This chapter reaches its very predictable ending, with everyone who's still alive redeemed, and a clear narrative thread left alone but ready to be picked back up in a future expansion. It's as fulfilling as this sort of in-between content can be, and I'm honestly overjoyed I won't have to endure the cringe of Zero tipping her hat every time people talk about feelings any longer. I'm curious about Dawntrail, but this curiosity is tempered by my feelings about gameplay.

I find myself again dreaming about this exact game, with the exact same amount of content, the same story, classes, characters, lore, and so on, but as a single player experience not beholden to the requirements of a traditional MMO.

Though I can appreciated FFXIV's gameplay in small doses, I once more reach the conclusion I just…deeply dislike it. The scripted nature of its fundamental mechanics (every class has its own rotation and deviating from it is always bad) and the very sparkly Simon Says of trials and raids, paired with the inevitable focus on optimisation that is part and parcel of MMOs, just makes for a miserable experience for me.