The Celestia Citizen (The End is Walked Edition)

Hello, fellow Celestians! Welcome to yet another edition of the Celestia Citizen newsletter! This one was running a tad later than usual due to the Christmas & New Year’s holidays, and my battling last minute illness the prior weekend. Normally, I aim to get this newsletter done within the first week of the month. Apologies for the lateness. On another note, here we are in another new year. We are already 1/5th thru the new decade and have many years to go before we hit the end of it. This year brings another year where we must hope for the better, pray for the best, and support each other in our most needful of times. Be sure to continue wishing your fellow man, woman, FC member, and whomever a merry happy new year!!! And with that out of the way, let’s press on with news!

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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker News

First off, all of the major congestion issues occurring through December with the holidays, the game launch, and the influx of players back to the world of Eorzea have been MASSIVELY improved. While there are still queues to contend with, many technical issues on the backend have been addressed. Continue to expect queue times and potential waits when jumping into the game, especially during peak hours. Idle timers are still in effect until further notice, so ensure you do not leave your game unattended for too long lest you be returned to the login screen.

Secondly, the game is enjoying a wonderful winter sale on its Optional Items page. This features numerous discounts on holiday-themed items (such as outfits from prior Heavensturn events, the festive equivalent to Christmas in Eorzea, mounts, decorations, etc). There is also the addition of the Snowman mount from a prior Heavensturn event. Details on the sale: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/10d609668ba906567bd68cf539ea6e483dbfec04

Third, the Heavensturn event is underway until January 16th! It is a very brief event that will allow you to get a couple of items, a house decoration, a food item, and celebratory items! Details on the event: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/special/2022/Heavensturn/22lsrul3tu

Fourth, the latest patch for the game, Patch 6.05, has been implemented. Major changes include: New treasure maps with a new area (Timeworn Kumbhiraskin Maps, and the Excitatron 6000 area), new Savage raids (Pandaemonium was added in with 6.01; Savage variant added in with this patch), new mounts, minions, items, and many other skill and bug fixes. Details on the patch here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/674bcc0a4da4caba1ded710a7af99389094d52a8

Lastly, expect the next major patch, 6.1, to release in another couple of months. What could be in it? One expectation is the new housing system, which will change how new houses are acquired. This couples with Ishgard’s new housing zones, which will be available in this patch then (if you want to see what to expect, go to the Firmament in Ishgard).

Also, be sure to expect the following in the near future: additional duties, raids, more story mode content, and one major feature coming to FFXIV: Island Sanctuary. We received tidbits on this feature during Endwalker press events last year. It is to be a mode where the Warrior of Light will participate in a Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon type of mode. As to what specifics will be coming with it, it remains to be seen. But considering the success these ‘slice-of-life’ titles have for some gamers (offering simple stories, many things to do/craft/gather/harvest, and the opportunity to build up from nothing, and offer ease-of-access for someone who just wants to enjoy a casual game), having a fanbase of millions of players get to enjoy that approach in their favorite MMO is a welcome feature.

Now, here’s some fun trivia: In FFXIV, there have been uses of some guest actors that have hailed from one of the largest fantasy properties to have come about in recent years: Game of Thrones, based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Please note that there will be spoilers based on where one is in the overall FFXIV story.

And here’s one more guest voice actor who isn’t Game of Thrones:

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Social Events

First off, we must acknowledge our prior major event: The Holiday Party and Darts Event!

This event involved jumping from the high tower in Coerthas Central Highlands in a blind direction to land as close to the resident target for the event as possible.

The following members won the Darts event by being closest to our resident target:

Secondly, there was one other event held recently: The FC Room Decorating Contest, which focused on Christmas theme this year.

The following members took home the winning spots:

Elyn Softflame – 1st Place

Kitiara Kittiana – 2nd Place

Carletta Deremora and Urbosa Vah’naboris – Tied for 3rd and 4th Places

Also, here is an image from the Holiday Party, showing all of our fellow FC members (or as many as we could fit on screen at the time…)

Our next social event coming is on Saturday, January 29th, which is the Ocean Fishing Event! Be sure to jump to Discord and check the #social-event channel for specifics, or reach out to Blackhawk Slater for details!

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Buff Schedule for FC

Beginning with Endwalker, the FC prioritized the usage of specific buffs in order to benefit its members for gaining experience through battle, crafting, and gathering. This change was implemented at the cost of teleportation fees (which saw a tremendous buff in cost with the new expansion due to developer changes). Where teleportation fees ranged as high as 999 gil prior to Endwalker, the fees are now as high as 1500 gil per teleport (this is all based on distance from place-to-place, as well as if you are visiting another world). To mitigate this, one of a couple of options could have been implemented: Aetheryte tickets, FC mitigation, setting preferred/home locations. With Endwalker, new players would have had great difficulty managing teleportation costs with low stockpiles of Gil. However, as of January 4th, the FC has returned to its regular Buff rotation.

On 1/4, Teleport 3 buffs (40% reduction in teleport cost) will be in effect for 2 weeks (until 1/18), then will return to Teleport 2 buffs (30% reduction in teleport cost).

On 1/4 and onward, until further notice, the following buff schedule is in effect as well:

Mon – Randomized (there is a weekly poll in the #announcements channel on the FC discord)

Tues – Food

Wed – Gathering

Thurs – Crafting

Fri – Battle (3 for a couple of weeks, then 2)

Sat – MGP (this benefits the weekly Cactpot draw)

Sun – Battle (3 for a couple of weeks, then 2)

It is recommended, but not required, to take advantage of these buffs for marginal gains on whichever task you may set yourself to. That extra boost, combined with food, manuals, Well-Rested bonus, job bonuses (if you have a combat, crafting, or gathering job at a higher level than others of the same type, they will also benefit from XP boosts until they are same level as your highest), and more will all help with the climb to 90.

There is one more note regarding proprietary buffs with the Aetherial Wheels. I will explain this in the best detail that I can (these notes were provided with explanation by our resident Aurora Lightsnow 🙂 ):

The big reason why there are far more frequent Tier 1 and 2 grade buffs than Tier 3 buffs is due to the amount of resources/time needed to create the higher tiers. While Tiers 1/2 are obtainable via crafting or using FC credits from the Grand Company vendor, Tier 3 is a different monster. It requires crafted components, gathering materials to make them, and the materials are not obtainable solely through gatherers. FC airships are implemented to collect some of these resources. The airships take time to travel and gather. Once the materials are gathered, they are crafted into raw “Wheels” when finished. These wheels are naturally expensive on the market board and are always in limited supply (therefore it’s more efficient for cost to gather and craft them).

The Tier 3 wheels, being in a raw state at this point, require about 72 Real Life Hours (3 days) to charge. This leads to a maximum of two Tier 3 buffs that can be implemented in a week.

To summarize it: Tier 3 takes about 3 days at least to charge a single buff for the FC to use. Behind the scenes, it is a lot of work. Please appreciate the amount of work, time, and money that our fellow officers go through to bring this to everyone.

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Want More Final Fantasy to Play on PC?

Here’s a Final Fantasy related post. Aside from XIV, which Final Fantasy would you like to enjoy on PC? Well, here’s the good news: You will get to enjoy ALL of them!

Alright, not all of them in an official capacity. However, PC has the advantage of having ALL of the mainline entries available to enjoy.

This begins with the Final Fantasy “Pixel Remaster” project, whose goal is to bring some updates to the retro series of Final Fantasy games (encompassing the original thru to VI).

All 6 can be gotten through Steam (Final Fantasy VI is due for release February 2022).

Next, we have the 3D generation of Final Fantasy titles (encompassing VII thru XIII: Lightning Returns).

All of these can also be acquired through Steam.

Lastly, we have the modern generation of Final Fantasy titles: Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 1), and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

Final Fantasy XV is available on Steam currently. Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 1), while on PC, is currently available through Epic Games Store (this is expected to last anywhere from 6 months to a full year due to exclusivity deals between Square Enix and Epic Games). Once the exclusivity deal wears off, it will then be available on Steam. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins (which is a modern remake of the original Final Fantasy) is expected March 18, 2022. Details here: https://square-enix-games.com/sopffo/en-us/

Final Fantasy XVI is the next mainline entry into the series expected, alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake (Part 2). However, further news on these is due to come later this year.

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Conclusion

Here we are. At the end of another year, another Final Fantasy XIV expansion…and the Final Fantasy XIV story itself, as told from 2010 with A Realm Reborn. Across a main game, and 4 expansions, we have experienced the telling of the story of Hydaelyn and Zodiark. We’ve traveled almost the entire world of Hydaelyn, and experienced a story spanning a long decade. We’ve witnessed the coming and going of many folks: players, NPCs, story characters. And despite the feels we’ve experienced along the way, none of them will hit as hard as what Endwalker has managed to do.

The reception to Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker has been met with universal acclaim. To date, Shadowbringers has a 90/100 on Metacritic with a 9.2 user rating. Endwalker currently sits at 91/100 with a 9.5 user rating. Despite the story reaching its end, it has managed to tie up things in a beautiful bow and has led to a finish line with 10+ years of payoff being rewarded. Now, we have the next 2 years to look forward to seeing what is to come for the next major story of Final Fantasy XIV.

As for the FC itself, I do wish to bring up a couple of talking points. For one, understand that despite this being the start of a new year, it is also winter time. This is where people will feel both at their best and their worst. We’ve had a long year, and there is another long year ahead. Things may not seem at their best right now, but they are not at their worst as of yet. Keep on hoping in the face of uncertainty.

Even if it’s just a fool’s hope.

Know that one of the greatest things we can have in the world right now is hope. It’s stronger than fear.

It’s deep inside of us all, where none can get to nor touch.

Despite all the terrible things that are happening, we always have to believe something good will come of it.

This is, after all, the season of perpetual hope. Just as winter comes, so will spring.

Anyways, this is turning into a wall of gifs and quotes, so I am going to cut it here. Just be sure to keep hope, and always strive to be excellent to each other. Look forward to the next newsletter, which will be expected during the first week of February. See you, space cowboys Warriors of Light.