History GameplayAndStoryIntegration / FinalFantasyXIV

* It is stated that food helps a person replenish their spent aether and that people who use a lot of aether in battle will become very hungry afterwards. As a game mechanic, food gives you a small buff in a few stats which helps fuel you as you use aether from your abilities. This also extends to [[spoiler: G'raha Tia]] who used to rely on the Crystal Tower to fuel his magicks and notes that he feels ''very'' hungry once he starts using his own aether to cast spells.

** In Shadowbringers, any Black Mage worth their salt will immediately realize the logic behind Urianger's [[spoiler:explanation of Light and Dark based on the perspective of the First. The previous conception of Astral being active and Umbral is passive is, in truth, ''flipped''.]]

** The Machinist would seem to subvert this - the description of the stone for the job, like that of the later Blue Mage, mentions it doesn't have any great deeds carved into it. So how do you start off with the skills of a moderately trained shooter? Simple - the stuff you're doing at the low levels (point away from face and fire, with a few extra tricks) is theoretically possible for ''anyone'' using a gun and regulator. The weapon, as in real life, is supposed to allow the armament of lower class Ishgardians who don't have the full training of the Houses to become actual knights. The Warrior of Light ''probably'' has a bit of an edge and is a "natural" for it, and gets better as they level through either simply improving at the basics or being given, developing and upgrading new and unique gear, like the Rook autoturret and its eventual transformation into an autonomous robot, to augment and assist their gunnery, but in theory anyone is supposed to strap into the gear and shoot decently well.

* At least in Stormblood, certain side quests have their basic stories changed depending on how far you've progressed. For instance, an NPC in a run-down village may need your help because the Imperials make things tough enough as-is. But if you've driven the Imperials out, it changes to them needing your help so they can get back on their feet.
* Occasionally, the main story will reference [[AnAdventurerIsYou your job]]. For example, if you're a Dragoon, Estinien will recognize you and promise he's not there to fight this time when he's introduced to the main story toward the end of A Realm Reborn; he'll also frequently address you as a fellow Azure Dragoon during Heavensward. Similarly, Yugiri will point out that she knows you've become a shinobi if you've unlocked the Ninja job. In Stormblood, if you're a healer, Krile calls you to [[spoiler:assist with healing Y'shtola after her run-in with Zenos]].
* This sometimes happens with race, as well. If you're a Xaela Au Ra, for example, an NPC in the Azim Steppes will talk about how your parents must have fed you a traditional Xaela dish as a child.
* Your Grand Company will affect the dialogue you get occasionally. For instance, story quests that involve the Immortal Flames, if you are a member of that company, will have members of the Flames address you by your rank, including Raubahn. Sometimes the dialogue will change in other ways, including your commander saying that the fact you are an Immortal Flame makes it a better idea for him to give you the sensitive information you are asking him for.

* [=NPC=]s use, and will ''give'' you, Linkpearls in ''A Realm Reborn''. You see Raubahn using one to communicate with his troops during the Echo flashback to [[spoiler:the battle of Carteneau and Bahamut's release]], and Minfilia gives you one during the plot so she can stay in touch.

* One story quest in ''Endwalker'' has [[spoiler: Fandaniel ripping the Warrior of Light's soul of their body and placing it within a random Garlean soldier's body while Zenos's soul is transplanted into the Warrior of Light's body. The Warrior of Light has to reach Camp Broken Glass before Zenos reaches it and slaughters everyone. The Warrior of Light is at a ''severe'' handicap due to several factors; by not being in their own body, they are weaker in attack and defense and they can't regenerate HP over time like they usually do, thus healing requires salvaging whatever health kits you can find. Because Garleans are incapable of manipulating aether, the Warrior of Light cannot cast magic or use other abilities that require aether, which is why they are stuck as a Gladiator with a very limited set of abilities. The Warrior of Light also can't even make a dent in rouge magitek weapons unless they hijack an empty magitek armor themselves just to even the odds. Lastly, because they are so weak on their own, the Warrior of Light has to rely on several Garlean soldiers and civilians to have a fighting chance.]]

* During certain cutscenes, [=NPC=]s (and the player character) will openly use Aetheryte teleportation or explicitly refer to it. In a few other cutscenes, spells such as Protect are also used.

* Teleporting while part of a party allows everyone else in your party to follow you (assuming they're attuned to the destination) without having to spend gil or go through the cast time for the teleport. In the early Sage job quests, Loifa and his group escape the player several times in just this manner, by having one of them teleport away for the others to follow with no downtime.

** Arcanists are told about the value of planning, and correspondingly must manage Aetherflow, buffs, and debuffs, for up a minute in advance. The skill used to generate Aetherflow is on a 60s cooldown, and the two DamageOverTime spells are up to 30s in length, requiring the need to reapply them to sustain it.

** [[spoiler:The FinalBoss of the Shadowbringers expansion involves summoning [[AlternateUniverse Heroes of Light from the other Shards,]] who make up your party for the actual boss fight.]]

* Teleporting while part of a party allows everyone else in your party to follow you (assuming they're attuned to the destination) without having to spend gil or go through the cast time for the teleport. In the early Sage job quests, Loifa and his group escape the player several times in just this manner, by having one of them teleport away for the others to follow with no downtime.
* The Reaper job is described as the users making a [[DealWithTheDevil pact with a Voidsent]]; the Voidsent will sup upon the aether of slain foes and grant its pacted strength in return. Sure sounds a lot like gaining ExperiencePoints and levelling up, doesn't it?

* Teleporting while part of a party allows everyone else in your party to follow you (assuming they're attuned to the destination) without having to spend gil or go through the cast time for the teleport. In the early Sage job quests, Loifa and his group escape the player several times in just this manner, by having one of them teleport away for the others to follow with no downtime.

* In ''Endwalker'', [[spoiler: a central plot point is the existence of an energy form independent from aether, [[EmotionalPowers akasa/dynamis]], which is stirred by and responds to emotions. As soon as the concept is first introduced, you're given a dialogue option suggesting the concept sounds familiar due to the Warrior of Light overcoming their limits through sheer determination in the midst of battle, and this implication that dynamis is intended as a canonical explanation for the ability to LimitBreak is cemented when the FinalBoss requires the use of a level three tank LimitBreak to survive one of its attacks, said boss exclaiming "Dynamis?!" after you do so.]]

* Travel logistics are worked into how the games' armies move. In 4.5, Hien explicitly says that the main Doman fighting force will be delayed arriving in Eorzea as crossing the south sea (and having to avoid the Garlean home continent of Ilsabard) takes time, and not every fighter has the necessary Aetherpool to just teleport halfway across the world. Hien himself, Yugiri, and a decent chunk of Doman fighters are still present in time for the Ghimlyt Dark dungeons, however, because they attuned themselves to the aetheryte crystals in Ala Mhigo during the fight to take the city, just like the player does when they find a new aetheryte, so they ''could'' just teleport there.

* Although many job quests in 2.0 can be taken up as soon as you have the right level, the Summoner has two break points. In order to summon a Primal-Egi, you have to have been present at the Primal's defeat and bathed in their Aether. Since you can only take up jobs after beating Ifrit, your first Egi is naturally based on him; however, to convert Emerald and Topaz Carbuncle to Garuda- and Titan-Egi respectively, you have to first defeat them in the story. The fights happen close to the level points you would face the respective Primals, but if you overlevel ahead of time, the quests will remain locked.

* In ''Endwalker'', [[spoiler: a central plot point is the existence of an energy form independent from aether, [[EmotionalPowers akasa/dynamis]], which is stirred by and responds to emotions. As soon as the concept is first introduced, you're given a dialogue option suggesting the concept sounds familiar due to the Warrior of Light overcoming their limits through sheer determination in the midst of battle, and this implication that dynamis is intended as a canonical explanation for the ability to LimitBreak is cemented when the FinalBoss requires the use of a level three tank LimitBreak to survive one of its attacks, said boss exclaiming "Dynamis?!" after you do so.]]

** Conjurers and White Mages have reserves of powerful spells, but can easily run dry if incautious -- and their tutor warns that White Magic was normally restricted to Padjal in part because overuse of magic drained enough aether from the land to cause an entire Umbral Age. Their spells have the highest potency out of the healers, but have the most costly healing spells in Cure II, Medica, and Medica II, and lack any personal MP managing abilities outside of Lucid Dreaming until obtaining Assize and Thin Air over ''thirty'' levels later.

** This even becomes a plot point late in ''Stormblood'', when [[spoiler:Fordola is transfused with an artificial Echo. The result is her easily dodging multiple attacks from the heroes altogether like she sees them coming, because she ''does''. It takes using an aetheric siphon made by Urianger and the Warrior of Light being completely unaware of what it does to defeat her, because she'd just read exactly what the item does from their mind if the Warrior knew ahead of time.]]

* Jobs introduced in ''A Realm Reborn'' add new skills to your base class when you equip the corresponding Soul Crystal. This is justified by the fact that Soul Crystals contain the knowledge and memories of previous owners, which are bestowed upon you upon equipping them. This is also the reason why the jobs added in each expansion start off at higher levels (30 for ''Heavensward'' jobs, 50 for ''Stormblood'', and 60 for ''Shadowbrigers''): the Soul Crystals already have a plentiful amount of knowledge and memories from past users. Conversely, this is also why Blue Mages start at level 1: blue magic was only very recently introduced to Eorzea, and as such, Blue Mage Soul Crystals are new and pristine because you're the first person to use the one you receive.

*** In ''Heavensward'', the Vath begin relations at level 3, "Friendly", because helping them out is a part of the main scenario. The Vanu Vanu and Moogles begin at level 1 despite you helping them out in the main scenario because the tribe of Vanu Vanu you assist are a different tribe than the one you interacted with during the main story, and the Moogles are {{ungrateful bastard}}s who would rather laze about than do any of the work they've hired your help for.
*** All three of the ''Stormblood'' beast tribes begin at level 3. Like the Vath, helping the Kojin out is part of the main scenario. The Ananta are part of the Ala Mhigan resistance, and literally half of the expansion was spent helping the people of Ala Mhigo drive the Garleans out. The Namazu, in contrast to the Moogles, are [[TooDumbToLive too trusting for their own good]] and thus see you as a valued friend even though you've only just met them and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes your character wants nothing to do with them initially]].
*** All three of the ''Shadowbringers'' beast tribes start at level 3 as well. Not only are you [[spoiler:the famed Warrior of Darkness who brought night back to Norvrandt]], but there's also a secondary reason: The Pixies are aware that you've made a pact with [[spoiler:Feo Ul, the current Titania]] and don't want to make them angry. The Qitari personally saw your fight with the Lightwarden Eros and thus know for a fact that they can trust you. The Dwarves are lead by a man you personally helped get over his social anxiety and who also looks up to you for your skill.

** The Machinist would seem to subvert this - the description of the stone for the job, like that of the later Blue Mage, mentions it doesn't have any great deeds carved into it. So how do you start off with the skills of a moderately trained shooter? Simple - the stuff you're doing at the low levels (point away from face and fire, with a few extra tricks) is theoretically possible for ''anyone'' using a gun and regulator. The weapon, as in real life, is supposed to allow the armament of lower class Ishgardians who don't have the full training of the Houses to become actual knights. The Warrior of Light ''probably'' has a bit of an edge and is a "natural" for it, and gets better as they level through either simply improving at the basics or being given and developing new and unique gear, like the Rook autoturret, to augment and assist their gunnery, but in theory anyone is supposed to strap into the gear and shoot decently well.

* Occasionally, the main story will reference [[AnAdventurerIsYou your job]]. For example, if you're a Dragoon, Estinien will recognize you and promise he's not there to fight this time toward the end of A Realm Reborn; he'll also frequently address you as a fellow Azure Dragoon during Heavensward. Similarly, Yugiri will point out that she knows you've become a shinobi if you've unlocked the Ninja job. In Stormblood, if you're a healer, Krile calls you to [[spoiler:assist with healing Y'shtola after her run-in with Zenos]].

** Gyr Abania is right next to Gridania, but remains inaccessible until Stormblood - thanks to a massive Garlean fortress and equivalent of the Berlin Wall. You can only gain access [[spoiler:after a fringe group of the Ala Mhigan resistance forces the issue, pierces the wall, kills the Garlean forces, and summons/creates a Primal.]]

* Why do you have to teleport to aetherytes? Why can't you just teleport anywhere you wish? Because you could possibly ''die'' from it! As explained in lore books, aetherytes are situated in areas where the physical and aetherial planes are closest to one another, with the aetherytes serving as beacons to allow a person to rematerialize their bodies and souls safely. Without them, they would be lost in the Lifestream and run the risk of having their bodies break down completely into aether. [[spoiler:The spell "Flow" allows one to teleport anywhere they wish, at least in theory: in practice, [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique it is so difficult to use that using it means risking one's life]], and even if you manage to re-emerge from the lifestream, your body and aether will suffer for it. Thancred managed to return under his own strength, but [[BroughtDownToNormal completely lost his ability to use magic, meaning he was stuck where the spell plopped him out at in the Dravanian forelands until the player character happens to come through for an unrelated matter]]. Both times Y'shtola used Flow, she needed outside help to return, and the first time she did, she lost her eyesight from it.]]
* Speaking of aetherytes, the cost of teleporting to one depends on the actual in-lore distance between where you are and where you want to go. The first three cities are all in Eorzea and relatively near to one another, so it doesn't cost a lot of money to travel between any of them, and the costs gets lower the closer you physically get to them (e.g. teleporting to Ul'dah from Eastern Thanalan will cost noticeably less than teleporting there from the North Shroud). Going from anywhere in Eorzea to the Far East (Othard and Hingashi) and vice-versa will always cost a lot of money no matter where you are, due to them being quite literally in different continents on the opposite side of the world. The First, being effectively a different dimension altogether, takes this to its logical extreme, with capped teleport fees to any other area in the game.

** Ishgard is the only accessible gateway to Abalathia's Spire and the other parts of Coerthas (itself the only accessible gateway to Dravania), and they are notoriously isolated, with only the Central Highlands acting as a contact point before the start of Heavensward. You only gain access to Ishgard after you are made a ward of one of the Houses.
** The western part of the Dravanian Hinterlands is divided from the eastern part by a river; the only crossing point that isn't {{broken|Bridge}} is Idyllshire, and there is a blockage of the path until you win the trust of the Goblins and they agree to help clear it.

** There is literally no physical way to reach the First before the plot of ''Shadowbringers'' is set into motion; the Source and the Shards are separated from a dimensional rift that is nearly impossible to cross, it's not until the Crystal Exarch calls upon your character that you're able to breach that Rift, and that's only with the help of the very powerful Crystal Tower, one of the few things in the setting that can create portals to the Shards.

* Several services will be locked on the Source or the First with no crossover between each other. For instance, Jandeleine can appear in all inns except the one in the Crystarium, because while he's always on the move, there is no way for him to physically cross over to the First. Postmoogles on the First can also give you messages with the in-game justification that Feo Ul telepathically sends messages between the moogles of the First and the Source; if you're in the middle of the Postmoogle side quest, the First postmoogle will still tell you your rank but admits they have no idea what that means.

* Area of effect markers are explained as some combination of the Echo granting minor precognition and/or the enemy tipping their hand before unleashing a big attack. Moreover, some enemies actually notice and even take advantage of this, particularly [[spoiler:Sigmascape V4.0's fight against [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka Palazzo]]: after you dodge a marked attack or two, he catches on that you've discovered his "tells", then immediately begins giving false tells for some attacks, which translate into slightly different area of effect markers which tell you where his attack ''won't'' hit.]]

** In Shadowbringers, any Black Mage worth their salt will immediately realize the logic behind Uriangers [[spoilers explanation of Light and Dark based on the perspective of the First.]]

Plenty! There's a myriad of little details that have a lot of attention in world-building, and those down here are some of the more major points: