Final Fantasy XIV's mid- and end-game content is linear in its structure, but that linearity allows for some interesting embellishments and diversions. The progression goes like this:
[early game] --> [scions] --> Ifrit --> Titan --> Garuda --> [endgame]
After joining the Scions, the professional is tasked with investigating a series of strange events in the deserts of Thanalan. These events ultimately build toward a confrontation with the amalj'aa, the lizard-folk who worship the primal Ifrit, and then, naturally, Ifrit himself.
This formula repeats itself twice more: an odd occurrence, beast-folk causing troubles, some fetch-quests and maybe a dungeon run or two, capped off with a battle against a giant boss monster. There are a few false leads and storytelling flourishes which prevent it from feeling too formulaic, but the structure is easy to see, and honestly, it's satisfying in the same way as a classic Nintendo game: Navigate the level, beat the boss. The levels are open-world areas, sure, and the bosses are a team event, but the basic idea remains intact.
You could rephrase this to make it even more transparent (though this is definitely too simplistic):
Desert level (Boss: Ifrit) ---- Forest level (Boss: Titan) ---- Snow level (Boss: Garuda)
By the end of the mid-game, the professional has faced (and defeated) the primals Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. After Garuda, Gaius van Baelsar, the evil legate of the Garlean Empire in Eorzea, shows up in a dramatic fashion and lets the player know in no uncertain terms that he's the villain, now. This marks the start of the endgame: All of the main characters have been introduced, and most of the exposition has been handled. What remains, now, is to defeat the Garleans and topple van Baelsar.
The endgame follows a similar structure, though it's more like Dr. Wily's Castle from the Megaman series than a big, open-world exploration game ending in boss fights. Rapid fire, one after another, you go from one big battle to the next, fighting a series of bosses who, until now, have only been featured in cut-scenes being jerks to NPCs. They get their comeuppance in the form of raiding adventurers.
Playing this game in 2020, seven years after A Realm Reborn's re-release, means that defeating these original end-bosses isn't as much of a challenge, now, as it was then. But it's still a satisfying thing to do, if only for the sense of narrative closure. Finishing a story feels good. Doubly so, when it's a story as massive and detailed as this one.
"Detailed?" you exclaim. "Why, you've shared almost none of the details!"
In summarizing the plot of A Realm Reborn, I've left out all but the most essential elements. If you'd really like to dig into the meat of the story, play the game. If you want the cliff's notes, this site does a fine job of it (https://landofodd.net/ffxiv-arr-story-summary/).
I want to appreciate and talk about the structure of the story. Especially, where it concerns other hobbies, like D&D or writing fiction. Honestly, this game's structure is solid gold. If you shave off the serial numbers, the plot structure - as applied to D&D - could resemble something like this:
The campaign kicks off with an introductory module, Lost Mines of Phandelver or whatever. Something short that gets the players' feet wet and lets them figure out their roles within the party. From there, the players are introduced to some important NPCs who offer them an opportunity to join a secret society: something chronically under-funded and a little misunderstood, but they know all about dangerous rumblings and evil omens and magic, and they're in desperate need of heroes. Assuming the PCs are "in" (and that's a big assumption in D&D, but let's pretend), the organization then sends them to go investigate some mysterious disappearances. One thing leads to another, and within a session or two, the players are all facing down a suitably intimidating boss monster! If you stop there, you've got a great set-up for a monster-of-the-week campaign.
If you've got players who love investigation, tactics, and big boss battles, this campaign could go for a really long time. When you're approaching a natural end point, you ramp things up: Introduce a Big Bad who has been watching from the shadows (in a perfect world, the Big Bad ties neatly in to the player characters' backstories) and gives them an ultimatum: Surrender or die! And also - they've got a clockwork dragon! Or a tarrasque, or a pit fiend, or the kraken, or something else suitably epic, the point is this -- Your endgame content is a test of everything the players have accomplished thus far, and plays out in a suitably grandiose way.
This is, of course, a perfect world scenario for a D&D campaign. But if you're looking for a map, or just some place to get started, you could do a lot worse than borrow from A Realm Reborn.
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