While I don't think Stormblood is the best expansion I would put it over Endwalker. Even with it cutting it's plot in two it still manages to do what it sets out to do from the beginning.Quote:
Originally Posted by kpxmanifesto
Endwalker was a great mess(SPOILERS)
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12-30-2021, 04:12 AMArdeth
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12-30-2021, 04:16 AMkpxmanifestoI absolutely would too. For me, from best to worst, its SHB -> HW -> SB -> EW. SHB and HW are very close though, almost a tie.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ardeth
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12-30-2021, 04:19 AMcrimsonwitchI honestly really liked heavensward. it was able to tell one complete story from start to finish without *much* of an ascian influence . The high I got from doing thordan trial was great. I did not get that feeling from the end of EW trial.Quote:
Originally Posted by kpxmanifesto
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12-30-2021, 04:20 AMTheodricMost of the criticism aimed at Stormblood was due to it being split across two completely different regions of the world at the expense of being able to focus properly on either. Even then, Ala Mhigo lost out in favour of the Far East stuff being much more varied and intriguing.Quote:
Originally Posted by kpxmanifesto
Endwalker didn't appear to learn from Stormblood's lapse in judgement, though. We go from one part of the game world to the next with increasingly higher stakes but little time to digest what is actually happening or why. In the quest to make each zone more impressive and exciting than the last, I fear things became much more convoluted than they ever needed to be. -
12-30-2021, 04:22 AMLaurontTIL a new word. Hah. It's a perfect summary of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ardeth
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12-30-2021, 05:12 AMsorawild34
Its threads like these that make me remember why everyone and their mom makes fun of the English Official Forums for XIV
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12-30-2021, 05:19 AMSieyaM
Parts of the story that were supposed to have a lot of weight ended up not having it for me, especially the final walk there. At first I thought maybe Thancred might actually be gone, but once I realized everyone was gonna get their monologue and moment I knew there was no way they were all going to stay gone. Some plot device was going to bring everyone back and after that there were no stakes anymore.
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12-30-2021, 05:28 AMMelorie
I loved the expansion, but the pacing was really off. It was, imo, the expansion with the worst pacing. The moon was the worst map, Zodiark was rushed, Anima didn't really feel impactful at all, Amon was a pain in the ass with weak explanations and the bunny base part was a slog. I hated the "chase meteion" part in Elpis, it really dragged the climax in an unnecessary way. Labyrinthos part 2 was also kinda sluggish, specially since there was a battle music there the whole time driving me crazy.
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12-30-2021, 05:50 AMRulakirI adored HW. I think it ultimately worked the best for me because while I could understand Nidhogg's motivations, his actions weren't noble or of benefit to anyone including himself. The Ishgardian characters were complex and not layered with plot armor, there were meaningful deaths, and the conclusion of the story in 3.3 felt good.Quote:
Originally Posted by kpxmanifesto
As much as I loved ShB, it continued the trend since SB that protagonists don't die. Defeating Emet and Elidibus felt tragic, not satisfying. It was a heart wrenching and bittersweet tale, definitely not a 'feel good' expansion.
I've come to the conclusion that EW is too morally questionable to me. I'm uncomfortable with the way Venat's character and the sundering were handled. The only reason I might rank it above SB is almost exclusively due to Elpis. Unfortunately, everything after that soured me on the EW MSQ. I'm not particularly hopeful with the direction Pandemonium is going so far either. -
12-30-2021, 06:43 AMAvidria
Man I'm actually surprised by some of the critiques haha
I mean to each their own obviously but man
I wouldn't rate it above Shadowbringers, and it's maybe pretty close to HW, but it's still a far step above Stb and like 90% of ARR imo