FFXIV Writing- Everybody Loves the Dark Knight Quests

good day everyone while i'm between projects i kind of wanted to take the time to address some of the more phenomenal writing found within final fantasy xiv primarily i wanted to discuss why the dark knight quest chain is so popular when compared to all the other jobs so before we get into this any deeper i would like to place a massive spoiler warning here if you've not played the dark knight quest chain but you want to experience it on your own now is the time to leave there's no way i can address the various writing techniques and character interactions without spoiling practically everything so if you care about spoilers i'll catch you in this video at a later date but if you either don't ever plan on playing dark knight or it's quest chain then by all means stick around and you might enjoy something but with that being said we move right along like i just mentioned the dark knight quest chain is easily one of if not the most popular job quest within the entirety of final fantasy 14. while some people may or may not like or dislike most of the job quests within this mmo the dark knight quest chain is one set of quests that almost everyone agrees is phenomenal which of course begs the question why today we'll be addressing just that and the phenomenal techniques that were used to really bring the character that is the warrior of light to life we'll start by addressing why the dark knight quest chain is so different compared to all the others within the gross majority of material within final fantasy 14 or most mmos in general you're a problem solver you are going to someone with a quest icon and taking care of an issue that they have you may learn a thing or two along the way but ultimately the quests aren't about you they're about the world the location environment or people they're within this helps the game with its world building it teaches the player about what's going on who's on what side and more importantly why you should care however the dark knight quest chain is completely different these quests aren't truly about other people not at all sure other npcs and characters are involved in these quests but ultimately it's not about them it's about the warrior of light indeed the dark knight quest chain addresses just how complicated the warrior of light's inner turmoil really is the msq side quests and other content don't really have the time to explain what someone like the warrior of light may be going through during these chaotic times because ultimately that's up to the player to decide how you feel as a person about what's happened in the story is by extension how the warrior of light feels about these things but the dark knight quest chain takes the reigns from you if only for a moment to tell you a deeper story a story that most people fell in love with and it all begins with the introduction of one specific npc frey so who is frey and why does everyone love them in the truest sense of the term frey is the embodiment of the warrior of light's self-esteem he is the subconscious ego and ultimately the part of you that wants to see you survive within the dark knight quest chain frey is undoubtedly cold to everyone except the warrior of light this is with a good reason your sense of self-worth your ego your esteem does not care about anyone but you it's easy to say that frey is actually an extension of the warrior of light psyche their inner frustrations anger and resentment toward those around them frey has no patience for weakness complaints anxiety or depression if you bring nothing but your personal worries and baggage to him he'll tell you to take a long walk off of a short cliff because ultimately frey doesn't exist for anyone's satisfaction outside of the warrior of lights your weakness will annoy him and your complaints will anger him because ultimately the warrior of light is a character that from start to finish has been taking on the responsibilities wills and desires of all those around them this unbelievable amount of social weight is understandably heavy so if one person is able to continue to smile and persevere on through the worst that the world has to offer in spite of everything what excuses does the common man have if the warrior of light is able to lose friends on a regular basis and continue moving forward then why would frey take the opinion of anyone who falls into a deep depression over inconsequential things seriously and the answer is he doesn't and ultimately this is a point that frey was trying to prove to the warrior of light that the people of this world are weak pathetic and not worthy of all of the strife and pain that the warrior of light has had to endure frey being the embodiment of the warrior of light's sense of self-esteem wants the warrior of light to be happy he honestly feels that if the world were to burn so long as the warrior of light was happy that's all that matters though toward the end of the question with frey it's shown that he was hoping to show the warrior of light how quickly people will turn on them once they realize that the warrior of light isn't so perfect or flawless as many believe that if they see the warrior of light's anger hatred and the ugly side of personalities that they will abandon him but in fact the opposite happened the knights of ishgard that frey had beaten down within an inch of their life stood back up and still they smiled and praised the warrior of light stating how much of an inspiration they are and if this seemingly flawless individual needs others to look to and lean on that they will be there for them frey is ultimately proven wrong he insisted that the warrior of light and by extension himself were alone in this crazy world that all people could ever do is take and take and beg and complain but once the knights prove that they will be there for the warrior of light just as they've been there for them frey is willing to let go while it may not be what he wants he's comforted by the knowledge that the worker of light isn't as alone as he believed so if you're ever doing a quest and wondering why the warrior of light would not be annoyed angry or reject certain quests or npcs through fray the dark knight quest chain proves that the warrior of light is annoyed they do get frustrated angry and find certain people despicable they simply do a very good job at bottling up all these things in the pursuit of the greater good but if the warrior of light did ever give in to frey's expectations all of that patience and kindness would start to disappear replaced by more brutal truths [Music] but the psychological rollercoaster that is the dark knight quest chain doesn't end there eventually you run into an npc called mist and mist represents another part of the warrior of lights psychology their regrets and their fears so you have frey the embodiment of the warrior of light's ego and self-esteem and then you have missed the embodiment of the warrior of light's regrets and fear the reason mist is important is to prove that the warrior of light isn't some blood-hungry murderer mist believes that the warrior of light will be awaiting a massive amount of judgment later down the line if there is such a thing as karma or divine retribution then surely something like that will be coming for the warrior of light eventually mist proves that there is a small part of the warrior of light that is devastated by the amount of bodies that have been built up behind them the mountain of corpses they've left in their wake has started to weigh down on them but once again frey enters the battlefield to remind miss that this isn't about just them they kill not because they necessarily want to but because they have to because if they didn't so many other innocent people would have been put to the sword and after a long-winded speech frey gives mist exactly what they wanted forgiveness this one brief exchange between fray and mist is the warrior of light quite literally forgiving themselves for everything they've done or didn't do for all the people that they've had to kill for all the friends that he couldn't save the warrior of light is finally taking a breath and forgiving themselves for everything that has happened and with that freya ms rejoined the warrior of light making them whole once more and ultimately for once at peace with themselves this is ultimately why the dark knight quest chain is so dang popular when compared to all the others it gives a window to the warrior of light psychology and not only that it humanizes them it reminds the player that the warrior of light isn't some fathomless perfect being they are ultimately flawed or they experience the same anxiety fears anger and pain that everyone else does but in spite of all that they keep moving forward because they're still people that need to be saving because they're still dangerous entities lurking in the darker corners of the world the dark knight question proves that the warrior of light personally believes that if someone has the power to do good then they need to use that power to do good otherwise you're simply letting evil win you're showing that you don't care who ultimately wins or loses so long as you survive ultimately a very selfish mindset it's not easy being the hero but no one said it was ever going to be in fact the entire reason everyone loves a hero's tale in the first place is because it inspires them it makes them believe that anyone can be so much more than the sum of their parts sure it's easier to not quest to not adventure or do selfish evil deeds but by walking the hero's path and refusing to take the easier more selfish routes you're proving that you're so much more than your basic instincts so much greater than selfish impulses you're proving that you're stronger than the pain of this world that is why i feel so many people love the dark knight quest chain so much that and the funny knowledge that whenever something really stupid happens deep down somewhere in the warrior of light's mind frey is shaking their head in annoyance but that'll be enough of my ramblings for now let me know what you loved about the dark knight quest chain down in the comments for more lore videos and writing analysis don't forget to like and subscribe and until next we meet stay safe my friends

Channel: Synodic Scribe

Views: 23,356

Keywords: ffxiv, FFXIV, Final Fantasy 14, mmorpg, mmo, lore, gaming, writing

Id: GCva2vkyadw

Length: 12min 22sec (742 seconds)

Published: Tue May 10 2022