Final Fantasy XIV regularly releases new challenging bosses that you can defeat for stylish loot and status symbols. MyMMO editor Sophia Weiss wanted to be among the first to defeat a new boss. However, her obsession with the fight ruined the MMORPG for one of her friends forever.
I am not a particularly ambitious MMORPG player. Usually, I grind solely for glamour and new furniture for my character’s home. It is mainly the story and the music that excite me about Final Fantasy XIV.
However, when Patch 4.3 was released during the Stormblood expansion, I was seized by ambition: There was a new boss fight, and the hard Götterdämmerungs
version intrigued me.
Just one look at the possible stylish new weapons, and I was all fired up: I absolutely wanted to conquer this fight. Now, at release. Come what may. And I spoiled the whole fun of the game for a good friend with my toxic ambition.
From the headstrong daughter who drove me crazy
The fight in question was Götterdämmerung – Tsukuyomi
. It unlocks when you have completed the normal fight in the storyline of Patch 4.3 and have spoken to the Wandering Minstrel.
Overall, Tsukuyomi has four phases of combat, which become increasingly intense. At first, the basic mechanics are shown to you, then a DPS check follows, and in phases three and four, things really heat up.
You can read more about their story backgrounds here by the way:
First, I recruited all my friends who were at the maximum level of 70 with me at the time. We filled the remaining spots in the 8-man group with random players from the party finder.
The beginning is the easiest part of the fight. We managed that without any problems. We eventually failed again and again at phase 3. Here it is important to correctly place the delayed falling meteors in order to survive the following mechanics while multiple other mechanics occur simultaneously.
Our problem? We repeatedly failed to place the meteors cleanly.
I was really tilted – like never before and never again since
I desperately wanted to defeat this boss. So, I logged in every evening for three to four hours after patch day to train. My ambition pushed me to peak performance.
But the meteors were just killing us: Sometimes the tank stood still in the middle of the arena, and his meteor wiped us out. Other times, a healer or attacker forgot where they should carry their area effects.
I have been playing Dragoon, an attacker, since I started. Some of my attacks are stronger when executed from behind the boss or from its side. These are called Positionals
. So I always know where front, back, left, and right are with a boss.
However, someone who does not play a class with Positionals does not always have the positioning of the boss automatically in mind. If you have to a) look around first and b) remind yourself that you have to do something specific with a particular action, it is no wonder the mechanic is not accomplished.
But I did not understand that. And it drove me crazy. I wondered if my PC was somehow misrepresenting the boss. Or whether my explanation was not good enough.
My friends on Discord witnessed my frustration live and in color. Oh… how I complained. Loudly. Obscenely. I swore so much. In the in-game chat, I remained as friendly as possible and sometimes passed the lead when it became too much.
But I was really frustrated. Angry. And when someone messed up one of the easy other mechanics, I was even angrier. The whole fight and the disorientation of my teammates really annoyed me!
Happy ending. But at what cost?
I don’t remember when exactly, but we finally defeated Tsukuyomi after a few days. It was hard. It was exhausting. And one of my best friends even today hasn’t played Final Fantasy XIV since then.
We recently met again. There was someone else with us, with whom I talked about the MMORPG, and we both asked whether he would want to continue playing at some point.
Only then did he tell me about his frustration from back then: He participated voluntarily. But this boss fight, all the mechanics, and the intensity with which I drove everyone forward destroyed his enjoyment of the game. My obsession and the constant drive like oh come on, today we’ll make it
ruined the game for him.
If that is the current content and the way to tackle it, then it is not what he wants to spend his leisure time on. He would like to play with us again sometime. But continue with Final Fantasy XIV again? No. Not that.
I did not realize back then, when we were fighting Tsukuyomi, that my friend felt this way. That was about six years ago.
Never again hardcore – neither in raids nor in other content
After our hard-fought victory, I also needed a few months away from the game. Since then I have never left the game as frustrated again. I only tackle boss fights relaxed now, without the pressure.
Tsukuyomi is no longer the hardest boss in the game, but still the most challenging boss in its content type. Since we are level 90 since Endwalker, her fight is worlds easier.
I still love Final Fantasy XIV and enjoy playing it very much. However, I have more fun with crafters and gatherers than with bosses, raids, and ultimates.
Maybe my friend will dare to join a run again someday.
I would definitely be happy about that. And personally, I never want to be that toxic again. It only breaks me and my friends. So I have learned something from the experience.
What about you? Have you ever been really tilted in a game? Or do you have a boss you hate in Final Fantasy XIV? We are curious about your answers.
So that you don’t have to play with unpleasant people like I was back then, the game is getting some community features with the new expansion Dawntrail: Final Fantasy XIV is getting a feature that the boss doesn’t want you to use
