Ul'Dah, Gridania, Limsa Lominsa.
The three main city-states in FFXIV.
Since ARR, the amount of accessible city-states has increased.
Although we never got Ala Mhigo as anything other than a dungeon, one city-state, veiled
in endless mystery opened its gates as the game's first expansion, Heavensward launched
in 2015.
I speak, of course, of Ishgard.
If you've been watching this series for a while, you should already know that Ishgard
had a presence in 1.0 as well.
In fact, the whole reason we got Heavensward was because of the seeds planted in 1.0.
Ishgard was located in almost exactly the same place in 1.0 as it is today.
North of Camp Dragonhead in Coerthas Central Highlands.
When 1.0 launched, Ishgard was scarcely mentioned, but when it was, it was described as an overly
paranoid nation, that had locked its gates and refused to let anyone in.
Men and women of Ishgard found themselves locked out when the gates closed – the gate
wouldn't even open for its own citizens.
This lead to the formation of smaller hamlets like Owl and Falcon's nest – literally
built by Ishgardians out of desperation as their city-state had locked them out.
Ishgard, and Coerthas was often brought up as a mysterious and desolate place, and had
two connection points – one from North Shroud, and one from Mor Dhona.
The Mor Dhonan route was used for lumber export for the Holy See, and the Shroud route was
used for import of fur through the furline.
As a player, you were not expected to access this area until you were close to the level
cap, around the lvl 40 mark.
This didn't stop a young Lukile Bravestone from exploring in his low 20s.
Most players would first discover Ishgard through the Shroud route.
All that stood in your way were a few high lvl Boars that would easily kill a lvl 20
gladiator – and they did – many times.
But at some point, possibly through luck, I made it past the boars by basically making
a run for it – knowing that a loading screen would kick in if I just crossed an invisible
line in time.
And I did.
The screen faded out, loading wheel spinning.
And then – the sound of wolves in the distance – I've made it to the mysterious lands
of Coerthas.
I'm surrounded by massive cliffs – and the dark green colors of the Coerthan flora.
As I move forward, the path slowly starts to open into a wider area – and in the distance
– I see it.
Dark spires shooting up from behind mountains far away.
It's mesmerizing.
But I know that the journey to whatever those spires belong to is going to be long and hard.
Not knowing the lay of the land, I cling to the path, and walk – desperately looking
for an aetheryte.
I would not find one for quite a while yet.
Coerthas had a very distinct design from the other areas of Eorzea.
Where the copy-paste terrain was painful to look at after a while in the other zones,
Coerthas' terrain appeared more unique, varied and interesting.
This might be why it's and Mor Dhona's maps were kept almost exactly as they were
in ARR, while the other zones got broken up and remade entirely in ARR.
It wouldn't take long before I encountered buildings and windmills, but also high level
ahrimans, wolves, goobbues and the like.
Coerthas was hostile through and through.
After walking with my heart pounding for what seemed like hours, I finally spot the glow
of an aetheryte in the distance.
I've made it to Camp Glory – a camp that would see complete devastation in the Calamity.
I decide to follow the road further north.
It's dark outside, and there's not a single player character nearby, but I press on.
After a short while I make it to a bridge.
This is Griffin Crossing.
Later being the setting for the Battle on the Big Bridge with Gilgamesh in ARR.
This is the first of two bridges connecting the central highlands to the eastern lowlands
and western highlands.
For a new player, this sight alone was quite the adrenaline rush – you're progressing
into what felt like unchartered territory.
I pass tall mountains, deep valleys and lakes, before finally arriving at Camp Dragonhead.
Ironically, the camp is located in such a way that the spires are obscured from view
by a big mountain.
Sunrise is imminent as I return to the road and continue due northwest.
And as I make my way up a hill and around the mountain – she reveals herself.
The city-state in the sea of clouds – Ishgard.
The massive castle-like structure looms in the distance.
A long bridge the only connection with the rest of the land.
Eagerly I run towards the gatehouse.
Thrilled that I've made it to a city-state long before I've made it to the appropriate
level – only to be told by the gatekeepers that Ishgard is closed until Halone sounds
her call.
My hopes are temporarily shattered.
But as I look towards the unfamiliar structure in the distance, I think to myself that "one
day, I'm coming for you".
Other players had similar experiences when discovering Ishgard.
1.0's MSQ scarcely mentioned Ishgard, but it was there, and it was obvious to everyone
that the city-state would open soon.
Maybe through a patch?
But history would crush that idea pretty quickly.
As Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 fell apart, and the new dev team stepped in to clean up the mess,
the original MSQ was abandoned almost immediately.
The lore that existed about Ishgard was still there, but it would not developed further
in 1.0's lifetime – with a few exceptions.
Dragoon's questline would further explain the plight of Ishgard, and it's troubled
past and present with dragonkind.
And Aurum Vale and Dzemael Darkhold would provide even further information about Ishgard's
troubles.
The more information that was provided, the more players wanted to enter her gates.
But the gates of Judgement would not budge.
Not even while Dalamud screamed in the skies.
For many, ending the game near the Gates of Judgement felt right.
It felt like the future.
The gates wouldn't open in Tanaka's XIV, but if Yoshi-P is able to turn the ship around
– maybe the gates will open.
This was both a blessing and a curse for the dev team.
Blessing because they knew what to focus on in the future, but a curse because 1.0 had
chained them, forced their hand – to open the gates of judgement as soon as possible.
Because as the legacy players returned to Eorzea, Ishgard would eventually be on everyone's
mind once again.
Before ARR relaunched, some players almost expected Ishgard to be the 4th City-State,
in line with Limsa, Gridania and Ul'Dah.
Discussions ran high about the future of the Holy See.
Would it even still be there after the Calamity?
Ishgard did not heed the Eorzean Alliance's call to arms.
Did it fall into the sea of clouds?
As ARR launched, 1.0 players were faced with a familiar sight – Ishgard was still there.
However, it had gone through a few changes.
Most of them applying to the bridges.
In 1.0, Ishgard was connected to the Coerthan mainland through a mass of land naturally
protruding from the Central Highlands – with three massive bridges filling the gaps in
between.
In ARR the city-state is connected by what appears to be three smaller bridges, with
shorter landmasses in between.
This brings us to the second major difference – the distance.
Ishgard appears closer in ARR, and the bridges therefore appear shorter than they did in
1.0.
This is most likely because of the compression of the original Coerthas map.
Between 1.0 and ARR a lot of the original Coerthas map was kept, but it was compressed
down to a smaller size.
The bridges are shorter but more detailed than their 1.0 counterparts, but the path
to Ishgard is inconsistent in ARR – in the duty "The Steps of Faith", it appears
as a single massive bridge going from the Gates of Judgement to Ishgard proper.
Ishgard is visibly closer to the mainland here, with Steel and Stone Vigil in their
correct positions – but the bridge is way shorter and has no landmasses in between them.
"Well" you might think "it's just a duty.
Obviously they didn't want it to go on forever, now did they."
And I was almost ready to make that conclusion myself – until I looked at the ARR artwork
for Ishgard.
Notice how the bridge looks even shorter here than the duty, but once again – only one
continuous bridge.
I'm therefore more inclined to believe that the dev team wanted a shorter bridge, but
the original overworld map not allowing for that redesign.
Therefore having two different versions of the steps of faith – one with landmasses
in-between and one continuous bridge.
Which one is canon?
Let me know in the comments.
It's an impressive sight to behold regardless and was as mesmerizing as the 1.0 model when
it reappeared in ARR.
The ARR MSQ was now acknowledging Ishgard more seriously.
Now referring to it by name more often, and as you climbed in levels, it started to become
more and more evident that the stage was being set for an Ishgardian expansion.
And in late 2014, the announcement was made.
4 years after the release of 1.0, 4 years of longing, confusion and frustration – the
confirmation we had been waiting for: Ishgard was going to be the main focus of the next
expansion.
For many 1.0 players, this was the last link to the XIV they knew.
A promise given to them that was never fulfilled.
But just like that, the dream of entering the Gates of Judgment, to walk the streets
of the Holy See, was soon to become reality.
And in June 2015, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward was released.
Still to this day I find myself in the Central Highlands, looking over at Ishgard in the
distance.
Covered in snow.
And I think about the young lvl 20 Lukile standing almost exactly where I'm standing
now, dreaming of entering the forbidden city-state engulfed in clouds and endless mystery.
It's sad, but in a good way.
Sad, because I had yet to really realize how far away Ishgard really was.
Sad because at that point, I didn't know the game in its current state was going to
end in just a year.
But good in a way, because I'm still here.
I'm in Coerthas.
And the gates are open.
Thank you for watching this episode of RoaR.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Leave a like if you enjoyed and subscribe for more!
Let me know in the comments how you felt when you first discovered Ishgard – be it in
1.0 or ARR!
I'll be back next month with another episode of RoaR.
See you then, and may you ever walk in the light of the Crystal!
For more infomation >> vlc record 2019 02 17 14h00m23s Univision Deportes HD - Duration: 1:02:47. 
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