Final Fantasy XIV’s latest crossover event has begun and it’s with none other than last year’s action-RPG Final Fantasy XVI. That’s right, everyone’s favorite sad boy Clive Rosfield is making the jump to the MMO, which is ironically led by Final Fantasy 16’s producer Naoki Yoshida. Clive’s a bit lost and at least a little confused as to how he wound up in Eorzea when you find him, and his brief journey there culminates in a fight that’s climactic yet familiar to both FF14 and FF16 players.
As a reward for completing the short-and-sweet crossover questline, which is running from now until May 8 at 7:59am PDT, FF14 players can unlock Clive’s iconic gear (complete with a titty window) as well as a mount of his canine companion Torgal and a minion of Torgal as a pup.
Missing: gorgeous man with a lot of chest
To begin the crossover questline, players must first be level 50 and have completed the quest “Ultimate Weapon.” Essentially, you have to have beaten all of A Realm Reborn before you can begin.
Once you’ve done that, or in the likely case that you’ve long since passed that point, head to Ul’Dah to begin the questline. Teleport to the Aetheryte in the Steps of Nald for starters, and then head outside. You’re going to be looking for a quest giver by the steps to your right, more or less on your way to the Pugilist’s Guild, called “Neophyte Adventurer,” who’ll be sporting a quest called “A Land On Fire.” Grab this from them to begin.
Interact with them to begin a conversation about a dream they had. Proceed through the dialogue choices (pick the Burning Wall just to speed things up) and then teleport to Camp Drybone for the quickest route there. Follow the objective marker east from Camp Drybone and you’ll find a wandering minstrel to interact with. Talking to the minstrel will spawn an interaction point for players to “survey” the area and look for something “off.” Once you’re in first-person view and looking through the spyglass, you’re going to want to look just below you at a rock platform in the water with a little bridge. On the side closest to you, and right next to/below an orange bulb, you’ll spot a “Strange Man.” We’ve found our missing man: Clive Rosfield. I think you’re in the wrong game, man.
Talk to him and you’ll eventually be ported back to Thanalan. Keep following the objectives and you’ll wrap up the first quest! Simple, eh?
Luckily for us, this is a Clive-centric questline so as long as you don’t lose sight of the beautiful man, you’ll always be on the right track. Talk to him again to pick up the next quest, “Path To Recall,” and then get ready to do some typical MMO back-and-forths. You’ll eventually jump on an airship to Gridania (which baffles the man completely) and when you land there, he’ll begin to follow you like a lost puppy. Follow your map to these glowing circles around Gridania and continuously talk to Clive while you’re in them. All of the spots you need to hit are in the immediate area, so do not head into other zones! I repeat, do not load into other zones. Otherwise you’ll have to go back to the airship landing and get Clive again.
Keep talking to Clive at every glowing circle and he’ll eventually overhear a conversation about Garuda, which upsets him. Talk to the Serpent Scout afterwards and head to your new destination (which is still in the immediate area so just walk/run over), trigger another few conversations and boom, quest over. Now we get to the good stuff.
Come to me, Ifrit!
Pick up the “Path Infernal” quest to launch the last quest in the crossover. I know, I’m also sad it’s over so quickly. Watch the cutscene that plays out before you and Clive are teleported into a dream of sorts where you come face-to-face with…Ifrit! Ifrit’s not only the very first Primal that you slay in FF14, but they are also Clive’s Eikon, which he calls upon for power and can transform into, in FF16. We’ve really come full circle.
Ifrit will transform into their FF16 iteration (very cool, IMO) and begin to fight. For this specific fight though, players will have two additional actions and there’s a countdown mechanic implemented. First, players will be able to use Clive’s FF16 uppercut, Rising Flame, to dash at Ifrit and do massive damage. It’s on a cooldown, so I suggest using it the second it’s available again. The second action is a dodge, which pairs with the countdown in the fight. On certain attacks, players will see a countdown that appears on the center of the screen like dice. Once it reaches zero, the Dodge icon will pop up and using Dodge at that exact moment will make for a successful dodge. The Dodge action will then become a Precision Strike parry. I encourage you to slam on the same button the second you use Dodge, since Precision Strike will also close the gap between you and Ifrit.
After a certain amount of damage, Ifrit will bind Clive, taking him out of the fight temporarily. A defensive glaive will appear along the line of energy connecting Ifrit and Clive, and you’re going to want to interact with it to start a simple button-mashing QTE. Once that’s done, Clive will be back in the fight again. Ifrit will eventually summon swords from the sky that have to be damaged before their gauge fills, but you’ll do very minimal damage to start. Wait for Clive to charge up his own attack, leaving the swords vulnerable, and then finish them off. Beyond this, you should have one more button-mash before Ifrit falls, at which point Clive treats you to a special show.
Otherwise, the Ifrit fight is a straightforward FF14 encounter. Avoid the auras on the floor that signal where Ifrit will be attacking and use Dodge to avoid damage when prompted. Remember to use Rising Flames to maximize your damage and Ifrit should be done and dusted in no time at all.
Back to Valisthea
When you emerge from the fight, you’ll have a new companion: Torgal! You’ll eventually be told to head back to where you found Clive in the Burning Wall so head there, where you’ll then be prompted to follow Torgal, who is trying to guide Clive back home. You should be at least level 50 per the quest requirements, so just skirt around the mobs on the way and don’t pull aggro so as to not lose track of Torgal, otherwise you’ll have to reset. Once you’ve gotten back to the spot where you first found Clive, he and Torgal will depart for home. Talking to the quest giver at the very end will conclude this questline, and you’ll be rewarded a Metian Attire coffer, a Torgal mount whistle, and a Torgal puppy minion. Using all of these in your inventory will unlock them for use and then you’ll have done it!
What did you think of the FF14/16 crossover? I personally appreciate how hard Square worked to canonize Clive’s appearance in Eorzea, which is explained and does actually fit into a part of FF16, surprisingly. But I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised; it’s certainly not the most bewildering crossover in FF14’s history. I’d be down for another one with some of the secondary cast. Maybe a meeting between FF14 Cid and FF16 Cid? A boy can only dream.
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