Sharlayan Dropouts: A Final Fantasy XIV Podcast

With Dawntrail's MSQ wrapped up it's time to get back to bees-ness as usual. The Arcadion has re-opened, spirits stir in a lost pocket dimension, and some sabotender's need a wranglin'. Victor, Nadia, and Mike discuss the usual side-quests to be found at the end of an expansion and what their routines look like now that we've transitioned into end-game mode. Plus, FFXIV TTRPG news, more bubble tea, and why sometimes XIV music ISN'T as good as it could be. GASP!

All this and more on this week's episode of Sharlayan Dropouts!

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Music

Bee My Honey

It's Showtime!

Victor, Nadia, and Eric cover Zone 5 through to the end of the 7.0 MSQ. THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING. Does Sphene work as a character? Is the climax climactic enough? And where do we go from here?

They also discuss recent Interviews with Yoshi-P at Japan Expo, how best to enjoy bubble tea, and why the amount of experience we get during MSQ is actually just FINE.

Music

Tuliyollal Day

Shaaloani Day

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From deep in the rainforests of Yak T'el, to the trains and plains of Shaaloani, to the perplexingly sci-fi corridors of Vanguard, we're covering it all on this week's episode of Sharlayan Dropouts. Victor, Nadia, and Mike are all well past the halfway point of Dawntrail's story and they can't wait to discuss everything we've seen so far.

We'll be covering Trial 1, Dungeons 3 and 4, up until the beginning of Zone 5, so prepare to enter some Spoiler Country.

Music:

Tuliyollal Day Theme

Shaaloani Day Theme

It's here and it has a horn section. Join Nadia, Victor, and Mike as they dive into the first hours of Dawntrail up until the first Trial. Hear all about the zones, dungeons, characters, why some are calling it Stormblood 2.0, and why that's actually a compliment.

Topics:

Just in time for 48-hour maintenance, say goodbye to Endwalker and hello to your new dad, Dawntrail! In this prediction-packed episode Nadia and Victor stake their claim on what MIGHT happen in Dawntrail's story. They also take predictions submitted by the community and spike them directly into the dirt. Plus, exciting news from the preliminary patch notes! Get hype!

Music In This Episode

Tuliyollal Theme (Day) - Dawntrail

Tuliyollal Theme (Night) - Dawntrail

"It's always darkest before the dawn" is a phrase I've personally never understood. That's just not how the sky works; it very obviously gets lighter and lighter until the moment dawn breaks. Well whatever. Not only is it not XIV's darkest hour before Dawntrail, it's quite lovely! Plenty of in-game events have been keeping us busy but most important is the real-world media tour that just happened in North America and Europe. With that comes lots of interviews, previews, and reveals so Victor and Nadia are here to talk you through as much of it as we've been able to process!

Music In This Episode

Tuliyollal Theme (Day) - Dawntrail

Tuliyollal Theme (Night) - Dawntrail

It's Part V of our ongoing retrospective and that means it's morphin' time! Join Victor, Nadia, and special guest Sena Bryer (Wuk Lamat) as they explore the perfection of the Job System, our favourite "ladies who dress like men", and what clues might be in plain sight for the future of FFXIV. All while strictly maintaining the integrity of non-disclosure agreements!

Music In This Episode:

The Day Will Come - Endwalker

Clash on the Big Bridge - Sekizima Takeo

The Battle - Final Fantasy V OST

Pirates Ahoy - Final Fantasy V OST

Clash on the Big Bridge - Ryu Kawamura

Further Reading:

Final Fantasy V - Chris Kohler

https://bossfightbooks.com/products/final-fantasy-v-by-chris-kohler

Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary Special Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B-iw8qhZbQ

AGDQ 2024 - Final Fantasy V Speedrun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amyuJjTe5gk

Hello, Dropouts. It's just Nadia today, and the gods know she's not smart enough to keep the students warm, fed, and entertained. She can, however, talk to the masses about the art of writing Final Fantasy XIV fanfiction. Plus, she provides tricks and tips for developing your Warrior of Light's "home map" so that it becomes a world unto itself--not just a mere collection of loose landmarks!

Music Used in This Episode:

Spoiler Level Alert: Green

No major story spoilers, just fanfic talk!

Our first steps into Tural are fast approaching and the official benchmark is here to whet our appetites. Victor, Nadia, and Mike discuss the 14-hour livestream, what the graphics update has done to our Warriors of Light, the many exciting teases in the benchmark trailer, and more on this episode of a very good Final Fantasy XIV podcast.

Also:

- Stranger of Paradise was really good

- A tribe consisting entirely of Rob Paulsens

- The Archons play Who's That Minion? (name pending)

Music In This Episode:

Dawntrail Benchmark BGM

Ahoy there Dropouts, and welcome to a lengthy in-depth study about Final Fantasy IV's influence on Final Fantasy XIV! Final Fantasy IV first came to the Super Famicom in 1991, and is still regarded as Final Fantasy's first instance of getting deep into narrative. Unsurprisingly, many of the characters, locales, monsters, and lore Final Fantasy IV introduced us to has been given ample representation in Final Fantasy XIV. Black Chocobos! The Dragoon Pose!™ Troia! Tall men in black armour! And gee Zero, how come Hydelin lets you have TWO moons? Nadia, Victor, and Marc Duddleson from My Life in Gaming tally up the references.

Music Used in this Episode:

Spoiler Level: Red. We talk about all the story content in the game up through the end of 6.x!