The latest raid in Final Fantasy XIV evokes many emotions in the community. The story revolves around the Dragon War, which took place in the Heavensward expansion. Now players must change the past to complete the raid.
This is happening in the raid: Since April 26, the toughest hardcore raiders of FFXIV have been battling in the new ultimate raid Dragon War (Fatal). It is based on several fights that players experienced during the Heavensward expansion.
Ultimate raids in FFXIV are characterized by their extremely high difficulty, a high density of convoluted mechanics, and challenging DPS checks. This is also the case in the Dragon War (Fatal), where players must alter the past during the battle to succeed.
The raid is narrated by the Wandering Minstrel, who is the NPC for Director Naoki Yoshida, commenting on the events of the war. At its center is the beloved character Haurchefant Greystone. In Heavensward, he sacrifices himself to save the player’s life.
This also happens repeatedly in the new raid. During every pull of the first phase, Haurchefant must die, which has caused distress among many players. However, to successfully complete the raid, Haurchefant must survive.
Therefore, the players are sent back in time by the Wandering Minstrel and must ensure that the character does not bite the dust this time.
This is how the past is changed: To save Haurchefant, the tank limit break at level 3 is required, which reduces damage taken by 80% for 8 seconds.
This allows Haurchefant to stop the magical spear that normally pierces him with his shield until the group has defeated the enemies on the field. Then the group can attack and destroy the spear, saving the character.
This limit break is not available in the first phase of the fight. Players only have access to level 2, which is insufficient.
After that, the fight takes a different turn. The clock, which was previously used to rewind time, now splits into two. The “evil” clock of the dragon Nidhogg stops, while the “good” clock of the dragon Hraelsvelgr continues to turn, signaling that a positive future has been achieved.
If Haurchefant dies nonetheless, players are sent back to the “normal timeline” and must fight Nidhogg again. It is still unclear whether it is a time loop that can theoretically be played indefinitely or if there will be a wipe after Haurchefant’s second death.
“I’m confused, but hyped!”
These are the reactions: Haurchefant is one of the most beloved characters. In the large Famitsu survey, he was voted the 3rd most popular FFXIV character (via siliconera). His death has, accordingly, brought many tears to the community.
Initially, many players were horrified that he must die repeatedly in the new raid, but there was still hope due to hints in the quest descriptions that he could be saved.
These theories have now been confirmed through the progress of raider groups into the new phases of the fight, generating much hype.
- “My eyes fill with tears every time I see something about [the raid]. Damn” – @mesoclise_pt_br on Twitter
- “Yooooooo, holy shit! The theories were right!” – @MylduK
- “I’m so confused, but so hyped! WTF” – @TankGoose
- “This is by far the best Ultimate [raid], sorry TEA [The Epic of Alexander]” – @Kougaon_
Overall, the raid has been very well received so far, which is also reflected in the viewer statistics on Twitch. According to the statistics site sullygnome, FFXIV has more than doubled its viewer count in the past week.
In the meantime, it was also in the top 5 games with the most viewers on Twitch. Players are very curious about how the story of the raid will continue.
Haurchefant is not the only character whose life is at stake in this raid. Two other characters, one of whom dies, must also be rescued.
Whether the fans will get their happy ending in the raid will be revealed as soon as the first group completes the fight.
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