Whew. Final Fantasy XIV. Did you all know that we liked that game? I mean, we like like that game. I think we are in like with it. I don't know if you could tell...it's not like we haven't done many comics around it. A metric fuckton is considered a small amount, right? No? Oh well. For what it's worth, *slips you a discrete piece of paper*...here's another XIV comic for you. Don't go spending it all in one place, ya hear?

Anyways! Shadowbringers was something special and I feel so bad for new players that have to slog through the game to get there. Not to say that it's bad, we wouldn't make so many comics on it if it was...I mean, we might...but seriously, there is a lot of good there. Just like any MMO though, as the game burgeons in expansions, the designers have a harder and harder time with figuring out how to make the end-game character progression fresh. The tried and true method of adding new tools to the skill set only work to a degree because at some point there is skill bloat and new level caps to deal with, which introduces pacing issues. And that's currently where we are at. After 3 level cap increases, the lower levels are bogged down in a slow skill progression pace and it's taking longer and longer for classes to really get into motion.

Combat pacing and healer quirks aside *grumble grumble*, fans of the game have been keen to give recognition to some of the best storytelling within XIV, and it seems to have paid off. Natsuko Ishikawa has taken over as the main scenario writer for Shadowbringers and what a gift she has delivered to us by way of an incredibly engrossing and interesting expansion! The pacing felt great and the way it tied in so many cumulative elements of the journey so far, and built upon them, felt rewarding and satisfying and only made me feel more attached to characters I'd long felt close to. It perhaps was not quite the um...direction... I was hoping for, but still, quite excellent nonetheless! Check it out already~