckless and marvelous thing you did! You've the heart of a pixie, you do!
You're late! Late, late, late! I've been waiting for you to summon me ever since you came here! Waiting and waiting and waiting! But my sapling didn't so much as utter my name! Such a heartless thing he/she is! Cold and cruel and heartless!
We fae folk live forever, but such is not your virtue. To strive for a dream you will never see─to sow seeds that others might one day taste the fruits of your garden─that is the beauty of your kind. Burn bright and shine as only you can.
[Rejoice and revel, for the Kingdom of Rainbows is forever young.]
Your kind is always so preoccupied with what lies ahead, and so we muddle your vision with fog and glamour. But such trickery is easy to see through. Stand very, very still. Think not of where you need to go, but where you are right now at this moment. At this time, in this place...

Erenville

If you mean to impersonate a toad, try studying the real thing. And don't try to fool an expert.

Ascians

Lahabrea

The hour is at hand! Behold but a sliver of my god's power! And from the deepest pit of the seven hells to the very pinnacle of the heavens, the world shall tremble! Unleash Ultima!

Hades/Emet-Selch/Solus zos Galvus

No lands must remain beyond our grasp. Go forth. Conquer. Rule.
I should be the one to sigh.
I am Solus zos Galvus, founding father of the Garlean Empire. And, under various guises, the architect of myriad other imperially inclined nations. As for my true identity... I am Emet-Selch. Ascian.
Just once...might we not seek to find common ground? For good or ill, I am immortal. Provided I have the inclination, I can always begin anew. Scheme and conspire to my heart's content.
So come. Shed your preconceptions. See beyond the unscrupulous villains you take us for.
You've committed the cardinal sin of boring me. And so I retire to the shade.
(Offering his aid to retrieve Y'shtola from the Lifestream) Once you've found a likely spot, all you need do is whistle. You do know how to whistle, don't you, hero? Just put your lips together and blow. Well, what are you standing around here for? Get searching! You do want to save her, don't you?
(After Emet-Selch retrieves Y'shtola from the Lifestream) What a touching reunion that was. It fair brought a tear to the eye. But as we both know, such tender moments are nothing if not momentary. Before long, they will remember their many differences, and return to squabbling.
- ("You're wrong. They're better than that".): Oh, if I had a gil for every time one of you heroes made that claim...
- ("Says the arch Bringer of Chaos".) Ah hah hah! Flattery will get you nowhere, dear boy.

But seriously, we Ascians do what we do for the greater good. For the Rejoining. Though we may sow the seeds of chaos, it is man who tends them, he who reaps their bountiful harvest.

Really. I have no need of deception─and even if I did, I assure you: you would find it quite indistinguishable from the truth.
But conquest is the easy part. The true challenge begins once the dust has settled─quenching the glowing embers of animosity and maintaining a semblance of peace. This requires the conqueror to treat the conquered with dignity, and the conquered to let bygones be bygones. A difficult feat to achieve.
What? You thought ancient beings like us incapable of crying? Well, rest assured that if your heart can be broken, then so can mine!
Alas, it is not your grand scheme that will succeed, but ours.
"There is no hope! We are finished! Mankind is finished!" Ahhh, the irony. What Vauthry achieved through bliss, you will achieve through despair. But I have overstayed my welcome. I shall look forward to seeing you bring the world to its knees, hero.
You think it unfair that you are subject to suffering? That your lives will be sacrificed for the ancients? Look at me! I have lived a thousand thousand of your lives! I have broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old! Sired children and yes, welcomed death's sweet embrace. For eons have I measured your worth and found you wanting! Too weak and feeble-minded to serve as stewards of any star!
You cannot be entrusted with our legacy. I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us and us alone.
Behold, the coming oblivion. 'Twas the end of our era, and the beginning of our great work.
And lo, vile beasts did rise... Leaving naught in their wake but blood and ash. Sun scorches earth and boils seas... And our sins ascend unto the heavens— Three dooms to unmake all we were.
Fool. Who are you? No one. Nothing. Once I have reclaimed my heritage, my first act will be to expunge your stain from history's weave. My world will have no need for heroes.
And you! Why waste your final moments in futile defiance? Weary wanderer─you've no fight left to fight! No life left to live!
The victor shall write the tale, and the vanquished become its villain!
But come! Let us cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another! I am Hades! He who shall awaken our brethren from their dark slumber! Show me your "vaunted" strength. And I shall expose the lie of your fragmented existance!
Behold, a sorcerer of eld! Tremble before my glory!
My dormant bretheren! Drink now, of a dark tomorrow. By our gathered might, must we reclaim these vain reflections. In Zodiark's name, I beseech you!
Should I surrender this fight, what will become of it all...? What will become of our triumphs? Our hopes? Our...our despair? What of this anguish which yet burns in my breast even after the passing of eons? No, no, no! I will not let it all be for naught!
Remember... Remember us... Remember... that we once lived...
Herein I commit the chronicle of the Traveler. Shepherd to the stars in the dark. Though the world be sundered and our souls sent adrift, where you walk, my dearest friend, fate shall surely follow. For yours is the Fourteenth seat - the seat of Azem.
In uncertain times, naught but the simplest words of wisdom will suffice. That which lives is destined to die. Love leads to loss. Every beginning has an end. Treasure every moment, every step of your descent. And there in the depth where souls and stars rest─find your truth.
The thought of having to bear such a burden for a thousand thousand lives horrifies me. But I would never forsake my duty! I would never forsake my brethren! You do not know me! I've had my fill of your fiction. I will return to my duty...and you will not bother me again.
Even now, I do not believe your tale. I would not suffer us to walk such a wretched path. Still, if it must be said... Do not squander it. The legacy I leave you.
Tell me, have you been to the ruins beneath the waters of the Bounty? Or the treasure islands beyond the frozen waters of Blindfrost, in Othard's north? The fabled golden cities of the New World? The sacred sites of the forgotten peoples of South Sea Isles? What about Meracydia, the southern continent? Do you know aught of its present state of affairs? I thought not. Even of your little Eorzea, you know precious little. The true identities of the Twelve, for instance. All of which is to say: expand your horizons. Go forth and seek discovery. Some of the civilizations in the reflections will surprise you. As the bearer of Azem's crystal, you may consider it duty to see at least that much. I certainly did.

Elidibus

I am Elidibus, emissary─bearer of the word of the one true god. And we shall meet again.
Has the laws of man grown so twisted in my absence that it is now permitted to lay hands upon an emissary?
And you would remember us? You do forget yourselves. There is no common ground to be found between you and I. Nor do I require any. I have my duty.
(as "Ardbert") But this land is our home. And if it is to remain so, now and forevermore, it is we who must protect it. The time to rely on saviors from afar has passed. It is you who must rise. You who must become the new Warriors of Light!
You who have murdered my brothers─who have taken their selfless labors in service to the one true world and turned them to ash. I see you for what you are. You are death, and only in death shall you serve any purpose.
Ere long I will come for you, Warrior of Darkness. And I will save the world.
For Elidibus is my name. And my mission. Guiding my every deed.
I am Elidibus! And it is my duty to steer mankind and the very star upon their true course. This I swore to...to someone.
We spoke, and I swore...what? What did I...?
This pain, this torment...is nothing! No more than must be suffered to deliver the world from its doom! No more than any of you malformed creatures have known! Even should you lose all that is dear to you. Even should it cost you your life... You bear the burden and fight on, kicking and screaming until your last breath is spent!
No! NO! It will not end here! Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call! The time is come to deliver your brethren from darkness! My heart's sole desire is a world free of sorrow. Join with me now in hope and prayer...for the salvation of all!
An invocation of eld... But not Hydaelyn's making... What are you? No─it matters not! You are the enemy, and you will fall! Even should it cost me everything, I will not forsake my duty!
To me, Warriors of Light! I am salvation given form... Mankind's first hero...and his final hope! For victory, I render up my all!
My people. My brothers. ...My friends. Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end, we will meet again. We will. We will. The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.
You cannot reshape the past to undo the tragedies of the present. Cannot unmake the sorrow and suffering fated to come. In full knowledge of this, will you still entrust your life to your foe and make the journey?
The ones I love and long to see again are waiting. In that promised land, beyond memory and dream... Now go, Warrior of Light. Go...and do not look back.
Well, Hydaelyn. I take my leave of You. Yours is the mantle of the last of us. May You have...the joy of it. The burden...and the solitude. It falls to You now─You and Your champion─to save our star.
The people of your time call this the aetherial sea-a name I quite enjoy. For it teems with life, every soul a star on its journey.

Other

Cocobezi: But should your arcane conflagrations ever fail you, remember my last line of defense: unabashed sobbing.
Merlwyb: Reckless, the lot of you—like bloody pirates! Well, I won't waste my breath trying to talk you 'round... On account of being a pirate myself. And a pirate who shrinks from a challenge is no pirate at all!
Yuyuhase: Pray do not take it personally, my friends. You are the victims of harsh economic conditions.
Lina Mewrilah: I may or may not have overheard our friend the dramaturge utter the word "fetch" a time or three during your last conversation. Don't let it discourage you. I know these tasks would be far from simple were it not for the trust you have fostered with the people of some half-dozen nations.
No would-be hero could fail to answer this call. For who among us does not yearn for salvation?
Knowledge seeks no man.
Curtis: Spoken like a true patriot. But liberty should not be the end in of itself. Liberty is the chance to build something better. A stronger, more prosperous home for our people. It's not quick or easy work, and it is never truly finished─but if you neglect it, then sooner or later, you look up to find you've traded one tyrant for another.
Curtis: Dying is easy, soldier. Living is harder. Rest. Mend. Regain your strength. You'll need it in the days to come...and mayhap one day we will need it too.
Grimcogg: You were there, in the middle of it all, strong as a hundred men! A bulwark against the tide of eaters that threatened to overwhelm us! And now you've brought me a sandwich!
Moren: (to the Crystal Exarch) "When all falls down around you, rise up". Those were your words. "There may come a day when all hope seems lost. But even should the rest of the world give in to despair─we shall not. We shall fight on, that our children and our children's children might know a better tomorrow".
Seto: Of course, you are you, and no one else. We are defined not by the soul we are born with, but the path we walk.
Fight and struggle. Seek salvation by your own hands. Though the losses be grave, endure them. Though the victories be hollow, claim them.
Lyna: (after tripping on an injured leg and falling) I...am fine... Completely...and utterly...fine! Better than fine! Hale and hearty and still alive to mourn those who are not. Who I failed to protect when they needed me most.
Minfilia: Coming together, providing for one another─that's the only way forward I can see. Since all of our heroes are gone, we'll just have to make heroes of ourselves.
Lamitt's Shade: Ardbert, you stubborn idiot. You sweet boy. You never did understand what you meant to me...
Your road goes ever on, as does your story. As does your legacy. Such is the hero's lot─to touch the lives of countless others...
You don't scare me! I have a giant hammer!
Almet: "History is learned, not lived". [...] We see the past through our own eyes, and speak of it with our own words. Thus do we come to understand it, in our own way. But this is not the same as remembering.
Montichaigne: Furthermore, while our decision may well've been the correct one, we cannot simply bull our way through these disagreements without inviting doubts or objections.
Nanamo Ul Namo: I do not ask that we set aside the decades of conflict and conquest─that we simply choose to forgive and forget. I ask only that in choosing to remember we do not also forsake our compassion and morality, for without that, there can be no reconciliation. Only death without end.

Dialogue

[Yda and Papalymo, after being found by the Warrior of Light, starting to wake up after a teleportation spell brought them to the Tweleveswood.]:
Yda: *stumbling a bit* Ugggh...My head...
Papalymo: *wake* Where are we? Near Gridania, you think?
Yda: Take a look around. It's oblivious, isn't it? The quiet, the calm, the beautiful flowers. There's only one place it could be! The great beyond. I do believe we're dead, Papalymo.
Papalymo: Oh, Rhalgr take you and your great beyond!
Yda: *notices the Warrior* See? Look, here's a psychopomp come to guide us along. Nana, is that you?
Papalymo: And what that make them? Your dearly departed childhood pets come to play fetch?
Yda: Always the cynic! It is so...Oh. *Notices the wolves*
Papalymo: Save your japes or it be our limbs they're fetching.
Yda: *Getting into a fighting stance* Over my dead body! Hyah!

Alphinauld: The... the Scions of the Seventh Dawn labor for Eorzea's salvation. Whenever the realm is threatened, be it by primal, Ascian, Garlean or any other, we take up arms in her defense, that all in Eorzea may live to see a brighter tomorrow.
Matoya: And that's very noble of you. But in chasing after these lofty goals, you seem to have lost sight of some basic truths. To win a war, you must be willing to do whatever it takes. To fight, to kill, and, if necessary, to die. The path you've chosen is paved with the dead. Walk it with your eyes open, or not at all.

Lyse: Well, who knows? He/She does have an awful lot of adventurer friends. Maybe some of them decided to take a fishing trip to the Far East, and are surprisingly close by...?
Alisaie: Yes, and I speak fluent Hingan. Come on, there's no point putting this off!

Lyse: I can swim well enough. How about you, Alisaie?
Alisaie: Oh, like a fish. In contrast to my doggy-paddling brother. [pauses] Somehow, the boy just isn't very buoyant.

Sari: How observant of you. You have uncovered master summoner Sari's greatest masterpiece: an artificially sentient evocation matrix.
Second Sari: The complexity of my design simply cannot be compared to the primitive principles used in Principia's construction.
Third Sari: Your defeat is inevitable.
Principia: Tough talk for an aging machine whose logic channels have obviously rusted with disuse!

Gyoshin: ...We will die in seven years. Seven years!
[The Warrior of Light remains silent.]
Gyoshin: Please at least feign distress over our plight!

Urianger: What sayst thou, Master Matoya? We may accept this fate or defy it, but we cannot deny it.
Y'shtola: Deny? I am not want to run from my troubles. [An updraft unhoods her] Until our friend returns, I will hold the line.

Vauthry: Who gave you permission to tend to that criminal's wounds!? I told you to paint me a picture!
Alphinaud: What you need is a mirror, not a painting. It will capture the horror I see before me far better than I ever could.

Willfort: ...You weren't hurt at all, were you?
Alisaie: Hurt...? There wasn't even a fight. I was too late. Too slow. And I thought I could protect you...

Minfilia: A palace of water... It's like something out of a faerie tale...
Thancred: Except we're the ones in the tale. Stay on your guard.

Y'shtola: You're plotting something.
Emet-Selch: Every hour of every day. But never you mind about that.

Emet-Selch: No lands must remain beyond our grasp. Go forth. Conquer. Rule.
Emet-Selch: Forgive me. A sudden pang of nostalgia for those halcyon days.
Emet-Selch: Exploring virgin territories, subjugating primitive peoples. All for the glory of Garlemald!
Thancred: If you've brought your ivory standard, I'll be happy to tell you where to stick it.

[After the Warrior of Darkness has slumped due to the Light's power, they find themselves in a white void, with Ardbert standing next to them.]
Ardbert: If you had the strength to take one more step, could you do it? Could you save our worlds?
The Warrior: You know I could! / What, all by myself?
Ardbert: [chuckles and hands the warrior his axe] Take it. We fight as one.

Sicard: It's all we know, Captain. If we ain't pirates, what are we?
Hyllfyr: Yer bloody idiots, is what you are! Idiots with yer whole lives ahead o' ye! Ye can do anythin' ye want─be anythin' ye want!
Hyllfyr: We're pirates, aye... An' we pirates love our loot. But that ain't our first love. Our first love is the sea, the sea an' what she brings us─freedom.
Hyllfyr: So 'old fast to that. Let the brine-crusted 'usk that stands before ye now be the last o' them as knew naught save 'ow to steal, an' make o' yerselves a new breed o' pirate!

Y'shtola: So, Sharlayan would keep its counsel while the world is lost to ruin?
Fourchenault: It would. Come what may, we shall live on. We must.
Y'shtola: Do as you must then. But we Scions will fight─until the heavens fall, until our last breath.

Fourchenault: We will never choose the way of the sword. We will fulfill our mission not through strife and bloodshed, but survival.
Fourchenault: Come what may, we shall live on. We must.
Y'shtola: Do as you must then. But we Scions will fight─until the heavens fall, until our last breath.

Y'shtola: "Remove from the field" was not a euphemism for "enthusiastically murder".
Estinien: It's nothing that won't heal. In time.

[The Warrior of Light stands alone in Ultima Thule after their friends sacrficed themselves. The Warrior senses presence of others and walks onward towards the end, passing shades of the their past.]
Ardbert: If you need a push, I'll be right there behind you.
Haurchefant Greystone: Do not despair! You're not without allies.
Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn: What we have sown in blood, we have reaped in suffering, and it cannot go on.
Aymeric de Borel: Upon the souls of they, who sacrificed themselves to pave the way for peace, we will never abandon our cause.
Nanamo Ul Namo: While it is true man succumbs all too often to anger and avarice, he may yet overcome his basest instincts through forming of bonds with others.
Raubahn Aldynn: Such victories are rarely won without sacrifice. But the prize is worth the price.
Kan-E-Senna: And we for our part are glad indeed to welcome friends both old and new...
Hien Rijin: Save your tears for the morrow. You may be sure we will have ample cause to shed them, be they for joy or despair.
Papalymo Totolymo: From tragedy and sacrifice, we rise to greet a new dawn.
Count Edmont de Fortemps: A future shaped by choices we made, in ways we could never have foreseen.
Beq Lugg: Yet miracles do happen! So let us pray, and will our friends home.
Ryne: I won't stop praying until I know they're safe.
Midgardsormr: Strong art thou, mortal.
Minfilia Warde: Look to the light within, that you may continue to serve as a beacon to others.
Ardbert: Let's finish this!

Alphinaud: We will stand against fate.
Alisaie: No matter the cost!
Thancred: We've been here before...
Urianger: Many a time.
Y'shtola: Thus do we know...
Estinien: To never give up.
G'raha Tia: For hope will shine again!

Lyrics

Thy Life is a riddle, to bear rapture and sorrow.
To listen, to suffer, to entrust unto tomorrow.
In one fleeting moment, from the Land doth life flow.
Yet in one fleeting moment, for anew it doth grow.
In that same fleeting moment,
Thou must live, die, and know.
- Answers, theme of Final Fantasy XIV and A Realm Reborn
Storm of blood, born from blood of our fallen brothers
Borne upon our hands, cradled in our arms, swelling in our hearts
Raise your weary head, heed the call to arms, ringing in your heart
Loyalty! Unity! Liberty!
- Storm Of Blood, opening theme of Stormblood.
Stand tall, my friend
May all of the dark deep inside you find light again
This time, tumbling, turning, we make amends
Eternal winds from the land ascend
Here to lift us that we won't end
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow, ending theme of Shadowbringers
La hee, [...]
- Civilizations, daytime theme of Rak'tika Greatwood
Beat, the Heart of Sabik, the Heart of Sabik, the Heart of Sabik
Beat, the Heart of Sabik, the Heart of Sabik, the Heart of Sabik
Witness...
Ah, rise, Ultima!
Witness Ultima
Darkness come, rend the shield of light
Destruction
Salvation
Ultima!
- Ultima by the Primals, theme of the Ruby Weapon
On wings of hope, you rise up through the night higher, oh higher
Carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms
That its chorus might ring for all
- Endwalker–Footfalls
Every step we take
Echoes in our wake
Winding 'round our fate
To forge ahead
Should we lose our way
Tire of all this pain
We won't be afraid
To forge ahead
Fearless hearts ablaze (When the world comes crumbling down)
No more time to waste (Know I'll be there)
No, it's not too late (Though our fleeting moment has gone)
To forge ahead (You're not—you're not alone YEAH)
As we ride again (As you turn your eyes to the stars)
To another end (Oh, I'll be there)
Where it all begins (With my chorus guiding you)
Forge ahead (Forge ahead)
- Endwalker

Quotes about Final Fantasy XIV

[Samurai] is also about slowly building to large payoffs. To play the Samurai is to enjoy the satisfaction of filling out a customer loyalty rewards card.

—Dan Floyd, Final Fantasy XIV - Jobs 301 (Stormblood Edition)

The easiest way to describe Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is to call it a game about hope. That’s not really a unique descriptor since, to some degree, all Final Fantasy games, MMORPG or otherwise, are about hope. [...] However, despite Endwalker’s unflagging commitment to “the power of friendship,” it’s the game’s unvarnished look at the other side of hope — oppressive and omnipresent despair — and the real strength it takes to maintain that hope in the face of such despair that makes it the best Final Fantasy experiences I’ve had in 30-plus years of the series’ existence.

—Ash Parrish, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is an emotional culmination of a decade-long journey

External links

Wikipedia

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Final Fantasy XIV