Counting the original incarnation of the game, the current base game A Realm Reborn, and the expansions Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers, there is quite a bit to go through. Throughout the story, players mostly control the Warrior of Light, chosen by the godess Hydaelyn to protect the world - but the real nature of the gods and entities of this world made keeping a moral complex more and more difficult with each new chapter. Now, with the most taxing of trials ahead, gamers all over the world are checking back on previous story beats for hints, to refresh their memory, or to relive some of their favorite moments.
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The Plot In The Original Final Fantasy 14
The original incarnation of Final Fantasy 14 was a nightmare to get through, but ever since Naoki Yoshida took control of the game, it started to improve both technically and narratively. In this version of the game, the Warrior of Light was thrown into the world of Eorzea where the Garlean Empire was in open conflict with the free cities of Limsa Lominsa, Ul’dah, and Gridania. In order to deliver the final strike on their path to conquest, the Empire planned to use the planet’s second moon, Dalamund, to destroy the free companies.
This second moon was not just a big rock, as it turned out to hold Bahamut, an incredibly powerful Primal. The dragon ravaged the land attacking both Garleans and Eorzeans, and would have killed the original players if it had not been for Louisoix Leveilleur, leader of the Circle of Knowing, which was an early incarnation of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. It is this group that had Yda, Papalimo, Thancred, Urianger, Minfilia, and Y’shtola among their most prominent members.
The Plot In A Realm Reborn
If players were to jump into Final Fantasy 14 for the first time today, this is where they would start - the version with the better gameplay, more stable engine, and entirely created by Naoki Yoshida’s vision. Once again Warriors of Light appear in Eorzea as adventurers, but no one remembers them, and they themselves have no memory of the battle that happened five years ago in canon - which is only referred to as the Seventh Umbral Calamity. What starts out as a light-hearted adventure gets more serious once the heroes realize they possess ’echo’, a blessing granted by Hydaelyn that allows them to resist the corruption of the primals.
Soon the heroes get reaquainted with the now renamed Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and they help them fight the Primals that beast tribes throughout Eorzea invoke. They soon find out that the different tribes are being manipulated by a strange group called the Ascians, who also have some kind of relationship with the Garlean Empire whose entire reason for conquest in the first place is cleansing the world of primals. Thanks to Louisoix’ grandson Alphinaud and Cid, the Warriors of Light realize the Empire is killing primals to power the Ultima Weapon, a construct that will be used for the conquest of Eorzea and any remaining free lands of the world. In order to fight this enormous threat, all free companies unify in a common front and finally decide to strike together against the Garlean Empire in a huge battle against the Emperor himself and his Ultima Weapon.
The Eorzeans prevail, but it is far from a definite victory, as they soon realize Ascians are immortal and still pose a threat. Fortunately a Scion called Moenbryda realizes there is a way to kill them, but it costs her her life, the first of many tragedies to come. Also, while investigating leads on the Ascians’ identity, the Warrior of Light meets the dragon Midgardsormr who severs his connection to Hydaelyn in order to test their worth, so the situation looks dire.
Realizing that no single hero could win this battle, Alphinaud forms a group called the Crystal Braves as a unified Grand Company for the entire realm while also securing an alliance with the kingdom of Ishgard, who is raging a millenary war against dragons. While celebrating these developments in a banquet in Ul’dah, the Sultana Nanamo gets poisoned and the Scions get accused of regicide. The Crystal Braves side with the conspirators so the heroes go on the run, but only Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light manage to escape along with Tataru to the land of Ishgard.
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The Plot In Heavensward
This is the point where most players go from liking Final Fantasy 14 to absolutely falling in love with it. After arriving in Ishgard, Count Fortemps and his sons decide to take the remaining Scions in. While helping them on various tasks, they soon realize that the Sultana was not actually killed but was sleeping instead, so one of the goals will be to clear their names. During their time here they meet Estinien, the Azure Dragoon, and Ysayle, the leader of the Heretics who want to side with the dragons in the war.
In attempting to find common ground and unify the people of Ishgard, FF14’s heroes travel the land and meet Hraesvelgr, an ancient wyrm which explains the source of the conflict. The great archbishop Thordan’s ancestor betrayed the dragons by killing the great Hraesvelgr’s human beloved, and used the ensuing chaos to create a theocracy that has lasted through centuries. Thordan himself wants to hide this and stay at war, so the Warrior of Light fights the Holy See, and Lord Aymeric becomes the new leader of the nation. Still, this doesn’t end the war, as Estinien gets posessed by the war hungry wyrm Nidhogg, but after refusing to let their companion die they manage to save him.
Soon enough the heroes get back to the task of clearing their names, finding the missing Scions, and get new members such as Alphinaud’s sister Alisaie. Minfilia, though, becomes one with Hyadaelin in order to help a strange group called the Warriors of Darkness, but not before explaining that the Ascians’ goal is to bring back a dark deity called Zodiark. Now, with the four kingdoms acting together, they manage to repel the reformed Garlean Empire’s attack in Baelsar’s wall, but not before Papalimo dies. This prompts Yda to reveal she is actually Lyse, Yda’s sister, and that the original character died in the Sixth Umbral Calamity. The next step in the war effort is to liberate Ala Mhigo.
The Plot In Stormblood
Although fans consider this expansion to be inferior to Heavensward in terms of story plot, it is famous for providing some of the best changes to gameplay and most exciting content in the Final Fantasy series. This time around, the Scions aid the Ala Mhigan resistance to fight the Garleans, commanded by the emperor’s son Zenos yae Galvus. This does not go well, as Zenos seems impossible to defeat, which prompts the Scions to go to Doma to weaken the empire by making them fight in two fronts. There they meet Hien, who they help unify the kingdom and orchestrate a revolution.
When the Scions get back to Ala Mhigo, they find Zenos has been experimenting with artificial Echo to increase his powers. This time, though, the Warrior of Light prevails and defeats him, although Zenos does not seem to have died despite having been defeated. The Scions also find out that former Emperor Gaius is also still alive and wants revenge against the Ascians who tricked him into awakening Ultima Weapon. While the Scions seem to be gaining momentum on the war effort, soon enough they start to mysteriously fall into a coma.
Gaius’ intel reveals that the empire has a strange chemical weapon called Black Rose which poses an incredible danger to all lands. Furthermore, Zenos body is being posessed by an Ascian called Elidibus, and besides Lahabrea who they managed to kill thanks to Moenbryda, there is yet another Ascian. The Eorzean front meets with Varis, the Garlean emperor, to talk peace. However, he reveals that the Empire itself was created by Ascians and that Eorzea needs to submit or die. After recovering from almost dying in the battlefield via the same coma that the Scions fell victim to, the Warrior of Light heeds a psychic call from the Crystal Tower in order to bring back their allies.
The Plot In Shadowbringers
Shadowbringers is generally considered the best expansion to Final Fantasy 14 so far, and the epic scale of the conflict combined with the deep personal stories is probably the reason why. Through the Crystal Tower, the Warrior of Light reaches a different world called The First, one where light has flooded everything and where the comatose warriors are currently fighting to restore the balance. Players also get reaquainted with the Warrior of Darkness from two expansions prior, Ardbert, who failed to protect this world and now roams it as a ghost. The one who invoked the Scions, though, is the Crystal Exarch, who explains that this world’s instability is what gives the Black Rose poison its strength in the Source.
In order to bring back the darkness, the Scions fight beings of pure light called the Lightwardens, and every time one of them falls, the Warrior of Light absorbs their light. This process, too, restores the cycle of night and day and slowly brings stability back to the First. This world also has a new Minifilia, who helps the Scions through their battles and eventually reclaims her own name, Ryne, instead of living another’s life. The heroes also meet Emet-Selch, the first Emperor of the Garlean Empire, who reveals he is indeed an Ascian but is here to find common ground with them to avoid more fighting.
After killing all of the Lightwardens, the Warrior of Light seems ready to succumb to the light and turn himself into a monster, but the Crystal Exarch reveals he had a plan all along. Turns out he is actually G’raha Tia, who Final Fantasy 14 players met in the Crystal Tower raid from A Realm Reborn, and what he wanted to do was take the light and then end his life to save everyone. This doesn’t come to pass, though, as he gets kidnapped by Emet-Selch who realizes there can be no understanding between them and would destroy this world instead.
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Ryne uses her powers to prevent the Warrior of Light from turning into a monster and they pursue Emet-Selch to an ancient Ascian city. They also learn that G’raha comes from a possible future where all of the Scions died to Black Rose, and he travelled to this world using the Crystal Tower in order to prevent it. The Warrior of Light ultimately succeeds in defeating Emet Selch after fusing his soul with Ardbert’s and fighting alongside many warriors from different worlds. Before dying, Emet-Selch explains that all the different worlds that exist used to be one, and that each is a fragment of an Ascian. The whole reason they want to summon Zodiark is to make the worlds rejoin, although this requires destroying each one of them in the process.
The most interesting part, though, is that it is hinted that the Warrior of Light might actually be an Ascian, and that the reason why Ardbert was able to fuse with them was that they are different parts of the same being. The last remaining Ascian, Elidibus, gets defeated by Zenos in the Source and is forced to return his body, so he takes Ardbert’s in the First. Yet, he too loses to the Scions, who after that ordeal manage to return to their world. Still, all is not well as a rogue Ascian named Fandaniel has joined Zenos, who is now obsessed with having a rematch with the Warrior of Light.
Through sheer strenght, Zenos and Fandaniel crush the rebels within the Empire and create towers in Eorzea to drain the land of aether to summon primals. The Eorzeans manage a frail peace between the city states and the beast tribes, and try to make Sharlayan join their cause, but they refuse. The Scions then decide to go to Sharlayan to create the ultimate alliance, and finally tackle Zenos and the last Ascian in Endwalker.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker comes out on December 7, 2021, and will be available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
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