I was a bit surprised to see us going on an adventure with Arenvald and Alphinaud right at the beginning but I did like it in the end. (Also I laughed at the grin my character gave him) Its kinda funny that we have people like Arenvald that are thinking about the big problems of Ala Mhigo while the true leader is barely doing anything about that.
The dungeon was nice and finally one dungeon in SB where they do not talk about the other adventurers being suddenly with us..also loved the little comments about Alphinauds face when they saw their first monsters. Poor boy being picked on all the time. (Also that hair in that picture..
)
I am not really sure how I feel about Fordola. It was nice that she saw some of our past and that maybe the echo might change her but I did not really like her memory. So her parents decided to side with the Garleans and somehow walk through the district where the poor people live. Fordola was seemingly not that young but still had not even a single clue about whats going on. (Also the german voice for her father was just horrible for me, he sounded like an old man x))
It was kinda funny that its again Raubahn who managed to make the crowd go with his words, while Lyse stood around and did nothing. I mean it seems that she did not even have arguments for the enraged crowd which just feels bad. I know that Raubahn has more experience but if they plan to make her the head of the new system they should show us more about her potential.
After that I absolutely loved the bit about Nanamo. I like her character and I like that she grew mature enough to try it without Raubahn and that she wanted to help the people. Nice little appearance of Godbert and Lolorito. Like the first one with the treasure the WoL saves the "day" with their ideas. Also this again benefits the Ala Mhigan people so again Lyse got another good deal without doing much herself. (One top of that its us who then speaks with the old man and teach that NPC how to fight and Alphinaud who makes all the plans for the state.)
I also liked the talk with Raubahn and I choose the line where Yuyuhase and Laurentius should be punished with death. We gave one more than one chance to change for the better and the Lalafell did grin when he saw the slaughter. Leaving them alive would just be naive imo. I am kinda interested how their trial will go and if our answer will really change anything at all. Also kinda interesting that we had the option to give our opinion here but never for Fordola. (And its funny how its totally fine for Raubahn that those two could be punished to death but not for her)
Then we have the meeting and I was surprised to finally see other scions even if they still barely played any part at all. I was not surprised that the meeting ended with the summoning of Lakshimi and I really hope that this taught Lyse an important lesson. Its great that you want to have a place for everyone but its simply too naive to believe that this is truly possible for all, especially if they are tempered. Without the WoL and Arenvald they all would have been tempered.
About that battle: I like the mechanics of the fight even after I had to do it a second time thanks to Raubahn killing me. Still I wish they would have done it that way, that you will only have the cutscene with Fordola if one ball truly gets to one of the NPCs. They were saying how its impossible to hold that and yet I would have been able to at least still manage that wave. Fordolas entrace was cool and the fight afterwards also. I am a bit vary about the echo becoming more and more of a plot power. It was already a bit much for me, that our character suddenly is able to produce a shield without any such hints in the story before that. Now suddenly Arenvald and Fordola (both no real expert on the echo) are able to hold Lakshimi with some kind of lines and Fordola also manages to block out attacks with her echo. It feels like coming out of nowhere just for plot reasons. (Why cant our character do that in fights?) Also somehow other people can now fight primals that are bend on tempering with barely any risk. (Didnt ramuh just temper the slyphs by being there?)
Still nice to see that the people did not just forgive Fordola right here and there. It might be the best for humanity if we can just forgive anything but its truly not realistic to have that happen, especially when you talk about torture and murder over quite some time. I really hope that her whole redemption will still take more time but nice to see a bit of a change that still has some kind of explanation behind that.
The bit with Nanamo and Raubahn after that really put some tears in my eyes and I had to grin a bit about Alphinauds realization that he did not know about this change before us.
So before I get to the after credit scenes here my short thoughts about all: Well this patch really just shows how Eorzeas really needs us. They do have people like Arenvald who at least think about the bigger problems too but still they need our help to get there. Nanamo needed us for her ideas but at least she still had some kind of plan herself and without us being at the meeting all of them would have been tempered. I am not sure how I feel about this because we will not always be there to help, yet at the same time I like how we alone also influence so much with our own ideas.
I dont hate Lyse but after this patch I believe even more that the better candidates for the leading position (Ala Mhigos Aymeric) would be Raubahn for his experience or Arenvald. The latter has really shone in this patch by thinking about other problems that could plague the city state later but still has enough compassion to try to forgive Fordola. Lyse is really fixed on the belief that Ala Mhigo has a place for everyone but even though the belief is something good and admirable, I am just not sure if this is good for leading a whole city state. As a leader you cant simply please anyone every time. Also if she somehow makes Fordola part of Ala Mhigo again and let her live free, then shouldnt that mean that nobody would ever have to go to prison again? She did horrible things under the Garlean rule and even killed her comrades. So if she gets redemption and can leave the prison, then no crime should ever be punished anymore since most are way lesser acts than that. (IMO) I just think that there should be a line that should not be crossed and for me Fordola did that and no sad past can change her decisions. I am fine if she only gets a couple of years in prison thanks to her help but leaving without any punishment would also sent a wrong image out. ("Why I am punished for stealing something when the one that tortured and killed people is running free?")
I have the bad feeling that Lyse will be the Ayermic of Ala Mhigo at the end of the expansion but imo I still cant see her in that position. She still has a lot to learn and this is a city state that is finally free from the Garlean reign so they should be lead by someone with enough experience. I am not saying that she never could be leader but I am just not sure if it makes much sense to make her one right now. Maybe make Raubahn the lead and Lyse the assistance to him. This way she will still have some say in a way and might even learn a bit.
So about the after credits:
Any good feeling that I had for the ending of the MSQ really went away when I saw the scene in Kugane. I came to terms with seeing a redemption for someone like Fordola if its done good and over time but I cant just accept a redemption for Yotsuyu..Especially if they really go down the route of her losing her memories. Not only does this completely change her character which means that anything that made her a great villain is gone but its also the easiest route to make someone redeemable even if they normally should not. We are talking about a person that enjoyed the torture and killing of innocent people and somehow it seems that she still should be allowed to get her redemption..also I am feeling a bit bad for Gosetsu that had to sell his swords only to be really hungry and have his money being eaten away by her. I really hope that she is only playing that part and that she will stay her own self way till the end because imo its way more realistic to have someone like that not suddenly change and amnesia just feels like a cheap coup out for me. Especially since we have that one side quest with the potion where the leading scientist has amnesia too but was still punished for his wrong doings.