Is it just me, or are Expansions getting more brutal and depressing every time?

I thought it was but in the end.. not really...

SPOILER MSQ

The Thavnair parts really made it feel like we were about to see some proper destruction but in the end, it did not impact much and you didn't feel any danger outside of that region.

And MSQ continued with sacrifices that are not really sacrifices since you end up not really losing anyone from the main cast.

Pretty impressive that we manage to beat Zodiark, Hydaelyn, Zenos, go to the moon and to the outer space to fight the post powerful creature and lost no one along the way.

I think this is working as intended as far as the expansions getting progressively heavier in the emotional department.

We're progressing through a story that has essentially promised us we're going on a very challenging journey. There have always been very dark moments since ARR, but they were spread / paced further apart due to that being the beginning of the story. Heavensward showed us how deep the story could cut, but those deep cuts were few and far between with substantial build up. Then Stormblood was more exposition and story building following Heavensward's lead of build up + pay off. Shadowbringers understandably started speeding up the emotional payoff of a story about 6yrs in the making (Heavensward - Shadowbringers). This was a blueprint of the ultimate payoff, Endwalker.

Endwalker, naturally is our conclusion and thus many stories had to be concluded, pulled together, and ultimately paid off. EW is all expansions put together.

I can't promise this, but I'm expecting 6.x through 7.0 to have much more levity and far more adventure. Even the poem Yoshi wrote as his clue to us kind of hinted at that - we're taking off the heavy burden of our 10yr journey to start fresh a new adventure.

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As far as you mental health, I'm right there with you. I strongly suggest when you're feeling in the dumps, please take a break. Remember this is only a game, despite how attached we may be to these characters. Something that honestly made me feel way better about this game were some youtube shorts I saw that made the game look more like a production than it did a story of these fantasy lives - almost like it's like a big movie lol. It's silly, but it honestly took this massive weight off my shoulders. Maybe this will cheer you up :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CJ8...nel=FluffStuff her other videos are wonderful as well :)

It’s starting to remind me of Berserk now and I can’t complain :)

The only parts of EW i have found "dark and depressing" were Garlemald and Thavnir after the Final Days began. But the rest of the game is ... normal to me. And those "dark moments" the game always had.

Remeber when the Sultana was poisened and Raubahn loses his arm. Or in ShB when you know that you are a ticking bomb because the light can break out every time and turn you into an "Over-9000-sineater" etc. Or when Zenos and Fordola attack Rhalgr's Reach and kill almost everyone etc.

IMHO the story writers could be more brave and deliver really depressing stories.


Cheers

I would like to say to answer this thread a solid maybe. Because my brother started playing about 4 months ago; and endwalkers specifically was in his words "Making me chug the depresso espresso" so ive been doing msq w/ him by vibing near by while they watch things most of the time.

It is very clear in the writing when the team is making somethings softer to be less emotionally distressing... and thats not bad. Its reallllllly not bad. ACtually I think its quiet tactful. But as a person who consumes darker media often it could definately be alot uhhh more intense//dark//allthatjazz.

But on the scale of just ffxiv and what it has gave us so far, yes. yes fully agree the topic and my brothers take that it is super depresso espresso. >w<

Still a side note I want to mention but not as important to the thread just me being uhh waxing lyrical:
> I think this expansion finally is something I like more than my favorite (stormblood).

>They tackled difficult topics like loss, greif, powerlessness, the want to die, the want to live, depression, disability [[if you count the healer rolequest and death unto dawn]], and like a whole slew of challenging topics and not one of them did they shine a negative light on and for the most part I think they handled them with compassion and respect. Ive battled depression and some other ship my entire life and some of how theyve wrote these characters really speak to me! <3 <3 <3 :3

I do want to shout out- the Warrior of Light story.... that one hit me right in the feels.... and Emet... oh, Emet. I love Emet and no one can ever convince me he was bad.