#7.0 patch notes

[sezja]

Shoves a Viper into a test chamber with a swarm of morbols,

[osterby]

[invisiblebounds-ffxiv]

Patch 7.0 Notes (Preliminary)

[autumnslance]

Heya

I always like your analysis/view of characters and the Story so I would like to ask you something.

Yesterday I talked with a friend about how I kinda miss Lyse, and than I got the idea that she and Wuk Lamat would probably get along quite well.

Lyse wasn't prepared to step up on the role she has now while. Wuk Lamat is young and "lively" as Lyse, but she had a chance to grow and learn about her upcoming role as a leader of the nation during our journey with her. So I think these two would have some interesting conversations and might learn from another.

I hope, that in future patches, we get a meeting of all the Leaders interacting with another now that we have Thavnaier, Tuliyolal and Garlemald new to the table.

Do you have an opinion on this? Especially since your understanding of SB and it's characters is deeper than mine.

Oh heck you got me rambling about Lyse and Wuk Lamat, so this is going under a cut. Spoilers for Dawntrail 7.0 MSQ and everything leading to it.

I've seen a lot of comparisons between Lyse and Wuk Lamat, being young, energetic women whose stories involved a lot of growth into leaders. How they get there is different, and I do think the writers learned from how they framed Lyse's story, and how Wuk Lamat's needed to be different even if there are ways they are similar.

Lyse spent years hiding from herself and her grief, happy to let Papalymo be "in charge" for the most part (though I noted he deferred to her when it came to actually interacting with and understanding the Sylphs and Moogles, and probably other people in the Twelveswood, as "patient" and "personable" weren't exactly his best traits). Lyse was also the person who noticed things weren't quite right with Thancred in ARR, that he was working himself to the bone, but she didn't seem to know how to approach him about it, regretting it later when they realized he'd been possessed.

And in Stormblood, Lyse spends a lot of time trying to understand her countrymen's reticence, their fears, their lack of hope. She worked with Conrad's Resistance cell all through Heavensward, but it seems like the first time she really interacts closely with civilians is Ala Ghanna. In the Far East, Lyse spends time talking to the Domans, and the Mol--her scene with the children is a major one, determining what is "home" and what that means, why Hien (and Lyse) fight for a place.

She feels she isn't a leader, she's just one of the team, and as she gets pushed toward leadership, she feels it's based more on who her father and sister were, the weight of her family legacy. And part of that is that lingering grief, that literal imposter syndrome, that knowledge she isn't the woman Yda was.

Because of course she isn't. She's Lyse. Not an Archon, but a Scion of the Seventh Dawn. Probably still better educated than many, having grown up in Sharlayan, despite book smarts not being her forte. She's very good at punching things. And she has a heart and more optimism and stubbornness than most.

She grows into it, with the help of her friends (which she does, repeatedly, acknowledge the WoL as the hero who defeated Zenos and made it all possible, don't fall into the trap of memeified rewrites of the actual canon). She is only the leader of Conrad's cell (a failing of Stormblood and it's split storyline was talking about multiple cells, but only having us interact with 1 ever before it all became 1 military). And she happily lets Raubahn take command of the army when it forms, calling herself simply the commander of Rhalgr's Reach--but given her role in the war, as a former Scion, and her connections, still acts pretty much as Raubahn's Marshall in all but name.

Lyse was not raised for leadership, not raised to take command, and had to rise to the occasion. And without losing her determination, her caring, her optimism.

Wuk Lamat was born to rule; the Xbr'aal initially, but when circumstances put her life in danger, Gulool Ja Ja adopted her as his Third Promise. Wuk Lamat is a cheerful, optimistic, loving girl who wants to understand and learn about people. She's a "people's princess" we see almost from the instant we arrive in Tuluyollal, friends with nearly everyone. But it's also not hard to see, even in 6.55 and the adventures in Sharlayan, that she's young and green. She has few supporters, and no great deeds or expectations from most of the people. She struggles in the shadow of her older accomplished brothers, wondering a few times what her strength is, what she has gained from their father.

She has not been raised to rule, necessarily; while the Dawnservant has expectations for all his children, and recognizes all of their strengths, he also sees their weaknesses and where they lack. Some of that, perhaps, is on him as a parent, but he knows their potential and possibilities, if they seek the chance to grow and learn. He can only guide them, not do it all for them, if they are to reach those potentials.

And Wuk Lamat does seek, with a zest not seen since Lyse was central, and beyond her, even. Wuk Lamat is not bound by the grief of familial loss and the disconnect of diaspora; she was too young to remember the tragedy that led her to leave Yak T'el as a toddler, and her life since has been a kind and happy one. She's been educated and trained well.

But there are limits to what a girl can learn in a single city, with only one or two visits to other villages now and then. And Wuk Lamat, like Lyse, takes the time to try to learn and understand. She picks up faster than Koana the point of the contest--while Zoraal Ja ignores it entirely, and Bakool Ja Ja has other pressures he's dealing with.

There's another comparison; Lyse's determination to understand Fordola, to change her mind, making her a symbol of all the collaborators. Lyse's determination that all Ala Mhighans must be free and begin anew, to rebuild their society together. To acknowledge the pain but not let it bind them into cycles of violence (which continues in the Endwalker healer role quests, as Raganfrid and Arenvald take up the specific task of reintegrating the collaborators).

Wuk Lamat, meanwhile, struggles to understand the bandits of Kozama'uka, the Chirwagur Yok Huy of Urqopacha, and the Mamook of Yak T'el. She changes Bakool Ja Ja and earns his respect, by perhaps being the first person to demand to know what he wants--and then following through on the promise to find a way to make that wish happen. To find a way all Turali can be free and happy, including the Mamool Ja (who may have tried to kill her as a toddler).

Lyse spends all of Stormblood fighting to free her people from a decades-old foe, forcing her to become a leader. Wuk Lamat's fight comes after she has grown into the kind of leader that can defend Tuliyollal from the threat of Alexandria and Zoraal Ja's betrayal. And even though Sphene can't change her mind thanks to her programmed nature, Wuk Lamat never stops trying to reach the caring personality encoded within.

Because the other person Wuk Lamat compares to is the Assumed Default Warrior of Light. She's a determinator in a similar way; she doesn't easily give up or give in, despite her doubts and the difficulties along the way. She makes friends wherever she goes, forming bonds and connections that come back to help, time and again. She goes from novice adventurer to epic hero, as WoL had to do in ARR; the entirety of Dawntrail seems a compressed version of that story for her, with adventure and events happening in the first half, and then the other shoe drops. For WoL, it was the Waking Sands massacre. For her, the first assault on Tuliyollal. WoL didn't have the benefit of a mentor--with Louisoix long gone and most of the Scions captured--but WoL could be there for Lamaty'i.

How often has that been a fear and regret of the Scions and other friends? How happy they were with the warding scales letting them help with those burdens! How at the edge of existence, the only thing that kept the WoL walking to the end was the memories of their friends and the hopes they had, and in the final battle, the Scions were still with the WoL regardless of distance.

(And Zenos was there. Still the most hilarious entrance ever.)

We stand with Wuk Lamat to the end--and she breaks through to find WoL and Sphene, because Lamaty'i won't give up on her friends. And Sphene could have been, if she had still been alive.

Anyroad. I DO think Lyse and Wuk Lamat would have a lot to talk about, in how they grew to be leaders, in similarities and differences, in their relationship with the Scions and the WoL, about the adventures they've had. I loved seeing Vrtra and Azdaja in Tuliyollal, and that Koana formed a treaty with them, which may indeed mean more interaction with Thavnair in the future. For that matter, the Leveilleur twins' quest to help Garlemald rebuild and reintegrate with the global community may bring some familiar faces from there around...though from the Island Sanctuary quests, we also know those people have never taken vacations and don't know what do to outside of "survive" and "duty." But there's a lot to learn, and seeing how diverse people can live together in peace, after most of a century under Ascian propaganda, would be good for them. Sharlayan tends to have diplomatic relations with various foreign powers, and Tural's no exception, and the use of Labyrinthos research to aid Mamook could become more of a thing to bring some of those characters in for cameos (for that matter, helping the Alexandrians integrate, and studying that phenomenon, as if those scholars could resist!).

I'm a little wary of having all the leaders in a single space; generally that's a plot point reserved for some terrible world wide event or circumstance arising! But it would be nice to have the opportunity to visit with old friends on some kind of tour, to see Tuliyollal make other allies and diplomatic connections, and give such characters those chances to interact.

But if the game doesn't take those opportunities on screen (people often forget that a lot happens out of WoL's POV, too), we've always got fanfiction to make it happen in!

[starrysnowdrop]

Character Profile

Sohna Yoani 🏜️🏹

Since this will be pretty long, it is under a cut. If you do read all this, thank you so much for taking the time out to do so!!! 🥰

**NOTE: Sohna will be in a long-term relationship with Alphinaud at some time in the future, and in my OCs’ canonverse, Alphinaud is 23 years old, the same age as Sohna, and is a fully consenting adult. If you have a problem with that, then I suggest going no further. Everyone else, you may proceed.**

Updated as of Dawntrail Patch 7.2: 05/26/2025

BASICS//

Name: Sohna Yoani

Name Pronunciation: Soh-nah Yoh-ah-nee

Name Meaning: Sohna = “attractive/beautiful/pleasing” in Hindi; Yoani = “graceful/charming” in Quechua

Nicknames: Kitten (given to her by her parents)

Titles: None

Age: 23 as of beginning of Dawntrail (Was 16 during ARR; Same age as the Leveilleur Twins)

Nameday: 30th Sun of the 1st Umbral Moon (February 27th)

Gender: Female, Cis

Race: Hhetsarro (Miqo’te in the Old World)

Tribe: Turali Hhetsarro

Nationality: Turali

Language: Turali Common Tongue

Profession: Hunter

Education Level: Educated by her mother

BLOODLINES//

Father: Dawa, Deceased since Sohna’s childhood; Killed in a bandit attack

Mother: Shima, Deceased; Killed during the first attack on Tuliyollal in 7.0

Siblings: None

Extended Family: The entire Hhetsarro tribe in Mehwahhetsoan, Shaaloani; Koana is her first cousin

In-Laws: None

Children: None

Pets: An alpaca named Sihu and a capybara pup named Pachak

ROMANCE & SEXUALITY//

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Romantic Orientation: Biromantic

Significant Other: Have feelings for both Alphinaud Leveilleur and Calyx

Past Relationships: None

RESIDENCE//

Place of Birth: Born and raised in Tural, more specifically in Hhusatahwi, Shaaloani

Current Residences: A small house in Tuliyollal (None in game)

TALENTS AND SKILLS//

Canon Battle Jobs: Bard and Machinist (Both jobs have different skill sets than the in game canon jobs due to Sohna learning the skills in Tural)

Abilities: Archery, marksmanship, hunting, fishing, cooking, singing, dancing, playing the guitar, playing the flute, and swimming.

Bad At: Most forms of magic, advanced technology, mathematics, trusting most people, opening herself up to others, and speaking aloud what she truly feels inside.

APPEARANCE//

Hair: Light, sky blue hair, with natural waves. Usually falls loose with minimal adornments and usually doesn’t put it in elaborate styles.

Eyes: Large, wide-set lavender purple eyes, slitted like the Seekers of the Sun.

Face: Heart-shaped face, with a small, button-shaped nose and normal miqo’te ears

Lips: Full, pouty lips, with fuller bottom lip and thinner top lip

Complexion: Light, sun-tanned skin with rust brown cis-female miqo’te face markings.

Blemishes: None

Scars: Just small ones here and there over the years from hunting.

Tattoos: None

Height: 4 fulms, 10 ilms (Min height for female Miqos)

Weight: 130 ponze

Build: Average build with large chest

Usual Hairstyles: Hair usually worn down long and loose, with minimal adornments and usually no elaborate styles.

Usual Face Look: Wears black eyeliner and mascara with dark reddish brown lipstick.

Usual Clothing: Usually wears either traditional Hhetsarro hunting attire dyed dark purple and/or dark blue, or modern Shaaloani style clothing (American western style clothing)

Face and Voice Claim: Evan Rachel Wood, specifically as Dolores Abernathy in Westworld; Sohna speaks with a U.S. Southern accent

PERSONALITY//

Introverted / Extroverted / Ambiverted (bold what applies)

Positive Traits: Warm, friendly, kind, compassionate, empathetic, supportive, relaxed, easygoing, respectful, loyal, faithful, trustworthy, selfless, and wise beyond her years.

Most Positive Trait: Sohna is a very selfless person who always puts the needs, wants, hopes, and desires of her loved ones ahead of her own without question. She must be reminded often that she should be just as kind to herself as she is to others.

Negative Traits: Vengeful and hateful towards Alexandrians, doesn’t trust others easily, doesn’t open herself up to others, can be fearful of strangers and outsiders, judgmental, struggles with her self worth, can be clingy and highly dependent upon her loved ones, and struggles with depression and PTSD.

Most Negative Trait: Sohna seeks to avenge her mother’s death, and she will go to any lengths to kill the ones responsible for the attacks on Tuliyollal. Because of her mother’s murder, her grief turns into hatred of the Alexandrians and she thinks their whole way of life is disturbing and disgusting, and believes that the Alexandrians should either change their ways immediately or they should die as well.

Fears: Others seeing her deep seated insecurities and lack of self worth, being rejected and left alone, losing anymore of her loved ones than she already has.

Aspirations: To avenge the deaths of her mother and the Turali people who died in the attacks on Tuliyollal, and to live a life that her parents would be proud of her for, which includes finding true love someday.

Traumas: Lingering PTSD due to Sohna’s father dying from a bandit attack when she was a young child, and recently Sohna almost died in the first attack on Tuliyollal, while her mother died in the attack. She also is traumatized to know that the people killed in Tuliyollal had their souls taken away and their souls can’t return to the Aetherial Sea. Thankfully her mother’s soul wasn’t able to be stolen due to Alphinaud’s intervention.

Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, cooking, singing, dancing, playing the guitar, playing the flute, gambling, and swimming.

Vices: Eating too much good food, drinking too much Mezcal sometimes, and gambling.

Faith: Non-religious; Doesn’t think about religion much at all

Turn Ons: Intelligence, Wisdom, Courage, Confidence, Humor, Beautiful eyes, and Sexy voices

Turn Offs: Stupidity, Lack of Confidence, Cowardice, Incompetence, and Superficiality

Temperament: Phlegmatic

MBTI: ISFP-T

Soul Type: The Server

Tropes: Cat Girl, Girls with Guns, Graceful Ladies Like Purple, Hero’s Muse, Hidden Depths, Master Archer, Outdoorsy Gal, The Straight and Arrow Path, The Tease, Tomboy with a Girly Streak, True Blue Femininity

Songs: “She’s Like the Wind” by Patrick Swayze, “A Whole New World” from Disney’s Aladdin (This is also Sohna/Alphi’s Ship Tag), “Thunder Plains” from FFX, and “Ceruleum Smoke at High Noon” from FFXIV

Character Inspirations: Megara from Disney’s Hercules, Tiana from Disney’s Princess and the Frog, Evelyn Couch from Fried Green Tomatoes, Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon, Ellen "The Lady" McKenzie from The Quick and the Dead, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, and Dolores Abernathy from Westworld

FAVORITES//

Book: None, she doesn’t read much at all

Deity: None (In game, it’s Oschon the Wanderer)

Holiday: Moonfire Faire

Month: 3rd Umbral Moon (June)

Weather: A bright, colorful sunset, with some clouds and not too cold temps

Time of Day: Dusk

Places: Shaaloani, Tuliyollal, and Yak T’el

Sounds: Acoustic guitar, pan flute, native drums, wind blowing through trees, rain and thunder.

Scents: Citrus fruits, earthy scents, assorted herbs and spices, and desert wildflowers.

Foods: Barbecued meats, steak, assorted fruits, spicy foods, and tacos of any kind.

Drinks: Fruit juices, fruity cocktails, and mezcal.

Feels: Leather, assorted animal furs, sand, flower petals, and warm breezes.

Number: 2 (According to Numerology)

Colors: All shades of purple, most shades of blue, and bright, sunny yellows

SYMBOLISM//

Elements: Air/Wind and Lightning

Gemstones: Sugilite and Turquoise

Animals: Butterflies and Fireflies

Mythological Creature: Thunderbirds

Flowers: Sunflowers and Cactus Flowers (Nopaliflowers in Shaaloani in game)

Season: Summer

Land, Sea, or Sky: Land and Sky

Planet: Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age

Astronomical Object: Meteors

HISTORY//

History (Pre-DT): Sohna Yoani is the only child born to her parents Dawa and Shima, and was born and raised in Hhusatahwi, Shaaloani. Her father Dawa was killed when she was only five years old in a bandit attack, so Sohna was raised by her widowed mother Shima ever since. A few years prior to 7.0, Shima became disabled and has trouble with mobility and taking care of herself, so Sohna became her caretaker without a second thought. The mother and daughter duo moved to Tuliyollal soon afterwards in order to have more resources readily available and accessible to them. During the events of 7.0, Sohna almost died in the first attack on Tuliyollal and her mother Shima was killed, leaving Sohna with immense grief and an overwhelming need to avenge her mother and everyone else who was injured or killed in the attack.

OTHER//

Smokes: Never

Drugs: Never

Drinks: Can over indulge on alcohol when trying to feel better while depressed and/or in grief. Prefers fruity cocktails or mezcal.

Mount Issuance: Sohna’s mount is her pet alpaca named Sihu, whom she brings with her everywhere that she can.

Been Arrested: Never

CURRENT STATUS//

As of patch 7.2, Sohna is in Solution Nine hunting down the whereabouts and any information about Calyx and Preservation.

NOTE: Sohna is a secondary player in the story so to speak, as she will eventually be a Scion OC but not considered a Warrior of Light nor does she have a past life as an ancient. Sohna enters the story in 7.0 and shares her canonverse with multiple Warriors of Light and other OCs, namely my other WoL OCs Hali Aloke and Yume Aino @firelightmuse, along with several of my friends’ OCs). As such, Sohna might or might not be featured in some arcs of the MSQ, and she might not be involved with some side storylines at all. Feel free to ask me for any specifics in this regard.

[sullustangin]

Spoiler Free SWTOR 7.5 comments

As it says on the tin.

Honestly, I am really liking the consistent content that Broadsword is putting out. Big patches are 4-6 months apart, little ones are pretty regular. Each patch -- whether it's a big 7.x or it's a 7.5.x -- has something that tries to address a player request/complaint. Since Broadsword took over, the amount of content might be more modest in terms of scale, but it seems like more care has been applied to it. Based upon the player survey and other quality of life improvements -- and even some hasty u-turns--, they are taking player feedback into account. I feel better about the game in Broadsword's hands than I did with Bioware.

Technically, I did not experience major problems with the patch. As reported in the patch notes, there is one cinematic where a key character's mouth does not move. That doesn't break the game, though you may want to wait to record the scene if you're into that. There's another point where you have to hit the right spot on the floor for your jetpack to disappear so you can pass through the next door, but that's an easy fix. Gearwise, I'm seeing reports of being at least in 332 greens, but as usual, player skill may vary.

Patch 7.5 starts the conclusion of the two storylines that have taken the mainstage of 7.0: the Holocron of Nul storyline and the Heta Kol storyline, which started back in 6.2 (pandemic patch). I feel like some of the "huh?" in the plot was baked in from where Bioware started it, so Broadsword is trying its best to finish the story they were given. Is it a busfire? Yes. Is it their fault? No, but they have to finish it.That said, this patch actually makes the player make choices, and you AGONIZE over them. It's not just personnel choices but also diplomatic ones. I haven't felt that way in a considerable amount of time. Yes, you do make choices in 7.0, but it's one person living or dying, be a jerk or don't be a jerk. Lower stakes. The stakes are higher here in 7.5 -- or at least it feels that way. That's an important part of game writing: even if the choice does not matter, there needs to be the illusion that it does -- a certain level of immersion. You do have cascading consequences of choices as well. I'm looking forward to playing this patch on my LS toon to do different choices, more so than I did previously. "Let's not be a jerk this time" is less than compelling than "Can I do it differently, this time?"

Overall, there is progress in the storyline -- this doesn't feel like a "busy work" patch or "here's a new daily area to keep you occupied". (To be clear, I loved the Port Nowhere and Ord Mantell content in 7.4 -- it was a giant love letter to smugglers -- but at the same time, it was a bit of filler, to be honest). The quests you need to do are necessary to gain the trust of a naturally fearful faction of sentients (no spoilers) -- it makes sense they aren't your besties for life right off the jump. You will yell at the screen at the end of the whole thing, because it does make sense and yet it's the worst option for your character, personally, and it's out of your hands. (And it is not out of character for the person who makes that decision...)

No new date night content -- maybe in 7.5.1. There is some romance content for those of us that romanced Lana and Theron.

If you are big into Mandos and have been impatiently waiting for Lane to give you a buzz, this is your time and your hour. If you enjoy training hunter pets in other games, your time has arrived.

There is also a new Spring Festival event on Dantooine. In truth, I find it sort of derivative of the Tillers' reputation you could earn in World of Warcraft during Mists of Pandaria. It isn't exactly the same (we don't have a cooking profession), but the general ideas apply, right down to the dailies involving having a beer and going fishing, as well as scouring the world for seeds. There's also animal rescue built in here as well, so it's a bit of everything for any hero who wants to retire or at least slow down.

But of course, something sinister is on the farm, and so I anticipate Scooby Doo Mystery Hour shall continue as the event carries on.

~~

Given that Broadsword "maintains" games such as Dark Age of Camelot, there has been the fear that they'll move SWTOR into retirement, but I don't think that will happen, as it's still a live intellectual property (Star Wars), they're making gobs of money off it due to Cartel Market, and there's still a player base. (And let's be real, Favereau and Filoni play it, and they do matter to Disney and EA.) I don't know when 8.0 will come out, so we may have another round of storylines in 7.0 -- sort of like how we had an extended 5.0 (Iokath and Traitor Arc) after Bioware was stripped down in 2017. That said, Onslaught was quite good after the KotXX shenanigans and dev changes had settled. I still hold the view that Bioware is a sinking ship, and EA moved the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg to Broadsword for safekeeping. I think we might get an 8.0 in 2025 or 2026, but how that will look or work -- no idea.

[dustedbooksandreadingnooks]

It was another peaceful day in their little corner of Etheirys- an island in the middle of the Cieldalaes, gifted by the Chief Admiral, that only her and Tataru knew the location of. After.... Everything, Kizuna had needed it. He needed to be away from it all, from the people, the Scions- everything. Because if he had stayed, he would've kept going. There were always people that needed help, his help, but he'd been going far too hard for far too long to the point that Kizuna had to recognize how unfathomably tired he was. If he didn't learn how to take a break, it would break him. He'd made the decision when the Scions "disbanded." Everyone had kept eagerly asking what he was going to do with his down time, and he could never quite answer until then. "Nothing." No liberating Bojza, no fighting primals or weapons, no rebuilding cities, no tournaments, no helping people- Nothing. Kizuna thinks he remembers being asked if he felt ill, it was so unlike him. But he needed to do, nothing. Or else when he did need to something (and the time would come again- the Thirteenth showed him that) Kizuna was afraid that he wouldn't have anything to give. He was afraid that the Hero's Call would tug at his heart and he would be so tired he wouldn't care. And not caring was what scared him the most- it was who he was. So he'd set firm boundaries, as much as it hurt to do so. His voice cracked awfully but he managed to say it to everyone's faces himself. Don't call. Don't look for me. I can't. At the end of his rope he'd even given Tataru his linkpearl back. It was only when he went to visit his da that there was something left for him- one of Shtola's familiars, A fall back, the note she'd left with it said. So Kizuna couldn't feel too guilty and come back before he was ready. If they needed- and Shtola specified absolutely needed, the words written over thick- him and Ishi, they would know. When you come back, we will be waiting with open arms. In the meantime enjoy your vacation, Kizuna. Everyone in the realm knows you deserve it more than any help you could provide.

And finally, after a long, long time, Kizuna believed those words as well.

There is actually a lot more to this scene, but I didn’t anticipate how much I would write for just the first screenshot.

I’ll probably make at least one maybe two more posts on this but in the meantime…

Have some Kizuna emotional state and thoughts approximately 9-12 months after the post patch Thirteenth storyline! I put in a really long break in between that and the start of 7.0, especially because Kizuna doesn’t participate in msq until Valigarmanda.

Also if you ever wanna know more about Kizunas specific lore and timeline feel free to ask I love talking about how me and @candycryptids have written it ^^

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

Thoughts on 7.2 

I am happy but also a bit sad?

In almost every way, this patch was exactly what I wanted and predicted!

In particular, Endless Sphene being a passive, idealized version of the more opinionated and driven original person was something I’d been thinking about since ffxivwrite. So basically all the Sphene stuff this patch was me pointing at the screen and going I KNEW IT! 😂

It’s unclear if the changes were deliberate doctoring by Preservation to remove any problematic or rebellious aspects to her personality, or if it’s just the result of Endless Sphene being based on memories of how others saw Sphene, not her own. Either way, Endless Sphene coming across as uncanny and inhumanly idealized seems very intentional in hindsight. And it plays very well into a lot of the analysis I’ve seen about Sphene’s character. (I should really do a Sphene-centric queue sometime… there’s so much good stuff that’s been written on her.)

Also on a related note…

the lesbians are winning! 👀

After 7.0, the main thing my silly little shipper heart wanted was some way, AU or not, for Wuk Lamat to have been able to meet the original Sphene. She tried so hard to reach out to the Endless version, but that was inevitably going to end in conflict and tragedy. But what if they’d met earlier, before Sphene had put herself on that path? Maybe they really could have been allies, friends, or even something more…? :3

Anyway long story short I was very tempted to screenshot every time these two looked at each other during the patch. They don’t quite know what to make of each other yet but I can’t wait to see where their dynamic goes from here! 

Although…the writing around Wuk Lamat this patch actually made me a little sad too. Sure, Lamaty’i was always going to take a backseat this patch with the focus on OG Sphene and Calyx wanting the Azem Crystal and/or Key. But the way that every other scene had her go off to silently talk to someone else or make other excuses just to get her out of the picture was jarring. At least in post-StB, Lyse gets her big goodbye in 4.0 and her responsibilities in a official military position justify why she can’t come adventuring any more. With Wuk, she’s literally right there on screen, just shoved in a corner and put on mute. 

I’m just really worried this will be Lyse/Fordola all over again, where the writers set up an interesting dynamic (even despite some base expansion writing flaws), but then one character gets blamed and hated for being the face of a less popular expansion, and now any further development of the aspects that were good about that character gets canned. :(

Incidentally, 7.2 fixed one of my actual complaints with the 7.0 (maybe even as far back as 6.x) writing, which was the use of side characters. The characters that had character-unique things to do (like Alisaie’s determination to find cures!) got their own subplots and characters that weren’t immediately relevant (like Alphinaud) got to take a break until they were needed.

And maybe it’s just because I went into 7.2 having seen praise of it, but I felt like the pacing was better too? Like there were less moments of characters standing around summarizing the cutscene we just saw, and instead more of them each having their own different priorities and takes on it. Hard to really prove that, though!

That being said, Krile and G’raha currently still feel a bit superfluous, a la Myths of the Realm (which I did not love). Unlike MotR where it felt like neither of them had an emotional connection to the plot, I’m hopeful the Preservation thread will allow Krile to have something to contribute and of course G’raha will have strong feelings about Shards and their civilizations. 

(I do wish G’raha got to talk to Sphene more about the whole “wake up in the dystopian future” thing they have in common. Given that Sphene now has the crown with Endless Sphene’s memories, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up doing the exact same thing as Source!G’raha, choosing to take on the memories of her other self to become a continuation of both versions. Now that sure would be an interesting conversation to hear if they ever discussed it!)

What else…

I’m not really a fan of having the WoL shrug off a giant lightning strike. Even in EW, it felt goofy that the WoL’s combat prowess somehow made them immune to a shock collar. I get that this is a world where bullets and fireballs can somehow be nonlethal, but it’s one thing to see fantasy combat in gameplay and another to have blunt narrative confirmation that your character is apparently Superman.

Like, if Fordola did enough push ups, would the death collar have stopped working on her too? XD

As for our new villains...

Viktor Arcane, is that you?

More seriously, Simulant Sphene chewing the scenery was delightful, but I’m not quite sold on Calyx yet as an interesting villain. We already have plenty of tropey evil scientists mumbling about their calculations in FFXIV, so he needs something to set himself apart. I suspect that will come down to what his endgame is besides the “evolution of mankind” stuff. 

At the very least, though, I’m curious how long he (and/or Preservation) will stick around. The unique music during his introduction and noticeable Preservation logos all over his stuff makes me think we’ll be seeing a lot more of them. On the other hand, the fact that we’re immediately meeting the head/founder of Preservation and he’s also immediately laying out his goals doesn’t bode well for their longevity or mystery… but who knows?

Overall 

This feels like one of the stronger x.2 patches. In terms of structure, it’s very similar to 4.2 - we have an antagonist ���returned” who both is and isn’t the same person as before, plus some dweeb with a bad haircut clearly setting up a bunch of traps for the WoL to walk into for x.3. 😛

Still, I’m quite invested now, and if the Stormblood comparisons keep holding, 7.3 is going to be a hell of a patch to look forward to!

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

The patch notes for Version 7.0 have been released! This adds Side Order and all of the Fresh Season 2024 content, though the latter won't unlock until March 1st.

I won't have the time to go through the patch notes and talk about them tonight, but there's a lot of fun stuff in here. 153 pieces of gear got added to the stores, gear adjustment got expanded massively, they changed how Splatfest points are distributed, and they even added new poses for Dualies, Brellas, Splatanas and Stringers when using the Reppin' Inkopolis emote!

My only real complaint is that somehow Snipewriter slipped through the cracks untouched again. Here's hoping Nintendo's cottoned on to how ubiquitous it's been in competitive play for the last half a year or so by the next patch.

[welcome-home-multiverse-project]

The progression of my welcome home multiverse map!

“patch” notes under cut

Ver.2.0 notes:

Added Julie designs to all A.Us

Added High noon! And Re-Boot! Wally’s bandana and scarf respectively.

Ver.3.0 notes:

Added Barnaby designs to all A.Us

Ver.4.0 notes:

Added Howdy designs to all A.Us.

Fixed High Noon! Barnaby’s face line art to Mach the other high noon! Neighbors.

Ver.5.0 notes:

Added Poppy designs to all A.Us.

Fixed The Neighbors of Babel Howdy’s eyes.

Ver.6.0 notes:

Added Sally designs to all A.Us.

Ver.7.0 notes:

Added Frank designs to all A.Us

Ver.8.0 notes:

Added Eddie designs to all A.Us

Finished adding neighbor designs to all available A.Us

[whitherwanderer]

I have so many OC thoughts to rattle around about 7.2 story (loved it) and I need a place to put them. Suffice to say, tread ye lightly. Spoilers abound under the cut.

Ivih and levinsickness

I was very, very pleased to have confirmation of my theory that leaving the dome would theoretically allow those who live with levinsickness to lead a more mobile life, which is why Ivih spends time outside it in the first place. Less pleased that CBS3 keeps solving the normal people problems it invents only a couple patches later while letting other things like Gridania’s long-overlooked mistreatment of some of the Shroud’s denizen slide for as long as possible. But still pleased overall.

Ivih’s feelings about this would be mixed to say the least, and I imagine that a lot of people in her situation would also have varying opinions. Her first and strongest feeling would be sheer anger. Utter frustration at the cosmic joke that is living with a debilitating condition that can be solved by getting on an increasingly short waitlist to be prodded by the Healing Pig and then, voila, all better. Not 100% obv and lifestyle changes would still be necessary, but well enough to live her life more freely than ever. Life that she had been unfairly kept from for decades despite every attempt to fight for it. And all it would take is letting the nice red girl's pet floating pig vomit aether at you for a bit.

It would take a while to accept, and for a while she would even refuse treatment because she has spent her entire life learning how to work around obstacles, and she got pretty damn good at it. When life finally deigns to remove them, she’d want to know why. What’s the punchline? What the hell was the struggle for then?

I love that for her but also MAN. Stop solving all the problems I give my idiots, y'all.

Pyrite and Oblivion

Pyrite would be so busy during this patch, oh my god. Rattled after the attack of the clones during 7.0, now faced with the same situation with increasing frequency in an even more unstable populace. She’d have trouble sleeping, if she sleeps at all.

I was REALLY PSYCHED to see the “break room” because I had written specifically about a little coffee machine and beds back there (well, I had written bunk rooms but close enough)!! It's where Pyrite mostly stays because it's really hard for her to go back to the apartment she still technically shares with Galena.

Events of 7.1 would have already had her alarm bells going off, obviously. She would have, perhaps, attended the service for Sphene from a cautious distance if only because they were friendly once (there were few who weren’t), but with her distrust in regulators (despite her insistence/excuses to keep wearing one) and the strangely-timed distribution of the neo regulators (using information from cultural records that her own organization had found, insultingly), she would rather observe than be directly involved (there were already so many parenthetical asides, this one is just for kicks).

News of a certainly-not-dead Queen Sphene and attendees having their memories of the service altered would have already thrown her lifestyle into an uncomfortable tailspin. Now her organization’s oldest enemy—until recently little more than a ghost whose tracks were imprinted into the very foundation of Alexandria and all who call it home—is revealed to have been alive (relatively speaking) and biding time right under their noses. She'd struggle not to put a bullet or blade through any sentry that wanders just a little too close. (Side note: I cheered when the hunters showed up to cull the rogue sentries. Those cutscene transitions were slick.)

A fresh new confrontation about death and grief is a loud drumbeat to set the cadence of the chaos that quickly follows. There’s also the fact that her husband is still quite solidly set in his decision to refuse to wear a regulator, for which she can fault him less and less.

Even then, she can’t seem to part with hers. The specter of death has never felt closer and, try as she might to appear otherwise, she is scared. At least after her first brush with what death can take she had been spared the initial shock. But now she’ll have to face it fully, and the thought makes it ever harder to fulfill her duties to an organization whose very name is an inevitable conversation with herself that she has pointedly chosen not to have.

And now there is another Sphene—the original—walking around in the Backroom, news of which surely made her go pale with nausea as she’s asked to be nice and offer whatever assistance she can.

Pyrite is deeply unwell this patch. :)

I love this game man.

[farfromdaylight]

hello! here is a crosspost of my usual post about the new patch. all details hidden behind the readmore.

covers both patch msq and alliance raid!

overall i really liked this patch! it was chill for 90% of it, which is pretty typical for .1 patches; it's a lot of closing up plot threads from .0 and starting some new ones.

really liked the focus on family from different perspectives. i think it was very convenient that the one guy who happens to know what happened to Koana's parents was around, but eh, it closes that thread nicely so I can't really complain. I did very much enjoy the entire Shaaloani section, it was nice to focus in on the culture of the people and the importance of the rroneek, since it's so obviously modeled after Native American traditions and it really wasn't part of 7.0.

as for the gulool ja stuff:

THE DUNGEON WAS FANTASTIC? great great GREAT atmosphere, i had a BLAST. absolutely resident evil type shit, it was a DELIGHT. the notes were also so fun to read through.

ALSO, PROTO CARBUNCLE MODEL? FUCK ME UP WHY DON'T YOU. i did die once in that fight (i did it in duty support) but that was bc i didn't see the aoe go mid; i would have been fine otherwise. i did fuck up misdirection on the midboss but i managed to survive.

i know a lot of people were like "did zoraal ja get pregnant or what" in a tongue-in-cheek way, but i actually really enjoyed getting to see some backstory there. i still think zoraal ja is a bit too thin, and the concept of "the one female mamool ja around really wanted to fuck him" is a bit stupid, but i had fun with it.

and then we get back to s9 and...

WHAT THE FUCK.

SERIOUSLY, I WAS NOT EXPECTING SPHENE TO COME BACK, PERIOD. WHAT A FUCKING TWIST. i can't wait to find out what the FUCK is going on there, it was so unexpected to me. PLUS SHE'S ALSO LIKE? ALIVE? IN LIVING MEMORY??? WHAT IS HAPPENING.

i actually went into this patch with pretty low expectations, not because i disliked dawntrail (i quite enjoyed it, it's just not a 10/10 story to me) but because i wasn't sure i was going to be interested in what came next. but i'm in, now! this is NEAT. i want to see some fucked up shit.

anyway, good patch! looking forward to the next for sure. deeply funny that this sphene reveal comes in the same patch as her EX though. that's like if emet-selch showed back up at the end of 5.1 lmao. A WILD TWIST.

alliance raid time:

BRO I'M SO HAPPY THEY BROUGHT SAREEL JA BACK. he was absolutely underutilized in msq and this is so fun. the whole concept of this is pretty silly but it's a delight all the same. i may not have any context for the FF11 stuff but i still had a great time with all of this. love to hang out with bakool ja ja of all people.

my suspicion is that axaal is a stand-in for the player character of FF11, but this is just a guess; for all i know he's a canon guy, lol.

ALSO, WOW, THOSE BOSS FIGHTS. prishe handed my ass to me. fafnir did too. the third boss i had a better time with but it was much more engaging (FIVE BOSSES? WE LOVE TO SEE IT). the last boss also fucked me up, but wasn't that hard to get a hang of? i just got boned by using surecast too early on some of the knockbacks, lmao...

also i rolled a 95 on the minion and didn't get it. JUST ALLIANCE RAID THINGS. i wish i liked any of the glamour but i...... Do Not. maybe some of it will be tolerable dyed, i guess we'll see. i don't need any of it for gear (my ilvl is 730 and i'm only missing my m4s weapon for bis) so i am less motivated to farm it than usual, tbh. for once i don't have a fucked spell speed i need to fix.

anyway, alliance was fun! it was reasonably accessible for a non-fan, which i appreciated because some of the other tie-ins have decidedly Not been that way. looking forward to running it again with friends soon.

[doc-ravenbe]

My thoughts on Crossroads, Patch 7.1 of Dawntrail MSQ

Preservation was originally designed to keep the original Sphene, whom we as players never truly met, alive in some form over hundreds of years ago. We never encountered any of the members of this organization as we had to deal with the present threat of Zoraal Ja and his invasion of Tulliyoyal and the subtle machinations of Sphene’s programming to protect the well-being of her people, no matter the cost.  Now that the dust has settled, Preservation could be making a move to establish Having completed both MSQ and Alliance raid questlines for Patch 7.1 of Dawntrail, I now want to talk about some of the themes and my thoughts on where the MSQ goes from here. Note that there are several spoilers for the plot of Dawntrail and obviously its first patch.

Family

The biggest theme this patch is family.  From the beginning of this patch to the high point and ending we see elements of family in one form or another. The largest two being Gulool Ja regarding his mother whom he never knew and his father Zoraal Ja, an Koana and his troubled past of abandonment by his parents 20 years ago.  Several types of family are explored broken ones, found families and the concept of a nation as family all appear in this patch.  It is because of Gulool Ja wanting to learn about his mother that we as players and watchers of the story encounter the first dungeon, which is wonderful Resident Evil like encounter and ends with an intense battle with a Tural Vidraal.   We learn more about Gulool Ja’s mother, Teeshal Ja, and discover the failures of both her and Zoraal Ja in being a good family. Zoraal Ja’s refusal at being a father is heartbreaking to witness and expands further of his initial reaction we see with Gulool Ja in the 7.0 MSQ.  Teeshal Ja sought to fulfill a dream of being with Zoraal Ja, a man she loved but his distance and his own personal demons prevented this closeness. His violent reaction to realizing she had a child with him further cementing that this was a family could never be. 

In contrast to this event, we had before this sad denouement the plight of Shaaolani and Vow Koana’s own struggles before this revelation.  The problems of technological advancement and nature are brought to the fore with the train affecting the Rroneek herds.  I did like that we got back to plot that was put to the side with the whole Dome and Alexandrian attack on Tulliyoyal, we also got to see Erenville again after having resigned being a Sharlayan Gleaner.  The trinket of an Outrunner like the one his mother Cahciua had used now adorning his backpack (for those who caught a look at him before the msq points it out as well). We head to the local Hhetsarro camp in Shaaolani to see what can be done to prevent further troubles for Rroneek and other wildlife and find out why these beasts are roaming further from their grazing fields.  It is here we learn about a fearsome beast called a Rroneek Reaver that has wandered from its normal grounds and in a solo instance fight the beast with Wuk Lamat and Koana.  The aftermath of this battle we learn that twenty years ago a similar river had attacked an encampment of Hhetsarro, and two of these individuals had turned back to face the creature to buy others time to flee and get their son to safety, dying in the process.  The child could not be found as was feared lost, this child turned out to be Koana, who was rescued by a pelupelu peddler and eventually became an adopted child of the Gulool Ja Ja, the former Dawnservant.  The trope of parental abandonment of children because they died trying to protect them without the child knowing it is common but is nice here.  Koana is conflicted a bit by this revelation, and I felt it could be cheesy a bit, but his love for his adopted sibling Wuk Lamat and his adopted father. He extends it to all Tuylliyoyal as well.

The notion of a nation being family is also explored in Alexandria, but with them another theme is far more prevalent: Grief.

Grief

Alexandria is the epitome of grief in this patch, and it is interesting to see how their dealing with it leads us to the future patches.   The citizens are not dealing with the concept of death at all. No surprise anyone who had died was wiped from the memories of the living and converted into Endless (digital simulacra that housed the minds of the deceased) in Living Memory if they had a regulator attached to their persons. As the Warrior of Light and his allies shut down Living Memory to prevent Queen Sphene from using an artifact from plundering aether from other shards and dimension to keep the Endless alive, we bare some responsibility for this new reality.  The Alexandrians now must deal with the fact that Queen Sphene is gone, thought not because of the Warrior of Light, and that now the death of an individual no longer leads to the memories of their existence being erased from the populace. These two blows have the Alexandrians in a panic.  Unable to cope or deal or even properly grieve the loss of life in their entirety of their lives, the mood during the funeral for Queen Sphene is palpable.  What I like here is that even attempts to console some of the citizens do not fix the problem.  That’s grief. Plain and simple. It can’t be easily consoled or assuaged. I applaud Wuk Lamat broaching empathy and solace and, having it rejected by the one she consoled. She understands not push the issue further.  People take time to overcome grief, and yet the worry for the player becomes how will they handle this?  Their queen is gone, and they have a young child as heir-apparent who is not the same as their beloved queen. We even try to provide support by offering those that wish to leave for Tulliyoyal an easier means of travel after our excursion to the dungeon to learn more about Gulool Ja’s mother.  It is when we come back from Shaaolani with good news that the train will be operational that game drops the big reveal, and I am interested in how this plays out: Sphene is back.

The Queen is (not) dead, long live the Queen!

But of course, this is not the Sphene we knew. This is someone or something playing the beloved Queen Sphene and worst still, its in response to the growing panic of the Alexandrians and death. In this case, they did not handle the grief. It is consuming them, directing them to seek salvation from the terror and cruelness that can be death. The regulators they wear have been used to alter their memories again.  Into believing Sphene never died and that her funeral was for those that lost their life in Zoraal Ja’s attack of Solution Nine. For Veterans of XIV, we almost expected to see Sphene bear a sigil of an Ascian on her face, but we know it’s not an Ascian. Who could it be then? This is where I am theory-crafting and hoping to find out what happens in the following patches.  Obviously, the Sphene before is not the Sphene we knew.  That one was damaged and dying from the self-deletion of her memories and our clash with her in the Interphos. Even she said she could not come back. So what is this new Sphene before us and where did she come from? If the sphene we encountered in 7.0 was a Digital Program designed to protect all citizens of Alexandria, both Endless and breathing, could this Sphene we now see be a similar but different program that has come online?  With her fervent plan to prevent people from fearing about death by converting a select few into Endless, this will cause much turmoil in Alexandria as only five thousand specially designed regulators are in existence.  Who or what would want that kind of chaos? Asicans? They are out of the picture.  My guess? We are dealing with a group that was mentioned briefly and in passing through the end of the MSQ by Oblivion and some of the Endless in Living Memory: Preservation. 

control of the populace and if they can manipulate the memories the citizens and make a new Living Memory, so much the better for them. Especially since any claim that the Sphene now roaming is not the true Sphene as it will cause a rift between those with regulators and those without one leading to bloodshed and tragedy.  We know that the Crown Sphene wore was called a “special” Regulator and that it survived the ordeal. Preservation could have used this to create a new Sphene for their purposes. Yet there is more, the post patch cutscenes show another wrinkle. As Y’shtola and Shale explore Living Memory, they come upon another individual (we see them through this person’s eyes). This individual is confused as to where they are and what is happening, and why their body is like this.  The voice is like Sphene’s, but how can this be?  There is a theory going around that this may be the original Sphene. The one that supposedly died from over exposure to lightning aether paralysis.  Could Preservation’s original attempt be to copy her memories from her physical body and keep them preserved while they healed her physical body?  It is entirely possible that was the original plan and that over time and the years this changed to creating the Sphene program we later encountered and defeated.  Could our shutting down of Living Memory force her physical body to be awakened from its preserved slumber? We have future patches to find out. I look forward to it.

[wyrmwinds]

Finished Dawntrail a couple weeks ago so here's a few thoughts! Divided between meta thoughts and thoughts for my own oc lore. Note that I've only played through base 7.0, and am still working through the patches.

OC Lore

I think I'll go with Sayin taking the lead in this expac. There's not really any reason why the protagonist has to be the WoL for the story, and in fact I think it makes more sense for Sayin to provide mentorship -- While Ava has been in positions of power, she has never governed a country, while Sayin was Khatun of the steppe for a year.

Any upcoming inter-shard travels (Which I hope isn't the direction we're going in soon for writing reasons) mean that Ava will have less power there, as her ability to call upon the First Brood is greatly diminished in other shards.

I think Sayin being the one G'raha has his gondola talk with also adds an interesting dimension to it -- Like he's scared of saying this to Ava's face. It makes me think about what Sayin was doing in the alternate timeline he remembers, too... I feel like she would have outlived Ava. Sayin being a healer... Perhaps G'raha reached out to Sayin since she knows the pain of doing everyone for the sake of another's life. I also don't think G'raha and Sayin had connected previously, but thinking about their dynamic is interesting, with them both being people Ava took under her wing and has a protective instinct over.

I do still kind of want Ava to do the Arcadion... Her dragon powers + greatwyrm trances fit right in, and she lives more for the spotlight compared to Sayin. At the same time, Sayin's no stranger to bloodsport and I think she'd have her own charm as a stage combatant. Ava coming back just to coach Sayin would also be fun. Ava's already got a lot of titles to herself and she would probably just reuse one of those for her ring name, but Sayin would have to come up with one for herself. The only one that comes to mind is Celestial Noise (from Rise's AST reference) but I don't think that really suits her... I'll have to think about it

Meta/Overall

I really wanted to like Dawntrail (and there were parts I did like!) but the execution felt lackluster. I rambled for many paragraphs on the parts I thought brought it down on Discord, but in summary, I think they didn't actually put effort into developing Tural's cultures beyond one-dimensional aspects, there's very little actual gameplay in the rite of succession which makes it feel very slow, and the scions feel like they're only included to fill space, and for the most part don't interact with the new cast, which feels like a huge missed opportunity for character development.

As mentioned in my OC lore section, there isn't any reason why the WoL specifically has to be there in this expac -- Despite Wuk Lamat's request, a lot of the rite does not require combat prowess, and while we are there as a mentor figure, Wuk Lamat already is a skilled combatant, and what she needs to learn is how to become a ruler -- something that the WoL has no canon experience with.

(I also don't think the whole Dimensional Fusion thing bodes well for future MSQ, but that's more about what I want from the story -- When we go to Meracydia, I want to learn about Meracydia, not about a Meracydia that has been overtaken by the Second or whatever)

Wuk Lamat as a character is fine, in the first half she falls victim to the writing making her very one-note, but I liked seeing her come onto her own and make decisions in the second half. There's an interesting foil with her and Sphene regarding war and grief, but I don't think it was fully touched on.

There's a lot more thoughts I have on how DT fell short but I don't want to make this too long. I did like Living Memory and some sidequests, and how lalas in Alexandria are originally from the Source was an interesting way to share lore about Source and Alexandria lalas at the same time.

Anyways aside from lore, I personally don't like the brand of cyber Solution Nine brings, while XIV has had tech in the form of magitek and allag, I feel like there's a line between that and Cyberpunk Gamer World, like the difference between Low Fantasy, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, etc. I just feel like other than the electrope patterns (Which I did like, which was part of why I liked seeing Living Memory shut down and the cold electrope underneath) Solution Nine lacks the fantasy aspect. Also not too big a fan of modern fashion glams, but that's more because my personal glam taste leans towards the fantasy-esque glam pieces. Never been an Indigo Shirt/Casual Jacket kind of player.

[glitterybasementdreamland]

“A Step-by-Step Approach to Reviving an Unhealthy Lawn”

Introduction

Reviving an unhealthy lawn can feel like a daunting task, but fear not! With the right knowledge and a bit of elbow grease, your patchy, brown grass can be transformed into a lush, green paradise. Whether you’ve been neglecting your lawn or it’s suffering from the effects of harsh weather conditions, this comprehensive guide will walk you through A Step-by-Step Approach to Reviving an Unhealthy Lawn. We'll explore the ins and outs of lawn care, including lawn cutting, lawn fertilization, and even when to call in a lawn care service. So grab your gardening gloves and let’s dive in!

Understanding Your Lawn's Needs https://telegra.ph/Best-Times-to-Plant-in-Your-Area-Timing-Your-Garden-Right-in-Phoenix-12-16 What Is Lawn Care?

Lawn care refers to the overall maintenance practices that ensure your grass stays healthy and vibrant. This includes mowing, fertilizing, watering, aerating, and pest control. Each component plays a crucial role in creating an environment where grass can thrive.

Why Is Lawn Health Important?

A healthy lawn enhances curb appeal and promotes biodiversity. It serves as a habitat for various organisms while also improving air quality. An unhealthy lawn can lead to issues like soil erosion and increased pests. Thus, maintaining lawn health is vital for both aesthetics and environmental health.

Assessing the Condition of Your Lawn Signs of an Unhealthy Lawn

Before you embark on your journey towards revitalization, you need to assess the current state of your lawn. Here are some common signs that indicate poor health:

Brown patches: These typically signify drought stress or disease. Weeds: An abundance of weeds usually means competition for nutrients. Thin coverage: Sparse areas suggest improper mowing or lack of nutrition. Causes of Poor Lawn Health

Understanding why your lawn has declined is key to its revival:

Improper Watering: Too much or too little water can damage your grass. Nutrient Deficiency: Lack of essential nutrients leads to poor growth. Pests & Diseases: Insects and fungi can wreak havoc on healthy grass. A Step-by-Step Approach to Reviving an Unhealthy Lawn Step 1: Identify Problem Areas

Start by walking around your yard to pinpoint areas that need attention.

Take note of brown patches. Examine soil moisture levels using a soil probe or simply digging down with a spade. Step 2: Test Your Soil

Soil testing is crucial for understanding nutrient levels and pH balance.

Use a home testing kit or send samples to a local extension service. Aim for a pH level between 6.0 and 7.0 for optimal growth. Step 3: Adjust Your Watering Schedule

Watering properly is essential for reviving an unhealthy lawn.

Water early in the morning to reduce evaporation rates. Deep watering (1 inch per week) encourages deep root growth. Step 4: Aerate Your Lawn

Aeration involves perforating the soil with holes to allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate

[flyingcookierambles]

Good news!

Last night I finished endwalker on my birthday, it only took playing from midnight to 4 am lol

Bad news I forgot to log into genshin and I didn't get my birthday cake :/

Lmao

Anyways I love zenos k onwards to the endwalker patch msq and dawntrail yay yippeee!!!

Nov 17th edit: some 7.0 screenshots of my WoL, Cyril, with the great glow up graphic update. au ra enjoyers, elezen enjoyers, we WON!!! YIPEEEEEEEE!!!

also a small comparison of no reshade and reshade also. my color saturation is turned up and the bloom is a bit warm, i love the color. he looks so soft. like, sorry, but even with the wonderful 7.0 looks, the base game is so washed out still. like, maybe i'm used to the photo-realistic and saturated landscape of for example, horizon zero dawn, god of war 2018, also more anime/cartoon-y saturated colorful landscapes of genshin, but ffxiv base game is so faded out to me.

also, although im still a bit miffed at myself for taking literally two years and 6 months to finish endwalker, enough time for the latest expac to come out, at the same time, i'm glad i waited for the 7.0 graphics. ultima thule is amazing! the skybox is amazing! also, the elezen glow up helped the scions a lot, urianger and g'raha look so soft and cute. the twins also have cute cheeks that i want to pinch lol. truly the wol's little brother and sister lol. the elf/elezen ears textsures and the light also going thru the skin a bit helped soften them. just. 7.0 was so good lol.

i will say though, idk what it is about my bloom and keepUI settings. like, maybe i just haven't really set up keepUI/mask UI reshade filters very well, but sometimes in night scenes, also ugh most of the ultima thule area except the omnicron area, the brightness of the dialogue box in cutscenes will make the rest of the screen kinda darken to compensate the bloom effect or soemthing. a bit frustrating tbh.

but anyways beautiful 7.0 crystal mother above!!!! i loved her. QAQ......

the bloom and 7.0 eye updates really helped her eyes pop out and glow.

oh, also i kinda wanna steal pint's reshade settings. i think his settings is technically public, but you have to join his discord?

but also, now that i've caught up, i can see some streamer's reactions and VODs to the end of endwalker. since many of them didn't delay like i did, i see the old graphics and i'm like. oh god. OH GOD, THEY LOOKED LIKE THAT????? (weird default shaders, angular elezen, etc., lol) crazy how you can just get used to the new stuff in such a short amount of time, seeing the stuff i was used to for like 2-3 years, it's really like that dang bitch you live like this meme. lol

oh yeah, here's a screenshot from july when dawntrail first released. truly the fate farming craze!!! incredible.

also, me, two of my friends, and one friend's younger sister all partied together to complete the coils of bahamat. we unsynced to carry my friend who is still in ARR/level 50-60 ranges. like literally just zooming thru the combat as 3 lvl 90 players and our baby level 50 friend to get to the dialogue and cutscenes lol.

oh yeah rip huiton. BUT ALSO THE ULTIMA THULE SKYBOX AND STARS OOOOOOOGH THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

also, nastrond. also spineshatter dive. also eye of the dragon buddy system. just. oof. i know i' not a very high level dragoon, i think only mid 70, so i didn't even get to all the fun full rotation level 80-90 stuff, but god dang. bruh moment. sorry for your loss, other dragoon mains and enjoyers.

(note, i am an healer main, astro enjoyer, and i also loved plunge for dark knight. i get it uuuuuu QAQ....)

also! bloom vs no bloom.

OK, NGL, THIS WAS A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, RIGHT ISHIKAWA???????? YOU LOVE YOUR CATBOY SON OC. YOU MAKE US LOVE YOUR CATBOY SON OC. I GET IT, HE'S THE SPECIALEST BOY EVER. UGHREAUGHEOGAHOUH. I LITERALLY WAS WATCHING THIS PART OF THE CUTSCENE A BIG DOPEY GRIN ON MY FACE, SQUEALING UNCONTROLLABLY. AND LIKE ALL THE STREAMERS I WATCHED VODS OF ALSO WERE JUST LIKE AWWWW. G'RAHA.... :D

oh also some gpose with the kiddos during Forge Ahead companion MSQ walking up the path Raha made for us. also ngl, it was so so funny to me whenever i got "this NPC is now following you" quests lol. like, SE was really like. LOOK! LOOK AT OUR LATEST ESCORT QUEST TECHNOLOGY! lol

so my reaper was lvl 89, not enough for the final lvl 90 msq lol. so, as i always planned anyways, i switched to white mage for the final msq. like, my first class and job were conjurer/white mage, so it only felt appropriate to end with that job.

So, i'll be honest also. i knew some plot points of endwalker. on social media and such, it's kinda inevitable to see spoilers, especially when everyone is literally 2 years ahead of you. however, i did not know the full context or the order in which some snippets and events would happen. also, the only two things i really kept for myself was listening to flow and close in the distance. like, i succeeded in skipping them or tabbing out and stuff whenever i heard the first few notes. so, hearing both for the first time was great. close in the distance playing in the background and slowly revealing itself and more instruments as the msq and scions' sacrifices went on was beautiful. using the instrumental for the dead ends dungeon was good too. i also loved seeing the alien worlds in the dead ends. of course, im sure that it may lose its magic when i have to play it like a thousand times to get my starbird minion.

also ZENOS MY ENEMY, MY FRIEND!!! :D

so also if you got me at 3am in jenova/ EST time, i am so so sorry lmao. i died like 6 times to the stupid planet throwing and somehow got 1 commendation. i'm sure it was a pity commendation lmao. QAQ i've never been so embarrassed in my life i stg!!!

OOPS ONLY 30 IMAGES ALLOWED PER POST LMAO OK, PART 2 INCOMING. THERE'S ONLY A TINY BIT OF MSQ LEFT BUT I KINDA HAD A GPOSE PHOTOSHOOT WITH MY BESTIE/WORSTIE/HUSBAND ZENOS AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE BEFORE WE BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF EACH OTHER LOL