The Samurai, on the other hand, has three flowery emblems that ignite after completing certain ability combos.
Red Mages’ most devastating abilities use black and white mana in equal measure, so keeping them balanced is absolutely necessary. The goal is to keep the two bars balanced which causes the gem above them to glow red. The Red Mage’s job gauge, for example, displays black and white mana bars that each increase according to what spells you cast. These gauges are best used by Stormblood’s new jobs, the Red Mage and Samurai. Outside of these encounters, Stormblood’s combat is much improved thanks to a sweeping overhaul to combat’s underlying rules and new ‘job gauges,’ a user interface element that feeds you visual information related to your job’s playstyle, making each one feel more distinctive and unique than before. I love that Stormblood’s primal battles each have these surprising moments that force you to step back from the fight and remember that you’re trying to kill something unimaginably powerful. I involuntarily yelled “what the fuck?” because the fight takes such a dramatic and absurd turn after a few minutes.
The final boss is one of the most satisfying RPG boss fights I’ve ever played. One fight mirrors the first boss battle in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance when the primal god Susano, who towers over the party, tries to crush them with his gargantuan sword and the tank has to step forward to block the strike with a quick-time event. Though the combat is still the familiar MMO-style combat, these battles are a spectacle of explosive visuals, stirring music, and singular moments that are bat-shit crazy. Stormblood’s boss fights feel like they were inspired by Platinum Games. The new set of dungeons are all fantastic, but the primal boss fights are easily my favorite part of Stormblood. I can’t imagine wanting to spend any time sitting on a beach because I’d rather be tackling Stormblood’s new group content-which is among the best I’ve played in any MMO. Considering what a big deal Square Enix made swimming and diving out to be, the result is disappointing and entirely forgettable unless you and your friends want to roleplay a day at the beach together. Since there’s no underwater combat, there’s nothing meaningful to do on the seafloor other than some resource gathering and a few quests. There’s very little that I don’t love about Othard and its sweeping grasslands or pristine beaches-except the new underwater zones.
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