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Sultana Dreaming
Hello everyone and welcome back. Today, with just over 24 hours to go until maintenance before Endwalker launches, let's take a look at a recent crossover event.
Kipih Jakkya is a legacy character. She was running around at the very end of the 1.x patches, right as Dalamud was falling, trying to preserve folks stories for the future. She's going to recognize Ginger here because she was also a part of the 2021 Rising event that I recorded and then deleted.
This, folks, is the FFXIV-FFXV crossover event - A Nocturne for Heroes. This event originally ran in 2019 just before Shadowbringers launched. My subscription, at the time, ran out on April 12th. The event started April 15th. It ended at the start of June. I resubbed at the end of June for SHB. 
Greetings, adventurer! It's been a while.
...Hm? Do not tell me you've forgotten about Kipih Jakkya, reporter for The Raven? You see, a certain rumor has been making its rounds of late. No few travelers passing through Thanalan report seeing an unusual black vehicle along with peculiar mechanical soldiers. Do you happen to know anything about them?
No, but it sounds like I should check into it.
No? Let me tell you, then, that there is growing concern that they might be some unknown type of Garlean weaponry. Why, even the good people of Garlond Ironworks have been called upon to investigate. This promises to be a most compelling story, and I intend to be the first reporter to tell it. But in order to do that, I require the contribution of good folk such as yourself.
Lest you wonder, the black vehicle was most recently sighted near Black Brush, in central Thanalan. Should you come into any information, I ask that you bring me word without delay!
I know for a lot of people, hating on FFXV is just The Thing To Do. What little I've played of it was alright I thought. My PC is far too much of a potato to run it properly. Even on the absolute minimum settings with nothing else running in the background, the game chugs like a steam engine.
There's actually a counterpart to this quest in FFXV that I'd love to record myself and show off, but that's just not feasible. My PC would explode in black smoke if I tried recording it.
Also I don't have the game installed currently and it's like 100 goddamned GB. I'll link to someone's commentary-less VOD of the quest when we finish with these updates.
Just south of Black Brush Station, right near that bar whose name I can't remember, we find the quest marker.
Gah! Why won't you move, damn it?
Just over the hill behind Ginger we can find the car.
Broken Down
Behind the car we find a kid resting for a second.
He seems friendly enough!
I'm sorry?
<sigh> Just my luck to have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere... What is this place, anyway?
Hammerhead
Well...
Thanalan? Eorzea? That's on no map I've ever seen.
I'm not sure how I got here, and I've got no idea where I need to go...but I'm going nowhere at this rate. Isn't there anyone around here who can fix cars?
Definitely the second.
If anyone can get you moving, it'll be Cid.
Wait, what? Cid is here too!? What in the world's going on...?
Anyway, might as well keep pushing her along. Hey, mind giving me a hand? She's heavier than she looks.
Okay, sure.
What's your name, by the way?
Ginger!
Appreciate the help, Ginger. My name's Noctis, but you can call me Noct. And now that we're introduced, let's put our backs into it. <sigh> Talk about deja vu... Un. Believable.
Ginger has no problems pushing a car from behind despite being as small as she is. She's quite strong!
Oho, if it isn't Mistress Ginger!
These are nameless Ironworks employees.
They would definitely be gearheads if actual cars existed in Eorzea.
B-By the gods, she's magnificent! Such elegance, such refinement! Ah, as you may have heard, we were tasked by the Alliance with investigating the mystery vehicle.
Master Cid himself should be close. If you'll excuse me a moment, I will direct him hither.
Well that was easy.
Daring Dalliances
Ginger! Why am I not surprised that you're here already?
So this is the machine... At a glance, it doesn't appear to be of Garlean make. The young fellow there-I take it he's the owner?
Yeah, this is Noctis.
And Noctis doesn't seem to know anything about Eorzea, you say? Peculiar... Might he have lost his memories like I did?
Hey, I'm right here, you know? Now, if you're done talking about me-you're Cid, right? Not quite the Cid I was expecting, but if you can fix the Regalia, then it's all good.
I will be honest with you: this is technology I am unfamiliar with. I can't make any promises, but I will try my best.
Appreciate it. There's...er, just one little problem. I don't have any money.
Never you mind that. To be able to work on a unique machine such as this is its own reward.
Seriously? You're a lifesaver!
Of course Cid would feel like that.
Fracture
Oh, and Ginger. I trust you also heard about the mechanical soldiers.
Yeah, the reporter mentioned those...
We're tasked with investigating them as well. By all accounts, they appear to be simply men, albeit armored head to toe and bearing advanced firearms. What betrays them is the unnatural efficiency with which they move.
Sounds like MTs to me.
Em-tees?
Come to think of it, the last thing I remember is being at a Niff base. It's kinda hazy...but there was a strange machine. And before I knew it, I was here, in this place you call Eorzea.
That's quite an unusual tale, but then again I'm in the presence of unusual technology. I have no reason to doubt your words. You may have inadvertently activated a teleportation device and been sent to our world.
At any rate, you seem to be acquainted with these mechanical soldiers. Perhaps you could investigate in our stead? They were most recently sighted near the Unholy Heir, not far to the east of here.
Hmmm... If they really are MTs, they might hold some clue on how to return home...
Alright, leave them to me.
Say what you will about Noct, but he's quick to hop into action.
W-Wait! It wouldn't do to leave our visitor to wander a strange land alone. Could you accompany him, Ginger? Rest assured I'll tend to the Regalia in the meantime.
Eventually Noct will spawn with a FATE marker over his head. We just need to talk to him...
This oughta be the right place. Oh, hey. Curious about the MTs too, are you?
Let's kick some ass.
C'mon, then. Let's find us some MTs.
There they are!
Veiled in Black
We just need to kill some MTs first.
Ginger's using a little magitek of her own. She's wielding a gunblade right now!
They brought the big guns too!? Gimme a break...
The MA-X is not a difficult FATE boss, but he has a lot of health for some reason.
Hmmm, no clues here... Guess I'll keep looking.
This first kill had a few people helping, so it blew right up. I had to go back and kill it twice more solo to get all the rewards from the event. Each kill took about 8 minutes, and that was with Ginger's chocobo, Garlic, providing backup.
We can wait for Noct a short distance away.
I will forever love cowboy gunbreaker glamours.
MTs, just as I thought. And a magitek armor to boot. They must have crossed over when I did. But I couldn't find any clues on how I might cross back. Gah, what am I supposed to do now?
Cid will probably have an idea.
That old geezer? Well, he did seem to know his stuff.
You're coming along, right? Let's go check in on the Regalia.
I suppose heroes from disparate games are drawn to each other. I expect Ginger and Lighting would similarly get along if Square were ever to put the FFXIII collab back in the game.
Two more repeats of the FATE later...
Went great. We kicked their asses.
You fought them!? So the rumors were true... That being the case, I would very much like to examine the technology with my own eyes.
I have a favor to ask, Ginger. The next time you encounter these soldiers, could you salvage their parts?
Ahem! Mistress Ginger, may I ask that you bring said parts to either myself or my colleagues in the three city-states?
We will pass them along to the chief-after he has completed his long list of outstanding tasks!
Cid wants to work on passion projects. Too bad the Ironworks is a business. And though we haven't met her yet, Jessie runs the place ruthlessly and is an even harder slavedriver than Cid is. I'm sure she quite frequently curses about Cid's friendship with Ginger because the Warrior of Light brings all sorts of unexpected costs.
Hey, where's my car?
Don't worry, she's in a safe place. A reporter came sniffing about while you were away, so I decided to move her to the Dispatch Yard that we might carry out the repairs undisturbed.
I'm pleased to say I was able to identify the problem, and I believe it can be fixed. However, it may take some time to fashion the replacement part.
I see. That's good to know.
Kipih is a very excitable catgirl.
Ooh, I'm no fashion correspondent, but I like your look! A simple silhouette with an emphasis on the details!
What's the deal with you?
Ah, where are my manners? Kipih Jakkya, reporter for The Raven, at your service!
What, you mean the Regalia?
The Rega... I beg your pardon?
Re-ga-lia.
Ah, so that's what she's called! A stately name!
She's like nothing anyone has ever seen in Eorzea. May I ask where you hail from and how you came to be here?
I'm from...far away. I was on a journey. We were fighting. Then suddenly I was here.
I really need to find my way back. There's so much I have to do...
A mysterious young man, come from another world, desperately seeking a way home... A promising premise! Now then, may I ask what manner of journey you were on?
Well, I was traveling with my friends. We were on our way to meet...someone important to me.
Someone important to you? Could you please elaborate on the nature of your relationship with this individual?
H-Hold on just a second. You're not the only one with questions, you know. I've got loads of my own.
Well, sir, The Raven has many eyes and ears, and I would be happy to call upon them all for the answers you seek-if you'll agree to grant me an exclusive interview!
Yeah, sure, whatever.
Then it's settled! If you would accompany me to Ul'dah, we may continue our conversation while I put my connections to work.
She's so excitable that she runs off immediately.
And Noct walks off before Cid can tell him where the Regalia is. 
I'll begin working on the replacement part for the Regalia, but it will take a while. Feel free to go about your own business in the meantime.
The mechanical soldiers of rumor-some people say they're a new type of imperial weaponry. Well, there's only one way to confirm this: we take one apart! For science!
Whew... That wasn't an interview-it was an interrogation.
Noctis was very cooperative, and I have lots of juicy morsels for my feature article. Lest you wonder, he was on his way to meet his beloved fiancée. Will the two sweethearts be reunited? With such a timeless tale of romance, the next edition of The Raven is certain to fly off the stands!
C-Come now, don't look at me so. It's been so long since I last graced the front page. And as promised, I will help Noctis find the answers he seeks. I've already put the word out to my colleagues, and I expect to hear back from them any moment now.
*ring ring*
Ah, speak of the devil!
...Yes, Kipih here. What do you have for me? ...Truly!? Thank you so much!
See, what did I tell you? We have a hopeful lead! We'll need to take a little trip together, the three of us. See to your preparations and let me know when you're ready to depart!
Finishing this quest lets us turn in the magitek piece drops for orchestrion rolls. I have enough to get all six, so I'll do that offscreen.
Ready to depart? Excellent! Our destination is the Twelveswood-more of those mechanical soldiers have been sighted there. To be sure, my colleague only heard the rumors. I suggest first heading to Gridania and seeking out the witnesses.
Sounds good. Let's get going.
Ah, wait! New as you are to Eorzea, you may struggle to find your way around. Permit me to show you to Gridania.
Alrighty. Lead the way.
Kipih has a sidequest as she walks off. 
How odd. Anyway, the quest continues in Gridania.
In Gridania we need to talk to three different people about the MTs.
Heard about the mechanical soldiers, have you? Indeed, they have been sighted in the East Shroud. While I do not personally know the details, the Wood Wailers are in a state of heightened vigilance throughout the Twelveswood.
Mechanical soldiers? As a matter of fact, one of our sentries at Amarissaix's Spire reported encountering them while patrolling the Bramble Patch.
At first he took them to be scarecrows, but as he approached them, they suddenly sprang to life and set upon him. We suspect that they are some heretofore unknown imperial weapon, and we are deliberating a response even as we speak. If your path takes you near that area, you would do well to exercise all caution.
Mechanical soldiers? My apologies, but I'm not familiar with the rumors.
Well, I am. Fellow I know claims he came upon them near the Hawthorne Hut in the East Shroud. At first he thought they were men, but on closer inspection, he says they were more like dolls.
And you didn't think to share this little tidbit with me, Brother? If I were to fall victim to these abominations, I shall consider my death on your head.
Cat-people... Cat-people everywhere... Y'jhimei wasn't kidding.
Catgirls: The real draw to Eorzea. Also Y'jhimei is a catgirl who fell through a warp into FF15. She sells Eorzea-themed stuff in the game in exchange for trophies from beating Garuda. Eorzea's Garuda. Just roll with it.
So, were you able to learn anything about the mechanical soldiers?
A Wood Wailer encountered them at the Bramble Patch.
I see! In that case, if we were to keep watch at the Bramble Patch, we should be able to find them eventually.
Well then, what're we waiting for?
Wait just a-
Please hurry after Noctis! The Twelveswood can be a veritable maze even for the locals, and it wouldn't do if he were to lose his way!
Oh... right. Yeah. Radovan and Sophie. They'll, uh, be waiting a while for their introduction to Eorzea. A long while. Years, even. They're the GNB job NPCs. And I'm not covering that until I maybe do Shadowbringers literally years from now down the line.
Fracture
Ginger is looking around.
This the area, is it?
*nods*
It was mid-afternoon when they started. So Noct and Ginger have been hanging out in the woods for a while.
Unknown: ROAR!
Daemons
You hear that!? C'mon, let's check it out!
What the-!? That's a daemon! That thing's dangerous. We can't leave it running around.
Heh, you're up for it too, eh? Come on then, let's do it!
Horrors of the Night
This fight requires some advanced mechanics knowledge that most players will not have doing this immediately after Praetorium. Assuming, you know, that the event ever comes back around again.
BLM was probably not my strongest choice for this duty.
The usual "dodge damage puddles" applies here, but you can see just how advanced we're talking here. Strips of line attacks covering a wide area in front of the boss is well beyond what most newbies have seen. It's great!
Here's the first new mechanic. We will not be seeing another one of these until we're done with the Heavensward MSQ, assuming I ever get that far. This is a stack marker. This marker means we need to stand on top of the marked person to share the damage or they'll be one shot.
This is a spread marker. This means spread out as much as possible to minimize damage overlap. There's no way to get out of the AOE circle under your feet, so don't even try. Just ensure you aren't stacking on Noctis!
Pillars popping up means that someone needs to stand in the circular area around it. If nobody stands in it, then everyone in the raid will take a lot of damage and will get a vuln stack. But if you're standing next to the pillar, you will only take a very small amount damage and nobody else will get hurt.
800 isn't very much at all when Ginger syncs to having over 5000.
The pillars get more complicated later when two spawn, but Noctis is smart enough to stand in one.
This is what fight complexity in late Stormblood looks like! Compare that to what I've covered previously where it's "try not to fall asleep" and you can see just how much FFXIV has evolved over the past decade.
First magitek troopers, now a daemon... What the hell's going on?
Ginger's smile means she's loving every second of this. She's on an adventure with a new friend and she's beating up powerful foes. This is exactly the sort of shit she lives for!
All that fighting made me hungry. What do you say we grab a bite and talk it out over dinner?
Now that you mention it, I'm pretty hungry too. Right, let's set up camp!
Safe Haven
Ginger is tending the fire.
Something I love is that a good many recent Japanese games have turned into outright food porn. Everything from Monster Hunter to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to, yes, Final Fantasy XV. All the non Cup Noodle food always looks delicious and seeing them never fails to make me hungry.
So, what's your story? Why do you go around doing what you do?
I protect those who can't protect themselves.
Protecting, huh? You and Gladio would get along, I bet. The big guy's always ready to throw himself into harm's way for us.
We were traveling together-me and him and a couple of others. Hearing your story, I couldn't help but be reminded of them...
What about you, Noct?
Look, the cinematography is really good right now, so I'm going to take every opportunity I can to show Ginger acting like an actual character instead of a stiff robot.
...My purpose? That's a tough one. I guess you could say...it's keeping a promise.
Prayer de Luna
But I can't do that while I'm here. I have to get back to my own world.
Somehow...
