Shadowbringers, the latest expansion of FFXIV, has officially launched, and those that are up to date on all of the latest patch content or are willing to pay for a skip can play through the incredible main story quest. We highly, highly, hiiiiiighly, suggest if you’re anyone that has played, or ever might play, Final Fantasy XIV to play through the Shadowbringers expansion on your own. If that doesn’t apply to you, or you just want a refresher, here’s a story summary of FFXIV Shadowbringers.
Super Spoiler Warning: Obviously, this FFXIV Shadowbringers story summary is, you know, going to go through the entirety of the Shadowbringers main story quest. As a result, it’s going to spoil all of the major points in the plot including the ending.
Another note: This guide will assume that you have played the story up to the point of Shadowbringers and are familiar with the game’s core characters and elements, such as Ascians, Primals, and what happened in Heavensward and Stormblood etc.
We’re pretty sure we know what you’re doing when you arrived here, but just in case you somehow landed here by accident and/or don’t realize what you’re getting yourself into when you read this article, allow me to confirm that yes, this article will contain lots and lots of spoilers for the main story quest that you should absolutely experience on your own first in-game.
We’re going to go over the main points in this FFXIV Shadowbringer story summary, but obviously, playing it for yourself will give you way more details. Without further ado…
*Final Warning Turn Back Now if You Don’t Want to be Spoiled on the Story of FFXIV Shadowbringers.*
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 1: Between Two Worlds
The story picks up at a ravine under The Crystal Tower on the Source, a location that players are very familiar with at this point as it’s your own homeworld. The Ironworks team are looking for something, anything, that might help return the rest of the Scions back to their body.
The hero (you) finds a mysterious object, and touching it is apparently the catalyst that the mysterious voice needed to finally bring you to The First, a world that appears similar on the surface but is very different.
You arrive in Novrandt, the major – -and final, as we’ll soon learn– region in this world.
After wandering around The Lakeland area where the hero was brought to, he/she arrives at The Crystarium and meets with the man behind the mysterious voice heard in your protagonists’ head leading up to the events of Shadowbringers.
Known only as The Crystal Exarch, this hooded figure has been trying to bring you to The First for a long time now, but hadn’t yet perfected the magic needed to preform such a feat until he was successful in bringing you over. He tried and failed to transport you each time one of the Scions were brought over instead.
So while the hero is able to freely go back and forth, the imperfect method of the magic used on the Scions means that for now, they are stuck on The First and cannot return The Source, AKA the usual setting of FFXIV.
Not only that, but the flow of time works differently on The First. While right now time more or less moves at the same speed between the two worlds, that hasn’t always been the case.
So while it’s only been days and weeks since the Scions have slumbered on The Source, to all of the Scions on The First, they have been stuck on there for months and even years. They all met with the Crystal Exarch and have all gone their separate ways at one point or another to find solutions to a major problem plaguing The First, which for now (as of FFXIV Shadowbringers) is their new home.
The First is plagued by an over-abundance of light. The Power of Light became so overwhelming on this world that a Flood of Light swept over the planet and nearly destroyed everyone and everything.
The only thing that prevented that from happening was another person, the Oracle of Light, that was sent from The Source to save The First and buy its people more time. That person is none other than Minfilia, who gave up her life to save The First back during the post FFXIV: Heavensward saga.
Even now, though, Everlasting Light blocks the night sky from ever appearing in this region, and emerging from the light are enemies known as Sin Eaters. They’re a nasty bunch, who exist only to wipe out the remaining life on the planet by consuming the aether of its people, and in some cases, converting them into monstrous Sin Eaters as well.
Warden of Light
In each area of Novrandt, a Warden of Light leads all of the Sin Eaters, and as long as these Wardens of Light exist, the light will never fade. Attempts to defeat the Wardens of Light have been unsuccessful because even upon their defeat, they will simply transfer their power to someone/something else and turn them into a new Warden.
The Crystal Exarch believes that you, the hero of The Source, is the key to saving The First. Because not only is the hero a badass capable of performing miraculous feats, the Exarch believes that he/she is the only one capable of dispersing/absorbing the light that comes from a defeated Warden of Light and restoring the balance between Light and Dark on The First.
The first step, however, is getting all of the Scions back on board with a new plan now that the hero of The Source has finally arrived. The Crystal Exarch cannot stray from the Crystal Tower too long, as he is linked to the tower after literally bringing it from The Source to The First. So the player character will need to go and find the Scions once again.
The Twins
They start with Alisaie and Alphinaud, who are in the regions of Amh Araeng and Kholusia respectively. Alisaie is helping the people of the region survive Sin Eater attacks as a guard/defender of sorts. The people in this region are especially hard hit and there exists a community of “afflicted,” which are those that have been injured by Sin Eaters and doomed to eventually become one themselves.
In Kholusia, Alphinaud is trying to learn more about Eulmore, a regional power that opposes The Crystarium. It’s a highly stratified city where the rich are living out the last days before this world is eventually consumed by light in luxury while the poor serve them.
Unlike The Crystarium which continues the fight against the Sin Eaters, Eulmore not only has given up but are led by a mysterious “person” called Lord Vaughtry who has found a way to bend Sin Eaters to his will, promising those that follow him a peaceful ride to the end of times.
Through visiting both of them, the hero gets a sense of what he/she is up against and upon his return, is greeted by a sin eater attack on a small village near The Crystarium that is being led by the Warden of Light of the Lakeland area.
Holminster Switch
Not only are the heroes compelled to help, but it’s also a perfect opportunity to test the Crystal Exarch’s theory about the hero of The Source being able to resist the influence of light after defeating a Warden of Light.
The hero is triumphant in battle against this first Warden of Light and absorbs the light and restores the night sky to The Crystarium to the amazement of the locals that have never seen the night sky before.
After the battle, you go to your apartment in The Crystarium and rest up, but soon notice that the specter of the former “Warrior of Darkness” (at least that’s what they were on The Source) Ardbert, is with you in your room.
No one else can see him, and he doesn’t understand why he has been cursed to wander the world as a spirit while everyone else in his group was free to move on. In The First, he and his party are hated as they are blamed for bringing on the flood through their actions as Warriors of Light.
He doesn’t know his purpose yet, but is going to follow you and hopefully figure out what it is.
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 2: Realpolitik
After defeating the first Warden of Light, the team comprised of the twins, the Crystal Exarch, and the hero decides the course of action is to rescue a young woman under the care of Thancred known as… Minfilia! No, it’s not the Minfilia of old… at least not exactly.
The Minfilias
When Minfilia, known to the people of The First as the Oracle of Light, stopped the flood light, she gave up a part of herself that could be reborn over and over again to serve as an inspiration to the people of The First to continue fighting. Each reincarnated Minfilia looks like the original but does not share her personality or powers.
Some Minfilias over the years have been heroic and aided in fighting the Sin Eaters until their last breath, and some have rejected the call. Either way, considering Minfilia does have a connection to the Oracle of Light, it’s important that she is in the right hands.
Unfortunately, this current iteration has been captured by Eulmore, and The Crystal Exarch has a mind to rescue her. Also, considering in the time since he arrived at The First Thancred has been Minfilia’s caretaker, it stands to reason that it’s a good opportunity to link back up with him as well.
The good guys stage an elaborate plan to rescue Minfilia from her Eulmore captors that wish to just hide her away and are able to rescue her. However, they have a run in with the extremely powerful Eulmore general known as Ran’jit.
He is a loyal underling of Lord Vaughtry and aggressively supports his leader’s agenda of not messing with the Sin Eaters. An attack on the Sin Eaters is considered an act of defiance against Lord Vaughtry, and Ran’jit will use the powerful Eulmore army to persecute anyone that does not fall in line.
Il Mheg
Thancred comes to the rescue and helps the group escape to Il Mheg, home of the fae folk including the Pixies. While the fae folk aren’t necessarily aggressive, they are extremely mischievous and their pranks can lead to dangerous situations.
It’s not an entirely bad development, though, as this is where Urianger calls home, and the group wanted to get here eventually anyway. Now is as good a time as any to get him on board.
The pixies that call this area home cause the group some trouble, but a pact that the hero of The Source made earlier with a prominent pixie named Feo Ul proves to be extremely helpful because she is able to convince the other pixies to stop pranking the group and help them find Urianger.
A Vision of the End
After finding Urianger, he tells the group of a vision that he had while crossing the space between worlds. A vision of an Eighth Umbral Calamity that will not only mean the end of The First but The Source as well.
The group deduces that there are thirteen shards, or worlds, split from the original source world. Whenever a shard experiences a world-ending calamity such as the flood here on The First, it is absorbed by The Source which can lead to serious problems. This has happened before with disastrous consequences.
In the case of The First and The Source, heavy amounts of Light aspected energy is being absorbed by The Source due to The First’s impending doom. This is affecting the Aether of the people of The Source to the point where it is making the people more susceptible to the Garlean’s Black Rose poison, which is on the verge of being produced in mass quantities on The Source to be used in an impending war with the City-States of Eorzea and their allies.
While Estinien and Gaius are working together to slow down the Garleans by disrupting their Black Rose production facilities, they can’t hold them off forever.
Should the rejoining of The First and The Source be completed, Black Rose will ravage The Source and ultimately lead to the end of that shard as we know it as well.
So in essence, the fate of The First and The Source are intertwined. In order to save The Source, the group must first save The First from the Flood of Light. This means killing all of the Wardens of Light and restoring the Darkness on this world. Their purpose is now clear.
Since they are already inIl Mheg, they might as well start by vanquishing the Warden of Light in this area, which happens to be the corrupted pixie king, Titania, who is sealed away in a massive castle.
Gathering the Relics of the Fae
In order to break the seal, they must gather an artifact that is kept by each of the four major groups of fae folk that callIl Mheg home: Pixies, Nu Mou, Amaro, and Fauth.
The pixies are motivated by Feo Ul to cooperate and they give up their artifact without problem because they believe it will be entertaining to watch regardless of the outcome –whether the group is killed by their insane king or emerge victoriously. Either way, it’s a win-win, they believe.
The Nu Mou are a friendly fae folk that love humans. So too do the bird-like Amaro, who have a deep relationship with humans given that they replace Chocobos as the primary mount in this world. After helping them with a few tasks they both give up their relics.
The Fauth are the trickier ones as they are also mischievous like the pixies. These frog-like creatures are the souls of drowned children come back to life. They agree to give up the relic but first put the group through the wringer by inviting them to their lair and nearly getting them all drowned. Ultimately though, they get that relic as well.
With all four relics in hand, the group challenges Titania and after a hard-fought battle, they triumph and return the night sky toIl Mheg.
When a pixie king is defeated, the one who defeated them may take over as new king. The player character has no interest in this so Feo Ul takes over instead, giving the group a powerful new fae ally.
This is good timing because the Eulmore army has caught up. However, this also angers the fae folk as they don’t take kindly to this kind of negative & aggressive energy in their homeland. They torment the Eulmore soldiers until they are forced to retreat.
The group returns home to the Crystarium safely. But on their return, they are greeted with an unexpected face: the powerful Ascian Emet-Selch, the one who founded the Garlean Empire on The Source.
Emet-Selch
Emet-Selch, at least on the surface, isn’t interested in being an enemy of the group. While he admits the plan to flood The First with light was his idea and by killing the Wardens of Light they are messing with that, he is genuinely intrigued with the group’s tenacity and potential and simply wishes to peacefully observe them. He hopes that he can learn about the group’s motivations and that they too can learn about why the Ascians do what they do.
Considering Ascians can easily slip in and out of view, the group doesn’t really have much of a choice whether they like it or not. Emet-Selch often appears from this point on mostly to lecture them about the good ol’ days which we learn more and more about as the story goes on.
The group decides their next step should be to find Y’shtola in the Rak’tika Greatwood and defeat the Warden of Light there.
The hero goes to sleep. Or at least tries to. He is once again visited by Ardbert and the two continue to have a heart to heart about their personal struggles.
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 3: Journey to the Past
The group arrives at the Rak’tika Greatwood and it’s not long before they have a run-in with a group known as the Night’s Blessed which worship darkness. They are initially hostile but we learn that they are a group that is in part led by Y’shtola.
Y’shtola arrives on the scene, and at first, can’t believe that the player character is who he/she says they are as their aether is corrupted and suffices with an extreme amount of light. This worries Y’shtola but it’s a problem for another time.
Y’shtola in general is a bit guarded because of her uneasiness around the Crystal Exarch’s mysterious nature, and Urianger’s closeness with the Exarch.
Either way, they all get settled in Slitherbough, the home of the Night’s Blessed. Y’shtola wants to study some of the more ancient relics here in the area of a now extinct civilization known as the Ronka for clues on where the Warden of Light resides in this area.
Ronka
After some careful research, the group is able to put together a Ronkan seal which allows them entry to a secluded and isolated part of the forest an area defended by a group of ancient Viera. They are initially distrustful but the authenticity of the seal the group found marks them as allies and they agree to help them find the Warden of Light.
The Eulmore are back on the hunt, however, and the group needs to move quickly before they are able to disrupt their search for the Warden of Light.
Their research leads them to believe that the Warden of Light is located in a sealed area known as the Qitana Ravel, and the only way to access it is to restore aether flow to a dangerous temple that is linked with the Ravel.
Y’shtola and the group brave the danger and reach their goal; however, they are cut off once again by Ran’jit. His associate reveals that he has poisoned members of the Night’s Blessed and that if they want the antidote they must surrender and lead them out of the temple.
While Y’shtola and the hero ponder their options, Ran’jit takes matters into his own hands and decides to throw the associate and the antidote into a pit. Y’shtola dives for the antidote, taking Ran’jit down with her and is able to get the antidote to the hero. The fate of her and Ran’jit are unknown at this point as they both take a huge fall down the pit.
A Gesture of Good Will
While they are able to help the poisoned members of the Night’s Blessed, the group is devastated about Y’shtola. Emet-Selch, in an attempt to prove that he’s not a total monster they should fear, offers to see what he can do to rescue Y’shtola.
The group figures out that Y’shtola once again put herself into the lifestream like she had done before way back in the post-A Realm Reborn storyline to avoid certain death.
As an Ascian, Emet-Selch can enter the lifestream at will and does so to bring Y’shtola back to her body. While the group still does not trust Emet-Selch, they begrudgingly thank him for saving Y’shtola.
The group heads for the Qitana Ravel to defeat the Warden of Light while they have an opportunity following the disappearance of Ran’jit.
They work their way through this treacherous area and defeat the Warden of Light, once again restoring the night sky. However, on the way back the group notice a series of murals that depict some ancient scene.
The Truth About Zodiark and Hydaelyn
Emet-Selch appears and is happy to explain what they mean. They tell a story of Zodiark and Hydaelyn and that they are in fact the most ancient of primals summoned by the people of his time to avert a disaster that threatened their way of life.
According to Emet-Selch, Zodiark was summoned to prevent the calamity and keep the preservation of the one unified shard intact. Emet-Selch describes it as a paradise where there waspeace and prosperity.
However, a group of dissenters, fearing Zodiark’s power summoned Hydaelyn, a being meant to keep Zodiark in check. However, through prayer, she and power will overpower the will of Zodiark. It was Hydaelyn’s desire to split the world into thirteen shards and this ended the Ascian’s way of life.
The Ascians yearn for the rejoining because they believe by uniting the shards once again, they can restore the world back to the paradise it once was, and while it will lead to countless deaths across the shards, those that survive will be made whole and powerful in a way that the Ascians still are once again.
Emet-Selch, in particular, is extremely nostalgic and passionate about this history, and he tells this story with a heavy dose of sadness in his voice. Trying to make the point that if they were in his shoes, that they too would want to see their world restored to the way it was.
This shakes the two to the core, but they press on with their journey.
Too Much Light
Y’shtola, cannot hold in her worry about the hero any longer and tells him about her concern that his aether is becoming corrupted by absorbing Warden after Warden. She fears that if he/she consumes too much light, that the hero will eventually succumb to the influence of the Wardens and become an all-powerful Sin Eater.
With that out in the open, the group can press on with their plan while keeping that in the back of their mind; Y’shtola implores the hero to keep her updated on how he/she is feeling.
Once again the hero goes to sleep but first spends some time quality of time with his ghostly buddy Ardbert. The hero candidly shares his fear about turning into a Sin Eater and Ardbert does his best to comfort him.
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 4: Shrouded in Darkness
The hero awakes to learn that The Crystarium is under attack from an organized group of Sin Eaters led by Lord Vaughtry, who is getting pretty fed up with being defied over and over again.
The battle is fierce and The Crystarium forces absorb massive losses in order to hold off the Sin Eater forces. Just barely, they emerge victoriously… or at least they survive. Those that survive are wounded, and the message that Lord Vaughtry was trying to send has been heard loud and clear.
The group reconvenes with the Crystal Exarch at the Crystal Tower. The group admits that they have had no luck finding the remaining Wardens of Light.
Oracle of Light
Reluctantly, the only option they have left is to rejoin Minfilia (not the older one, the reincarnated one) with the Oracle of Light (formerly the original Minfilia).
Thancred has been struggling with this throughout the story because once this rejoining is complete, it is likely that either the original Minfilia or the reincarnated Minfilia will be no more. Thancred is pained by this because he feels a fatherly responsibility for the reincarnated Minfilia but also still loves the original.
The group sets out for Ahm Areng where the Oracle of Light made her last stand. Unfortunately, this area is not accessible outside of restarting a trolly system powered by a powerful artificially engineered golem know as a Talos.
The group assists a local mining crew eager to restart the trolly and get the Talos up and running again. The group then heads for Nabaath Areng, the place where the Oracle of Light stopped the flood.
However, on the way, they are surprised by Ran’jit, who attacks the group compromised of Thancred, Minfilia, and the hero.
Thancred tells Minfilia and the hero to go on without him while he holds Ran’jit back. The two fight to a stalemate and Thancred buys the other two enough time to convene with the Oracle of Light.
The Oracle of Light and Minfilia meet. The Oracle is able to convince Minfilia to not give up and that she herself is capable of helping the group save The First. The Oracle believes in this particular Minfilia so much that she gives up her existence and thus ending the reincarnation process, to give Minfilia all of her powers, along with a new identity that establishes her as her own person.
She returns to the group and although Thancred is a bit sad, everyone welcomes her back with open arms. Thancred chooses a new name for Minfilia, Ryne, and the group using her newfound powers is able to locate the Warden of Light in Ahm Areng deep in a mining site known as Malikah’s Well.
The group descend down and defeat the Warden of Light; however, the effects of absorbing so much light are starting to have an effect on the hero, and he/she is showing signs of struggling to contain it, worrying the rest of the group.
There is just one more Warden of Light left though and the group hopes that they can find a way to complete this task without issue.
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 5: Warden of Light
The group arrives at Eulmore and they notice a strange occurrence. The people of Gatetown, the shantytown that surrounds the luxurious Eulmore, have fallen under a trance. Lord Vaughtry is using his unexplained power to control Sin Eaters to in turn control all of the people in and around Eulmore.
You discover the reason for this: Meol, the food that Eulmore serves to its people, is not just an average piece of bread. In fact, it’s made of Sin Eater, and slowly but surely the people of Eulmore are being turned into Sin Eaters so Lord Vaughtry can control them.
The group make their way into Eulmore proper to confront Lord Vaughtry but not before one final stand with Ran’jit. The group finally defeat Ran’jit once and for all and make it to Lord Vaughtry’s throne room.
Still feeling no remorse for what he has done, Lord Vaughtry flees and reveals that he himself is, in fact, the final Warden of Light, an unholy marriage of man and Sin Eater that was arranged by Emet-Selch long ago to help usher in the original Flood of Light on The First.
He uses his immeasurable power to rip the top of a mountaintop to serve as his new paradise that he will rebuild now that Eulmore has been ruined.
Mt. Guig and Confronting Lord Vaughtry
The group, using Ryne’s power, is able to help cure most of the citizens and asks for their help in finding a way to reach Lord Vaughtry’s new floating city.
While the wealthy people of Eulmore wronged many under the leadership of Lord Vaughtry, they accepted their part in being complicit in their lord’s horrible deeds and seek now to do what they can to earn the trust of everyone again and help bring Lord Vaughtry’s reign to an end. Now united, all of the people of Eulmore. Khoulsia, The Crystarium and Ahm Areng seek to figure out a way to end all of this once and for all.
Emet-Selch continues to be impressed with the hero’s progress and feels nostalgic seeing people working together for a common goal, as this was commonplace in his time. He misses his family, friends, and society that was free of war, pain, or disparity and he especially misses his city, Amaurot, the crown jewel of this Ascian civilization.
Emet-Selch makes a pitch to the hero. He believes that the hero is special and that if he/she can truly control the power of the Warden of Light it is possible he/she can survive the calamities that would occur during the rejoining process. Moreover, that the hero can stand as an equal with the Ascians in paradise. The hero mostly just brushes this idea off, though.
Before he goes, Emet-Selch ponders the nature of the Crystal Exarch, who to this point, is still mysterious and has yet to ever remove his cowl. Emet-Selch isn’t being coy. He truly doesn’t know what the deal is with the Crystal Exarch and how exactly he has the power to physically transport the Crystal Tower into The First and bring the Scions across worlds.
The group is back to figuring out their plan for reaching Lord Vaughtry. An airship is out of the question because of the Sin Eaters that are swarming to defend the final Warden of Light, so they devise a plan with the help of a prominent Eulmorian Talos expert, Chai-Nuzz. They will need to create a massive Talos that can actually grab hold of the floating city, and create a bridge that will allow the Scions to reach Lord Vaughtry.
Through the combined effort of nearly all of the allies that the hero has gained over this journey, they are able to build the massive Talos and the Scions head up to confront Lord Vaughtry in battle.
The group is ultimately successful but what everyone has feared has come to fruition: the player character cannot contain the light and is beginning to turn into a Warden of Light.
The Crystal Exarch Reveals Himself
However, the Crystal Exarch finally reveals the grand master plan that he has held in secrecy with Urianger all this time. He is actually G’raha Tia, the caretaker of the Crystal Tower that the player character worked with long ago in the Crystal Tower questline back during the A Realm Reborn saga.
G’raha Tia intends to absorb the burden of the light from the hero and the sacrifice himself by casting himself away into the rift and bringing all of the dangerous Light energy with him.
However, before he can complete this spell he is shot down by Emet-Selch. Emet-Selch is extremely disappointed that the hero of The Source is not as powerful as believed and was not able to control the Light on his own.
Emet-Selch considers this experiment of observing the potential of man to now be over and wants to continue with his original plan of allowing light to consume this world and rejoin it with The Source. Without G’raha Tia to cast the spell, the hero will eventually turn into a fearsome Warden of Light Sin Eater that will lead to the slow and painful destruction of The First.
Emet-Selch takes the wounded G’raha Tia with him and flees to his hideout in The Tempest, a deep trench at the bottom of the ocean far away from the light.
The hero passes out, and his/her fate is unknown.
FFXIV Shadowbringers Story Summary
Chapter 6: Shadowbringers
You awake to learn that Ryne, now imbued with the power of the Oracle of Light, was able to use her ability to temporarily slow down the process of the hero turning into a Warden of Light.
However, because the light is centered on you, anywhere you go brings back the Everlasting Light that plagued Norvandt before the Scions all arrived and began defeating the Wardens of Light. Time is now ticking and the group doesn’t have any clue what to do now or how to get to The Tempest. Disheartened the hero feels lost and adrift.
The Tempest
The hero decides to learn more about the Crystal Exarch, AKA G’raha Tia, since they last met long ago. By exploring the private chambers of G’raha Tia, the hero learns that he pressure Urianger into keeping their plan secret as only if it was a surprise would it work as if the group knew that G’raha Tia planned to sacrifice himself, they would not allow it to take place.
G’raha Tia also was able to transcend time due to the mysterious power of the Crystal Tower and saw with his own eyes the calamity that took place after the use of Black Rose. He saw a timeline that led to the death of all heroes, including yes the player character, and devised this plan to go back in time at this pivotal moment in The First, bringing the Scions along with him, to prevent the calamity from ever happening.
Emboldened by what he had learned along with a pep talk from Feo Ul and Ardbert, the hero decides to try and pursue Emet-Selch at The Tempest himself. However, the group doesn’t allow him/her to go at it alone and although they still don’t have a clear plan, they are with he/she until the end.
The group could swim/ride mounts down to the bottom; but, considering the ticking time bomb that is the light inside the hero, they are concerned that they won’t make it.
They eventually find a lead though. A small island off of the coast of the Lakeland isn’t actually an island at all but The First’s version of the whale primal Bismarck. Although on this world Bismarck is a fae.
Feo Ul helps the group convince Bismarck to aid in transporting them all to the bottom of the ocean to where the The Tempest is located along with clearing the water from the area so they can more easily breathe and travel.
Upon their arrival, the group learns earns the trust of a local group of Sahagin, known as the Ondo on this world, and they assist the Scions with locating a massive city that had recently appeared from nowhere on the bottom of the ocean floor.
Amaurot
The group explore this extremely impressive city and realize this is a recreation of the Ascian city of Amaurot that Emet-Selch described. Although it’s not literally the city brought to life, it’s a very lifelike recreation complete with citizens meant to resemble the real thing. Emet-Selch is once again trying to show the group that from his point of view, he is the hero and we are the villains trying to stop him.
After exploring the city, the group is able to discern the location of Emet-Selch in the capital building of Amaurot and are able to gain permission to see him.
Before meeting him, though, the hero is able to speak to one citizen of Amaurot known as Hythlodaeus that has somehow retained its true personality, unlike the lifeless shades that populate the city and has a candid conversation with the entity.
Hythlodaeus confirms that the story that Emet-Selch has been telling is true. He explains that the destruction of the Ascian civilization was violent, deadly, and they did all they could, even going as far as sacrificing half of the population each time they summoned Zodiark in an attempt to save everyone else.
Those tired of this plan of constantly sacrificing people to bring Zodiark to life came up with a new plan. They plot a new will to summon their own god, Hydaelyn, to chart a new course for life which would eventually lead to the world as it is now.
Hydaelyn emerged victoriously and the plan that was followed from that point led to the splitting of the Star into various shards and the end of life as the Ascians knew it. From that point on the remaining leaders of the Ascians that still held onto their former form have worked tirelessly to rejoin the shards and undo Hydaelyn’s will. They use the death that the ensuing calamities would bring to once again summon a powerful version of Zodiark so he can return life to the way it was before Hydaelyn.
Emet-Selch, according to Hythlodaeus, is wholly dedicated to this plan. Although Emet-Selch has an easy-going personality compared to the other Ascians we have encountered, he bears the burden and sadness as much as anyone else.
In spite of this knowledge, the hero is determined still to save The First, and hopefully he/herself too.
The group arrives at the capitol to confront Emet-Selch. He puts them through a trial that shows them in vivid detail exactly how the end of Amaurot looked.
The Final Battle
The group triumphs but Emet-Selch is still unimpressed. Mentioning that even still, he is still far more powerful than all of the Scion’s combined powers, including the hero, and this disparity only makes it more obvious to him that he is doing the right thing. Saying: “The gulf between us is a reflection of the disparity between the world as it was… and what it has become.”
The group tries to attack Emet-Selch but he is too powerful, easily swatting away the various Scion’s attempts to attack him.
The hero gathers all his/her strength to reach Emet-Selch with the support of the remaining Scions that have yet to be incapacitated.
The light inside the hero is too much to bear though. He/she passes out and sees Ardbert in a vision. Ardbert finally realizing his purpose helps the hero, providing him with his strength so they can fight as one.
When Emet-Selch looks at the hero now, he sees another being like him, and realizes the he/she is becoming whole. Ardbert is just another version of the hero of The Source, and the Crystal Exarch AKA G’raha Tia appears and summons even more heroes from other worlds to join with the player character giving him/her the strength to challenge Emet-Selch’s true form, Hades.
Emet-Selch agrees to settle this once and for all and they fight an epic battle for the fate of all of the worlds. In spite of Hades’ overwhelming power and control over darkness, the hero prevails.
While weakened, the hero uses Ardbert’s light infused axe to mortally wound Hades while the scions channel their power to seal the bind and destroy Emet-Selch’s soul using the same method they used on Lahabrea.
A vision of Emet-Selch appears before the player right before Emet-Selch dies for good. He simply asks the player character to: “Remember… remember us. Remember that we once lived.” The hero nods and Emet-Selch gives a small smile before disappearing.
In the course of the fight, the hero needed and used, all of the light he/she was filled with to survive and defeat Hades. As a result, after the battle, the player character is back to normal and is no longer suffering from their affliction.
Ardbert’s axe disappears and it appears that he can now finally rest and he can return to his loyal party. The Crystal Exarch, battered and bruised begs forgiveness for his deception, but the group seems to understand that it was born out of good intentions.
The End, For Now
The group returns back to land from The Tempest as heroes as the sky has once again returned for all of Novrandt. Surprisingly, the Crystal Exarch remains. This was in doubt since he’s technically from a future that no longer exists after their actions, but it appears he has done enough to remain an inseparable part of this timeline.
However, his death was supposed to allow the Scions to return home, and because he still stands they (except the hero) are still trapped on The First. They are fine with development since they want to find a way to return that doesn’t involve sacrificing the Exarch.
The group splits up again for the time to wrap up their matters here on The First before figuring out how to leave.
The hero returns home to The Source to update everyone back home on just went down. Thancred and Ryne leave to explore the wastelands brought on by the Flood of Light for reasons that are unknown to us at the time.
Meanwhile back on The Source, Estinien and Gaius find themselves into the throne room of Emperor Varis zos Galvus where they witness Zenos, back in his body, striking down his father.
Zenos, now infused with more strength than before, was able to pose enough of a threat to Elidibus that he was able to rejoin his body and soul. With his father and now Elidibus out of the way, and back to his old self, Zenos can resume his “hunt” properly now.
Elidibus has fled to the moon overlooking The Source and as the last remaining Ascian leader, is carefully plotting his next move. He knows now that he can’t underestimate the “tattered souls” any longer, seeing what both Zenos and the hero are now capable of.
Even Elidibus doesn’t know how the story will play out anymore as he has lost control of the situation. However, he remains resolved to remove the heroes from the equation saying that if the player character claims to be a Warrior of Darkness, then he will ensure they meet the same end as those that came before, death at the hands of the Warriors of Light.
That does it for our story summary of FFXIV Shadowbringers. It was a lot and still, this story summary does not include all of the details of the FFXIV Shadowbringers plot. This is basically the cliffnotes version, so we still suggest playing through the expansion yourself if you have the ability to do so still.
If you want a bit more detail, and speculation, on what the ending of the FFXIV Shadowbringers story means, beyond what this story summary was able to provide you can check out our ending explained guide here.
Published: Jul 9, 2019 04:16 pm