BaithNa: Welcome to the real endgame, emotional damage
RaquizRavel: The part with the attempt to heal him was recently added. If you're a healer, you help as well. I'm so glad they added that, because originally everyone just sat there, and , as a healer, I kept yelling at the screen, 'Heal him! I can heal him! Why am I not healing him?!'

The change made it so much tragic, because you tried and failed to save him.
natebroadus8474: The Vault hits differently for everyone. Some people got attached to Haurchefant, either as a friend or a husbando, and that's why it hurts.

For dads, it's the stuff with Edmont that cuts so deep. Jeathebelle is another streamer that doesn't get super emotional, but did during the Edmont scene, because he's a dad and you can't help but feel Edmont's pain. That's the scene that wrecked me, too. Like Jeathe said, "no parent should ever have to bury their child."
rezahydra: I didn’t cry with Haurchefaunt’s death. It was tragic and sad, sure, but I was used to games killing off characters. Hell, 14 did already with the likes of Moenbryda even. Yet… going to Edmont… the father who was begged to let you into his house by him… the father who proceeds to quote his son on why they became a knight in spite of their upbringing… the father who truly loved this son… there’s a reason people like me were gripped with Heavensward. Yet it was no death grip yet, the claws hadn’t sank in. But this solidified that I would be playing till the end of 3.x at least. Now, a few days past 3 years after that day I too experienced braving the vault, I have to reminisce and remember… and reactions like yours always help to make my eyes glossier than they should be.
GmaerXQ: From the moment Teledgi’s plan takes hold with that sip of wine, you, Alphinaud and Tataru were alone. Anyone who was on your side have either walked away, been imprisoned, or whisked away by fate.
Pipin gave you a chance but had to deal with the situation.
Limsa, Gridania and Ul’dah are gone to you.
The only place you had to turn were the frozen, unyielding, isolationist cynics behind the giant frozen gates.
And Haurchefant welcomed you in with open arms.
He lead you to Fortemps manor, got you sanctuary behind the gates and made Dragonhead a bulwark against your would-be captors.

Everything you are able to do after the Bloody Banquet is thanks to One Man being your friend.
You, Alphinaud, and everyone you save from there-on is all thanks to him, seeing the good in you despite the giant “REGICIDE” above your head.
ragateguh2825: The way healer cant bring back the dead because, that resurrection spell works because you are faint, knocked out, in a state of near death, not dead.
That's why after you got resurrected, you got a debuff called brink of death.

That's why healer (alphi) cant do much, even you as warrior of light.
(If you play as healer there extra scene that your character try to heal him
redlunatic2224: I know the path you've chosen brings a lot of pain, Warrior of Light. Yet we must keep walking.

For those who we have lost, for those we can yet save.
Tolly7249: That "NO!" is so real. Everyone knows this moment, everyone feels the pain. It's been almost a year and I'm still not over the shock and sadness.

The new VAs really make the scene too. And then they went and made it hurt worse
ReaverPrime: As a former combat soldier who lost his best friend to an ambush in Iraq, this scene cut me deep.

As an infinitely overprotective father whose entire life revolves around his kid, the scene with Count Edmont broke me.
Jimm1621: Haurchefaunt’s death didn’t hit me nearly as hard as his father breaking down after. I cried with him
MelvaCross: The death scene itself never made me cry. The scene thereafter with Edmont, though? Seeing how this dignified, noble man cannot contain his grief, trying his best to keep composure but being too overwhelmed by emotion? This whole spiel about a knight's duty is something he surely said countless times when he held speeches to honour the knights who have fallen in their line of duty under the Fortemps banner. He tried to hide behind familiar, practised language. Letting the autopilot do the talking. But the emotional wound was so severe that even that wasn't enough... Haurchefant's death only saddened me. But Edmont's grief burst through all my emotional barriers and made me weep for "some pixels on the screen."
Raletia: The Dark Knight questline? Written by Ishikawa. She goes on to write in part of Stormblood MSQ and then become the main writer in Shadowbringers. So expect more of the same.
Pintsize_Phoenix: And this is why my FC and I scream “screw elf Pope” any time we go it Foundation.
dbuy3: Welcome to FFXIV!
xiaocheng6643: Regarding Haurchefant's deployment at Camp Dragonhead: It is heavily implied, Edmont's late wife, the mother of Artoirel and Emmanelain, resented Haurchefant's very existence as proof of her husband's unfaithfulness. Having him stationed outside of Ishgard was, in part, to keep him out of her sight and thus safe from potential attacks out of spite. Also, his brothers didn't have the best of relationships with him due to their mother's influence.
TristamWolf: This scene is important enough to me that I have Haurchefant's damaged shield tattooed on my left inner arm, so that it is always close to my heart. His words have helped me through tough times even outside of the game.
KyouTGD: Welcome, buddy. I promise you, it gets worse. But we've been through it too, and we're here for ya.
CixiaKyrrah: The amount of tears I've shed over this game would fill a bathtub at least. Haurchbro was the template for another fanboi in my opinion.
ursulcx299: The death of Haurchefant didnt hit me as hard as other did, I wasnt attached so much to him. I remember looking numbly at my screen and being angry and hurt, but I wasnt broken. Not yet. The moment that really got me was hearing the incredible performance by Edmond's VA, how he transmitted all that pain the character felt with just his voice.

It wasnt the biggest hit ff14 gave me, not eve the biggest emotional hit for me in heavensward. But it was a turning point in me going from "This is a nice game I play with my friends" to "this is my favourite game"
Bardic_Knowledge: Laughing at your reaction while crying at the scene itself.

There's a scene later on where you get to choose to quote Haurchefant to someone in distress. I teared up instantly on seeing the quote.

He made a lasting impression upon us all. May his memory be a blessing. Even if he's a video game character who can be alive again by starting a new game.
argentbast: Heavensward is important because it disrupts the status quo so hard. ARR follows a very traditional MMO mold. Bad guys bad. Good guys good. You fight Gaius but it is no different from fighting any other expansion boss in other MMOs. Then, after 2.55 you are reduced down to nothing. Your entire assets are literally in one room: Alphinaud, Tataru, and Haurchefant. These three are now your core. You can rely on them. You can trust them. They are all you have. Only to have that taken away, too.

This also turns your conflict with Thordan in a different direction. The Thousand Years War and the Ascians are there and still a problem, but you have one very specific old man that has a very specific target on his head. He could have the best reasons for doing what he's doing, but it does not matter. He killed our friend and now he's going to pay.

Jun 27 2024

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