Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.4: From Zero to No-Hero
This is an important moment in the Final Fantasy XIV life cycle since we are near the end of the post-Endwalker quests. What is the state of things?
Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.4 ‘Dark Throne’ has been out for some time already but I just had the time to finish the main scenario quest now – thanks Diablo IV. We have finally reached the moment where the Warrior of Light, Y’shtola, Estinieen, Zero, and Vrtra – in his dragon form! – find Azdaja which unfolds into a fight against the main antagonist of this whole segment of quests between Endwalker and 7.0, Golbez. This patch also marks basically half of the way for the next expansion and how was it?
Be warned that I will talk about what happened during the MSQ in Patch 6.4. SPOILERS!
Since patch 6.1, FFXIV’s story has been split into learning more about the Thirteenth to find Azdaja, Vrtra’s lost sister, and the inclusion of Zero in the main cast of characters. For some time, I’ve been afraid they would kill Zero after making us so affectionate toward this character. Maybe creating a scenario where they would sacrifice themself in the end. Moreover, there was also the possibility of them including Zero only as a sort of special character for a few patches who would just be forgotten once we reach the next expansion. For me, although the first scenario hasn’t been completely wiped out of the realm of possibilities, the second one seems less plausible considering how connected Zero is with the rest of the gang.
Trust has been a pretty important theme that the writers of Final Fantasy XIV were capable of intertwining with the main plot of the patch, using the necessity of turning the Babil Tower not a matter of pure politics but of forging bonds of trust. Not saying that one is distant from the other. One way of seeing situations like this is by considering that one must connect with another to see them as equal and, hence, having rights. They could, however, have focused only on the discussions that would lead to the agreement between Radz-at-Han and Garlemald. Lucky us they didn’t.
Zero can finally understand what friendship means once they get trusting, which is not an easy feat if we consider how philosophically complicated this phenomenon is. To trust – just like making a promise or loving someone – is a kind of action that can only be performed through a series of interactions that might eventually be interpreted as an act of trust towards you or the other. Part of it, sure, it’s to enunciate it which must also be followed by a comprehension of what trusting another person means. Zero achieves that with the help of the situation they go through in Garlemald. It’s quite beautiful, in a subtle manner, how it all happens. From this moment, the following quests show a Zero more comfortable in expressing their intentions and desires. Take for instance Zero grouping with Estinieen to train for the battles to come.
The next patch might prove me wrong by showing Zero staying in the Thirteenth – a hypothesis which I particularly think is quite unlikely – or a situation that will lead them to follow separate paths in a more extreme – or deadly – way. I like Zero and think they make a great addition to the cast, keeping things fresh and serving as a good tool for the team of FFXIV to create funny situations. We could see that because of their reaction toward some situations that happened in this patch, bringing a good balance in terms of mood considering the other point of interest of the post-Endwaker main quests. Yes, Golbez.
The Thirteenth is a pretty dense setting, even when compared with the First, with its underlying bizarreness. It would be pure ingenuity if we hoped to find anything different than a melancholic story behind Golbez. Final Fantasy XIV is not a game about antagonists whose purpose is to only perpetuate evilness in the world. The problem with this is that I can’t see anyone taking the place of Emet-Selch as a character whose actions and story are capable of shaking me as he did. So, after seeing what happened to Golbez in the past and what might have led him to create a super voidsent to tear down the limits between the worlds yada yada yada I was not moved nor impressed.
Yes, bad things happened to him and by following a distorted idea of justice he wants to make something “good” and save his world. The argument that has been made is that we, as players, should feel empathetic toward him. Sure, why not. Let’s try doing it.
From the more empathetic lens, Golbez capturing Azdaja and using her to feed his minions would be interpreted as a terrible yet understandable action. A mean to an end, right? On the other hand, releasing her from the magical enclosure that was preventing her transformation into a voidsent is a simple demonstration of power and evilness.
One might argue he did so to feed Zeromus, which would be okay and could have been done with Azdaja in her “natural” form. What does he accomplish by turning her into a voidsent? He not only distorts her being by changing her appearance but Golbez also uses Azdaja as a tool to fight Vrtra. Let’s not forget that this situation might have come up only as a move to connect FFXIV with the source material. In any case, at the end of the day, his actions are only a whim of a bad person, nothing less and nothing more.
Based on that, I believe that it is difficult to simply feel close to him as a being in the same way we can do with Emet. I’m not saying the game is forcing this interpretation either. It’s, however, difficult to now see Golbez as a less effective version of Emet. Even in the original material, in Final Fantasy IV, it was hard to accept Golbez’s actions and forgive him, although it’s implied that Cecil does so. I’m not Cecil and I don’t think Golbez was meant to walk the gray paths of morality. Actually splitting players’ attention between him and Zero sounds unfair since the latter’s journey into discovering what things mean is way more exciting than the tale of fulfilling a promise the former wants to tell.
Now, all that we can do is wait to see what the FFXIV team have prepared for the last quests in post-Endwalker.