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Hello everyone and welcome back. The screen might look a little different now! Sometime after recording the Ala Mhigan arc and the MRD arc (coming soon! after ROG finishes), I noticed that my aging PC was having difficulties running XIV at 1080p and recording, so I changed the recording resolution down to 720p instead.
The upshot here is that recording is easier, and the screen is a lot easier to read. Even if my hotbars take up like a good quarter of the screen.
Ginger's new MSQ job is WAR(rior). It's a tank job, and it's my favorite blue DPS in the game. She's "only" level 30 for this level 27 MSQ, so she's still over-leveled, just not to a degree of over-excess.
Other quest shots after this one will be trimmed up as usual, but I just wanted to show off how large the quest details are at 720. Everything is perfectly visible, and I love it!
While you were tending to business in Thanalan, some new information arrived courtesy of our friends the sylphs. An individual fitting Lahabrea's description has been sighted in the North Shroud. This sighting comes in the wake of a series of mysterious deaths in the selfsame area. My instincts tell me that our man is involved.
I would have you continue your investigation where you left off. Twelve willing, we will pick up Lahabrea's trail once more. Noraxia can furnish you with the details. Pray speak with her, and take it from there. As always, be careful out there, Ginger.
Walking one is to investigate sinister one? Then heed well this one's words. This one is friends with a walking one in the Ashcrown Consortium. According to friendly one, a digging one named Medrod had an encounter with a scary masked one. This masked one is most certainly sinister one! Walking one should go and speak with digging one Medrod. Digging one is to be found at Fallgourd Float in the North Shroud.
In the North Shroud, our destination is a little unassuming building near the entrance of town. Also while I was leveling up Marauder, Ginger got this little unicolt. So I've been running around with it out because it's too adorable.
P-Please leave me be... I'm not long for this world... I...I looked death in the face... 'Tis only a matter of time before he comes for me, just like he came for that poor woman...
Medrod is clearly traumatized. Perhaps if you were to soothe him, he might remain calm for long enough to hold a conversation.
/soothe
I like Ginger's new armored look!
...Y-You're right. It's not as bad as it seems. I saw something terrible, that's true, but that hardly means I'm going to suffer the same fate. Thanks to you, I can think straight again. I believe I can even recount what I saw without losing it. It was just another ordinary day. I was headed back to the Float when I noticed a suspicious character in the distance-a masked man garbed head to toe in black. He had a hideous fiend in tow, a winged creature that was all eyeball and jagged teeth. Taken by curiosity, I crept as near as I dared...
A very nice thing about recording at a smaller resolution is being able to use the in-game text boxes as a thing you should now read instead of just for the image.
What!? You're investigating this same masked man!?
If that's the case, we'll help you in whatever way we can!
Aye, anything to ensure that we won't have to suffer Medrod's hysteria ever again.
All right, teamwork! That's what I wanted to--wait, I haven't been that bad, have I...? At any rate, I'm all for helping this adventurer. It's the least I can do to repay her for comforting me!
It's so weird swapping back and forth between quests that are short and snappy, and then ones that are long with a lot of exposition and dialogue.
Aideen is represented by Veronica's portrait.
So, here's what I know about the deaths: all the victims were found with their faces torn to shreds. Among the local fauna, only the scalekin known as ziz could inflict such wounds. That's why some folk are pointing the finger at them. I somehow doubt that the answer's that simple, but for the sake of thoroughness, we should look into it. Why don't you put down, say, three of the creatures, and see if you can find any proof connecting them to the deaths?
This quest used to ask for six Ziz deaths. Anyway, it's a filler kill quest in the MSQ, so just assume I did it and we'll move on.
You've already seen to the ziz? Good work, adventurer! So, were you able to find aught to suggest that the creatures are our culprits? ...Nothing? Truth be told, even if there were proof, I wouldn't know what it looked like. Aaanyway, I believe we can safely strike ziz from our list of suspects. Which leaves us with...the masked man and his winged eyeball!
There's something else I heard about the deaths. It appears all the victims have been comely maidens. I'd better watch myself, eh!? Heh heh heh! <sigh> Unseemly japes aside, there's a rumor been going around. There's some as whisper that, after each victim died, her rancor went into the great big rock southwest of here, causing it to flash and moan.
This bears investigating, I reckon. I'm going to give you a firesand stick to blow off a piece of that crag. The stick doesn't come with a fuse or anything, so you'll have to throw the thing. Once you've torn the rock a new one, bring back some of the fragments, and I'll give them a gander.
And while we're here, the elezen in the background has a quest too.
There is something you should know. I have been keeping this to myself, lest I worsen Medrod's paranoia, but I, too, have seen the winged eyeball. I cannot say whether it was coincidence, but my sighting took place precisely the same time as Medrod's. I was heading home after a day of digging when a shadow fell over me. Looking up, I found myself locked in a gaze with a giant eyeball. I let out a scream at the top of my lungs and ran without once looking back. This happened at the rocky area west of here, in case you had a mind to investigate.
This quest is easy enough, we just need to toss "firesand" (dynamite, really) at the glowy spot on the ground...
...and then pick up the fragments. Quests like this show up infrequently throughout the game. Never often enough to wear out their welcome, either, so they're always something of a pleasant surprise.
And Ivaurault's quest just has us doing the usual "investigate a spot to look for clues."
A banemite seems a bit anti-climactic, but sure.
We get to turn in both at once! 
Semi-modern MMO design is head and shoulders better than anything that has come before. But there's also something to be said about oldschool WoW design where you just grab 8 or 9 quests, go out, do them, and run back to a sea of expectant NPCs. So few games offer the latter experience unless you're doing something like a sidequest roundup in XIV.
Anyway, Aideen's quest first.
Most folk are too scared to go within a hundred yalms of the Rock of Rancor-aye, it has a name. But what's a few vengeful spirits to a dauntless adventurer like you, eh?
*hands over lightning crystals*
...Huh? Why, these are just your garden-variety crystals! 'Tis a bit hard to tell beneath all the dirt and grime, but they're definitely lightning-aspected. I almost hate to say it, but that explains the flashing and moaning. Nothing to do with the masked stranger. Looks like I've gone and wasted both your time and a perfectly good firesand stick. Oh, well...
Intentional or no, you have done us a great service. You have my gratitude! ...But this does make me wonder, was it truly a winged eyeball I saw? Or merely a trick of light combined with blind panic?
This arc is, seriously, 7 quests long. That marks the end of #4/7. Seriously.
This quest is given by Medrod, our initial point of contact.
<sigh> There've been no promising leads in the murders. I can scarce get a wink of sleep, knowing that the killer is still at large. Judging by your furrowed brows, I take it this sorry business troubles you as much as it does me.
I had been pondering my encounter. I was uncertain for a time, but there can be no doubt: it was a winged eyeball that I witnessed. It's implausible that I could have mistaken so distinct a creature for a banemite.
But you and I were malms apart. How could we have both seen it at precisely the same time? What's more, our adventurer friend here had a run-in with the banemite at the very spot you claimed to see that fiendish eyeball. Isn't that right?
There must be an explanation! I know I saw an eyeball with wings-I would wager an apple tart on it!
Oooh, he's serious. But listen, mayhap it's not as mysterious as we're making it out to be. There's no reason why there couldn't be-- <gasp> Gods, of course... There must be more than one of the buggers! Ugh, it's so obvious. But then that means...since there have been repeated sightings of these fiends...then there must be even more victims as yet undiscovered...
<gulp>
I-I do believe we're out of our depth. We ought to leave the rest to the expert.
Y-Yes, we're just civilians, after all. Good luck, adventurer. It was a pleasure knowing you!
While I burn to know the truth, some things are best left unknown. Lest you have forgotten, it was at the rocky area to the west that I had my encounter. Should you discover aught of note, you will want to alert the authorities. There is a guardhouse nearby. The Serpents there should be pleased for any information that pertains to the security of the region.
This arc flows weirdly because it's just grasping at straws and finding nothing. And then, out of a lack of any better options, going back to look a second time and getting blindly lucky.
Just need to kill the eye (the second one there belongs to another player) and then head back.
Greetings, adventurer. Is there aught I might assist you with?
I found a body in the woods...
Gods be good, not again...
Identical deaths have been reported in the Central Shroud. While the masked stranger you seek does not seem to feature in any, sightings of the winged eyeball are common enough. The creature appears to be moving the bodies, but to what end, none can say. The victims have all been young women. All are found with their faces mutilated beyond recognition. It's been difficult to identify them, so as to notify their next of--
Hm? This button, engraved with a lily motif... The very same object was found upon another victim. A family sigil, or that of an organization, perhaps? Either way, I dare to hope that this find will prove pivotal in solving the murders.
Completing this quest increases our mount speed in North Shroud. That's how you know we're done with this zone. 
I would have you hold on to the lily button. You will need it to continue your investigation. While it isn't standard procedure to entrust key evidence to individuals, you have proven yourself reliable and resourceful in this matter. I see no reason why you shouldn't carry on your work. If I might make a suggestion, you may wish to take the button to Gridania and have it examined by Miounne. Mayhap someone in her vast network of contacts can shed light upon its sigil.
Back to Gridania we go!
Good morrow to you, Ginger. By your grim expression, I suspect you aren't here for scones and herb tea.
*hands over button*
Well, isn't this a lovely little button. The engraving is quite exquisite--artisan-level quality, I would say. Where did you say you found this? ...On a dead body? Lovely.
Mother Miounne is great.
Anyway, I'm afraid I do not recognize the lily sigil. You will have to find the answer the old-fashioned way-by asking around. You could do worse than beginning with Bernadette, over by the aetheryte plaza. She has a sharp pair of eyes, that one.
Bernadette is here, just hanging out.
Need help tracking down the owner of a button? That's certainly not a request I receive on a regular basis. Well, go on, then-show me what you have.
*hands over the button*
Hmmm... Seems to be some manner of decorative button, reminiscent of those worn by the families of old, though I cannot claim to know its sigil. However, I can say with certainty that the white lily is a recurring theme in Gridanian culture. Alas, I do not know who would make a personal sigil of it. If there is a soul in Gridania who does, it would be Ceinguled over at the Lancers' Guild. The woman makes a point of knowing all the citizens on a forename basis.
And over near the LNC guild is Ceinguled. I dunno how the hell you pronounce that.
Bernadette believes that I can help you? Well, that is a rather bold assumption to make. I will try to assist, never you fear, but whether aught comes of it is another matter. Now, then, what do you require of me?
*hands over the button... again*
Fascinating... Work of this quality is rarely seen in the hands of ordinary Gridanians. The owner of this button is most certainly well-to-do. You may wish to take your search to the Gentry's Ward, northwest of here. Wait. A memory comes to me. Of late, there has been a man who is perpetually seated at the bench by the ward's entrance. His name is Ursandel, and I distinctly recall seeing a markedly similar button upon the breast of his jacket. I daresay he can tell you a thing or two about it.
The trail in this quest could have been shortened. There's no need to go from the questgiver to Miounne to Bernadette to Ceinguiled to Ursandel. It's just blatantly filling for time so the quest doesn't take 45 seconds.
I do not believe we are acquainted. Pray leave me to my thoughts.
*practically shoves the button into Ursandel's hands* 
<gasp> The sigil of the Dartancours family! How...how is it that you came to be in possession of this button? ...From the body of a murdered woman? H-Her face...was it marred in any way? I had feared as much... <sigh> I can no longer feign ignorance. I shall reveal to you the truth of the deaths, but on one condition: you promise to put an end to my lady's madness and free her from her torment.
This is the last quest in the arc. Seriously. I told you it was short!
--the Dartancours. During that time, I had the honor of waiting upon Lady Amandine, mistress of the household. Fair as summer was she, and possessed of a heart befitting her radiance. Alas, the Calamity wrought a great change in her. Though my lady escaped with her life, death may well have been a kinder fate. Never will I forget the day her bandages were removed, and she beheld her disfigured face for the first time. At that moment, the kindly woman I knew ceased to be.
Unable to bear the thought of being seen, my lady sequestered herself within her chambers and refused all company. This continued for many uneasy moons, until one day, without warning, she began receiving queer guests. None among us knew whence they came, these masked men, but my lady believed that they would help her to regain that which she had lost. So began the "rites of rejuvenation."
These rituals seemed innocent enough in the beginning, but grew ever more grotesque as time went by. Eventually, there came a day when my lady bound one of her handmaidens to her bed, and...and proceeded to mutilate the poor girl's face. Suffice it to say, she did not survive the ordeal. It fell to me to dispose of her body.
I performed the dreadful task as bade, obedient servant that I was, but when the time came to return to the house, my legs refused to move. I knew then that I could not go back to that place, not after the nightmare I had witnessed. So it was that I left Haukke Manor, my home for nigh on half a century.
My lady's madness must be ended, lest more innocent lives be lost. Lay her tormented soul to rest, as you swore to me you would. She awaits you at Haukke Manor, on the western edge of the Central Shroud. Go now. Go and do what must be done.
...Great. We come to the Shroud to hunt down Ascians, and we get roped into putting down the Eorzean version of Elizabeth Bathory.
We exit from the White Wolf gate and head south, into the marsh.
The marsh in the Twelveswood has a bunch of angry, aggressive morbols. So watch your step!
In the deepest part of the marsh we find a creepy house surrounded by those winged eye voidsent. This has got to be the right place!
Wouldn't it be nice to have a huge manor and accompanying grounds?
Just this big house you can invite a bunch of friends to come stay in. That would be nice.
By the way, Haukke Manor is the next dungeon. And Ginger is now a tank class. Does that mean what you think it means? It sure does!
Orokin joins us, as per the usual. And because Ginger is a tank and Orokin is a healer, that means the queue is instant. The wait for Cutter's Cry a while back took about 5 minutes as a DPS and a healer.
I actually used to have a recording from the Halloween 2019 event. But I eventually trashed it because it wasn't terribly interesting. The only reason I bring it up is because it actually takes place in Haukke Manor!
Anyway, the dungeon syncs to level 31, so Ginger is actually using her "full" power right now, instead of being level-synced!
The Manor Maidservant is a succubus prowling the halls. She...
...immediately casts a huge point blank AOE. It can be stunned by anyone with the skill, so it's pretty easy to dissuade her from doing it.
Anyway, tanking is not a difficult job. A lot of people suffer from what's called "tanxiety" (tanking anxiety, naturally) and don't know how to get over it. I used to be the same way. As a DPS, you're one of two people. Or one of four. You're a lot less likely to be noticed if you fuck up. (By the way grab the key in here. You'll need it in a second.)
Tanking, meanwhile, is the most visible role. If you fuck up, then everyone will notice. A lot of people can't get over the pressure, and that's completely understandable. Like I said, I used to be the same way. Do you know what cured me?
You need that key to unlock this door, by the way.
What cured my tanxiety was a string of incomprehensibly bad tanks. Thse were guys who didn't try to hold threat on more than one enemy. In these screenshots I've been posting, it's been a sea of red names attacking Ginger. All I've been doing is hitting WAR's AOE skill, overpower, which hits everything in a cone in front of Ginger for moderate damage. That, combined with tank stance, means it's functionally impossible to pull threat away from a tank.
The tanks I had been meeting didn't do even that much. They focused on single enemies and let the rest of the pack run rampant through the party. They didn't use any of their defensive cooldowns, making things infinitely harder on the healer. If you go back and look at the above screenshots, and you know what to look for, you'll see that Ginger had her defensives constantly cycling.
This is the first boss by the way. It's legitimately just a tank-n-spank.
She occasionally tries to drop a huge AOE on someone, but it's interruptable/stunnable.
Grab the green key. After she dies, two doors open - the one we came in and the one opposite it. The door we didn't come in just goes back to the lobby, where we started. You want to go back out the door we just came in. Trust me.
My inventory is covering up the relevant bits, but there used to be an "Ivy Door" across from the first boss room. The green key opens it. Once inside, Ginger takes the shortcut down by literally leaping off the edge.
Anyway, where was I? Oh right. After seeing such terrible tanks who weren't even trying, I realized two things...
1) Nobody was calling them out on being fucking terrible.
2) I could do so much better than them.
Realizing that you can do better than the scrubs out there is a powerful feeling. After that realization, I no longer had tanxiety. Because I knew that no matter how badly I might play, I would never be as bad as those people who didn't even bother putting in the bare minimum.
The Carnation Door is where the second boss is. But we gotta go around the block down here first.
The path right is blocked, so let's go left instead.
There are a bunch of optional rooms down here. We only need a single tiny key to open the correct door. But all the optional rooms have loot or extra fights, so they're worth dipping into if you want.
Getting Arm's Length at 32 reminds me that I want to discuss defensives. Right now Ginger has three, counting Arm's Length. First is the button in the middle of her bar:
Rampart, here, has 3 seconds left on its cooldown. This is a basic defensive cooldown that reduces the damage enemies deal to you by 20% for 10 seconds. It has a 90 second cooldown, so it should be available, in general, every other dungeon pull.
Reprisal has a 60 second cooldown. It reduces the damage every nearby enemy deals by 10% for 10 seconds. It's not as good as Rampart, but it's still worth keeping on cooldown regardless. Really good tanks will try to use this to take the edge off unavoidable groupwide damage from a boss!
Arm's Length, the new cooldown, is extremely powerful. I actually mentioned it briefly before when discussing, I think, monk abilities. Tanks get it too. It has a 2 minute (120 second) cooldown, and nullifies all knockback effects for 6 seconds. And if you get hit by anything during those 6 seconds, it puts a pretty strong Slow effect on whatever hit you.
Enemies that move 20% slower hit 20% less often. While tanking I'm sure you can see the value in that.
Anyway, Most newbie tanks hear that you want to use defensive cooldowns, but don't know how to use them properly. So they'll save the cooldowns for a boss fight, where they're needed the least. In your average dungeon, a tank will take infinitely more damage from the trash than they will from the boss. Reducing the damage you take by 20% when you're being hit by 6 or 7 enemies means a lot less damage coming in for those 10 seconds!
Also healers really don't like it when tanks don't mitigate the damage trash deals to them.
Hello. I didn't realize this model was available so early. This is legit just some hand bandages for gloves. You know, the sort of thing you might want to use for a monk glamour... for a monk who uses the Emperor's New Fists to hide their weapons.
Over on the other side of the basement, one of the rooms has a yellow key lying on the floor.
With it in hand, we can open the Carnation Door to the second boss!
There are actually two bosses in here. You want to kill the Jester first because it deals only magic damage, which Ginger can't mitigate very well. The Steward, meanwhile, deals physical, and Ginger is well-armored to deal with those hits!
The Steward occasionally does a huge AOE, but that's it. Otherwise these two are hilariously easy bosses, especially compared to the stuff we saw in Qarn and Cutter's.
The Bloody Parchment opens the way to the last boss.
The last boss is upstairs of where we first came in. The game wants you to run back up two flights of stairs and through the first boss room. Screw that. We'll juse use the return ability!
It's not often you get to use Return in a dungeon to cut back on backtracking. I think it's pretty much Haukke and the dungeon that came with the 5.4 patch and that's it!
Use Return after killing the giant lava monster to save a little time. But if all four people do it, then it costs even more time because someone has to do The Walk Of Shame.
We need the parchment to open this barrier.
This is the guy we saw in the intro cutscene for the dungeon!
After he gets below approximatley half, he opens the final boss room.
I, uh, think Lady Amandine isn't quite herself anymore.
Amandine is still pretty easy, but can be tricky if your group isn't on the ball.
Twice in the fight, some lamps will turn on. You need to extinguish them! They pulse every few seconds, dealing minor amounts of damage. The kicker is that there's four lamps. And when all four pulse damage at the same time, it kinda hurts!
There's no missing when they activate, at least.
I'm posting this to point out the enemy list, above the party list... in the center right of the screen. Do you see it? You can't make out individual names, but that's not the point. Do you see how there are now five entries when there used to be one? That's a problem!
Four adds spawn when Amandine gets low on health. One of them is the Manor Sentry from before, whose first action is to put a pretty strong shield on her. These adds need to die priority one!
The fight isn't difficult, but once those adds spawn, it can make healing pretty tricky. If DPS are on the ball, they'll systematically hunt them down and exterminate them. If they aren't... well, it's not unheard-of to wipe here.
Haukke is oddly spicy at times. Being synced to 31 means that while most people will have their job stones, they won't have the skills that come from being higher leveled jobs. Healers especially will suffer, because every healer gets a huge quality of life boost at 35.
Naturally we aren't done yet.
Darkness has taken root within these halls...
...Sprung from the most unlikely of seeds.
One cannot help but admire the irrepressible spirit that quickened it to life.
Even when it's bright as day out, the cutscenes are too dark to see jack shit.
We're being menaced by two nameless, jobber Ascians.
It is a pleasure to meet you at last, adventurer. You are every bit as intriguing as our master gave us to believe.
It is no ordinary mortal who can acquire one Crystal of Light...much less three. The Crystals make you strong, and it is to that strength that the Light is drawn.
Hydaelyn chose well.
...A pity that your existence is irreconcilable with our own. We cannot well allow you to continue upon your present course.
Alas, we came here not to play, but to take the measure of your strength for Master Lahabrea. That task now accomplished, we take our leave of you.
Fare you well, Bringer of Light.
They try to appear menacing, but you just know Ginger is rolling her eyes as hard as she can at them while making 
motions to their face.
May as well finish out the arc, because it's just falling action from here.
You are returned! What sights awaited you within the manor? What has become of Lady Amandine? You must tell me all!
She turned into a demon, dude. Full on succubus!
...So she went so far as to consort with devils. Would that I could have done more to prevent her fall. May she finally find peace in the beyond. I know not whether the masked men you encountered are the same pair that first led my lady astray, but it is plain that they are of the same vile brood. Should the chance ever present itself, promise me that you will visit upon them tenfold the woe they have brought upon others.
But who am I to speak of punishment? By my silence, I allowed I know not how many innocent young women to die in unspeakable circumstances... It matters not wherefore--through misplaced loyalty, cowardice, or both, I am an abettor to a gross crime. I will surrender myself to the authorities and accept whatever punishment they deem just. I only pray that the gods will have mercy on my soul.
He's been sitting here for 5 years feeling guilty as hell about the shit he had to do while he served as Amandine's manservant. And never once did he tell any authorities about what she was doing? What the fuck?
I can't tell you how thankful I am for the existence of the Vesper Bay Teleport Tickets.
...Two of Lahabrea's minions? ...And they sought to measure your strength...by their own admission? The devils taunt us... It is beyond doubt, then--the Ascians have begun to move in earnest. Would that we knew to what end.
Yet I will not bemoan our plight. Thanks to your tireless efforts, we are at least aware of the encroaching Darkness. Alas, we can only do so much. It is clear to me now that we Scions are too few to protect the realm against this threat unaided. We must needs alert the three nations to the presence of this elusive enemy, and recommend that they heighten their vigil.
Ginger looks positively miserable.
There is no shortage of misery in the world that the Ascians might exploit. We have an arduous struggle ahead of us. Yet come what may, we must not allow ourselves to become lost to hope, for that is precisely what the enemy desires.
We have gleaned all we can from the information available to us. Let us set this investigation aside for the present. Another matter has arisen that requires your attention. Let me know when you are ready to be briefed, and I will summon the others.
Whew! That was another long one! But this arc is done! Soon we will begin something new. That'll be interesting... right?
We actually complete one of the game's major arcs with the end of this quest! Three down, four to go according to the achievement tracker. So I guess that means we're very nearly halfway done with A Realm Reborn's story? 
NEXT TIME: The long-awaited ROG30! And then after that? Let's take a peek at what awaits us in the next arc...
No... no... no... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!