What kind of villain do you want to see in the game?

At this point in the story, we can't be beaten physically by any being. So any major villain introduced is going to have to attack the WoL indirectly, and be incredibly deceptive to the point we may actually trust them. It has to be on a psychological level. Mess with our heads. Give us dilemmas. Even if we are the strongest warrior in the universe, we can't be everywhere at once. A good villain is going to understand that.

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Originally Posted by Dastan

At this point in the story, we can't be beaten physically by any being. So any major villain introduced is going to have to attack the WoL indirectly, and be incredibly deceptive to the point we may actually trust them. It has to be on a psychological level. Mess with our heads. Give us dilemmas. Even if we are the strongest warrior in the universe, we can't be everywhere at once. A good villain is going to understand that.

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A good villain would see how we are, learn our weakness and slowly start to turn everybody against us. With major conflicts popping up on different parts of the map. Giving us 0 rest then prepare to finish us off.

BUT then in our final moments we say screw it. Pull out the glock and shoot them cause we are tired of their shit XD

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Originally Posted by Mercury_Grey

A good villain would see how we are, learn our weakness and slowly start to turn everybody against us. With major conflicts popping up on different parts of the map. Giving us 0 rest then prepare to finish us off.

BUT then in our final moments we say screw it. Pull out the glock and shoot them cause we are tired of their shit XD

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And then Hydaelyn steps in.

Basically regardless of what happens she's gonna step in and help us.

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Originally Posted by Grimforth

And then Hydaelyn steps in.

Basically regardless of what happens she's gonna step in and help us.

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BEcause we are her champion even though we all ganged up on her for shiny weapons and mounts

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Originally Posted by Mercury_Grey

BEcause we are her champion even though we all ganged up on her for shiny weapons and mounts

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To be fair, she was asking for it, she watched us do that for four preceding sets of shinies and still goes and makes shinies of her own. She knew full well the result of that.

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Originally Posted by Alice_Rivers

To be fair, she was asking for it, she watched us do that for four preceding sets of shinies and still goes and makes shinies of her own. She knew full well the result of that.

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She was not prepared for teh dedication that is the WoL. Especially those who do it fo rfun wiht others. 8 man warriors just jumping onto her like beyblades

At this point we may as well have Sephiroth appear and go on a rampage. /s

Sad/tragic backstory villains can certainly work, so long as the writing is good and they truly believe they are in the right.

I'd honestly love a friend turned villain or a villain who is fun (like Jack from Puss in Boots). Again, these all come down to good writing and a coherent story.

Part of me wants something like Stormblood Zenos again, just an unapologetically evil one who doesn't really have any deep reasons for doing what they do, and isn't exactly a reality ending threat. Like Zenos ultimately wanted someone strong to fight, and was willing to destroy nations to get someone to rise up against him.

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Originally Posted by Carin-Eri

At this point we may as well have Sephiroth appear and go on a rampage. /s

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That'll be the the end of the game, that's so bottom of the barrel I don't see any way for the writers to come back from that.

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Originally Posted by Exmo

A villain who was previously an ally.

I was hoping Wuk Lamat was going to have that trajectory where she realizes what's best for her people puts us in direct opposition to her. This would be a way to develop her character in an interesting direction while offering depth that's compatible with the simplicity of her stated motivations. It would work best if she were to not be made to commit atrocities and was not mistaken or mislead in her policies, so as to avoid easy invalidation of her methods/goals.

Doesn't look like that will be the case, sadly.

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Yes! I'd love to kill Wuk:D

No more Ascians....

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Originally Posted by Themarvin

No more Ascians....

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We literally have 3 named Ascians leftover. And we know there's more.

Hate to break it to you, but more Ascians actually makes sense.

U L T I M A

Gimme something truly unholy, and eldritch like Ultima please!

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Originally Posted by BlisteringFrost

We literally have 3 named Ascians leftover. And we know there's more.

Hate to break it to you, but more Ascians actually makes sense.

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I'm hoping that the remaining Ascains became members of a new organization, and not leading a said new organization. Maybe we'll even a defector who want to stop their fellow Ascains with the help of the WoL.

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Originally Posted by ShadowyZero

we need a villain who actually wins in the conclusion of the story like even if we defeat them an they die their plan still succeeds an it has lasting effect upon us and the world. and more importantly we need to have a reason to hate the villain they need to do things which make us resent them and also it should be a villain who trys to convince us their actions are justified and necessary and that our path is false or the wrong way to go etc.
the best told villains are ones who are irredeemable not ones who kill for the thrill of it and not ones who do it cause of a traumatized past while such characters can be interesting narratively characters that really make your blood boil or sit on the edge of your seat cause you're terrified of which awful thing they'll do next are what really sells that "Bad guy" vibe.
they way the portrayed that Vallens Van Varro guy in the Wyrlet content was perfect evil in that regard he was absolutely despicable in everything he did or said we need more evil like this but in the main story this time around

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what i said in a previous thread^ want to also add to this that it would be really compelling if the new evil villain also continues to haunt us long after they are gone like they left that much of an impact that our character is traumatized by the actions or words the villain inflicted upon the world and us. one such idea that comes to mind is the having the Villain so cleverly manipulated us to prove a point that our own actions lead to serious consequences and how we are nothing but a slave to the whims of others similar to how our Darker Self really grilled us in the Dark Knight questline.

I want a villain that is just that. No redeeming qualities, no sad background, no being misunderstood. Just straight hate-able villain.

https://static1.dualshockersimages.c...044857-(1).jpg

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Originally Posted by PaulusHamsteru

Yes! I'd love to kill Wuk:D

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The haters are rabid. You just can't talk to them

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Originally Posted by Pimsan20

I'm hoping that the remaining Ascains became members of a new organization, and not leading a said new organization. Maybe we'll even a defector who want to stop their fellow Ascains with the help of the WoL.

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UUUUUHHHH...... I dunno about that. Maybe a defector. Since the Unsundered were the only ones tempered by Zodiark. And the only ones left are Sundered, which was confirmed by Elidibus.

Please no more sad/misunderstood villains that they try to make you feel sorry for. Give us a villain that's just a villain, they can't be redeemed, they are what they are

I'd like a villain that is simply evil. At this point, we have rooted out a LOT of bad guys and evil organizations. That has definitely created a power vacuum. There are a lot of archetypes I think would be fun, but I'll just name a few followed by what I don't want to see.

An evil version of us. On a different shard, our reflection chose darkness where we chose light.

An organization that, while individually powerless, comes together to control the world from the shadows. If the world is changing, they want to take control of that change. We can mix in new and old characters for some shock value. Like some NPCs we've known to be morally bankrupt but haven't had the opportunity to levy it.

I do not want chaotic evil/manic pixie baddie that is unhinged for the sake of being unhinged. That's too one note. Give them a reason to be evil. They have a goal they are pursuing. They acknowledge the forces of good, but CHOOSE to follow a darker path.

I do not want a sympathetic villain. The fandom WILL sympathize with anything, but I don't want CBU3 to design the villain to be sympathetic. The intent matters here.

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Originally Posted by Aonns

I'd like a villain that is simply evil. At this point, we have rooted out a LOT of bad guys and evil organizations. That has definitely created a power vacuum. There are a lot of archetypes I think would be fun, but I'll just name a few followed by what I don't want to see.

An evil version of us. On a different shard, our reflection chose darkness where we chose light.

An organization that, while individually powerless, comes together to control the world from the shadows. If the world is changing, they want to take control of that change. We can mix in new and old characters for some shock value. Like some NPCs we've known to be morally bankrupt but haven't had the opportunity to levy it.

I do not want chaotic evil/manic pixie baddie that is unhinged for the sake of being unhinged. That's too one note. Give them a reason to be evil. They have a goal they are pursuing. They acknowledge the forces of good, but CHOOSE to follow a darker path.

I do not want a sympathetic villain. The fandom WILL sympathize with anything, but I don't want CBU3 to design the villain to be sympathetic. The intent matters here.

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I'd say mild sympathy would work if you want a dark reflection of the warrior of light. Where like the WoL, they saved the world, stopped threats, cause crime to go down, but they rule their shard with an iron fist. Where our WoL works towards making a better tomorrow through positive change, the dark reflection creates a dystopia in the belief of a better tomorrow.

give us thanos

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Originally Posted by Chasingstars

I'd say mild sympathy would work if you want a dark reflection of the warrior of light. Where like the WoL, they saved the world, stopped threats, cause crime to go down, but they rule their shard with an iron fist. Where our WoL works towards making a better tomorrow through positive change, the dark reflection creates a dystopia in the belief of a better tomorrow.

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Right. Mild sympathy is fine. I just don't want them to go whole hog like they did with Sphene and Zoraal Ja. Having someone who has committed atrocities give a speech meant to pull at the viewer's heartstrings as they die is tasteless

I also think that the Fal'Cie would be perfect for a main antagonist for the new saga. Since they are otherworldly and would use other beings to do their bidding.

I'd like a villain who has a personal vendetta against the WoL, like we ate their lunch at work or something.

it would be fun to have someone who is initially on our side but then a difference of opinion puts us in separate sides. but it would need to be a character that we really like and has been on our side for a while to really drive it home.

Rather than asking for a certain villain type, I’d prefer an expansion with a bad ending.
I was secretly hoping that the foreshadowed division between the Scions that was hinted during the last post-EW patch cutscene before DT would bring us a major conflict between them to set the story up for several expansions to come with some new Scions to replace the ones we would come into conflict and disagreement with. That was my hope for DT.
Now that we know nothing like that happened and the whole “division” was just a lazy bait about two different groups of Scions backing two different good characters, I hope the next expansion will bring us something dramatic. Hopefully a story that will result in us as the WoL losing / making a huge mistake etc. to later bring it all back together and rebuild a few expansions down the line.
In the past expansions we’ve seen it all - tragedies, genocide, suicide, existential crises, murders, conspiracies… and we always won in the end. What if we now lost the big fight for a change?

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Originally Posted by Aonns

An evil version of us. On a different shard, our reflection chose darkness where we chose light.

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Ah, another Azem shard that actually did the thing Frey initially insisted? Just letting the anger and frustration with the bad people we end up aiding boil out?
I could absolutely get behind one of our shards being a fallen version of us. Maybe in the end we have to forcefully absorb them, completely different from our relationship with Ardbert.

I want a villain that's having a blast with their BS. Zenos being bored was boring. Calyx being up his own rear with how intelligent he is is boring.

I enjoyed Gaius believing his own hype, Asahi being a petty little shit, Emet selch snarking his way to the finish line, and fandaniel/amon being straight up incoherent the entire time.


I want a Majima to the WoL's kiryu. Just a weird little guy who matches the realms' most powerful nodder's freak in all the worst ways.

I don't really want a specific character as a villain so much as an antagonistic force that's fundamentally, politically against us and our beliefs. I think that's what they were going for with Alexandria, but they chickened out by making every citizen either innocent or ignorant of the atrocities their nation was committing. Their army was comprised entirely of robots too.. just so we wouldn't have to actually fight and kill any of them. It's such a weird attempt to try and wash the WoL's hands of any potential wrongdoing.

It's much more of a scary, human threat when you imagine an entire nation is against us, and not just one or two bad apples with a doomsday plot. Garlemald fit that bill for quite a while, but the writers seemed to want to rush them out the door as quickly as they could in Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

I'm so tired of having every conflict end so quickly and without any lasting complications.. or having the Eorzean Alliance treat their enemies so insanely altruistically. I refuse to believe none of the leaders wouldn't want to impose some sort of FFXIV equivalent to the Treaty of Versailles on Garlemald after everything they put them, and the rest of the world, through. I'm actually glad there's no Garlean Restoration. It's such a laugh that they had the reason for it not being there that the Garleans were too proud to accept our help. As if our characters would even WANT to in the first place.

It's just funny that for as much as the game's story talks about the importance of humanity, emotions, etc, they almost never let our character, or any of the 'good guys' feel the slightest amount of bitterness about their enemies. Maybe I'm asking for too much, or something too specific. It just rubs me the wrong way, and it's a problem I don't think any singular villain, no matter how well written, is going to solve.