Summary: Castrum Lacus Litore. Completing the main story content in the Bozjan Southern Front. Misija gains an ancestral ally.
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Lady of Blades
-Time to storm the Castrum! Is this gonna be a full-on instance/dungeon thing, or just another part of the zone?
-That was pretty awesome! It was far more communication-heavy than most XIV raids, requiring groups to coordinate their placement and attacks. I had a couple of failed attempts prior to this where our groups didn’t communicate and just didn’t have the right split.
Coordination aside, the encounters were really fun. Similar difficulty to the 24 player raid encounters, though SCREW WHOEVER DECIDED YOU SHOULD LOSE METTLE HERE ON DEATH. Boooo.
-We clear out the Castrum. No sign of Mikoto though, and Bajsaljen is suspicious.
BAJ: “Their soldiers fell so easily, fled so quickly. This all seems… too easy.”
-Before we can conduct a more thorough search, Misija emerges. I’m surprised she’s still here.
-Oh. She’s got Mikoto as a hostage. Against a room full of Bozjan resistance fighters, but still.
-During this stand-off, Mikoto fills us in on the history of Save the Queen. Throws one of those aether crystals our way.
MISIJA: “We are going to take a little trip into the memories of this blade. If you wish to keep Mikoto in one piece, that is.”
-What choice do I really have? I interact with the crystal. More Inception. This time, with Mikoto and Misija joining in.
-We see a woman lying dead on the ground. The original Queen Gunnhildr? Or the servant girl who stood in for her? This must be the servant.
Some Bozjans stand above her, the murderers. They’re relieved they were able to kill her before she used the blade.
-A new figure appears. Queen Gunnhildr, the original. She was behind it? Or is this the spirit of the serving girl? [Non-rhetorical question: The collection log about Queen Gunnhildr confirms that this is the queen, but why is she mad? On behalf of the servant who took her place? What am I missing?]
QUEEN GUNNHILDR: “I thought myself able to control it, to harness its power for good. And yet… it seems I was found wanting.”
She seems to be addressing us in this vision.
-Misija appears, addressing the Queen’s spirit:
“Naught but lies and deceit. They used you, betrayed you, slaughtered you, and dragged your name through the dirt. Now, rise my queen. Exact your vengeance, erase their accursed legacy from the pages of history!”
So Misija sees this Queen as the paragon of those like her, the wronged and abused in her culture. She wants to empower the Queen’s spirit to take vengeance as she herself wants to do.
-The Queen is overcome by rage and ager at hearing this. Waves of shadow pour out from her, encompassing this dream.
Ancestor and scion, side by side.
-We emerge back into the real world, with Gunnhildr too. She
mind-controls some of our Hrothgar Resistance friends, splitting our
ranks. This is INTENSE AFFFFF
But we’re clearly not gonna just have random trial against Gunnhildr now. Where do we go from here?
-All
of a sudden, a bangaa named Bwagi (one of Ba’gamnan’s buddies from XII
iirc) shoots Misija. This seems to disperse the Queen, who must be tied
now to Misija’s spirit.
Bwagi leads the few un-mind controlled of us away. To regroup another day.
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Meanwhile, at Castrum Lacus Litore…
-The imperial council meets here. Lyon, Menenius, and now Misija.
-Menenius removes his helm, and they’re making a big show of not showing his face. UNTIL NOW. (He just strikes me as another Elezen, but maybe that’s a big deal? It’s probably rare for Elezen to rise in the Imperial hierarchy.)
-Lyon dives even more heavily into XII territory, saying he studied under basch. BASCHHHHHH!!!
-Their dynamic is interesting. Lyon and Menenius seem so opposite each other’s style.
-So this was chapter 2 of “Save the Queen.” The first was the initial relic weapons. I’m guessing it’s a trilogy where the third and final chapter will be in 5.5.
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General Thoughts on Bozjan Front
Overall impression: I like this place WAY better than Eureka.
-The story feels well-paced. Comes pretty quickly, and doesn’t feel too stretched. I like how even though it’s an optional area, the plot is tied in heavily with the Empire’s fate. It FEELS like a main story quest extension.
-It’s super easy play with friends, no matter how big our level divide. This felt penalized in Eureka but not here.
-The best part though? The critical encounters. Trials are some of my favorite things in the game, and this zone feels like it’s chock-full of 48-player trials with interesting and engaging mechanics.
Tip: turn off names during critical engagements if you want to see anything at all.
-Screw losing mettle. I hate it, and nothing will convince me it’s a good or useful mechanic. All losing experience does for me is make me less willing to experiment, and less willing to accept a resurrect when things don’t look great.
This is especially the case for Castrum Lacus Litore. Losing mettle with each death felt TERRIBLE there.
-The duels seem super fun too!
If
you perform exceptionally well in certain skirmishes, you can get
invited after sometimes to duel a tough boss with lots of players
watching. I haven't tried one yet.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
The chaos around a quest-giver for a new patch:
A mech puppy! My friend Almaeron says this is a Type-0 mech:
An intensely cool astrologian headpiece and weapon:
Disco Hrothgar:
One of the game’s oddest NPCs:
This is what you see when you die with a lifetime of sins:
-Some great player names seen recently:
Poutine Bringer
Cooked Shrimp
Sesame Seed
Grim Waltz
Teenage Mutant
Tortellini Alfredo
Noober Goober
Raven Starguide
Chimy Changa
Emet- Sulk
Sieghart Catarin (A Dark Souls fan!)
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Next time: Probably wrap-up grinding in Bozja, trying for mounts and my red mage relic weapon upgrade through grinding skirmishes. Beyond that… not sure! White mage/dark knight, or maybe some ARR beast tribes that I’ve only briefly touched.
