Back in 2024, a year that saw some of the best game releases of this decade, one title that stood out to me was Granblue Fantasy: Relink. While many of us were already familiar with the brand thanks to its mobile installment and superb fighting game, Relink opened the door for many new fans to experience what this iconic world was all about. And the truth is that it delivered on every front. It brought an excellent story, superb action RPG gameplay, addictive progression systems, and one of the best endgame systems I’ve seen in recent times. Now, Endless Ragnarok elevates the RPG into its ultimate version with even more mechanics to learn, materials to grind, and boss fights that will make everyone’s jaws drop.
A Long But Rewarding Endgame
Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok isn’t just a 2-hour DLC with a few bosses and just a couple of systems. No. It is a full-blown expansion with dozens of hours that expands upon one of the game’s most enjoyable aspects: its endgame.
This comes with one small drawback, which is actually getting to it. While the grind has become much easier now, reaching Endless Ragnarok is a herculean task, yet an extremely rewarding one. So, after meeting the requirements, beating the base game’s best boss fights, and reaching the infamous 21,000 Power mark, the skies open up for you again.
While the base game’s main story was extremely memorable for me due to its characters, sense of adventure, and epic moments, unfortunately, the small storytelling portions of Endless Ragnarok fell a bit flat for me. Even if I was glad to see the game expanding some of its lore and characters, there wasn’t anything there that made me feel as if it was improving things we saw on base Relink. It isn’t bad, per se, but many other systems in this expansion eclipse it. As a silver lining, that is truly the only complaint I have about Endless Ragnarok.
As for the good things, there are many of them, with the big one being just how grand the endgame is now. Before I delve deep into the systems, however, you need to know that the grind is even longer here. I don’t say that as a bad thing, though. I’m no stranger to endgame grinds, and Granblue Fantasy: Relink nailed that aspect in its base game, which has become much better with the expansion. Still, that’s something to keep an eye out for, especially if you’re not a big fan of RNG drops or fighting the same boss repeatedly.
And now, as for what Endless Ragnarok brings, the most notable addition is Chaos difficulty, which is no joke. I thought I was ready for the first mission, just to realize that I was at the 30-minute mark with no potions left and all optional challenges failed. My build wasn’t the best either, but hey, nothing a bit of grinding can’t fix. In all seriousness, however, I love how Cygames made the new missions as challenging as I was expecting, while maintaining that cinematic feel to every encounter.
Speaking of encounters, Endless Ragnarok has some of the best I’ve seen in the game so far. While I will never forget my first fight against Bahamut Versa, which is, to me, one of the best boss fights of this decade, some of the boss encounters I had in Endless Ragnarok were close to rivaling that one. Not only in terms of scale, but in terms of mechanics, which is one of the things that drew me into Relink when I first played it.
Missions aside, the Conflux is another highlight of the expansion, which adds a sort of roguelite system to the game, with a gauntlet-type dimension where you need to select a room to progress through and eventually face a few bosses until you reach the end. It reminded me a lot of the early versions of the Simulated Universe in Honkai: Star Rail, which is a mode I really liked.
For me, the Conflux is an excellent way to take a break from the normal missions to test out a character’s build, grind for weapon materials or Sigils, or just try to discover who’s the big baddie at the end of it all, which many might have figured out already after the first cutscene. So, as someone who loves some randomness thrown into this action RPG, the Conflux is a superb addition, and one that I hope gets more stuff in the future, assuming Cygames wants to keep adding to this never-ending RPG.
Endless Ways to Build Your Adventurer
All of this grinding has a reason, of course, and that is seeing just how far you can take your character. Now, as some of you remember in the base game, getting past the 21,000 power level mark was a feat of its own. In Endles Ragnarok, that number will be a long-forgotten memory, as there are so many items, sigils, and traits that will make you break those limits.
The first thing you’ll discover is Master Traits, which become available once you reach level 100 and unlock all other traits in your character. You can then start using all that leftover MSP to unlock these powerful traits that give you different bonuses, but also lean toward a specific playstyle for your character. For instance, my main is Narmaya, and her Master Traits often leaned toward making her more of a tank-like character or improving her butterfly acquisition skills through passive bonuses. Naturally, it will be different for every hero, and I was glad to see just how varied the options were.
On top of that, you can now keep improving some of your weapons, with a new system that lets you pick some traits for your armaments. This opens up a lot of build options down the line, but it is a long and grindy process, which, then again, I didn’t mind at all. Actually, I found it extremely engaging, as you can now pick between farming materials through missions or going to the Conflux, and that’s a plus for me.
And now, to address the Bahamut in the skyship: summons. This new mechanic lets you equip four entities that you can invoke during an encounter after your summoning bar fills up. You basically take the role of whatever creature you summoned and use it to deal damage, cure, or buff. After that, you can trigger an even stronger Primal Burst where Lyria makes a grand and epic appearance to deliver that coup de grâce to whatever foe you’re facing. And besides looking for new summons to see them in action, you’ll want to find them quickly, as they also provide passive bonuses for you and an increased power level.
Lastly, for those looking to build every single character in the roster, there are many additions to the adventuring fleet. While I tried all of them, I have to say that Fraux and Beatrix were among my favorites. The former is a DPS machine when built right, and I enjoyed Beatrix’s versatility, as she can fit almost any role in a group.
The Ultimate Grandblue Fantasy Experience
While Granblue Fantasy: Relink was already, for me, a flawless title, I never thought Endless Ragnarok would elevate it even further. Even if reaching this new adventure takes a long time and the grind becomes even longer, I still enjoyed every second of it due to how addictive and approachable the endgame process is.
In the end, I’m glad that Cygames brought this expansion for all of us skyfarers. Many of us never thought we’d get something of this scope, and the payout is great. The studio delivered some of the best encounters out there, an extremely addictive endgame system, and so many ways to build a character that, just as the expansion name implies, make this adventure endless.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok (PC Reviewed)
Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok evolves one of 2024's best games into a definitive action RPG, with so much build variety, unforgettable encounters, and one of the best endgame systems out there.
Pros
- An improved and more addictive endgame system
- Excellent new characters
- A new batch of jaw-dropping encounters
Cons
- A somewhat lackluster narrative
